Previously in Son Knows Best: Edward and his son Jake meet their new neighbor Jasper when Jasper's dog Marvin knocked Edward over. There's an attraction between Edward and Jasper but Edward hasn't dated anyone since before Jake was born and has reservations. Jasper is invited to Jake's birthday party and Edward's family conspires against him and locks him in a pantry with Jasper. After some confessions and a first kiss, Edward agrees to go on a date with Jasper and they proceed to have a mini-marshmallow war.

Chapter Six: A Day for Romance

JPOV

The alarm clock broke through my very pleasant dreams of green eyes and luscious lips early the next morning, much to my annoyance.

Groaning, I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head, trying in vain to get back to sleep and recapture those stolen moments with Edward that I couldn't wait to make reality. He really was something special and, somehow, I had managed to get myself a date with him in just a few short days.

Jake's party yesterday had not turned out the way I had expected, what with Edward avoiding me for half of it, being locked in a pantry with him for the other half, and somehow ending up covered in mini-marshmallows.

The best part had been the kiss though. It was incredible and I thought my body was going to melt from the sheer pleasure that one touch gave me. Even better was the fact that Edward had been the one to initiate it, which told me he might actually be as attracted to me as I was to him.

Smiling now and awake with anticipation for Friday, I finally forced myself from the bed and made my way to the shower. Due to my lie-in, I didn't have enough time to take care of my rather impressive problem and so my quick shower was made even quicker by the cold water I forced myself under. My teeth were chattering by the time I got out and toweled myself off, but the cold water had done its job and I was able to dress in the rather tight pants of my uniform without any pain.

Marvin was already waiting by the door when I came down the stairs, tongue out and tail wagging. He always did love going to work more than I did.

"You ready to go show some kids how awesome you are?" He barked his approval as I scratched behind his ears and then followed me out to the car.

I couldn't help but glance over at Edward's place to see if I could get a glimpse of his copper-colored sex hair but was disappointed to find his driveway empty. I guess I wasn't the only one who had to work today but I felt better knowing I would be seeing him Friday, probably sooner since we were neighbors.

So with a smile on my face, I backed out of my driveway and headed towards the station, ready to tackle whatever the day held in store for me.

.***~SKB~***.

"I'm serious man! This chick grabs my junk and then turns to her friends saying they owe her fifty bucks because I most certainly do not stuff. I felt so cheap!" I laughed as Embry told me all about his 'wild' weekend and tried to keep my eyes on the road. Even though I was still new to Seattle, Embry had insisted I do the driving so I could get used to the traffic and learn some of the main roads. The drive to the elementary school we would be presenting at was a half hour drive from the station and so far I wasn't having any problems navigating the streets.

The drive was also reaffirming how glad I was to have Embry as my partner. He was open, honest, funny, and didn't treat me like some sort of pariah because of my sexual preference like some of the previous deputies back in Texas had. It was so important to be able to trust your partner in this line of work and I knew that Embry would have my back, just as I would have his.

"Well that's enough of my weekend. How did you spend yours?" Embry asked as I took a left and pulled into the school parking lot.

"Eh, a little bit of this and that," I tried to sound nonchalant but the unstoppable grin that spread across my face every time I thought of yesterday gave me away.

Embry apparently wasn't fooled either and shoved my shoulder once I had the car parked, "Bullshit, Whitlock! Come on, spill it."

My smile grew and I told him everything, from meeting my neighbor for the first time to finally getting a date with him. I knew I was going to get shit later for sounding like some love-struck teen, but I just couldn't help the way Edward made me feel. The man gave me butterflies for fucks sake!

By the end of my tale, Embry was looking at me with amusement and maybe even a little bit of envy. "Well, I'm very happy for you bro. Now, let's get in there before we start braiding each others hair."

I punched him in the arm and he just laughed it off, getting out of the passenger side. Shaking my head, I sighed and gave myself a mental pep talk so I wouldn't give Embry more blackmail material while spacing out into an Edward induced daydream while in front of a bunch of kids. Marvin barked, reminding me of his presence and so I took the keys from the ignition, grabbing his leash and leading him over to the school entrance where my partner was waiting.

Embry held the door open for me and bowed theatrically with a flourish of his hand, "After you, Lover Boy."

With a scoff, I entered the school like the professional I was and most certainly did not knock my partner on his ass.

"Well, that was uncalled for," Embry rubbed his backside as he caught up to us. I just threw him a smirk as I started to look for the classroom we were supposed to be presenting to.

"What room did the Chief say we were to go to again?"

