I'm so sorry this took so long, but I was on vacation, then I had just two crazy-hectic days of school. There was a Bella/Edward lemon written for this chapter, but I've withheld it because hardly anyone reviewed. That's not to say I don't love you guys for putting this story on your Favorites of Story Alert, but I want to hear your opinions. I want ten reviews (just ten. is that so much to ask?) or I'll withhold it again. I know, I'm mean, but I WANT REVIEWS :D
Bella POV
Needless to say, we rearranged the rooms the next morning, so that I was with Edward and Rose and Emmett were sharing Emmett's main bedroom. Wish I had that room. It was fucking nice. Sigh.
Rose didn't come out of our room that night so I slept in Edward's room—it was completely innocent, no removal of clothing, unfortunately—but I didn't mind too much, as he is very comfy, even fully clothed.
We were both up early and walked into the kitchen to find everyone apart from Rose and Emmett up and dressed. I smirked. Rose was notorious for never getting up early and I was ready to bet that she had already snapped at Emmett in her sleep, telling him something like "shut it, I'm sleeping". She did that any time anyone dared interrupt her "beauty sleep", yet when you asked her, she wouldn't even remember doing it. It's highly amusing. Terrifying at the time, but highly amusing later.
As I sat on Edward's lap to eat my breakfast, I heard voices form down the hall. Rose's pissed off 'I-don't-like-waking-up-early-so-go-the-fuck-away-and-leave-me-in-peace' voice, followed by Emmett's voice which was surprisingly calm and soothing. God, they were so right for each other. He was already able to put up with her morning moods (and they took a lot of getting used to, I'll say that now), which was always a good sign. As they appeared—Rose in one of Emmett's button up shirts that actually came to halfway down her thigh, and Emmett in his jeans form yesterday—Rose caught my eye; I stuck my tongue out at her and raised my eyebrows suggestively, making her blush bright red. As she did, I noticed Emmett put a hand around her waist, comforting her. Because he's so fucking innocent.
They sat down next to each other at the table, hands linked, and started eating quietly. The rest of us stared at them, waiting for one of them to say something. Neither did. Finally, Jasper cleared his throat, making us all jump, and looked around the table.
"What are we doing today?" he asked. Way to IGNORE the elephant in the room; her name is Tai and she wants your jelly beans.
Emmett glanced up from his breakfast and answered, "Why don't we split off—boys and girls—to do whatever we want for today, then meet up again tonight, back here, to go out for something to eat?"
Rose nodded, though she looked a little forlorn at the idea. I, however, was thrilled to have a chance to talk to her about Emmett, and I could tell Alice was, too. Angela was drawing on a notepad, but she nodded quickly, a slight frown creasing her forehead.
Alice jumped in to support the idea. "Yeah! Us girls can go shopping and get beauty treatments while the guys can. . ." she paused, "do whatever guys do, when they don't have their super amazing girlfriends there to distract them." She looked directly at Emmett, who to my absolute surprise, blushed and smiled a little, glancing down at Rose. Shit! Was this actually more than just a vacation fuck? I smiled at the thought. It would be great if it was, but I didn't think Rose would fall for someone that fast.
Everyone seemed okay with Emmett's idea, and so we set off after breakfast to get dressed and ready to go out. Once Edward and I got back to our room, he gave me a chaste kiss on the lips, then disappeared into the bathroom to get changed. I shrugged and pulled out some clothed from the closet. Black skinny jeans, Converse, a tank top with rips in it, the charm bracelet that Edward had given me and the necklace Rose had given to me when I last went to England. Then I grabbed my bag and hurried out the door, at the same time that Rose came out of Emmett's bedroom.
She smiled at me and linked arms, squealing, "Shopping time!"
I just stared at her. Rose NEVER squealed. Ever. Holy crap. But I shook it off and we joined Alice and Angela as they jumped into one of Emmett's cars. I could hear Alice talking to Angela about a local art shop.
"Yeah, I know this guy, Ben, who works there. He could give you a good deal on some stuff I bet. . ." I smirked. Angela would be in art heaven. Next to me, Rose was playing with the collar of her leather jacket, staring off into space.
I nudged her. "So?" I asked, my voice low, eyebrows raised. Interrogation time.
"So what?" she replied, although her bright red cheeks gave away that she knew exactly who I was talking about.
