Disclaimer: No ownership except for the story.
A/N: One more chapter until things get dirty again. On a side note, I've been getting a lot of private messages from people who like the story but are really concerned that it doesn't have nearly enough reviews, so I just want to let them know that a) I'm really glad you like the story, but also b) please don't make me feel so bad about not having enough reviews; it's kind of discouraging as a writer. I TOTALLY appreciate your concern, don't get me wrong. But I didn't think the review thing was an issue until I started getting all the private messages. It's like telling a guy who didn't realize that size matters that yes, not only does it matter, but also that he happens to be hung like a hamster. I know you mean well, but it just makes me feel bad and discouraged about a story that I was actually really into writing. Sorry, I don't mean to complain, but those messages have really bummed me out. Review if you like it; don't review – I don't know. I can't help that my review count is hung like a hamster, so I'm sure I'll piss off those people by writing this, but I'm sorry; please stop asking me why I don't have enough reviews, it just makes me feel shitty.
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At about 6:00pm, when neither girl could stand the cold any longer, they packed up their things and headed towards the car.
"You know Rose, I CAN carry something; I'm not a total weakling, did you know that?" Bella griped as she followed Rosalie over the sand.
"Oh believe me, I know; if memory serves, I believe you've forced me up against more than one parked car in the past few months." Rosalie looked back at the beautiful brunette, who was struggling a bit to maneuver through the thick sand in the havianas Rosalie had lent her. Rosalie gave Bella her usual smirk.
"God Rose, your hair is so blonde right now it's practically white! Are you sure you're not from California?" Bella teased her as she jogged to catch up.
"Ew Bella, don't even say that!" Rosalie quipped sarcastically. "The only Californian I like is Snoop Dogg."
"YOU like Snoop Dogg?" Bella sounded genuinely surprised.
"Hell yes, you don't, slowpoke?" Rosalie had already reached the pavement and offered Bella a hand, pulling her up the small drop between turf and beach.
"No, I like him just fine." Bella swatted Rosalie's hand away after she reached the cement. "You liking him, on the other hand…"
"I guess I'm just full of surprises," Rosalie snarked sarcastically, but with a full grin. Her stomach rumbled and she mentally chided herself as she realized that she'd been starving the other girl for the majority of the day. "You hungry?"
Bella ran up from behind and yanked the beach bag out of Rosalie's arms, exclaiming: "Ha! Its mine now, and don't even think of trying to get it back from me! I will be carrying our things for the next 25 feet until we reach your fancy little hybrid." She jumped out of reach as Rosalie made a grab for the bag. "I don't think so…"
Rosalie chuckled. "Bella, you're skinny as a rail, can I feed you now or what?"
"Yes please," the smaller girl chirped. She paused for a second so that Rosalie could catch up, and quickly captured her by the waist with her free arm. Bella leaned in and kissed her tenderly. "Feed me."
###
They'd been at a little beach in Southampton where Rosalie knew of a few secret parking spots by the bathing corp where a permit wasn't necessary. Rosalie hadn't wanted to waste any time getting in the sun, and East Hampton was still about a half an hour away. She drove slowly, conscious of her gorgeous passenger's awe as she took in the large homes they passed on their way out of town. "This place is surreal, Rose." Bella whispered in amazement.
"Well don't get too excited about dinner, nothing fancy tonight." Rosalie had been craving one last summer lobster, and she didn't have much of a tolerance for the ridiculous prices and pretentious atmosphere of the majority of the eateries on the east end. Instead, she took Bella to a dive on the outskirts of Southampton, tucked into a slightly run down marina.
"The Lobster Inn?" Bella questioned as they pulled into the parking lot. "Little lobsters sleep here?"
Rosalie simply chuckled and shook her head as she led Bella to the entrance.
"Okay, I'll admit it, that was a pretty lame joke," Bella huffed as she grabbed Rosalie's hand. She wove their fingers together and gave Rosalie what the blonde was sure was a death glare.
"What?" Rosalie chuckled. "I didn't say anything – I like your jokes."
Bella raised her eyebrows and dug her nails into Rosalie's palm. Rosalie hoped the girl wasn't actually trying to inflict pain, because if so, it really wasn't working.
"Okay, okay, that wasn't one of your best jokes, I'll give you that." Bella appeared satisfied and pecked Rosalie on the cheek. "God Bella, I think a baby bunny could squeeze my hand harder than that…" Rosalie chuckled as Bella scowled and started to squeeze her hand tightly. Really tightly. "Okay ow, you win, ow!" Rosalie yanked her hand away and blew on it dramatically. "Man you are one mean little baby bunny…" She huffed. Bella smiled triumphantly and waltzed inside.
