Happy Monday to you all. I hope everyone had a great weekend. If not, then maybe this chapter will help cheer you up.
I again have to thank all of you for reading and reviewing. With every chapter that posts I get a couple more alerts and favorites and I can't even begin to tell you how great it makes me feel.
There is a small time jump in this chapter. It serves the purpose of moving their relationship along so that they have been together for a longer period of time. To make sure there is no confusion, here is how the time line plays out. When Bella was first hit by the foul ball it was the end of June. Then the charity ball was around July 11th. The All-Star game was Tuesday the 14th, and their first "official"date was the Saturday following that. So we are now jumping to mid to late August. I also must warn for any of you out there that are under 17 there is a LEMON in this chapter.
I never really understood why they are called lemons myself. It seems to me that something so sweet should be called a strawberry or something like that. Anyways on with the chapter now. Enjoy!
Disclaimer:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted. Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story, including those related to the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball. No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.
BPOV
I sat at my desk finishing some last minute work that I needed to get completed before I left for Edward's house. He had been gone for ten days and I missed him like crazy.
The team had an unusually long road trip due to some makeup games they had to get in. Before he'd left he'd given me a key to his house and I was planning a very special evening for us. We had both confessed our love for one another the night he'd left and I was ready to show him just how much.
As I tried to get my work done, I couldn't keep my thoughts from wondering to that night.
Flashback
We had gone out to dinner with Alice and Jasper. We decided on one of the many restaurants in downtown St. Louis due to the convenient location. Edward had a game so Alice, Jasper, and I met him there. It was a beautiful summer night.
Once we finished our meal and said goodbye to Alice and Jasper, Edward asked if I wanted to take a walk along the riverfront. I of course agreed. We drove the short distance and parked on the cobblestone road that was next to the river. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The gorgeous full moon … the gentle breeze blowing … the arch grounds lit up behind us and the sounds of the water lapping at the riverbank … It painted such a wonderfully romantic setting.
We held hands as we quietly walked along the road until we reached the stairs the led up to the Arch grounds. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, we stood and just took in the scene around us. After a few moments had gone by, Edward turned and pulled me into his arms then picked me up so that I was standing on the stairs, making me the same height as him. Gazing into each other's eyes, we leaned in for a soft romantic kiss.
Edward pulled away slightly and said to me, "Bella, there's something that I have wanted to say to you for a while now. I know that we haven't been together for very long but I can't deny my feelings any longer and I certainly can't leave you for ten days without you knowing how I really feel."
I knew how I felt about him and I hoped that he felt the same way. Not being sure I asked him, "Is there something wrong, Edward?" I probably shouldn't have been so worried, but it had been so long since I have been in any kind of relationship.
"Um, I certainly hope not. Unless you would be upset by the fact that I have fallen completely and madly in love with you." He looked slightly nervous as he spoke to me.
With a huge grin spreading across my face, I looked directly into his eyes and asked, "You love me?"
Reaching up with his left hand to caress my check, he placed a soft kiss on my lips and said, "Yes, I do. I think I began falling in love with you from the moment I came to visit you in the hospital. I have felt this tremendous gravitational pull to you and I didn't quite understand what it was. Except, recently, I realized I've fallen in love with you."
Feeling overwhelmed with emotion, I kissed him with all the love I could find inside me. As the kiss slowly came to an end, I caught my breath and said to him, "I love you too, Edward. I've felt this way for a while, but was afraid to tell you for fear that it was too soon and I would scare you away."
Chuckling he embraced me tightly and whispered into my ear, "Impossible."
He sat down on the steps with me on his lap and we held each other close, submerging ourselves in the joy of our newly confessed love for each other.
End flashback
I was startled out of my memory when the intercom buzzed.
"Bella, this Jilyan. You have a call on line three."
Pressing the intercom button, I said to her, "Thanks, Jilyan."
I picked up the phone and answered, "This is Bella Swan."
The voice on the other end of the phone said, "Bella, how are you? I feel like it's been forever since we've talked."
