Note: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This story is mine.
A/N: I am so sorry for the really long delay with this chapter update but real life happened A LOT in the past few months. Hope you all had a great holiday season…happy reading.

Slow Jam, Slow Jelly

Chapter 7 - Workin' Double Time on the Seduction Line

"Hey Edward, do you mind if you help me with tying the laces on my shoes please?" I ask, knocking on the half open door and then tip-toeing into his room.

I caught him in mid-dress; he was pulling down a white undershirt, covering up his lightly toned stomach. His head spun in my direction and his eyebrows perked up, a pleasant smirk on his face making an appearance.
"Oh sorry, I can come back when you're done getting dressed," I say a little embarrassed, reaching back for the door knob.

"No, no, come in Bella," he says, putting on a red plaid button-down. I give him a smile and make my way over to his bed, all the while I feel Edward's glare run up and down my body as he's buttoning up his shirt. I look down at my outfit: tight black denim shorts, somewhat loose v-neck white t-shirt, and those studded spiked Jeffrey Campbell booties dangling from my fingers. Not exactly sexy or revealing but I feel like he's looking at me like I'm prancing around in my underwear in front of him right now.

I finally sit down on his bed and place the shoes on my lap. I look up at him and he laughs a bit nervously. He takes my shoes and starts to bend down in front of me. I feel the heat of his stare go down every inch of my legs. I smile to myself, taking the advice from Alice and Rosalie was definitely working.

Earlier that evening
"HE DID WHAT!?" both Alice and Rosalie shrieked into the phone after I updated them on what I've been up to since I've been back to Forks. From my retelling of events, they are definitely now on Team Edward. Edward helping me with my shoes was both very chivalrous and really sexy, and by far, their most favorite Edward and Bella moment they confessed to me so far.
"Maybe he has a shoe fetish," Rosalie tries to reason.
"Nah girl…Edward has a Bella fetish," Alice says and then practically screams into the phone. "You need to slut it up more Bella! Flash him your black lace covered boobs next time!" I blush furiously while my two closest girlfriends laugh it up like hyenas on the other end of the line. When things quiet down, Rosalie adds, "From now on, you have that boy help you with putting on your shoes okay missy."

I hear Edward clear his throat and my thoughts about my girly conversation with Alice and Rosalie while I was getting dressed and ready for a night out disappears. "All done sexy spikes...and stems," Edward says, and then licks his lips.

Well, if he's flirting with me, I'm gonna flirt back, I think to myself and muster up some sexy courage for my Edward.

I ruffle his hair up a bit and tug the ends lightly before saying, "Thanks for your help handsome." And with that I leave his room, his eyebrows cocked in surprise amusement, and the sounds of my heels on the wooden floor hopefully masking how hard and loud my heart is beating for him.

Just like Edward promised, he took me to Three Rivers for dinner. He wanted to make sure I had a good meal in my belly before I was pounding back shots with Jacob and the other groomsmen. So, with a full belly and smiling from spending all this time with Edward, we eventually pull up to the Oceanaire Tavern, one of the best surf and turf restaurants in Port Angeles. They recently added a secret exclusive bar called Noble Experiment that is being shut down for tonight just for Jacob's bachelor party. The head chef of the restaurant, Christian, went to culinary school with Jacob. So, he jumped at the chance at extending an invite to where he works at so Jacob can properly say goodbye to his bachelor days. Jacob geeked out over how the mixologists at Noble Experiment use uncommon ingredients in their signature cocktails like hot Sriracha chili sauce or raw egg. Furthermore, the mixologists definitely knew how to make a good, strong drink and made sure every drink satisfied every guest. Plus, Jacob loved how Noble Experiment gives the bar guests the experience of a speakeasy, except in our present day, the experience is legal. Jacob couldn't have asked for a more perfect place to have his bachelor party.