###
They had a wonderful time at dinner; teasing and flirting, and giggling as Rosalie tried to teach Bella how to eat a lobster while Bella played an often very aggressive game of footsie with her under the table of the booth. Bella threw a world-class fit when the check came, absolutely insisting that she treat Rosalie. Rosalie put up a fuss but, realizing it was a losing battle, acquiesced after stipulating that this would be the only thing Bella would be allowed to pay for. Secretly, Rosalie was not only touched that it was always so important to Bella to do this type of thing, but also thrilled, because she knew that this would be far and away the cheapest meal of the weekend. She'd even gotten Bella to agree to not so much as glance at future checks, which meant that Rosalie could, by sacrificing this $60 meal to the beautiful brunette, now get away with the $600 meal she'd planned for following night. Without Bella's usual, ridiculous (in Rosalie's eyes) theatrics, for once. "Lose the battle, win the war," Rosalie had quipped as she closed the passenger door of the Lexus behind Bella.
As they made their way through Bridgehampton and Waterville and into East Hampton, Rosalie marveled at Bella's almost child-like wonder as she peered out her window at the sights they passed. She wore the same outfit she had that day at Coney Island; comfortably worn, short white shorts and a muted grey Florida Gators t-shirt. Rosalie loved that outfit on her; the t-shirt must have been a child's size, because although it wasn't obscenely tight, it was comfortably fitted. Her chocolate eyes sparkled every time she'd periodically turn from her post at the car window to smile coyly at Rosalie. After a quick drive-by of Grey Gardens at Bella's insistence, Rosalie finally turned her SUV into the long driveway to the beach house. Bella had been thoroughly disappointed to find out that Rosalie's family had not really known the Bouviers in more than just a passing fashion. Rosalie had no intention of telling her the truth; that at the time of Grey Gardens, her own family had been so absurdly snobby that they would never have kept company with Catholics – 'not the sort of people we would know-' the expression her maternal grandmother and namesake, Rosalie Lillian Morton, had always been so fond of saying. And Rosalie flat out lied when Bella asked her if she belonged to "the country club where they still don't let Jewish people join;" it was called the Maidstone, and Rosalie's family had belonged there practically since its inception, but she herself spent little time at the prestigious association. Rosalie was hardly an idealist, but the discriminatory membership practices of her family's club still managed to leave her cold.
Bella's eyes grew impossibly wider as they made their way down the long gravel driveway towards the ocean, passing two large mansions on either side of the private lane before parking in the massive, circular driveway of a house on the ocean that was so large that it was, frankly, obscene. "Jesus, Rosalie, tell me this isn't where we're staying; it's bigger than a Hilton!" Bella had exclaimed. Rosalie pointed her in the direction of a narrow path surrounded on both sides by beach roses and told her that, "no, no Hilton, we go that way." Their destination, a small oceanfront cottage built on stilts literally on top of the dunes (constructed well before zoning laws had made building in such close proximity to the beach illegal in the 1950s), was not visible from the driveway. Rosalie grabbed Bella's duffel bag before the girl could protest, but Bella jumped in front of her and snatched Rosalie's own (significantly larger) luggage before the elegant blonde could stop her, insisting that "it was only fair" that she be allowed to carry Rosalie's bags, since Rosalie had absolutely insisted on carrying hers. Rosalie relented, and they made their way down the sandy path.
###
"God Rosalie, is there ANYTHING you own that isn't monogrammed?" Bella quipped sarcastically as she eyed the initials on the bags. "I mean, is it THAT hard to remember your own name?" Rosalie just chuckled. "I'm surprised you haven't monogrammed your thongs by now…" The pretty brunette rolled her eyes.
"Well at least you know I won't get lost, right?" Rosalie parried back as they proceeded to the beach; the path so narrow that they had to stay in single file. Bella chuckled at her comment, and announced that she would just have to get her monogrammed thongs for Christmas.
After about 300ft of narrow, sandy pathway, the thick rosebushes opened up onto a clearing where a charming, two story grey clapboard cottage stood. "Oh Rose, it's really adorable – this is your cousin's house, right?" Bella ran a delicate hand up the railing of the small staircase that led to the landing outside the front door (as the house was on cement pilings about four feet above the ground; hurricane protection.)
"Yes," Rosalie lied as she rummaged through her tote bag for keys, "It belongs to my cousins, the Boyds. We might run into a few of them this weekend…" In reality, this was just the guest cottage of that giant main house Bella had earlier likened to a Hilton, and that giant house belonged to Rosalie; inherited from her maternal grandmother when she was only eight. She'd been renting it to the same family every year since then, but she kept the guest house on the dunes for her own personal use.
Rosalie finally found her house keys at the bottom of her overstuffed bag (Rosalie had a habit of over packing. Severely. She liked having options…) She unlocked the door and held it for Bella, who gasped as she walked inside. The cottage was very small; comprised solely of a recently renovated kitchen, a great room that was two stories high and acted as the living room, a master bedroom, and a sleeping loft accessed by ladder from the main room. The exposed wooden beams in the great room were lined with small, triangular navy and red flags, with the occasional yellow mixed in. A giant, white duck cloth, overstuffed couch faced an ancient, but massive stone fireplace which functioned as the center point of the house - a fireplace that had been the only part of the house that had survived the great hurricane of '38. Inviting, equally overstuffed armchairs in wide blue and white striped canvas framed either side of the couch, which backed up to bookshelves that covered the entire, massive left wall of the great room, and were filled with ancient volumes, old photographs, a few seashells, and an impressive collection of red and white coral - all of it displayed in no particular order. Un-framed paintings covered some of the books, affixed to the front of the shelves by single nails to catch wood frames that anchored the raw canvas – all paintings that either Rosalie or one of her relatives had painted, but she wasn't going to tell Bella this.