"You and Emmett?" I prompted. I expected her to come back with a sharp retort but instead she looked at her lap.
"Maybe. I hope so. He's just so. . . right. He understands me completely." I stared at her open mouthed as she talked, her eyes shining. She was in love, I realized. Wow. Talk about love at first sight. She didn't say anything else for the rest of the trip, just stared dreamily out the window, until we pulled into the parking lot of the mall.
Alice was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Ahhh! This is going to be soo much fun! Alright, first, we're getting makeovers, then we're going shopping, then we're going. . ." she started bouncing away, leaving the rest of us trailing in her wake. Angela looked positively scared shitless. I laughed and linked arms with both of them.
"Let's make the pixie happy!" I said, as we followed Alice into the mall. And, hell, did Alice have a lot planned. We had manicures and pedicures, then spa treatments, then haircuts, even tans. Like anyone needed a fake tan in California. Okay, so maybe Alice was right when she pointed out that our English companions were a bit pale, but still… You had to admit she knew what she was doing, though; by lunch time, even Angela was looking like a CA girl.
After lunch of a greasy burger and fries (middle aged obesity, here we come) at In 'n' Out Burger, Alice dragged us around the numerous stores, determined to find each of us at least four new "looks". I ended up spending way too much getting two dresses—one black, one blue, both halter necked with a flicky skirt—one skirt, three tight fitting tops, two pairs of shorts and four pairs of heels, not to mention the bags and accessories. Angela barely bought anything, saving her money for when we hit the art store, but Alice bought enough for the both of them. It was Rose, again, that surprised me. She bought four dresses (all tight fitting), three skirts, five tops, four pairs of shorts, six pairs of heels (that didn't surprise me, actually), three bags, enough belts for an army and then dragged me into Victoria's Secret, where she picked out God-knows-how-many lacy nightgowns and lingerie sets, as well as a couple of corset thingies and garters. I suspected this was all for Emmett's benefit, but I didn't say anything. God knows I had dragged her into Ann Summers enough times in the past.
Once we'd dragged her out of there, we went into the art shop Angela wanted to go into to, which was across from Tiffany's. I was staring out the window, looking at the Tiffany's store, while Angela and Rose discussed pens and pencils, and who did I see going into the store? Emmett! I watched him carefully, but I couldn't see exactly what he was buying. He emerged fifteen minutes later with a little Tiffany's bag and a HUGE smile on his face. I glanced at Rose to see if she'd noticed, but she was at the other side of the store with Angela. Alice, however, had seen him and she wandered over to me, eyebrows raised.
"I honestly have no clue what he was buying," I said when she got in hearing distance.
"Neither do I, but what I do know is that I haven't seen my cousin this happy in so many years. Rose had better not break his heart," she warned in an undertone.
"She won't." I said confidently. Rose may act bitchy, but when she liked, or even loved something, she really did. And so far it hadn't changed.
Me and Alice stood in silence whilst Angela paid, then, gathering our bags, we waltzed out of the shop and back to the car. Angela was chattering to Rose about the guy, Ben, in the store, and Rose was smiling sweetly, occasionally laughing as she listened.
When we got back to Emmett's, we could already hear the guy's voices. Rose instantly went to dump her bags and get changed and I followed suit. Ten minutes later we both re-emerged, me in the black halter dress I had bought today and a pair of killer heels and Rose in a deep red dress with almost no back, which showed she had no bra on, and possibly a thong, if that. She wouldn't seriously go pantie-less… would she? Her blond hair was piled into a messy bun and she had on some of the fucking highest heels I had ever seen. As I looked at her, eyebrows raised, she smirked and did a little sashay of her hips before moving off down the hall.
When I rounded the corner I could see Emmett staring open mouthed at her, but I became distracted by Edward, who wrapped his strong arms around me and pulled me in for a long, lingering kiss.
When we pulled apart he lent down and whispered in my ear, "You taste really good." I shivered despite the warmth of the room and smiled.
"So do you," I murmured, running my tongue slowly over my lips. Edward groaned and I could feel his erection through his jeans. I smirked and, making sure my body covered us from sight, brushed a hand against the bulge.
"No time for that now," I whispered, before pulling back and walking away. I could hear Edward following me, and, as we reached the hall again, his arms slipped around my waist.
