Ch. 12: Black Magic Woman

Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight or Royal Caribbean or anything else.

A/N: γεια σου τους φίλους μου!! (Bet ya that threw you for a loop. It's Greek.) Thanks for reading and reviewing. Thanks for story alerts, author alerts, favorite stories, favorite authors, and the reviews. Special thanks and chocolate chip cookies that were just made to mfrancesj, XoXoEarthbound AngelXoXo (that was fun to type!!), twilightlovr1995, and we're glad canibeyourmemory is okay and didn't fall off the face of the earth! Where is lauren loves spunky???? We keep losing our reviewers, just kidding!! The first quote from last chapter was "Well Phuket, Thailand!" from Juno and the second quote was "on a mission from God" from The Blues Brothers. So nobody wants them to say they love each other? We need ideas or it's not going to happen. We only got one suggestion from lauren loves spunky and it was from chapter 10 before we put the note out. HELP!! S.O.S.!!

BPOV

"I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing. I'm exhausted." I complained as I flopped down on the couch.

Edward smirked, "That's what shopping with Alice does to you." He lay down on the couch with his head resting in my lap. I absentmindedly began stroking my fingers through his hair. I had wanted to do that ever since I first saw the unruly mop of bronze hair. He groaned in response and closed his eyes. "You don't know how good that feels."

I scoffed, "Actually, I know perfectly well how good it feels. I also know how it feels when I do this." My fingers ceased their motions and I looked around the room as if nothing had happened.

His eyes shot open and narrowed into slits as he growled playfully, "You're such a tease."

"Takes one to know one," was my very mature response along with sticking my tongue out at him.

"Are you having fun?" I couldn't stop my fingers from unconsciously running through his hair again. His eyes automatically closed again and he looked so peaceful without a care in the world

"Absolutely. This vacation is more fun than a barrel of monkeys."

He looked up at me as if I had lost my mind. "Barrel of monkeys?"

"Oh, shut up," I said as I playfully slapped his shoulder. "Are you having fun?"

"Yep, this is, by far, my favorite vacation."

"Ah, so you're enjoying all the attention from the shameless female passengers."

"What attention? It's hard to notice other girls when I've got the most beautiful one standing by my side all the time."

I, naturally, blushed at his comment. I tried to play it off, "Whatever, Romeo." My stomach chose that moment to speak up.

"Hungry much?" He asked as he looked up at me through his thick lashes.

"Yeah. It's kind of hard to concentrate on food when Alice is dragging you store to store looking at everything every store had to offer."

"I know exactly how that goes." He stood up and stretched. As he did so, his shirt rode up, exposing his abs. It brought me back to the beach when he discarded his shirt on the beach. He must have noticed my ogling, "Like what you see?"

I avoided answering, "You're so conceited."

"Am not!" He countered.

"Come on, I'm not about to argue with a two year old." I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door.

He stopped moving and pulled his hand out of mine and crossed his arms over his chest. "I am not a two year old."

"My point exactly. Would you like me to call you Eddie?"

Horror showed on his gorgeous face as he sobered up. "I'll do anything as long as you don't call me that. I absolutely detest that name." He walked briskly out the door and I followed.

"Whatever you say, Eddie." I snickered as he turned around to glare at me. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. I promise I won't call you that again. Why don't you like it anyway?"

"Thank you. Emmett, one day, decided to call me that and once he figured out how much I hated it, he wouldn't stop using it."

"I guess I would be upset, too. Emmett can be annoying."

"Can be? He is annoying."I caught up to him and laced my fingers through his. He relaxed under my touch and smiled his crooked smile at me.

We made it down to the Windjammer Café and filled our plates.

"Eddie-boy! Over here!" We looked around the room and noticed Emmett sitting at a booth, waving his hands around like a madman, with Rosalie, who had her head in her hands.

"Could you be any louder?" Rose asked.

"I can try: ED-"

Rosalie had clamped her hand around her fiancée's mouth. "Babe, I was being sarcastic. You don't need to be any louder. People in China could hear you with your volume."

Edward and I had made it over to their table and sat down.

"So, what were you two kids up to before coming down here to grab a bite to eat?" Emmett raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Edward sighed, "Emmett, not everybody's like you and Rose. We all don't go around having mad sex like a couple of sexually frustrated bunnies."

"Hey!" Rose and Emmett yelled in unison.

