***Thank you soo much to everyone who has read and reviewed! The story is really going to start getting interesting in the next couple of chapters!. Let me know what you think!***
"Bella, come on. It's time to get out of bed." A soft, yet husky voice whispered.
Bella's brown eyes opened slightly as a gentle hand rocked her body back and forth. The soft white color of the walls lit up as the sun poured through the window, illuminating the room around her. The room wasn't hers yet it still brought her a sense of comfort as the familiar objects of Edward's room came into view.
"What time is it?" She mumbled as she rolled over so she could see him.
"Time to get my sister married." Edward yawned, his arms shooting out from either side of him as he stretched. "And time for you to get into that sexy dress of yours."
"Oh please." Bella rolled her eyes as she sat up.
"You look damn good in and you know it." Edward leaned over to kiss her forehead.
Bella shook her head as she hopped off of Edward's bed, trying not to notice his green eyes following her as she walked across his bedroom in just her underwear and a tank top. Her head as still spinning from the night before, as she unzipped the garment bag that held her dress. The night had started with dinner out with Edward, and ended with a surprise trip back to Edward's house for a late night dose of desert.
Esme, Carlisle, and Alice were already at the cabin where the wedding would take place and had been there since the night before; which gave Edward and Bella the privacy for a perfect night in. The thought of Edward leaving kisses all over her body sent shivers down her spine as she slipped into the dress.
"Are you cold?" He whispered as he came up behind her, his hand resting on the zipper that she couldn't quite grasp.
"Not anymore." She grinned, and tilted her head back as Edward left gentle kisses along her neckline.
"I wish we could go back to bed." He whispered as he nibbled lightly at her ear.
"I know." She sighed as she reluctantly stepped away from him. "I don't think that the maid of honor and the best man can show up to the wedding fashionably late."
"Or can we?" Edward wiggled his eyebrows at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Edward Cullen, don't you start." She giggled as he pressed her against the wall. "I have to get my hair done before the limo shows up."
"Your hair looks fine."
"If you were going to nest in it sure it is." She kissed his nose as she slipped out of his grasp. "Now let me go get pretty."
"You're beautiful just the way you are." He called after her as she made her way into the bathroom across the hall.
A sigh escaped his lips as he pulled his tux out of his closet, placing it on top of the mattress as his cell phone rang. He tried to guess which one of his family members names would be on displayed on the screen as he reached and grabbed it from its charger.
"Hello?" He said as he rested the phone on his shoulder in an effort to get dressed.
"Edward, I'm sorry to bother you… its Tanya." The sweet sing-song voice of his partner's voice came through the receiver.
"Tanya, hi, what's going on?"
"I know it's your sisters wedding and everything but the Professor wanted me to give you a call."
Great, he thought.
"No bad news I hope?" He eyed the entranceway to his bedroom as he sat down on the bed, knowing that Bella wouldn't be happy if she knew he was talking to Tanya.
"No everything is fine." She chuckled lightly. "He wants us to get an event planned for the new music groups that are starting and I was thinking we could meet up one night after rehearsals? I know that we are both going to be in different places over the next week and I don't see how we would get anything done."
"Well we have planning periods in between rehearsals, we'll figure it out." He knew that if he ended up out with Tanya somewhere that Bella would raise hell, and she wanted to keep things peaceful between them. He couldn't loose her.
"I wouldn't keep you long if we did, I don't want to upset a certain special someone…if there is a special someone."
Are you serious? He tried not to laugh.
"Well let's try to meet during one of the planning periods, and if we can't get it done then we will have to figure something else out." He said, avoiding answering her question.
"Alright, that sounds good to me." Tanya sighed, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Alright, I have to go." Edward stood up as Bella came back into the room. "I will see you Monday."
"Who was that?" She asked as he snapped the phone shut.
"Someone from work, they need a major event planned for all of the new comers to the music hall and I apparently have to have a hand in it."
"They needed to bother you about that on the weekend?" Bella eyed him curiously. "Do they need to bother you on the day of your sisters wedding?"