Edward opens the car door for me and helps me put on my leather jacket. Having his warm body so close to me, I notice he has misbuttoned his red plaid shirt. I point it out to him and he starts to unbutton his shirt in embarrassment right in front of me. I reach my hands out to stop and comfort his fumbling hands. Then I start to unbutton and rebutton his shirt the right way. Being this close to Edward, I can feel his warm breath falling down on me gently with each rise and fall of his chest. It's a bit distracting to be quite honest since I oddly find it sexy that he's breathing down on me. My mind begins to wander and I'm suddenly imagining him breathing down on me but his body is naked up against me. His breath is more labored, trying to catch his breath, exerting a lot of grunts of approval in a dark room. So, I am surprised a minute later that I managed to loop all of his shirt buttons through all the right holes even though in my head I've practically had sex with him.

"Thanks for undressing me and redressing me Bella," he says, looking down at me. He gently cups my chin and lifts my head up even more to him. I bite my lip in nervousness because he just keeps staring down at me with such intensity. I then feel the pad of his thumb lightly pull down my bottom lip, effectively freeing it from my lip bite. He slowly starts to lean into me more and before I realize what's happening, he lightly grazes his lips against mine. When our lips touch, I feel a small spark run through me. I think Edward felt it too because he pulls back a fraction away from me and looks down at me with concern. I let out a small breath between us and I decide to close the distance between us again. I lightly graze his lips back and that spark I felt a few seconds earlier is back. Suddenly, I feel Edward's hands grab my waist, pulling me into his body. Edward looks down deeply into my eyes, silently asking permission if all of this is okay with me. I nod my head slightly and my favorite crooked smile makes an appearance but this time it's laced a bit with shyness. This is new for us. But as the fog rolls in and the mist starts to envelop the both of us, Edward finally kisses me. The kiss is a chaste one but it's amazing. It's like he's savoring and memorizing every curve, every line of my lips.

A little too early for my liking, he pulls away slowly. He looks down at the ground, bashful, and then pokes my side lightly. "Hey," he offers up to me.

"Hey," I reply back. He pulls me into a hug and then looks down at me, a mixture of embarrassment and a look of relief on his face.

"I, um, I…I had to kiss you Bella," Edward says a bit breathless but his hold on my waist doesn't waiver. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line."
I let out a small breath I didn't even know I was holding, "Don't apologize. I obviously wanted you to kiss me too. I really…"

Suddenly, we hear loud laughter and we both see Paul burst out of the door of Oceanaire with a blonde-haired guy.

"Well, look who's finally joined the party," Paul says, taking a cigarette out. His blonde buddy, upon further inspection is James Sutton, another idiot I always made a point to avoid while growing up in Forks. James looks me up and down like I'm a piece of meat and I feel sick. Edward senses my unease and pulls me to his side, draping his arm around my shoulders. I look up in gratitude at him and I notice him side eyeing both Paul and James. He rolls his eyes at the two punks and I smirk up at him. "You ready Bella?" he asks, taking his arm off of me and instead chooses to offer his hand for me to hold. I roll my eyes too at the rude intruders that ruined our pretty intimate moment together earlier but I happily take Edward's hand. He gives me a wink, checks to make sure he locks the car, and then we make our way to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Hey Paul, James," Edward calls out as we walk towards them, his hand refusing to let me go. I nod my head up in acknowledgement to both of them as we walk by and they nod back at me. I shiver slightly and get closer to Edward when James starts to lick his lips in complete creeper fashion.

"Well, this party got more fun and interesting," James says just as Edward opens the door and ushers the both of us in.

We are greeted by an overly friendly curly red-haired hostess as soon as she sees Edward. But the friendliness is taken down a peg when she scans down and sees Edward is still holding my hand. "Good evening, welcome to Oceanaire Tavern. Do you have a reservation? Or do you need a table for two?" she asks. Edward says no and then she breaks out into a devious smile.

