A/N: Good morning, duckies.

There were so many reasons this wasn't a good idea. Edward couldn't put words to why he felt like this—his stomach twisting as if he was nervous. There was an anxious sensation lingering just beneath his skin. He tapped his foot—the one not on the gas pedal—restlessly as he drove and clenched the steering wheel. Part of him wanted to find an excuse to back out of this excursion. He registered excitement too, and that was ridiculous.

It had been three weeks since Edward had kissed Jasper. He still couldn't figure out why he'd done it. The kid drove him crazy. The kiss had been the one time he saw the cocky, pain-in-the-ass veneer falter for even a second. And yet Edward hadn't been able to enjoy his moment of triumph because he'd been freaking out a little bit.

Now, they were taking the girls on an overnight camping trip. Well. They were going to stay in hotel rooms in the general vicinity of where other people camped. They had reserved one room for the girls—yet another bad idea—one room for Edward and one for Jasper.

He collected Bella first. Charlie Swan helped load his car with fishing supplies, and Edward promised at least half a dozen times that Bella would be well supervised. The man didn't look pleased about sending his little girl off with a teenage lesbian, a grown man, and a still-teenaged adult—gay or not—but he was the type of dad who gave his increasingly independent daughter space.

Finally, they were on their way. Alice's house was next. She jumped in the seat behind Edward, already chatting a mile a minute about a waterfall she wanted to hike to. Her parents weren't home, but from what Edward understood, that was typical.

They were getting closer to Jasper's house. Irritatingly, Edward felt a twist of anticipation that was now becoming familiar. Every time he had to see Jasper, he had this strange feeling. Well, no. It wasn't strange. Edward simply didn't want to admit there was something there—an attraction, as unreasonable as that was.

Hands in his hair distracted Edward out of his thoughts. He glanced in the rearview mirror briefly before he turned his eyes to the road. "Alice, what are you doing?"

"I'm mussing your hair. Duh."

"Do I want to know why you're mussing my hair?"

"Because Jasper likes it when your hair looks all messy."

Edward jerked in surprise, hitting the gas with a little too much gusto and sending the car surging forward. Both the girls gasped and then giggled. Edward cleared his throat. "Why would I care if Jasper likes what my hair looks like?"

Beside him, Bella snickered. "No reason," Alice said with saccharine sweetness.

He tried to bite his tongue but the question slipped through anyway. "When did he tell you about my hair?" He tried to tell himself he only wanted to know because it was prudent. He needed to gauge what Jasper's deal was so he could put an end to it if it was more than pain-in-the-ass teasing.

The girls giggled again, and Edward grimaced, reminding himself not to yell at them. Teenage girls were prone to seeing romance everywhere, and he wasn't going to be the one to pop that bubble. They liked Jasper. He'd like Jasper too if the man would stop being so antagonistic. Jasper seemed to live to get under Edward's skin.

It was working, much to Edward's chagrin. He had to do something about that. He had to stop it one way or another, or it wasn't going to end well. It could affect the girls.

Yet another reason why this weekend was a bad idea. Being exposed to Jasper for an extended period of time was going to be interesting.

Edward whistled, glancing out the window at the homes they were passing as they wound into the residential area. "Swanky," he murmured.

"Jasper's family is super rich," Alice said.

She had said something similar before, but Edward hadn't paid attention. Rich was relative. Looking around, though, Edward would have to agree. Jasper's family was very well off.

The idea stoked anger low and hot in his belly. His annoyance ratcheted up. No, he most certainly didn't want to feel any kind of attraction toward Jasper Whitlock.

His house, of course, turned out to be one of the larger on the block. Jasper came out the door just as the three of them had gotten out of the car. He looked the picture of a teenage runaway—jeans, boots, a leather jacket, and a backpack slung over his shoulder. His long hair was pulled up in a thin ponytail gathered near the top of his head. He looked like he'd walked straight out of a porno—the hitchhiking young man who'd trade sex for a ride.

Edward slammed the door on that thought. Just in time, too. Jasper looked up, caught him staring, and flashed him that signature, infuriating grin.

