AN: First off, thank you to polly2010, and ckaren09, for reviewing Chapter Three! Next up, we get to find out who wants to get cozy with Edward and Bella! This is one of those stories I have no real plan for, I'm just letting my muse guide me with this one, so some of the pairings throughout this are gonna be a little bit crazy, just fair warning here! Enjoy ;-D
Chapter 4: Offers in Play
I was surprised to no end when of all the people in the room, I saw Edward being approached by Rosalie! I thought for sure that Alice would be the first to make an appeal to him. Rose spoke quietly to Edward first for a couple of minutes and then they beckoned me over to hear her offer.
"As you know Bella, Emmett and I have a rather short maximum right now compared to some of the others and so I thought that a two-week stint might be a nice way of easing into things since you're both just getting your feet wet. Plus with some of my other restrictions, it wouldn't be full throttle if you know what I mean." She said, trying to be subtle.
And while I had to agree that it would definitely be the difference between walking into the shallow end versus diving into the deep end, I also knew who Edward's top three choices were and Rosalie wasn't one of them. So, I really had no idea if he was interested in accepting.
"Mind if we talk it over amongst ourselves and Edward will let you know after we've discussed it?" I asked in a friendly tone.
"That's no problem. I have a few backup offers I'll go and make in the meantime. Keep me posted." She said, smiling politely as she walked off to go speak to Jasper.
And if I thought Edward's visit from Rose was surprising, I was even more surprised when Carlisle calmly sauntered over to speak to me!
"Hello Bella, having any fun yet?" He asked with a gentle smile, sensing my surprise and my slight discomfort with the newness of this whole procedure.
"Well, I must say the whole thing is definitely very exciting. But it is a little bit nerve-wracking too." I chuckled lightly. "I've been watching the room and some of the foot traffic has been downright surprising." So far in addition to our visitors, I had seen Jasper and Alice approach, Esme, together, Emmett approach Jasper, and it looked like Rose had recently been flitting from flower to flower so-to-speak arranging her aforementioned 'back-ups'.
"I take it that means you are also surprised to see me? You seemed startled when I walked over here." He asked, sounding inquisitive, not accusatory.
"Yeah, I'll definitely admit to being pretty shocked on that front. I wasn't expecting it that's for sure." I laughed nervously. "So, I guess I should ask what your offer is."
"Five months, your maximum. So I'd understand completely if you turned it down. But I like to take things slowly and develop a deeper connection, which takes time. I generally don't go in for mere dalliances." He smiled sincerely. Something about Carlisle's tone had changed from the way he normally spoke to me. It was subtle enough but I picked up on it easily. And I liked it. A lot.
If it wasn't for two things I would have said yes to him on the spot. First, I obviously needed to run it past Edward. Even though I knew he was nearby listening, we'd still have to discuss it together. And secondly, I was a little curious to see if I'd get any other offers. But they'd have to be very nice offers to turn down Carlisle. He was a sexy second place on my choices list.
"Let me talk to Edward and I'll tell you once we've decided?" I asked and he nodded, kissed my forehead and walked away. My heart did a little skip-a-beat when he kissed me. And it wouldn't take a genius to know that Edward had been reading our thoughts. I had put my shield down going into this event because I didn't want there to be any secrets between us in this regard.
"You should take him up on it Bella. From what I've heard of Carlisle over the years, and based on everything I know about him, you wouldn't be disappointed." Edward smiled.
"I imagine you're right about that. But five months is a long time. And your offer from Rose is only for two weeks." I pointed out, playing devil's advocate.
"Yes, but I'm not too sure if I'll accept Rosalie's offer. Nothing against Rose of course, just that I had envisioned something a little different for my first time out to play." he grinned mischievously as a sprightly little pixie came prancing up to him. I took a few steps back to give him and Alice a bit of privacy.
And found myself bombarded by a big goofy ball of Emmett rushing toward me. "One night, Baby." He winked. "Twenty-four hours to find out exactly what you've been missing out on all this time. What do you say, Beautiful?"
