BPOV
I finally got in touch with Charlie and he was thrilled that I wouldn't be home alone tonight and dining at Dr. Cullen's. Emmett and I finally finished with the last two chapters. I think he actually understands it a little better. I guess we'll find out tomorrow after the quiz. While we were packing up our books, Alice came home.
"Oh! Hey Bella!" Alice tosses her ballet slippers into one of the chairs along with a bright purple gym bag. "What's going on?"
"Bella's helping me with Statistics so I won't get benched." Emmett states as he lifts our backpacks from the table.
"Oh…well good luck with that." Alice smirks.
"Hey!" Emmett acts offended while Alice greets her mom.
"Alice, get changed. Bella is staying for dinner and game night. Daddy will be home early tonight, so it's going to be all of us." Esme smiles at me before turning her attention back to Alice. I can feel the heat creeping into my cheeks again.
"Edward's still here? I thought he had plans." Alice asks while pulling a bottle of water from the fridge. She offers one to me and I politely decline. Emmett starts laughing and Esme shoots him a look.
"I'll be back in a minute. Alice, don't let this burn." Esme points her finger at Emmett and glares before leaving the room. Once she leaves, Alice flits over to the table across from me.
"What happened?" She leans forward and whispers to the both of us.
"Mom ripped Edward a new one for being vulgar in front of Bella." Emmett grinned.
"Edward was vulgar to you?" Alice's eyes widen in disbelief.
"He didn't know I was here. He and Emmett were yelling and he told Emmett to suck his…dick. He didn't know your mom was home either." I couldn't help but shoot Emmett a look when he started laughing when I said the word 'dick'.
"Oh that's priceless. I hate I missed it."
"I feel like I got him in trouble." I picked at the sleeve of my shirt and looked at the table. I did feel bad. "He looked…"
"He looked like mom ripped his balls off and put them in her purse." Emmett laughed again along with Alice. Suddenly I notice one of the pots Esme had on the stove start to boil over. I jump to my feet and quickly grab a spoon and start to turn down the heat on the rice she's cooking. Alice is beside me peering into the pots. I give them all a quick stir and adjust the heat. Wow, this is a nice kitchen.
"Oh Bella! You don't have to do that." Esme steps between me and Alice and smiles at me.
"It's no problem. I love to cook. You've got a great kitchen." Out of habit, I start stirring the pot with the creamed corn so it won't stick.
"Bella honey, you're our guest, but I'd love the help." She smiles at me and I can't help but return it. She's so nice. She makes me miss my mom. I should call Renee tonight. I haven't talked to her in a few days. Alice waves as she heads up stairs and Emmett clears our drink cans out of the way. Esme tasks me with chopping for the salad while she pulls the plates and glasses from the cupboard.
"Something smells good." I turn my attention away from chopping cucumbers to see Dr. Cullen coming through the doorway. He's very handsome and has very kind eyes. He scrubs his hand through his hair before setting his bag on the counter. He kisses Esme on the cheek before going straight to the refrigerator.
"Who's this? Have we hired help?" He laughs while popping the top on a Coke.
"Carlisle, this is Bella Swan. She's tutoring Emmett with his statistics class."
"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Cullen."
"Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter?"
"Yes sir."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, call me Carlisle." He then turns his attention to Emmett who is flipping through the stations on the small television mounted under the cabinets. "Are you paying attention to Bella?"
"Yes, Dad." Emmett rolls his eyes.
"You better. I know the last thing you want is to sit out your senior year. We really appreciate the help, Bella."
"It's no problem. I just hope I'm doing a good job. I've never really tutored anyone before." Alice glides back downstairs and perches on one of the high barstools that line the island between the table and the stove. Carlisle gives her a kiss on the forehead as he settles on the stool beside her. I smile to myself as I finish tossing the salad. I'm not used to so many people. It had always been either my mom and me or just Charlie and me. I thought people only sat down for meals together in the movies. I wash my hands at the sink and slip quietly over to Esme.
"May I use your restroom?" I can feel my cheeks flame as I whisper to her. She smiles and leans closer.
"Of course, dear. Use the one upstairs and that way you can ask Edward to join us."
"Yes ma'am."
