Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Perfect For Me

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 08:

After his date, Jasper’s workweek flew by. He was on top of the world and nothing could drag him down. He had seen Bella a couple of times at Red’s during the week and was going to see her again on Sunday. He wanted to see her on Saturday, but she told him she had too much homework to do, so she couldn’t see him.

She was responsible. He’d give her that, but – damn it – he wanted to see her. He felt like an eager puppy waiting for a treat to be thrown his way. She wasn’t at all like any girl he’d dated in the past. She wasn’t needy. She didn’t ask him to take her shopping. And she was independent.

He recalled Alice always needing his help for one thing or another. She couldn’t even carry a shopping bag by herself. He couldn’t imagine Bella being like that.

By Saturday night, he was antsy. He decided to see if Emmett was up for doing something, but he was out on a date with his new girl. Pete was out of town on a business trip, which left Paul and Sam. Sadly, both of them were taking their wives out to dinner. So Jasper decided to go down to the basement and start a new brew to take his mind off of things. Just as he was done sanitizing the equipment to begin the process, Emmett called to say everyone was meeting at the outdoor bar on Fairview.

He had nothing better to do, so he decided to go. Why not have a few brews with the guys? It would certainly take his mind off of Bella. When he got there, he realized he was the only one without a date. Hell, even Rachel’s kid brother was there with a pretty blonde hanging all over him. Apparently, her name was Rosalie.

“Bella should be here soon,” Jacob said to him.

“She’s coming? Here? Tonight?”

“A little eager, aren’t ya?” He grinned at Jasper. “Yeah, she just texted me from her Uber ride.”

“I could have given her a lift. Why is she taking an Uber anyway? Doesn’t she have her bike?”

“We never drink and drive. It’s a strict rule we have.” Jacob looked up. “Hey, Bells! We’re over here!”

Bella waved happily. She was wearing a short denim skirt, a white tank top, and brown cowboy boots. On the way to the table, a couple of guys propositioned her, but she simply ignored them.

“Hey, Jasper,” she chirped, as she plopped down next to him.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Say ‘hi’ to Jasper and not to the rest of us!” Paul complained.

“Hey, rest of you!”

“What’s your poison, girl?” Emmett asked.

“I’ll have McCarty’s on the rocks.”

“Good choice! This round is on me.” He called the waitress over and ordered drinks for everyone. “My family owns McCarty’s.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. If you ever go to Gatlinburg, mention my name, and they’ll hook you up.”

“That’s so cool! The best I can do is hook you up with Mrs. Ateara’s Peach Jam or…” Bella turned to Paul. “Is Jared still making moonshine?”

“Probably. You would know better than I would.”

“I can probably hook you up with some genuine moonshine from La Push. It would be contingent on Jared firing up the still again.”

“Don’t forget. We can give him unlimited amounts of salmon,” Jake added.

“That’s right. Salmon, too.” She then turned to Jasper. “How’ve you been?”

“Great! Did you get your work done?”

“Yeah, I did. I like to stay ahead of the class whenever possible so I can enjoy my free time. What about you, how was your work week?”

“It was hell. I had to work on an offshore drilling platform and make repairs to a hydraulic winch drive. I thought I was going to fall into the ocean several times, and then my supervisor kept yelling at me because I didn’t have the right shoes. He said I had to have steel-toed work boots by Monday. I forgot to buy them last weekend. And I kept getting out of work late, so I couldn’t buy them during the weekdays.”

“You could have bought steel-toed work boots at the twenty-four hour Walmart, you know. I’m sure they would have been safer than the fufu designer boots you’ve been wearing to Red’s after work.”

“Ah… so you noticed.”

“I notice a lot of things about you,” she said with a wink and a smile. “You clean up really nice.”

“Well, you always look nice.” He returned as he took her hand in his.

“Jasper!” A shrill, high-pitched, keening voice called.

“Well, well, look who just flew in on her broomstick.” Charlotte, Peter’s wife, quipped.

“Hello, everyone! It’s so good to see you!” Alice greeted falsely. She came from somewhere inside the bar with her wine glass wobbling in her hand and was extremely drunk.

“It’s certainly not good to see you,” Rachel stated to her.

Alice noticed Jasper and Bella holding hands and snippily asked, “Who is she?”

“Oh, hi. I’m Bella.”

