Alice and I tried to give Bella the next few nights for studying and sleep. We were partially successful. We tended to have sex outside her house, which wasn't much of an improvement as she inevitably heard Alice and gave us hell. We joined her the first night and moved farther away the second.
"Oh God, Jasper. Right there ... yes ... that's just what she would do."
I had to take a fraction of a second to take that in. She wanted me to do what Bella would do. It made sense when I wanted her to do what Bella would do, but really? As she came down from her high, I had to ask.
"You really like having Bella with us?"
"Yes, Jasper. It's not something I'm enduring for you. You really thought I would do that?" She stopped for a moment in the process of redressing. "Well, I guess you don't know me that well. No, Jasper, I'm not doing this for your benefit. I am honest to goodness, hard and fast, hot for that human girl. She ... God, what she can do to me. Anyways. Yes, I really like having Bella with us. You don't need to know what we have done without you. Or do without you," she said more quietly but still loud enough for me to hear.
She smirked when she met my eye next. I probably had some stupefied expression on my face because, quite honestly, I was stupefied, flabbergasted and flummoxed. Well, why would I argue? Unless one of them was getting the raw end of the stick.
I swear, she could read minds. "As much as she wants it, I'm the one that gets the raw end of your stick, Jasper." She kissed the hollow of my neck, running her tongue up its length. I was ready for another go, if she hadn't burst from me for Bella's window as dawn broke. She was still faster than me. By the time I got in the window, Alice already had her mouth between Bella's legs and I felt like a creep watching them. I watched anyway. I'm a creep, not an idiot.
Alice got the stick because as much as either of us — well, both of us — wanted to give Bella all the pleasure in the world, we both knew we were one hymen away from drinking the poor girl dry. We always fingered her carefully, never wanting to be tempted by the blood we would release if we weren't. Alice had used her talent to look at the eventuality. Whether I did it, or she did, Bella's death was imminent; so we played very carefully with our breakable lover.
The countdown to Italy was spinning away. Bella attended my graduation, even though I told her she didn't have to. Alice was at her side and they both jumped up to applaud me. I tried not to roll my eyes as I nodded to them. Really, it wasn't as though I hadn't graduated high school before. I held the paper tightly anyway. It was proof of my triumph over my nature. It was still a huge pat on my back. I hadn't screwed up. I hadn't even come close to screwing up, unless you counted Bella, which I did not. Carlisle knew what it meant, even though he helped me blow it off for the girls. He hugged me, as all the other parents around us did.
"I'm proud, Jasper. Never think I'm not. I'm so glad you chose to join me." Then he turned to the girls clapping my shoulder. "Same old, same old," he said with a smile. He let me throw the paper in the bin outside only to scrounge it a second later and hide it in his study. I could retrieve when I wished.
After that came the packing. It was next to nothing on our part, a couple of bags. Bella had to put on more of a show for Charlie's sake. Alice packed for her. Everything, she declared, would never been seen again. She intended to replace every article with two of her selection. Bella argued valiantly, but it was a lost cause, and having seen what Alice had found for her in Forks, I couldn't be sad about it. Bella looked fabulous in her new jeans, something I told her on several occasions and she experienced firsthand on others.
"Jasper!" she cooed, jumping in my lap at our table. I cringed as she landed right on the erection I was sporting courtesy of her entrance to the cafeteria. "Oh, sorry." She tittered, keeping her arms around my neck. "You don't mind though, right?" She met my eyes seriously and rocked back and forth. I teased back, silently, letting her know just how she was making me feel. After hearing her pulse double and watching the blush spread over her skin, I cut her some slack. She didn't feel the lust coming off every male who spotted her. I did. It drove me nuts. First with jealousy, and then with lust of my own. It was completely unfair. Boys in classes with her were feeling hot enough that I caught it in the hall. Maybe I shouldn't let Alice have free rein after all.
Carlisle, Alice and I picked her up in his Mercedes. We waited on the step while she kissed her father goodbye. Alice lingered after Bella had picked up her bag, rising to whisper in Charlie's ear. He blushed deeply and she giggled, skipping to join us.
"What was that?" I asked, exasperated.
"Relax. It wasn't like Poppa bear was getting any sucky sucky. Just telling him that I like his new cologne."
"Was he even wearing cologne?" Bella asked.
"No, but now he will." She smiled, leaning back in her seat, utterly pleased with herself.
"You still haven't told me why you're hitting on my father."
"I don't know if I should, Bella. You might mess it up."
Bella's mouth fell open, indignant. "What do you mean?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "It's the future, Bella. You could make a decision that throws the whole thing out of whack. If I don't tell you, and you do what you would normally do, it should fall into place."
"Can you at least give me a hint?"
"A woman, who is not me." She looked at Bella pointedly.
"Oh. Okay." Bella put an arm around Alice and smiled happily. Her father would be happy, that was enough for her. Alice was happy with herself. Carlisle was happy that we were happy. I tried to remember the last time I was somewhere that felt like it should be stamped with a yellow happy face. I realized I couldn't remember it. It had to have been when I was human.
I sat back as Carlisle pushed the speedometer up, enjoying the sensations for the two and a half hours the trip afforded.
The mood was ruined as soon as James was on scene. He was sitting in the terminal between Demitri and Felix. Jane was walking with a coffee in hand.
"What is that?" Alice asked her.
"It's warming my hands. See?" She put a hand to Alice's cheek. "I can touch humans now." She reached a hand to Bella who looked at me, wary.
I shrugged. Jane was curious, nothing more.
Her pale hand touched Bella's only slightly pinker cheek. Bella smiled. "It is warm. Well, warmer, anyway."