"You all set?" Edward asked.

"I'm ready for our sleepover," Jasper said, pitching his voice low and suggestive.

Determined to ignore him, Edward nodded. He clicked a button on his keyfob. "Trunk's open," he said, and he moved to get back in the driver's seat.

"This is a bitchin' ride, Eddo, my man," Jasper said as he got into the passenger seat. He reached over to pat Edward's leg in what was supposed to be a friendly gesture. His hand lingered as usual. "I wouldn't have thought you had it in you."

Edward bounced his knee, effectively bumping Jasper off. "A gift from my father," he said. "Although, it was the one I wanted."

"Well, look at you. Spoiled brat. Daddy still buying you cars."

Jasper was teasing, but the flame of anger grew taller and hotter.

It was a six-hour drive. Jasper took over the stereo, telling the girls he was taking their musical education seriously. To no one's surprise, Jasper liked metal. Edward noticed he kept looking over at him as though expecting to see his disapproval. Well, he could fuck off with his stereotypes. Edward liked Metallica, Tool, Il Nino, and Slipknot.

The drive went quickly enough. Edward enjoyed driving and the girls' chatter. Soon, they were pulling up into the resort area.

"This is cozy," Jasper said, looking around. He looked somewhere between bemused and horrified.

"That's not okay," Bella muttered, balking at a large stuffed wolf head.

"We'll get checked in so we can explore," Edward said, shooing them toward a small sitting area.

"You should stay with the girls," Edward said when Jasper followed him toward the front desk.

"Nah, man. They could use a few minutes of alone time." Jasper wagged his eyebrows. Then, he leaned in so he could murmur near Edward's ear. "Or maybe I just want alone time with you."

Again, Edward was determined to ignore Jasper. He refused to give the younger man the satisfaction of rattling him one way or another. He stepped up to the front desk.

Edward could tell the exact moment Jasper noticed a judgy couple with three small children were looking their way. They were looking, more specifically, between Edward and Jasper, and Alice and Bella, obviously trying to figure out how they were all connected. Jasper stepped into Edward's bubble space and rested his hand on Edward's arm. He started nodding along with Edward as the front desk clerk explained the rules and services of the resort.

As they turned to go back to the girls, Jasper twined their arms together. "We're going to have a lot of fun after we put the kids to bed in their own room, aren't we, honey?" he said just loud enough for the judgy couple to overhear. "A romantic getaway is just the thing we need."

Edward's lip twitched. He had to admit it was fun to watch the discomfort on the judgy couple's faces. They ushered their children further away from the heathens. Still, he extricated his arm from Jasper's in a smooth movement and went to the girls without comment. "Let's drop off our stuff and explore the grounds a bit."

In his youth, Edward had lived in motel rooms for a time. Looking around these rooms—which were much larger and nicer, with a view of the rushing creek behind them—he reflected again on how far he'd come. He walked out onto the little back patio of his room and leaned on the fence, breathing in cool, fresh air.

He felt rather than heard Jasper approach. The little fucker could be quiet when he wanted, and what the hell he was doing in Edward's room, he didn't know. Before Edward could react, he'd caged him between his arms, leaning so his chest was against Edward's back, not pressing yet, but certainly much too close.

"Aww, such a quaint view," Jasper said in a normal voice. Then, he turned his head so his lips brushed the shell of Edward's ear. "How many people do you think come here for this view and how many for that two-man jacuzzi tub in the bathroom?"

Despite his best effort, Edward shivered. The jolt that went down his spine went straight to his cock. He clenched the rail tighter and closed his eyes, trying to control his reaction.

It was partially his fault that Jasper's behavior had escalated so much. Edward had kissed him and then refused to talk about it. He knew the younger man wanted to, had seen the question on his face several times and blatantly ignored it.

The door to the room next to his came open, and the girls came tumbling out onto their patio, mid-conversation. Edward pushed away from the railing, forcing Jasper to take a step back. He turned his face away from the girls, knowing his cheeks were probably flushed and his erection was also probably visible in his jeans. He hurried into his room to the bathroom and groaned. Jasper hadn't been lying. There was a ginormous jacuzzi tub, and he couldn't help the mini-fantasy that played out for him then.

