I absolutely loved hearing about all of yours and your families costumes. You all are so creative!
Thank you, Chicsarah, for all that you do to make this better!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters.
"So, what are you going to do with all this free time you have now, Mr. Cullen?" I asked.
"Hmm, maybe this," he said, leaning in to kiss me, humming softly around my lips.
"And this," he continued, moving down to place his lips on my neck, stretched out and bared to him.
"Definitely this," he murmured, his voice low and husky as his hand lightly brushed over my breast, giving it a gentle kneed between his large fingers.
"I like that," I whimpered, scooting impossibly closer to him, his left arm wrapping around me to pull me in, his right crossed over his chest to touch me in his new favorite place to explore.
Our talking turned to hushed moans and only the sound of our breaths as our kissing intensified. We were laying on his bed, the house to ourselves until Alice got home from wherever she was and his parents got home from work. We didn't get a lot of alone time, so we had to make the best of every opportunity.
My hand roamed his hard chest, feeling the contours of every muscle, products of his hard exercise and the never-ending work he did just to move every day. Sometimes, if I let myself stop and think about it, it made my admire him so much more. To know that he had to work so much harder just to get through his everyday life was incredible. For as much as he joked about his disability, one thing he never did was complain.
"Mmm, baby," he said against my ear as my hand traveled down his stomach and up under his t-shirt.
I let my fingers trail softly into the patch of hair on his lower abdomen that led under the button of his jeans.
I stopped and looked up at him, seeking permission to continue.
His eyes, blue green, were dark with the fire of his need. He nodded lightly, encouraging me to continue.
I popped the button on his jeans, then eased down the zipper, never breaking eye contact with him.
Finally, I looked down to see him bulging hard and big under his boxers.
I slipped my hand over him, cupping him through the material and wrapping my fingers around him.
The sound of his low groan was the sexiest thing I'd ever heard, and I could feel it affecting me everywhere.
"Bellaaa," he mumbled, just as I began pumping him over his boxers.
"Edward! Bella!" We heard just as the front door slammed shut.
"Shit," Edward said, and we jumped away from each other fast. Edward zipped himself back into his pants, and I grabbed my book bag off of the floor, tossing it on the bed and opening it, desperately grabbing something, anything from it.
Edward was able to sit himself up, his legs stretched out in front of him, as he grabbed the TV remote and turned it on.
"Hey guys," Alice said as she popped into the doorway. "Whatcha doin?" She asked.
She took in my messy ponytail and Edward's flushed face, a pillow situated over his lap.
"Studying," I said at the same time Edward said "watching TV."
We all three looked at the television, and Alice gave a knowing look at us both.
"Okay, well, mom and dad are on the way home with pizza, so come out when you're...done," she laughed, turning and walking away.
"Seriously?" I whispered. "The Golden Girls?" I nodded to the TV.
"What? It's the channel I had it on last night. Friends was on then," he shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah, Betty White," I mumbled.
The next day, we were all sitting at lunch making weekend plans. We were halfway into November now. The football season had ended, and Forks High had, unfortunately, lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The guys had been bummed, but they were all glad to be done with practices and games. Edward, for as much as he loved helping coach, was wearing himself thin in the last few weeks of the season. He had to move his physical therapy sessions around to work around coaching, which meant leaving during his study hall to go during the morning on Thursday's and going again on Saturday mornings. But the late night games on Fridays, along with daily practices, where giving him little in the way of free time.
Luckily, the first nine weeks had passed and we were done with our biography projects. We'd both gotten an A, and for this second nine weeks of school, we were doing projects on our own.
We all had a lot more free time, but we lived in a town with little to do to fill it.
"We could go to the movies in PA," Jessica suggested.
"We did that last week. And also, I'm kind of broke right now," Angela replied.
"Same. I need all my money for Christmas," Rosalie said.
"Aww, babe, all I need is your love for Christmas," Emmett told her.
"That's sweet, but my family won't be as pleased with that gift," she laughed.