"We're actually here for the Bachelor Party tonight," Edward quickly adds. The door opens up behind us with more restaurant patrons entering the restaurant but the cool night air makes me shiver slightly. Edward immediately wraps his arm around me and rubs my shoulder in comfort and warmth. The hostess lets out a small exasperated sigh and then says in a defeated done, "Follow me please." She takes us towards a lounge area and where a small bar is located. This part of the restaurant is a bit quieter and more secluded for sure. There is a floor to ceiling wall of kegs and then she touches one of the kegs. "Just push this keg," she points to a keg that has a sticker of a mermaid on it and The Green Flash beer logo printed in big bold letters. "And you'll find the rest of your party. We hope you enjoy the rest of your night," she says quickly and then walks away, leaving Edward and I a bit confused with her instructions.

Edward raises a curious eyebrow at me. "Well, Jacob did say it was a secret bar," I reason with Edward. "There is only one way to find out right?" I push on the keg like the hostess instructed us to do. And to both our surprise, a part of the wall of kegs moves. The first thing we see is a small, dimly lit lobby area with rustic wood paneling and a huge picture window of an aquarium built into one of the walls. The secret keg door closes behind us and we hear soft tinkling musical notes coming from a piano. We look towards the direction of where the music is coming from. The piano is tucked in the corner of the room and we also discover the melody is actually some phantom song since no one is seated at the piano bench. A few more piano notes are played and I nudge Edward in his side. "Yeah, I've never heard You Shook Me All Night Long played on a piano before as well," he muses and then lifts his head to explore what else is in the room. There are a few plush lounge chairs and a dark green velvet fainting couch. On the wall directly facing us, there is a red lit up neon sign that says Noble Experiment and a life-size knight in shining armor, posed and pointing to what looks like a small hallway. We make our way to the small hallway and discover that the hallway walls are adorned with hundreds of golden skulls. The hallway is even more dimly lit and it's definitely much colder and feels damp. "Well, this place is definitely not insulated well," Edward jokes and then a small drop of water falls on his forehead. "This hallway reminds me a bit of your summer Europe photos and how you went to the Paris catacombs one day." Edward reaches up and wipes the water droplet off his face. He then grabs my hand and smiles down at me, "Come on, let's explore this place even more." So, we venture together down this dark, scary hallway full of golden skulls staring at us from both sides. Before it gets too morbid, we see faint light to right of the end of the hallway. When we finally reach the end of the hallway, we are relieved to see all our friends drinking, laughing, and carrying on their conversations. Most of them are huddled up in groups, sitting on white leather upholstered booth seats that are set up against a backdrop of a red shimmery damask wall covering. Various mirror paneled tables have small bowls of finger foods like cashews, chips, and olives sitting on top of them. There is a cool black and white checkered marble board floor that my heels click-clack upon and some of our friends look up and wave at Edward and me. I look up and there is a cool vaulted ceiling with weird paintings of interesting men, women, and even animals, from various eras, suspended in the air from some of the ceiling beams. We finally spy Jacob at the impressive bar. The many bottles of alcohol are set on some glass shelves and lit up like they are pieces of art in a museum. In fact, the shelves are even framed with elegant white crown moulding. And quite possibly the treasured jewel of the bar is the huge sparkling crystal chandelier hanging above it all. I nudge Edward and say, "Wow, this place is like some fancy pirate bar and The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland all in one." I get a good laugh out of him for that one and Edward's laughter gets Jacob's attention.

"Bells! Edward! You two finally made it!" Jacob bellows from the bar. We pass by the rest of the party guests, high-fiving and having them raise their glasses at us in welcome. Jacob pulls out a seat for Edward and me, and then flags over someone. "Hey Garrett! I found another groomsman. And my bad ass groomswoman Bella is here." A really tall, gangly man dressed in a brown corduroy vest, bow tie, and rocking a handlebar mustache makes his way towards us.

