Hello All! This was my entry in the Southern Twi-Nights Contest
It won: Third Place overall, a Judges Choice Award, and Best Use of Sweet Tea
Check out my profile for links to the winners page... all of the entries were great, so go check them out!

TITLE: A Different Kind of Southern
.net/u/2283402/TeamFireandIce
CHARACTERS: Bella & JasperRATING: M for mild language and underage drinking
SUMMARY: Bella and Jasper return to their alma mater for a friend's wedding and Bella reflects back on the first time she met her husband. A story of simple southern idiosyncracies. Bella/Jasper, AH, OOC
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of ME. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended, I'm just messing with them.

May 2010
Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport

"Attention all passengers on Delta flight 836 to Greenville, South Carolina. We will begin boarding Zone 1 at this time. All First Class and Medallion passengers, please come up to board the aircraft. Zone 1 only, please."

"Alright, that's us." Jasper rose quickly from the seat next to me and turned to give me his hand. After four years of dating and almost a year of marriage, I was still amazed daily by his good manners and charm. Reflexively, I reached for my carry-on bag, but he threw it over his shoulder before I could get to it. "Go on, sweetheart. I've got the bags." His hand went down to the small of my back and he led me towards the line of passengers waiting to get on the plane.

Standing there, I took a moment to study my husband. He always dressed up a bit to fly, something his father did as well. Today he was in khaki pants, a light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and loafers that looked like they had seen better days. God, he loved those damn shoes. His shaggy blonde hair was deliciously rumpled and he had on the same hat he was wearing the day we met.

I smiled and shook my head at him. My Jasper.

His blue eyes twinkled as he looked down at me, "What's so funny, Bell?"

"You. And that hat."

"Hey... I love this hat," he said with mock hurt in his voice. There was a smile on his face though; we'd had this conversation before.

I laughed lightly, "I know. Just always reminds me of the first time I saw you."

"Mmmmmm," he hummed in response as he put his arm around my shoulders and drew me in for a hug. "That's one of my favorite memories." I felt him lean down and kiss the top of my head.

"Mine too," I sighed into his chest.

"I thought you were the prettiest thing I'd ever seen… and when I caught you laughin' at me? Lord, you just about killed me with that."

We had reached the front of the line by this point, and the gate agent scanned our boarding passes. "You're all set, folks. Enjoy your flight."

"Thank you very much, ma'am. You have a nice day," Jasper said back to her. She beamed at him. Always so polite.

Settling into our seats, Jas looked over at me with an excited smile, "You ready to go back?" He raised the armrest between us and pulled me close. We were on our way to back to South Carolina for a wedding. One of Jasper's fraternity brothers was marrying my old roommate at our alma mater, Furman University, this weekend. I was one of the bridesmaids and Jasper was a groomsman.

I returned his smile before resting my head on his shoulder, "Yeah. I am. It's going to be weird, though. Staying in a hotel… being there but not going to school there… just… weird, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "It's kinda hard to imagine being on campus without havin' a paper due." I laughed out loud at this. One of our old jokes had been that Furman professors could turn any course into a writing class. Jas and I had taken a math class for non-math majors my sophomore year and our final exam had been an essay. A math essay. No joke.

"Seriously. I wonder if they'll want a written account of the rehearsal dinner before we're allowed to attend the wedding…" I mused jokingly.

He laughed, "Don't you even kid about that… you might put an idea in someone's head, and I was sorta hoping to spend this weekend messin' around with one of the bridesmaids. I heard she's smokin' hot."

I felt my face break into a large smile, "Hmmmm… she might be interested."

He kissed my temple, "Good. 'Cause I got big plans for her." My smile grew.

We quieted then, listening half-heartedly to the safety presentation before the aircraft rumbled into the sky. Glancing up, I noticed that Jas had already fallen into a light sleep. That man could sleep anywhere. Snuggling into his side, I breathed in the smell that was just so uniquely Jasper.

That ratty old hat. This whole weekend. His arm pulling me close. His scent. All of it had my mind in overdrive, reminiscing about my first year at Furman and the first time I laid eyes on the man I would marry.