I didn't need Edward's opinion for this one, I already knew my answer. "Sorry Em, I'm looking for something a little longer than a day for my first one," I said gently. "But when I am ready for some spontaneous fun down the line, you'll be the first one I ask," I assure him with a wink. Well, actually he'd probably be one of the two people I would ask for that. I can't imagine a better source of spontaneous fun than a combo of Emmett and Alice. But that was a fantasy for another time.
"No sweat, My Pet. I think one of the others I made an offer to is planning to say yes and that one is a ship I've been hoping to sail for a long time." He grinned and I couldn't help but wonder if he meant Jasper. As Em walked away, Edward stifled a laugh. Only Emmett could still be so uber cocky after receiving a rejection.
By the time Emmett left, Edward and Alice had nearly finished their discussion. They soon called me over to hear her offer. "So Bella, my offer to Edward is five months, but I could shorten it if you aren't ready to be away from him for so long." She smiled accommodatingly.
I beamed brightly because her offer matched very well with Carlisle's offer to me. Maybe I would be able to accept his offer after all! "Actually Alice, that's perfectly fine. I know how long you've been waiting to have the chance to be with Edward, so I get that you will want to have as much time as you can. So as long as Edward accepts, then he's all yours." I smiled, already thinking about accepting Carlisle's offer.
"Well, be good and sure about it, Bella. Because there would also be a bit of travel involved. I plan on taking him away most weekends and any other time I don't have to be in school. And school doesn't even start for a while, so we'd probably be gone for most of the next few weeks. Are you alright if he isn't even around ?" She asked, being super considerate of my feelings, which I definitely appreciated.
I had to laugh a little though. "I am hoping with any luck, I'll be busy enough around here that I won't have the time to miss him too much," I said, which was enough to pique her curiosity. She quickly searched the next few months of my future and then gave me a lopsided smirk.
"You're right Bella! I think you'll be just fine after all." And with that reassurance, Edward accepted her offer. I projected my thoughts to him to ask if it was okay for me to go and accept Carlisle's and when he nodded happily, I was off like a shot.
"Carlisle?" I asked walking up to him. He turned to face me and smiled. Taking my hands gently in his, he made my job easier by asking what I had decided. "I would love to accept your offer, provided it's still available?" I asked him, wanting to double check.
He smiled an incredible smile at me and said something quite surprising. "Of course Bella! I did not make any other offers tonight." I was startled. Carlisle had only wanted me? Wow! He went on to tell me that he had received an offer from Rose but that he would only have taken it if everyone else had refused her and I had refused him.
It was nothing against Rose, only that her time frame is so short and as Carlisle had said before, he didn't typically go in for dalliances. Looking around the room, I could see many people had already accepted offers. Rose was standing with Esme of all people and of course, there was Edward with Alice off to one side. Carlisle was happily holding my hand and the only two people left in the room were Emmett and Jasper.
Emmett kept trying desperately to catch Jasper's eye and Jasper seemed intent on keeping him in suspense for as long as possible. It wasn't until just before Carlisle moved to announce the end of the offer period that Jasper subtly beckoned Emmett to join him. "YES! I WIN!" Emmett abruptly yelled and literally skipped over to Jasper, smiling ear to ear the entire time. I couldn't help but laugh. It was totally adorable.
Jasper must have thought so too because when Emmett got there, he received a very passionate kiss. Watching Jasper kiss Emmett was a first for me. I had never seen any of the Cullen men display that type of affection towards one another before. Even though I had known there was interplay between the couples, I had never thought about all of the possible pairings and whether some would be of the same sex or not.
Clearly, the whole family had always been very discreet whenever I'd been around them. At some point, I would have to ask Edward if they had maybe been more free about things back before I joined the family. And now that I wasn't a fragile, naïve human and I knew about the lifestyle, I hoped they would all feel somewhat more liberated to be themselves.
