A/N: Hey there, I apologize for the wait between chapters. I was a little under the weather during the holidays. I hope they were great for you. A huge thanks goes out to my two wonderful betas, BellaDean and GigiScott, and to all of you who read my story. I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful New Year. Here goes…they all meet.
The Spa—Chapter Eleven
It's a Small World After All
I tell Dec that we're still on for this weekend. I also tell the girls that I'll be there, so there's no way I can back out now. I was so looking forward to an evening out with my friends, and finally introducing them to Dec and Yana; however, I'm not particularly thrilled about spending an evening with Emmett. That reminds me, I forgot one minor detail. I have to call Yana and Richard to invite them. I hope they'll be able to come, because I really need my sister there for moral support—she's kinda like my spanks.
We're going to a supper club that has a comedy show and dancing. I haven't been dancing in a while, and the thought of it suddenly gives me a twinge of excitement. I pick up the phone and call Yana.
"Hey, Ya, are you and Richard busy Saturday night?" I ask, getting right to the point.
"Well, hello to you, too," she chastises me like I'm a five year old. She reminds me so much of our mother when she does that. "I don't think we have anything planned. Why—what's going on?"
"I'm going out with Dec and the girls, and I want to know if you and Richard can join us?"
"Aren't you all taking Emmett out?"
"Yes, but to be honest with you, I'm not looking forward to it."
"Then, why are you going?"
"Because I told Dec and the girls that I'd be there." I chuckle as I remember my conversation with Leah. "When I told Leah I was thinking about backing out, she told me to put on my big girl britches and take one for the team."
"Ha! I like her already." She laughs but then suddenly becomes serious. "She's right, you know? I know Emmett has been a jock strap, but he's Edward's brother. You'll have to put that aside for one night. There'll be enough people there to dilute the tension. You'll be okay."
"Jock strap? That's pretty good," I say, laughing. "I've never heard anyone called that before."
"That's because I made it up. You'd be a miserable jackass, too, if your job was to hold up a man's sweaty balls all the time, wouldn't you?"
"Well, it depends on whose sweaty balls I'm holding up, and if I had anything to do with them being sweaty."
"Rose!"
"I'm just kidding. It's funny, I called him a dickhead and you called him a jock strap, at least we're in the same anatomical area. But let me fill you in on the latest. I met with him and Dec to plan Esme and Carlisle's anniversary party. Remember all the preliminary plans I shared with you?"
"Yeah, you practically planned the entire event. All they had to do was put up the money. I know they loved your ideas."
"Au contraire, my dear. Emmett thinks they should hire a professional to plan the party."
"Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that after you presented your ideas to him, he told you he wants to hire a professional?"
"Yep, that's what the jock strap said."
"What an asshole! What did Edward say?"
"Oh, he had to leave to pick up Emily, so he left me there with Emmett until he got back."
"Well, what did he say when he got back?"
"I didn't wait around. Emmett pissed me off so bad that I cussed his ass out and left."
"Good! He's full of shit! I should go with you just so I can slip his ass an enema. Maybe if he decompresses, he'd be a better human being."
"Yana, you can't slip somebody an enema."
"Why not? It won't hurt him. Instead of a slipping him a mickey, I'll slip him a shitky," she says, laughing at her little joke.
"That would be funny if I wasn't still scarred by what you did to me when we were kids."
"Oh, come on, Roe. What would you tell your patients? You need to come to terms with that, and let it go."
"I can't just let it go. I couldn't eat chocolate for years after what you did."
"Well, I can't believe that you actually fell for it. At least I stopped you before you ate the whole bar. Everybody knew it was Ex-lax but you—for someone so smart you were rather gullible back then."
"Yeah, and for someone who believes in justice for all, you were rather cruel back then."
"Touché. Anyway, maybe it's best that I not go with you. I'd probably give his ass a second and more severe helping of what you already gave him—and you know that wouldn't be pretty."
"Come on Yana. What happened to putting it aside for one night?" I say mocking her.
"That went out the door when the professional came in."
"Well, I need you there to help dilute the tension. Anyway, when was the last time that you and Richard had a chance to just hang out—have fun?"
"Last night. Look, Roe, I've got to go. I'll check with Ricky and let you know."
"When? It's in two days."
She takes a deep breath, and I could picture her rolling her eyes—like I could ever get on her nerves. "Ricky's in court today. I'll give you a call tonight."
"I thought you'd be in court today, too. I was surprised when you answered your phone."
"That was the plan, Stan, but my client's husband had a change of heart, thank goodness."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he had an affair with her good friend. He confessed and begged her to forgive him; which she did, but it just kept eating at her. So for their twentieth wedding anniversary she cooked him something to eat as well, but she added a special ingredient that didn't agree with him."