I knew immediately who it was. It was my best friend from college, Brook. We hadn't spoken to each other since my mishap at the baseball game. We had emailed a few times but that was it. Normally we would catch up with each other at least every other week.
"Gosh, Brook, it has been a while, hasn't it?"
"Well if you weren't so busy with that hot stud baseball player of yours, we would talk more," she said in a teasing manner.
She was being a smartass but that was just her. We were always making jabs and snarky remarks to each other, never once letting it get to us. Truth of the matter was that she was immensely happy that I had found Edward, even if it did land me in the hospital for two days to do so.
Always ready to dish it back out to her I responded, "I do have my priorities you know."
After we laughed for a minute I said to her, "How are you and Cam doing? And to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"
Cam was Brook's husband and they had been married for almost three years now. They'd met when she took a job as a speech pathologist in Minneapolis shortly after we'd graduated from Arizona State. She had been beyond ecstatic when she'd discovered he was the assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild hockey team.
Brook loved hockey and would drag me to the Phoenix Coyotes games every chance she got while we were still in school. She'd always claimed it would be a good place for us to pick up guys because they'd be turned on just by the fact we were at the game. Although the guy part rarely worked out, I would always remind her that no matter how hot a guy might be he better have all his teeth or there was no way I would date him. Whether or not we'd picked up hot guys, we'd always managed to have a great time. I could only imagine the things she would try and tell Edward about our college years.
We had both been very excited when our lives after college had brought us both to the Midwest—happy that we would only be seven to eight hours away from each other, as opposed to half way across the country.
"Actually I was calling with some very exciting news." Her voice was dripping with excitement and she could hardly contain herself.
"Oh really? And what would that news be?" I asked her while trying to continue my work on the computer.
"Cam and I are coming to St. Louis!" It was obvious she was looking forward to this.
"Oh my god! When? How? Why?" I screeched into the phone.
"Next weekend is when. The why is because Cam is coming there to scout some local college boys that the team may be interested in signing at the next hockey draft. So of course knowing that you are there, we decided to make a long weekend of it and visit you as well."
"Do you guys want to stay with me? I have a spare bedroom," I offered.
"Normally I would love to stay with you, Bella, but with Cam being the assistant coach, the team is putting us up in one of the best hotels in your area and I am not going to pass a chance for a little pampering.
"Besides, I wouldn't want us to be a damper on your newly discovered love life," she added, unable to resist an opportunity to sneak in a wisecrack.
We talked for a few more minutes and she let me know they would be arriving late in the evening on Thursday and leaving the following Monday morning. Cam would be busy all day Friday and part of the day Saturday so that would give us some alone girl time to get caught up on the goings on in each other's life. Then I gave her some ideas on things we could do while she was here.
After we said our goodbyes, I finished up my work and left. I had a lot to do before Edward got home.
EPOV
The past ten days had seemed to go by excruciatingly slow; I never wanted to be away from Bella for this long ever again. Just a few more hours and I could hold her in my arms all night long. I hated the fact that we had not been able to celebrate our admission of love to each other because I'd had to be with the team later that night for a late flight out for our road trip. I'd barely had enough time to take Bella home before meeting up with them.
I couldn't wait to get home tonight; I wanted to hold her and hopefully make love to her for the first time. We had been very close a few times but Bella still felt as though she was not ready and I had no problems respecting her choice. I would wait however long it would take but I was hoping it would be soon.
Over the past few weeks, we had taken to going back and forth between each other's places so much so that we had exchanged keys. Knowing that she had a key, I was hoping she would be at my house waiting for me.
A short time later, the team and I arrived at the stadium on the team bus; it always transported us to and from the airport. I put what I didn't need to take home with me into my locker and was quickly in my car and on the way to my house.
A smile immediately crept across my face as soon as I saw Bella's car in my driveway. I laughed to myself when I thought about the fact that she still had not let me drive it.
In a hurry to get into the house and see her, I practically ran to the door. Once inside, I was immediately met with the smell of something delicious cooking.