"I know, I know." He sighed and finished buttoning his shirt. "If I had any control over them trust me…"
"Was it Tanya?" Bella asked, staring at him through the mirror as she applied her eyeliner.
"Bella…" Edward warned, feeling the tension rise in the air.
"Don't take that tone of voice with me Edward Cullen." Bella's eyes were dark with anger as she turned to face him. "I am allowed to be upset that she makes up some bullshit reason for her to call so she can try to get you out somewhere! I understand that you have to work with her, but she doesn't need to be bothering you on your days off unless there is some sort of emergency."
"Bella, it's not like I called her OK? She called me!"
"You didn't have to answer it Edward." Bella leaned against his dresser with her hands on her hips.
"I didn't know the number Bells, there are a lot of people from the University that call me and I don't always have everyone's numbers. It could have been my boss for crying out loud."
"Even if it was, did you have to answer it?"
Edward sighed and paced back and forth in front of his bed. "I really wish you wouldn't get this angry about it."
"Can you see why I am though?"
"Yes Bella, I can. I know what her intentions might be, but I need you to trust me here OK? Stuff like this might happen and I may end up having to go out with people from work."
"Does it have to be just the two of you?"
"It wouldn't be Bella. She tried to get me to go out with her and I told her no, I wouldn't do that to us."
"Then why do you sound so angry?"
"It just that shit keeps coming up like this between us and I thought that after the first couple of times it would calm down and we would just be able to work through it, but it isn't and I don't know if that's a good thing or not."
"What are you saying?" Bella asked, trying to ignore the increase in her heart rate.
"I don't know Bella. We both agreed that we were ok with the complications that our situation would cause and I had already told you that you were going to need to put a lot of trust in me."
"Do you know how hard that is for me?"
"What have I done to make you think over wise?" He frowned as he watched her bite her lip. "Oh please don't bring that back up. We talked about that Bella; I thought we had worked through that."
"I know we have Edward." Bella sighed. "It just doesn't help any when I have to think about having to put trust in you like that. It makes me nervous, and I have trouble dealing with that sometimes."
"Well what do you want me to do about this Bella? Things are only going to get more complicated as life goes on for the both of us, and if you cant handle things now what is going to happen later on down the line?"
"I don't know." Bella said quickly, her gaze cast down on the floor.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this now, the limo's here and Alice's wedding isn't the place for an argument."
"Fine, if that's how you want to handle it then what can I do?" Bella huffed, grabbing her purse off of the dresser before making her way downstairs without him.
The awkward stress grew between Bella and Edward as they rode side by side in the limo together, not a word passed between them as they pulled up in front of the cabin.
"Bella, please don't be mad at me." Edward whispered as they walked inside, being immediately approached by Edward's family.
"I don't know if that is possible for me right now." She turned to look at him before heading towards Alice's dressing room. "I understand where we had to be today, but it set me off when you took the time to gab with Tanya yet when you and I have a serious problem it gets put on the back burner. You knew this was complicated, you knew that some extra effort was going to have to be put towards this and you don't seem to want to. How do you think that makes me feel?"
"Bella do not walk away from me!" Edward tried to keep his voice down as he hurried after her, catching her just as she reached the door to Alice's dressing room.
"You don't grab me like that." She spat as she ripped her arm out of his grasp.
"Bella, can you stop for just a minute please?" He pleaded and pulled her into one of the rooms down the hallway.
"Edward I am allowed to be upset OK? There is a large amount of stress being placed on me and I'm sorry… It's just making me really sensitive to everything right now." Bella ran a hand over her face. "She just really plucks my nerves for some reason."
"Oh trust me, I'm on to her." Edward chuckled lightly.
"I know you are." Bella sighed. "I just have to learn to not let it get to me. I just get upset when I think about things like that event and how I can't go with you to anything like that."
"I know Bella." He whispered as he pulled her into a hug. "But we are going to go out there and knock them dead right?"
A smile lit up Bella's face as she looked up at him, "As long as I don't trip down the isle."
"The floor is carpeted, so you have a better chance of that not happening." Edward chuckled.
"So we're OK?" Bella bit her lip nervously.
"We're more than OK," he whispered and kissed her deeply.