A few minutes and many thoughts of baseball later, Edward emerged from the bathroom to find the others had congregated in his room. "Everything come out okay?" Jasper said. The girls giggled at the bathroom joke, but it was clear from the look on his face he knew exactly what Edward's problem had been.

Edward put on a serene expression and gestured for the door. "Shall we?"

The rest of the day should have been great. They went fishing, and Bella was in her element. Her father had taught her everything he knew—which turned out to be quite a bit—and she had fun telling them all what to do. She especially had fun 'saving' Alice from baiting hooks and 'helping' her guide the fish in when she had a nibble at her line.

"Kid's a natural," Jasper said with a snicker, speaking soft enough that the girls wouldn't hear him.

It was cute, though it made Edward worry again that letting them share a room wasn't the best idea. Still, it wasn't his worry that put a damper on the outing. No, it was Jasper.

The little punk was quickly becoming infuriating. Jasper had always gone out of his way to find an excuse to touch Edward. Now, it seemed like the fucker had discovered his erogenous zones.

When Edward was standing on the dock, Jasper had come to sit at his feet. He'd let his hand come up the back of Edward's leg to tickle the bend of his knees. Edward's legs had nearly buckled. He'd clapped Edward's shoulder once, but let his thumb dip to run along his clavicle, inside his shirt. Then, when he reached out to ruffle Edward's hair, he'd given it a tight tug—a sensation that went straight down Edward's spine and made his nipples stand at attention.

If the touches weren't enough, there were the looks. Jasper never missed an opportunity to fix Edward with a lascivious expression. He'd catch his eye from across the dock, tilt his head, and run a thumb over his bottom lip. The look in his eyes was all mischief and pure sex.

Edward's fury grew into an inferno raging quietly just under his skin.

It got worse over dinner, though for different reasons. When the girls prompted, Jasper regaled them with stories of his various petty crimes—the near misses and mishaps of a teenage thief. They might have been funny to someone else, but Edward wasn't amused.

"Aww. Papa Edward doesn't approve," Jasper teased, smirking at him. "Don't be so uptight. I learned my lesson, remember? It all ends well."

Edward said nothing. He was too busy trying to get himself to calm down. It wasn't rational to be this angry. Sure, Jasper had been antagonizing him all day, but that was to be expected. Of course his behavior was going to escalate now that Edward wasn't reacting to it. He would act out for a bit, and then it would stop. And he couldn't be expected to understand exactly why his tales of stealing things just because he could irritated Edward at such a deep level.

An older, more experienced man would have known to leave well enough alone at that point, but, Jasper being Jasper, he only pushed further. Even as he turned his attention back to the girls, Edward felt the tip of Jasper's boot creep up the inside of his leg. Not far—just enough to get his attention.

By the time they made their way back to their rooms, Edward's jaw ached from being clenched so tightly all day. He wanted to retreat to his room, but the night was young. He made an effort to smile at the girls. "So, what do you feel like doing?"

The girls looked at each other and then back at him with expressions that were far too innocent. "We can entertain ourselves for a bit," Bella said. "I mean, you have to be sick of babysitting."

Edward furrowed his brow. "It's not babysitting. You guys are great to hang out with."

"Yeah, but we want to do girl stuff. You know, braid each other's hair, and do makeovers and all that," Alice said.

"But...Bella never wears makeup."

"Jesus Christ," Jasper muttered. He grabbed Edward's arm and started hauling him backward. "Let's leave the girls alone now. They'll be fine."

It was then he noticed the flushed, kind of hectic look in the girls' eyes, the furtive way they glanced at each other. They were standing near enough that their fingertips brushed.

Oh. Oh.

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but Jasper yanked him again. "Let them be," he said, hauling him backward.

It wasn't as though Edward was naive. He remembered being that age; the same age he'd seen and touched his first cock. He just wasn't sure it was supposed to happen on his watch. But then again, he didn't see a way out of it. There were three rooms and only one of them had two beds in it. Neither of the grown men were going to sleep in the same room, let alone the same bed, as a teenage girl. It just wasn't going to happen, and—

Jasper yanked again. "Come on."