September 2005
Furman University, Greenville

All my life, I thought I was growing up in the south. Born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia – Roswell, to be exact – I considered myself to be a southern girl. I spent years in cotillion classes and some of my friends went on to become debutantes. I could tolerate country music, and even liked some of it. I had no idea there was a sport called 'lacrosse' until my cousin in Ohio started playing it. I owned three cans of 'Deep Woods OFF' – one for the house, one for my pool bag and one for my car – because the regular stuff just didn't cut it on Georgia mosquitoes. I tended to call all carbonated beverages "Coke." Even my hometown was the epitome of southern – our claim to fame was that the Roswell Mill manufactured uniforms for the confederate soldiers.

Southern, right?

Wrong.

Apparently, when your parents are from Ohio you never truly get the southern experience, no matter how long you've lived there. My mom didn't make grits on Sunday mornings, my father had never even considered wearing seersucker and I didn't have a southern accent. In fact, most people thought I was from Indiana or Ohio because of my nasally Midwestern twang. So, when I decided to head up to Greenville, South Carolina to attend Furman University for college, I honestly had no idea what I was in for.

Driving into Greenville was just like driving into any other southern city that wasn't Atlanta. Green trees and blue sky met grey buildings that didn't really count as skyscrapers. Over half of those tall buildings were owned by banks. The state highway narrowed down into a four-lane road and eventually just sort of dumped me unceremoniously into the downtown. There were hotels and banks and restaurants and an honest-to-God general store along Main Street… which was actually called Main Street.

How quaint.

To get to the campus, I passed through this thriving little metropolis and went further toward the Appalachians, which lead me through the outskirts of town. Here, I came face-to-face with the remnants of bygone industries – deserted railroad tracks leading into the overgrown woods, empty factories with faded signs still proclaiming their glory days and a gas station that was apparently called 'Bo-Nats' with a rusty Dodge pickup truck in the parking lot. And was that… a confederate flag in the window of the convenience store? Oh my…

Furman, on the other hand, was like driving into a country club. The old brick buildings were interspersed with ancient oak trees, tall fountains, flower gardens and brick pathways; the swan-filled lake had a bell tower at one end and was surrounded by a meticulously kept jogging trail. It was simply gorgeous, and I felt privileged to call this place home for the next four years.

Once I was fully moved in to my dorm room, I still had a day or two until classes actually began. During that time I bought all of my course books, walked the campus a few times to get my bearings without a map and made a some observations about my new surroundings.

First of all, it took me all of about five minutes to discover that no one is more proud of their state flag than the good people of South Carolina. That thing is freaking everywhere. Car stickers, flip flops, mugs, belts, tote bags, billboards, suspenders, beer koozys, t-shirts that people actually wear in public… literally everywhere. I didn't even know if I could draw the Georgia state flag, and I'd lived there eighteen years.

Secondly, I discovered that I had been correct in identifying the gas station decoration as a confederate flag. Apparently, there is a section of the southern population that firmly holds the belief that the 'South will rise again.' Being from a very metropolitan city, I had never come across these people. This love for the Confederacy seemed to be most apparent at gas stations along the highway and the Wal-Mart where my dad and I stopped to buy a futon for my dorm room. And not that I'm judging or anything… but at first glance, I noticed that most of these people had somewhat poor dental hygiene, soft packs of Marlboro Reds in the chest pocket of their short-sleeved button down shirts, as well as large gun racks on their thirty-year old Chevy pickup trucks. Yikes.

My third revelation was that almost every single person in this town embodied the term 'southern hospitality.' Waitresses seemingly loved their jobs and smiled more than anyone I had ever seen. Cashiers at the grocery store called me 'hun' and 'sugar'. The bank teller told me to 'c'mon back in and see her soon', which was just one step away from a 'y'all come back now, ya hear?' in my book. Now don't get me wrong, people in Atlanta are by no means rude… I had just never seen anyone embrace southern hospitality as fully as these people.