"It's neat." Jane wandered back down the aisle of seats stopping to introduce herself to random humans and shake their hands.
I looked to Alice. She shrugged. "She's playing. She isn't planning any harm."
"She's nuts." Alec appeared behind Alice.
"Why do you say that?" Alice asked.
"Touching humans. He looked at Bella. "I mean, no offence to you, Miss Swan, but unknown humans. Hell, even most known ones."
"Honestly, Alec, have you never used your fingers?" Alice asked, smirking.
His eyes narrowed at her. He didn't answer and stalked off, embarrassed.
"Why is he embarrassed?" I asked.
Felix laughed and Demitri snickered.
"Alec likes to anaesthetize his food," Alice explained. "He thinks it preserves something. I don't know what. So that was a bit of a low blow on my part. I'll apologize later. He usually doesn't touch them except to bite."
"Never?" I asked, astounded.
"Not since his first year. Or so I was told." She looked to Felix who nodded. I wouldn't have guessed he was the oldest of the pair.
"He misses out on all the fun," Felix leered at Bella, who shifted behind Alice.
Alice glared at him. "I saw that. I warned you."
He held up his hands. "And you see the difference between fantasies and future, talented Alice. That isn't going to actually happen, is it?"
"That doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't be thinking it." She stamped her foot, and I choked back a chuckle to match Demitri's.
"I don't want to know, do I?" Bella asked.
"No, you don't," Alice growled.
"Is it really safe to have him like that?" Bella watched James closely.
"Oh, yes. If he decided to make a break, I'd see it before he moved and those two would hold him until Alec's gift had him. Then when he was safely locked in the airline bathroom..." She looked to Jane with implication. "He doesn't want that happen, so he won't make that decision."
"They look different without their cloaks," Bella noticed.
"Don't they? I picked out Demitri's outfit. Felix didn't like my choices for him. Jane and Alec almost lost their heads when I suggested shopping. They spent hours trying things on. I don't know that they've chosen their own clothing in the last century, poor things."
My head was starting to hurt, and so was Bella's by the sense of confusion coming from her and the expression on her face. Fortunately, our plane boarded shortly thereafter. James spent the entire flight under Alec's attention. He appeared to be asleep.
Bella, Alice and I found that airline blankets are too small, as are their bathrooms. It was much easier for the two of them to curl up and go unnoticed than either of them with me. It seemed everyone's eyes glued on the boy and girl cuddling, but the two girls were just sweet and innocent. I knew what was going on under that blanket, and it had me all but begging for one of them to join me in the bathroom.
Alice obliged me, dragging the blanket over my lap while she crouched between my legs. It was made better when Bella shifted over a seat and kissed me at the same time. She had to keep pushing me away when my kisses got too heated. At one point Carlisle lost his temper with the lot of us.
"Honestly! Could you keep still for an hour? Just an hour? All three of you? Are you twenty or two?"
It was Bella who broke first. "Actually, I'm seventeen."
Carlisle temper instantly fizzled, replaced with humour. It shone in his bright eyes, although he kept his expression irritated. Bella slouched in her seat, no longer amused by her quip. Carlisle couldn't hold it any longer and started laughing.
She smiled brilliantly at him, sitting forward in her seat. Then she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. I'll go to sleep. Then you can just blame them, okay?" She squeezed him, and I felt his affection for the girl he treated as a daughter; appreciating her gesture.
"Sweet dreams, Bella. And if they don't keep it down, I'll separate them." His smile was gone, and his eyes were severe on Alice, who had just shifted from under the blanket to her seat, and me.
We were good for a whole hour, and then Alice and I went to one of the bathrooms, so we wouldn't wake Bella.
Alice drove the rental along the 'scenic route' to Volterra. The rest of the guard were in a separate vehicle taking the more direct highway. She kept her speed down to human levels, pointing out landmarks to Bella and I. Carlisle commented along with her, pointing out changes since when he was here last; nearly two centuries, but the changes were fewer than I would have expected. She parked the car in an underground parkade, tossing the keys to a female vampire who appeared in a doorway.
"You'll like it, Heidi. Drives like a dream. You'll have them following you back. Oh..." She suddenly realized what she was saying. "Anyways, you'll like the car."
"Following her?" Bella asked.
Alice hung her head. "Heidi is ... the harvester. She brings the prey here. I wasn't thinking."
Bella wrapped her arms around herself and I felt her distress. "You aren't here for that. No one is going to think about that. They have humans here too, ones that work for and with them. You are safe with us, Bella." I looked to Alice for her confirmation.
"Absolutely. No one is going to hurt you here, Bella. Come on, I can't wait to introduce you, and the Masters are waiting, impatiently."
I know it's kinda short, but I wanted to break before we met Aro, Caius and Marcus, you understand. Forgive me for the "Poppa bear" line. If you look in the reviews, Hyvanna suggested that and cracked me right up, so I HAD to include it if I could. And after exchanging PMs with her there may be a Charlie/Alice moustache riding crackfic coming to a profile near you... Check out Alice Says. ;)
Recommendations: Got a load of great updates this week so I'm going to send you back to these folks
Sinnerman by Detochkina http:/www . fanfiction . net/s/5816837/1/Sinnerman
Empty by Hev99 http:/www . fanfiction . net/s/5513825/1/Empty
Not Who I Thought You Were by Fngcufs http:/www . fanfiction . net/s/5674671/1/
The Good The Bad And The Beautiful by Mama4Ever http:/www . fanfiction . net/s/5815657/1/The_Good_the_Bad_and_the_Beautiful