Chapter 6

Hey Baby

I arrived at Angela's house early to help her set up everything. When I walked into the house she let out a loud whistle. "Whoa, hot mama."

"What, this old thing?" I questioned innocently.

"You aren't as clever as you think you are sister dear. Remember you learned all your tricks from me." She gave me a wink and led me into the kitchen. I put the large bowl of potato salad in the fridge. I asked Angela what I could do and she told me to start chopping some fresh fruit. I began with the strawberries, popping one into my mouth every now and then. Ben came in from the patio where he was starting the grill.

"Jesus Bella, are you trying to kill my best friend. He is going to have an aneurysm when he sees you." Ben said after pecking Angie on the cheek.

"Just want to give him a peek of what he can't have." I replied, popping another strawberry in my mouth.

"Don't be too hard on him Bella, he really feels bad about the other night. He's not a bad guy," he said before walking back outside. I finished slicing all the fruit and walked upstairs to the bathroom. While I was washing my hands, I heard the doorbell. I rushed out and watched from the top of the stairs as Edward and his family entered the house. The blonde from last night was standing next to a massive man holding a big bouquet of flowers. That must be her husband. There was also an older couple, which was obviously Edward's parents. They were a beautiful couple. The mother had passed on her caramel and rust colored hair to Edward and the father passed his blonde to their daughter. Edward's mother held a bottle of champagne along with a small wrapped gift in her hands. Edward was introducing everyone, handshakes and smiles all around.

I began walking down the stairs and all attention was drawn to me. I saw the huge guy nudge Edward and whisper in his ear. He nodded and continued to stare. I reached the bottom of the staircase and stood next to Angela. Since Edward was still staring open mouthed at me, she decided to continue the introductions. "This is my sister Bella. Bella these are Edward's parents, Carlisle and Esme. His sister Rosalie and her husband Emmett. But you already met her. But that was kind of awkward, so let's pretend that this is the first time you've met her." She gave a nervous little laugh and Ben pulled her to his side.

I reached out to shake everyone's hand but as I got to Esme, she pulled me into a tight hug. It caught me off guard and was a whole lot of weird, but I gave her a little squeeze back. She reminded me a lot of Alice. "I'm sorry dear, I've just heard a lot about you. I feel as if I know you already." She smiled widely and turned her attention back to my sister. I think she must be on some kind of medication or something.

I had still not acknowledged Edward standing there next to me. The group started making their way to the kitchen, but I hung back. I noticed Edward hadn't moved yet either. He leaned down to say something to me and instead of listening to whatever sarcastic comment he was about to relay, I walked away. I was going to be the bigger person; I didn't want him to bait me into a conversation that would turn into an argument. Who am I kidding; I just wanted to make him crazy.

Everyone migrated to the back yard, where Angela and Ben had quite an impressive spread. Ben's mom showed up, along with a few aunts and uncles of Angela and mine. Everything turned out really nice. We ate and chatted with everyone. Edward's family was really nice and easy to get along with. His brother-in-law was the life of the party, entertaining everyone at the table. He coached college football and recently got a job as the defensive coach for the LSU Tigers.

I could feel Edward staring at me while I talked to my Aunt Elsie. I devoted all my attention to her, even though all she ever talked about was her doctor's appointments, the different medication she was taking and how difficult it was for her to use the bathroom regularly. But to Edward, I hoped it looked like it was the most interesting conversation I had ever been included in.

Once everyone was finished, I helped Angela clean everything up, while all the other guests moved to the pool. I heard Emmett's loud voice before a large splash. We finished putting away all the left-overs and walked out to the pool. All the older guests were sitting around the outside of the water, a few just getting their feet wet. I walked over to one of the lounge chairs and removed my shorts and tube top, revealing my new bikini. Once again, I could feel Edward's eyes on me and once again I didn't acknowledge him. I dove into the pool and swam underwater to the other side. Once I surfaced, I adjusted my top to ensure everything was still covered.

I swam over to Angela and Ben who were sitting in the shallow end talking. They quieted when I got close and shared a look. "What's up guys?" I asked.

"Nothing, just talking about setting up the net for some volley ball. You game?" Ben spit out quickly.

"Sure, as long as I'm not on butthead's team." I gave a pointed look in Edward's direction. Not surprisingly he was still looking in my direction. Guess this swim suit was doing the trick, one point for Bella.

"Real mature Bella," Angela said, rolling her eyes. Ben asked the Cullen clan if they wanted to play. Everyone was game and Rosalie called out that we should play guys against girls. Emmett started laughing, along with a few chuckles from Ben and Edward.

