The day I spent alone I thought about nothing but Bella and what I wanted from her. No, not from her. From us. Whatever the hell we were. But, like I told Alice the night before, it was too soon. I just had to keep reminding myself of that little fact. I had always been that kind of person. The kind that jumped in all the way without looking first. Bella didn't need that now. She didn't need the confusion.
I was relieved to hear about Edward, that he was going to do something rational for a change. Maybe they could be like Alice and myself one day, but I kind of doubted it. I didn't say anything when she asked me not to let my friendship with him end. I didn't know what to say. Maybe we just needed time too. Though I doubted that as well.
It had become normal for us to sleep together. Not sex, just laying together. Though we had kissed and touched, we hadn't had a repeat performance of our first night together. Lord knows I wanted to. I wanted her badly, as a matter of fact. But, I was going to let her start it. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable or unhappy. Nor did I want to ruin what we had together already. That had been just over a week ago now. I could restrain myself, even though it was extremely hard with waking up with her in my arms every morning.
I felt like a total idiot when I asked her to go on a date with me on our next days off, which I arranged on purpose to have on the same days. We did stuff together all the time so I didn't know why I was so nervous about it. Maybe it was because this was the first time we were doing something together since we had gotten together. Or, perhaps it was because I kept referring to it as a date in my head, even if that's not exactly how I phrased it when I asked her. More likely it was because she was getting ready at Alice's place and I had to pick her up... like an actual date.
When Alice found out what we were doing she flipped and insisted that she help Bella get ready. This didn't surprise me. Alice had a massive doll collection and Bella was one of them. For some reason Bella actually agreed. But, Bella was never one to say no to Alice.
I felt like a giant chick standing in front of my closet when I was trying to figure out what to wear. I had always cared about my appearance, but it had been six months since I'd been on a first day, or any date at all for that matter. Alice always dressed me when we were dating. I felt lost.
"This is insane," I mumbled to myself. "This is just Bella. She doesn't care what you wear. She's not vain."
But, I cared- probably more so than I should have. I wanted to look nice for her. She always looked so good, even when she wasn't even trying. I took a deep breath and finally pulled something off the rack, the first things I could find. I only had fifteen minutes before I was suppose to come get her and even though it was just a short elevator ride, I didn't want to be late. Getting dressed was the last thing I needed to do before I left.
I settled on a navy blue button with a pair of slate gray slacks. I thought I looked like I was going to a job interview, even without a tie. But really, what is a date but an interview of sorts? I thought stupidly to myself. I grabbed my wallet and phone before slipping on my favorite coat. It was wool and a soft gray color. And, it was rather long, which I liked. That was usually hard to find since I was so tall. Bella had actually gotten it for me the Christmas before last.
Though Bella hated receiving gifts she was always good at giving them. Usually practical and always from the heart, she had actually given me several gifts through the years I had come to cherish. Though, I didn't realize until now just how important they were too me until now. Maybe that was because I was just now realizing how important Bella was to me.
I remembered last Christmas I had bought her this crock pot thing that she always looked at whenever we went to wal-mart for groceries. I don't know why she never talked herself into buying it. She loved to cook. Though, she never usually wanted to spend unneeded money on herself so I shouldn't be surprised. You would have thought I had bought her a new car or something. Edward bought her a platinum watch... that I noticed almost never got any use at all. He could never understand her excitement over something so... mundane. I found myself a little proud that I knew her better than him, at least in some ways.
This is not a contest... this is not a contest... I kept reminding myself. But, no matter how much I tried to remind myself of that it didn't work. I knew that I would be comparing myself to him. I wasn't sure if that was normal or healthy or not. It was frustrating, at the very least.
I rocked back and forth on my heels as I waited for someone to answer the door to Alice's place. I needed to relax or I was going to freak out Bella, which was the last thing I wanted right now. I had never been this nervous before about a date though. I needed to stop calling it a date. I didn't know if Bella thought it as such or not. I would let her set the tone. Though it for sure felt like a date.
Alice opened the door, one hand on her apron covered hip, which she always wore when she did hair or makeup. She tended to make a mess. "Now, young man I want to know your intentions with my baby girl."
"Shut up, Alice." Bella muttered, pushing her out of the way with a not so gentle shove. Alice didn't even stumble back.
I would have responded to Alice but I don't think I could have talked at the moment. She was stunning. Bella was wearing this beautiful turtleneck sweater dress that fell almost to her knees. It was a lovely cream color that looked good with her pale skin and dark colored eyes. I knew she didn't pick out the knee high black boots since they were heels, but they looked great on her. Her hair was down in large curls around her slender shoulders. Her lips were a light plum color and I wanted to see if they tasted as good as they looked.