"Uh, hold on a second," Embry rummaged around in his pockets and gave a small cry of triumph as he produced a crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it and then squinted, turning his head sideways as he tried to read our boss's chicken scratch writing, "Okay, pretty sure it says Ms. Brandon's grade four class in room 109."

I stopped and gave him a questioning glance, "Wait, did you say Ms. Brandon? Well this should be fun."

He gave me an odd look but didn't get a chance to ask me what I meant as the door next to us, which just so happened to be room 109, opened and we were greeted by my tiny pixie of a cousin, "I thought I heard your voice, Jasper! I'm so happy they assigned you to our career week!"

She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I completely forgot about Embry until he cleared his throat, giving me a look that I knew only too well; it was one I imagine I had when I saw Edward for the first time.

"So, Jasper, are you going to introduce me to this beautiful young lady that you have failed to mention during our numerous conversations?" I looked at Alice and was completely shocked to find her blushing and giggling as she placed her hand into the one Embry offered her.

Apparently cupid was working overtime this month.

"Embry, please meet my cousin, Ms. Alice Brandon. Alice, this is my partner, Embry Call," Embry brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back, never breaking eye contact.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Brandon."

She giggled and smiled brightly at him, "Please, call me Alice, Officer Call."

"Well then, I insist you call me Embry."

They were still holding hands and staring into each others eyes, blind to the world. I was happy that Embry would no longer be able to tease me about mooning over Edward and being whipped as I could tell we were now in the same boat when it came to being entranced by another person.

I was just about to interrupt when a familiar little head poked out of the door, "Ms. Brandon, I can't find the… Jasper! What are you doing at my school?"

Jake then seemed to notice my uniform and became very animated with excitement, "Are you really a policeman? That is so cool! I want to be a policeman when I grow up too! And you brought Marvin!"

Marvin, who had been sitting patiently by my side throughout all of the exchanges, yipped at Jake's acknowledgment and licked the hand that was petting his head.

"So, I take it you two have met before?" Alice asked. It seemed she and Embry had finally come out of their little love bubble.

I smiled and ruffled Jake's hair, "Remember that neighbor I mentioned? Well, this would be his son Jake. Jake, this is my partner Embry and it just so happens that your teacher is my cousin."

My head was spinning with all the coincidences that had taken place. Between the man of my dreams just happening to live next door to my perfect house, being in the toy store at the exact same time as the brother of said dream man, and now having his son in the class my cousin taught… well, it was enough to make any man believe in fate or destiny or divine intervention, whatever you wanted to call it.

The world seemed very small at the moment.

Alice smiled knowingly, probably remembering the conversation we had had over the phone last night where I had gushed on and on about Edward and his amazing family.

"Well, in that case, why don't you have the honors of introducing them to the class, Jake?"

He didn't even answer, just dragged me and Marvin into the classroom with Alice and Embry laughingly following in behind us.

.***~SKB~***.

Overall, our presentation had gone well and the kids were well behaved. In fact, they seemed really interested in what we had to say and asked lots of questions. Mainly if we had ever shot anyone and if we kicked bad guy butt, however, it was still really nice to see them so engaged.

Embry and I told them all the cool things about our jobs, how we did in fact get to save people and kick bad guy butt, but also how we had to train really hard and how it could sometimes be dangerous. I also explained how Marvin's job was to chase down perps who made a run for it and corner them until we could reach them, and if necessary he was quite capable of sniffing someone out if they were hiding in a building.

Later we took them out to the car and let them all sit in it, turning on the lights and siren while they pretended they were in a high speed chase. By the time we had to leave, it was recess and the kids were having a resounding game of cops and robbers.

I was waiting by the car as I gave Embry and Alice a little alone time to say goodbye, most likely exchanging numbers and setting up a date. I was extremely happy for my cousin. Embry seemed to be a great guy and I knew she needed that in her life. That and I could already tell they were smitten with each other.

"Hey, Jasper. Can I ask you something?" Jake asked, looking up at me with big eyes and chewing on his lip as if he was afraid I'd say no.

"Sure, Jake. What's up?" I crouched down so that I was his height and gave him what I hoped was an encouraging smile.

"You gotta promise you won't tell anyone, not even dad."

"Is it something you're going to get in trouble for?" I wasn't going to make a promise not to tell his dad if he was asking me to help him bury a body or something.

He shook his head, "Nothing I did bad. But I really need to talk to someone about this and well, I think dad would have a panic attack and Uncle Emmett would laugh at me while Grandma would just tell me I'm adorable and probably pinch my cheeks. Besides, this is a man thing so I need advise from another guy and I think you're the best person I could ask about this."