"She didn't poison him, did she?"
"It wasn't poison but he probably wished it was. She gave him an herbal concoction that made him violently ill. She said it was pouring out of him from both ends. She felt horrible about it and told him what she'd done. He was so angry that he pressed charges."
"So she slipped him a shitky and a spitky-get it-coming from both ends?" I say, impressed by my own cleverness.
"I guess you could say that," she says, chuckling.
"So that's where you got the idea to slip Emmett an enema!" I say, as the light bulb turns on.
"Maybe, but I wasn't out for blood and guts. Anyway, they reconciled and he dropped the charges. Anyway, Roe, I'll give you a call later to let you know for sure, but it sounds like it'll be fun."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bye."
0==0
I feel better about Saturday night now that Yana and Richard will be joining us. They offered to pick me up, which I accepted only because I didn't have the heart to say no. I love hanging out with them, but they have a habit of being unfashionably early. It's fine to be early when you're going to work, but not when you're going out to a club. I don't go out very often, but when I do I like to make a grand entrance. How can I do that when I'm the first one there?
Dec and I have been playing phone tag for a week. He mentioned that he has something important to tell me, and I have something that I want to discuss with him as well. I've been thinking a lot about introducing him to Bella. I've really gotten to know her and I think they would be good together, but our paths have been going in different directions these days. I reach for my phone, and I dial his number, but I get voice mail—again.
"Hey Decinski, where are you? When you get this message, give me a call. I need to talk to you about something very important. Call me. Bye."
0==0
Saturday Night
We arrive at the club early, as expected, but the good thing is, we are able to get a great table. Richard is always such a gentleman, and he makes up for getting us here so early by ordering a couple rounds of drinks. He calls the waiter over and orders a second round.
"What are you having Rose?"
"I'll have another cosmopolitan," I say, thinking back on the night when I ordered cosmos for the girls.
"A cosmopolitan for the lady," he says to the waiter who taps his iPad a few times.
"Boy, have times changed. Waiters have to be techies now? Maybe you should have asked, 'may I tech your order?'" I say to the waiter, chuckling. Alcohol always makes me corny and horny.
"What about you, baby?" Richard says, totally ignoring my little joke.
"I'll have a chardonnay," Yana says, giggling—at least she appreciates my semi-drunken humor.
"A chardonnay for my lady and I'll have a jack and coke. We'd also like to order appetizers. What do you recommend?" he asks the waiter.
He smiles with such pride in being asked. "The spinach and artichoke dip is delicious and the appetizer medley is also a good choice because it has a little bit of everything. It's our most popular appetizer."
"Okay, we'll have both."
As the waiter moves out of my line of sight, I spot my friend Gail setting up her equipment. She's part of the posse at Fitness Fanatics, and she's the DJ here. She told us that we should check it out, so we figured we'd go as a group.
I look over at my sister and brother-in-law, and they're exchanging this dreamy,steamy look. I look down to see him rubbing her thigh, and I take that as my cue to give them a little alone time. I just hope they cool down before the rest of the group gets here.
"Hey, love birds. My friend, Gail, is the DJ here. I'm gonna go over and say hello."
"Okay, we'll be here," Richard says, never taking his eyes off my sister. They really need to get out more—without the kids.
I walk over to Gail and speak with her while she sets up. She starts her set, so I turn to leave her to do her job when an older gentleman steps in front of me.
"Hey, pretty lady. Would you like to dance?
I look over at our table, where I don't seem to be missed, so I figure, why not. I'll give them more time to cool off while I heat up on the dance floor. Gail plays "Yeah" by Usher, and this guy is all over the floor. I'm thinking he won't last very long with the way he's moving—he's no spring chicken, but the song ends, and Gail plays "Fine China" by Chris Brown, and he doesn't miss a beat.
The next song, "Single Ladies", by Beyonce' starts, and he's still going strong. When Beyonce says, "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it," he twists his hand flashing the huge diamond ring on his finger. Then he starts doing the move that she does in the video, only when he does it, I'm reminded of an episode of "I Love Lucy" where Lucy is learning to do the jitterbug. When she'd do this particular move, she'd say, "Dig to China, Dig to China, Dig to China." Well, this guy was trying to dig his way somewhere.
That song fades into "Get Lucky", and he's still moving around looking like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. I'll have to ask him what kind of vitamins he takes because I'm winded and starting to sweat, but he looks like he could go a few more songs. So much for working out—this old man is leaving me in the dust.