"There you two are!" Jasper exclaimed as he pushed the door opened, causing them both to jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Oh my, so embarrassing. Bella thought as a bright red hue rushed over her face.
"Not at all, Bella and I were just having a chat." Edward said smoothing, causing Jasper to snicker.
"Oh I bet you were." Jasper winked at Bella, causing the reddened glow on her face to grow deeper. "Well take a breather love birds, it's time to get me hitched!"
"That's my queue." Edward kissed Bella quickly before following Jasper to the door. "I love you."
"I love you too." She squeezed his hand before letting it go, keeping a few paces behind them as she followed the two men out the door. She smiled as Edward glanced back before heading into the main hall of the cabinet.
"Bella, there you are!" Alice exclaimed as she walked out of the dressing room with Esme in tow. "Thank goodness! I am so nervous!"
"You're going to be fine!" Bella smiled as she wrapped her friend in a hug. "You look beautiful."
"Girl you're giving me some competition!" Alice laughed nervously.
"You both look beautiful!" Esme gushed as she hugged them both.
"I agree." Carlisle said as he approached his daughter. "Are we ready?"
"Yes." Alice breathed deeply. "Let's do this thing."
Bella squeezed Alice's hand before taking her place behind Alice and Carlisle, gathering up the fabric of her train as they started the procession.
The music started playing as soon as Alice stepped foot in the hall, everyone standing up as she walked by. The numerous pairs of eyes on her face weren't bothering her at all, and she owed that all to Edward. The smile on his face was undeniable; all of the love that he had for was expressed through the curve of his lips.
Even with all of the commotion from the procession, his gaze didn't falter from her at all. His green eyes followed her as she released Alice's train and too her place directly across from Edward. She tried to concentrate on the ceremony taking place right in front of her, but her attention was elsewhere. He had never looked at her like that before; a look of complete content and happiness washed over his face.
"Do you Jasper Whitlock take Alice Cullen to be your lawful wedded wife…?"
She swore she saw my grin as Jasper said 'I do".
"And do you Alice Cullen take Jasper Whitlock to be your law wedded husband..?"
I love you. He mouthed as smiled at her.
God Edward, I love you too. It took everything Bella had for her to stay put and not run over and kiss him right then and there.
"Ladies and gentleman, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Whitlock!" The justice announced, shooting Bella out of her day dream.
"I love you too." She whispered and hooked her arm in his as they started down the isle after Alice and Jasper.
"You saw that huh?"
"Yes sir, I did. I was fidgeting through the whole ceremony."
"At least you didn't trip." He smiled at her.
"We haven't made it all the way down the isle yet, you could be speaking too soon." She chuckled and tightened her grip around his arm.
"Don't worry; I'll be there to catch you." He whispered, causing her to shiver.
"Bella, Edward! Oh my goodness I cant believe it! I'M MARRIED!" Alice exclaimed as soon as they made it into the hallway.
"I know sweetie, congratulations!" Bella smiled and hugged her friend tightly. "I am so happy for you!"
"Gosh my mind is going in a billion places at once!" Alice grinned and turned to hug Edward. "Did you ever think that you would see the day big brother?"
"I knew the minute you met Jasper this was going to happen." Edward smiled genuinely at his sister and squeezed her tight.
"Maybe you follow in my footsteps one day." Alice winked at him.
"Alice...I…"
"Alice baby, we have to get out there. They want to get the post wedding shots before we head to the reception."
"I have to go…love you guys! See you at the reception!"
"Are you OK there?" Bella asked, rubbing her arm against Edward's shoulder lightly.
Edward nodded, wrapping an arm around Bella as they started down the hallway towards the reception hall.
"Are you sure? You've gone quiet on me and you're actually looking a little paler than normal." Bella nudged him in the ribs with her elbow in an effort to get him out of whatever trance he seemed to be in.
"I was just thinking about what Alice just said."
"She was just joking Edward." Bella said calmly, trying to ignore the panic that as rising within her.
"Have you ever thought about that though?"
"What, about getting married?"
"Yes." Edward stopped walking just short of the reception hall. "Is that something you want to happen one day?"