If he didn't look so serious I would have smiled. As it was I could barely contain my grin. Jake wanted to talk to me and ask me advise on something that was obviously important to him. Since I was planning on sticking around for a very long time, forever if I could swing it, and maybe one day become a part of his family, this was an incredible step forward. It meant that Jake trusted me which made me feel so incredibly happy.

"Okay, so long as it isn't something that could get me into trouble, I promise to keep whatever we say here between you and me. I won't tell a soul"

"You gotta pinky promise!"

He held out a pinky and raised an expectant brow. I hooked my much bigger digit with his and promised again.

Obviously feeling much better now that I promised to keep his secret, Jake nervously shuffled his feet and wouldn't look at me as he spoke, "Well you see, there's this girl…"

Ah, everything made a lot more sense now.

"…She's really pretty and nice and always gives me half her chocolate chip cookie…" He trailed off and looked at me, looking to see if I was going to make fun of him I guess. I smiled and motioned for him to continue.

"Well, I kinda sorta wanna ask her to be my girlfriend but I don't know if she likes me too… How can I tell if she likes me back? And how do I ask her to be my girlfriend if my tummy always feels funny when I try? And if she says yes, then am I supposed to take her out on a date like you and dad?"

He looked so confused and it was honestly taking everything I had not to show my amusement. To me, this was a little boy with his first ever crush, to him, it was a major milestone and quite possibly the end of the world.

"Well, first of all, would this girl happen to be the Bella you were hanging out with yesterday at your party?" I took his blush as confirmation and couldn't help but think how much Charlie was going to love this. First Jake gives his dog his same name and then he wants to go out with his daughter? The man was definitely about to go a little more gray. I did, however, notice the way Bella would shyly glance at Jake and knew she was most certainly crushing on him as well.

"Now, I can tell you I'm almost one hundred and fifty percent sure that Bella likes you as well. No girl gives up half of her chocolate chip cookie to just anyone you know so that means you've got to be special."

"Really? You think so?"

He was positively beaming and I had no trouble returning the smile, "Absolutely. As for the asking her to be your girlfriend, well I can tell you I had a lot of butterflies when I asked your dad out, but you can't let them stop you. Just be honest and tell her you really like her and want to be her boyfriend, maybe pick her some flowers or draw her something," He nodded, listening intently to my every word.

"You're a little too young to be going on dates, but you could eat your lunch together and hang out at each others house. Nothing has to change just because you're boyfriend and girlfriend. Maybe some hand holding but definitely no kissing. You're not allowed to do that until you're much, much older," I had to throw that last bit in there for the parents' sakes.

"Kissing is gross! I will never understand why you grownups do that."

He pulled a face and I was finally able to release the laughter that had been building up throughout our entire conversation.

"Go on then. I think someone's looking for you," I nudged Jake so that he turned around and sure enough Bella, who had been searching the area, caught sight of him and motioned for him to come and join her on the playground. He smiled back at her shyly and then looked at me. All I did was laugh some more and push him in her direction, watching as he shuffled over to her and started talking. I smiled as he ran his hand nervously through his hair, a habit he obviously picked up from his father.

He was interrupted by Bella squealing and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Even from a distance I could see his blushing cheeks, but even more importantly I could see how incredibly happy he was. I figured everything went well and wondered how Edward would feel when Jake told him he had a girlfriend.

There was another squeal behind me and I watched as Alice nodded her head vigorously at something Embry said, taking his phone and, I'm assuming, programing her number.

Today was definitely turning out to be a day for romance.

Now, if only Friday would come a little faster…

Please don't hate me! I know, it has been ages since my last update, but between school papers, essays, exams, and projects it has been really hard to find my muse. And since I decided I wanted to go a different direction with the last chapters, I have to rewrite them. I've already started on the next chapter though which I am anticipating to have out to you within the next few days. Tomorrow if I can manage! Just finished my fourth term at University and am now off until September so I should be getting a lot of writing done these next few months!
Anyways, how did you like that chapter?! Love is in the air and it looks like everyone has caught it! Next chapter should make a lot of you happy as it's going to be their first date... I may even make it extra long so that it will include the resolution to some tension between our favorite men ;)

Until next time,
-Pragmatic

P.S. Thanks to dragontattoo75 for letting me know my story had been rec'd over on Jasper's Darlins, and to mw138 who rec'd it in the first place. Really appreciate it and thank you for sending some people my way. Your review of my story really was sweet :)

P.P.S. Thanks also to KGQ who rec'd my story over on The Majors Army. Your review made my day :)

P.P.P.S Thank you to everyone for sticking around and for reviewing/favoriting/alerting/reading this story! It means a lot to me and I promise you will never, ever, ever have to wait this long for an update again!