“Bella, huh? I’m Alice Brandon. Jasper’s ex-girlfriend.”

Jasper rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. When was the bitch going to leave him alone?

Bella didn’t say anything. She clearly sensed an enemy in Alice.

“Wow! If this is what you left me for Jasper, your standards sure have fallen.” Alice giggled. “It must be that entry-level engineer position you’ve taken.”

“Insecure much?” Bella asked simply with a smirk on her face.

“How dare you?” She took her wine and threw it at Bella, soaking her tank top.

Loud protests could be heard from all of Jasper’s angry friends.

Leah, meanwhile, stood up and confronted Alice. “You don’t mess with my kid sister and get away with it, Bitch!”

“Leah, just let her go. Clearly, she has issues with aggression.” Bella suggested.

Alice took in the sight of Leah and snorted. “You sure got fat.”

“She happens to be pregnant!” Rachel, who had come around from the other side of the table, informed her. She turned to Jasper. “Why the hell would you date a moron like her?”

“Because I have money, looks, and above all, class! It’s something none of you will ever have because you weren’t born into it! Jasper Whitlock was formed for me!”

“Yeah?” Bella asked. “How classy is stumbling around drunk at a bar, harassing your ex and his friends, and throwing wine on a total stranger? Class is determined by one’s actions and morals, not by virtue of birth.”

“Why you little bitch!” A countenance of rage appeared on Alice’s face. With her fingers extended like talons, she suddenly threw herself at Bella and started clawing at her. Since she didn’t know how to fight, she scratched, slapped, and yanked her hair, but didn’t get any real hits in. Rachel attempted to pull the crazed lunatic off of her friend, but lost her balance when Alice kicked out with her legs.

Fortunately, security showed up and took control of the situation. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes, this thing threatened me!” Alice accused Bella.

It didn’t fly at all. Not only did everyone at their table defend Bella, but other patrons around them, who had witnessed the confrontation, explained what had transpired. Besides, everything had been caught on security camera. Alice ended up being hauled away in handcuffs for simple assault and drunken and disorderly behavior. The police noted Bella was coherent and not drunk in any way, took a statement, and snapped photos of her appearance.

“I should leave. I’m a mess,” she said, standing up. It was true; her tank top was covered in wine and ripped on one side.

“Why the hell didn’t you defend yourself, Bells?” Sam asked.

“Because I don’t fight small children. I would have probably killed her. Besides, I blocked her for the most part, so I was perfectly fine. Anyway, karma is a bitch, isn’t it? She’s the one going to jail. I’m just going home.”

“I’ll take you home,” Jasper offered.

“No, stay and have fun with everyone.”

“I’m taking you home, and I won’t take no for an answer. It was my psychotic-ex who ruined our night anyway.”

“Oh, alright. You can drive me home.”

They left after saying goodbye to everyone.

Jasper got behind the wheel of his truck and drove. Leave it to Alice to interrupt their fun evening out. She had even stooped to assaulting and insulting his new girlfriend. There was no excuse for that kind of behavior.

“Screw this! Bella, we’re not going to let that shrew ruin our night. We’re going to have fun!”

“Normally I’d say, yes, but I’m a mess. Look at me!”

“Honestly speaking, all you have to do is change your shirt. We’ll get you a new one from somewhere. What time is it?”

“Jasper, it’s late. It’s already eleven. The only thing open is the twenty-four hour Walmart.”

“We’ll go there then. Don’t they say, ‘you’ll find what you’re looking for at Walmart’, or something like that anyway?”

She shrugged her shoulders and peered at him with a shy smile. “You’re correct, of course. No twit can bring us down! She’s being booked and processed. We should celebrate. Drive on, my friend!”

After parking his truck, Jasper helped Bella out, and then threw his arm around her to keep her torn shirt from falling off. They quickly found a new shirt for her, which she happily changed into, keeping the price tag handy for when they checked out.

“We should get your work boots now.”

“From here?”

“Sure, unless you want Timberlands. I figured we should get them because we’re here now. Besides, you keep forgetting to buy them. And I’m sure you’ll have less slippage if you have work boots on.”

“Okay, let’s get them.”

They arrived at the shoe section. He grabbed a pair of boots, which looked like the ones his co-workers were wearing, from the shelf.

“No, those are not steel-toed.” Bella squeezed the front of the boots to show him how they compressed. Your toes would get smooshed in these.” She grabbed the pair next to them. “Try these. If you knock on the toe area, you can feel how hard it is.”

