Author's Notes: I promised a new chapter today!
Many, many, many thanks to shabbyapplefor being my fantastic beta - she is amazing!
I realized I forgot a song for Chapter 2, so there are 2 for Chapter 3!
Jump Jive an' Wail – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Embraceable You – Billie Holiday
Links are in my profile!
Always remember: Stephenie Meyer created these characters. I'm just using them to tell you a story from my imagination!
I was just putting the finishing touches on my hair when I heard Edward ring the doorbell. I thought I looked pretty, but I was never really sure. Alice had lent me her fashion expertise and helped pick out the dress. Of course it was flattering, she had impecable taste. The dress was an azure blue and ivory print. It was sleeveless, tight fitting through the bodice, then gathered and flared out at the waist. An ivory sweater with one button at the neck came with it. I knew Edward liked me in blue, so I hoped he would also like the dress. And, as promised, I had on a cute pair of ivory ballet flats so I wouldn't fall down and end up needing either Carlisle, or the emergency room.
With a quick twirl in front of the mirror, I bounded down the stairs and skidded to a stop in front of Edward. He was wearing a suit! My jaw dropped open. I knew we were going somewhere that I needed to dress up, but this was a little disconcerting. Edward looked drop-dead gorgeous. His suit was black with shadow stripes. He was wearing an ivory shirt, with a tie that had black, azure blue and ivory stripes. Alice must have helped him choose the tie since the blue matched my dress.
Edward reached forward and put his finger under my chin, closing my mouth. I stared at him with wide eyes, then finally found my voice.
"Edward, this isn't another prom night occasion, right?" I asked. I knew Edward had something special planned and I refused to let Alice treat me like a Bella Barbie for tonight. I was perfectly capable of doing my own hair and makeup, albeit in minimal amounts. But now, looking at Edward, I was worried.
"Bella," he said, his head tilted condescendingly, "I promised you I would never do that to you again." He took my hands and lifted them to his mouth, placing a kiss on the back of each one. I felt that familiar shiver down my spine. "We are going someplace nice, but it's nothing you need to worry about, love." He smiled and released one of my hands.
"Wow kids, don't you look nice!" Charlie commented from his chair in the living room.
"Thanks, dad. Edward is taking me somewhere, but it's a surprise," I replied glumly. I was still feeling uneasy about what turns this evening could take.
"Thank you, Charlie. Is it still OK that I have Bella out a little later than normal?" Edward asked. I looked at him with my eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, alright. But not too late, agreed?" Charlie said. I wondered when Edward had negotiated with Charlie to get him to agree to this. I admit, I was impressed.
"Agreed," Edward replied. Then he turned to me. "Shall we?" he asked, as he gestured towards the door. I opened it, then glanced over my shoulder. Edward was devastatingly handsome, and there was no doubt that I was going to have a hard time keeping my hands to myself tonight.
I sighed. "Sure. Why put off the inevitable?" I said, as I walked out the door. I heard Edward's low chuckle right behind me.
Edward, always the perfect gentleman, opened my car door, and I slid into the Volvo.
Once we were on our way, I asked him, "So, where are we going?"
"We're going to The Carlisle," he answered with a smile.
"Isn't that a hotel?" I asked, confused. My stomach dropped at the thought of Edward taking me to a hotel. Had he changed his mind about our 'boundaries'?
"Yes, in New York City. And I imagine in a few other places as well. But in Seattle it's a supper club. I thought the name appropriate," he answered. Seattle? No wonder he bargained for a later curfew. Although with Edward's driving, it would probably take us 45 minutes to get to Seattle from Forks. What was a supper club, anyway? Supper I was OK with – that meant food. But club? What did that mean?
"What does 'supper club' mean, exactly?" I gestured quotation marks in the air. "I get 'supper', but the 'club' part?" I looked at him apprehensively.