"Babe, that wouldn't exactly be fair. I'll take two of you girls and Ben and Edward will take the other. It will make for a better game that way," he said condescendingly. Rosalie lifted an eyebrow at him after his remark and got him flustered. "Okay, okay. Guys against girls." Wow I need to learn how to do that.

Ben finished with the net and jumped back into the pool. The guys formed a little huddle, looking over in our direction every few seconds. Rosalie joined our side of the pool with a look of pure determination. She pulled us into a circle and began strategizing. "Okay ladies, we're going to kick some ass. What are your strong points?" Rosalie looked at Angela and me expectantly.

"Oh, um, we both played in high school." Angela said.

"Great, okay what are their weaknesses," she asked hooking a thumb at the guys behind her. "Emmett has a bad knee and from his football days."

"How is that going to help us?" Angela asked.

"I don't know, just information that may come in handy. We all know what Edward's weakness is. Anything about Ben we should know about?" Rosalie was out for blood. She wasn't messing around. By the tone of her voice you would think we were in the last quarter of the Super Bowl and our team was down a few points. I loved it.

"Um, he isn't wearing his glasses. He won't be able to see anything too far away."

"Good, we can definitely use that to our advantage. Okay, it looks like they have Emmett serving first. I'll serve first for us. Alright ladies, let's do t his." We all started moving to our positions, before I remembered something I wanted to ask.

"Wait," I said walking back over to Rosalie. "What is Edward's weakness?"

"You. Now get over there."

I turned around and smiled wickedly. This would be really fun. I stood on the opposite side of the net from Edward. After feeling his eyes on me for the millionth time today, I decided to stretch a little. After all, I didn't want to pull a muscle. I reached my arms behind my back, pushing my chest out a little. Stretching a little more until I was sure that there was a little drool at the corner of Edward's mouth.

Carlisle flipped a coin, giving the ladies the ball first. Rosalie tossed the ball in the air and her fist came back forcefully, smashing the ball to the other side of the pool. Emmett jumped and was able to recover the ball. He tapped it lightly, sending it in my direction. I hopped up and slammed the ball down right in front of Edward's face. He looked around shocked.

"What the hell Edward? Get you head in the game." Emmett bellowed. Edward shrugged and tried to concentrate. I gave him a smug look and switched positions with Angela. The game continued in that manner. The girls dominating, viciously taking advantage of the guys' weakness. Emmett was pissed. He couldn't believe we were whooping them so badly. The game ended on a bloody note, when Rosalie spiked the ball directly at Edward's face, busting his nose.

"Oh my god, Edward. Are you okay?" Rosalie asked, not sounding very concerned.

"Damn, baby, you owned his ass." Emmett said jovially. I couldn't help but snicker at his comment but stopped when Edward looked up and cut his eyes at me. I told him I would take him to the bathroom and help him get cleaned up. He followed behind me, cupping his nose tightly. I grabbed his hand and told him to lift his head, trusting me to lead the way. I chuckled at the disbelieving look on his face.

"Come on Edward, you think I'm going to run you into a door or something. I wouldn't kick you while you're down." He warily grabbed my hand and I lead him to the small half bathroom off the kitchen.

He sat down on the toilet while I gathered some supplies. I wet a wash cloth with warm water to wipe away the blood that was smeared on his face and chest. I gently removed all the blood from his face and slowly ran the cloth across his toned chest. He took in a deep breath and I could see his muscles tense. Breaking myself from the daze I was in, I reached over and grabbed a few tissues for his nose. I crouched between his legs and pulled his face down so I could see if there was any bruising. Edward's eyes snapped open and his beautiful green eyes met mine. I could feel his breath on my face while my breathing momentarily stopped. I stuttered out, "I-I wanted to see if it's bruised."

He didn't respond just stared through me. After a few moments of silence, he said quietly, "I'm sorry Bella. I was out of line last night. I have no claim on you and I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. It just pissed me off seeing that guy's hands on you and I snapped. I took it out on you and I'm sorry."

I blinked a few times, shocked by his sincerity. "Uh, I'm sorry too. I said some ugly things and although most of them were true, I'm sorry. Especially what I said about your sister. She's awesome, even more so now that she made you bleed."

"Yeah, she seems to like you too. For what reason, I don't know." He laughed.

"Hey, I have some likable qualities."

"Hmm, you should show me some day," he joked. Without either of our knowledge our faces moved closer to each other. Just before our lips met, Edward cleared his throat, "We should probably get back out there."