Jasper tapped the front of the boots. “You’re right. Who knew?”

“I know. I’ve been wearing work boots since I started working part-time at Uncle Billy’s shop when I was fourteen.”

“What did you do there at fourteen?” He asked as he found his size and tried on the boots. He found it amazing she had started working at such a young age. When he was a freshman in high school, he was trying to pass Geometry and hoping to God his voice didn’t crack while a teacher called upon him to answer a question during class.

“I started out by doing simple tasks like washing cars, vacuuming, and changing wiper blades. Afterwards, I moved onto changing the oil and filter, tire rotations, brake pads… you know, the easy stuff. Gradually, I was able to do more difficult tasks like water pumps, radiators, transmissions, and whatnot until I could rebuild a whole car from top to bottom.”

“Gee whiz! You’re practically a certified mechanic.”

“Practically, and I wanted to be a mechanic, but Uncle Billy told Jake and me he’d fire us if we didn’t go to college. He said we needed to expand our horizons and have bigger dreams. Then my dad joined forces with him and forced Jake and me to apply to colleges, which weren’t within commuting distance of Forks, so we ended up in Seattle at UDub. When it was almost time to graduate, Paul and Sam both suggested we go further with our degrees because we wouldn’t get far with just bachelor’s degrees. And that’s how we ended up here.”

“So, Paul and Sam were the ones who told you to come here.”

“Not to Houston exactly, but Rice University was the only college that accepted the both of us into the same program. After we got in, they recommended we move in with them in order to save money. I’ll tell you a secret. Paul and Sam act like tough guys, but they’re the sweetest, most caring guys on the planet. I suspect it’s why you’re friends with them; you know they’re good guys.”

“I met them my freshman year of college, along with Emmett. They were my roommates. It was the first time I’d ever felt accepted. I didn’t really have many friends in high school.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t really share many interests with my classmates. I liked D & D and actually enjoyed hanging out with my grandparents. The guys in my high school were all jocks, who liked chasing after girls and bragging about getting laid. I was never like that. My grandparents taught me to respect women.”

“I can tell you do.” She reached over and grabbed a different model boot. “You said you work on an offshore platform sometimes. Maybe you should get the waterproof ones.”

“Good point. I’m glad you’re here with me. I wouldn’t know how to pick these boots out on my own.”

Frankly speaking, Jasper barely went clothes shopping on his own. Generally, his grandmothers, mother, or Alice shopped for him and never at Walmart either. In fact, he didn’t think he’d ever been in one.

He quickly found the correct size, bought some thicker socks, per Bella’s recommendation, and cashed out. At the register, he counted out three hundred dollars in twenties and gave it to the cashier, who stared at the wad of cash with a perplexed look in her eyes. The cashier took three of the twenties and handed the rest back to him.

“It only came to fifty-eight dollars and thirty-one cents,” the cashier explained.

“Really? Did you forget to ring up her shirt and my shoes?”

“No, I got everything.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The cashier handed the rest of his change and the receipt to him. “Thanks for shopping at Walmart.”

Jasper took a look at the receipt. “Are you sure you didn’t undercharge me?”

“I’m positive.”

“Jasper, let’s go. People are waiting in line behind you.”

Bella pulled him along. When Jasper glanced back at the cashier, he heard her saying, “We get all sorts of strange people in this store.”

When they got to the trunk, he exclaimed, “I forgot the shopping!”

“I grabbed it. Don’t worry,” Bella handed everything to him. “I owe you money for the tank top.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. My ex-girlfriend was the one who attacked you, so I owe you at least a shirt. Anyway, what do you want to do now?”

“Anything fun. Let’s eat first, though.”

“I have an idea!”

---

Jasper picked up two boxed lunches from a twenty-four hour diner he frequented, before driving to his destination.

“Where are we?” Bella asked.

“This is my house. If you trust me, I have an idea on how we can have fun.”

“Do your best!”

“Alrighty.” He parked his truck in the circular driveway, grabbed the food, and invited Bella inside.

“You live here?” She whispered, staring in awe at the enormous, plantation style home. “This is huge!”

“It used to belong to my grandmother.” He informed her. “And why are you whispering?”

“Oh, I don’t want to wake your parents up. They probably don’t want you having a girl over so late at night.”