"No offense," Edward added, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Although, Rosie, you're a very cute bunny." She smiled and kissed his cheek in thanks. They really were perfect for each other. "So, if you guys weren't having mad sex, what were you doing?"

"We were just talking," I answered.

"Just talking?" Emmett pushed.

"Just talking," Edward clarified.

"Not even making out"

"Nope," I popped the 'p' as I said that.

"Well fuck, you guys are boring as hell. Come on, we're in the Caribbean, you guys have got to live a little."

"I think it's cute. We were like you guys when we started going out, before we turned into a couple of sexually frustrated bunnies," Rose piped up. I tensed a little as she said that. Were Edward and I ready for that? I know I was if he was.

"Now you guys can't keep your hands off each other," Edward said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Did Esme and Renée tell you guys what we're doing for dinner?" Rose asked.

"No. I just assumed we would be going to the dining room." I placed my hand on Edward's knee and began tracing patterns on his leg.

"Well, we were, until they saw that there's going to be a mystery dinner tonight at Portofino." Portofino is one of the restaurants that you need reservations to get into.

"That sounds like so much fun. When is it?" I asked.

"It's after the Ice Show tonight. The show is at 7:00 and the dinner starts at 8:15. We actually meet in the Sky Bar on Deck 12 and they walk us over to Portofino on Deck 11."

"I'm so excited now!" I could hardly sit still. I've always loved mysteries and this was the perfect situation. I've never done a mystery dinner, let alone, on a cruise ship, and the man I love is going to be right there with me.

"Calm down, Love. You're going to turn into Alice if you don't stop jumping up and down."

"Hey, I heard that!" I looked up and saw Alice and Jasper standing behind Emmett and Rose. They pulled up two more chairs and joined us.

We sat around for a few hours just talking and joking around. I've only known everyone for a few days, but I already can't imagine not having them in my life. Emmett and Jasper were like the protective older brothers I wished I had growing up but never did. Alice and Rosalie were who I felt comfortable going to if I ever needed to talk about anything. Carlisle and Esme were like another set of parents. Don't get me wrong, Renée and Charlie are wonderful parents and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but Carlisle and Esme had a spark about them that made them irresistible to be around. And finally, Edward was the wonderful, hopefully-soon-to-be boyfriend that would do anything and everything in his power to look after me. He was always there to catch me when I fell and I felt completely safe and secure in his arms.

After Edward and I left the group, we went down to the Concierge Club to grab one of the movies we could rent.

"What's your poison?" Edward asked me as we were browsing through the many movie titles.

I smirked and pulled out a few movies: The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, St. Elmo's Fire, Dirty Dancing, and Grease.

"I'm guessing you're a fan of movies made in the 80s."

"Hell yeah. They're so light hearted and for entertainment purposes only. There weren't preachy or anything."

"Fair enough." He pulled The Breakfast Club from my hands. "Personally, this one is my favorite."

We checked the movie out and went back to our room. Edward put the DVD in as I grabbed an extra blanket from the closet. Edward led me towards the couch. He sat down as I did the same and snuggled close to his side. He wrapped this arm around my shoulder and I was completely content.

During the movie, I would quote my favorite parts and was surprised when Edward would quote them right along with me. I laughed when my favorite part came on: Brian, Bender, and Claire were smoking and Brian says "I said, 'can I hold that smoke?'" in the funny voice. Bender knocks him in the forehead and he falls back.

The movie ended but Edward and I made no move to get up. I looked up into his emerald eyes as he looked down into my brown ones. We slowly leaned our heads towards each other. Our lips touched and sparks went flying as my eyes closed on their own free will. His hand came down to cup my cheek as my hand reached behind his head and laced through his hair. He licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I gladly complied and opened my mouth to deepen the kiss.

I didn't want to go too far and I'm guessing he didn't want to either because he started to place little kisses on my lips. We broke away and I slowly opened my eyes.

EPOV

I couldn't be happier. I was, at first, hesitant to kiss Bella, but once our lips touched, my worries faded away. I felt an electric shock as we kissed and I wondered if she had felt it too.

As her eyes opened, I looked down at her with love shining through. I pulled her closer to me, if that was even possible, and sweetly kissed her forehead. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," I murmured against her skin.

She placed a kiss at the hollow of my neck, "You're not the only one, Romeo." I felt her smile against my skin as she said this.

I ran my fingers up and down her arm as she lay with me, her head on my chest. She was fiddling with the fabric of my shirt. I enjoyed just being here with Bella. There was no need for constant chatter. We could sit in a comfortable silence and say everything that needed to be said through our actions.

