Author Note: Thanks for all your reviews on chapter 19!! I know a lot of you hated what Jasper did and I hated it too, but it was necessary. Let's just say that he's scared of emotional commitment and so he acts sometimes with his heart (which embraces how he feels about Alice) and sometimes with his head (which doesn't). That may help with understanding his actions better.

Thanks to CallistoLexx and tamelaine, my betas, and also to the Twinster (Debussy-this), and Angel and JDSK. You guys are awesome and without you, this all important chapter would never have been completed.

There's a youtube video of Holden's speech from Chasing Amy on my profile, if you'd like to see it in the actual movie.

BPOV

I watched Alice disappear down the hallway, her hunched over shoulders emphasizing her slight form. Something was definitely up but with my head feeling like I'd filled it with helium, I couldn't focus hard enough to pinpoint exactly what it was.

I turned toward Rosalie, but she too had a small furrow between her eyebrows, as if she were trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"What do you think that was?" I asked in a hushed tone.

Rose shrugged her shoulders. "Hell if I know. You know Alice and her strange moods."

"Yeah, but usually her moods have something to do with legal addictive stimulants. Just now she looked. . .drained."

What I'd said must have resonated with Rose because her eyes took on a slightly wild, helpless tinge. Uh oh. Rosalie hated feeling helpless.

"I'm sure it's nothing," I quickly backtracked before I had two upset females on my hands. Besides, it had been so good to hear the happiness in Rosalie's voice this afternoon when she'd called me, bubbling like a spring as she'd told me all about how glad she was that she and Emmett were friends again.

My jaw had nearly hit the desk at her words, but with a minimal amount of surprised stammering, I'd done my best to encourage her. After all, it was clear to everyone, except Emmett and Rosalie themselves, that they were still in love. They just needed a bit more encouragement, and the bubble of insane lust and happiness that surrounded Edward and I, not to mention the sexual tension emanating from Alice and Jasper, should definitely help them along.

"I'm not sure . . ." Rose trailed off dubiously, but I didn't want her to spend the evening worried about Alice, so I had to get Plan Rosalie-Emmett back on track.

"It'll be fine," I almost interrupted, flashing her a big smile. "I'm sure Alice was just stressed about getting ready so quickly."

"Yeah, probably," Rosalie replied absently, her focus shifted out of our conversation and onto one of the car magazines lying on the coffee table beside us.

"I'm just going to go . . .freshen up a bit," I lied, needing an excuse to go interrogate Alice. Clearly, something was going on, and I needed to know what it was.

I walked down the hallway to our bedrooms, trying to make as little noise as possible on the hardwood floors. If I could, I wanted to surprise Alice, catch her a little off guard. Though Rosalie was definitely the most contained and private of the three of us, Alice could easily give her a run for her money in certain situations. I had a feeling this was one of those.

I neared Alice's bedroom door, and quickly I laid my head against the wood, trying to make out any noises from inside. There were none.

Stepping back, I rapped lightly on the door. "Alice?"

Nothing but silence met my knock.

I waited about twenty seconds, then tried the door handle. Unlocked.

Just as I was about to walk into the bedroom, I heard footsteps behind me, and I whipped around only to see Alice looking at me with amusement. Clearly, she hadn't been in her room.

"Channeling 007 are we?" The sparkle was back in Alice's eyes, and the dark shadows underneath them had disappeared. That yucky pasty look of her skin had completely disappeared, and while she still wasn't exactly her glowing self, she looked about fifty times better.

"Uh, I just thought I'd borrow some of your shoes."

Alice raised one perfect eyebrow. "You want to wear a pair of shoes that's two sizes too small?"

"Well, no," I began, but as I watched Alice's face grow suspicious, I quickly changed my tune. "Yes, I mean," I finished, adding a big smile for good measure.

"Fabulous!" Alice said, eyeing the rest of my outfit. "Really, Bella," she added, "I can't even express how much better you look lately. You're like Sleeping Beauty—waking from a long sleep to embrace your couture inner self. Or even better, Cinderella, finally ditching her dirty rags!"

Slack-jawed at her sudden reversal, I could only gape as Alice pulled me into her room, and then into her walk-in closet to examine the rows and rows of shoes she kept there.

