Author's Note: Thanks again to EKSmith and miaokuancha for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Chapter 10
I spray my perfume and look at my reflection in the mirror. I actually think I look pretty hot in the little black dress that Alice picked out for me a couple months back.
Alice would not take no for an answer in her mission that we all — even Edward — go to Port Angeles tonight for a big night out to celebrate the beginning of summer. Jasper is driving over from Seattle and meeting us at Twilight. Even Rose and Emmett are coming, though they're having dinner in Port Angeles first and meeting us there.
When I finally got up the nerve to ask Edward one day, he confirmed that he doesn't drink any alcohol, now. Ever. So he'll be our designated driver for the night. I get the feeling that he rarely goes out to bars or clubs outside of his gigs with the band, but it's hard to say no to Alice.
I grab my purse and head downstairs before Alice starts pounding on my door. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I see Alice and Edward are already waiting for me.
"Um, sorry I took so long."
"You look beautiful, Bella," Edward says, staring up at me. "Wow, I've never seen you dressed like that."
I feel my face heat up. "It's Alice's fault; she picked out the dress."
"But you're the one wearing it," he replies.
"You do look great, Bella," Alice pipes up. "Come on, let's go! Jasper said he'd try to be there around 7 o'clock."
The three of us pile into Edward's Volvo for the drive to Port Angeles. Mercifully, Alice sits in the back where she can't control the radio. I have to stop myself repeatedly from turning my head to check out Edward. In dark jeans and a black button-up shirt, he is looking mighty fine tonight himself.
Thankfully, there have been no more "incidents" like the one at the deli in the past couple of weeks. Edward has remained friendly towards me, but I haven't gotten any vibes that he's flirting, or interested in me.
When we arrive at Twilight, Edward drops Alice and me off and goes to park the car. She is practically bouncing with excitement.
"Calm down, Alice. You just saw Jasper last weekend."
"But I miss him!"
I just roll my eyes at her.
Minutes later, Edward shows up, and he's not alone.
"Look who I found in the parking lot," he says.
"Jasper!" Alice yells, throwing herself at Jasper, and kissing him passionately.
"Get a room, you two," Edward says with a grunt, and they finally pull apart. At least Jasper appears a little bit sheepish.
"Come on, let's go inside," Jasper suggests.
Inside the place is crowded, but not overly so, and we're able to find a large round table in a corner booth.
"What are you drinking?" Edward asks me.
"Oh, you don't need to buy me a drink."
He waves his hand as if to dismiss my concern, and I finally tell him that I'll have a Cosmopolitan.
"Bella, this night is gonna be so awesome," Alice says to me as soon as the guys are gone.
"You sure are awfully excited for summer," I reply with a chuckle.
"Well, there might be a little more to it than that," she says mysteriously.
The guys return with our drinks and we sit and chat together as we sip them. Alice is practically bouncing in her seat. She and Jasper can't seem to keep their hands off each other.
Finally I see Rose and a very tall, well-muscled dark-haired man step into the club. "There they are," I say, nodding my head towards them.
Since Edward is seated on the end, he stands up and walks over to them, leading them to our table.
"Hey everyone," Rose says. "This is my boyfriend, Emmett. Emmett, this is Bella and Jasper, Alice's boyfriend. You know Edward from the gym, right?"
"Hey," Emmett says, nodding at us. "Rosie, what can I get you from the bar?"
"I'll have a sex on the beach," she replies.
"Yeah, this summer you will," he says suggestively.
"Emmett!" Rose elbows him as he saunters away laughing. "Sorry about him; I think his inner child is a little too close to the surface most of the time."
Edward scoots closer to me in the round booth so that Rose and Emmett have room to sit. His denim-covered thigh is so warm against my bare one.
Once Emmett returns, Jasper and Alice stand up and face the booth, and Alice starts clapping her hands to get our attention.
"Ok, guys, Jasper and I have an announcement to make."
Once we've all given them our full attention, Jasper speaks. "I'm going to be moving to Forks in a couple of weeks!"