Luckily or unluckily, Gail has only played fast songs. I could stand for her to slow it down a little, but I don't want to slow dance with Johnny-boy. If my overheated body were to touch his, he might spontaneously combust. Plus, it would feel like slow dancing with my Uncle Arnold, and that just wouldn't be right. All I know is if he keeps up this pace, he won't be Staying Alive much longer.
All of a sudden, someone grabs my arm and I hear a deep voice say, "I'm sorry I'm late baby, but I made it."
My first instinct is to swing, because no man comes up to me and grabs me like that, but then I realize that it's Emmett.
"I'll take it from here, Man. I'm her fiancé," he says to my dance partner.
I look at Emmett, then I look at Johnny, and I'm totally dumbfounded. I'm sure my face shows it, too. Did he say fiancé'? Did he just grab me and take me in his arms? Johnny is just as confused as I am, and he's looking back and forth at the two of us waiting for me to say something.
Finally, I breathe enough air into my lungs to speak. "Um… it's…it's okay, I'm glad you made …this gentleman was nice enough to keep me company until you got here," I stutter, trying not to make it totally obvious that I don't know what the hell is going on here.
I look at Johnny, and I force a smile. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," he snarls before he nods at Emmett and walks away.
As if Gail is given a cue, she plays a slow song, "Tonight" by John Legend—I love this song. Either we have similar taste in music, or she has stolen my play list for the class. Emmett takes me in his arms and we start to dance.
"So, I see you have an admirer?" he says as he holds me at a distance.
"I wouldn't call him that; he just asked me to dance. I had no idea he meant all night."
"Well, he's over there staring at us like he doesn't believe that we're together. He's probably thinking that I just came over to get you away from him."
"Well, that's exactly what you did, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but we don't want him to know that."
"Maybe it was the way I looked at you when you walked over, grabbed me, and called me baby that gave it away. I thought you had lost your mind."
"Well, I had to make it look like I was claiming what was mine, respectfully, of course. I didn't want to start a fight in here."
"You're right. I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings. He was a little pesky, but he was a nice guy."
"Well, I think we should make it more convincing."
"What do you mean?"
"Your body language isn't exactly saying 'I'm dancing with my man, and I'm lovin' it.'"
"You're right again. My mind knows what's going on here, but my body is saying, 'I'm in the arms of a man who has treated me like crap since I met him. 'And the two don't mix very well."
"I know it's hard, but can we at least try?"
"Okay, I guess—for ol' Johnny's sake."
I slide my arms over his shoulders and around his neck, and he wraps his arms around my waist, closing the gap between us. We definitely look like we're together now.
"Rosalie, I owe you an apology," he says.
"Oh, yeah? For what?" I ask sarcastically. I don't intend on making this easy for him.
"For being such an asshole. You've done nothing but try to be nice to me, and I've fought you the whole way. You don't deserve to be treated the way I've treated you, and I'm really sorry," he says pensively.
I can't believe how serious and sincere he appears to be. I take a minute to process what he's saying before I respond. Apparently my silence makes him a little uncomfortable.
"Will you please forgive me?" he says, making cracks in my hard exterior.
"Yes, Emmett. I'll forgive you, but someday, not tonight because I'd like to tonight to be light and easy, but someday I want you to tell me what that was all about."
"Okay, but for now, can we just start over? I'd like to get to know you, and I'd like for you to get to know me."
"That's what I've wanted from the very beginning, Emmett," I say, my frustration making itself known.
"I know—it was all me. I've been a jerk, but I'd like another chance to show you that's really not who I am."
"Okay, Emmett, I'm willing to start over."
"Thank you. Can we start with you calling me Bear?"
"No offense, but I think I'll stick with Emmett for now. You might decide to take away my 'Bear' privileges again, and I couldn't bear it."
"Beary funny," he says, chuckling. "Okay, I understand. I'll just have to prove to you that I'm a nice guy."
"We'll see," I say as we move to the music. I inhale deeply, taking in the masculine, woodsy scent of him. When I finally exhale, all of the tension between us dissipates, and it's as if my body just goes limp in his arms.
I guess he senses it, plus the added weight he's now holding up lets him know for sure. "Are you okay?" he asks in a whispery voice.
"I'm fine," I say in a semi-dream-like state.
"For a minute there, I thought you were falling asleep in my arms."
"No, I'm wide awake—just very relaxed."
"Should I take it as a compliment that you're able to be this relaxed with me, or is it the alcohol?"
"I think it's a little bit of both," I say, as I move my face closer to his neck to smell his delicious fragrance.
"I'll settle for that," he says.
