ATTENTION:
For updates on stories, new banners, private questions/conversations with me you can now FIND ME on Facebook under "Miss Nae Malfoy". go LIKE the page.
Emmett and I seemed to shop the day away, but I was only mildly interested in the articles of new clothing and expensive belongings we acquired. It started with a new cell phone then he insisted I get a new case, a backup case, extra chargers and wires, and then we went to another technological store and he decided it was time for us to get matching Dell Notebook laptops- from there, he bought himself a new TV and a real leather recliner. I mean, yeah he was spoiling himself, but really? Didn't we mean to only get one cell phone? And to top it all off, he bought me the bran new IPhone 6, which absolutely blew my mind away. To all of these things, I steadily declined and even refused to carry them out of the stores. But when we got to his car, they were all sitting at my feet and in my hands. "Want to grab a bite to eat? Maybe something not Italian for once?" Emmett teased me softly and I nodded in reply, feeling my belly grumble at his lovely words. Don't get me wrong, Mrs. Montebello could whip up a mean Calzone and she definitely knew how to use Mozzarella as a seasoning… but I was just a little sick of pastas and saucy dishes. "Where do you wanna eat? There's a nice sushi spot up the street-"
"How about McDonalds?" I blurted out.
I was no health nut as he could tell, and I loved a little "frozen hamburgers" once in awhile. His concentrated smile widened at my suggestion before he shrugged his shoulders. "I've got enough money in my wallet to call the family reserve chopper and fly us to Doh Minh Palace's in San Francisco to eat, and you suggest McDonald's?" Without much else to say, I gave him a quirky little smile and giggled at his raised eyebrow.
"They don't serve juicy McDoubles at Doh Minh Palace." I pointed out simply, adding extra dramatics to the name of the well-known restaurant for the extra laugh. He chuckled throatily at my words and relaxed back in his white leather seat, slipping what he thought was a stealthy hand on my knee. Really, I wanted to roll my eyes at him, you're such a kid, Emmett.
"Guess they don't." Emmett purred. I was glad that I could put a pleasant enough smirk on his face, because it wasn't like very many things made him happy these days. Besides his temper, odd mood swings, and the intense way he started to handle situations… he definitely need a calm afternoon out at McDonald's. We got to an unusually near-empty one and he parked right in front of the door, helping me to get out like a true gentleman should. Although I wasn't at all comfortable with him arm around my waist, I let it slide seeing as he was gracious enough to be paying for my food. We ordered our greasy food and collected it before finding a corner booth and making ourselves at home, as Alice and I always did. "So, why this place?" He pressed the question again. "Is it about money or something? You know I'm more than capable of affording a date out with you!" It almost seemed to anger him that I didn't need nor want his money. Funny, weren't regular men the opposite?
"No, no, it's not that." For some reason, I felt the need to reach across the table and put my hand over his in a consoling gesture. We both looked at our hands, but neither of us made a move to change it. "It's just that… I haven't been to a place where they don't serve three hundred dollar glasses of wine in quite awhile. Ever since Alice went on this health kick, she wouldn't be caught dead in a fast food drive-thru with me." I sent him a reassuring smile before retracting my hand and unraveling my first hamburger. Emmett saw to it that we order sixteen hamburgers, and I just knew that all of that processed meat was not going to go down well. "So what do you say, eight and eight- race to the finish line?" I gestured to the platter of McDoubles in front of us.
Emmett roared with laughter as he scarffed his down in two consecutive bites. "If you can slam eight of these hamburgers faster than me, Bella, I will marry you on the spot. Right under that twisted slide." He gestured with his head to the enclosed play area behind us.
"Sounds like a challenge." I shrugged my shoulders in nonchalance but knew that I could never do something like that. "And by the way, marriage is out of the question. My dad doesn't like Italian boys." I laughed softly.
"Oh, so you've brought Italiano boyfriends to meet your dad then? Seems I'm just another notch on your belt." I rolled my eyes at him; when he was funny and charming like this, it was hard not to be attracted to him.
"No, I've actually never brought a guy to meet my dad." I admitted ruefully. I'm sure my mom and dad thought Alice and I were lesbians or something, but I only kept my relationships private because to me, my parents meant the world. Why bring around a bunch of random dudes when they didn't mean anything in the first place? "I didn't really date in high school; my dad is the Chief of Police in our little town of Forks, so all of the guys were scared shitless to ask me out." Why was I telling him these things? I ignored the little voice in my head that told me to shut my whore mouth already as I bit into my second cheeseburger. "And I ended up going to a college that was over three hours away from Forks so I guess making the trip all the way back home just to bring a guy never was worth it for me."