Edward flashed me his crooked smile, while trying to contain a laugh. "Bella, remember when I said that I wanted to court you properly?" Edward asked. I nodded my head. "Well, I am taking you somewhere that would have been proper back in the early 20th century. Yes, they serve 'supper'," he said, mocking my gestures, "and the club part refers to dancing," he said, his voice careful.
"DANCING?" I yelled. "Edward, you told me this wouldn't be anything like prom! You promised!" I could feel the tears starting to pool in my eyes, but I tried to keep them from spilling over the brim. I didn't want to ruin my meager make-up job.
Edward looked at me, pleadingly. "Please, Bella. This is not a dance club like you're thinking of. There is no vulgar bumping and grinding on the dance floor. This is big band, swing type music. It will be fun!"
I glared at him, but he was dazzling me again and I managed to croak out "OK" before I came to my senses. Prom was tolerable only in the sense that Edward, who seems to be perfect at everything, was able to dance with me flawlessly. I had to trust that he would do the same tonight. I signed, internally.
"Well, I guess the one advantage to this evening is that when we're dancing, you have to hold me close, and I get to spend more time in your arms." I smiled at the memory of dancing in Edward's arms at prom. Anytime I was in Edward's arms was worth it.
"Yes, I agree, that is an added benefit," he said with my favorite crooked smile.
We talked the rest of the way to Seattle about this summer and what the rest of his family was doing.
When we got to the club, it looked very fancy, in an old-fashioned kind of way. I could see how this type of atmosphere would be appealing to Edward. I was glad I hadn't been too argumentative with him in the car. Maybe this would turn out to be a fun night after all. Edward pulled up in front of The Carlisle and left his car with the valet. There was a small line outside to get in, but Edward told me we had reservations. When we walked in, I was dumbfounded. The room was huge! It had numerous tables,on two different levels, all of which formed a wide U-shape. At the open end was the band and a large, majestic dance floor. There weren't too many couples dancing right now, but I figured that would increase as the night wore on.
We were seated on the lower level towards the back, which provided a wonderful view of the band and dance floor. My 'supper' was delicious and I was really starting to like the genre of music playing. It was not the type of music I would normally chose to listen to, but it fit the atmosphere and I could tell that Edward was enjoying himself. After a short while, it seemed he could not contain himself any longer.
"Let's dance, shall we?" he asked, holding his hand out to me.
"Edward," I began.
"Bella, you will be fine. Trust me. Remember, it's all in the leading," he told me.
"If you say so," I said as I stood up, grabbing his hand. Edward led me out to the dance floor. The band was actually playing a song that I recognized. I wasn't sure where I'd heard it before, though. It was a fast song and there were several couples doing fancy twirls and flips. I looked at Edward with terror in my eyes. "You certainly aren't expecting me to do that, are you?" I asked, wide eyed.
"No, silly Bella. I would have to let go of you to do that and I don't plan to let go of you at all while we're dancing," he replied with smirk. With a wave of relief, I grabbed onto him tightly. Of course, Edward led quite well, and we glided around the dance floor effortlessly. I'll admit, it was much easier without a big clunky cast on my leg. I looked around the room at all the other couples. I began to relax and realized I was actually enjoying myself. Of course, we could have been sitting on Edward's couch snuggling and I would have enjoyed myself there, too. But this was nice, something different. And I did relish being out with him.
All too soon the song ended. We slowed and I started back to our table. However, Edward grabbed me in his iron grip and pulled me back into his arms. "Slow song," he whispered in my ear. I started to put both my arms around his neck, but he grabbed my left arm and placed it around his waist. He then took my right hand in his and pulled them to his chest. His right arm was wrapped tightly around my waist. I could hear him humming the song. This one I'd heard before too. "Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you. Embrace me, you irreplaceable you," Edward sang in my ear. I held onto him as tightly as I could, swearing I would never let him go. My life had changed dramatically since he came into my life. It was hard to believe that at the age 17, I had met my soul mate. My forever love. I couldn't imagine my life without Edward. I often wondered about the path my life would have taken had I stayed in Phoenix.