"We could go to the mall and play games at Dave & Busters again," Alice suggested.
"Still requires money," Angela said.
"True," Alice sighed in defeat.
"Y'all, what if we go volunteer?" I asked, an idea forming in my head.
"Come again, Forrest Gump?" Eric asked.
"At the animal shelter! The vet where we took Pretzel has a shelter, too. I was reading on the poster they had there that they were always looking for weekend volunteers to come walk the dogs and play in the kitten room," I explained.
"Ohh, a kitten room sounds fun!" Alice said excitedly.
"I could use the exercise. I'll walk some dogs," Jessica shrugged.
"I'll go. Maybe there will be some puppies," Rose smiled.
"I'm down," Edward nodded.
We looked expectantly at Jasper and Emmett.
"Fine, whatever. But I'm not cuddling no kitten. We are men," Emmett said, pounding his chest and nodding at Jasper.
Jasper just rolled his eyes but agreed to come.
"Ugh, fine," Eric said as we all turned to him. "But I am NOT scooping poop."
The next day, we all met at the shelter at noon. Edward had come to get me, and the others had all come in various carpools.
"Hi," I said to the lady at the front desk.
"Oh, hi dear. The vet's office is closed today," she said.
"Oh, we aren't here for a vet. We were hoping to volunteer today," I told her.
"All of you?" She asked, taking in our group. We had all decided to wear older clothes, nothing that we'd worry about messing up.
Eric wasn't even wearing makeup, and looked sleepy and none too excited to be here.
"Yes, ma'am. Wherever you need us. We can walk the dogs, play with the kittens, whatever you need," I told her.
"Wow. Well, okay! Let me just call a few people to the front and we will get you some tasks," she said.
As she stood up, I noticed a little streak behind her.
"Clara!" I said excitedly.
Edward's head popped up, looking as the tiny dog in the wheelchair came running around the counter to us.
"Hi, baby girl!" I said, scooping her up carefully and setting her in Edward's lap.
She jumped up on her back wheels and licked his face.
"I forgot how cute she was," Edward said, as the others reached down to pet her too.
"Oh, she's such a ham. I wish someone would take her home. She deserves a loving family," one of the other volunteers said as she walked up to great us.
"So I hear you kids are here to help out today?" She asked.
We all nodded.
"That's wonderful. I must say, it's not common to get a group this large of volunteers, but we are happy to have the help. Now, do any of you have a preference towards cats?" She asked.
Jessica, Eric, and Alice all raised their hands.
"Great! We have a cat room right that way, and we love for the cats and kittens to get some play time and interaction. We have several toys for them, so feel free to play as much as you can with them. We will send someone in there with you to help you remove them from their crates."
"Now, anyone particularly fond of puppies?" She asked.
We all were, but Rose's eyes lit up at that and she stepped forward.
"Fantastic. We have a six week old litter in the back, and its bath day. Would you want to help bathe each one?" She asked.
"Oh my gosh, yes!" She squealed.
"Great, I'll help with that!" Emmett said.
"Actually, I was kind of hoping you two," she said, nodding to him and Jasper, "would be willing to help bathe the bigger dogs," she said.
"Oh, uh, sure," Emmett said.
"Have either of you ever bathed a dog before?" The lady, Ms. Tori, asked.
"Uhh," Jasper stammered.
"Oh, don't worry. It's easy. The big ones love it, too," she said.
"Why don't you help with the puppy baths?" Ms. Tori asked Angela.
"Sounds good," Angela smiled.
"Great! Now, you two," Ms. Tori said, looking at Edward and me. Clara was still in Edward's lap, letting him pet her head. "You both seem particularly fond of our Clara here. Would you want to work with her today? She has to have a bath, as well, and some physical therapy training," Ms. Tori said.
"Bella?" Edward asked.
"Of course. That would be great," I said.
"Wonderful! Once you are all done with your volunteer stations, you are welcome to go out back and ask the walkers if they want a break. We have over 30 dogs here, and they all need walks pretty regularly."