We were pulled out of our little bubble by knocking on our door. We both groaned at the interruption

"Don't answer it. Maybe if we're quiet enough, they'll leave."

"If it's Alice, she won't leave. She's very persistent and knows we're here."

"Edward, Bella, I know you're in there, so don't ignore me!" Alice yelled through the door.

"Damn pixie," Bella muttered as I reluctantly left her on the couch.

I started walking to the door, but I felt a tug on my shirt. I turned around and Bella pressed her lips to mine. After the kiss, I smirked. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

She shrugged, "I felt like it."

"EDWARD!!!" Alice screeched.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back.

I threw the door open, clearly annoyed. "What?!"

"I need Bella. Rose and I are going to help her get ready for tonight."

"What if I told you she wasn't here?"

"Don't you dare lie to me, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen."

"Argh, fine. Bella, Alice is here to take you to her torture chamber."

Bella appeared behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "I don't want to go," she mumbled into my back.

I decided that bargaining may work. "If Bella goes with you tonight, you have to promise that you will not put her through this again unless she asks you. Got it?"

Alice contemplated my offer before making a final decision. "Deal. Come on Bella, we have a lot to do." She grabbed Bella's hand and yanked her out from behind me.

Bella looked at me with reluctance in her eyes. I tried reassuring her, "Don't worry, Love. It'll be over before you know it." I brought her into my embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"I don't have all day," Alice said, tapping her wrist as if it were a watch.

Bella pulled away, "Bye."

"I'll see you soon, Love."

Once I said those words, Alice took off down the hall, dragging Bella behind her.

"If she gets hurt, I'm holding you responsible, Alice!" I called down the hall.

Alice, ever so gracefully, flipped me off.

After Bella was dragged away against her will, I didn't know what to do with myself. That didn't last long. Five minutes after Alice and Bella left, there was another knock on the door. I looked out the peep hole and saw Emmett's hulking form beside Jasper in the hallway, each holding a set of clothes.

I opened the door as Emmett barged in. "Hey, Eddie!" He clapped me on the back. As soon as Jasper came into the room, I shut the door.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I despise that name? What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"Alice told us to get ready for dinner in here today," Jasper informed with a small smile on his lips. He's so whipped.

"How are things progressing with your lady friend?" Emmett asked.

I looked pointedly at Jasper, "You've got him saying that now?"

He threw his hands up in surrender. "It's not my fault his brain's like a sponge. He's like a little kid repeating everything he hears."

"You're just jealous that I have a bigger brain than you do," Emmett challenged.

"You are so smart, Emmett. That is exactly why we are so jealous of you," I said sarcastically.

He seemed to actually believe what I just said because he puffed his chest out a little more and held his head a bit higher.

"Anyway, how are things moving along?" Jasper asked.

"We're going steady." I didn't feel the need to tell them about the amazing kiss we shared not fifteen minutes earlier.

We all got dressed and ready fairly quickly. I was trying to tame my hair but was having no luck whatsoever.

"You might as well give up now. Your hair has never cooperated, even when we were little," Jasper said.

Just as I was about to give up, my hair stayed put. "There," I said triumphantly. I shot Jasper a look that said 'I told you so' and went to find my shoes.

I did a sweep of the room to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything before we left. We were going to stop by Alice and Jasper's room to pick up the girls and then we were going to meet Charlie, Renée, Carlisle, and Esme in their room.

Emmett knocked, or rather banged, on the door. Jasper didn't dare use his key because we all know not to interrupt Alice if she's "working on a masterpiece," as she put it. We would have hell to pay if we ever did that. We learned our lesson a few years ago.

Thankfully, Rosalie opened the door fairly quickly. Emmett scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the room as he kissed her. Jasper and I walked in behind them and shut the door. We didn't see Alice or Bella, so assumed they were in the bathroom finishing up.

Sure enough, the bathroom door opened and out walked Alice, who threw herself into Jasper's arms, followed by Bella. She didn't notice me right away because she was preoccupied with fiddling with her dress. As soon as she looked up and saw me standing there waiting for her, she smiled and ran towards me. In true Bella fashion, she tripped over nothing and fell into my arms. I chuckled, "Careful, Love. We don't need to take a trip down to the infirmary."

"Sorry, I just missed you." She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed me sweetly.

"You owe me 50 bucks, Rose," Alice quipped.