The entire cabin was awash in white and varying shades of blue. A strange coffee table, actually the stump of a giant sequoia that had been polished and turned upside-down to make a flat surface and mounted with iron feet, took up a significant portion of the living room's real estate, and was covered in various coffee table books. The small powder room, and then the kitchen, were to the right of the doorway where Bella stood. The bedroom, also to the right but on the other side of the grand, central fireplace and chimney, wasn't visible from the door. Bella dropped Rosalie's bags and ran over to the far wall of the great room, that wasn't really a solid wall at all, but actually just a wall of sliding glass doors exposing the interior to the view of massive waves that crashed only a handful of yards farther out. "Rosalie…" Bella breathed. "This is heaven…"
Rosalie dropped the bag she held as well, and walked over to where Bella stood. "Come on," she smiled proudly as she unlocked the glass doors. "Let's get some air in here while I give you the tour." She slid the door open and motioned for Bella to step out onto the deck, which was as large as the footprint of the entire interior of the house and bordered on all sides by wooden railings with built-in seating. It sat on massive stilts and pushed far out over the dunes, almost to the point where the dunes ended and the beach sand began, about 20ft below it.
To the right of the main glass doors was a small pool built down into the deck, and past that some chaise lounges with thick blue and white striped cushions. As Bella wandered towards them, she saw additional sliding glass doors that also connected the master bedroom to the deck. She peered through those doors into the bedroom, where an imposing, dark mahogany, king sized sleigh bed took up the bulk of the room, framed on both sides by bedside tables in matching dark wood and holding very expensive looking blue and white Oriental porcelain lamps on top of them.
Rosalie came behind Bella and began to provide commentary. "The bed is ridiculous, I know, but it's an heirloom that's been in our family since the 1500s, and no one knew where else to put the damn thing. Those lamps are old as dinosaurs as well; they're ginger jars from some dynasty around 500AD – my grandmother converted them to lamps, which is pretty but it absolutely ruined their value."
"I think they're beautiful…" Bella breathed. She turned back towards the ocean. "And Rose, is this a plunge pool or something? I feel like I'm in a magazine…"
"Actually this is really cool, I bought it when I was 13 – " Bella looked at her curiously "-as a gift for my cousins," Rosalie continued without batting an eye. "Here, check it out," Rosalie darted over to a panel hidden discretely behind one of the many blue glazed urns on the deck that held giant bushes of lavender, a plant that had taken Rosalie years to get to grow on the deck. Thanking God that someone had come by that morning to clean the pool and the house to perfection, Rosalie flipped a switch and the pool started to churn wildly.
"Cool," Bella sighed. "What is it, exactly?"
"It's one of those water treadmill pool things like you see ads for in the back of magazines." Rosalie stated proudly. "It sends a really strong current out of the left side, see?" She took Bella's hand gingerly and led her over, bending down and placing their joined hands in the rushing water. Bella yelped and giggled as the water splashed on her.
"Rosalie!"
Rosalie laughed and wiped the droplets of water off Bella's legs. "Okay that was an accident, see, I'm covered too!" Bella looked suspiciously up at Rosalie, whose toned abs were glistening, exposed because Rosalie had left her light blue oxford shirt unbuttoned. Her tiny white skirt was actually almost completely drenched as well. "Anyway, you can swim laps in it, isn't that genius?"
"Genius," Bella muttered sarcastically as she dipped her hand back in the water and splashed Rosalie as hard as she could. Rosalie shrieked and continued to laugh her melodious laugh at the girl.
"Does that count as part of the payback you told me about earlier?" Rosalie grinned questioningly.
"Nope, no way." Bella stood up and crossed her arms defiantly. "Come on, show me the rest of the house." Rosalie swatted her behind playfully as she ushered her back into the living room.
"I didn't know you were a sailor, Rose," Bella observed as she admired the rows of flags hanging from the rafters.
"I didn't know YOU were a sailor, Bella," Rosalie countered.
"And just how do you know that?" Bella's voice was almost seductive, but Rosalie wasn't sure if perhaps that was just her imagination; maybe Bella was simply hoarse from shrieking.
"Because no one who doesn't sail knows what these flags mean. I can't believe you sail, why didn't you ever tell me, we could have been on the boat this entire summer?" Rosalie was delighted.
"Why didn't you ever tell me YOU sailed, oh mysterious one?" Bella countered. Rosalie rolled her eyes. "God, this place is awesome, I love the way it's decorated." Rosalie snorted at Bella's comment as the brunette changed the subject.
