Falling Forward Chapter 7

(JPOV)
I sat on the bleachers with Chickadee, taking in everything that had happened over the last 48 hours. Edward told the group he settled with Alice because he couldn't have Bella, Alice was trying to kill the guy with the longest case of blue balls ever, and I was about to propose to my girl. I thought back to last night and chuckled. I had called to ask Charlie for his blessing to marry Bella and he sounded rather relieved that I was calling to ask permission instead of telling him that we had eloped somewhere.
***
I watched as Bella packed up what she would need to get ready for the night and walked out of the room towards Alice's. I knew if I was going to go through with my plan I needed to call Charlie while I could do so without interruption. Charlie picked up as Edward walked through the door.
"Hello, Jasper," Charlie said
"Hello, Charlie. I hope I didn't wake you. How are things in the North West?" I asked, hoping Edward would leave before I got to the real reason I called.
"Rainy, but I think you already knew that. What has you calling at eleven thirty at night?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you something actually, but if you're busy I can call back in the morning," I said quickly, glancing around to see Edward glaring in my direction.
"Just ask. I always have time for you and Bella; you should know that by now," he said, chuckling.
"Well, I was wondering if I could have your blessing to marry Bella." I said, ducking even though I knew he couldn't throw something at me through the phone.
He let out a sigh of relief before answering me. "Of course, Jasper. I couldn't imagine anyone better suited for her. I was worried you were calling to tell me that you were in jail and needed me to come bail you out or that you guys were planning on eloping and needed me to be a witness."
"I wouldn't do that to you. I know you've always wanted your little girl to get married in the backyard of the house in Dallas. As for being in jail, that may be a very real possibility later tonight if some ass standing in my room doesn't stop glowering at me," I said, sending Edward a pointed look.
"If we're discussing Edward then I am going to hold back the 'I told you so' comment because I didn't get the opportunity to tell you to watch out for him. He looks at her the way she looks at you and it's the same way I used to look at Renee before…well you know that story," he said, sounding a little choked up.
"Thanks for that advanced warning. You really could have saved us a lot of drama."
"Well," he said, pausing to yawn. "I'm going to bed, but be sure to tell me how it goes and promise me that if you hit that asshole that you break something before asking for bail money."
I was pulled out of my memory by Bella's sweet voice when she asked me if I had somewhere to be. I hadn't realized I was fiddling with the ring box in my pocket.
"No, it's just I have something I want to say to you but I don't know where to start." I said before taking a deep breath and starting again.
"Chickadee, I know we've been through a lot and I also know there will be a lot thrown at us in the future, but I have always known that if you weren't by my side I wouldn't have made it through half of what has been thrown at me."
I stared at her as her brown eyes widened in acknowledgement, nodding my head to answer the unspoken question written on her face. I opened my mouth to continue with the speech I had spent all night trying to perfect, but closed it as her fingers gently pushed upwards on my jaw.
"Jasper, close your mouth before you catch flies in it," she said as my mouth closed.
I pulled out the half-carat solitaire ring from the box and knelt down, to the best of my ability, and asked her the question I'd been dying to ask for months. "Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of being my wife for now and forever?"
"Yes. It was and always will always be you," my brilliant Chickadee said before connecting her lips with mine.
I placed the ring on her finger and we walked hand in hand back to the hotel to meet Alice and Edward for lunch before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the real world. Alice and Chickadee jumped up and down as soon as we got together, like they had some freaky connection and Alice already knew about our engagement, while I stood off to the side smiling like a fool and Edward looked like a little kid who was put in a time out.
Lunch was uneventful; the girls made plans to meet in New York during Fashion Week to celebrate Alice's first major marketing campaign and Edward continued his silent temper tantrum. Goodbyes were as unexceptional as the hellos were at the beginning of the weekend and far too soon for Bella's liking we were waiting to board our plane back to the everyday of unsolved cases and high school history. I could tell she was counting down the days until our next get together with the crew as the plane took off for Ohio by the way her lips moved and her fingers drew numbers in the air.
I grabbed her hand and kissed her new accessory before letting her go back to her math, settling in for the flight, and our future.