In the end, Edward let Jasper haul him backward. It wasn't like either of them could get pregnant, anyway. There wasn't anything wrong with a little youthful exploring. He believed that. Still…

The girls had ducked into their room quickly, probably figuring they should get away before Edward changed his mind. "Goodnight," they called.

"Be safe," Edward called back, and he heard their door shut with a too-loud clap.

Jasper finally let him go. "Be safe," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Damn, you're hilarious. The most they'll probably do is make out, for fuck's sake."

Edward ran a hand through his hair, still uncertain about what he'd done. "What? I know at least one of them isn't an innocent flower," he said darkly.

Jasper bristled at that and narrowed his eyes. "If you're talking about Alice, you got another thing coming. I know for a fact she's never done anything with anyone. Why you have to make assumptions—"

"I wasn't talking about Alice."

Jasper blinked, wide-eyed. "Baby B?" he asked, his voice pitched higher than usual. "Are you serious? Our girl who thinks she has no game?"

"You don't need game to stumble into a sexual situation," Edward said with a shrug.

Jasper bent at the waist, laughing. "Well, don't that beat all. That's fantastic."

They took a few more steps away from the girls' door. Edward went to his room. "Goodnight," he said, and quickly stepped inside before Jasper could follow him.

A minute later, Edward discovered he had somehow ended up with both his keycard and Jasper's. He glared at the thing, and had to wonder if Jasper had snuck it into his pocket. Any minute now he was about to knock on the door.

Well, forget it. Edward wasn't going to let him play games. He went to the door and back outside. Looking to his right, he saw Jasper outside his own door, looking through every pocket of his jacket. Maybe it had been an honest mix up then.

"Here," Edward said, closing the distance between them and offering the keycard.

"Thanks," Jasper said, taking it from him. Then he looked at Edward, looked him up and down, eye-fucking him blatantly. He licked his lips as he caught Edward's eye. "You want to come in?" he asked, his voice low and lusty.

Edward tensed. Anger churned in his gut, and he suddenly remembered the shocked look on Jasper's face after he'd kissed him.

The kid played a good game, but it was just that—a game. He was bluffing.

Taking a step forward, so they were close enough to feel the static in the air between their bodies, Edward smiled. "Sure."

He saw the jolt of shock that went through Jasper. His answering chuckle was nervous, but he grinned. "Well, okay then," he said, as though he'd never had any doubt.

Jasper's fingers shook a little, and Edward couldn't help himself. He pressed his chest to Jasper's back, slid his hand along his arm and took the keycard from him. He opened the door for them and pushed Jasper inside.

And just like that, Edward was done. He was so sick of this game. He was sick of the teasing, and sick of the way this man had dominated his thoughts for weeks now. Fine. Let him have what he wanted. Edward knew what to do with a man. Jasper could talk all the game he wanted, but Edward had more experience.

With one hand to Jasper's chest, he shoved the other man hard against the wall and kissed him before he could say a word. Sure enough, Jasper whimpered. His hands came up, and Edward caught them. He pinned them above his head against the wall, swallowing all the space between them, pressing his body against his.

Jasper wasn't unwilling. He kissed him back, but the intensity of Edward's kiss clearly surprised him. When Edward pulled back a fraction of an inch, he could see by how wide the other man's eyes were that, despite all his teasing, he hadn't expected this. His lips were parted; his breath erratic. He didn't fight against Edward's hold.

Edward kissed him again. Hard. Demanding.

"You're a pain in the ass, spoiled little shit, you know that?" Edward growled between rough kisses. He moved his mouth down and began to suck and nip at Jasper's neck.

Jasper groaned and tilted his head back. "Christ," he said with a gasp. "Who the hell are you?"

Edward scoffed. He finally let go of Jasper's wrists to take a fistfull of his shirt. He dragged him up off the wall. "You think you know me, don't you, little boy?" He shrugged out of his jacket as he spoke and ripped Jasper's from his shoulders. "You think you know everything about me. You think I'm an uptight little bitch." He hooked a finger in the loop of Jasper's jeans and pulled him forward so they were nose to nose. "You know fuck all about me."