"Oh God Bella, are you kidding, it's a waspy nightmare! And trust me, it's never been decorated, just maybe fine tuned on occasion. Here, come see the kitchen, it's just been re-done, and then we go can shower and stuff…"
###
Rosalie led Bella on a tour of the rest of the house, proudly guiding Bella through the details of the recently renovated kitchen (she'd put in nice white marble counters and a new range and sub-zero, plus a dishwasher for the first time in the cabin's history, and new upholstery for the cushions in the built-in breakfast nook); she showed her the rainfall shower and the soaking tub she'd installed in the master bath, and gleefully dragged her up to the sleeping loft above the kitchen and bedroom, where she'd had two sets of bunk beds built into the walls on either side of a giant window (slanted, just as the roof was) that looked out onto the main 'Hilton' house and its extensive gardens. An identical window mirrored it on the slanted roof above the bookshelves in the great room. Bella actually delighted in the idea of climbing a ladder to get to the loft, and suggested that Rosalie should have her cousins install a slide or fireman's pole for an easier escape. Rosalie laughed; she loved the way this beautiful girl thought, as much as she could understand what on earth her Bella was actually thinking, of course.
"Wow Rose, you're so proud of this place you'd think it was actually yours…" Bella eyed her suspiciously as she spoke.
"Well duh, I planned and orchestrated the entire kitchen and bath renovation for Aunt Patricia, of course I'm proud."
"Oh, I didn't realize you'd done that, how could you forget to tell me – oh that's right, you never tell me anything!" Bella rolled her own beautiful eyes and grinned as she wrapped her arms around Rosalie's waist and nipped at her chin playfully. Rosalie smirked back, partially because she didn't even have an Aunt Patricia. Bella leaned up and captured Rosalie's full lips, pressing softly. "Thank you so much for bringing me here, Rose," she whispered into her. "It's breathtaking."
Rosalie was barely able to respond with her own breathy "thank you for coming" before Bella's soft, persistent tongue rendered her speechless. Rosalie met hers with her own, and they kissed slowly and tenderly. Rosalie tucked invisible strands of chestnut hair behind Bella's ears, reveling in the sensation of the soft tendrils as she ran her fingers through them and matched Bella's slow, deep movements within her own sensitive tongue. Bella tucked both of her hands behind the back pockets of Rosalie's skirt and began to knead at the flesh her fingers found. Rosalie shivered at the contact, and Bella took her reaction as an invitation. The smaller girl began to kiss her hungrily, and groaned as Rosalie raked her nails down Bella's back and cupped her bottom. She lifted her up and held her, their lips meeting with urgency as Bella straddled her waist and began to grind into her sensually. Rosalie pulled her in close, holding her tightly as she walked them over to the couch, deftly maneuvering past the oddly shaped coffee table.
She leaned over, gently placing Bella down flat on the seat cushions and climbing eagerly on top of her as their tongues dueled and Bella reached up to cup Rosalie's full breast. Rosalie groaned and slid her hand down between Bella's legs, marveling at the physical reaction the girl's moan gave her as she began to rub Bella through her shorts. Bella kept her legs wrapped around Rosalie's waist and used them to pull Rosalie into her, the blonde's hand sending warmth through both of their bodies as they rubbed against it. "Oh fuck Rosalie, I've missed you so fucking much," Bella groaned as Rosalie pressed hard against her center and snaked her body against the smaller girl as she rocked into her.
Rosalie was about to unfasten the button of Bella's shorts when a cheerful "yoo hoo" stilled her movements. Rosalie jumped off Bella and headed towards the front door as Bella stood up and straightened her rumpled clothing.
"Welcome, welcome, gorgeous creature!" A bubbly voice rang through the house and Rosalie uttered a groan of her own as she opened the door for her neighbor, muttering "fucking cockblock" under her breath before plastering a graceful smile on her finely sculpted features.
"Anne!" She exclaimed warmly as a tall, 50-something woman with a chin-length blonde bob and an outrageously preppy pink and green printed polo and white cropped pants barged through the door Rosalie held open. She smiled brightly at Rosalie and handed her a bottle of champagne with curly pink and green ribbon festooned at its neck.
"Oh Rosalie, it's so wonderful to see you; I was absolutely thrilled when I spotted your little Lexus in the drive," she bubbled as she thrust the bottle at Rosalie and smiled in Bella's direction.
"Anne, Anne, Anne," Rosalie chided her playfully as she admired the bottle. "You shouldn't have."
"Oh but Rosalie, it's the very least I could do, considering that I ran into that dreadful Georgia Petersen at Nello the other night and she told me about that little 'offer' she'd made to you in May…" Rosalie smiled insincerely back as she quickly formulated a plan. "Dear, you know you could have charged us that amount, it wouldn't have been any inconvenience, you are just the dearest land-"
"Rats, Bella I think I hear my phone ringing from where I left it on the porch, can you go grab it please?" Rosalie turned and smiled at the flustered and now slightly confused brunette, urging her with her eyes.
"Sure," Bella chirped as she trotted off to the back deck.
Rosalie leaned in closely and spoke in the older woman's ear:
"Anne, she thinks this cabin belongs to my cousins, and she doesn't even know that I have anything to do with the big house, so play along, okay?" Rosalie spoke under her breath.