Walking around me, Alice carefully perused both my dark jeans and my dark fuchsia ruffled tank with the cute satin tie belt.

"You need some really hot boots to tuck those jeans into," she finally decided. "Those flats were probably good for work but we need to amp you up a bit."

I felt a momentary panic of having to cram my poor feet into boots that were two sizes too small, but I knew I'd do that and more if I could keep Alice cheerful and her from dragging Rosalie down with her.

"This is really beautiful," Alice said, almost in awe, as she stood on her tiptoes and fingered the scooped, beaded neckline. "I've never seen your skin glow like this."

I wanted to tell her that the glowing skin came not from a color but from being so far in lust with someone that you nearly felt the top of your head explode when they were close by.

"Ah, yeah, I'm using a new moisturizer," I stumbled, hoping that Alice was too far distracted in the rows of shoes she was examining that she wouldn't know it for the lie it was.

"Here we go," Alice said, holding up a beautiful pair of black leather boots.

"Are those your new Nanette Lepore boots?" I gasped, reaching out one hand to reverently touch the leather, knowing my little show would send Alice into orbit.

"Yes, and you'd better be damn careful with them, but for you, anything," Alice beamed at me. "You lose these like Cinderella, and I swear I'll track you down harder than Prince Phillip."

I nodded gravely, knowing that she wasn't joking around. Hurting Alice's shoes was like stringing Alice up by her toenails and performing Chinese water torture.

Handing them to me, she turned back to her closet and began rapidly pawing her way through some dresses.

"Help me find something to wear," Alice said, not even bothering to look behind at me. I had relegated myself to a chair to try to leverage the tightly-fitting boots on. They were gorgeous but I wasn't even sure they were hot enough to make up for all the pain they were going to cause me.

"Uh," I stammered, gritting my teeth and pulling with all my might, "just a second. Let me get the boots on first."

Alice had gone into full-on fashionista mode, tossing dress after dress onto the bed in a whirlwind of arms and fabric.

Finally, I managed to pry the boots on, and standing up, I wobbled over to where Alice was standing, trying to ignore the way that the boots pinched my toes.

"Just something simple," I recommended, in the most calming, soothing voice I could come up with, "we're probably going to be late as it is."

Alice turned and glared at me, and continued working her way through her closet.

"How about this one?" I asked, catching a raspberry colored jersey dress as it came perilously close to flying into my face.

Glancing at it quickly, Alice shrugged uninterestedly.

I held it up. "No, no, it's gorgeous. The color will be fabulous on you," I insisted sweetly, "and besides, we're not going anywhere really nice. Something simple is probably best."

Alice took a second look at it, this time with her eyes speculative. "Well, I suppose that could work," she said hesitantly.

I made a big show of glancing at the watch on my wrist and finally she threw her hands up and gave me a playful shove toward the direction of her bedroom door.

"Fine, fine, fine. Give me ten more minutes and we'll go."

"Excellent." I tried to hold back the victory in my voice, but I think she caught of a whiff of it, as she rolled her eyes while shutting the door behind me.

I took off down the hall, the shaky clickety-clack sounds of the boots on the hardwood floor proving just how awkward I was walking in them.

I came around the corner, saw Rosalie sitting on the living room couch, flipping through one of her many car magazines and shut my mouth before I could say a word.

I wanted just ten more seconds to take in the tender, almost secret expression on her face before I clued Rose into my presence and it disappeared entirely, hidden behind the wall she kept up so vigilantly.

I knew she was thinking about Emmett, maybe even dreaming about him, from the way that her lips curled up into that nostalgic, almost bittersweet smile. Glancing at the magazine she was thumbing through absently, I guessed that her thoughts must have been triggered by its contents, as I saw the title, 4x4, blazoned in bright yellow on the cover.

Understanding that Rosalie was still in love with Emmett was one thing, seeing it written all over her face like this, was completely another. I wondered if I looked like that when I thought about Edward, and decided that yes, I probably did, though likely my expression contained more lemonade than lemons.

I was so caught up in these thoughts that I didn't even hear the footsteps behind me until it was too late.

"Bella!" Alice scolded, her voice so loud in my ear that, in surprise, I lost my balance and started teetering on the skyscraper heels. "If you want to be the next James Bond, you're going to have to be a lot more subtle than that."