We all branched off into our separate volunteer groups, each going with someone else from the staff, Edward and I following Ms. Tori. Edward sat Clara down, and she followed right along with us, her front little legs carrying her down the hallway, her tiny wheels keeping up with Edward and me.
Ms. Tori showed us to a deep tub where we'd be bathing her, along with a drying station. She showed us the shampoos she uses, as well as a lotion she applies to Clara's tummy to keep her from getting rashes from her chair.
"Clara loves her baths. We use this opportunity as water therapy to work her spine and legs. The warm water relaxes her and she enjoys the exercises," Ms. Tori explained.
"The pool exercises are my favorite, too," Edward mumbled, and when I looked down at him wide-eyed, he winked at me.
Looks like Clara wasn't the only ham.
Two hours later, Clara was bathed, exercised, blow-dried, and back in her chair. She was running happily out in the grass as we gathered to help the others leash the dogs for their walks.
Rose and Angela looked as fresh as when they'd started, though Edward and I both looked and smelled liked we been bathing a small but mighty little dog.
Eric, Jessica, and Alice all came out to the yard. They had all worn dark colors and were covered head to toe in cat hair.
But it was Jasper and Emmett who had us laughing when they walked up. Both of them were soaked, wet t-shirts clinging to their bodies. Even their hair was wet.
"Who actually got bathed?" Edward asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, you try bathing an 80 pound dog," Emmett grumbled.
"Alright folks, thanks for taking some of these guys for their walk," Ms. Tori called.
We followed her to the kennels, each housing two or three dogs. She helped us get leashes on them, and each of us took two. Edward was able to walk one of the older dogs who moved slowly with him around the track.
After a few laps each, we took them to the gated open field area and let them off the leashes so they could run and play.
It was cool out, but surprisingly the sun was shining and there was no rain. We had fun spending the afternoon chasing the dogs, playing fetch with them, and generally giving them the attention they needed.
But by late afternoon, the shelter was getting ready to clean up and close for the day, and we were all exhausted.
We grabbed our jackets from the lobby and were about to leave when I felt a tiny foot on mine. I looked down to see Clara standing beside me, looking up with her big brown eyes.
"Hey, sweetie," I said, bending to pick her up the way we'd been instructed, with one hand supporting her chest and the other between her legs lifting her so that her back wouldn't bend.
"Say bye to Edward," I cooed, leaning her down so that she could lick him across the nose.
"Bye, little girl," Edward said, scratching her head.
I set her down and she followed us to the door, looking out sadly as we walked away from the building. I had to stop looking back at her or I'd never get to leave.
"Alright fam, it's been real. But I stink and I want a hot shower," Eric said as we walked to the cars.
"Same," the others agreed.
"You guys want to go home and shower and meet back up at the house? My parents won't care. We can watch movies and order some pizza?" Edward suggested.
We all agreed that it sounded fun, so we planned to get back to Edward and Alice's house at seven.
Edward and I were quiet and tired on the ride home.
"That was so much fun," I said, happily.
"Yeah, it was," Edward said, though his voice betrayed him.
"Then why do you sound so sad?" I asked.
"I hate leaving her," he admitted.
"I do, too, Edward. I wish we could take her. She's just so sweet."
"She is. She's special. She doesn't deserve to have to live her life confined to a chair, but she doesn't let it ever slow her down. Is it weird that I'm inspired by a ten pound dog?" He asked with a humorless chuckle.
"No, not at all. But I wish you gave yourself as much credit as you give her," I said softly.
"Bella, I..."
"I know. You've been working on it and trying, but sometimes you slip up. I know you don't mean to, but it hurts us all when you put yourself down," I told him. "You never let your life confined to a chair slow you down, not physically at least. Why should you let it slow you down mentally? Emotionally?" I finished, just as he pulled into my driveway and put the car in park.
He angled himself towards me, hands still gripping the wheel.