"Of course dear, even though I can't imagine why on earth you wouldn't want people to know…" the woman whispered back as quietly as she could, which was not very quiet at all, but luckily Bella was still out on the deck. "Rosalie who is that girl – she is GORGEOUS!" Anne continued to whisper-shout.
"I know," Rosalie responded, her whisper far lower and more subtle. "She doesn't know that much about my background or my um, financials, so please help me keep it that way." The woman nodded seriously. "How's your brother?" Rosalie continued to whisper.
"Holed up in Vermont as usual," Anne looked suddenly very sad. "Rosalie, I don't know what he, what I, would do without you. If Peter's miserly ass would just drop dead of a heart attack one of these days, I could take the burden off you and-"
"No, no," Rosalie cut her off. "It's no burden, let's not wish death upon your husband, okay? I know he's a pain in the butt but I think you might actually miss him, and trust me, your brother is no burden at all."
Anne patted Rosalie's cheek affectionately and returned to normal volume as she watched Bella return to the living room. Rosalie, who had her back to Bella, still sensed that the girl was again inside. "Bella, I want you to meet a very old friend." Rosalie smiled kindly at Bella.
"Anne, may I introduce you to Bella Swan?" Rosalie was a stickler for formality when it came to introductions or interactions with her parent's set. Especially with introductions; one always presented the younger person for the elder's inspection first. Always.
"Bella, this is Anne Gregory. We share a driveway." Rosalie winked at Bella knowingly, and was pleased when Bella immediately understood that this woman resided in the 'Hilton-like' behemoth next door.
"Anne Vandeveer Gregory." As she smiled in the lovely brunette's direction,the woman emphasized her middle name, although this would have meant nothing to Bella. "And may I say what a pleasure it is to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you as well," Bella responded politely. "Your house is lovely."
"So it is!" Anne exclaimed, laughing brightly, much to Bella's confusion (which, Rosalie noted, she masked well.) "Yes, my house," she winked at Rosalie, "is truly lovely, thank you for noticing."
Rosalie wrapped her arm around Bella's shoulder and pulled her close, whispering in her ear audibly enough for Anne to hear "modesty is not her best quality" as she winked back at the patrician older woman, causing her to chuckle some more.
"Bella, I must say you are quite beautiful yourself. What gorgeous eyes you have!" Bella blushed furiously, her mouth agape. She was absolutely terrible at receiving compliments.
"Yup, she definitely is, Anne," Rosalie quickly stepped in to take the pressure off of her girl. Luckily, the older woman was quite astute at reading people, and, sensing Bella's discomfort, quickly changed the subject.
"Now Rosalie aside from plying you with champagne, I came to make sure that you'll be in attendance tonight, yes? The party already started twenty minutes ago, and we will head to the beach in about an hour to start the bonfire. So you have until 9 to get that perfect little behind of yours in gear, and then I expect to see you." Rosalie smiled flirtatiously at her and winked.
"Wouldn't miss it!"
"You'd better not, or I'll tell beautiful Bella here ALL your secrets. And I'm already on my third glass of pinot, so you know I can't be trusted…" Anne abruptly turned on her heels and headed out the door, chirping "ta-ta" like a cartoon character as she bounded down the steps.
###
"Party?" Bella looked at Rosalie quizzically, but then her eyes fell upon the bottle of champagne Rosalie was holding. "Cristal? Are you kidding me? CRISTAL?" She started jumping up and down like a little kid.
"Have you ever had it?" Rosalie smirked.
"Yeah, um, NO, are you crazy? This is like a $400 bottle of champagne!" Bella squealed as she cradled the bottle like an infant.
"Well then you better get that sucker in the fridge ASAP." Rosalie ordered, following closely behind Bella as she headed for the kitchen. Rosalie, although usually shy to show off her wealth around Bella, couldn't resist this one opportunity, remembering how much the girl had told her she loved champagne during some late night conversation in May or June. She tried to keep a straight face as Bella wrestled the heavy fridge door open.
"HOLY SHIT ROSALIE! Your cousins keep THIS MUCH fancy champagne in their FRIDGE?" Bella began to count the bottles under her breath, gasping as she read their labels. There were five bottles in addition to the one she was about to add; a '96 Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne, two Le Grande Dames (Rosalie couldn't remember what vintage she'd requested), a '98 Dom, and a '93 Cristal.
"Rosalie, you need to tell your cousins that you really shouldn't store good champagne in a cold fridge for more than a week, it compromises the integrity of the vintage." Bella looked serious and pleased at the same time as she took in the surprise on Rosalie's face. "What?" She questioned before Rosalie could speak. "I happen to like champagne..."
"Well then I have some good news, nerd." Rosalie's grin had turned into a real shit-eater. "I had the maid put these in the fridge this morning; they are for our consumption only, my fancy friend."
"Rosalie," Bella smacked her hand. "You can NOT spend this kind of money." Bella was serious.