"Now that everyone has accepted one of the offers they've received, it is time for the Farewell Dance. Everyone goes back to their respective spouses for the dancing and when the dancing is over, each new union begins. Those of you who will be moving into a new room may each go back to your own rooms first to get your things. Talk to your spouses during the dance and to your new partners afterward and decide who is keeping which rooms." Carlisle announced.
Edward came over and carried me off to the dance floor just then and we danced the first dance in silence, enjoying the feel of each other for the last night of what seemed like it would be a long time. We had been warned ahead of time that our last chance to be intimate together had been before the initiation banquet, so we'd already gotten that out of our system earlier in the day.
During the second dance, we talked plenty, about all kinds of things. "So, since I imagine Alice will want to be close to her closet. I'm guessing I'll be in her room. So you are welcome to have ours for you and Carlisle if he wants to leave theirs free for Esme and Rose." He suggested.
"Do you know how funny it is when you say things as if they are pure speculation yet we both know for a fact they're derived from the thoughts of those around you?" I teased, then kissed him slowly.
"Am I that transparent? I thought I'd gotten quite good at being vague about my observations over the years." He pouted.
"You're only transparent to me because I know you so well. A stranger would have absolutely no inkling that you can read minds." I reassured him.
"Believe me, I am well aware of that. It often pains me to take you out in public for that very reason. You would be surprised at how very many people are undressing you in their minds on a regular basis." He huffed.
"Well, it's certainly nice of you not to simply slaughter them all," I smirked. "I wholeheartedly appreciate your restraint." This topic raised a question for me that I had to ask. "Edward, are you sure you are going to be alright with this whole arrangement? Including the part that involves me being intimate with Carlisle?" I asked, concerned that this might be too much for him.
"Yes, I trust Carlisle with you. I know that he will return you to me in one piece and that I have nothing to be jealous of. Vampires mate for life Bella. I'm not at risk of losing you to Carlisle or anyone else for that matter. I never could lose you. I hope you also know that means you have nothing to be jealous of with Alice, Bella?" He asked, posing my own question back at me.
"Are you kidding? With Alice's energy and penchant for shopping and adventure, you'll be so worn out by the end of five months you'll be thrilled to have me back." I winked, showing him there was nothing to worry about.
"I heard that, Bella!" Alice pouted, pretending to be offended as she and Jasper whirled by us on the dance floor. But she blew me a kiss so I'd know there were no hard feelings.
"You are right though. I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty spent over these next few months." Edward laughed. I raised an eyebrow at the sexual connotation of his comment and when he smirked instead of backpedaling, I knew that was at least partially how he meant it.
"Yeah, I get the distinct impression Alice is a bit of a vixen," I said, teasing him further. "The things she'll do to you would probably make both of our heads spin."
"Yes, well I think even with Carlisle you're going to be pretty surprised yourself." He smiled playing it right back at me.
"Maybe so, Edward. Maybe so." I said, my mind drifting to all of the possibilities.
The rest of the Farewell Dance passed by in a blur. At the end of the night, saying goodbye to Edward wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I was starting to discover that goodbyes weren't as melancholy when you have forever.
The only one who seemed to be having a hard time with their goodbye was Alice. "Don't break him, Emmett!" She pleaded. And knowing Emmett her concern was somewhat justified. He's a little like the loveable giant who unwittingly crushes the mouse because he doesn't know his own strength.
I was still stifling my laughter at the mental picture of Emmett breaking Jasper when Carlisle came to collect me. "I'll just have to stop off and get the bag I have packed and then we can head back to your room if that's alright?" He asked me as we headed in that general direction.
"Sure thing, and we have an empty dresser, so there'll be plenty of space for your things." I nodded as he disappeared into their room and came back out with a large duffel bag. He would have after all been packing for five months in the hopes that I'd say yes.
AN: Okay, please let me know what you think cuz some of this is sheer craziness haha! Although I have to admit Emmett and Jasper paints a surprisingly sexy picture doesn't it? Please R&R!