And you crashed into the city with a smile upon your face,

And a body charged with music from the earphones in your case,

The pressure keeps on growing but paradise,

Paradise is on its way

-Paolo Nutini

BPOV

I was standing in Masen's living room, getting ready to calmly discuss with him the reason he kissed me when he stretched. A sliver of his extremely toned stomach appeared beneath the hem of his shirt, just enough to give me a peek at the trail of copper colored hairs that led to the land of plenty, and believe me, it was PLENTY. I most definitely felt that pressing up against me when we were...uh...yeah.

Something flared hot and fast deep down inside me. I could feel my hands balling into fists, my nails digging into my palm, and my jaw clenching with...what? What was making me react like this? I thought about it for a few seconds, not really knowing. Then I thought back to all of the romance novels I'd ever read, you know the ones-sold in airport bookstores for all the middle aged women flying to see their children and grandchilfren, who have never had a satisfying experience in their life. Kind of like me.

What I was feeling was desire. Pure, unadulturated desire. I wanted this man in front of me. Not in a mental, emotional way. Not like I wanted Jake. This was a burning, rip-his-clothes-off-and-make-him-scream-my-name type of attraction.

And then the sonofabitch smirked.

Suddenly, things changed. No longer was I desirous of him and his delicious body. Now I was pissed.
Anger was something I was familiar with. It was a daily part of my life, something that lived in the back of my head that only rarely got the chance to come forward and surge through my blood, making my fingers tingle just like they did after a big drag off a cigarette. I liked it. And I didn't.

I didn't like it because I really had no legitimate excuse to be angry. Which made me angrier, but more at myself this time as opposed to the gorgeous, annoying man standing in front of me. Not that I was going to let him in on that little revelation.

I liked it because it made things interesting. Angry Bella could go one of two ways: fiesty and fun or scary and no fun.

"Yes?" he said, his eyebrow slightly cocked over a barely opened eye. Bastard. He so knows what I'm thinking.

I changed my mind. I didn't want to know what he'd been thinking. I wanted to get as far away from him as possible, as quickly as possible. Why? Still not entirely sure. But I did.

"The roast is in the oven. The sauce is finished, it just needs to be heated slightly and poured into the serving dish when you intend to serve the roast. Its going to take an hour and a half to cook, so you have time. The sides are made and will take 20 minutes, which is exactly the time the roast needs to sit before slicing. Call Alice when you pull it out of the oven."

As I finished my rant on proper roast preparation, I turned and left him with a slightly confused look on his face.

That would teach him to kiss me. Jerk.

I grabbed my bag off the chair and reached down and hooked my fingers in my Chucks on my way out the door. Which I may or may not have slammed behind me as I left.

As I stomped down the hall to the elevator my phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my back pocket where I had stashed it after I talked to Jake, and answered as I jammed the down button on the wall.

"Hello?" I said rather tersely into the phone. I was hopping up and down on one foot while trying to put my shoe on. I was an awesome multitasker.

"Bella!" Cried Alice over the phone, sounding ridiculously happy about something.

"Hey, Al," I said, trying not to sound as pissed and confused as I was. She hadn't made me feel like this so I shouldn't take it out on her.

"So, how much food do you have over there?" Apparently there wasn't going to be any "Hi, how are you's?" in this conversation.

"Ummmm," I said, now hopping up and down on the other foot. "Like a shitton. And yes, that's an accurate unit of measurement."

"Good! Cause Emmett just called and I invited him for dinner, since Masen also hit him. So its a party! Do you want me to bring you a change of clothes or are you coming home first?"

What. The. Fuck. Did she just say...?

"Well, Scarlett, I wasn't really planning on staying and eating...I thought I'd just, you know, cook and leave since this was a whole apology dinner thing, and I did the hitting. I mean, its not like he could forget. He has a very swollen nose and he's sporting one hell of a black eye..."

Which was actually sexy as all hell now that I think back on it. There's something intriguing about men who have wounds that are so very obviously from fighting.

"Bella, you have to eat with us! You cooked!"

Jesus, how long was this elevator gonna take? I took a deep breath and bent down to tie my shoes.

"Look, girlie, I appreciate it, I do, but I don't want impose or anything." Well said, B, very well said. Kudos.

"Bella, if you're worried that this is going to be awkward and coupley you don't need to. Emmett is coming too, remember?" I could almost see her smiling in that smug way she has when she correctly interprets your excuse and gets rid of it.

Fuck.

"I'm not getting out of this am I?" I said, standing up and staring at the elevator doors.

"Not a snowflake's chance in hell!" Damn she was cheery.