Grabbing the wall for support, I glanced over at Rosalie, whose face had closed over like a nuclear winter.

"I uh. . .ah. . ." I mumbled, totally aware of my incompetency at this moment in time, "I was just stretching a bit."

Alice rolled her eyes at my ludicrous excuse. "Whatever, Bella, I won't even ask why your muscles are suddenly sore."

I blushed a bright beet red at the way Rose cackled in response to Alice's comment. They had no idea how awkward lying on a desk was while you were being given the most incredible orgasm of your life. Really, it was a testament to Edward's sexual prowess that I hadn't even noticed the uncomfortable nature of my position until after it was all over.

"Whatever," I grumbled, "let's go before we're irreparably late."

"I didn't take that much time," Alice whined happily, much to my relief. It appeared that she'd recovered her spirits almost entirely. I'd have to do my best to watch her when she was around Jasper to make sure that nothing bad had happened between them. The last thing we needed was for them to get cold feet and encourage Rosalie and Emmett in their same direction.

Rosalie drove again, of course, and though Alice tried to protest, I kicked her so swiftly in the shins with my—okay, well, her—Nanette Lapore boot, that she ended her bitching before it even began. I needed to try to balance out the happiness of both Alice and Rosalie and so far, this was proving a lot more difficult than I'd imagined.

When I'd called Edward, all excited at Rose's dinner idea, he'd mentioned that he would try to get Jasper and Emmett there in better than usual moods. I'd agreed whole-heartedly that any emo-ness had to be eliminated from the evening, and that I would do my best to get everyone there in a lighthearted mood. Walking into the apartment tonight and seeing Alice look so downtrodden had sent me into an immediate panic spiral but I was pretty proud of myself that I'd managed to yank her out of her funk. Alice was an extremely cheerful person, but whenever she did descend into a foul mood, she tended to brood for longer than was entirely necessary.

Luckily, we had avoided that. Unfortunately, it was at the cost of my toes' circulation.

Rosalie pulled up to the curb and parked. As we climbed out of the car, I almost considered pointing out snarkily that my Jeep had two passenger doors as well as the driver and front passenger door, but remembered just in time that I was supposed to be delivering Rosalie to Emmett in a stellar temper. Complaining about being shoved into the back of her R32 like a sardine in a can wouldn't exactly accomplish that goal.

Edward had suggested we go to Voleur, which was a classy little restaurant right in the heart of downtown, by the water, that was renowned for its late night dining. I was glad he'd picked it because dinner at a regular hour was generally pretty quiet there, and after our first experience all together at Montage, which, with extended exposure, could possibly cause a serious hearing loss.

Voleur would be a much better venue for actually talking among the six of us—which was another point in our plan. The more used to the six of us hanging out that Emmett and Rosalie became, the less they could back out of any plans and the more time they'd spend in each other's company. Theoretically, they were then supposed to succumb to the temptation and hook up again. I wasn't exactly sure how that part of the plan worked yet, but I figured we'd get to that after tackling point number two.

As we walked in the front door, I slid a quick glance over to Alice, checking her state one last time. While she wasn't exactly dancing along like she normally did, excess energy flowing around her like smog, she was definitely looking a lot happier. I breathed one last sigh of relief. I must have misread her earlier.

Rosalie stepped forward to talk to the maître d' about our reservation, and I pondered, not for the first time, what had prompted her to take all this initiative. Only a few days before, she'd nearly called the cops on Emmett, but slowly, something seemed to be shifting inside of her, and that shift had only wrought positive changes so far.

Edward had told me that when he and Jasper had walked into Rose's office for property tour, Emmett and Rose had nearly been on top of each other, and he'd added that they'd spent nearly the whole morning in almost exclusive discussion over cars and garages and business. Add to this the phone call I'd gotten from her this afternoon about dinner, and there was definitely something up, but naturally, this was Rosalie and so unless she decided to divulge, we'd all remain in the dark.

The maître d' showed us to the upstairs, which Rose had apparently called ahead to reserve. I don't think Alice saw, but I certainly noticed her slip him a folded bill and my eyes widened. One of us was going to have to drag this out of her, because not knowing what she was thinking was killing me—and probably killing whatever plan we had, too. With Rose, you couldn't always assume the obvious. Her methods were kind of notoriously twisted and different. For all we knew, this could be some way of driving us all apart.