"I love all the many charms about you, above all I want my arms about you," Edward murmured, pulling me even closer to him as I molded myself to his solid, cool form. My heart was beginning to race, my face starting to flush, and all I could think about was kissing Edward. I was staring at him – his eyes, his lips. He leaned down to kiss me. The kiss was soft and fast, but filled with as much passion as one could muster, dancing amidst a crowd of people. I could hear the song coming to an end and decided it was probably good timing. I definitely didn't want to tempt Edward's self control in front of all these people.
Edward took my hand and led me back to the table. Of course, I tripped over a chair leg and knocked a drink on the floor. Thankfully, the drink owner was not there because the seat was empty. A waiter had witnessed the whole incident and hurried over with a towel.
"I'm so sorry!" I told him, my face completely flushed. I knew part of it was from the kiss I had just shared with Edward, but most of it was from my own embarrassment.
"It's OK miss. No harm done," he told me with a smile.
"Bella, let's go sit back down. He'll take care of it," Edward said. I started to resist, but he grabbed my arm and whispered, "Now Bella , or I'm going to pick you up and carry you back to our table." I gave in and followed him, figuring I would just spill another drink if I tried to help. I turned to look at the waiter who was staring at us.
"Edward," I said, sitting back down at the table. "What was that all about and why was the waiter staring at us?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
He glared back at the waiter, who was mopping up the mess, then looked back at me.
"Well," I said, waiting for an explanation.
"That waiter was thinking inappropriate thoughts about you," Edward said, angrily.
"I know. I'm a klutz," I agreed.
"Not like that, Bella," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh. Oh," I exclaimed, my eyebrows raised. "I get it." My face grew red again, as I realized what Edward was talking about.
I glanced back at the waiter who was staring at me again. I heard a low growl from Edward. When the waiter saw Edward's face, he hurriedly took the wet towels back into the kitchen.
"Was that really necessary?" I asked him. "Do you really think he would have even approached me with you nearby?"
"I wouldn't have allowed it to get that far," Edward said.
I rolled my eyes at him and picked up the dessert menu. Actually, I liked it when Edward got jealous. So often, I felt inferior to him and his elegant beauty. I didn't really want other men to pay attention to me, but Edward's jealousy did give me a little ego boost.
"Let's not let this little incident ruin our evening," Edward said, reaching across the table to take my hand in his. "Why don't you order a delicious dessert, then we'll go back out on the dance floor. I don't know how long I can go without having you in my arms again," he said. I sat there staring at him. When he spoke to me like that, using his velvet voice, I had a hard time forming coherent thoughts.
"Bella," Edward said. "Bella."
"Huh?"
"Dessert?" Edward asked.
"Oh yeah," I mumbled. I looked at the menu again and decided on raspberry cheesecake. Edward motioned our waiter over and gave him my order. A few minutes later, he arrived with my cheesecake. I looked at it, longingly. I was a sucker for cheesecake. I went to reach for the fork, but Edward reached it before me.
"Hey! That's mine!" I scolded him. He smiled at me with a gleam in his eyes. He took the fork, put a bit of the cheesecake on it, and held it in front of my mouth.
"I thought I would feed it to you," he said. "If you don't mind, that is."
I hesitated. "Sure." I opened my mouth and he slid the fork in. I closed my eyes as I ate the cheesecake off the fork. This was mouth watering cheesecake! I let out a slight moan of ecstasy.
"Wow, that is incredible!" I said, opening my eyes again. I looked at Edward and my eyebrows raised in surprise. He still held the fork in midair, a look of pure desire danced in his eyes.
"Edward?" I asked, quietly. He blinked at me once, then again. "Edward? Are you OK?"
"Wow." His voice was hoarse and his hand was visibly shaking, causing the fork to struggle finding its next scoop of cheesecake.
"Are you sure you want to keep doing this?" I asked him.
