Author's Note: Thank you's as always; you guys make this worthwhile.

Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

Fourteen

"So, I have some news."

It made me nervous when she said that. I had a feeling my luck had run out; she was going to tell me she wasn't going to be able to come out to New York in September after all. Already, she had only been planning on being here for a week; that's all I was getting with her. And not even that since she was going to be so busy helping Alice get her show ready.

"Alice has asked me to come to New York with her when she goes."

I tried and probably failed to look as casual as possible, oh, I don't completely adore you, I don't think of your face before I fall asleep at night…"You mean on the eighth? Of August?" I had every date even remotely related to Bella's trip committed to memory.

"Yeah."

"Did you say yes?" Hope was pouring out of me; I wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Yeah, so I'll be there for a little over a month."

I laughed; I couldn't believe this was happening. She was going to be here for a month, over a month, actually. "That's…wonderful." I nodded, mostly to myself, "that's really good."

She sighed. "Good, I was afraid you might not want me there that long."

How the hell could she think that? "Why?"

"I…I don't know. I just thought you might get tired of having me around, you know."

I don't think she had any idea just how much I wanted to see her. "That's not going to happen. I don't think I could ever get tired of having you around." I grinned crookedly, "I can't wait for you to get here." I meant it; I was literally counting down the days until she was here. And now she'd be here five weeks sooner than planned.

It was a little embarrassing just how much I learned about Fashion Week since Bella told me she was coming. I knew when it was; I knew it was a week later this year than normal. I knew how many tents there were, where and when Alice's show was. I also knew that all these months of planning were for a show that would last less than twenty minutes with about a dozen models.

I wondered how involved Bella would be with the show once she got here. Since her school let out, she was spending a couple of afternoons a week in Los Angeles with Alice. I didn't mind that much, I knew I couldn't expect her to spend all her available hours with me, but I hated that we were so far apart on top of being so busy. I hated the time difference; I hated that I couldn't really be with her, that I didn't come home to her at night. Sometimes I felt like I might snap and confess my feelings to her at any moment, but I always stopped myself. It just didn't feel like the right way to go about it; I wanted to have her here in front of me. I wanted…to stop thinking about it for one second because I was making myself miserable.

I think I was starting to get on Jasper's nerves. He knew almost as much about Bella and her friends as I did; he was interested, but only to a degree.

In all the time I'd known him, he'd only had one serious girlfriend and he didn't really date around as far as I could tell. That wasn't for lack of interest on the part of the female population; I'd heard enough women in the office to know that much. They also seemed to think he was a little intimidating, which just made me laugh. I couldn't distance myself enough to see what they saw.

"Hey, so Alice was wondering if Jasper wanted to go to the show."

It had been a week since Bella told me she was coming to New York early and tonight we both had a blessed evening to ourselves. I thought about her question; Jasper didn't really strike me as a fashion show kind of guy, but then again, neither was I. "Sure, I could probably get him to go." That was less enthusiastic than I was aiming for, but about the best I could do.

"She could use another person in her cheering section."

"Are you supposed to cheer at these things?"

"I –," she paused, looking at something off to her left. "Just a minute, Emmett's calling me." She stood up to grab her phone. It was quiet for a moment and then Bella said something that sounded too rushed for a casual conversation. She leaned into the screen without sitting down. She sounded breathless, "I have to go, Rose went into labor! Sorry, I'll talk to you tomorrow ok? Bye!" She stood up and then leaned down again. "I'm really sorry!"

I laughed, "it's ok. Tell her I said hi and congratulations."

Bella slowed down a second and smiled brightly, "I will, I'll talk to you later." I heard a little crash as she dropped something on the floor before disconnecting the video feed.

I knew she wouldn't be back any time soon, so I called Jasper. I meant for him to just come over, but we ended up in a small bar near my apartment. He was looking a little ragged and by his fourth beer, he was getting confessional.

"Maybe you should take some time off? You work seven days a week." I said, nursing my second beer of the evening.

"It's not that…I don't know, I have nothing else but work…" He looked at his bottle.

I hadn't realized that Jasper was lonely; I always thought he was happy wrapping his life around his career. That's the way he'd always been; that's the way I was before I met Bella. Before I could think of anything to say, I felt a slim arm wrap around my shoulders. "Hello gentlemen," Tanya looked at me. "I haven't seen you out much lately."

"He's been preoccupied," Jasper said, taking a swallow of his drink. I shot him a look.

"Preoccupied?" It had piqued her interest.

I leaned forward, trying to shake off her arm, but it wouldn't budge. "Yeah, you know, work and everything." I had the urge to leave, but I didn't want to leave Jasper here with the predator unattended.

Tanya was looking at Jasper now, "had a rough day?"

He had gotten another beer. He nodded, taking a long drink.

"You know what you need? A shot - let's do a shot together." She leaned on the bar, getting the bartender's attention; she asked for three shots of tequila.

I moved around her to talk to Jasper. "I don't think this is a good idea, why don't I just take you home, ok?" Considering Jasper wasn't a small guy; he had never been able to hold his alcohol well. I used to tease him in college for being such a lightweight.

He shook his head slowly, "I'm fine. I'm not as drunk as you think you are…as I think I am…" he trailed off. He turned to Tanya who had three shots sitting in front of her; before I could stop him he grabbed one and drank it. "To…me!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him up; he was slouched over, but standing nonetheless. "Ok, time to go."

"But you haven't had yours yet," Tanya pouted.

"You can have it." I pulled Jasper along behind me, not waiting to hear Tanya's response.

"I don't want to go home yet." Jasper mumbled after I got him outside.

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't care."

I half walked, half dragged him back to my apartment; it was easier than getting him back to his own home across town. I unlocked the door and Jasper walked right to my couch and slumped over, his body across the cushions, his feet still on the floor. "Sorry I screwed up your night."

"You didn't." I went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water. When I came back, he was sitting up, resting his head back on the couch. "Drink this," I handed him the glass.

"I'm dizzy."

"I know."

He drained the glass without complaint and then asked for another. Once he was done with that one he went to the bathroom; when he came back he was sans his tie and shoes. I didn't really know the right way to ask, so I just asked. "Are you alright?"

He spoke toward the ceiling, "yeah, I don't know…yeah. It's just…Maria's getting married…" She was his ex, the would-be love of his life. When the two of them were together, she never wanted to be married, never wanted children. Jasper did. "I'm gonna go to sleep." I stood up so he could stretch himself out; I grabbed him a blanket. He was asleep before I put it over him.

Author's Note: So, just to build a little anticipation...Alice and Bella will be going to New York in the next chapter :)