~B~

On Monday morning, I walked into my first class as a college freshman – English 11 with Dr. Banner at eight a.m. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of an eight o'clock class every day, but freshmen always picked their classes last and typically got the shaft. When I got to the classroom, there were two guys on the far side of the room who seemed to know each other and one guy sitting alone in the middle. I threw a smile and a head nod in their direction and made my way to the back of the classroom. I always learned better when I didn't feel like people were looking at me from behind.

There were still a few minutes until class was supposed to start, and I took that time to pull a new spiral notebook and a black pen out of my bag. From the back of the room, I had a great view of the other kids as they walked in. Two more guys… followed by another. Just as I was wondering if I was going to be the only girl in this class, she walked in.

I swear to God I had never seen anyone like this girl in my life. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was curled under and hair-sprayed into a perfect bob. She was wearing a light blue linen dress, light brown strappy heeled sandals and a strand of pearls was draped across her neck. Pearls! On a Monday morning… for class. Her make-up was flawless; I was guessing that she had to have gotten up around five a.m. to look so put together. Glancing at her bag, I saw that she was using a monogrammed Vera Bradley tote to carry her books.

She took a seat in the front of the room and turned to address the rest of us with a brilliant smile on her shiny pink lips, "Hey! Aren't y'all so excited to start classes?" Wow. If she got up at five, how is she so damn perky?

I chose not to answer her out loud, merely nodding my agreement. The guy in the middle of the room said something neutral like, "Yeah man. Let's get this show on the road," while drumming out a beat on his desk with his index fingers. A few of the other guys decided to actively answer her inane question. More power to them.

'Barbie Lynn' then reached into her Vera Bradley tote and pulled out a matching monogrammed Vera Bradley make-up case that she was apparently using for her pens. I glanced down at my outfit and my own bag – a ratty old JanSport backpack with a broken front zipper pocket – and started to feel underdressed. For class. Since when were jeans and a t-shirt considered dressed down for school?

While I was seriously considering my own mental state for even asking myself this question, I sensed movement at the front of the room as someone else walked in the door. Another guy. This guy was wearing rumpled khaki shorts, worn brown leather flip flops and an un-tucked white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. A brown leather messenger bag was thrown across his shoulders. His blonde hair was on the long side and looked shaggy underneath the oldest baseball cap I had ever seen. It was one of those USC hats that just said "COCKS" in large maroon letters, and it looked like it had been run over by a truck… like ten times.

He was also insanely hot.

His blue eyes sparkled as they surveyed the room, and I could've sworn they narrowed a bit when he looked at me. His body angled in my direction as though he was going to come sit on my side of the room. Do it! I didn't have much time to think about that though, because 'Peggy Sue' up front jumped out of her seat and gave him a huge hug.

"Jasper! Oh my goodness! We have a class together!" Yeah, well spotted. "It's so good to see you, hun. How are you? How's your mama and daddy doin'?" Dude. We get it. You know him.

Jasper's face melted into an easy grin. "Hey, Kelly." Ah… so 'Gracie Lou' has a name. "I'm good… they're good. How've you been?" His voice was silky… southern… and just as insanely hot as the rest of him.

"Oh, you know. I'm good. Mama missed seein' you at the end-of-summer shrimp boil… and Daddy was askin' about you the other day on the phone… you know – if I'd seen you, how you were doin' – I told him that you and I hadn't gotten together for coffee yet, but it was just a matter of time! We've got to get together to catch up."

Jasper's reaction was priceless, and Kelly missed it completely. His eyebrows flew up into his unkempt bangs, his entire body tensed up and his eyes were briefly filled with sheer panic before he nodded stoically, "Uh… yeah. We should definitely do that. Go 'head and give me a holler sometime."

"Oh, don't you worry, sugar, I will!" I had the sneaking suspicion that Jasper was anything but worried.

I was trying to hide my face and stifle my laughter when I heard someone slide into the seat next to me. I looked up quickly and was met with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. Jasper. His expression was playful as he whispered, "You think that's funny?"