Jasper couldn’t help himself. He let out a full-belly laugh before asking, “Do you think I live with my parents?”

Wide-eyed, Bella nodded.

“No, this is my house. I live here alone.”

“Are you sure? This is a pretty big house for just one person.”

“Yeah, I’m positive. I’ve lived here since finishing graduate school. My parents gave this to me as a graduation present.”

“Wow, you’re a lucky guy! My dad finally upgraded my iPhone for my graduation present. And my mom bought me a new pair of Doc Martens and a Coach Bag. Still, I love my graduation gifts.”

“I’m sure your situation is more the norm.” He closed the door and locked it. “Come on. I want to show you something.” He grabbed a few bottles of his craft beer, the blanket from the sofa, took her hand, and led her out to the expansive backyard, which was dotted with many varieties of trees. But he didn’t want to go there.

His destination was the rose garden, which had been the work of many generations of women in his family. Even his mother had added to it as a young girl. His Grandma Esme still came to tend to the garden. There were many types of roses growing indiscriminately in a haphazard circle, surrounding a large area of grass. A stone bench sat on the opposite end of the opening.

Jasper laid the blanket down and invited Bella to sit. He offered her a box lunch and beer, which she gratefully accepted. “Dottie makes the best fried chicken,” he declared. “Try it.”

“Mmm…” Bella moaned as the taste hit her mouth. “This is so crispy. They don’t make fried chicken like this in Washington. Is that potato salad?”

“Yep, and a country ham biscuit, a deviled egg, and apple pie.”

“I was wondering why they called it a ‘box lunch.’ This is a whole meal.”

“Only the best for you!”

“Aww, that’s sweet.” She twisted the cap off of her beer and took a sip. “I like this. Is it an IPA?”

“It is. It’s the one I brewed with Sam.”

“I heard about your beer brewing from both Paul and Sam. Were you able to figure out an air lock system for the barrels?”

“We haven’t gotten that far yet. To tell the truth, since the guys got married, they’ve had less time for brewing. It was something we started together in college. And I’m kind of sad to see it falling to the wayside.”

“I doubt it’ll fall to the wayside. Paul and Sam, at least, talk about it incessantly, but you’re all at a busy stage in your lives.”

“Yeah, I guess we are.”

Bella put her fingers under her chin and asked, “I’m curious. The crazy girl at the bar tonight, your ex, exactly how ‘ex’ is she? Was it a recent breakup?”

Jasper sighed as he answered, “Fairly recent.”

“I see. Are you ready to begin dating even? Because, clearly, your ex isn’t over you yet.”

He dropped his face in his hands in frustration before facing her once again. Canvasing the topic of Alice was something he didn’t want to do, but he supposed it was necessary now that the foolish girl intruded on his date.

“I’m afraid I’m going to sound like an asshole.”

“Try me.”

Jasper closed his eyes and nodded. “Alice and I have a history together. Her mother has been my mom’s best friend since they were kids. They come from the same privileged background. They were both southern belles – princesses of Texas high society. Alice is just like them. We’ve known each other since we were kids, but it wasn’t until senior of college that I started dating her because my parents pushed me into it. They thought she would be perfect for me. She came from the same background, knew how to navigate our world, etc. So, being an obedient son, I started dating her. It was fine in the beginning, you know? We went out on dates, went to parties, and had fun. Then we graduated from college and got into our first big fight.

“She was upset because I was staying on at University of Texas in Austin with my buddies, so we could get our graduate degrees. She wanted me, specifically, to move back home to Houston to get my MBA. I refused. It was around then she started to criticize my friends. It wasn’t too bad for the two years I was earning my MBA because it was a long-distance relationship. She lived at home with her parents, while I lived in Austin.”

“And then what happened after you earned your MBA?”

“I moved back to Houston, but this time, my buddies came with me. Well, Pete and Sam did at first, and then Emmett and Paul followed a year later. Alice didn’t like that. She thought I’d ‘outgrow’ my friends after we earned our degrees.”

Bella shook her head quickly, and opened her mouth in outrage. “How do you outgrow your best friends? If anyone asked me to outgrow Jacob, I’d tell them to take a hike.”

“Exactly, but you need to understand people like Alice will never be able to have a true friend. She collects connections; people who can increase her standing in society.” He paused for a second to regroup his thoughts. “Anyway, as soon as I earned my MBA and turned twenty-five, I came into my trust fund and was given a nice, cushy job as VP of Finance in my grandfather’s company.

