Author's Note: Thanks for reading :). Ok, so I've decided that instead of writing a chapter or two in Alice/Jasper's point of view, I'm going to write a whole one shot story for them. I realized the more I thought about it that they had way too much to say to fit it within this story. Their meeting and everything will still be here, just not their view point.

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

Twenty

"Maybe you should wear jeans?" We were at Edward's apartment; I had gotten ready while he went home to shower and change and met him there. He answered the door looking a little like he was going to the office and I was afraid Emmett might have a field day with that. Don't get me wrong - he looked good, really good…distractingly good, but a little too formal to meet my friends. He was standing at his closet, which was bigger than mine, in just his slacks. He pulled out his favorite dark pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and looked at me.

"That works." I really had no idea how to help him pick out clothes, but I knew how good he looked in that particular outfit and I wanted to see him in it again. Edward unbuckled his pants and let them slip down; I sat on the bed to keep from pouncing on him. He stepped out of the slacks and picked them up to re-hang them while I stared blatantly.

"You know," he said, facing his closet, "I know when you're checking me out." I could tell he was grinning.

"You're nice to…check out." I managed, the pink showing on my cheeks.

He glanced over his shoulder and did the lopsided smile he did so well; I knew he could see my blush before he turned back around. He pulled his jeans on, but left them unfastened. He moved to stand between my legs as I stared. "I'm not just a piece of meat."

I shook my head.

He ran his fingertips down my bare arms; his eyes looked heavy lidded. "I have feelings too," I could see the corners of his mouth beginning to turn up; he knew he had won whatever little sexual game he'd invented.

I nodded.

I felt him touch my leg, grazing his fingertips from the top of my thigh to my knee. He played with the material at the hem of my dress, "you look beautiful today."

I had on another Alice approved outfit, actually an Alice designed outfit. Now that Fashion Week was officially starting, she demanded I wear her things when I was out of doors. It was a plum colored halter dress I'd had for a while, but I liked it. She was also beginning to design for men and had given Edward a black jacket that he'd taken to wearing everywhere.

"You don't look half bad yourself." My cell phone rang just as I was reaching up to pull Edward's face to my level. "Hi Alice," I said without looking at the caller ID.

Edward mumbled, "that's why I don't have a cell phone." He finished getting dressed much to my displeasure.

"Hi, we're almost there, we'll wait out front." She hung up without waiting for a response. As her show got closer and closer, Alice's energy level was rising; she practically vibrated now.

"She'll be out front," I said to Edward, who was slipping his shoes on and grabbing his new jacket at the same time. It wasn't really cold enough to need one, but it was light weight and he knew it would please Alice.

"Ok," he said, walking into the bathroom. I watched him finish getting ready and then look at himself in the mirror. He ran a hand through his still damp hair, but it still stuck out in random directions. I saw him shrug before he walked back into the bedroom. "Ready."

I don't think I could ever look as effortlessly good as he did.

When we got to the lobby of Edward's building I saw Alice leaning against the door of a limousine next to the driver; she was talking animatedly about something. The driver was laughing. She smiled in our direction as we walked outside. "Hi! This is Jimmy, his middle name is Stewart, isn't that cool? He's our driver for today!"

We made introductions as Jimmy opened the door; Edward and I sat on the first bench seat while Alice sat on the longest bench, tucking her feet underneath herself. She talked with almost no interruption for the entire drive.

By the time we got to the airport, my heart was beating too fast. I knew realistically I had nothing to worry about, but plain logic wasn't doing it for me apparently. Edward looked as calm as ever. Alice wanted to walk inside to meet them at baggage claim. As we waited, she recounted her conversation that morning with Emmett and Rose. "He threatened to pick her up caveman style and carry out the door so she may be a little moody today."

"A little moody?"

"Well, you know, more so than normal."

Edward chuckled quietly.

We saw Emmett before Rose; he stood a head taller than most of the people around him and he had a huge grin on his face. He held Rose's hand, dragging her toward us. When I last saw her, she was wearing billowy tops and dark colors in an attempt to hide her post baby weight. Seeing her now, my eyes widened. She had on a pretty white dress with a red patent leather belt cinched around her waist, which looked absolutely tiny. Her hair curled perfectly around her face in a way I've never seen on someone after a five hour plane ride. She slipped her sunglasses off when she saw us and waved.

"Hi!" Emmett called out, threading his way through the crowd. He grabbed Alice and me up together in a big hug. She hugged back and I just tried not to fall down.