I briefly thought about lying to save face, but he had already caught me laughing at him so the damage was done. I smiled apologetically at him before admitting, "Yeah. Pretty much. Your face was priceless." I tried to keep my voice low so as not to offend the girl up front. He broke into a wide smile at my comment and I was totally blown away. He was more than insanely hot… he was fucking gorgeous.

Before we could get further into our conversation, the professor walked into the room and class began. He handed out the syllabus, talked about the various books we would be reading and discussed his expectations for the semester. The class was small – only twelve students – so daily participation would be mandatory. If we didn't read or we weren't prepared, it would be very obvious. It was a lot of information to take in.

Class was over before I knew it, and I was stuffing my notebook back into my ratty old bag. When I rose from my seat, I noticed that Jasper was standing by my desk, looking at me. "So, we were never properly introduced…" he began. "And if you're gonna be sitting next to me all semester laughin' at my misfortunes, I'm gonna need your name."

His eyes were playful again, and the smile that played on his beautiful lips was disarming. I took a breath to steady myself and said, "I'm Bella. Bella Swan. And I'm pretty sure everyone in here knows your name, Jasper."

He laughed out loud, "Yeah, I guess I can thank Kelly for that…" He held out his hand, "It's Jasper Whitlock, actually. Pleasure to meet you." He was so polite! We shook hands and for a brief moment I almost didn't want to take mine back, but I decided quickly that I didn't want to look like a psycho, so I let go. Weird… never had that reaction before…

"Well, Bella… I guess I'll be seein' you tomorrow."

"Yup. I guess so," I replied with a small smile.

~B~

The next morning, as I was walking up the brick path from my residence hall, I saw Jasper making his way from the opposite direction. Today he was wearing tattered jeans, a navy polo shirt, the same worn flip flops from yesterday and that silly old hat. He looked up, saw me coming towards him and smiled. Where our sidewalks converged on the way to the academic buildings, he stood and waited for me to catch up.

"Fancy meetin' you here, Bella Swan," he said as we matched our strides on the way to class.

"Yeah… imagine that. Same class, same time – what are the odds?" Having never been able to control my use of sarcasm, I figured why start now?

He laughed, "Well, now… look at that… you have quite the sense of humor." I looked over at him out of the corner of my eye and saw that his head was turned and he was studying my expression with a sly smile.

I gave him a smile in return, "Thanks?" It came out as a question. Was that a compliment?

"You're very welcome," he replied. "I just love it when ladies speak their minds."

My smile grew, "Well, then… thank you very much. And that's good, 'cause it's pretty much all you'll get from me. I have a hard time keeping my mouth in check. My mom tells me that I didn't come with a filter."

His eyes lit up, "Must be my lucky day, then." We walked a bit further in silence before he spoke again, "So… you're a freshman?"

I sighed, "Yeah, I am. Is it that obvious that I have no idea what I'm doing?"

"No… not at all. I just figured I'd remember seein' someone like you around campus." Someone like me?

"Someone like me?" We had made it to the building now and he held the door for me.

Jasper's face turned a light shade of pink before he answered, "Yeah… someone like you." Apparently, he wasn't ready to expand on what he meant by that. Neat. Cryptic.

I let it go for now, and concentrated on continuing the conversation so I could learn more about him. "So… what year are you then?" I asked as we entered the classroom together.

"Sophomore. I didn't take English 11 last year and it's a grad requirement, so I'm finally gettin' it out of the way," he said as he took his seat next to mine in the back of the room.

"Huh. Well, sucks that you have to take it now with mostly freshmen."

He looked over at me with bright eyes, "I don't know… I don't think it's gonna be that bad."

I wondered if he thought that maybe the class wouldn't be that bad because I was in it… and I couldn't hide my hopeful smile.