“Alice was delighted, but she wanted me to get rid of my friends since she wanted to be in the thick of high society, attend glamorous parties with her, and be, what she called, a ‘power couple.’ I, of course, refused to give up my friends. Whenever she’d see them, she’d huff and puff, while acting annoyed and superior to them. She especially despised my friends’ girlfriends – Charlotte, Leah, and Rachel.

“Eventually, my friends got engaged. Alice and my parents told me it was high time I did the same, but I didn’t bother. One day, my mother held one of her infamous garden parties. In the middle of it, Rich Brandon, Alice’s father, suddenly made an announcement proclaiming his daughter and I were engaged. My father joined in, saying how happy he was to be gaining her as a daughter-in-law. And my mother shoved a ring, which had belonged to my grandmother, into my palm and forced me to propose to her.”

“How awful? You were blindsided!”

“I was, and the next day, all the papers announced Jasper Whitlock’s engagement to Alice Brandon. From then on, it was a three-pronged assault; Alice, her parents, and my parents kept urging me to drop my friends. In the meantime, my friends were happy in their relationships and eventually married their girlfriends, causing her to panic and try to force me to pick a wedding date. I told her I could always tell the preacher ‘no’, so she shouldn’t rush it.

“My friends and I continued to meet at Red’s on Friday nights and sometimes hosted wild parties at my house, which she despised. I admit, I let them become out of control because I enjoyed pissing her off. Anyway, it all came to a head a couple of weeks ago.

“I had a house party and missed going to church with the Brandons. Alice came storming in to find my friends passed out drunk all over the house. She exploded in rage, threw my great grandmother’s ring at me, declared our engagement was over, and walked out.”

“So that’s how you broke up? Why did you continue with the charade of being engaged?”

“I suppose I didn’t want to start anything, or embarrass my parents. It wasn’t until my Grand-Daddy told me I needed to grow a backbone that I reassessed my life. I realized I needed to live life for myself. You see, I earned my MBA because my father told me he would pay for it. My friends, on the other hand, earned graduate degrees in their chosen fields. I have bachelors’ degrees in chemical and electrical engineering. I wanted to earn my master’s degree in engineering, too, but I didn’t go for it because I thought an MBA was what was expected of me.”

“I can understand why you got your MBA, though. Earning a master’s degree isn’t cheap. I contemplated not earning mine until both sets of my parents stated they’d help me. I have really caring parents.”

“It sounds like it. I heard you were raised by your father?”

“Yes, my parents were divorced when I was a baby. Mom gave custody of me to Dad because she wasn’t ready to be a parent. It’s a good thing too, because she can be a real airhead. Anyway, she moved back home with her parents and earned her degree. She’s a teacher. She’s re-married to a former baseball player, who is now teaching PE at the high school where she teaches.”

“Oh, yeah? Anyone I know?”

“I doubt it. He played for a year in the major league before becoming injured. He’s really nice, though.”

“And your father?”

“He’s the police chief of Forks, Washington, where I’m from. He married Leah’s mom, Sue Clearwater, when I was seven years old, Leah was eleven, and Seth was nine. I’m the baby of the family.”

“I met Seth. He’s the one in medical school, right?”

“Yep, he wants to become a cardiologist. Uncle Harry, Leah and Seth’s father, died of heart disease. He’s a real health nut, too.”

“I remember him. He told me to add more kale to my diet.”

“Yep, that’s Sethy for you. He tried to get me to down some sort of a green smoothie until I wrestled him to the ground and told him I was healthy enough.”

“You are healthy. You’re strong, too. I like that about you. We should finish out meals. They’re probably cold by now.”

They ate in silence for a while until she commented, “It’s so pretty here. I love how the moon is giving us just enough light to see, and the stars are all twinkling, too. It’s such a beautiful sight.”

“Yes,” Jasper agreed, while he gazed tenderly at Bella’s smiling face. He scooted closer to her and pulled her to him, tipping her chin up with his fingers so they were eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose… his lips met hers clumsily at first, then softly until he deepened their kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, she had a deep, crimson blush on her cheeks. “That was nice.”

He might have muttered ‘yes’ in reply. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was, he simply had to kiss her again. And so he did.