"You do know that I will now torture you throughout dinner, right?"
I wriggled against him. "I wouldn't expect anything less," I said, looking into his eyes and almost losing myself in them.
Alice's voice snapped me out of my trance. "Are you guys ready? The table is booked for eight."
I grabbed Edward's wrist and looked at his watch. 7:45. Aw, crap. The restaurant was at least 20 minutes' drive away.
Rose noticed my frown and sauntered up to me, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Emmett breaks every fricking speed limit in the US of A."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "And how are you going to do that?" I asked, then regretted it as a smirk came onto her face. "Actually, I really don't want to know. Forget I asked."
"Yeah, that's probably wise. I've already corrupted your too innocent brain once."
She stuck her tongue out at me. I stuck my tongue out back, for all the world feeling like a little kid again about to get into an argument with my little sister, and replied, "Really? From where I was standing it looked very. . . tame."
Her breath puffed out in a rush and I saw the indignation cross her face, then barely controlled, yet playful, anger.
She turned away and shot back over her shoulder, "That was just the entrée, sis. You might want to invest in some soundproofing." She went over to Emmett and whispered something in his ear, whilst I doubled over, laughing like a madwoman.
Edward was shooting me some very weird and slightly concerned looks but I was watching Emmett's reaction. His eyes widened and I swear I saw a bit of drool. Slipping a hand around Rose's waist, he charged to the door, shouting back over his shoulder, "Right, everybody in the car! I have a very important bet to win!" He pushed Rose out the door, leaving the rest of us staring after him, mystified or, in my case, grinning as I realized what Rose had done. She doesn't like to lose a bet and judging by Emmett's nature and response, he doesn't either, so she'd played him very well indeed.
"NOW!" Emmett's voice came thundering back through the door and all of us jumped up and literally ran out of the house, piling into the car with superhuman speed. I had barely even got my seatbelt on before Emmett shoved the car back off the drive and screeched away, leaving black tire marks in his wake.
Edward wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to his body; I'm guessing it was in case Emmett's driving didn't exactly go to plan. I wasn't worried though. Emmett was a brilliant driver (I'm guessing Rose could second this in the, uh, other sense) and he wouldn't get us killed. Hurt, I'm not so sure about. Rose was laughing in the front seat, her head thrown back, and she kept calling out the minutes we had left until 8. Emmett kept growling playfully at her, telling her to, "Shut up woman. You're distracting me."
I felt like pointing out that that was probably the point but refrained, in case I distracted him from his bet.
Alice tapped me on the shoulder, grinning. "What do you think she bet him?" she asked. Angela lent in from the other side, listening.
I grinned, "Something X-Rated, I'm sure." We all started laughing, though the boys were looking slightly shell shocked. They obviously hadn't got used to Rose yet.
We pulled into the car park with a minute to spare after Emmett cut up some jerk in a BMW, and all jumped out the car. We were on Team Emmett to win. Rose would kill me if she heard that, but this was bound to be funny.
We bounded into the restaurant just as the clock struck 8, and Emmett yelled in delight, before swinging Rose round in a circle, and then giving her a very long kiss. She swayed a little when they pulled apart, which made me snigger into Edward's shoulder. The hostess looked at all of us in a slightly scared manner before tentatively asking if we were the party of seven at 8pm.
"Hell yeah!" responded Emmett, flashing her a grin.
The hostess blushed and smiled back, at which Rose punched Emmett in the gut and glared at the hostess in a terrifying 'back off bitch' kind of way. The hostess paled and scurried away, leading us to our seats. I gave Rose a reproachful look, to which she just shrugged and tightened her grip on Emmett's arm.
We were seated at a large booth table near the back of the restaurant. Emmett was constantly cracking jokes and innuendos, so much so that Rose pinched him hard on the neck, which made him yelp and shut up. Conversation flowed easily over dinner, and even Angela was getting really involved. Alice had promised to set her up with Ben, and now she couldn't stop talking about it. It was sweet, really.
Edward kept playing with my hair throughout dinner, wrapping it in curls around is finger before letting it fall back down. I turned round to kiss him deeply and I ran my hands up his shirt, which was met with a chorus of cheers and 'get a room' from Emmett. I pulled away to glare at him.