"Seriously?" Edward asks.
"Yep, already bought a house and everything. I'd been saving up for a few years but things are so much more expensive on the other side of the Sound, even after housing prices nosedived. With what I had saved, I could get a pretty nice place in Forks, though."
"So does this mean you'll be moving out, Alice?" I ask.
"No, not yet. Jasper and I decided it was too soon to move in together, since we've only been seeing each other for a couple of months."
"Besides, my mama would kill me for living with a girl without putting a ring on her finger," Jasper adds with a wink.
"Congratulations, Jasper," Edward says. "You fucker, why didn't you tell me you were planning this?"
Jasper laughs as he and Alice take their seats again. "Alice here wanted to make some big announcement. Besides, I only just faxed back the signed papers on Wednesday."
"When did you even have time to look for a place?" Rose asks.
"Well, Alice helped out a lot with looking at homes for sale and narrowing the list. I finally saw the place in person when I visited a few weeks back."
"What about your job at Microsoft?" I ask.
"Well, hell, if a computer guy can't figure out how to work remotely, then no one can. I talked to my boss about it, and he agreed that I can work from home and only go into the office a couple days a month."
"Nice," I say. Why didn't I think of that?
Eventually, Alice drags Rose and me onto the dance floor. The guys opt to refill their drinks and remain at the table while the three of us dance.
"Soooo," Alice begins, speaking loudly so as to be heard over the music, "What's up with you and Edward?"
"Huh? Nothing," I quickly reply.
"Oh please, look at him over there watching us — watching you. He can't keep his eyes off you." She nods toward our table and sure enough, Edward is staring at me.
"I — I think you're trying to make something out of nothing," I shout back.
After a handful of songs, Alice leads Rose and me to the hallway outside the restrooms, where the music is muted enough that we can talk more easily.
"Admit it, Bella. The guy likes you. I saw the look on his face when you came down the stairs tonight."
"All right, maybe," I admit. "But it doesn't matter, anyway. I'm not interested in Edward."
"It's not because of his past, is it?"
"What? You know about that?" I ask, confused.
"Yeah… Jasper filled me in," Alice confesses. "He was one of the passengers in Edward's car the night of the accident. He feels horrible about it, since he and the other guys encouraged Edward to be the one to drive that night."
"I kind of thought he might've been, since they were roommates. But I promise, Edward's past has nothing to do with my hesitation. I'm just not interested in seeing anyone right now."
"You should go for it, have a little fun," Rose pipes up. "I'd bet you a hundred bucks that Edward is awesome in the sack… Not as good as Emmett, of course."
"And those long musician fingers," Alice adds with a sigh.
"Ugh, you guys…"
After an hour or so, Emmett comes onto the dance floor and grabs Rose for a slow dance. Alice waves at Jasper until he gets up and joins her.
A guy with dark greasy hair who introduces himself as Eric asks me to dance with him, but I politely decline and head back to our table, deciding it's safer there.
"Not your type?" Edward quips once I sit next to him.
"Hardly," I say, rolling my eyes.
Once the slow song is over, Alice and Jasper disappear from the dance floor. They reappear at our table a few minutes later, each with a full drink in hand.
"Bella," she scolds, "You should've danced with that guy."
"Not interested, Alice," I say through clenched teeth.
Edward brings me another Cosmopolitan and another Coke for himself, and the four of us sit together watching everyone gyrating out on the floor. Rose and Emmett look like they're practically having sex.
When Bad Romance starts playing, Alice squeals, "Oh my God, I love this song! Come on, Bella, let's dance again."
Edward stands up to let us out and we scoot our way out of the booth.
"Come on, Edward, I haven't seen you dance all night," Alice chides. "I bet you're a great dancer since you're so musical."
Edward doesn't look happy about it but he follows the two of us onto the dance floor. We stand in a loose circle, dancing together, enjoying the catchy beat. Alice is singing along loudly — and badly. As Alice suspected, Edward appears to be a pretty good dancer.