"Welcome to Noble Experiment. I am Garrett," he says and then extends his hand out to me first. "Nice to meet you Bella. And your name sir?" he turns his attention to Edward and offers a handshake to him. "Glad you two could join us tonight. May I direct your attention to the other side of the bar where Marcus, the gentleman in the paperboy cap, and Benjamin, the gentleman wearing the bowler hat and suspenders, will be your other mixologists tonight." Garrett lets out a small whistle and both Marcus and Benjamin salute us with a smile. "Alright, now that proper introductions have been made, ladies first. What special drink can I start you off with fair Bella? Are you in the mood for something sweet, something strong, something spicy tonight? Maybe you're in the mood for all three?" Garrett winks and I see both Edward and Jacob stiffen in their seats.

"Those are some loaded questions Garrett," I answer, looking at the handwritten calligraphy cocktail menu.

"She's a whiskey girl," Edward says, volunteering that information about myself. I can't help but smile at him and my heart warms a bit that Edward always and remembers my favorite things.
"Thank you Edward," Garrett says and then takes down a good quality bottle of whiskey. "Now Miss Bella, do you wanna make your first drink Dealer's Choice? I know your favorite spirit now," he says, showcasing the whiskey bottle to me. "I'll just take care of the rest. Is that good for you?" Garrett asks with a wink again.

"That's good for me Garrett," I say, giggling a bit because this guy is really working it to make sure he's getting a good tip tonight.

Edward clears his throat loudly and says, "I'll get Dealer's Choice too Garrett. But I'd like cognac as my choice please." And with a bow Garrett excuses himself to start making our drinks.

Jacob slides a bowl of mixed nuts towards us just as he sees Paul and James reenter the bar. "Dumbass Paul. He invited James to my party without my permission," Jacob says, sending death glares to Paul and James. "Hey Garrett, could I get 9 shot glasses please and some good top shelf vodka," Jacob asks through a mouthful of nuts. Garrett lines up 9 shot glasses, bookends them with a Ketel One bottle and 3 glasses of pineapple juice as chasers. Jacob takes the Ketel One and starts filling each shot glass up. "Come on, Bells, Edward, bottoms up. 3 shots each. One for the past, one for the present, and one for the future," he says, disturbing the shots and the companion chaser to us.

And that is how most of Jacob's bachelor party night goes. More drinks are enjoyed and glasses are clinked together in celebration. Conversations about the better days and being nostalgic for days gone by are shared with one another for hours. I am on a good buzz and I casually keep grazing my hand over Edward's upper thigh. He slowly halts my movements and then asks in a hushed, playful tone, "What'cha doing Bella?" Hrmphf, Edward is pretty drunk too.

I whisper in his ear that I was gonna go to the ladies restroom. He nods his head, whispers a Hurry back please Bella, and then kisses the top of my forehead affectionately. Whatever is going on between us has definitely become more than friendly and we're obviously both fine with this development. I start to get up with Edward's help and then I see a slack jawed Jacob with crudely chewed chips in his mouth. I give Edward an apologetic look. My small bladder really needs to be relieved and I'm leaving him here by himself to be interrogated by Jacob and some of our friends that witnessed the forehead kiss. He slyly brushes me off and I make my way to the ladies restroom. After using the bathroom, I decide to hang out in the little sitting area the ladies restroom has. I think I also needed a little breather from all that testosterone packed in that room. I check my phone and realize it's almost midnight. There are a few text messages from Rosalie and Alice, and I can't wait to call them tomorrow to update them on my night. And more importantly, that kiss Edward and I had. After a few more minutes of daydreaming of Edward, I decide to head back to the bar. I walk out of the ladies restroom and I am immediately bombarded by a familiar man.

"Well, well, well...look at what we have here, little Bella all by herself," James says, getting uncomfortably close to me. "Now the real fun can begin," he snarls in my ear and then puts his hands on my chest. His bad breath coupled with the alcohol he's consumed and his atrocious cologne makes me want to gag. I snatch his hands away from me and then slap him really hard right across his face. I gather up all my spit and spew it all out all over his face. He is shocked and just as I'm about to knee him in the balls, he shoves me up against the wall. His right hand is holding both my wrists up above my head, his left hand covering my mouth, and he starts to grind himself up against me. I am trying my best to buck him off of me and to bite his hand so I can scream but I am struggling underneath his strength.