"Ummm, you smell so good." Oh Shit! Did I just say that? Oh, well…can't take it back now. There's no use in crying over spilt cologne.
"Thank you. I was just thinking the same thing." I can hear the smile in his voice.
"What? That you smell so good?"
He chuckles in my ear, and I feel vibrations surge through my body. "No, that you smell good, too."
"Thank you," is all I manage to say.
We sway to the music without another word. It's amazing that all the tension between us is gone and I'm relaxed in his arms. I open my eyes and see people walking off the dance floor. I hadn't even notice that the song had ended. Apparently he hadn't either because we were still wrapped tightly in each other's arms. I lift my head off his shoulder and whisper, "Thank you for rescuing me, Emmett."
My words clue him in and he starts to release me. As I pull away, I look into his eyes just as he's opening them and I think, "This man is so damn sexy with his bedroom eyes."
He gives me a lazy smile and says, "You're welcome, Rosalie—anytime." And I nearly swoon.
As we walk off the dance floor to our table, I say to myself, "Anytime, huh? I just may take you up on that, Mr. Cullen."
Heading back to our table, I look up to see Dec, Ya, and Richard cheesing—big time. I put my hand over my eyes pretending to block the glare of their white teeth. I chuckle as Dec stands to greet me.
"What are all the smiles for?" I ask as we hug.
"We were just sitting here enjoying the view," he says as he releases me.
"Well, I hope we entertained you all. Thanks for sending Emmett to rescue me."
"I didn't send him. I told them that you looked like you needed rescuing. I was about to do it, but he said he'd handle it."
"Oh. I didn't mind dancing with Johnny as long as there was space between us, but I wanted to get away from him before Gail played a slow song. Emmett your timing was perfect. Thanks again," I say as I turn to look at him. He smiles and nods before taking his seat.
"Johnny? You were getting to know him out there on the dance floor," Dec says with a sly smile.
"Oh, no. I don't know him. I just called him Johnny because he reminded me of John Travolta doing his Saturday Night Fever routine."
"He sure has a lot of stamina for a man his age. He has to at least be pushing seventy. I know they call a woman who goes after a younger man a cougar, so does that make him the cougee?" Emmett asks.
"No, the cougee would be the prey of the cougar. I don't know what you'd call the older man going after the younger woman—maybe a panther or a manther," Dec says.
"No, they call him a man. Why is it that when a man chases after a younger woman, it's a natural thing, but when the woman goes after a younger man, she's got to be a man eater? Just askin'," Yana says as she takes a sip of her wine.
"Well, Baby, you've got two months on me, so I'll be your panther, your kitten, or any other animal you want me to be, anytime," Richard tells her as he puts his arm around her and kisses her, causing us all to laugh. They're too adorable.
We sit at the table in comfortable conversation. Even Emmett is showing his human side—the side that I've heard so much about, but have never really seen until now. I look toward the door and see a very tall, dark, and extremely handsome man walking toward us. I must be dazed because everyone turns to see what has my attention.
"Hey, man!" Emmett gets up to give him a man-hug. He turns to the table and says, "Hey everyone, this is Sam, a very old friend of the family"
"Watch it, man—I'm not that old!" he says as we all laugh.
Dec gets up and hugs him, too. "It's good to see you, Sam"
"Hey, same here, Eddie. It's been a long time"
"Sam, this is Rosalie, Yana and Richard," Dec says.
"Hello," he says in a bass voice that runs chills down your spine.
He nods and gives us a big beautiful smile that warms his stern handsome face. What is this, the BMC…Beautiful Men's Club? Other women in the club have noticed them, too, but I enjoy being surrounded by all these gorgeous men—eat your heart out ladies.
Emmett buys a round of drinks for the table and Sam falls into the conversation very naturally.
"So, Sam, what have you been up to? I haven't seen you in years," Dec says.
"Well, I've been spending a lot of time in Washington. My parents are still up there, and I opened my second shop in Seattle."
"What do you do, Sam?" The cosmos have loosened up my lips a bit. I don't usually ask personal questions so soon.
"I own a couple of auto-body shops, one in LA and another in Seattle. We also do auto repair and restoration," he says. There's something pleasant about his mouth when he speaks.
"My good friend, Leah, restores cars. You'll meet her tonight," I say, thinking Leah will devour him.
"Okay, I look forward to that," he says, flashing that gorgeous smile. He probably thinks I'm a nut-case because I sit there staring at his mouth wondering if he wore braces as a child or if his teeth are naturally that beautiful.
I'm brought back to reality when I hear a high pitched squeal.