I hugged my arms around myself, both at the over-chilled room and at the sudden fear that Edward and I would never discover all that we could be. Just thinking about him made me hot and weak all over, and I'd done almost no work for the last two days because all I could think of when I looked at my desk was his tongue. And what a tongue it was.

Much to my dismay, we hadn't had an opportunity to finish what we'd started and every time I complained about it—loudly, to my own dismay and embarrassment—Edward had laughed and told me that when the time was right it would happen.

I was getting to the point where I didn't want rose petals and candles. I just wanted him. Tonight, I told myself, you're going to get him to give in. And that was the part of the plan that was unknown to him. I'd dressed to kill, thanks partially to Alice's boots and also partially to all the years of rigorous fashion and beauty training she'd put me through, and tonight, I was going to make Edward Cullen mine.

My stomach felt jumpy with butterflies, but these were a new, different breed—butterflies on crack. Still, I was determined to ignore them, and instead listen to the fire in my panties.

The maître d' left us and we settled down at the table to wait for the Cullen brothers.

I set my purse on the floor and Alice let out a strangled gasp.

Reaching over me, in direct contradiction to all those dinner time rules that her mother had likely taught her, Alice grabbed my bag and nearly threw it on my lap.

"Never," she huffed, "treat a Coach that way again, or I may have to slit your throat."

Angling her body towards me, Alice crooned to the purse, "No matter what happens, I'll always be with you. Forever."

I did a double take and so did Rosalie. Our concerned eyes met over Alice's head and Rose shook her head almost imperceptibly, as if she were trying to tell me to leave it alone. But I couldn't—I had to know what the fuck was going on so I could figure out the ramifications of Alice totally losing her mind and what that would do to our plan.

"Alice," I asked cautiously, "what are you talking about?"

She smiled brightly—the brightest, in fact, that she'd smiled all evening so far, and I almost shouted out to her that I didn't care if she was straightjacket and padded room nuts, as long as she was cheerful, but it was a little late to take it back.

"That was Pocahontas," Alice chirped.

"Pocahontas?" I gaped, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Rose attempt to stifle some laughter. What the hell was going on?

Before I could complete the thought, I heard footfalls on the staircase and my head swiveled in the direction of the noise.

I had never been so glad to see Edward, and not because I felt as if I was about to self-combust from sexual frustration but because he was going to save me from a potential lifetime in an asylum. Me and Alice, both.

I worried for a brief second that Alice would greet the boys with another quote, but I let out the breath I was holding when she said hello in a friendly and normal voice. I almost missed Edward's quick peck on my cheek I was so damn worried about my best friend. I was beginning to wonder if she'd actually cracked.

Even her greeting with Jasper seemed friendly enough, though I hadn't been exactly sure what to look for. Surely, if they'd fought, neither of them would be here tonight. Besides, what would they fight over anyway? They were clearly crazy about each other.

Edward leaned over the table and grabbed my hand, caressing it in the most delightful way. "Hey baby," he purred, his voice dark and exotic, and full of unspeakable secrets, "I missed you."

Staring into his perfect green eyes while admiring his incredibly chiseled cheekbones and bronze hair, I wondered how lucky a girl could get.

"I missed you too," I whispered, glancing down the table to make sure nobody else was paying attention to us. They weren't.

Emmett and Rosalie were deep in conversation, almost as if they were disagreeing, but their faces were so close, their noses were nearly touched. I noticed Emmett's arm draped casually around the back of her chair, and I did an inward cheer.

I leaned back a little to look around them, and I noticed that Edward was following my sneakiness with an amused smile. "You're so cute," he mumbled so quietly that I almost didn't catch it, "like a female James Bond."

Teasingly glaring at him, I told him, "You're not the first person who's accused me of being that, except that Alice's reaction today was not nearly as adorable."

Edward's eyes twinkled, and I felt my heart stuttering again. God, I was so close to falling for him. I felt like I was hanging over the cliff face with only my fingernails holding me up.

But before I could completely lose myself in Edward's eyes or bear to tear myself away so I could see what Alice and Jasper were up to, I heard a very loud throat clearing behind me. Whipping my head around, I turned bright red at the waiter standing there, clearly ready to take my order.