Emmett nodded sternly and kept eye contact with me as he ate another bite. "So, you've had a boyfriend then?"
"Yeah, he was kind of a loser, though." My cheeks burned red at the word diarrhea that was happening currently. Why couldn't I just shut my mouth about these things? I should have fibbed and said I had an awesome racecar/pro surfer/puppy rescuer boyfriend or something! The truth of my lame love life was just bad. "Just recently he tried to get back in touch with me, but I don't see the point of it!" My lips turned downward at the pent up frustration I was letting out on a silent Emmett. "I mean, for the almost year that we were dating he didn't really even care for me. When it ended, he dropped me like a bad habit and never once gave me a second glance. Now that I'm gone and doing well… he seems to have taken a sudden liking to me." I pursed my lips at the emptiness I was starting to feel at the pit of my stomach, causing me to throw down my hamburger and sigh in expiration. "But you don't wanna hear about all this." Internally, I was so very proud of myself for mostly keeping it together and not breaking down in a fit of tears in front of him.
Emmett leaned over the table and took my face in his hands, catching me off guard in an instant. Our eyes locked and it was more than anything wonderful I had ever felt before, like fireworks on the fourth of July or the first flower that you see of Spring back in Seattle. It was nice to feel like that. "You don't need him, Isabella; you're doing just fine here with us." Funny how he didn't say "Alice" or "here in New York"; he said "us", as if I were truly apart of the Montebello family. When I was in his arms, grasp, or even presence I actually felt whole and purposeful. It was an odd sensation, but I didn't mind feeling it. Without warning, he leaned forward and took my lips under command of his own- forgetting where we were for a moment, I leaned over the table even more and deepened the kiss to a whole new level. It felt so right to be touching and kissing him, but deep down I knew that what we were doing was so taboo and wrong on so many different grounds. It was only when he released my lips that I shook my head of all the negative thinking and wandering thoughts. We shared some blind blowing kisses, so what? Emmett wasn't the kind of guy to get serious over one chick, and if he ever was capable I was so positive that it wasn't going to be me. "Did he kiss you like that?"
I gulped at the deadly tone his voice took on and reached a hand up to touch my bruised lips, numbly shaking my head as I did so. How could one lip-lock make me feel on top of the world like that? I silently wished I could feel like this & go back in time to my high school years, where everything was awkward and embarrassing. From the mean girls to the awkward first kisses to the reign of assholes I had to meet in order to finally be in the presence of Emmett… dear god, did I just idolize Alice's older brother in my head? He was bad, a criminal that had long-overdue freedom from behind bars! He wasn't some sweet knight in shining armor, he was the villain here and I needed to remember that. "No, he never…" Could I even finish that sentence? How did one begin to explain the lack of emotionality from a past relationship without embarrassing oneself? That was just impossible, the entire situation I had with Jackson was awful. "He was never the kind of man I wanted, or needed for that matter. Always fell short from my expectations, which were considerably low back then." I joked easily with Emmett, who offered a quick turn of lips before leaning in again.
"You should consider deleting and blocking this old flame of yours before he finds himself in trouble." Emmett's eyes flashed with something dark, but I shrugged it off and carried on our conversation, taking his side note only as a friendly piece of advice.
"Why, are you gonna go all big-brother on him?" I teased.
"Or I could go all Italian-Mobster on him? Whichever suits your interest the best, Bella." It was funny to hear him speak in a slang manner, seeing as he was mostly proper and uptight about the way he spoke and carried himself. But the "mobster" part stuck to me harder than glue.
"Mobster? I didn't think the mob even existed anymore." I meant it more as a joke than a challenge, because I obviously saw just how organized crime was back at the restaurant. If the Montebellos weren't the epitome of a modern crime family, then I wasn't sure what was! We shared a funny look with one another, with flashes of that poor French man invading the space and excluding all previous thought. Suddenly, it wasn't that funny of a pun anymore.
"You're right," Emmett chomped down on another hamburger and let a wide smirk split his face, "they probably don't."
ATTENTION:
For updates on stories, new banners, private questions/conversations with me you can now FIND ME on Facebook under "Miss Nae Malfoy". go LIKE the page, please.