I look in the direction of that unmistakable sound and see Alice and Jasper walking in. I start to bounce in my seat and wave them over. Alice looks stunning. I can tell she cut her hair even shorter and it works. They walk over to the table holding hands.
I get up and hug them and introduce them to the group. I've only met Jasper once, but I feel like I've known him for years. I don't know why, but I've felt comfortable around him from day one.
"Everyone, this is Alice and Jasper."
"Jasper? Jasper Whitlock?" Dec asks with reserved excitement.
"Yes," Jasper says with a questioning look.
"It's Edward…Edward Cullen."
"Edward Cullen… from soccer camp?"
"Yes, man it's been like more than twenty years and you still look the same," Dec says as he stands up and they embrace.
"I can't believe this. It's good to see you, man! Edward, this is my wife, Alice. Baby, remember the guy I told you about who taught me so much at soccer camp every summer? This is the guy, Edward." Jasper manages to say in one breath. I find myself wondering if he got that from Alice or the other way around.
"Oh my goodness, it's nice to meet you, Edward. Jasper credits you for making him a better player and for helping him get a soccer scholarship."
"Well, I don't know about that, he was a great player before I worked with him. Jasper, I remember you had a knack for calming us all down when we were hyped."
"And you were always a step ahead of all the other players—as if you could predict what they were going to do next," Jasper says.
"I guess soccer has been bery bery good to both of us, he says, doing his Pele' imitation. It paid my way through college, too, which definitely made it easier to afford medical school."
"So, you're a doctor? That's great, Edward."
"Yeah, well it pays the bills."
"So, you guys played soccer together? It's a small world," I interject. "Dec, Alice is one of my friends from the spa who I wanted you to meet."
"This is Dec?" Alice asks pointing at him. "Oh my goodness, this is amazing! Rose talks about you all the time. We've been looking forward to meeting you, and now I find out that you're friends with my husband—it certainly is a small world."
I introduce Jasper and Alice to the others at the table, and we sit and talk waiting for Leah and Bella to arrive. I take the opportunity to give them a heads-up about our no-filter-friend.
"Leah should be here any minute. She's really a sweetheart, but I've come to know her as filter-less Leah. So please don't hold anything that comes out of her mouth against her."
"I can't wait to meet her. From what you've told me about her, I think she's hilarious," Yana says.
"She is, and we love her dearly, but I just want you all to be forewarned," I say.
I know that Bella has her meeting with Jake. I hope that doesn't put a damper on her mood tonight. I just want us all to have a good time.
We're talking and munching on appetizers and I don't notice Leah until she comes to the table.
"Leah!" I practically scream. "I didn't see you walk in." I stand and hug her. Alice stands and hugs her, too. She looks gorgeous. She's wearing her hair down and it's black, shiny, and beautiful. As my mom would say, "She has that thick, heavy, pretty hair." I turn and introduce her to the group, and she shakes everyone's 'hand. It's obvious that she's gotten Sam's attention. When I get to Yana, she gets up and hugs her as she did with Alice.
My sister is my biggest supporter. She always says, "Anyone who has my sister's back is good with me." Maybe it's because before I met the girls, I didn't have much of a cadre of female friends. In fact, that's something else that Dec and I have in common.
Don't get me wrong, we're not socially handicapped. We both have jobs that require us to interact with people daily, but we're both so busy that we don't have much time to nurture friendships. I guess it hasn't been that big of a deal because we've always had each other, as friends go. But it's nice to see him talking with the guys. I guess I feel the way about Dec that Yana feels about me. Anyone who has his back is good with me.
When I introduce Leah to Emmett, she rears back, looks at him with a bemused expression, and says, "Damn son! What did you do—kick your mother too hard when she was carrying you?"
"Leah!" Alice and I say in sync.
While everyone at the table is trying desperately not to laugh, Emmett cracks up. "I get that all the time, although never like that. It's a family name. My great-grandfather was named Emmett, and my mom handed it down to me. I guess you could call it the blessing or the curse of the first born."
"Well, at least you carry it well. But you mind if I call you Em?"
"You can call me anything you'd like, Lee." Emmett says with a chuckle.
"Okay, I've been called worse. It's good to meet you, Em"
"Same here," he says to Leah.
I look at him while this conversation, if you can call it that, takes place, and I'm impressed. He laughs at what Leah says when others would take offense. And I can see that he's sincere—he's not just laughing to save face. At that moment, I start to see what all the hype is about. As long as I've known the Cullens, every holiday it's, "I wish Bear was here." Or "I miss Uncle Bear." Or he'd call and everyone would wait anxiously for their turn to speak with him. I'm starting to see that he is a pretty okay guy.