She must have heard me come in the door as she called from the kitchen, "Edward, is that you?"
"Yeah, baby, it's me."
Before I could take two steps towards the kitchen, she was practically running up the hall to me. I stopped and held my arms out to her. The moment she reached me she jumped right up into my arms and we wrapped ourselves around each other as much as we could, so much so she had her arms and legs around me. If felt so good to hold her again and I was overwhelmed by the feeling of relief and sense of belonging that came over me as I held on to her.
"Mmmm, I missed you so much, Bella," I whispered into her ear.
"Oh, Edward, I love you and I missed you too," she said right before we started to kiss.
It was as if we were expressing all our feelings through our kiss. We eventually broke apart after who knows how long and I told her, "I love you too, baby. Do I smell something cooking?" I was starving, and not just for the food, but the rest would have to wait until later.
Looking up at me, she said, "Hungry, are ya?"
Placing a quick kiss on her lips I answered, "Yes, very much so."
We held hands and walked into the kitchen together but then she went over to stir what she had cooking on the stove. I sat on the stool in front of the counter to watch her cook; I loved seeing her so comfortable in my home. It made me feel as though she belonged there.
"You're staring at me, Mr. Cullen." She walked over to stand between my legs as I turned sideways on the stool.
"Hmm, just admiring your beauty and how much I love seeing you in my kitchen," I said as I kissed the tip of her nose. "What are you making? It smells wonderful."
"Chicken broccoli fettuccine in Alfredo sauce and I have a salad prepared in the frig to go with it. I believe it's ready so if you help me set the table, we can eat."
She turned to go get the salad out of the refrigerator and I got the dishes from the cabinet to set the table. Once that was finished, and the fettuccine was placed on the table, we sat and began to eat.
BPOV
As we sat at his kitchen table eating, I told Edward about Brook and her husband coming to visit. He asked what sort of plans I had for when they were here.
"Well actually, I was wondering what time your game was next Saturday and if you could get some tickets. I am sure her husband Cam would love to go and you have been asking me to go again so I thought that would be the perfect time."
"I am sure getting tickets won't be a problem. Did you want them for the three of you?" he asked me as we began to clear the table and put the food away.
"Um, when I talked to Alice today and I mentioned Brook's visit to her, she said that her and Jasper and maybe even Rose would like to go as well. Do you think you could get enough for all of us?" I said as I started to wash the dishes.
"It shouldn't be a problem. I'll check tomorrow and if it is a problem I'll let you know." He said this as he had come to stand behind me at the sink. His arms slinked around my waist and he rested his chin on my shoulder.
As I felt his hot breath on my neck, it sent chills down my spine as he murmured in my ear, "Let the dishes wait. We've been apart far too long for me to let you do the dishes right now."
Turning in his arms, I reached up and placed my hands on his shoulders. I gazed into his sparkling emerald eyes and asked him, "Just what is it you would like for me to do then?"
His answer was to crash his lips to mine, pick me up and carry me into his room. Setting me down next to his bed, we continued to kiss until we both had to stop to breathe. I looked up at him and I could see the desire in his eyes. He leaned down and began kissing all down my jaw to the base of my neck and moving back up to lick my skin right under my ear.
Fighting to maintain some sense of composure I said to him, "You never answered my question."
His breathing was heavy and his voice raspy as he said to me, "I want to make love to you, Bella. I want to show you how much I love you. Will you let me?"
Hardly able to speak, I kissed him and then said, "Yes, Edward, I want that too. Show me how much you love me. Make love to me."
He reached over and pulled down the covers on his bed. Then kissing me, he picked me up and laid me in the middle of the bed. He stood and started to unbutton his shirt but I rose up on my knees and stopped him.
"I want to do that." I continued to unbutton his shirt before gliding my hands up his chest and pushing the shirt off his shoulders. I was amazed at how magnificent he was. His chest was chiseled and muscular but in a well-toned and defined way—not in a way that a body-builder would be. He was sexy as hell.