"Yes. I'm quite sure, Bella," Edward responded, quickly.
"Then perhaps you should concentrate more on getting that bite of cheesecake on the fork, then undressing me with your eyes," I teased. I definitely liked this feeling of me dazzling him.
Unfortunately for him, I was now too embarrassed to do anything but just chew the cheesecake. He kept staring at my mouth as I ate. I wasn't sure where his mind was, but it most certainly wasn't on the dessert. After a few bites, I had calmed down and was back to enjoying the flavor of the cheesecake again.
"Do you want to dance again?" I asked, sliding my finger across the plate to catch the rest of the cheesecake crumbs.
"Yes, if you're ready to brave the dance floor again," Edward answered.
I wanted to dazzle Edward one more time before the waiter came over to take my plate. I ran my finger along the edge of the plate to gather the rest of the cheesecake crumbs. Then I slowly slid my finger in my mouth to suck the rest of the crumbs off, when I looked at Edward and realized he had that same look in his eye.
"Bella," he whispered. "Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?" I smiled, slowly pulling my finger out of my mouth. Yes I do.
"Edward, as much as I would love to know what you are thinking right this second, I think it would be better for everyone, if we went out for that dance now."
After a brief moment of silence, we finally managed to make it back out onto the dance floor. It was another fast song, which was definitely not my preference, but I thought it better that Edward and I have a bit of distance between us so we could both calm down. He tried to teach me a few sophisticated dance moves, but after the third time he had to catch me from falling on my face, he thought better of the idea. As luck would have it, a slow song started playing and Edward gathered me into his marble arms. We danced for what seemed like hours when Edward whispered in my ear, "Time to go, Bella."
I sighed and extricated myself from his embrace. He held my hand as he guided me back to our table so we could collect our things. Outside, Edward handed his card to the valet. While we were waiting for the car, it started to drizzle. It wasn't cold out, but I felt a slight chill after the warmth inside the club. I pulled on my little sweater, but it didn't help much. Edward looked at me hesitantly, not sure what to do. I knew he thought his cold arms wouldn't be helpful in warming me up. Just then, the valet pulled up with the car. Edward quickly jumped to open the door for me. As soon as he was seated inside, he turned the heat on high.
"Edward, I'm not that cold. It's OK," I said, as I turned down the heat. He frowned, but didn't readjust the temperature. I took his hand in mine and placed it on my left leg.
"Thank you, Edward. That was a wonderful date. I am duly impressed." I smiled at him. I was touched at how much effort and planning he had put in to this date. The fact that he had even negotiated a later curfew with Charlie was even more impressive. I looked at his hand and began tracing circles on the back of it.
"I'm glad. I wasn't sure what your reaction would be, but I am very pleased that you had an enjoyable time," he said, squeezing my thigh gently. He had a huge grin on his face.
"What?" I laughed.
"This is going to be a rough date to beat, don't you agree?"
"No," I said shaking my head. "I have several fabulous dates in mind." Oh brother. Someone was beaming with pride.
"Oh really?" he asked. "I seem to remember that you didn't really date much back in Phoenix," he reminded me. Dang it! I'll have to make him regret saying that!
"And you have so much more experience than I, is that it?" I shot back.
"Touche," Edward replied with a smirk.
"Don't worry. My date will knock your socks off!" I told him. He chuckled and smiled his crooked smile at me. I sighed and went back to tracing circles on the back of Edward's hand.
This really had been a wonderful night and the best part was spending the majority of it in Edward's arms. Nothing in the world could be greater than that. Except, maybe what I had in store for him. This was a contest, after all.
Jump Jive An' Wail was the song playing when they went out onto the dance floor. I'm a sucker for Brian Setzer! There is a link for Edward's suit in my profile, also.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I've got lots of "mom" stuff to do over the next couple of weeks, including SM's The Host signing, so it may take awhile for Chapter 4. Please review – I love to get them!