"You're right. I know you are. But I can promise you, it hasn't slowed me down emotionally," he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean that if anything, I've learned to identify my emotions sooner. I've learned to let them overcome me and not be afraid. Not be scared to feel," he said.
"What...what do you feel?" I asked, so quiet I wasn't sure he heard me.
"I feel...like I lo-"
Edward was cut off by the sound of my dad's car horn blowing as he pulled in the driveway beside us. We looked up to see my dad smiling and waving to us, and whatever moment we were having in the car was officially gone.
"You'd better go get freshened up. I'll see you in a little bit," Edward said, leaning in to kiss my forehead.
"Okay," I said sadly, desperately wishing we could get back the moment.
"I'll see you in a few hours, pretty girl," he told me.
"Bye, Edward," I smiled, climbing out of the car.
An hour later, I was showered and had my hair dry and straight. I didn't bother putting on any makeup.
Alice had text the others and me in a group text and told us to wear pajamas and we'd have a pajama party, so I pulled on some leggings and a long sleeved t-shirt.
She'd text the girls separately and asked if we wanted to spend the night with her. I smiled to myself at the potential that had for Edward and me.
I walked downstairs and found dad in the kitchen.
"Hey, kid," Dad said as he finished putting together a sandwich. I'd already told him I was having pizza at the Cullen's.
"Hey, dad. Um, would it be okay if I spent the night there?" I asked. "With Alice, I mean," I was quick to amend.
Dad turned to me, leveling a glare and raising an eyebrow.
"You think I was born yesterday?" He asked, turning to sit at the kitchen table, a glass of iced tea in one hand and his plate in the other.
"Rose, Jess, and Angela are staying, too. I promise, nothing sketchy," I said, sitting at the table across from him.
Pretzel climbed up in my lap, nudging my face demanding that I show him some attention.
"What about him? He always sleeps at your feet," dad said, nodding to Pretzel and taking a big bite of his food.
"He won't care if I'm there or not. Doesn't stop him from making the bed his. Besides, you can leave your door opened and he can come cuddle you," I said with a laugh.
"Mmph," dad grumbled, his mouth full. He chewed for a minute and then swallowed, looking up at me pointedly.
"Look, Bells. I trust you. And I think I trust Edward. If I let you stay there tonight, you better behave. I might be old, but I'm not a fool. I know what could happen between you two."
"Dad, I promise you can trust me. I'm not saying that our relationship won't come to that," I said honestly, and his eyes snapped up. "But it's not there yet."
"Bella," he said, pained.
"Dad. I'm 18. I'm an adult. And I'll be safe. When the time is right, which it isn't tonight. Okay?" I said.
"Okay," he said after a long beat of silence.
"I love you, Dad. Please trust that you and mom taught me well. You taught me to protect myself and my heart. And I already let it get broken once," I said.
"Yeah, and I still want to fly to Florida and waterboard that little punk into the ocean floor," dad said gruffly.
"Don't worry about him. He's the past. Edward is my future," I smiled.
Shortly after talking with dad, I was ready to go. I walked back down the stairs with a bag of clean clothes, a tooth brush, and my phone charger.
Dad was asleep in his recliner, Pretzel curled in a tight ball right on top of his stomach. I took a few quick pictures of it before kissing my dad's cheek and slipping out the door.
I was the last to arrive at the Cullen's, noticing a bunch of cars all already parked around the driveway.
I walked in, not bothering to knock, since I knew everyone was there. I dropped my bag by the door where all the shoes were, slipping off my flats and padding through the house.
The entire group was in the kitchen, standing around the island and talking to Edward's parents.
"Hi, Bella!" Mrs. Cullen called from behind the counter.
"Bella?" Edward said, turning in his chair to see me, a smile brightening his face.
"Bella!" The rest called in unison, making me laugh.
"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. Pretzel was doing something cute and I had to take pictures," I explained, and received several eye rolls.
"You're just in time," Edward said, pulling me down to his lap as soon as I made my way to him.