Over the next few weeks, Jasper and I fell into a routine. Every morning, he was waiting for me where the sidewalks merged, and every morning we talked on the way to class. I found out that his family was from Charleston, and he had lived his entire life in South Carolina. His father was a corporate lawyer, and Jasper was majoring in Political Science so he could eventually go to law school as well. Kelly, the Barbie Doll from our English class, was also from Charleston and her parents were very good friends of Jasper's. Though they ran in the same social circles, she was much more focused on social status than he was, and Jasper tended to find her girlish obsession with labels and brands to be 'utterly ridiculous.'

On the first Friday of October, Jasper arrived at our morning meeting spot looking slightly nervous. We walked together silently for a bit before he finally spoke, "So, um… my fraternity's havin' a party tonight. You've probably seen the fliers around campus… for the Barn Party?"

"Oh, yeah," I replied. "I have seen those. So, what… you guys, like… throw a party in a barn?" My face had to be betraying my dubious thoughts.

He laughed lightly, "Not really. Well, I mean, there's a barn there… but it's technically more of a 'field party.' The barn just happens to be in the same field as our party, and I guess 'Barn Party' just has better ring to it."

"Okay… so you guys throw a party in a field?"

"Well, yeah. It's a lot of fun, actually. We get a live band and a couple of kegs and spend the night drinkin'. You know, just hangin' out under the stars."

"Oh… that sounds like it could be cool, actually."

He gave me a tentative smile, "It is. So… were you, uh… plannin' on comin' tonight?"

I felt my mouth twist up in thought, "Um… I don't know. Gina and I talked about it, but we never actually decided." My roommate, Gina, and I had become fairly good friends since school started. While a lot of the girls on my hall wouldn't be caught dead at a fraternity party, Gina and I were dead set on having the full college experience, underage drinking and all.

"Well, you should come."

"Yeah?" I felt my face blush red. Was he telling me that he specifically wanted me to be there?

"Yeah," he answered. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "I'd really like it if you came tonight." He was asking me to go! How was this making him nervous? Of course I would go if he wanted me to. Had this kid ever looked in a mirror?

I looked up at him, "Alright."

His face lit up with a huge grin, "Well, alright then."

~B~

That night, Gina and I spent about an hour getting ready to go to a field. Halfway through drying my hair, I looked over at her with my eyebrows raised in silent question. What the hell are we getting ourselves into tonight? She closed her eyes and shook her head. I have no idea… but you committed us, so now we have to make an appearance. She was right; this one was on me. I finished drying my hair.

Gina drove her car, figuring that she could get us home just fine if she nursed a beer or two over a few hours at a party. We followed the directions she had printed from MapQuest and sure enough, when we reached our destination, it was a field.

Walking up to the nearest keg, I noticed that a pledge was filling cups for everyone. "What's in the keg?" I asked.

"Natty Light," he answered, naming the cheapest beer I could think of off the top of my head. Ewwww.

"Natty Light comes in kegs?" No way… they wouldn't do that… it has to at least be PBR…

"Sure does." Poor kid. He looked bored… and sober.

"Um… no thanks. I'll find something else." I would take pretty much anything else.

"Alright, suit yourself. But all the kegs are the same."

"Awesome. Thanks." There goes my unchecked sarcasm again.

Gina went ahead and took a cup of Natty Light, but was looking at it like it might jump out of the cup and attack her. We started making our way around the party, looking for anyone we might know, and ended up walking towards the make-shift stage where there was a band playing. About half-way there, she gave in and tentatively took a sip of the offensive beer, "Hmmm… it's really not that bad. But I guess it's kind of hard to screw up keg beer."

I raised an eyebrow, "Yeah… just tell me how that tastes after a half hour or so of taking small sips. Keg beer is good because it's cold. As soon as you hold on to that for twenty minutes, it's going to taste like crap."

She gave me a slight nod, "Touché." I laughed at her antics; she was a really cool girl and I had definitely lucked out with her as a roommate. Suddenly, her eyes widened, "Bella, don't look… but… damn… there's a gorgeous guy walking this way."

Of course I looked.

My eyes were met by Jasper's clear blue one's. "Dude," I muttered to my roommate, "that's him. That's Jasper."

Her eyes practically bugged out of her head, "That's him? No wonder you wanted to come tonight. I no longer blame you for shitty keg beer. He makes up for this." She was gesturing to the cup in her hand.