Once his shirt fell to the floor, he slid his hands under the hem of my shirt and pulled it up over my head, dropping it on the floor next to his. I leaned forward to place soft kisses on his neck and down his chest as I undid his belt buckle. While I unbuttoned and lowered the zipper on his pants, he tangled his hands in my hair, pulling my head back to expose my neck to his wet, hot kisses.
Stepping out of his jeans, he pushed me back onto the bed and then crawled over me to straddle my legs. He then quickly removed my jeans and tossed them across the room somewhere unknown. Still straddling me, he reached down and caressed both my breasts before unclipping my bra and tossing it as well.
I could feel myself getting wet and my breath quickening as he kissed me all the way down to my navel. He briefly stopped to swirl his tongue around it. I began to squirm as he took hold of my panties on both sides and removed them.
Then standing he stood and removed his boxers. I couldn't help but stare as he stood there completely naked for me to see. And he was a glorious sight to behold.
Crawling up next to me on the bed, he kissed me hungrily and then said, "God, Bella, you are so breathtakingly beautiful."
Leaving a trail of slow, wet kisses from my collarbone to my neck, up along my jaw, 'til he finally he captured my lips with his. The kiss started slow and sensual but quickly became needy and hungry as our tongues battled for dominance.
My heart was racing, threatening to jump right out of my chest. His kisses began to move down to the curve of my breast. His fingers toyed with the hard nipple as he licked and sucked all around it. I gasped and arched my back off the bed as he took it in his mouth; I could feel the wetness and heat increasing in my center.
He reached down and gently spread my knees apart. Lifting himself up on one arm he continued to massage one breast while he kissed his way down to the area that I so wanted him to touch. I could feel his hard erection on my thigh. There was no mistaking how well-endowed he was. Climbing over my left leg. he placed his hands on both my ankles and positioned my legs so that they were bent at the knee and spread on both sides of him. Leaning down to place a kiss at the top of my slit, he looked up to me as if asking for permission. Unable to make the words come out of my mouth I nodded in approval.
His hands were now on my thighs as he placed several kisses on both sides of them, inching closer and closer to my wet folds. Leaning his head down, he began licking me up and down, increasing the pressure as he went. The movements of his tongue became more hurried as he slipped one and then two fingers inside me.
"Oh God, Edward," I moaned.
I began to pant and grip the sheets as I felt the fire burning inside me increase with each thrust of his fingers. He nibbled and sucked on my clit as he curled his fingers inside me to hit that magic spot.
"Unh, Edward, I need you now. Make love to me now."
Removing his fingers from me, he took one last, long lick of my clit. He leaned over and opened his night stand drawer and took out a condom. After putting it on, he moved so that he hovered above me. Lining himself up at my center he grabbed my thigh and hitched my leg around his hip.
Entering me in one quick thrust, he filled me completely. The feeling was beyond anything I had ever imagined. Our bodies began to move in unison as we met each other's thrusts.
"You are so hot, so wet, and so fucking tight. And all mine, Bella."
"Yes, Edward, I'm yours," I moaned.
He began sucking and biting on my neck as our movements became faster and more frenzied.
"I'm so close, Edward. So close.
"Harder, Edward, I want more. Harder." I could barely get the words out as he grabbed my other leg and threw it up over his shoulder causing him to hit spots I did not even know I had.
As he went deeper and deeper, he gasped for air and moaned," God, Bella, you feel so good. I'm not going to last much longer. Come with me, Bella."
"Ugh, right there, baby, don't stop, keep going." I could barely breathe and my head was rolling side to side as he continued to increase his pace.
All it took was a few more pumps and I was pushed over the edge. As we came together we cried out each other's names and clung to each other as the waves of passion over took our bodies.
Once we came down from the cloud of ecstasy we were on, Edward got up to dispose of the condom. He then crawled back into bed and encased me in his arms and whispered in my ear," I love you, Bella, so much. That was so amazing."
I turned my head to face him and placed a few soft kisses on his lips. "I love you too, Edward. More than I can even comprehend."