We're all having a good time. I tell Sam that Leah restores cars and they've been talking shop ever since. Everyone is engaged in conversation and having a good time. The only person missing from our little party is Bella. Still waiting to hear from her, Leah stops her conversation abruptly and looks in her purse for her phone. Apparently she got an upsetting text.
"Oh, hell no!"She says.
"What is it, Leah?" I ask
She jabs the phone in my face, almost touching my nose with it. I pull back so that I can read the text. "Oh hell no!" I ditto Leah's response.
"What's going on?" Alice asks. I grab Leah's phone and let Alice see the text from Bella.
"Hey guys. The meeting with Jake didn't go so well. I'm not in the best of moods and I don't want to bring you all down. I think I'll pass tonight. Have fun, B."
I look at my phone and see that I received the same text, so I'm sure Alice got it, too.
"Oh hell no is right!" Alice says. "What are we going to do?"
"I'll handle this," Leah says as types a three word reply. "BIG GIRL BRITCHES" "If this doesn't work, I'm going to get her ass."
"And Alice and I will come with you. Right, Alice?" I look at her.
"Absolutely!" Alice replies.
A few minutes later, we get a reply from Bella, "Okay. Slipping them on now. I'm on my way."
Leah nods like she has really accomplished something, and we take up where we left off. The waiter keeps the appetizers and drinks coming and he's as happy as Leah is being surrounded by all these good looking men. With all the big spenders at the table, he's gonna make a killing tonight.
I'm loving how we all just blend—no discrimination—everyone is involved in comfortable conversation with someone at the table, and I'm really enjoying myself.
"Hey, Rosebud, what are you smiling about?" Dec asks.
"Ha Ha, I had no idea I was smiling. I was just thinking about how nice it is being with you all. I'm having a good time."
"Me, too. Oh, and thanks for giving Bear a chance. He really is a good guy."
"I'm starting to see that, Dec. Maybe I can get to know him now that he's being civil toward me."
"I really hope so. It will be nice to have the members of my family like one another. Hey! You said that you had something important to talk to me about. What is it?"
"I want to know how you'd feel about meeting one of my friends? Now, before you say anything, you know how I feel about introducing you to women, and I would never do it if I didn't think that she was a good person and that you'd be good together."
He just chuckles.
"What's so funny?" I ask, confused by his displaced humor.
"I was just thinking that the expression 'when it rains it pours' is so true. For years, I haven't met anyone who I'd even think of dating, and now you have someone you want me to meet. And I understand that's a big deal because you would never introduce me to anyone who doesn't meet you strict standards. But I've been trying to reach you to tell you that I've met someone."
"Really?" I ask with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. I just knew that he and Bella would hit it off.
"Yes, she's the mother of one of Emmy's friends. She's very nice, and I think you'd really like her. In fact, we're going out next weekend."
"Oh, Dec, that's so exciting!"I say as I give him a hug. "When…how did this happen?"
"I met her the night my mom called and asked me to pick up Emmy. Remember the night I left you and Emmett to plan Mom and Dad's party?"
"Oh yeah! Well at least something good came out of that night," I say, thinking back on the choice words that I gave Emmett that night.
"Yes, I think it did," he says, smiling. Obviously we are thinking of two completely different scenarios.
"Well, you are the only man I would ever say this to, but if it doesn't work out with her, you have another option. I've been contemplating introducing the two of you, but I guess I didn't move fast enough."
"Thank you, Rosebud," he says as he wraps his arm around my shoulder and gives me a playful hug. "That means a lot to me."
"Don't thank me yet. You know if I don't like her, she's outta here."
"I know, but I have a feeling that you'll like her."
"Oh, you think so? Well, if you like her, I probably will, too. So fill me in—tell me about her."
"Well, her name is Be.."
"Bella!" I shout as I see her from across the room, but she looks as if she's turning to leave. When she hears me call her name, she turns to face us, but she has a strange expression on her face—almost a hurtful expression. I get up and walk over to her and give her a hug.
"Bella! Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Was it just my imagination, or were you leaving?"
"Yes. I don't think I'm up for this tonight after all—meeting people and making conversation. I knew that Alice was bringing Jazz, but I didn't know that anybody else would be coupled off. I thought it was going to be a group of us having fun."
"We're not coupled off…well my sister is here with her husband, but other than that, it is just a group of friends."
"But you looked to be having an intimate conversation with the guy you were sitting next to."
"Oh, that was just Dec."
"Dec—as in your best friend, Dec?" Suddenly she goes from black and white to color—talk about mood swings giving you whiplash.