Suddenly, I see a flash of bronze in the corner of my eye and before I realize what is happening Edward is punching James in the face. Edward hits him so hard he falls on the floor with a huge thud and he is out cold. Edward immediately wraps me in his arms and tries to calm me down. "You're shaking like a leaf. Are you okay?" he steps back, cradles my face in both of his hands, and looks at me from head to toe. "Did he hurt you?" I shake my head no and then we see James stir a bit but he doesn't get up. Edward takes his cell phone out, fuming as he says, "Hey Paul, you better take your friend James home...what do you mean why? I just saw him assault Bella, grinding his pencil dick up against her...yeah, uh-huh, I thought so."

As soon as Edward ends his call, Edward wraps his arm protectively around me, as he keeps a close eye on James. And then I see Jacob run into the hallway and picks up James off the floor who was slowly starting to wake up. He slams James up against the wall. Jacob seethes right in James's frightened face, "Who the hell do you think you are punk!" Jacob punches James in the stomach and he crouches over in pain. The rest of the party joins us in the hallway and I use that distraction to break away from Edward's arms. I dart over to James and finally kick him right in the crotch. All the guys let out a painful groan, some instinctively cover up their groin area.

"Paul take your creepy ass friend away please," I try to say as calmly as possible. But it's obvious I'm still traumatized over what has just happened, so my voice betrays me and it shakes a bit. I run back into the bathroom and head straight to the sink to splash some cool water on my face. I hear a knock on the door followed by Edward's voice saying he was coming in. He sees my wet face and grabs a stack of paper towels and brings me over to the couch in the sitting area of the bathroom.

Jacob swings open the ladies restroom door and yells, "Yo Bells! You oka… whoa, the girl's bathrooms are really nice." Jacob takes in the new surroundings and then plops down on one of the lounge chairs across from Edward and me. "No wonder you all go together in a pack and stay for a long time," he says as he pokes a floral arrangement on a side table. "Whoa! These are real."

Edward lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes at Jacob before turning his attention to me. His face softens, "You sure you're okay? You sure he didn't hurt you?" I nod my head affirmatively. "So, you ready to head home now Bella?" Edward asks as he wraps his around me and pulls me closer to him.

"No, no...we're here to celebrate Jacob. I'll be fine. I'm fine," I say, snuggling into Edward even more.
"You're sure you're okay Bells?" Jacob eyes me.
"Yes, I'm fine. The situation was handled," I say.

"Fuck yeah the situation was handled. You really are my bad ass Bella," Jacob says with his mile wide grin as he high fives me. "Come on, Christian just got off his shift and he came to the party with food. There are trays of oysters, lobster, shrimp, some prime rib, a huge chocolate cake. We're gonna get our grub on," he sings and then does a little booty dance as he walks out the door.

"Let's go Edward, I want chocolate cake," I say as I get up and then offer my hand to him. He puts his hand in mine, gets up, and then pulls me into a tight hug. I smile into his chest and I whisper a muffled Thank You to him. He kisses the top of my head and then steps slightly away from me. He cradles my face in his hands and then places a small kiss at the end of my nose. Edward grabs my hand again, starts pulling me towards the door, and says, "Come on, we better head back now to make sure you get a slice of that chocolate cake. Those guys are like a pack of hungry wolves when they see food. " I laugh along with him and it's another life reaffirming moment for me that Edward has always been my one.

As soon as we enter the bar, Edward makes a beeline to the chocolate cake, cutting up two huge wedges for us. "I'm not really that hungry but I figured you'd probably want my slice anyway, so that's why I got two," Edward says as he leans back into the booth. Yup, another life reaffirming moment, Edward is my one. I give him a small discreet kiss just below his ear after I whisper my thanks, and I lean back into the booth with him as well. I offer my first bite of cake to him and he happily devours what I'm offering him.

And so the celebration continues, with our bellies full on good food and good drinks and being surrounded by good friends enjoying a good buzz until last call. When it's time to leave, Jacob Black drunkenly stumbles out of his bachelor party a very happy man.

