Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to its respective owner.


Phase 1 is in motion. And working, as I look through the binoculars to the pool. Alice is in a tiny, black monokini, bare back, and Jasper is trying not to look at her and failing. Edward is sitting close by him, gesturing animatedly. He's in swimming trunks, and I linger a little too long on the hard muscles of his abdomen. I'm sure Esme suspects it, but she leaves the teasing be for the moment.

Maybe because she notices how on edge I am.

"How were you so confident that this would work?"

"When did you know you and Jasper wouldn't last?"

"When you hinted at it."

"It was when you compared someone you could see yourself in a physical relationship with."

"Esme!"

"I was young once," she defends. "And you two are compatible both mentally, of course."

I go back to concentrating on Edward's body, my happy place.

He's moving now, towards Alice, and while I know what's coming next, it doesn't stop my stomach from twisting.

"What are you two doing?"

We jump at Carlisle's voice, our guilty looks matching.

"Actually, I don't want to know." He holds up his hands, backtracking his steps.

I snort, looking at Jasper as his face falls. He gathers up his towel, twisting it in his hands, and stalks away as Edward continues talking to Alice.

And I know exactly how he feels.

.

Phase 2 happens during dinner. Esme, of course, generously invites Alice to dinner in front of Jasper. She seats Edward and Alice on one side, and me and Jasper on the other. The two opposite of us are deep in private conversation, ignoring not only their dinners but us as well. My hands cling to the wine glass and Esme keeps pouring.

Jasper makes sure that I'm okay with Alice being there, and I lie.

I move the food around on my plate, feeling the buzz of the alcohol in my head much faster than usual due to the empty stomach. The slightly tipsy part of me realizes that Jasper had only looked so in love in the picture because we had been talking about Alice at that time.

The sober part of me wants that kind of love.

Edward notices, and when Alice excuses herself to the bathroom, he walks to my side, purposely leaning down to whisper in my ear for Jasper to see. "You need to eat."

"No," I respond stubbornly.

"If you be a good girl and eat, I'll take you out to San Francisco to show you my favorite place there."

The food on my plate starts disappearing soon after his words; his attention to Alice doesn't even bother me anymore. He's shared his solitude place with me, and he'll be sharing another one soon; not with her, but me.

.

.

Phase 3 is the last one. Edward and Alice had spent the last three days trying to make Jasper so jealous so that he admits his feelings, and Esme has sped the process by hinting at him that perhaps Edward might tie the knot soon after Jasper. The bachelor and bachelorette parties were merged together and Alice danced her little heart out in bendy moves that had Jasper shifting in his seat. I had been able to see that he was trying to ignore it, paying bits of attention to me, but Alice is the kind of force that demands full focus.

I could literally see the sweat building on his forehead, the skin underneath his eyes dark from the lack of proper sleep. I feel bad for what we're doing to him, but I console myself that it'll be for the good. He and Alice are meant to be together, even if I can't see it. Esme knows the two better than I do, and if she says so, I have no reason to doubt her.

And Edward seems to be all for it.

The wedding rehearsal is giving me the jitters, not because of the excitement for tomorrow, but for the dread that I'll be walking down the aisle towards Jasper when all I want is for Edward to be there.

I could've easily seen myself walking towards one of my childhood friends a week ago, but Edward's arrival disrupted everything. He came into my life like a storm and took me to heights with simple actions and words like no one had done before. He'd made me feel completely at ease in my own skin. As bad as I felt for deceiving Jasper like this, I couldn't marry him.

And I definitely wouldn't hurt him. His spark is coming back a little, even if it is in the form of anger and jealousy. He's always been a passionate person, feeling somebody's emotion and tuning into them. It's a surprise he hasn't felt anything between Edward and I, but I chalk it up to the fact that he's busy dealing with his own feelings to notice anybody else.

I walk towards him, a poor excuse of a bouquet held in my hand as my real one doesn't arrive until early in the morning. Edward's standing right next to him, and I can't will my eyes away from his green ones. The small amount of relatives that wanted to be here without a valid reason disappear from the corner of my eyes.

We listen to the sermon and the brief bit of advice, and as we move towards the vows, Jasper starts fidgeting.

"Do you, Jasper-"

Jasper grabs my hand, pulling me back down the aisle as our parents freeze. No one follows behind us as he drags me towards the lake behind the hotel.

"Jay?"

He grips his hair, pulling at the curly strands in agitation.

I put a soothing hand on his arm to will it down. "Jay," I coo softly. "What's wrong?"

"Everything. Alice is here; oh God, Alice is here. And Edward's interested in her."

"Oh . . ."

"I tried so hard to ignore this feeling, but I can't anymore. It's like she's everywhere I look, and now Mom is hinting that Alice and Edward might get married?"

I sit down at the bench, twisting my ankles together. "So what do we do?"

"You look so calm. How can you be so calm?"

"I think you and Alice should be the ones getting married."

"Right? My brother and my ex-" He blinks at me, not moving a muscle. "What?"

"You love her, Jay. If we were to get married, we'd both be miserable, and so would Alice. You felt horrible when Edward flirted with her, but you were fine when he flirted with me. You belong with her; go in there and propose to her right now."