"Yes, and the big guy next to him is his brother, Emmett, and the other one is their friend, Sam. Bella, I don't know what happened with you and Jake, but try not to think about that tonight. We're here to have a good time, and we've been waiting for you to get started."
"Really?" She says as if she's surprised. Jake must have really upset her tonight. I'll have to get the details later.
"Girl, come on," I say, rolling my eyes and taking her hand to walk her over to our table.
I start by introducing her to Yana and Richard. Once again, Yana stands to give her a hug. She really looks like she could use some hugs right now. Alice, Jasper and Leah get up to give her love, too. I introduce her to the rest of the group. She's obviously preoccupied, but she is still gracious and greets everyone. I save Dec for last, and when I introduce them, they both say, "We've met." as if it were rehearsed in harmony. I look at Dec and he's smiling from ear to ear.
"You have?" I ask, wondering how that could have happened without me knowing.
"Yes, Rosebud. Bella is Emmy's friend's mom—the one I was just telling you about."
"What! Oh my Goodness, Dec. She's the one I was talking about, too!" I practically scream as I point to Bella.
Suddenly there is a barrage of half-phrased questions asked at the same time.
"When did the two of you…"
"Why haven't you told me…"
"She's the one you were…"
"You were going to…"
"Wait a minute! Hold the phone!" I say to stop all the jabber. All these questions are being shot out there, with no answers.
"Dec, this is Bella, one of the ladies from the spa that I wanted you to meet, but I guess I didn't move fast enough."
"Yes, Bella is Tiffany's Mom, and Tiffany volunteers at the animal shelter with Emmy."
"Edward came by to pick up Emily from our house, and he got stuck helping me bake cupcakes for the girls," Bella says looking over and smiling at Dec.
"No way!" Alice practically shouts. Then she lowers her voice to almost a whisper when she realizes that everyone in the club has heard her. She asks while pointing to Edward. "This is the cupcake guy?"
Bella gives her the eye before answering in a similar whisper, "Yes, Alice."
I look over at Dec, who has this cute, kiddish smile on his face like he's pleased that Bella has been discussing him.
"Oh my goodness," I say as I hit my head with my palm. "When you first mentioned that Emmy was volunteering at the animal shelter, I knew someone else was volunteering there, too, but for the life of me I couldn't recall who. Now I remember it was Bella's daughter. Here I was trying to figure out a way to introduce you two when it was already in the works."
"What do you mean in the works?" Bella asks.
"Come on, both of your daughters volunteering at the same shelter, and they're good friends? You were bound to meet sooner or later," I reply.
"I'm glad it was sooner than later, "Dec says as he gets up and walks over to Bella. He gives her a hug and whispers, "I'm glad you're here."
I don't think he meant for the rest of us to hear that, but what can I say? They didn't call me Nosy Rosy for nothing.
When she pulls away, she smiles and says, "Me, too."
I must really like her because I give up my premiere seat nestled between two gorgeous Cullen men to let Bella sit next to Dec. I take the seat on the other side of Emmett.
Emmett leans over and nudges Bella with his elbow. "So my brother is the cupcake guy, and you're the lasagna lady, huh? You've got skills, girl."
That gets a genuine laugh out of Bella."Thank you," she says as she and Dec laugh. It's a wonderful sight to see.
The evening is just as I'd hoped it would be—good company, good music, good food. I'm so glad I didn't let the riff with Emmett stop me from coming out tonight. I would have really missed out on a wonderful time. I'm getting to know Emmett, Dec knows Jasper, Bella knows Dec—how crazy is that? All of a sudden I get this eerie, Disneyland-ish feeling, because it really is a small world, after all.
0==0
The comedy show starts and they are showcasing several local comedians, who are hilarious. One of the comedians makes anyone who gets up during his set a part of his act. One lady is wearing a hot pink dress with black buttons. She gets up to go to the ladies room and he says, "Hey! Where are you going looking like a big bottle of Pepto Bismol?"
After that, I think we all make a silent pact that if we have to pee, we're holding it until his set is over—all of us except Emmett. He laughs so loud that he draws attention to our table.
"Hey! What do we have here? You guys have quite the melting pot going on over there. Hey, You! The one with the loud laugh!"
Emmett looks around at everyone at the table, and we're all looking at him. Don't tell me he doesn't realize that his laugh is at volume level 1000.
"Yeah, you, the Hulk!"
The audience erupts in laughter.
"And who do you have sitting next to you? Is she your lady?" he asks.
I shake my head very quickly trying to avoid being picked on when I hear a voice in the crowd yell, "Yeah! She's his fiancé!" I look to see who yelled that out and see ol' Johnny standing and still going strong. He continues, "I think we have a little jungle fever going on up in here!"