Bella noticed my starring and blushed as she bit her bottom lip, looking down at her feet. "Ready to go, Bells?" I asked as I cleared my throat. I think I heard Alice scoff, but I'm not really sure. I wasn't paying any attention to her.
Bella nodded, causing her thick curls to bounce slightly and grabbed a black jacket that went past her knees, covering her almost completely. I helped her into it, letting my hand glide across the top of her shoulders as I finished. She gently pulled her hair from underneath the collar and shook it free. The action was beyond sexy for some reason. I needed to get my hormones in check.
"You better have her home by ten o'clock, mister." Alice teased some more, an evil little glint in her eye. I could tell she was having fun trying to make Bella uncomfortable. Alice couldn't get to me right now.
Bella threw her a wicked glare, only causing Alice to grin some more, trying to look as innocent as possible. It only made her look more devious. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She yelled as we entered the elevators.
"Well, that should give us a large range of activities," I muttered under my breath and rolled my eyes, causing Bella to laugh.
"I'm sorry about her. She doesn't know when to stop." She said with a sigh as she leaned against the silver walls, blushing a little bit for some reason.
"Not your fault, darlin. Though, it does make me curious to what you two were you talking about while you were getting ready." I teased. I had a pretty good idea of what they were talking about and I was positive it involved me.
She blush grew deeper and she looked to the floor. Apparently I hit a nerve. "We were talking about what this is." Bella answered, waving her hand between us.
"And, what is it?" I asked gently, curious to the answer myself. It was kind of nice to know that I wasn't the only one thinking about. Though I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.
"I'm not sure..." She mumbled quietly, kicking the floor with the toe of her boot.
"It's whatever you need to be." I said, taking her hand in mine. "I'll be here for whatever you need me for."
She squeezed my hand tightly but then let go when the elevator doors opened. I sighed to myself, following behind her. This was going to be an interesting night, either way it went.
OooOooOooOooOooO
I took Bella to her favorite restaurant, a little sushi bar that always seemed to be packed. She seemed to be surprised when went straight to a corner table in the back of the restaurant. I pulled out the chair for Bella after removing his jacket for her. I placed it on the seat across from me, along with my own, before sitting down.
"I haven't been here in forever." Bella commented as she sat, picking up her menu. You could see her eyes light up with the idea of getting her favorite food. A small smile played across her lips as she read over the different kinds of fish.
"Well, I know how much you like this place, so I made a reservation." I said casually.
"You didn't have to do that." She smiled sweetly, her face lighting up a little bit. I may not have needed to, but seeing her smile like was for sure worth it. I would have to try different ways in the future to make it reappear.
"I know, but I wanted to, honey."
We looked at each other for a long moment, a strange silence between us. It was filled with something I couldn't quiet put my finger on. Bella looked as if she wanted to say something but the waitress came by. I cursed under my breath. "What would you like to drink?" The tiny Asian girl asked, looking rather impatient.
"Green tea, please." Bella said, finally looking away from me and back down at her menu.
"Make that two, please." I said, effectively sending the waitress away. When she was completely out of sight I leaned over to Bella, speaking softly to her. "What's the matter, darlin?"
"I just feel so flustered. This is just so nice and you look so handsome and-" She started to sputter out but I leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek. I just wanted to make her more comfortable.
"You look beautiful." I whispered in her ear, pushing a curl behind her ear.
"Are you ready to place your order?" The waitress asked, interrupting our moment. The girl sounded completely bored and I wondered how she got tips. Though, I didn't even realize that our tea was sitting in front of us in a little silver pot. Maybe it was us and not her.
Bella pulled away quickly and focused on her menu once more. I hadn't even looked at mine. "I haven't decided between tuna, salmon, or red snapper sashimi. I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for. They all sound so good."
"We'll take that big sashimi platter with tuna, salmon, and red snapper. Two soups and salads, also please." I said, pulling Bella's menu away from her before she could argue.
"Rice comes with the fish. Fried or steamed? The waitress asked as she quickly wrote down our order. I wasn't sure what Bella preferred, but I liked either one so it didn't matter to me.
"One of each." I said, smiling at a slack jawed Bella. She was giving me a glare that meant that I was about to get a talking to. The waitress went away without saying anything else
"Jasper! I can't eat all of that..." She complained, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Darlin, it's for me too." I laughed. "Did I order something you don't like? Because we can change it if you want to."
"No," she pouted. "It sounds really good."