"Well, alright then," I said as I heard the elevator ding. "Let me come home and shower. Then we can head over." I sighed, resigning myself to how my evening was playing out. "At least this way I know everything will be done correctly."

"Yay! See you soon!" She cried and hung up the phone. The elevator doors opened and I walked in.
Fuck.

"ALICE!" I yelled from the living room.

"WHAT?!" She yelled back from her room.

"We don't have any liquor!" I was staring at the very, very empty liquor cabinet in the new bar that had shown up in the corner of the living room in the time I was gone. Since me getting ready took all of forty minutes, I was now showered and dressed in an Alice approved outfit consisting of a sheer, cream colored blouse over my lone silk tank top, which just happened to be a very pretty emerald color. My super dark, super skinny Levi's with the zippers at the ankles and my black, sequin encrusted five inch heels completed the outfit.

The top showed off my figure quite nicely if I did say so myself, and I did, and the jeans and shoes made my legs look about a million miles long. Plus, you could see hints of ink all over my torso through the shirt. It was like a burlesque show—sexy because it was all about the illusion of naked flesh.

I heard Alice's heels click down the wooden hallway. She was coming to investigate.

I turned around and gasped. Alice looked stunning. She was classically outfitted tonight, a light brown tweed pencil skirt hugging her curves in the sweet yet seductive way, while a sky blue linen blouse with flutter sleeves made her skin look like porcelain and her gray eyes twinkle. Brown t-strap heels complete the look, and made her about four inches taller, which was a little weird.

"Really, Bella," she said,her hands were on her hips, a stern look upon her face. She was shaking her head at me, which is when I realized that her hair was only half done and she wasn't wearing any makeup yet. Ah. Hence the exasperation.

"There's wine in there. Have some of that if you really need to right this second. But not the green bottle! That's for tonight." She started to walk away, presumably to go finish getting ready, but I stopped her when I pointed out that wine was not liquor. It was wine. Duh.

"Alice, I hate wine. Like, seriously. Its gross."

Que the slow motion turn. When she faced me again she looked shocked and a little horrified. "What. Did. You. Say?" Her speech was halting, as if she was really trying to believe that's what she had heard and was failing.

"Wine. Is. Gross." I said, matching her tone. I thought I had been phenomenally clear when I said it the first time.

She sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Bella, what kind of girl are you? You don't like wine? That's against the code!"

"What code?" I asked, looking at her like she was crazy. "The pirates code? Cause that's more guidelines than actual rules, if you remember correctly." That got a small half smile out of her, before the look of consternation came back. "Besides, I'm a terrible girl. We've had this conversation."

"I don't know what code!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "The one that states all girls like wine!"

I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows, giving her a look before saying, "Seriously? I'm pretty sure I have a neon sign above my head, blinking "Not all girls" with a big arrow pointing at me."

"Oh, alright," she conceded. "So you're not at all like every other girl. There's a liquor store down the street. Go get what you need, crazy lady. I need to finish getting ready!" She blew me a kiss as she walked back down the hall. I just shook my head and grabbed my purse, which had been borrowed from Alice. She insisted that my Elvis bag, while cool, was a terrible purse. I was now sporting a red one with chain straps and stud details. I was very much in love.

I walked out the door and grabbed the elevator, which didn't seem to take nearly as long to get to me as it had at Masen's. As I stepped out into the fading sunlight I put my shades on and started towards the supposed liquor store. Although it wasn't really a liquor store in the way I thought of them. It was a tiny shop that sold all kinds of things.

As I walked in and took off my glasses, hooking them in the front of my shirt as per usual, I noticed that the guy behind the counter was delicious.

He was at least six foot two, if not taller. Broad shoulders made his white Hanes v-neck look damn good, and his shaggy blond hair drew attention to his electric blue eyes every time it fell into them. I could only see his head and shoulders because of the tall shelves between us, but what an amazing view it was. He looked up and caught me staring. I could feel myself blushing but couldn't seem to look shot a quick flash of brilliant white teeth and a wink my way before he continued on with ringing up the man in front of him.

I wandered down the aisle, glancing at the contents of the shelves, dragging my fingers across the boxes and bags and bottles as I walked by them . I know I shouldn't be using liquid courage to get through this dinner, but Masen made me nervous. And since my storm out this afternoon after the kiss was going to be completely cancelled out by me coming back for dinner, I needed all the help I could get.

I glanced up to see Mr. V-Neck watching me as I perused the wares of his shop. I stared back, surprising myself with my boldness. I never did this. Although, granted, I wasn't used to having someone stare at me, either. When I went places back home, chances were I was with Jake. And him being the big son of a gun that he is, he intimidated most people.

"Can I help ye?" He called out to me.