"And who the hell are you…the club crier?" the comedian asks. "Man, let's get one thing straight. I'm the comedian here, so sit your ass down before I come after you," he says putting ol' Johnny-boy in his place.
I thought he was just a nice old man, but now I find out he's an obnoxious jerk. To think I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I should have left his ass on the dance floor. Well, at least the attention is off of us, or so I thought.
"Now getting back to you, Hulk. I guess we do have a little jungle fever going on here, but you two make a nice couple. Both of you stand up."
Emmett stands right away with a silly grin on his face, but I continue to sit, shaking my head, internally pleading with this guy to leave me alone. Then I realize that I've been betrayed by my so-called friends. They're all laughing and telling me to stand up—even Emmett is in on it.
I finally stand up and the comedian says, "Damn!" Of course the audience is roaring again.
He sings, "Black Wonder Woman." In the tune of the "Wonder Woman" theme song. Hey! How's the weather in Amazonia? I'm just shittin' with you sista. Wonder Woman was probably seven feet tall. Barefoot, you probably run what, about six?"
All of a sudden I get a jolt of courage and yell out, "Five ten."
"Oh, she speaks—and she's fine, too! Hey, BW2, you got your utility belt with you?" At this point, the laughter was constant.
"No, I left it in my invisible airplane," I reply, surprised when the audience laughs at what I say, too.
"Oh, you've got jokes! I love me a beautiful woman who can tell a joke. When you get tired of Hulk here, I'm available."
"Well, she's not," Emmett yells out, surprising the hell out of me.
"Oh, shit! I think I done made the Hulk mad. We don't want to see him when he's mad, right?"
The audience yells out, "Right!"
"Anyway, you two make a nice couple. I ain't mad at ya. But Hulk, you better treat her like the Nubian queen she is, or else I'm comin' after ya. And I'll bring Batman, Superman, and Iron Man 'cause they're my boys.
"Look at all of you. Y'all remind me of the family from Twilight—not an ugly one in the bunch. In fact, I'm going to call this table the beautiful people table, fine women and handsome men. Are you all couples?"
We all shake our heads no.
"Well, you ought to be. What about you, carrot top—is the lovely brown haired beauty sitting next to you your date?" he says to Dec who nods his head yes.
"I can tell. I saw you two making goo-goo eyes over there. I've got four words for you…somebody's gettin' some tonight!"
We all laugh and he continues—he's on a roll now, "What are you over there laughing at, pixie chick?" he says to Alice. "Did they card you when you came in?"
"Yeah, I'm way over twenty-one," Alice yells out, getting a kick out of this.
"Is Curly next to you your guy?" he asks doing a white-boy imitation.
"He's my husband," she yells back.
"Good! I was about to have him arrested for exploiting a minor."
Again, the crowd roars in laughter, which eggs him on even more.
"And the rest of you beautiful people, I bet you're waiting for me to come after you, huh?"
Yana, Richard, Leah and Sam all shake their heads no, while the rest of us are saying, "Yes!" It's only fair that they have their share of the humiliation.
"No, I'm done with your table tonight, but be warned, the next time I see you here, it's on!"
He goes on with his act, and now that the attention is off of us, I can enjoy him. He's hilarious and so quick on his feet. Bella and Dec are falling all over each other cracking up, and so are the rest of us. I think we're all in now. Even Bella is part of the group.
When the comedy show ends, Gail starts the music again. She announces that the next series of songs are oldies, but goodies and she starts out with "Got to Give It Up" by Marvin Gaye. It's one of my best workout songs, so I've got to get out there.
I grab Emmett's hand and say, "Come on you big hulk of a fiancé of mine. This is my song," as I pull him out on the dance floor. We start to dance and then the next thing I know the entire group is dancing and having a good time. Gail is excellent. She plays songs that I haven't heard in years, but that I remember like it was yesterday. Like "Keep on Trucking" by Eddie Kendricks, and "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. Emmett and I stay on the dance floor the entire time, and he's a pretty good dancer. Dec and Bella are hanging tough, too.
Gail slows it down and plays "Turn Off the Lights" by Teddy Pendergrass, and I decide to make my exit. I look over and see Dec taking Bella in his arms and I think "You go boy," as I give him a little wink. As I start to walk off the dance floor, Emmett grabs my hand. I look back at him and he's shaking his head.
"Uh uh. Come back here you Amazonian fiancé of mine. This is my song."
I turn and walk back toward him, and he takes me in his arms and we dance—and nobody has to talk me into getting close this time.