Our kisses started getting heated once again and I knew that this was going to be a long night. I knew at that moment I was home, and if I spent the rest of my life right here in this bed with him I would die one very happy woman.
EPOV
I woke to the hideous noise of the alarm clock. The last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed where Bella was currently snuggled next to me in my arms. Unfortunately she had to go to work and I had a game this evening. Last night had been indescribable and now I didn't think I could get enough of her.
As I buried my face in her hair I whispered to her, "Bella, baby, it's time to wake up."
Not getting any response I began leaving a trail of kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. As I started to go back down her shoulder and up her neck, I moved her hair so that I could get to the overly sensitive spot just below and behind her ear. She was beginning to stir now.
Sucking gently on that same spot, I noticed a faint smile on her face. Seeing that she was enjoying this, I continued kissing down her back and when I reached her hip, I heard her murmur softly, "Mmm, good morning."
"Good morning to you too, my love. Did you sleep well?" I asked as I continued kissing back up to her neck.
Rolling over to face me and bringing my face up to hers to place a soft lingering kiss on my lips, Bella answered, "I don't think I have ever slept better my entire life."
I wrapped my arms around her and rolled on to my back, pulling her with me until she was nearly all the way on top of me.
After a few more chaste kisses she asked, "What time do you need to be at the stadium today?"
Trying to maintain some sense of composure while she kissed and rubbed her small hands all over my chest I said to her, "I need to be there around noon."
"What time is it now?" she asked softly as she climbed up to straddle my waist.
"It's just past seven so if you want to have breakfast before you have to be at work, then we need to be getting up." I couldn't get over how gorgeous she was as she sat there on top of me in her naked glory.
Giggling and leaning down to place small kisses on my jawline, she whispered to me, "I would say that by what I feel behind me, you have already gotten up."
I grinned in reply. "Noticed that, did you?"
"Mmm, how could I not? Why don't we skip the breakfast part and just have each other?"
I said to her, "I think I like that idea," and then reached into my nightstand drawer to hand her a condom.
Once the condom was in place, she scooted back and lowered herself on me and we were once again lost in the pleasure that being joined together brought us.
Later, after we had both showered, we decided I would spend the night at her place. I got together a change of clothes and the things I'd need to take with me for the game.
Walking out to the driveway together, it seemed useless to take both cars. I told her I could ride to the stadium with Emmett and have him drop me off at her place after the game so I put my Volvo in the garage. Smiling brightly at me, Bella tossed me the keys to her Camaro.
I drove to her place where we stopped briefly so she could change clothes for work. She had put on an old t-shirt of mine and a pair of my shorts on after her shower this morning. Bella had thought she looked ridiculous but I had found it to be quite sexy.
I left my change of clothes at her place and then I drove to Emmett and Rose's house. I helped Bella out of the passenger's seat and led her over to the driver's side of her car, then I told her that I would call her later before the game started.
"I hate that I just got home and I have to let you go already."
Hugging me tightly and resting her head in the crook of my neck, she said, "I know but it's just until tonight."
Closing my eyes and holding her in my arms, I couldn't help but think to myself that if our feelings continued to grow then our relationship would only get stronger. I also knew if that was the case, I wouldn't want this crazy circus life that being a baseball player demanded.
When I looked into Bella's eyes, I could see all the love that I felt and I dared myself to think that I had finally found what I had been looking for all these years. I knew she had to get going so I kissed her deeply, trying to convey to her just how much I loved her.
We were just ending the kiss when Emmett decided to stick his head out the front door of his house and yell, "Why don't you two lovebirds get a room?"
We both laughed as we heard a smack and then Emmett whining, "Ouch! Damn, Rosie, that hurt."
I was thankful none of the neighbors were out to witness his ridiculous behavior but it didn't stop Bella from blushing. Standing up on her tippy toes she gave me a few more sweet kisses then said, "I really need to get going. I have a conference call soon that I need to make sure I'm ready for and I want to talk to Angela about taking Friday off when Brook and Cam are here."