"Like you two can talk!" I snapped crossly, pointing at him and Rose who had had their hands all over each other all the way through dinner, and were even feeding each other food off their plates. It was so sweet it was actually sickly. Jasper and Alice were having a whispered conversation, smiling at each other.
I sighed happily. This was the perfect break.
Just as we were getting up to leave a familiar voice called over to us,
"Bella! Hey, Bella!" I turned round and groaned. Jessica was heading towards us at full speed. I felt Edward stiffen and noticed Rose straighten up a bit, her eyes narrowing. I had told her all about Jessica and shown her pictures of the two faced bitch, and Rose was definitely reacting now. Jessica just blundered forward, none the wiser, until she reached us.
Uh, okay… Her hair had been dyed a tacky orange colour and she was wearing her 'favourite top' which she claimed 'made her boobs look good'. Shallow bitch. I swallowed those words and forced a smile.
"Hi Jess." Jessica was looking so excited, her eyes roving over the group. She finally settled back on me.
"Bella! These must be your visitors." She waited expectantly.
I sighed, "Jess, this is Edward, my boyfriend. . ."
Jessica's eyes widened as she blatantly eye-fucked my boyfriend. "How did you manage to get him? Especially with boobs as small as yours!"
I glared at her as Edward moved forward a bit. "It's so nice to meet you Jessica," he practically snarled.
"Call me Jess," she purred, flirtily. Stupid and shallow. What a winning combination.
"I'd rather not."
I stifled a laugh at Jessica's face, then moved on. "This is my best friend Angela." I pointed and Angela reluctantly waved. Jess dismissed her with a curl of the lip. "And this is my sister Rose."
Jess turned her beady eyes onto Rose, who was quivering with anger at this point and her eyes were snapping. Emmett was holding onto her arm with probably more force than he appeared to be using. Rose was pretty strong.
"Rose!" Jessica squealed, "Bella has told me so much about you!"
"And vice versa," Rose snarled. Jess looked momentarily startled at the venom in Rose's voice but she carried on nonetheless.
"I was hoping we could all go have like manicures and pedicures and like hang out! It would be like totally awesome. . ."
"I think not Jessica," Rose growled, "I don't like to hang out with bitches." Rose's accent made her words sound even colder, and this time Jessica actually took a physical step back, her eyes narrowing. She zeroed in on Emmett, who was standing protectively behind Rose, his arms wrapped around her waist.
"Emmett, right? You could have done so much better than her." She flicked a hand dismissively at Rose. "I could show you a real good time. . ."
I sucked in a breath, partly in shock and partly to say something to her—like "fuck off"—but I never got the chance.
Rose jumped in, her voice honey sweet. "Oh, Jessica. Did your parents teach you nothing? You poor little girl. You really don't want to play with fire, honey. You WILL get burned. I can assure you." She smiled at Jess, who was looking slightly scared now, and then carried on in the same tone, "I'm going to forewarn you, since I'm such a kind person." Her voice hardened and turned immensely cold, "if you ever hit on my boyfriend, or on my sister's boyfriend, or are a bitch to any one of the people here, or any person I happen to like, you will regret it. I mean, you don't really need all that long pretty hair, now do you?" Rose smiled again but it was more predatory this time. Then she looked at me, her voice and expression doing a 180, "Ready to go, sis?"
I nodded, grinning. Everyone else nodded, too, though they looked slightly shocked at Rose, and we started moving past Jessica. Rose hung back, waiting until we were past, then she linked arms with me and turned back to Jessica, "Sleep well, Jessica. . ." before striding off out of the restaurant.
Once we got outside, she burst into giggles, to which me and Angela joined in, while everybody else looked on in amazement. We were still snickering when we got back to the house.
Emmett and Rose immediately went off in the direction of Emmett's bedroom, hands all over each other, giggling. Edward pulled me in the direction of our bedroom, while Alice, Jasper and Angela went into the kitchen.
"You look so hot tonight, love," Edward murmured in my ear, whilst tugging the dress over my head; the door was firmly closed and locked behind us.
"But you'll look even hotter without this on. . ." He nipped at my neck and made me squirm.
Yup, a cliffie. You know what to do if you want to know what happens next.
I just wanna recommend "How It All Started" by fankstewie. It's still in-progress, and I am waiting with baited breath for an update :)