"Relax, I got all of them as gifts," Rosalie lied, praying that the delivery service hadn't left a receipt anywhere. "Besides, can't I at least try to woo you a little bit?"
"Woo me?" Bella smirked.
"What?" Rosalie snapped, frustrated that Bella always made doing nice things for her so difficult. "You're MY guest this weekend, this house belongs to MY family, and bringing you out here was MY idea. So I'm going to court you and 'woo' you whether you like it or not, and if you don't want to drink the champagne, you can just sip tap water and watch me get hammered." She glared at Bella icily.
"Okay," Bella spoke softly as she started to rub Rosalie's abs, still exposed through her unbuttoned blouse. "Woo me by force, huh? I guess I have no choice in the matter. And don't glare at me – I'm not used to people doing nice things for me, okay?"
"Okay," Rosalie consented, and let Bella press a kiss to her swollen lips. "Because I really want to do nice things for you."
"As long as you'll let me do nice things for you too, Rose." Bella said earnestly.
Their lips met again, and they kissed tenderly for a few moments before hopping in the shower to get ready for the party.
###
Rosalie preened in front of the mirror, allowing Bella the luxury having the master bath to herself so the smaller girl could get ready in private. And also allowing Rosalie to focus on her appearance and the upcoming evening, since during the first two minutes she'd tried to share the large bathroom with Bella, she had found it almost torturously impossible not to attack the girl. It was not very easy to concentrate with Bella, all full lips and rosy cheeks and slender limbs, sitting next to her running her fingers through her long, dripping wet brown hair. Clad only in a short white towel. Rosalie had almost snapped the liner brush she'd been holding clear in two when Bella accidently dropped her towel and blushed furiously as she tried to cover herself.
Yes, Rosalie mused, the powder room is a much better option.
She put the finishing touches on her eye makeup, applied sparingly in subtle earth tones on the delicate lids that covered her shocking green orbs. She dabbed a bit of gloss on her lips (still slightly swollen and pink-red from kissing the gorgeous brunette) and sat back to admire her work. She looked fresh and natural; pores invisible, an even, golden tan; and just the slightest hint of pink emphasizing her striking cheekbones. Her makeup was expertly applied and barely noticeable to anyone but the most trained eye, but still brilliantly highlighted her already quite spectacular features. Her sun-kissed blonde hair was pulled into a messy pony tail, and its slight natural wave only enhanced her beauty. She was simply dressed, as this was a very casual party and Rosalie had no intentions of looking like she'd even bothered to try. Her tight, cropped skinny white jeans hit at the mid-point of two slender but perfectly sculpted calves. The waist rose extremely low, exposing the tops of her well-defined pelvic bones. She had on a fitted cotton roll-neck sweater in deep navy, and, if she raised her arms above her head, a thin slip of her tightly toned mid section, tanned to golden perfection, was visible.
Perfect, she thought, there's no way Bella won't like this. Unless what if she only likes me in dresses; she hardly ever sees me in sweaters, there's no cleavage, what if- she grimaced as she willed her inner monologue to stay on mute like she'd intended.
Rosalie stood up and checked every angle of her appearance for flaws. Finding none, she slid on her watch (a large gold tank francaise she'd bought herself on her 18th birthday), popped a pair of sizable two carat diamond studs in each ear, and grabbed the dark brown studded alligator cuff that her brother had gifted her last year. She ran her fingers over the two gold, square shaped studs that protruded from the cuff, and pushed her sleeves up casually.
###
If she thought she looked good; Bella looked good times one thousand. She was simply dressed as well, in low-slung and quite tight distressed skinny jeans that she'd cuffed at the ankle, and a fitted blue and white checked flannel shirt, cut almost western style. And by fitted, she meant that the shirt was skin tight and unbuttoned to almost the top of the bra. Her skin was flawless and dewy, her rosy lips irresistibly plump, and her makeup-free eyes half lidded in that maddeningly sexy way they'd get in the evenings. Her gorgeous chestnut hair cascaded down her shoulders, naturally straight as it was, but full of body.
Rosalie gulped as she pictured herself running a hand through that beautiful hair as a naked Bella rode her fingers. "Say something!" Bella's command snapped her out of her quite explicit day dream.
"You look insane, Bella." Rosalie breathed.
"I look insane? Like a crazy person? Is the shirt that bad? Wait, what do you mean?" Bella played with the hem of the shirt and bit her lip, looking extremely nervous. Rosalie would have chuckled at her mis-interpretation, but she was too in awe of how hot Bella looked in that simple outfit.
"Um, you uh, you-" Rosalie stuttered, an extremely unusual occurrence. "-You look insanely hot, that's what I mean, just, God can we just stay in?"
"No, I mean yes, I mean-" Bella was stuttering too, not that Rosalie noticed. "Rosalie, snap out of it!" She clapped her hands in front of Rosalie's face, causing the taller blonde to jump.
"Oh shit, uh, sorry," Rosalie willed herself to regain composure. She didn't want to spend another night doing calculus in her head; she knew she had to pull herself together. After drawing a large breath, she glided over to Bella and linked their arms. "To the fridge," she ordered, sounding much more like the collected, cool customer she always tried so hard to be.