After we get Jacob and Seth home safely, Edward helps me get up to my room. He turns down my bed and then sets down a trash can by the side of my bed. He excuses himself out of the room with a hushed explanation of I'll be right back. Still on a good alcoholic buzz, I clumsily change into a tank top and pajama shorts. I hear a knock at the door before I see Edward peek his head in. He walks into my room and hands me two glasses of water, "Here, drink both of these before I tuck you into bed." He sits down next to me on the bed and patiently waits until I have consumed all the water he's given me.

"Thank you again Edward," I say, setting down the empty second glass on my nightstand.
"Anytime Bella," Edward quietly says as he rubs my back in a soothing manner. I put my head on his shoulder and ask, "Edward...why am I such a loser?"
Edward tilts his down to look at me with a confused face, "You are not a loser."
"James is a loser. I seem to attract just losers so that makes me a loser," I confess, covering up my face slightly with my hands.
Edward pulls both of my hands away and says directly in my face, "James is a loser but you're not a loser. I don't hang out with losers."
I let out a snort and then a surprise drunken hiccup comes out of me, "How do you explain Jacob then?"
Edward starts to chuckle lightly and the vibrations of his laughter feel so good against me, "You're being a smart ass. Good. You're starting to sober up."
"Thanks for being there," I say, reaching out and touching the side of his neck.
"Always Bella," he says, reaching up and covering my hand on his neck.

I'm pretty certain I still have a lot of liquid courage in me because I suddenly grab him by his shirt and pull him down on top of me, my back hitting the mattress. The weight of him on top of me is delicious. I start giving his lips some small, quick pecks, and in no time, he presses his lips firmly against mine. He starts to suck on my top lip and then my bottom lip, and then goes back to kissing me, this time harder and with more force. I can still taste the chocolate cake on his tongue.

"Bella, I can still taste whiskey on you," he says cautiously but his kissing doesn't let up.
"Who cares," I sigh back, opening my legs up a little more so I can feel more of him. Edward takes that opportunity I give him and I welcome him closer to me.
"You don't know how long I've fantasized about kissing you like this," he breaths into the side of my neck and starts nibbling and sucking on the skin there. He keeps rubbing small circles with his thumbs on my stomach. I take both of his hands and inches them up to my chest. He lets out a gasp but I can tell he is pleased to find out I'm not wearing a bra. He's still hesitant about touching me so I grab both of his hands and put them directly on me. He groans loudly and when he looks down at me, I nod my head up at him to let him know everything's okay. He starts to caress my breasts, feeling the weight of them in his hands. So soft, so damn soft her murmurs in my ear. He starts to tease my nipples, causing me to moan loudly, and I feel a rush of wetness come out of me from down there. He must know the effect he's having on me because he keeps grinding himself harder against where I am aching to have him.
"Ugggh, Edward…fuck me" I moan into his neck. Edward freezes. And before I can properly register what is happening, his hands are off my breasts, and he slides off of me. He faces away from me as he tries to discreetly adjust himself. He lets out a breath and then looks back at me.
"Bella, you don't know how much I want you..." he starts to say and then cups my face in his hands, peppering my face with small kisses. "But you're still drunk. I'm not gonna do this with you when you're like this," he says and then pulls me into his body. "I'm sorry baby."

I am feeling extremely embarrassed and rejected right now. I start to come out of my drunken state of mind and I realize my dry humping session with Edward is over. I feel saddened and definitely self-conscious about what happened between Edward and me. But then his voice echoing in my head telling me, I'm not gonna do this with you when you're like this...I realize, Wait, a minute, he wants a next time? I lightly nod my head in understanding to him and he lightly kisses my lips. I look up into his green eyes and say, "Just don't leave me okay? Everyone keeps leaving me behind. I couldn't handle it if you left me too."

"I won't. I couldn't," Edward reassures me, taking the blanket and covering the both of us. "Sleep my Bella. I'm right here."