Settling the Score

I lay back on the soft, cool grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun as it washed across my face and exposed skin. The weather promised to be nice today, so Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and I decided to go out to a small clearing nearby to relax. Since we weren’t allowed out in public when the sun wasn’t blanketed by clouds, we liked to take the time to enjoy it in seclusion where no human would stumble across us. Not that we couldn’t detect them miles before they reached us anyway.

Edward, however, had decided to stay home and work on some musical composition he had been creating for the past week. He was going through one of his quieter, internal phases, and as much as I hated to see him so reserved and anti-social, Esme seemed to think it better to just let him express himself through his music. As a result, he was the only Cullen ‘child’ absent at our little play-date.

The day had begun with the four of us just laying down and enjoying the peace, my head resting on Jasper’s chest as he ran his fingers through my spiky, jet black hair. Rosalie and Emmett were practically mirroring us, but the silence must have gotten to Emmett after a while, and he managed to talk Jasper into a little sparring match. I swear if I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a bear that had bitten that boy and not Carlisle. Rosalie and I just sat on the sideline watching the boys whip around and roll on the grass.

“Care to make a wager on who’s going to win?” I asked Rosalie, amusement lacing my words as I watched Emmett try to one-up Jasper. I couldn’t help but to admire Jasper’s military skills from the war and watch the fluidity of each movement. It was all like a dance to him.

“Make a bet? With you?” Rosalie scoffed. “I may be a blond, but I’m not dumb, Alice. I’m sure you already know who’s going to win.” A smirk crossed my lips at her words. As a matter of fact, I knew exactly who was going to win this match, and I couldn’t help but giggle at the thought.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, both boys had their hands on each others' throats. It was a draw. While Rosalie and I both laughed at the outcome, neither of the boys looked too amused at the result, but I had a slight inkling that Jasper had been holding back on the large, muscular boy. After all, he was the more experienced fighter of the group. My mind began churning as my eyes narrowed at my boyfriend, sizing him up. I wonder if I could beat him. I’d never tried before. Emmett and Jasper and Edward were the only ones who ever really wrestled. Rosalie and I would join in for a little play-wrestling, but nothing serious. This time, however, I was determined.

The boys finally broke into a bout of laughter and shook each others' hands before setting up for another round. At that moment, I hopped up from my seat and skipped forward to stand between the two boys, facing Jasper.

“I wanna try,” I said simply, as if I were stating that I wanted an ice cream. Jasper’s eyebrows raised and his eyes widened in shock.

“You…what?” he asked, and I could hear Emmett snorting behind me. I merely rolled my eyes and spoke slower.

“I want to wrestle with you,” I said more slowly, letting the words sink in as Emmett let out a wolf whistle. Again, I ignored him. Honestly, just because I was smaller than everyone else didn’t mean that I couldn’t hold my own. Sometimes I hated being the size of a 12-year-old because I felt that they looked at me like I was a 12-year-old at times.

“Are…are you sure?” Jasper asked warily. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” I could tell he sensed my excitement and determination, which meant that he knew he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this one.

“Please,” I begged, sticking out my bottom lip into a pout, one that I knew he couldn’t resist. “Besides, I have my own weapons,” I said more brightly, seeing the defeat in Jasper's eyes, as I hopped around and started pushing Emmett towards Rosalie.

Two minutes later, and I was on Jasper’s back with my teeth pressed to his neck. “But you’re not even trying,” I whined, knowing full well that he wasn’t trying. Thanks to my special gift, I could see each move he made before he made it, and I could tell that he wasn’t trying. At least not as hard as he did with Emmett. I threw him another pout as he looked at me from the corner of his eye and let out a deep sigh as I slid off his back.

“Fine. Let’s do this.” Jasper let out a low, guttural growl as he crouched down into an attack position. I could see a fresh sparkle in his eye and the corner of his mouth rise in a smirk as he prepared his attack. “Yessss…” I hissed as I mimicked his moves, watching him run through various moves for his first wave of attacks.

"This is gonna be good. I wish we'd brought some popcorn," I heard Emmett muttering to Rosalie as they waited for one of us to strike. Finally, Jasper settled on a maneuver, and a fraction of a second before he pounced, I lightly skipped to the side so that he attacked nothing but air. I let out a small giggle as he turned back at me and attacked again a split second later.

These actions continued for a few minutes. Each move that he made, I was a split second faster. Occasionally, I'd let him actually reach his target and wrap an arm around me so as not to completely squash his ego. Boys' egos can be very sensitive things, I've learned. And then suddenly, Jasper was frozen. My legs were wrapped around his waist and my hands were resting on both sides of his face. If we were in a real battle, I could have snapped his neck and ripped his head off in less than a second. Of course, in this situation, I merely stared into his piercing golden eyes before slowly closing the gap between our faces. His arms slowly wound around my waist as I applied a slight pressure against his lips, savoring his sweet taste.

“I win,” I muttered against his soft, cool lips, “Major.” A small chuckle escaped him as I let my lips trail along his jawbone to the base of his ear before pressing my teeth against his neck and slowly dragging them against his skin to the neckline of his shirt. I heard a low rumbling in his chest, and I couldn’t help but giggle as I closed my lips over my teeth and planted a soft kiss on his collarbone.

I was enjoying the feeling of my body pressed up against my Jasper’s, his arms cradling me, when a loud bark of a laugh interrupted the moment. Emmett, of course. “Dude, Jasper. You just got beat by a girl,” the boy bellowed, his laughter continuing to echo across the open field as his head rested in Rosalie’s lap. I turned my head, still leaning it against Jasper’s chest, to see a smirk forming on Rosalie’s lips as she looked down at her boyfriend or husband or whatever it was they were pretending to be right now.

“What? And you think you could last longer against Alice?” Rosalie asked, poking Emmett in the side so that he squirmed off of her lap.

“Aw, babe. Not only would I last longer, I would be victorious,” he grinned, flexing his extremely large muscles. “I always know how to finish what I start, eh Rose?” he added, throwing her a wink. I giggled as Emmett continued to flex in front of Rosalie and slowly slid out of Jasper’s arms.

“Brains over brawn, bro,” I smirked, feeling Jasper’s arms slip around my waist, his head nuzzling my neck.

Suddenly, Jasper’s husky voice was brushing across my skin. “How about we go someplace more private and you can teach me some of your tricks. I must warn you, I’m a slow learner. It could take all night.”

I bit my lip, but a huge grin managed to force its way through as I turned around in Jasper’s arms so that I was looking up into his amber eyes. “Well I’m willing to spend as much time as necessary to make sure that you’re able to defend yourself.” With that, I planted a small kiss on his lips and grabbed his hand as I began to sprint across the field.

“See you two back at home,” I called back to Emmett and Rosalie, and though we were already across the field, I knew they would hear me. A grin spread across my lips as I focused on Jasper’s hand in mine, happily observing and looking forward to his retaliation plans for me once we reached home. As if he could ever beat me.