Bella took her arm and let her lead them to the kitchen. "It's already 9:20, are you sure we should drink here first?" She questioned with those big brown eyes of hers.
"Oh no, we're bringing a bottle with us. I'm not letting a girl as pretty as you drink some chardonnay or rum punch swill." Rosalie grabbed one of the Le Grande Dams and tucked it under her arm, leading Bella out by the hand. Bella grasped the crocodile cuff on Rosalie's wrist, slowing her down. "In to S&M, are we?" Bella smirked as she teased. 'What the fuck is this, Rose?" She raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Oh shut up, it's Hermes for Christssake!" Rosalie yelped as Bella swatted at her, and she grabbed the smaller girl by the wrist and yanked her in the direction of the door. Rosalie turned her head to catch one last glimpse of Bella in the light before venturing down the darkened path to the ocean, where she could hear that the party was already going full swing in front of the main house. As she took in her perfect girl, she noticed how nervous Bella looked. She smiled at her affectionately and pulled her in, kissing her forehead and squeezing her hand. "You really do look so beautiful, Bella."
###
The path to the shore, although unlit, was easy to follow; the bonfire ahead acted as a welcome beacon. Rosalie could follow this path blind-folded; she'd traversed it so many times, but Bella had a slight predilection for clumsiness, and so Rosalie held her hand tightly as she guided her towards the beach.
The party was indeed already very much in full-swing, with chaises and beach chairs scattered around the perimeter of the fire. About 100 or so guests mingled and drank as they enjoyed the Gregory's traditional end-of-summer fete. A photographer approached the girls, and Rosalie slung her arm and the bottle of bubbly around Bella's shoulders protectively as she kissed her fondly on the forehead. "Who hires a professional photographer for a bonfire on the beach?" Bella whispered in Rosalie's ear as they made their way into the throng of (unbeknownst to Bella) socialites.
"Ridiculous people, that's who." Rosalie whispered back at her.
The first hour of the party was uneventful, with both girls laughing and chatting easily as they took swigs from their shared bottle. Rosalie made Bella continuously giggle as she whispered stories of botched face-lifts or illicit affairs about the people she'd introduced Bella to in her delicate ear, in between engaging in amicable conversation with random guests. Rosalie's second cousin Andrew came bounding over and caught Rosalie in a bear hug before honing in on Bella. Once she was sure Bella was comfortably rapt in conversation with her gregarious younger cousin, Rosalie wandered over to finally give audience to the myriad number of her parent's friends that had been trying to get her attention. After about twenty minutes of banal chatter, she realized that Bella and Andrew had disappeared.
###
"Oh look, it's the golden child of the Morton clan," a familiar voice boomed (Morton was her mother's surname) and Rosalie immediately recognized it as Andrew's brother, her less favorable cousin Blackey. "What up cuz?" He snarked as he threw an arm over Rosalie's shoulder, which she immediately shrugged off.
"Where did Andrew go?" Rosalie questioned coolly, preferring to get directly to the point rather than indulge her obnoxious relative in pleasantries.
"Hello to you too. He went over to see Rigg," Blackey pointed to a group sitting in a circle on some lounge chairs far from the fire in the opposite direction. "Brought that hot girlfriend of yours with him." Blackey cracked open a beer and fumbled in his pockets.
"Cigarette," Rosalie commanded him, and the younger boy immediately obliged, handing Rosalie a parliament and lighting it for her.
"I have to tell you, Rosalie, she's absolutely stunning," Blackey spoke confidently as he lit his own cigarette.
"Would you expect anything less from me?" Rosalie responded, ice in her voice.
"Way to take a compliment, Rosalie." Rosalie took a deep drag and turned to face her cousin, who she'd been standing side by side with.
"I'm happy to take a compliment from someone I consider to have value. You," She ashed on the boy's exposed foot; everyone at the party, including Rosalie and Bella, was wearing flip-flops. The boy twitched his leg. "Are not one of those 'someones'." Rosalie took another deep drag, her face emotionless.
"Jesus Rosalie, what the hell is your problem?" Blackey whined.
"Tommy Bennett told me about the other day with his brother." Blackey's face dropped instantly. Tommy Bennett was one of Rosalie's closest, and only, real friends, and his beloved, and only, half-brother Pierce had Down's syndrome. Tommy had almost come to blows with Blackey and Rosalie's other cousin Rigg when he caught them making fun of Pierce as the boy collected shopping carts in the parking lot of the A&P where he worked. Pierce was crying, and the only thing that prevented Tommy from attacking Rosalie's cousins was the presence of two lazy police officers a few yards away. "Blackey," Rosalie sneered, "if you ever do that again and I find out," she dropped her lit cigarette into his freshly opened beer, "I will knock every one of those veneers out of your goddamn mouth. You'll have nothing but gums left, which will be convenient since you already suck so much dick."
"Sorry Rosalie," the 27-year old mumbled. "I was fucked up, it won't happen again. Tell Tommy I'm sorry?"