"I appreciate that," I said with a laugh. By the time we finished our little exchange, Jasper had made his way through the crowd to us.

"Bella," he said, "I'm so glad you made it!" God. He was looking good tonight. He had on a navy long-sleeved button down shirt, tight jeans and those same beat-up brown leather flip-flops. No hat tonight though, and his longish blonde hair was messy and gorgeous. "This must be your roommate... Gina, is it?"

She smiled hugely, "Yeah, that's me." He shook her hand while she stared at him.

"Not drinking this evening?" This was obviously aimed at me, as Gina was holding her red solo cup full of cheap beer.

"Um… Natty Light really isn't my thing," I answered while crinkling up my nose.

"I don't blame you at all," he said with a wink. "Come on, let's get you girls something better." He took Gina's cup right out of her hand and poured the beer on the ground before tossing it into the nearest trash can before motioning for us to follow him. Gina glanced at me with a confused look on her face. Don't look at me. I shrugged in return and moved to follow Jasper.

He led us over towards the 'barn,' which was really more like an overgrown shed. The shed itself wasn't open, but there was an area set up on the side where the brothers were apparently keeping their drinks of choice for the night. Opening one of the coolers, he took out a bottle of alcohol and a bottle of lemonade.

Jasper immediately began filling three cups with lemonade and liquor. He handed one to Gina and one to me before taking one for himself.

"Um, what is this?" I asked with thinly veiled skepticism.

"That, my dear, is a John Daly. Drink up. They're good." I squealed internally – he called me my dear!

Gina snorted a laugh, "John Daly? Isn't he a rather large man who plays golf?"

Jasper brought out his disarming smile and replied, "Yeah, he is. Not many women know that. Nice job."

She smiled at the compliment, "Thank you." After taking a small sip, her eyes went wide and she nodded to me, "It's really good! What's in this?"

I brought the cup up to my lips and took a tentative sip of the lemony liquid. Was that… tea? Jasper hadn't answered Gina's question yet. Instead, he was watching me and waiting for my reaction. Looking up at him, I asked, "If you mixed it with lemonade, why does it taste like tea?"

He grinned, "It's sweet tea vodka, darlin'. Mix it with lemonade and you've got sweet tea with a dash of lemon. What do you think?"

What did I think? I think my brain melted when he called me darlin'. "Um… I didn't even know they made sweet tea vodka."

He shrugged, "Must just be a southern thing, or something." Thank you Captain Obvious. Who else would turn sweet tea into a vodka flavor?

We spent the next few hours talking and laughing and getting to know each other outside the bubble of school. With every word that came out of his mouth, I became more fascinated with him. It wasn't just that he was totally fuckhot – which he was – it was his laid-back attitude, his incredible mind, his casual grace… it was just him.

After awhile, Gina came looking for me and we decided that it was probably time to go home. I had been with Jasper for hours at this point, and we still hadn't run out of things to say.

Before we left, he grabbed my hand, "Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh… would you like to go out to dinner with me? Tomorrow night?"

I thought my smile would crack my face open. "Yeah. I'd like that."

He looked almost giddy at the thought, "Great! I'll pick you up at six thirty."

"I'll be ready."

~B~

The next night, Jasper picked me up at six thirty on the dot. We didn't say much on the drive into downtown, but it was a comfortable silence – we didn't need to fill every moment with conversation to know that we enjoyed each other's company. After driving around a couple of blocks, we found a parking spot next to a huge red pickup truck. Well, the most of the truck was red… its hood was matte black.

"Oh. My. God." I said as I stared at the back of the truck with large eyes. "What is that?" I was looking at a metal thing hanging off the trailer hitch. It almost looked like… balls? No…

I couldn't look away. Finally, Jasper cleared his throat next to me and the sound drew my attention away from the whatever-it-was on the trailer hitch. "Those are… well, they're balls." He looked slightly embarrassed.