How long had he been there? I suppose he's probably used to hearing sweet nothings.

I willed the blush away and was about to order a glass of wine when a tiny pixie voice behind me spoke up instead.

"Will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water where it belongs!"

My mind was blank except for a rapidly increasing line of exclamation points.

This time it was Alice, in the restaurant, with The Little Mermaid.

You shouldn't even be surprised, I told myself, she's never been completely normal.

This time Rosalie was definitely laughing, but at least she was attempting to hide it behind her hand. Emmett, on the other hand, was doing no such thing. He was loudly booming out his amusement at the situation. Edward was shaking his head, smiling at me, but the smile hadn't quite reached his eyes. He knew something was up too, and as I looked down the table, I could see that Jasper's expression wasn't quite right either.

He knew what was going on. Oh shit.

But the second before my brain went into full-on panic mode, complete with red flashing lights and emergency sirens, Jasper broke into a huge smile, bright enough to send Alice to the ER for third degree burns, because it was focused solely and completely on her.

If any of us were surprised at his behavior, Alice looked positively floored, but then hesitantly, she smiled back.

"Awesome, Alice!" he said genuinely, and held his hand up for a high five which she smacked enthusiastically without even hesitating. "The Little Mermaid kicks some major ass."

I wasn't sure what I was more shocked at: the sudden reversal of attitude or the fact that Jasper knew The Little Mermaid well enough to recognize a quote from it.

In any case, I wasn't sure if it even mattered, as long as the crisis situation was averted, and I could concentrate on ordering an excellent glass of wine, staring sappily into Edward's glorious eyes and undressing him mentally.

Five minutes later, right when I was heavily involved in the latter, tracing Edward's heavily muscled V with my tongue right before it descended lower, I got another wakeup call.

My ears perked up and I knew the worst had come to pass. Alice had stopped the small talk altogether and was now exclusively quoting Disney to Jasper, and even stranger, he was appearing to enjoy it.

"For every to, there is a fro, for every stop there is a go and that's what makes the world go round," Alice sang, and beamed at Jasper, waiting for his reply.

He appeared deep in thought for a second and then a matching smile lit his face up.

"Sword and the Stone!" he exclaimed excitedly. Okay, this was just too weird.

The purpose, I told myself sternly, of this dinner was for all six of us to interact, not for me to daze off, imagining all the things I'd like to do to Edward. Clearly, if left to their own devices, Rose and Emmett were going to be absorbed in each other and Alice was not to be trusted to carry on a normal civilized conversation.

Edward and I were going to have to become the moderators. We did anything else and nothing would be accomplished.

Clearing my throat to get the attention of the table, I looked straight at Rosalie and prepared to blow Emmett's world apart.

"Rosalie," I said sweetly, "I just wanted to say thanks for coming up with such a brilliant idea."

"What idea?" Emmett asked, a frown growing on his handsome face.

Rose's eyes widened in dread and she sent me a death look—so I was right, she didn't want Emmett to know this was her idea. Stay strong, she can't hurt you too much.

"For us to all have dinner together," I finished, sending one last saccharine sweet smile in that pair's direction.

Emmett was clearly taken aback by this particular tidbit.

Under the table, Edward's feet had become intertwined with mine, and he was using one of his legs to rub mine so seductively that I nearly melted into a puddle on the floor of the restaurant.

"Stop that!" I hissed at him, under the cover of the waiter refilling water glasses, "you are totally distracting me. I need my game face on."

"What, you've noticed the disaster too?"

I rolled my eyes. "You need to help me."

"I'll try, I promise. Let me think if I can come up with something."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again.

Think, Bella, THINK, I chanted to myself.

I glanced over at Rosalie, wondering if maybe she could give me some ideas, but her gaze was fastened on Alice and Jasper, who were laughing so hard at their quoting game that they were nearly falling off their chairs.

"I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food," Alice gasped in hysteria.

"Finding Nemo!" Jasper yelled.

"You know how men are. They think 'No' means 'Yes' and 'Get lost' means 'Take me. I'm yours,'" Alice guffawed.

The quote from Hercules, which Jasper again correctly guessed—who would have known the man knew his Disney?—gave me the idea.