Holy. Shit. Homeboy was Scottish. I was offically in trouble. Why? Because I love accents. Seriously. And while Masen's accent was delicious, I had a soft spot for a Scots accent. So not only was he nice to look at, he was great to listen to.

"Yes, actually. Where can I find the Jack?" I saw his eyes widen as I spoke. Oh that's right. I'm the one with an out of place accent here.

"Aye, hen, its just in front of you. So then-You're an American?" He ran his hand through his hair to push back the stray locks falling in his eyes.

Holy. Shit. His forearm was covered in a huge, colorful tattoo that ran up and over his bicep, disappearing under his sleeve.

I glanced down and saw that had I not been staring at him, and his newly revelaed ink, I would've noticed my old friend Mr. Daniels staring me in the face. I grabbed a fifth and walked towards the register.

"Yes, I am. And you're Scottish, yes? From...I'm not sure. But not Edinburgh."

He smiled at me, his blue eyes twinkling. "Ye're right, I'm not. I'm from Paisley. How'd ye know?"

I blushed again and looked away. Time to think of an excuse so I didn't have to explain that my dream man was a fictional Highland warrior from the eighteenth century. "I spent one summer showing a Glaswegian around California. I recognize a highlander when I hear one."

He nodded, the "ah, I see," look on his face. He reached across the counter towards me, pulling the bottle back to him so he could ring me up. I noticed then that both his arms were inked, the one I had seen earlier turning out to be all different kinds of flowers snaking their way up his arm, the other side seemed to be a large Celtic knot bird of some kind-all I could see of it was the tail feathers curling down to the inside of his elbow.

"So, what are ye doin' here, if you don' mind my askin'? Yer a long way from home, are ye no?" Smile, smile, stare, stare. Damn, he was fine.

"Uh...I'm..." I started, desperately trying to remember what the hell I was doing here. He was making my brain stop working. "Oh! I'm an exchange student. I'm here for a year studying at Kingston." Yes, that's what I was doing. Take that, slow brain!

"Beautiful an' intelligent? Seems you American girls are just the complete package." He rolled his 'r's' on the word girls, making it sound more like gerrrils. Dear Lord.

I knew he was probably thickening up the accent because I so obviously enjoyed it, but I really didn't mind. I could listen to this man read the damn phone book and be happy about it.

Not knowing how to respond to something like that I just smiled and looked down. When in doubt, smile.

"So what's your name, hen? Or are ye gon ta walk out on me and leave me wonderin'?" He smiled at me and took the money I seemed to have dug out.

"Bella. I'm-I'm Bella." I stuck my hand out awkwardly across the counter. He shook it and put my change in it.

"Well, my name is Jamie, and it was a pleasure to meet you, Bella." He smiled and held my hand a little longer than was normally polite, but I so didn't mind. With a final squeeze he let me go and I turned and walked towards the door.

"Bella!" He called behind me.

I turned to look over my shoulder. "Yes?"

"Do you like music?" I just looked at him, not fully understanding the question because I was lost in the muscles showing through his tight shirt. He blushed and looked away briefly before meeting my eyes again. "I only ask because my mates and I are playing tomorrow and weel, I'd love ta see ye again."

"I love music. Where and when?"

"Its a little place called Barfly in Camden. We go on at eight."

I made a mental note of the name while looking over my shoulder at him. I smiled what I felt must be a flirty smile, although I had no way of knowing, having never done it before, and slipped my sunglasses on.

"See you there, handsome," I said and walked out the door.

As I walked back to the apartment, I felt like I had a little strut going on. He thought I was attractive. He made it obvious. A super hot guy thought I was hot.

Weird. But it was such a confidence boost. I do my best to come off confident and self assured, but when it comes to how I feel about myself...I'm the cute one. Not the hot one, not the bombshell, the cute one.

I got in the elevator and headed up to our floor, thinking about Mr. Delicious. When the elevator stopped, I was so lost in my thoughts I automatically started walking out, thinking I had reached my floor, only to run straight into Jasper.

"Whoa! Easy there, Lady Bella!" He said, his hands on my shoulders steadying me.

"Sorry, Jasper! I didn't see you there!" I blushed, realizing that I had stopped on Jasper's floor and not mine.

He joined me in the elevator and hit the button for my floor. I stood there with my sunglasses still on, clutching my brown paper bag. I felt like some freshman trying to sneak liquor into my dorm in front of the RA.

"Whatcha got in the bag, girl?" Jasper said in the slow, Southern drawl of his. "The way you're clutchin' at it, why, it looks like it must be elixir of youth or something." He smiled at me, all mischievous.