"O-kay." I said confused. I thought we were having a moment there and he totally shut me down. Edward stood and walked out the bathroom. He turned and asked if I was coming. I lifted myself from the floor and followed him out.

"This is a really nice house. Did you decorate everything?" Edward asked, as we entered back into the kitchen.

"Yeah, well Angela really had a clear idea of what she wanted, I just made it happen." I looked around the area. It really was beautiful, very chic and perfectly Angela.

"This looks like a room my mom would design."

"Really? Does she dabble in decorating?" I asked. I couldn't remember her ever mentioning what she did, so I figured she was retired like her husband.

"No, she's a professional. For the last twenty something years. She started doing it when we were younger, just to keep herself busy, but she really enjoys it. Then she pulled Rosalie in the business. They just opened an office here in town." Edward said casually.

Suddenly it clicked. Esme Cullen. Esme Interiors. Son of a bitch. Of course it would be Edward's mother who would be my only real competition in New Orleans. "Hmm, that's strange that you never mentioned that before." I said suspiciously.

"Are you sure I've never said anything? I'm pretty sure I've said something before. I know I talked to Ben and Angela about it. It's cool, now you know."

"Actually it's not cool. I've talked about clients in front of you. Two of which, I just recently lost to your mother." I stood with my hands on my hips, eyebrows raised, ready to bloody his nose again. I can't believe he would sabotage me. I knew our "relationship" was usually tense, but this was my career. My lively hood.

"Come on Bella, you don't actually think I would sell you out to my mother. I don't know anything about what jobs she is working on or how she gets them. Give me a little credit here." Edward said with a pained expression on his face.

"Give you a little credit. Oh yeah, sure. It is all just a little too convenient, Edward. You were playing me." I walked past him and out the door. Everyone was out of the pool and sitting around the fire pit, talking. I wrapped a towel around myself, then sat down next to my sister.

Angela leaned over and asked, "You get Edward all fixed up?"

"Yeah, but I wish Rosalie would have broken his nose." I replied angrily. She gave me a look and I started talking before she could even get anything out of her mouth. "I don't want to talk about it right now. Today is about you and Ben. Let's just enjoy the rest of the night."

Edward walked towards the group and sat down next to Emmett. I kept my head down, staring at the fire. Angela and Ben stood next to me. Ben wrapped his arm around Angela's waist and looked down at her with a huge smile on his face. "Umm, we just wanted to thank everyone for coming over today to celebrate our anniversary. I can't believe a year has gone by so fast. But before everyone leaves, we wanted to tell everyone that we found out last week, that…Angela's pregnant." Ben finished excitedly.

Everyone jumped up with excited screams and congratulations. "Oh my god Angela! You're going to have a baby." I pulled her to me tightly. I was so happy for her. I knew she always wanted a bunch of kids. She and Ben would be excellent parents. I would be an aunt. "When are you due?"

"The beginning of February," she said, rubbing her still flat stomach. I gave her another tight hug and then moved over to Ben. He was in a tight embrace from his mother and I think she may have been crying. I quickly gave him my congratulations and found my seat to watch everyone celebrate.

Lost in my thoughts of what was the earliest I could start shopping for this baby, Edward approached me. He kneeled down beside me and whispered in my ear, "Can we talk for a second?" I nodded and followed him into the house. When we reached the kitchen, he stopped and turned around to face me. "Bella, I just really want to make you understand that I would never sell you out to my mother. I wouldn't do that to you, or to anyone for that matter. I know your business is important to you and I would just never do that. I'm sorry for making you think that…gah I feel like I'm always apologizing to you."

"It's really fine, Edward. It's not important. I overreacted and jumped to conclusions." I said. "But I do think we need to talk about this thing between us." He gave me a confused look, so I continued on. "This weird sexual tension thing. I think we need to let that go. Just forget everything that happened in the past and just be friends. I think once that is gone, we won't fight and bicker so much. What do you think?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess." His eyebrows were pulled close together, as if he was really thinking through what I said.

"I mean, Angie and Ben are having a baby. We are definitely going to be seeing each other on a regular basis. And I don't want to be stressed out thinking that every time we get together there is going to be a fight. You know?"

"Yeah, I get it. So we'll just be friends then?"

"Totally, it will be much easier now. You'll see." I said confidently. This would work, right? I couldn't help but feel a little sadness, knowing that I would never get to touch him or kiss him again. Then again, we couldn't keep going on this way. I was tired of all the fighting and misunderstandings and the apologizing. This would work.