"Hey Rosalie," I nearly had to yell to be heard over the racket that Alice and Jasper were making, "speaking of how men think no means yes, I listened to the quote again today."

Rose turned her head back to me, and smiled conspiratorially.

"Again? Bella, you are such a romantic. It's kind of sick."

"Well, yes and no. It's romantic, yes, but the situation he's in is fairly dire. He has to do something and not something normal—like something completely out of character and totally desperate. The desperation Holden feels pushes him to do something completely crazy. That's why it's so romantic. His speech is a total Hail Mary pass that he knows has almost no chance of succeeding."

"Which movie?" Edward asked, smiling at me in gratitude.

"Chasing Amy," I replied, just a touch louder than normal—just loud enough to get Alice's attention. As I expected, her head swiveled immediately toward me.

"Did you say Chasing Amy?" Alice asked, her eyes lighting up. She looked twenty times better than before, with her gray eyes shining mischievously, and a wide smile invading her face.

"Oh I did." And wait just . . one. . .two. . .three. . .

Alice shot up, her chair sliding backwards. "No, he does it because he has to. That's the only way he can win her over."

Jasper was clearly intrigued by this point. He'd shifted his chair just slightly so he could take in the rest of the table and so he could have a better view of Alice. Point one accomplished.

"Why is it the only way?" Emmett asked.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and said rather patronizingly, "Because she's gay, dumb ass."

"Wait a second," Emmett said, making the timeout sign with his hands, "this guy is trying to win over a girl that's lesbian? Is this that movie with all the girls kissing each other?"

"Yes," Edward added, his voice long-suffering, "but I can safely tell you that none of us have seen the speech part, or whatever Bella is talking about. Cause I sure as hell don't remember any romantic speech."

"That's because we stop watching as soon as she turns straight," Jasper added.

"So you've never heard it?" Alice gasped in surprise. "Not even once?"

Jasper nodded, and I felt my heart surge with win. This was actually going to work.

"That settles it," Alice said decidedly. "Girls, we have to do this."

I jumped to my feet, and gave Edward a sly little wink. I'd saved the day and he was going to have to do some major repayment for this later. Physical repayment, if I had any say in the matter.

Rosalie groaned, but Alice danced over to her, her dress flipping as she walked, and Jasper's expression as she passed by him was priceless—like he'd just been hit over the head with a hammer. Good, I thought, whatever mood she was in definitely had nothing to do with Jasper. Of course, not that Alice's bad mood was a concern now—she had totally snapped out of it and everything was back on track. Without any more Disney quotes.

Alice dragged Rosalie up, and clapped her hands excitedly. "I'll start," she announced, clearing her throat.

An expectant silence fell over the table as we watched Alice.

"I love you," Alice began in an overly dramatic way, complete with pause, "and not, not in a friendly way, although I think we're great friends.

"And not in a misplaced affection, puppy dog way, although I'm sure that's what you'll call it. I love you. Very, very simple. Very truly," I continued, my eyes meeting Edward's the whole time.

"You are the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being. And I know that you think of me as just a friend, and crossing that line is the furthest thing from an option you would ever consider. But I had to say it. I just, I can't take this anymore," Rose said, looking, I noticed, everywhere but at Emmett. I wondered how true those words rang for her. Probably spot on, I thought, with a twinge of sadness.

Alice started stalking up and down the hardwood floor, really getting into character.

"I can't stand next to you without wanting to hold you. I can't, I can't look into your eyes without feeling that, that longing you only read about in trashy romance novels," Alice extemporized, meeting my glance and winking. "I can't talk to you without wanting to express my love for everything you are. And I know this will probably queer our friendship—no pun intended—but I had to say it, because I've never felt this way before. And I don't care, I like who I am because of it."

Rosalie continued, her voice dropping in tone and volume, and there was an unbearable bitter echo there, "and if bringing this to light means we can't hang out anymore, then that hurts me. But God, I just, I couldn't allow another day to go by without just getting it out there, regardless of the outcome—which by the look on your face is to be the inevitable shootdown." Finally, she looked at Emmett, and he gulped a little, clearly uncomfortable with how real the emotions Rosalie was channeling were.

Knowing I had to lighten things up, I decided to way overact. Or act badly. Either or, but probably both.