"But our parents . . . The media . . ."

"Would you rather live a miserable life than a few moments of being criticized in magazines?"

"Bella . . ."

"You've always been the good guy, Jay. You've never done anything bad in your life; and you marrying Alice tomorrow won't be wrong at all. You'll just be doing something for yourself for once."

He looks towards the sky, his thumbs twisting. "I don't know."

"You'll know I'm right soon." I shrug, leaving him to his devices, and he watches me curiously as I walk back to the wedding venue.

I've never done anything like this before either. I'd always been a good girl for my dad, always kept his name and mine clean as far as the public was concerned. But this . . . this is my moment. Esme's encouraging smile is all I need.

The wedding party looks at me in confusion, wanting an explanation.

I raise my right hand up, waving ridiculously. "Wedding is canceled. Stay the weekend and enjoy LA on us!"

I grip my purple dress, hurrying to my room before anyone could question me. Charlie looks furious, his skin turning a hideous red, and Renee looks shocked, but I pay them no mind.

It feels odd being in my room. I'm expecting Charlie to burst in here and question my sanity, but the soft knock on the door is the opposite of the flare I predicted. Edward's soft voice whispers through the door to let him in.

He sticks his hands into his pockets, rolling from the balls of his feet to the tips and back. "They're all calling you a jittery bride."

"They'll get over it."

"Are you going to stay here?"

I cock up an eyebrow at him. "What else could I possibly do?"

"Well . . ." His steps are deliberate, and every inch that he gets closer to me pulls my stomach into knots, and before I know, his chest is pressing against mine; he's so near that our breaths mingle. "We could play chess." He pushes forth until the back of my knees touch the edge of the bed and doesn't stop until we're both horizontal. "Or we could pack."

His lips touch my jaw, and I moan. His fingers fiddle with the zipper on my back as his teeth nip at my chin. Little kisses trail up to the corner of my lips, and he kisses each side before tugging my bottom one between his teeth, making my stomach coils.

He smells like rain and the ocean and everything starts to disappear around us.

His fingers find the bare skin of my back, and I push my chest to his, tugging at the soft locks of his hair to encourage him to kiss me already.

And he does. It's as if the dam holding the water at bay has been pushed too hard; instead of cracks, it's a full break.

He's everywhere; at sides of my breasts with his hands, the valley of them with his mouth, to my lips and my cheeks. Things become a blur, a buzz at the very back of my mind. I tune out the pounding of feet or fists outside and give into the temptation as my heart hammers dangerously against my chest and Edward's breath flutters across my flesh.

Every minute that passes by feels like seconds; it's not enough.

I tug his shirt free of the confines of his pants, my hands squeezing his ass to get him closer to me. I can feel each twitch of his cock, each little thrust against the apex of my legs, and I've nearly gotten his belt undone to reach to touch him as the door flies open, and he collapses on me to keep the top part of me covered.

"Bella? Edward?"

"Jay?"

He walks right back out holding Alice's hand, and it's not a second later that I hear the commotion as both our families try to get into the room. We right our clothing the best we can, and I pull Edward through the joining room to my parents and then out the door. We run down through the employees' stairway, laughter bubbling between the both of us. It's impossible for anyone not to deduce what we'd been doing just a minute ago from our disheveled appearance. As much as I want to impale myself on him, the need to get away from everything is slightly more prominent.

Just by one point.

His motorcycle is still parked on this side, but he's got two helmets now.

I grab the hem of my dress up to sit the best I can with a strapless dress.

"Where to?"

"A clothing store first, and then San Francisco."

"San Francisco?"

"You did promise me."

"That I did." He turns back to kiss me before the engine roars to life and our helmets cover our heads.

"Why did you park back here again?"

"It's for the employees."

"You work here?"

"What's wrong with working here?"

"Nothing; I meant that shock as in you worked in LA and no one knew?"

He sighs. "I designed the place." His cheeks tint pink as he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. It's the first time I've ever seen him so uncomfortable. "It's kind of, sort of . . . mine."

I sputter, "What . . . how . . .?"

"I saved up money and Carlisle loaned me the rest when I started. I'm paying him back in installments."

"But he's always made it sound like you left and he didn't want anything to do with you."

"That's just how he comes off as."

My respect for Carlisle grows; I wonder how he's coping with us running away.

"Wait! I have to give this engagement ring back to Jasper!"

"Keep it," he murmurs, the sound vibrating through his body. "It's a family heirloom that should be given to the eldest anyway."

My arms tighten against him, and I press a soft kiss to the back of his neck as the tires on his motorcycle squeal as he peels away.

Esme could easily handle everything until we're ready to come back or call. And Jasper has his Alice now, so I'm not worried.

I'd thought wrong earlier. Esme has meddled in Edward and Jasper's lives . . . but they turned out alright. And so did I. Perhaps I'd visit my parents sooner than later. Or maybe after Emmett gets those pictures leaked . . .


This is it. I was trying to insert a little smut into it, but things sounded force, so I stuck (mostly) to the original section. :) If I sign up for any other Fandom donations, I'll be writing the San Francisco scene! ;)

Leave me some love.