When the Lady Gaga song is over, we dance together for several more songs before another slow song begins. Alice announces she has to use the bathroom and walks off towards the ladies room — after telling Edward and me that we should dance this one together. Why that meddling little …
We give each other tentative smiles before I carefully place one of my hands on his strong shoulder. Edward surprises me by turning me around, putting his hands along the top of my hips, and dancing behind me. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on the music, instead of the butterflies in my stomach.
"You really do look beautiful tonight," he says into my ear. Feeling his hot breath on my face, I break out in goosebumps.
"Thank you," I whisper.
Edward steps closer to me, and I don't think I imagine that he holds me tighter. When the song ends, he spins me back around and holds me close with his hands around my waist. Feeling awkward just standing there, I thread my arms together around his neck, enjoying being held in Edward's arms, even though we're dancing far too slowly for the current beat.
Unable to help myself, I lift my hands a little higher and play with the hair hanging on the back of Edward's neck. He closes his eyes and leans down, whispering, "That feels so good," in my ear.
Suddenly, Edward's hands, which had been stationary, begin sliding up and down, first just a couple inches at a time, then higher… and lower, until he's practically palming my ass. Part of me knows I should tell him to stop, but the warmth of his hands just feels so good. I block out any thoughts of why I shouldn't be doing this and try to just relax and feel.
And then I feel, all right. I feel something hard pushing into my stomach… and I'm pretty sure it's not a cell phone.
Oh my God, Edward is getting hard from dancing with me? Part of me feels powerful that I could have this effect on someone as hot as he is, but a larger part of me knows it's time — past time — to put the brakes on.
I don't want to offend him though, so I wait until the song ends before pulling away, using Alice's excuse of needing to use the ladies room.
Once I'm safely behind the door, I take a few deep breaths, trying to call myself down. I never should've let him dance with me like that. God, am I leading him on?
I use the bathroom and then splash some water on my face as I wash my hands. I look at my reflection in the mirror and I look… turned on. I look like every other woman in this club who's looking to get laid. No more Cosmos for me tonight.
I step out of the restroom and make my way across the dance floor back to our table. I see Alice and Jasper out there, tangled together, but thankfully Rose and Emmett are seated in our booth so I don't have to sit there alone with Edward. I can't be alone with him right now.
Edward keeps sneaking glances at me as the four of us sit and chat. When I feel his hand on my thigh, I remove his hand and scoot a little further away from him, nearly crying at the look on his face. I wish I had a glass of… something to distract myself.
It's nearly 1am when Alice and Jasper come back to the table. When Jasper declares that he's exhausted, we decide it's time to get going. Jasper has had several beers, so he agrees to leave his pick-up behind and ride back to Forks with Edward.
Being a cop, Emmett knows all about drinking and driving, and only had a couple of beers. He and Rose say their goodbyes before Emmett leads his tipsy girlfriend out to his car.
I walk silently beside Edward as we make our way to his Volvo. Jasper quickly runs to his truck to pick up his overnight bag. Knowing Jasper's legs are much longer than mine, I offer him the front seat and am glad when he takes me up on my offer. Alice looks like she's about to pass out, anyway.
Sure enough, Alice falls asleep in the backseat before we're even out of Port Angeles. Edward and Jasper talk quietly in the front, but I try not to pay attention to them. I lean my head against the window and close my eyes, plagued by guilt over the huge mistake I made tonight.
I must fall asleep, because I wake up suddenly as Edward is dropping Jasper off at the Forks Motel. I'm sure he'd rather come back to the boarding house with Alice, but we all respect Mrs. Cope too much to go against her one rule.
Shaking Alice awake once Edward parks the car, I am glad to see that she's able to make it out of the car and into the house by herself tonight. I head into the kitchen for a bottle of water to avoid walking up the stairs with Edward. I don't know how to face him right now.
Upstairs, I quickly undress and toss my dress onto the loveseat. I'll deal with it in the morning. I brush my teeth, finish my bottle of water and fall into bed.
That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.
A/N: My -ward needs a name! I am clueless as to what to call him. Review and send me your suggestions. :)