"And, you know, I'll accept that. But I know—I know that some part of you is hesitating for a moment. And if there is a moment of hesitation," I begged, my voice rising to terribly hysteric levels, "then that means you feel something too. All I ask, please, is that you just, you just not dismiss that, and try to dwell in it for just ten seconds." I pulled out the last part as dramatically as I could, and I heard Edward chuckle in response to my terrible acting.

"Alyssa, there isn't another soul on this fucking planet who has ever made me half the person I am when I'm with you. And I would risk this friendship for the chance to take it to the next plateau," Rosalie continued, looking to Alice to continue to the end.

"Because it is there between you and me. You can't deny that. Even if, you know, even if we never talk again after tonight, please know that I am forever changed because of who you are and what you've meant to me," Alice finished, almost quietly, her gaze dropping to her hands, which were twisted together.

"Alice!" Jasper jumped up, embracing her, "that was amazing!"

She looked at him like he'd just come from another planet. "Really?"

"It was . . .wow. We were really missing something by not watching after she turned straight, weren't we guys?"

Both Emmett and Edward nodded, though I could tell that the latter was having trouble holding in his laughter over the whole situation.

Alice was clearly relieved at Jasper's enthusiasm though, and she sank into his arms, resting her cheek on his chest. "Thank you," she said, and I felt a collective 'awwwwww,' coming.

The waiter, damn him, chose that moment to show up with our food, and Alice and Jasper broke apart, though I could see it was with reluctance on both ends.

"Did you find any good possible locations?" I asked both Rose and Emmett, as we ate.

"Actually yes," Emmett said, sending a sly, but very fond look Rose's way. "Rosie is a fantastic resource, and we've found several great locations."

I looked on in shocked surprise as Rosalie nearly blushed in response to Emmett's compliment. "I just do what anyone would do in my position—try to find you a good location that's within your budget," she explained modestly, but I could tell from the glow that was now emanating from her that she was flattered by his praise. Point number two down.

"And what about you, Alice?" Jasper asked, intensely focused on her, despite the full plate of food in front of him. "How goes your job?"

"Oh, fine," she replied, looking up from her salmon, "I actually had a bit of free time today, and I got a lot of reorganizing done at the apartment."

I groaned. "You didn't reorganize my closet again, did you? Please say you didn't," I begged.

"I didn't get to yours," she teased. "So you're safe."

"You'd hate to come over to our house," Jasper confided, leaning over the table and staring deeply into Alice's eyes, "you'd go nuts."

"Where do you guys live?" I interrupted, sending a pointed look in Edward's direction. It was time to implement the Get Edward's Pants Off Plan.

"A townhouse in the West Hills," Emmett said, in between shoveling in huge mouthfuls of steak.

"That's a great area," Rosalie murmured, smiling at him.

"It really is," Edward added. "Though a bit tricky to navigate when it ices over in the winter."

"But I'm sure that Emmett has a solution for that," Rosalie teased.

"Oh, I do," he boomed back, "nothing like four wheel drive."

"Amen," I chimed in. "I love my Jeep."

"Not you too!" Edward slyly poked at me.

"Believe me; nothing makes a girl feel safer than having steel roll bars surrounding her."

"What about steel arms," Edward joked, grabbing my hands and wrapping it in his. "I'd protect you; you know that right, Bella?"

"And you're going to protect me from a semi going sixty?"

"I'd try," Edward said, mesmerizing me with the emotion swirling in his beautiful green eyes.

Alice made a gagging noise, and we broke apart, both smiling.

"You guys are sick," Jasper whined, yet somehow, his arm had ended up around Alice's waist, even though they were both eating.

This was definitely an interesting development.

I scooted closer to Edward and rubbed my leather-boot encased leg on his. "When do you think we can get out of here?" I purred into his ear.

APOV

When could we get out of here? I wanted to castrate Jasper for acting this way.

I wanted to pull him outside and tell him exactly what I thought of him. Then I wanted him to tell me every single thing he had done and said that was a lie. Because though he'd insisted earlier today that it had been all a mistake and pretend, it sure didn't feel that way tonight.

At least, I told myself, the Disney quotes did their job and sent you to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Quoting Disney movies always had improved my spirits, ever since I was a little girl, and they had seemed appropriate to use today, even if Bella had looked at me like I'd lost my mind. In high school, it had even been a little game for Jasper and I, and he'd caught on tonight like six minutes had passed, not six years.