Rose pushed past him to say hello. She smiled, "I've missed you two," she said, hugging first me and then Alice.

"You look fantastic!" Alice held her at arm's length, looking her up and down. I nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, its yoga and five pounds of underwear."

Emmett slipped an arm around her and kissed the side of her head, "no, it's just you."

"Oh!" I almost forgot that Edward was still standing quietly, just slightly behind me. I moved next to him, "Emmett, Rose, this is Edward."

They both deliberately looked him up and down with matching skeptical expressions; Emmett stepped forward first. The whole baggage claim area seemed to quiet down as he assessed him, arms crossed. I wondered if he'd purposely worn a t-shirt that would make him look bigger.

Edward reached his hand out, it hung in midair a moment before Emmett's expression changed, his perpetual grin back in place. I breathed a small sigh of relief. "Good to finally meet you!" Emmett shook his hand vigorously and then took a small step closer, his voice lowering an octave, "and if you hurt Bella, I'll kill you. Sorry, had to say it."

Edward nodded, "I understand. Good to meet you too."

Rose shook his hand without threatening him.

Emmett and Edward carried the bags, insisting to Jimmy on loading them into the back of the limousine as well. Emmett got a kick out of Jimmy's name, who for his part, was pleasant though I'm sure he'd heard all the jokes before. I made a mental note to increase his tip. We all trooped back to the hotel to relax; Rose wanted to take a cat nap. We agreed to meet in the lobby that evening for dinner.

Edward stretched out on my bed and turned on the television, patting the space next to him. I kicked off my shoes and climbed in, enjoying his warmth. He curved an arm around me; I felt him idly petting my hair.

I'm not sure what we were watching; Ingrid Bergman was in it, but that's not the important part. At some point during the movie, Edward changed positions so he was laying partially over me; his head resting on my chest, an arm around me. He had just fallen asleep. I love you. The thought came to me without provocation. He hadn't said it to me, I hadn't consciously thought about it, nothing about the day was that unusual – I just knew I loved him, was in love with him, I mean. I ran my fingers from his temple into his messy hair, trying to figure out how long I'd felt this way. On TV, Ingrid was crying. I couldn't tell if I knew I was falling in love with him all this time, or if it really had just suddenly hit me.

Edward made a small sighing sound.

The thought of being in love brought up other feelings that I'd rather not have – that I didn't deserve it, that it wasn't fair, and that Edward should be with someone with less baggage. I pushed it down and aside; I would have enough time to wallow when I got home, which was only a week away. I fixed a pillow behind my head to rest.

After not enough time, the phone was ringing; I felt around, but couldn't reach it with Edward still wrapped around me. If it's important they'll call back. I opened my eyes and noticed it had gotten dark and that I'd forgotten one important detail about that night – dinner with my best friends. I slid away from Edward, who was just waking up and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" My voice sounded rough.

"Wakey wakey, Bella," it was Alice.

"Huh?"

"It's time for dinner; can you be ready in ten?"

"Uh-,"

"Excellent, I'll knock on your door when I'm ready to head down."

Edward had turned on a lamp and was standing, stretching his arms over his head; I could see a tiny slice of hip when he did that. "Are we late?"

"No, Alice is going to knock in ten minutes."

He rolled his neck from side to side and walked into the bathroom. I grabbed a brush out of my bag and ran it quickly through my hair, which was messy enough to rival Edward's. I put a touch of make-up on to make myself look more awake and then traded places with Edward in the bathroom. I heard him answer Alice's knock; when I opened the bathroom door she was holding a pair of shoes out for me.

Down in the lobby, Rose and Emmett were waiting. Rose had changed into a little black dress that showed off her legs; Emmett was still in his jeans from earlier. "Finally, I'm starving!"

Edward smiled, holding my cell phone to his ear. He left a voicemail with Jasper, telling him where we were going and that he was welcome to come.

"Who's Jasper?" Rose asked as we made our way outside to hail a couple of cabs.

"He's a friend of mine from college, we work together now. We've been trying to get him to meet up with us, but he's never free."

"Is he single?" I saw Alice shoot Rose a threatening look.

Edward grinned, "yeah, but he doesn't really date."

Rose made a quick "hmm" sound, but didn't say anything.

We went to a little hot spot that Alice insisted we try; it was the place she went to the first night we were in New York. Emmett was a little disappointed that they served such small portions so he ordered a second dinner, plus dessert which he proclaimed the best thing he'd ever eaten. Edward and Emmett took quite a liking to each other and before dinner was over were cracking jokes at each other's expense like a couple of frat boys. Emmett seemed to especially appreciate a second male in our group.