I couldn't help but laugh at her little show that she was putting on. I knew she was half way between annoyed and happy and it was adorable. I poured us each a cup of tea, trying to hide my smile. "Bella, this is my treat. Don't worry about it." I said, handing her her tiny white cup.
"No! I don't want you to pay for everything!" She complained, her lips pulled down in a little frown.
"I'm not going to pay for everything. I was hoping that you might get dessert, if you want to anyway. Besides, my momma would whoop me if I even let you look at the check." I said, my accent thick even to my ears.
"I'm going to whoop you." She said in a mocking tone under her breath. I'm pretty sure she didn't mean for me to hear her, but she wasn't as sneaky as she thought she was.
I leaned over closer to her and whispered in her ear. " Darlin, if you wanted to do that we could just skip dessert..."
I got the reaction I wanted, causing her to laugh and blush a bright shade of red. She shoved my arm. "You're too much. I'm getting dessert..." She said in a firm voice.
"Damn..." I said in a playful tone, giving her my best innocent smile. She giggled softly.
OooOooOooOooOooO
Bella insisted on going to the extreme for dessert. We went to a local bakery so there was a whole turtle cheesecake waiting for us in the truck while we walked around a local park. I was honestly too full for anything that rich at the moment and I would have to assume she was too. I didn't want to go to the movies so this seemed like a good idea at the time.
The day was a soft gray, and a little hazy. The clouds were thick and the breeze had more than a little chill to it. "It looks like it's going to snow." I commented, breaking the silence between us. It wasn't uncomfortable though or forced though.
"I think it's suppose to snow all tonight and part of tomorrow. I'm glad we don't have to work. I got some supplies just in case it gets too bad outside." She informed me, looking up at the sky. I knew she was never fond of the cold or wet weather, but I liked it. It was so completely different from where I grew up.
I watched as she rubbed her hands over her arms, her bottom lip quivering a little bit. "Are you cold?" I asked, turning to face her.
"No, I'm fine." She lied poorly, shivering a little bit.
I pulled my coat off and wrapped it around her tightly. A strong wind blew by, whipping her hair around her face. I gently brushed it out of the way, stroking her cheek as I went. Her eyes peered into my own, which were practically glowing.
When I looked at her lips I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. I had never done so in public, not a serious kiss at least with Bella. Though, I wouldn't exactly call this public. There was hardly anyone around. So, I decided to take a chance.
I placed my hand on her cheek as I slowly lowered my lips to hers. I wanted to give her time to pull away if she wanted to. Our lips touched lightly once, twice and then a third time. I brushed the tip of my nose against hers, a small smile playing across my lips. I loved kissing her, in any way. She looked up at me with half lidded eyes and I knew what she wanted. She wanted the same thing that I did. I pressed my mouth to hers again, winding my fingers in her hair to hold her close.
This was different from kisses we had shared before. This was more intense, more passionate, more... loving. Or at least I felt that way to me. One of my hands slid down her back, rubbing it gently. Her arms wrapped fully around my neck, lifting on her toes to deepen the kiss further.
When she pulled away, Bella was panting softly. I realized that it had started to snow around us, tiny flakes of white fluff floating around our heads. Little bits of it were in her hair, and I gently brushed it away, just looking for an excuse to touch her again. A single flake floated down, landing on her slightly moist, red, bottom lip. Before it could melt away I swooped down and kissed it off her lips. She gasped softly, her body pressing against mine. "Jasper, lets go home."
I nodded and took her hand, leading her to the truck. I opened the door, silently cursing myself. I had gone too far and scared her off. I slid into the driver's seat. But, instead of pressing herself to the opposite door, like I expected her to, she came closer to me. Her soft lips descended on my neck, kissing softly.
"Bella... I thought..." I said, barely above a whisper. I wasn't sure what I was going to say but it didn't really matter.
"Take me home and warm me up." She whispered against my now overheated flesh.
She didn't have to tell me twice.
I was going to write a lemon in Jasper's point of view, and started to, but it didn't feel right. But, trust me, it's coming. There will be a lemon in the next chapter.
I've seen snow a grand total of three times in my life. Twice it didn't stick and the one time it did it was for like 4 hours. So, if snow thing is a little off, I'm sorry. Sleet tends to stick to your hair and face, which I've had a lot more experience with, so that's what I'm basing it off of.
Jasper seems to have some pretty strong feelings towards Bella already. Though, it makes sense if you think about it. They've lived together for years, they've been friends for just as long. Like Jasper said, he's the kind of guy that jumps all in. I wonder how it'll go...