The others slid into chairs at the table or sat at the island as Mr. Cullen set five large pizza boxes down in front of us.
"Who wants a drink?" Alice called from the opened refrigerator, grabbing sodas and bottles of water as we all called out what we wanted.
Once we were all finally seated-I moved to a chair because I didn't want to make everyone uncomfortable with our PDA-we all ate and talked about our day.
Mr. and Mrs. Cullen had to go into their office for paperwork that morning, and then said they'd spend the afternoon taking advantage of the rare sun and spending it outside walking around Port Angeles and buying Christmas gifts.
"Ohh, what'd you get me? A new set of wheels?" Edward asked.
We all fell silent, and if he was waiting on a laugh, it wasn't coming.
"Edward," Mrs. Cullen said, her eyes crinkling with sadness, her smile melting into the most pained, helpless expression I had ever seen. It was in that moment that I saw just how much his injury hurt his parents. Seeing their child suffer, the pain he'd been through. I imagined that the only people it was more difficult for, aside from Edward, were his mom and dad.
"Sorry," he mumbled, and the table stayed silent for a few beats longer.
"Mom, you should have seen the kittens we played with today!" Alice said, breaking the tension as she, Jessica, and Eric talked about the litter of tuxedo cats they'd cuddled.
"I really didn't mean to do that," Edward whispered to me. "I'm trying. I promise, Bella. I'm trying," he told me.
"I know," I whispered back, clutching his hand in mine tightly under the table.
After dinner, Edward's parents retreated upstairs to leave us to our movie. They told us everyone was welcome to stay the night but no coed sleeping. They looked pointedly at the three couples in the room when they said that.
We put in one of the Redbox movies Emmett had picked up and piled around on the blankets, pillows, and furniture of the giant main room.
Edward and I were snuggled into an oversized chair together with a blanket over us. The others were in various stages of cuddling on the giant sectional couch and love-seat, or on the floor in one large snuggle puddle.
Around 11, a third of the way into our second movie, with empty soda cans and bowls of half eaten popcorn all around us, Edward and I realized we were the only two still awake.
"Hey," he whispered to me.
"Hey," I said back, looking into his eyes and smiling as I reached my hand out from under the blanket to run my hands through his hair.
Without another word, he leaned in to capture my lips, his tongue sliding through to meet mine.
"Want to go to my room?" He asked when we broke apart.
"But your parents..." I started.
"Said no coed sleeping. We won't be sleeping," he murmured, his lips finding my neck.
"Oh," I breathed.
As quietly as we could, we climbed out of the chair. I rolled Edward's wheelchair over and watched as he was able to lift out of the recliner and into it with relative ease. We thought we'd ruined it when we'd had to slide the ottoman away for him to get up, but no one stirred.
Soundlessly as possible, made our way down the hall to Edward's room, closing and locking the door behind us. The house was quiet, but we were far enough towards the back of the house to go unheard.
Once we were in the room, nothing but the soft glow of the full moon shining through the window, I walked towards Edward. Before he could move to get on the bed, I threw a leg over him and slid into his lap, straddling him so that my legs were over the back of the wheels of his chair.
Without words, I leaned in to kiss him again, feeling the familiar pull in my lower belly as his tongue worked against mine.
Edward's hands slid down my back, reaching the hem of my shirt, his long fingers sliding underneath and rubbing my bare back. He moved to my sides, eliciting a giggle as he touched my ticklish spots.
His mouth moved to my neck, his hands moving up further so that he was playing with the strap of my bra at my back.
"Take it off," I whispered into the dark.
He backed his head away, looking at me to make sure. I nodded, lifting my arms so that he could pull my shirt up and over my head.
Slowly, he eased it up, and I bent each arm to pull out of it.
Edward leaned in to kiss my chest, leaving a hot trail from my collar bone to the edge of my bra.
As he kissed, his hands reached around behind me and worked the hook of my bra undone. The straps fells down my arms, and I reached forward to remove it, leaving myself bare.