I suspected that perhaps Bella had brought up Chasing Amy as recourse to get me to drop the Disney, but honestly, by that point they'd done their trick, and I felt comfortably relaxed, even with Jasper.

Jasper snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. Closing my eyes at the sudden electricity that wove its way through me at the contact, I felt lost for the first time in a long time. One part of me wanted to demand that he leave me alone, and we'd stop the pretending once and for all. The other part of me wanted to go on pretending forever.

The waiter finally came and cleared the plates away. I noticed that Bella was practically on Edward's lap and Emmett and Rosalie were clearly engrossed in arguing over some sort of car modification.

Jasper and I were, for all intents and purposes, alone. Again.

And that meant he could stop pretending. I tried subtly disengaging his arm from my waist, even though the thought shriveled my heart down another size. Just do it, Alice, I told myself, he won't do it so you have to try to keep some measure of honestly between you.

But unfortunately, Jasper gripped my waist harder, and sent me a questioning look as to why I was trying to get rid of his arm.

"You're being ridiculous," I hissed as quietly as I could. "Just let me go!"

"Why?" He actually had the nerve to look surprised I'd want him to remove his arm.

I glared at him. "Do I actually need to tell you?"

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise," he crooned into my ear, swiping his tongue delicately over the ridges.

I jumped back, feeling like I'd just been electrocuted.

Throwing myself up from the chair, Jasper was required to loosen his grip and I sprang free.

"I need some air," I mumbled to the five surprised faces surrounding me, and I took off down the stairs and out the front door the restaurant. It'd grown dark in the time since we'd arrived, and I leaned on the side of the brick building and let my head tip back, so I could admire the stars.

Before I could really calm my breathing, I heard the front door open and shut again. I snapped my eyes shut and said a quick prayer to preserve my sanity. I knew he had followed me out here. The real question was why.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not even opening my eyes to meet his.

I could sense his hesitation and his reluctance to answer. Maybe he couldn't explain it either.

"I don't know," he finally said, "I can't explain why. But I knew I had to."

"Because it was your fault?" I challenged, stepping away from the wall and facing him front on.

He spread his hands out in supplication. "You know it was; you don't have to tell me."

"Maybe I want to make you feel half as bad as I feel right now," I told him angrily. I could have cared less if he knew how I felt now. After all, I didn't have to say the words for him to know.

"Mission accomplished," he whispered, moving towards me, and effectively pinning me against the wall. His arms settled on either side of my head and suddenly I was trapped.

I glared at him. "Move," I demanded.

"No," he mused, "I don't think I really want to."

"You are insufferable," I barked. "I really hate you right now."

"No, you really don't," he murmured, moving his face closer to mine. I felt the beginnings of a panic attack start deep inside me. Why was he doing this to me? Did he get off on torture?

"Really, I do. Or at least I hate your evil twin."

He liked that, apparently, because a wide grin spread across his face. "Evil twin. That's a good one. Hot, even."

"It's hot?" I asked in surprise. "Hot that you play me so hot and cold I don't even know which way is up anymore?"

"Do I really do that?" Jasper asked, with a hint of teasing affection in his voice.

"You do," I snapped back. "You're doing it right now, god damn it."

"Do you want me to play hot, Alice?"

I really, really wanted to be able to tell him that no, I didn't.

But that would have been a lie and he would have known it as one. My heart was pounding and I couldn't deny that I was more turned on than I'd ever thought possible. I was lightheaded and dizzy from the amount of blood rushing from my head.

Jasper took one more step in, and then I knew how turned on he was, too. I closed my eyes in entreaty, knowing that I was totally letting him take control of the situation, and I couldn't find it in myself to care anymore.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, I want you to play hot right now."

He leaned in, and kissed me, hard. Suddenly I felt my body being shoved up hard against the wall, his thigh was in-between my legs, and I was panting into his mouth.

"I was crazy, Alice," he said between soul-wrenching kisses, "I'm sorry. So sorry."

"It's okay," I gasped, refusing to let the part of me speak that insisted it wasn't okay. As long as he came around, I insisted to that inner feminist, it would be okay.

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