I felt my head tilt to the side as I asked, "Why in God's name would someone put… those… on a car?" For some reason, it felt wrong saying 'balls' out loud on a first date, even if he did say it first.

Again, he seemed slightly embarrassed, and I realized that he was uncomfortable talking about this in front of me when he replied, "He's basically saying that he has… balls of steel. That he's a badass, or something. I hate that, though… when people put stuff on their car that's inappropriate. Such poor taste. I'm sorry you had to see that." He shook his head and took my hand.

He wasn't embarrassed… he felt that it was inappropriate to talk about things like that in front of me, because I was a girl. Wow. Talk about manners. I had the sudden urge to ask him all about his parents and his upbringing, but he hadn't let go of my hand yet and I was distracted. It felt good. His hand was large and warm and right. Our hands just… fit.

Dinner was phenomenal, and instead of going straight back to the car after dinner, Jasper asked me if I would like to go for a walk around the West End. His route took us toward Falls Park and along the new pedestrian suspension bridge overlooking the Reedy River falls. It was absolutely breathtaking. The way the bridge was lit up, I felt like we were floating over the rocky waterfalls below. Jasper stopped us near the middle of the bridge and we just stood there for a few minutes enjoying the view below.

"Greenville, South Carolina: home of the longest, tallest pedestrian suspension bridge you've never heard of…" I mused.

Jasper laughed heartily beside me and shook his head, "God… your sense of humor..."

I looked up at him, "It's still a good thing, right?"

He turned me to face him, placing his hands on my slim hips, "That's a very good thing." One of his hands moved up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and gently caress my cheek. He took one small step toward me. "Bella?"

"Yes?" I breathed. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to ask me.

"May I kiss you?" Even in this moment he had impeccable manners. So cute.

I gave him a sly smile and answered, "You may."

His face lit up and he leaned even closer, our lips almost touching, "Bella?"

"Yes?" It came out as a whisper, the anticipation of his lips on mine leaving me breathless.

"Are you makin' fun of me?" I could feel the movement of his mouth as he spoke… the vibrations of his words making my knees weak. I wavered a bit and his arm snaked around to my lower back, holding me close.

"I might be… I-"

So tenderly, he brought his lips to mine. The other people on the bridge faded into the background and the only thing I could feel was Jasper. I was consumed by him. I parted my lips slightly, breathing him in, and I felt his hands tighten on my waist in response to pull me closer. I wound my hands around his neck as our lips moved together sensually. God… he tasted so good. I felt his tongue flick out to tease my lower lip right before…

…he pulled back slowly and rested his forehead on mine. He wouldn't go father… not tonight. He was too much of a gentleman.

"That was amazing," I breathed.

"Yeah," he answered while catching his breath, "you are incredible, Bella… thank you."

"You're welcome."

May 2010
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport

As the airplane touched down in Greenville, Jasper was jarred out of his light slumber. He looked down at me with slight confusion in his clear blue eyes, "We're here? Already?"

"Yup. You slept through the whole flight, Sleeping Beauty," I teasingly replied.

He reached his arm down to lightly tickle my side, "Well, sweetheart, if you were bored, you should have woken me up."

I giggled at his touch. "Jas, it was a forty-five minute flight. If I can't keep myself entertained for forty-five minutes, there is a serious problem."

He let out a low chuckle, "So what'd you do?"

"Thought about us… how we met, our first date… just reminiscing." I shrugged.

"I don't know if I ever asked you this, but do you count our first date as the Barn Party, or the next night when we went to dinner? I mean, not that it really matters… it was the same weekend, but I did ask you to the party…"

I raised one eyebrow in disbelief, "Our first date was not a frat party. And it was definitely not in a field full of kegs of Natty Light. I don't care if you invited me or not, I refuse to count that."

He laughed heartily, "Alright, crazy girl. You don't have to count that… but I like to, 'cause it's the first time you said 'yes' to me."

I looked up into my husband's loving eyes, "I'll always say yes to you."

His face softened, "I know, darlin'... I know." As our plane taxied to the gate, I sighed contentedly and snuggled into his warm embrace.