I reached down to the hem of his shirt, tugging it gently up. He leaned forward a bit to get it up from behind his back, helping me guide it over his head.
It got stuck on his face, and we giggled together softly once we finally got it off.
And then, our mouths connected again, our chests flush against each other's, my skin igniting everywhere he touched.
Edward's hands slid between us, cupping me and rolling my hardened nipples between his fingers.
His mouth left mine and he bent, capturing my hardened peak in his mouth, swirling his tongue around and driving me wild.
He switched breasts, using his hand on one and his mouth on the other, as I moved against him.
"Baby, can you turn around on my lap?" He asked.
I nodded, lifting off of him and turning around so that I was seated with my back against his chest.
He put his mouth on my neck and recaptured both of my breasts in his hands, kneading them as I arched my back out.
One hand remained on my chest as the other slid down my stomach, tickling gently on the way down.
His right hand met the waistband of my leggings, stroking his fingers back and fourth.
"Please," I whisper-moaned.
At that, his hand dipped under, sliding past my panties until he reached the smooth wetness at the apex of my legs.
"Oh my gosh," I groaned, his finger finding my most sensitive spot and rubbing soft circles.
With one hand on my breast, one hand rubbing me tenderly below, and his mouth on my neck, I was moments away from ecstasy.
"Come for me, my love," he whispered in my ear, rubbing me faster, pushing me over the edge.
"Fuckkkkk," I moaned, my legs quivering as I came hard.
"That was so hot," Edward whispered.
"Can I...return the favor?" I asked.
"You, um, kind of already did," Edward stammered.
I turned to look back at him in surprise.
"It's just, you were rubbing against so much, and I guess I'm, you know, more sensitive there now," he shrugged. "I'm sorry," he said.
"What on earth are you sorry for? That was the single hottest experience of my life," I told him.
The next morning, I woke up early. Edward and I had stayed in his room cuddling for a while, but decided it would be best for me to not be there when his parents woke up.
I'd gone out to the living room to see Emmett on the big couch, Jasper on the love-seat, and Eric in the chair.
As quietly as I could, I'd made my way upstairs and set up a pallet on the floor beside Jessica and Angela. Rosalie and Alice were in the bed.
I slept fitfully and uncomfortably, and by 7:30 the next morning, I could no longer deny my bladder.
I used the restroom and walked downstairs to see if Edward was awake.
All of the boys were knocked out, and Edward's mom was quietly moving around the kitchen in her long robe.
"Good morning, Bella," she whispered softly.
"Good morning," I replied.
"There's coffee and hot tea if you'd like," she offered, stirring a bowl of batter.
"Oh, thank you," I told her.
Once I had a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, I took a seat at the island counter to watch her work.
"How'd you sleep?" She asked.
"Okay. The floor was a little tough, but I managed," I smiled.
"Good, good," she said, moving to the fridge.
"Mrs. Cullen?" I asked.
"Yes?" She asked, bringing out a carton of eggs.
"Does Edward still do that a lot around you guys? You know, joke about his wheelchair?" I asked.
"Not nearly as much as he used to, but yes, sometimes," she said sadly, setting everything down on the counter to stop and look at me.
"Has he been to any kind of therapy? Like, for his mental health? To cope with what happened?" I asked.
"He did a few doctor mandated sessions right after, but he assured us he didn't need it, and we couldn't force him," she said.
"I understand. I just wonder if it could be good for him. Or at least, if we could find a way for him to accept things more. Maybe be happier with himself," I said.
"What did you have in mind?" She asked.
"Well...how would you and Mr. Cullen feel about adopting a dog?"
Clara is based on my sister's dog, a black and tan dachshund named Clara. She went paralyzed at random one day and had to have surgery on her spine. She is not in a wheelchair, but she hasn't ever fully regained use of her back legs. She can walk and run, but she wobbles and loses her balance sometimes. It never slows her down. She is the sweetest, goofiest little baby.
Do you all have any pets? Tell me about them!