Bella and I looked at each other, confusion on our faces. "Did you guys place a bet on us?" I asked, my eyes narrowing into slits.

"Of course we did. I bet Rose that you guys had already kissed."

"How do you know that wasn't our first kiss?" Bella asked.

"If was too short for a first kiss. For you two, anyway. And plus, I just know these things."

"Of course you do, Ali. Let's go before our parents send a search party out to look for us." With that, we left the room and walked to Carlisle and Esme's room. "Have I told you how beautiful you look?" I whispered to Bella as I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"No, you haven't, but thank you," she answered with the blush that I love so much. We were trailing behind everybody, so by the time we got to the door, it was already open and we just walked in. Bella stopped dead in her tracks.

I was confused, "What's wrong?"

She seemed to snap out of her daze with a shake of her head. "Nothing, it's just so…extravagant."

"Personally, I prefer the coziness of our room." I pulled her towards the piano and sat her on the bench next to me. I started to play a few warm up exercises as the others were talking.

"I didn't know you played piano."

I nodded my head, "Ever since I was five. Esme wanted each of us to do some sort of extracurricular activity and I chose this. I fell in love with the piano and have been playing ever since."

"Wow. Do you write your own music?"

"Sometimes. I have to be really inspired to write something." I smirked, knowing she inspired one of my pieces. I started playing Esme's favorite. "I wrote this one for Esme. When I first played it for her, she had tears in her eyes. She hasn't lately when I've played it, but she tells me that it still touches her heart every time."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked behind me, never ceasing my fingers. Esme was looking down at me with a smile. "Thank you, Edward. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom." I looked around and realized we had gained an audience.

"Alright everyone, we don't want to be late. We still have to get our seats for the show," Esme chided.

I stood up from the bench and held my hand out to Bella. She seemed a bit distracted, so I looked at what she was looking at. She and Charlie were staring at each other, seeming to be having a silent conversation. He dropped his gaze from her and looked at me, clearly not happy.

"What's wrong, Charlie?" Renée asked him.

"Nothing," he growled as he walked out the door.

"It's going to be ok," I whispered, kissing her temple. She leaned into my touch and smiled in response, but I could tell it was forced.

We took the elevators down to the ice rink and found seats. Everyone seemed to be oblivious to the tension between Charlie and Bella. I thought it would be best to sit as far from him as possible, so we sat on one end of the row while he and Renée sat on the other end.

Once the show started, Bella seemed to forget about the incident in the room and, for that, I was glad. I hated to see Bella upset and would do anything in my power to try to cheer her up. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. He's just worried about me. After the whole Jake incident, he's been really overprotective. In the beginning, I was really torn up about it and he doesn't want me to experience that again. Once he realizes how much I lo-care about you, he'll understand." She snuggled closer to my side as my hand was chaffing up and down her arm.

The lights dimmed and the show began. If Bella thought I was a good skater, I could only imagine what she would think about these professionals. The choreography in each of the numbers was amazing and each move was executed perfectly.

I got a Black Magic Woman.
I got a Black Magic Woman.
I got a Black Magic Woman,
She's got me so blind I can't see;
But she's a Black Magic Woman and
she's trying to make a devil out of me.

A guy and a girl were skating together. Their routine started out slow as the song began with the guitar intro. As the lyrics began, they started skating faster and were incorporating more moves into their routine.

Don't turn your back on me, baby.
Don't turn your back on me, baby.
Yes, don't turn your back on me, baby,
Stop messing around with your tricks;
Don't turn your back on me, baby,
'cause you might just pick up my magic sticks.

Bella leaned over the armrest and whispered, "Okay, I thought you were a good skater. I'm sorry to say it, but you have nothing on these guys.

I feigned hurt, "And here I was, just trying to teach you how to skate. You are so ungrateful." I placed my hand over my heart but smirked down at her to show I was kidding.

You got your spell on me, baby.
You got your spell on me, baby.
Yes, you got your spell on me, baby,
Turnin' my heart into stone;
I need you so bad,
Magic Woman I can't leave you alone.

The show continued on for another half hour. Once it was over, our group stood up and migrated towards the elevators.

A/N: Thanks for reading! The song in this chapter was "Black Magic Woman" by Santana. We were going to finish up the day but it was already really long, going on 4,000 words so next chapter. We got tickets to go see No Doubt and Paramore on July 31!!!!!! So excited for that! A new chapter for The Red Line was just put up as we were typing this so bye. αντίο!