"Well sure, one day." Bella shrugged.
"What she said just got me thinking you know? I just wanted to see where you stood as far as what you wanted in the future…I just didn't want to put you through this whole ordeal for nothing you know?"
Bella smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"I love you Bella Swan."
"I love you two Edward Cullen."
"Hey, knock it off you two!" Jasper hollered as he and Alice walked down the hallway.
"Oh you two are ones to talk!" Bella smiled as she let go of Edward.
"Hey, we have an excuse!" Jasper said as he squeezed his brand new bride's hand. "You two on the other hand need to get a room."
"We might take you up on that." Edward winked, causing the newlywed couple to laugh.
"OK, that's enough!" Alice shook her head as she laughed. "Let's get in there and get some grub, I'm starving!"
"It's amazing, we get married and all they can think about is food." Jasper shook his head as Alice hooked her arm around Bella's and led her inside the reception hall.
"Hey, doing your hair and makeup is tough work." Edward chuckled as he received a confused look from Jasper. "Not that I know from experience."
"I'll take your word for it." Jasper said as he eyed Edward. "Are you OK man? You seem kind of jittery."
"I am a little nervous." Edward confessed, glancing around quickly before he started speaking again. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, let's take a walk." Jasper nodded towards the far end of the hallway.
Edward took one last look behind him before following Jasper down the hall, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked beside him.
"So what's eating you Cullen?" Jasper asked once they were far away from the reception hall.
"I was kind of thinking about what Alice had said earlier, you know, about me and Bella possibly following in your footsteps one day."
"Go on." Jasper remained surprisingly calm as he listened to his new brother in law.
"How long did it take for you to decide you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Alice?"
"From the moment I saw her." Jasper smiled. "I wanted to propose to her on our second date. I just knew right then and there that she was the one for me. There was so much else going on though, as much as I knew I wanted to do it, I also knew it wasn't the right time. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know…part of me feels like I am out of my ever loving mind by thinking what I have been…"
"Are you thinking about proposing to Bella?" Jasper tried to keep the tone in his voice down as shock shot through his body.
"I don't know Jasper; I mean the thought has been circling through my mind. I just know it's early, Bella and I have been off and on for months…it's just with everything that's going on, I want to prove to her how serious I am."
"Well there are other ways of doing that you know. But I can't make that decision Edward, I am hopeless romantic. I would say you do what your heart tells you to do. The only thing I would be worried about would be her walking around campus with a ring on her finger and no explanation as to who got it for her…well it could raise some more flags."
"Maybe I should just give up the TA thing, see about teaching at an arts school or something." Edward frowned. "I don't want someone else dictating to me who I can love and how much I can love them."
"I know it's frustrating. It's just that Washington State is one of the finest schools out there, you don't want to miss a great opportunity either."
"I know, I was just thinking." He sighed and rested his hands on the windowsill attached to one of many windows that were scattered down the hallway.
"Edward, it's kind creepy that you told me this. Alice said something to me the other day about the two of you…she said she felt it coming. It was almost like she…"
"Like she knew?"
"That's it exactly." Jasper nodded.
"Yea she does that a lot."
"No don't let that sway any decision that you make, the only opinion you would need to consider is your own. You just need to make sure you think it all through."
"The only thing that is standing in my way is that damn school." Edward pounded his fist on the windowsill in anger.
"You know there are other things you can get from the TA program there. You don't have to be a professor. Some people get the grants that they have after you get through the program, and then go on to do their own thing. I've been thinking about it, and maybe you should to."
"You can do that?"
A smile crept on Jasper's lips as he nodded. "I was thinking about starting my own arts school when I get out of here. If I get the right grants and everything that I need. It can be done; you just have to know what you're doing."
"That could work." Edward's green eyes lit up with excitement. "It would take a little bit of planning but it could work."
"Glad I could help." Jasper smiled. "If you do decide to go through with it, let me know. I got Alice's ring from a jeweler that does a lot of unique designs."
"I might take you up one that."
"Good." Jasper hand rested on Edward's shoulder. "Now let's get back in there before they send a search party after us."