I opened her car door for her. After she was in and had her seat belt on, I leaned in to give her one last kiss. "I love you, baby, and I'll see you after the game tonight."
"I love you too," she replied and then waved as she drove away.
BPOV
The week had gone by exceedingly fast. It was now Thursday and Brook and Cam would be arriving tonight.
Since he'd gotten home on Sunday, Edward and I had spent every night except last night together. He'd had a night game last night and then an afternoon game today so that meant he would be home late and gone early. I knew he needed his rest and despite his protest I stayed at my place last night. The good thing was that with him having an afternoon game today we could all go out to dinner tonight. It would be the four of us tonight and then tomorrow I would spend the day with Brook. We had a lot of catching up to do.
I had decided to take today off as well as tomorrow. Angela was shocked, saying that I worked too hard and never did anything for myself and she was happy to let me have the time away from work.
I quickly straightened up the house and made a grocery list. I was going to cook dinner for Brook, Cam and myself tomorrow night since Edward had a game. Once I finished the list, I left for the store to get all the ingredients.
Later that day, I was sitting on the couch reading when I heard the lock in the front door click. Looking up at the clock, I noticed it was nearly 5:30. Edward entered the house and immediately walked over to the couch, leaning over the back of it to kiss me. He then came around to sit next to me and pulled me onto his lap.
"What time are you friends getting in?" he asked as he ran his fingers through my hair while I rested my head on his shoulder.
"Their plane should be landing any time."
"Well then I guess I should shower and get ready for dinner. Where did you put my things?" he asked, placing a kiss on my cheek.
As I got up I told him, "I hung your shirt and pants in my closet and I put the rest of your things in the top drawer of the small dresser next to the bathroom door."
"Hmm giving me my own drawer, are you now, Isabella?" he chided as he wagged his eyebrows at me.
"Well you're here at least a few nights a week, and I had the space, so why not? Are you complaining?" I asked with a slightly sarcastic but teasing tone.
"No, I love that you did that for me and that you want me to have a permanent space for my things here," he said before leaving the room to go shower.
Later that night, we met Brook and Cam for dinner at the restaurant. Brook and I started catching up on all that had been going on in our lives while Edward and Cam seemed to hit it off and were talking about professional sports.
Cam had been a hockey player before coaching; he'd had to retire due to repeated knee injuries. At one point I thought I had heard Edward ask Cam how he came to the decision to finally retire. It made me wonder if this was something that Edward was thinking about. He had never mentioned it to me, but baseball was something we really didn't talk about much.
After dessert, the waiter brought the bill which Edward insisted paying. Cam wasn't thrilled but they agreed that next time would be on Cam.
As we made our way out to the valet area, they brought my car around. The valet gave Edward the keys and he was about to get in the driver's seat when Brook noticed it and said, "She lets you drive her car?" The shock was clearly written on her face.
Looking over at her not knowing what the big deal was, Edward smirked. "Yeah she does. Why?"
"I have known her for ten years and she hasn't ever let me drive it. She came to Minnesota last fall to visit shortly after she got it and would not let me or Cam drive it. What did you do to get her to let you?" She huffed as she looked at me for an explanation.
Edward snorted and flashed that dazzling lopsided grin of his and just shrugged his shoulders innocently. She looked back at me attempting to give me an evil glare, but I just laughed at her.
Cam then cut in saying, "Are you two going to stand here and discuss this all night or are we going to let the people behind us get their cars and go home?" He knew we could go on like this forever and he didn't want to have everyone at the restaurant witness it.
Edward was chuckling at this point and as we looked around we saw the line of others waiting for their cars was growing.
We started laughing and she looked at me and said, "Well fuck! I guess we can't stand here all night, but you and I aren't done with this, sistah. I am going to get an answer out of you tomorrow." The whole time she was poking me in the chest.
We hugged and said our goodbyes and left—not a moment too soon for those behind us.
Brook and I spent Friday hanging out and having fun. We did some shopping and got our nails done. After that we just sat around my place and talked about old times. Brook, Cam and I were sitting at my house eating dinner and I thought she had forgotten about the car issue. I was wrong.