"Oh, this?" I said, feigning innocence and waving the bottle like it was nothing. "Just an old friend of mine. He's my date, you see." I winked at him.

He cocked his eyebrow and gave me an inquiring look, his eyes twinkling. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. He gallantly ushered me out and followed me down the hall.

"Your date, hmm? And I do I get to meet this gentleman? Or will you be keeping me in the dark?" I slowed down to pull my keys out of my bag, tucking Jack under my arm for safe keeping.

I opened the door and tossed my keys on the table Alice had put in the hall for just that reason. Walking down the hall I told Jasper over my shoulder, "Follow me, Rhett, and I'll make the introductions. ALICE! I'M HOME! AND YOUR LOVERBOY IS HERE TOO!" I called out, wanting to make sure she knew so I didn't get in trouble if she accidentally came out with her hair in rollers or something. Not that Alice would EVER do something like that, but hey. I figured there was no use risking it if I could cover my ass.

I walked into the living room and over to the bar, my heels clicking on the hard wood. Something about me loves the sound of high heels on a hard surface. It makes me feel girly to hear that 'click-click-click' sound as I walk. Plus, I know my ass looks fabulous when I wear heels so big confidence boost right there. Because, lets face it, if they didn't make our asses look as good as they do, we wouldn't wear the damn things.

I set the bottle down on the bar and walked around to the back side, pulling out a couple of shot glasses and setting them on the shiny, dark wood top of the bar. Jasper had come over and propped his elbows on the bar, arms crossed and leaning forward.

"Now, Lady, who is this mysterious fella I am to meet?" He smiled slowly, and it struck me again how damn good looking he was. Alice sure was lucky. My mind flashed to Jamie the Scotsman and I felt a smile spread across my own face. Jasper thought it was in answer to his and he laughed and nodded his head at me in a silent salute. Oh well. He didn't need to know.

I pulled the paper bag to me and slowly slid it down the bottle before removing it all together and tucking it behind the bar.

"Ta-da!" I said, doing the Vanna White hands. "Jasper, meet Jack. Jack," I said, addressing the bottle, "this is Jasper."

Jasper laughed and gave the bottle a long look. "Why, Bella, Jack here didn't tell me you two knew each other." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "You see," he said, his voice dropping to almost a whisper, "he and I go back a long ways and have had many adventures and long nights."

I laughed and broke the seal on the bottle, unscrewing the lid before pouring two perfect shots. Setting the bottle down and replacing the lid, I slid Jasper's to him before picking mine up.

"To fortunate meetings and new-found friends." I said, raising my glass to him with a smile on my face. He toasted me, our glasses making that delightful clink sound.

"To a lovely Lady with excellent taste," he said, the smile on his face matching the mischievous glint in his eye. I laughed, saluting him with my drink before tossing it back, setting the glass down on the bar top again, laughing at the wide-eyed surprise on Jasper's face. I always got that reaction when I proved I took shots like a bamf. What could I say? I was just a bad ass like that.

I poured myself another, motioning with the bottle to see if my new-found drinking buddy would like another. He pushed his glass closer to me in a silent 'yes' and I filled it up. We clinked again and threw them back.

"Now, Bella, if I may be so bold as to inquire as to why it was imperative for you to go and pick up our old friend before dinner? Cause the way you're carryin' on it looks like you're fixin' ta get good and liquored up tonight if things go badly." He gave the bottle a friendly pat, acknowledging our shared acquaintance, and gave me a wink as a sign of knowing what I was up to.

I groaned and put my head in my hands. Just thinking about the whole incident made me uncomfortable.

"Masen. Masen is the reason I needed a couple shots of Jack before dinner." I looked up at Jasper with my chin resting in my hands still. To my surprise, he threw his head back and laughed. I gave him an inquiring eyebrow quirk and as he wiped his eyes he started to explain.

"Bella, Masen is the reason a LOT of us need a couple shots before dinner." He continued to chuckle, his laughter slowly fading away but a small smile lingered on his face. I gave him the stink eye. I didn't think it was that funny.

He saw my laser gaze and shrugged his shoulders. "What did he do, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sighing, I reached under the bar and got a rocks glass, pouring myself a drink to sip more slowly as I prepared to relate the afternoon fiasco to Jasper.

I sipped my whiskey slowly, letting the familiar warmth travel down my throat to curl into a small ball of heat in my stomach, feeling it radiate outward to my limbs. I sighed and looked Jasper directly in the eyes.

"Motherfucker kissed me."

Que Jazzy Jeff spewing his Jack all over the bar.
"That sly son of a bitch," he said.

"MY BROTHER DID WHAT?!"

Jasper and I looked up and saw a very beautiful, very irate Alice standing in the doorway.

Oh shit.