Eyes wide, Jasper took a step backward. Edward followed him. "You think you're the only one who has stories of near misses and cops breathing down your neck?" he asked, stalking the other man, for once in total control of the situation.

The backs of Jasper's legs hit the bed. He jumped, startled, but his eyes never left Edward's.

Edward stepped up to him and kissed him again, hands firm at his waist. The other man kissed back, still willing. Anger still boiled in the pit of Edward's belly, mixing with desire. Yes, he wanted this man, and that only made him more pissed off. He would have him and get it out of his system. Have him, and show Jasper just how little he knew.

He shoved Jasper away from him, throwing him down on the bed, and quickly straddled him. "Does that surprise you? To know I did my share of stealing when I was a kid?" He caught Jasper's arms before he could touch him and pinned them again above his head. He leaned down so they were nose to nose, their lips brushing. He looked Jasper in the eyes. "Except you want to know why I stole? I stole because my family didn't have enough to eat. I stole to survive. You think you're so street-wise and tough?"

Edward straightened up, bringing Jasper with him. He gave him a little shake. "You had everything. You stole because you were bored, and you decided being a delinquent made you a big man." He pulled Jasper's shirt up and off. The other man gasped. He was entirely under Edward's thumb, and they both knew it.

Standing, Edward pulled Jasper to his feet. "You call me spoiled because my dad bought me a car? Did you know it was his first gift to me in a decade, because we were that poor for a while?" He kissed him again, squeezing his sides roughly, relishing the groan Jasper sighed into his mouth. It was almost cute—the stumbling way Jasper struggled to keep up with him, to match his kiss. He was an active participant, but this was Edward's game.

Edward grasped him hard between his legs, rubbing his hard-on through his jeans. Jasper let out a shout, his hands clutched at Edward's shoulders as though it was all he could do to just hold on. "Spoiled little shit," Edward said, though his tone wasn't quite as harsh as it had been a minute before. The less Jasper pushed back, the more it was apparent Edward was right—he wasn't nearly as experienced as he tried to make it look—the more his anger dwindled. "You always get what you want, don't you?"

Jasper licked his lips, his expression uncertain, as though he couldn't decide what Edward wanted to hear.

"You want this?" Edward asked, kissing him again, giving his cock a squeeze for emphasis.

Jasper groaned and nodded. "Yes," he whispered.

Edward spun him around and pushed him face down on the bed. He was over him in a heartbeat, raining kisses down his back. He did feel good under his hands—smooth and muscular. Edward ran his hands down and squeezed his ass.

"What do you like?" Edward asked. As much as he was dying to fuck this infuriating man into the mattress, he wasn't going to assume.

"I...what?" Jasper asked, tilting his head as Edward kissed him there.

"I mean, do you want me to fuck you?" He rubbed between Jasper's legs and back up to his ass. "Tell me what you want, spoiled brat."

"I… I mean… I don't know if…"

And with a suddenness that was like a bucket of cold water being thrown at him, Edward understood.

He realized that Jasper was trembling. He realized why he—a man who'd always had a sharp comeback on the tip of his tongue—hadn't been able to get more than a few words out since Edward had called his bluff. Edward had meant to catch Jasper off guard, but the man was being downright submissive.

Edward stood up, his stomach twisting. He ran a hand through his hair. "Jasper, look at me."

Slowly, Jasper rolled over and sat up. He crossed his arms over his bare chest. He didn't look at Edward. He was shaking visibly—still aroused, but so out of his depth, he had no idea what to say.

Edward swallowed hard. "Have you done this before?" he asked, thinking he already knew the answer.

Jasper looked up. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked away and laughed, the sound nervous—almost a giggle. "I—"

"The truth."

Jasper sighed and looked down. "No."

A/N: Many thanks to Songster, MoH, JessyPT, Packy 2.0, Mina, and Barburella (damn, I have a bunch of pre-readers. LOL).

So that happened! :)