"First door on the left. Edward's room is right across the hall." I trip halfway up the stairs, no surprise there. I decide the bathroom is my first priority. I finish my business and stand at the sink looking in the mirror while I wash my hands. Wow. I'm at the Cullen's. Having dinner. Staying for game night, whatever the hell that entails. Angela is going to lose her shit tomorrow. I grin to myself as I dry my hands. I can't wait to see Jessica's face when I just happen to mention how I spent my evening. I take a deep breath and steal my nerves. Now I have to go talk to Edward. Drop dead gorgeous Edward. I don't think I've ever felt so …plain. I open the door quietly and step across the hall to Edward's open door. Holy shit. Edward's lying on his bed with no shirt on. The dark green plaid boxers he's wearing are visible above the waistband of his low slung jeans. Dear God, the boy is an Adonis. His arms are behind his head and I can see the cord of his earphones snaking across his well defined chest. I'm suddenly very thirsty. I clear my throat hoping to gain his attention but with his iPod in, he can't hear me.
EPOV
I decide to lose myself in a little music. At least mom didn't take away my iPod. Dragula by Rob Zombie is blaring into my brain when I feel someone nudging my foot. I open my eyes expecting Alice or mom, but instead Bella is standing at the foot of my bed. I jolt upright in surprise and yank the ear buds from my ears. I think I scare her just as much as she did me. She takes a step toward the door.
"I'm sorry. I…you couldn't hear me…I didn't…."
"No…no, that's okay." I mumble as I look around the room for a shirt. I quickly locate the one I took off earlier and pull it over my head.
"Your mom wanted me to tell you to come down for dinner."
"Let's hope my sentence is over." I grumble as I pull my shirt down over my stomach.
"I'm sorry you got in trouble. I feel bad about it." She's smirking at me again.
"You didn't do anything. It was my fault."
"Well, I'm sure if I hadn't been there the whole dick sucking thing wouldn't have been as traumatic." She grins and I feel something in my stomach tighten up. Bella swan saying dick and sucking in the same sentence just made my cock twitch. Shit.
I swipe my hand through my hair and quickly lead the way back downstairs. Good thing too. Bella tripped over the next-to-last step and landed up against my back.
"You okay?" She's blushing again as I steady her with a hand on her hip.
"Sorry. Sorry."
"You do that a lot, don't you?" Bella and I have a class together and I think I've seen her practically fall flat on her face once a week. I think she needs to get her ears checked. A girl that clumsy must have inner ear problems screwing with her balance.
"Yeah. There's a reason my mother didn't name me Grace." She giggles a little. Huh, she's funny. Funny and cute. She tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear and hurries back to the kitchen. I'm close behind her, ready to eat. I'm starving. It's Tuesday. Tuesday is game night. Mom started game night while we were in Junior High. I think it's her effort to keep us all out of trouble. It keeps her happy and we actually enjoy it. Rosalie and Jasper normally come over and hang out with Emmett and Alice. I used to stay in, but I always end up being the odd man out, so I decided to hook up with Tanya. I can't believe we're all here to eat together. Normally that's on Wednesdays. Wednesday is the only day of the week that most of our activities after school are cut short. Alice gets out of dance earlier. Emmett and I only have practice until five. So mom decided that on Wednesday's dad can leave the hospital early and we would all eat as a family. She's probably giddy by now knowing she'll get two family nights in a row. I step in the kitchen and grab a plate from the counter. Catching the glare I just got from my mother, I politely hand it to Bella and motion for her to step in front of me. Dinner at home is pretty casual. We just all serve our plates at the stove and settle either at the table or the bar. I'm sure since we have company; mom will make us all sit at the table.
"Hey Dad." I greet my dad as he steps up behind me to get a plate. He frowns at me and I now know mom told him what happened.
"Enjoy your time in your room?" Great, now he's going to embarrass me too. Bella's going to think I'm such a pussy.
"No sir."
"Good. Remember that."
"Yes sir." He offers me a smile and then points to Bella behind her back. What the hell is that look for? 'She's pretty.' He mouths at me and I can't help but look at him like he's lost his mind. I shrug my shoulders at him and start to fill my plate. What the hell? Old man's lost it.