"So, Bella, you and Edward have been together how long now?" she questioned as she used her fork to move her food around on her plate.
"Um, well this is the middle of August so about four, five weeks, something like that." I knew exactly where this was going.
"I see," she said with a snotty edge in her voice.
I glanced over at Cam and he was chuckling to himself as he knew where it was going too.
Trying not to laugh, I put my fork down and said to her, "Brook, do you want to drive my car?"
Attempting to keep up her charade she responded with, "Let me think about this for a minute. I am your best friend in the whole world, I have known you for like ten years and I love you like a sister. Um, now really, Bella, what do you think?"
Cam was about to fall off his chair laughing at this point and I wasn't doing much better.
Rolling my eyes at her, I snorted and said, "Fine, Brook, you can drive my car."
By this time she was ready to laugh too. Clearing her throat and poorly attempting to put on a serious face she looked at me and said, "No, Bella, that's okay. I would hate for you to allow me to drive it out of some screwed up sense of obligation."
At that point we were all laughing so hard I thought I would pee my pants.
Later as we talked and watched the baseball game, we decided we wanted some ice cream. We got down to the car and I was about to unlock it when she grabbed the keys from my hand and said, "I'm driving."
I rolled my eyes and raised my hands in surrender and said, "Whatever," which made us both laugh. The rest of the evening was just as fun.
On Saturday morning, Edward took Brook and me to breakfast while Cam was working.
That afternoon Cam, Brook, and I, along with Rose, Alice and Jasper, went to the game. I had to admit I was little nervous. I hadn't been back to the stadium since my run in with the foul ball. Being the smartass she was, Brook brought a hard hat for me to wear...which earned her high-fives from everyone around us and lots of laughter. She even went so far as to have it custom designed with the saying, "Hit me with your best shot".
That evening after the game, Edward and I had everyone over to his place for a barbeque, including his parents and Rose and Emmett's kids. We had finished dinner and were sitting on the deck having a few beers, talking and hanging out while listening to the stereo, just having a wonderful time.
A song from the 80's rock band Journey came on the radio. I was sitting on Edward's lap and Brook was next to us; the minute she heard Don't Stop Believin' she pulled on my arm like a crazed maniac and said, "OMG, Bella, have you told Edward about when we went to Journey's farewell tour concert?"
At this point she had everyone's attention. Hoping to stop her I said, "No, Brook, I didn't, and I really don't think everyone wants to hear about the stupid stunts we pulled while we were in college."
And of course that's when Emmett chimed in, "Oh, Bella, you are so wrong. We definitely want to hear about it."
Not what I need. Emmett will be talking about this forever. Thank god Edward's parents have already left, I thought.
Egged on by Emmett, Brook began the story with, "So it was Journey's farewell tour because their lead singer Steve Perry was leaving the band. The concert was sold out. Bella and I tried every ticket outlet, every scalping website, eBay and every other place we could think of to try and get tickets to it. They are like one of our all-time favorite bands.
"Once we realized that there weren't any to be bought in advance, our only option left was to go down to the concert early and hope and pray that someone would be selling them there."
"You mean scalping them," Edward said.
Smacking him on the arm and shushing him, Brook continued on, "Well I guess technically, but that is irrelevant. Being in college still, we only had so much we could afford to spend. We quickly found out that there was no way we were going to be able to buy tickets. Feeling completely disappointed we were leaning on the side of the arena listening to the band that opened for them. It was loud enough you could hear it fairly well outside."
Stopping to take a drink of her beer she went on with the story. "Out of nowhere, we were scared shitless when the side exit door to the building opened and a group of guys came out. They appeared to be very wasted. Moving so that they didn't walk into us, I noticed that the door hadn't shut all the way. I looked at Bella and pointed at the door.
"Bella then looked at me and said 'What if we get caught?' So I said to her 'But what if we don't?' She smiled and said 'Okay, let's go for it.'