After dinner we walked down the street for drinks and the boys almost got into a fight with a couple of over eager patrons.

While they were at the bar getting drinks, Rose, Alice, and I found a table. The whole place had a modern feel to it; everything was lucite, silver, or black and loud music was pumping through the speakers. The table was tall enough that Emmett and Edward could stand at it without having to lean down to talk to us.

"Those guys are staring," Rose said, flicking her hair over her right shoulder. Alice took an appraising glance in their direction.

"No, thanks," she muttered, making a face.

I looked for Edward and Emmett; they were still waiting at the bar.

The two men Rose mentioned got up and strode over, looking a little cocky. They wore dark suits and had too much gel in their hair. Rose groaned blatantly.

"Hello, ladies," the blonde one gave a little nod; the brunette took a step forward, standing closest to me.

"It looks like you three could use a drink," he said, looking at me pointedly.

Rose looked at him, a bored expression on her face. "My husband is bringing drinks," she waved her hand indifferently; I couldn't tell if she was showing him her ring or sending them away.

"And what about you?" The one closest to me asked, "I don't see a ring on your finger."

"She's here with someone and so am I," Alice said.

"I don't see them anywhere."

The blonde looked at Rose, "I don't see your husband around either."

"You two are certainly equal opportunists," Alice said dryly.

The blonde zeroed in on her, "we just know what we like."

Alice scoffed, "I'll pass."

The brunette's tone was soft, which made me even more nervous. "Are you going to play hard to get too?" He stroked the back of two fingers down my bare arm.

A large hand came between us and grabbed the guy's upper arm, hauling him out of the way. Edward stood several inches taller; I realized I had never seen him angry before. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark. "Is there a problem here?"

Emmett stood in the blonde guy's space, his large arms crossed in front of him.

For a split second, the men looked nervous, but recovered quickly. "Just making conversation," the blonde grinned crookedly.

Emmett leaned closer, at least a head taller than the other guy. "With my wife?"

He raised his hands up, "I didn't know she was really married."

Rose snorted.

The brunette looked between Edward and Emmett, "look, we were just talking, so why don't you back off." He was either stupid or had a death wish.

I could see Edward stiffen; he was ready for a fight, but his eyes flickered over to mine for a brief second and I shook my head almost imperceptibly. He didn't have to fight and maybe get hurt over me, especially not with this jackass. Edward moved around him, putting himself between me and the guy. I reached out to touch his sleeve, "let's just go, ok?"

He turned around and his face softened; he nodded once to me and then gestured toward the door to Emmett.

As we were walking out, I heard one of them call out, "have a nice night, ladies."

"Can I just hit one of them?" Emmett asked Rose, his expression pleading.

"I have dibs on the dark haired guy," Edward muttered.

She sighed, "I don't think that'd be a good idea; guys like that would probably press charges."

Emmett shrugged.

"That's alright, I'd be in jail with you," Edward said, a small grin forming; he slung an arm over my shoulders once we were on the sidewalk. He held his other arm out for Alice who took it and smiled.

"Our heroes," she beamed up at them dramatically. "What ever happened to our drinks, by the way? I was all set for some Grey Goose."

"Well, it was either wait for your drinks or get those guys off you, did we make the wrong decision?" Emmett draped an arm around Rose's waist as we walked.

"You couldn't do both?"

Edward piped in, "remember the last time you and Bella drank together?" He grinned at her teasingly.

"Shut it, you, we were celebrating."

"What?" Rose asked. Alice and I hadn't ever mentioned that night.

"Nothing," I said, the blood rushing toward my face.

"Remember your e-mail?" Edward continued despite my glare.

Alice laughed, "I missed you a whole lot! Please forgive me!"

He laughed before giving me a kiss on the temple. "I'm sorry, love, but it was pretty funny."

I made a disgruntled sound, "I never wrote that."

He quieted down, "I still have the e-mail if you want to see it," he mumbled into my hair.

I elbowed him and he held me tighter.

Jasper called back after Edward and I were back at his apartment. We let him know Alice's show was Tuesday at six o'clock, where it was, that his seat was reserved and his name was already on the guest list.

We got in to bed later that night and Edward pulled me on top of him. "I hope Jasper gets along with Alice and everyone," I said, enjoying the way his hands felt on my back.

He flipped us so I was underneath him, "let's not think about that right now."

His grin practically glowed in the dark.