"The door was heavy and there were no handles on the outside so we stuck our fingers in the small opening and pulled the door open, not knowing what or who would be on the other side.
"Well it was our lucky night. No one was there. We quietly went in and found our way to the concession area. We had been in the place before for hockey games so it was easy for us to do. That was the easy part. The hard part was getting past the isle ushers without having to show them a ticket stub. We decided that trying to get onto the floor area would be the easiest since most people stood and crowded around the stage; we wouldn't have to worry about seats. Well we managed to get in and we had a blast but I don't think either one of us had to pee worse than we did that night."
Looking at us a bit confused Alice asked Brook, "Why is that?"
"We were so damn scared of trying to get back down there we refused to go out and go to the bathroom. Plus we were lucky enough to find some guys to buy us free beer all night."
Everyone was laughing and completely amused.
"Bella, I didn't think you had it in you to break in to a rock concert," Emmett teased.
Shortly after that everyone left; I was staying at Edwards that night.
As we were in bed cuddling he asked me, "So Journey is one of your favorite bands, huh?"
"Yeah. You like them?" I asked before kissing him.
"They're okay. I like them but wouldn't say they are my favorite." He rolled over to face me and then asked, "Do you have a favorite song of theirs?"
Scooting closer to him so that we were both on the same pillow I said, "I like most all of their songs, but if I were going to choose one I would say that Faithfully is my favorite. It's Brook's too."
He chuckled softly and kissed me.
I then asked him, "What is so funny?" I was pretty sure I knew why, but wanted to see what he said.
"Is that why Faithfully suddenly appeared on my iPod? I heard it on the playlist I listen to when I'm traveling with the team," he said.
Giggling, I responded, "Um, could be."
With a look that was full of love and adoration he then asked me, "Why that song?"
I took a deep breath and gazed into his eyes and said, "I put it on there the night before you left. That would also be the night before we admitted we loved each other. I was sad that you were going to be gone for so long and I wanted to tell you I loved you. But as I told you before, I was also afraid to tell you. I knew that the song was written by the band's lead singer for his girlfriend to express his love for her even through their time apart while the band was on the road. I thought since we were about to be in a similar situation with you being gone for ten days that it would be a way for me to say I love you without saying the words."
Hugging me tightly he said to me, "Bella, I love you so much and I can't even begin to tell you how loved you have just made me feel. It was a beautiful thing to do. It made me smile and think of you every time I heard it." I could hear the love pouring out of him as he spoke.
We talked and kissed for a while longer before drifting to sleep in each other's arms.
The next day was Sunday and it was Brook and Cam's last day here. They would be flying out bright and early Monday morning. Cam and Jasper were going to the game again and Brook, Rose, Alice and I were going shopping. I was hoping that with Brook being like me and not a big fan of shopping, that we would be able to maintain some control over Alice.
No such luck there. We must have gone to every store in the entire mall. Four hours later and too many stores to count, we finally convinced Alice that we were done after we left Nordstrom. I was standing by the dressing room area with Rose and Brook thinking that the game should be over soon when my cell phone rang.
Digging through my purse I found it and answered it, "Hello."
"Bella, this is Jasper." He sounded off a bit.
"Hey, Jazz, what's up?" I asked him.
"Uh, Bella, are any of the other girls close by at the moment?"
Something was wrong—I could feel it. By this time Alice was out of the dressing room and we were walking to the mall exit.
"Yeah they are all here. Why Jazz? What's wrong? I can hear it in your voice." I was getting worried at this point.
He started talking again, "Now, Bella, I don't want you to panic but—"
The next thing I knew, my cell phone was shattering on the mall floor.
All three of the girls immediately were at my side and Alice asked me, "Bella, what's wrong? Who was on the phone?"
I couldn't answer her. I barely heard her phone ring. Tears started streaming down my face and I faintly heard Alice tell them, "It's Edward. He's been hurt and is unconscious. We need to go." And with that I felt myself being ushered out of the store.
a/n Did you love it, hate it, have questions? Review and let me know.
Thanks for reading,
EA