"Tell him yourself," Rosalie spat as she walked off to find Bella.
###
Rosalie pushed her way through the crowd and approached the group of boys (and one beautiful girl) huddled together about 100 yards from the fire, on the beach directly in front of her guest house. As she sauntered over, acting as it she was in no hurry, a long wolf whistle pierced the din of the party behind them. "Well if it isn't the only cousin you can legally masturbate to. Didn't you hear? Rosalie you're so hot they decided to amend the constitution to allow familial jerking-off to your image!" The voice came from a handsome, twenty something man with a mop of blonde hair and Rosalie's same, piercing green eyes.
"Ew Rigg, don't you think constantly hitting on me is a little gross? Emmett sure does…" This silenced him. Rigg and Emmett were the same age, but Rosalie's brother had about 7 inches and 75lbs on his useless cousin.
"Rosalie, come smoke!" Rigg gestured towards the bowl in her cousin Andrew's hand. She sneered at both boys. "Come on Rosalie, just one hit? Your hot-ass friend Bella here has already had six, and she's a champ!" Rigg reached over and high-fived a very stoned looking Bella.
Six fucking hits? Rosalie mused angrily. You've got to be kidding me… Rosalie's cousin Rigg had done nothing after four years at Dartmouth but smoke weed, drink beer, play video games, smoke weed, nap, and then smoke some more weed. He even grew it himself, and his strain was the strongest Rosalie had ever had, which was saying a lot considering the activities and experiences of her younger years. One hit of Rigg's stuff would send you reeling, and her deadbeat cousin had just allowed Bella to take six? This did not bode well with Rosalie, and she made her anger known.
"You let her take six hits of that shit?" She snarled.
"Yeah Bella here's my girl, she pulled that shit HARD!" Rigg held Bella's almost completely limp arm up and waved it over her head. The beautiful brunette looked absolutely gone; Rosalie didn't blame her and she certainly wasn't angry with her, Bella didn't know what she was getting into.
But Rosalie also knew that the night was now basically over; she'd need to get Bella home as soon as possible, so the smaller girl could 'trip balls' (as Emmett would always so eloquently describe the high of Rigg's weed) from the safety of Rosalie's porch. At least she'll enjoy the fireworks, Rosalie groaned inwardly. She hadn't told Bella about the traditional, expensive fireworks display that ended the Gregory's annual party – she was hoping to surprise her. So much for that…
"Rosalie?" Bella questioned drowsily from her spot slumped over in a folding beach chair. Rosalie wasn't mad, but she ignored Bella none-the-less. But Bella, of course, wouldn't be ignored. "Rosaliesmokesome, please, otherwiseI'llfeelbad." The girl begged, her words almost incomprehensible. Rosalie rolled her eyes as she glared at her cousin Rigg, who was smiling stupidly at her and holding a freshly packed bowl in her face.
"Yeah sure I'll smoke, just not here." Rosalie snatched the full piece out of Rigg's hands.
"Rosalie, what the hell?" He protested lazily.
"Give me your weed, Rigg." Rosalie commanded.
"Fuck no!" He spat, suddenly waking up.
"Oh actually fuck yes, Rigg," Rosalie smirked viciously as she glared. "Oh I forgot to tell your brother Blackie, but you guys are going to be cleaning Pierce Bennett's room for the next two weeks. The whole house, actually. Every day, since it's not like either of you have anything better to do." She pulled Bella up and supported her under her arms, not taking her eyes of off her cousin.
"Fuck you, Rosalie, no way." Rosalie sighed dramatically.
"Rigg, don't make a scene. Give me the rest of your pot, I just saw you put a full canister in your pocket, and Emmett is almost out. I want to bring some home to him." Rosalie paused and watched her stoner cousin connect the dots. "Unless you just want me to tell Em about Pierce and that whole little incident. I'm sure he'd LOVE to talk to you about it." The blonde boy shrank and handed over a large canister packed with at least $200 worth of his prized bud. Rigg had always been afraid of her brother. And Pierce Bennett was Emmett's age; they attended the same school until Emmett went off to Andover. Pierce had always been his buddy, and Emmett had always looked out for him; consequently, the well-muscled, athletic younger Hale was fiercely protective of the disabled boy. And he loved to fight almost as much as his sister…
"Thanks." Rosalie grabbed the pot and began to drag Bella back to the cottage.
"You're a bitch, Rosalie!" Rigg yelled after her. Rosalie just raised her middle finger and casually held it behind her as she walked away.
###
She struggled to keep Bella upright as they made their way up the dunes. She could hear her cousin laughing at them, and she hoped Bella didn't notice. She had no intention of retaliating as the boy's guffaws echoed into the crisp late September night. She had her whole life to deal with her worthless relative. But Bella looked up at Rosalie miserably as she tripped to the ground once again.
"Are they laughing at me?" Rosalie could see tears glistening in her eyes, reflecting the orange glow of a full harvest moon above them. Sure she knew Bella was somewhat of an easy crier, but it didn't matter to her in that moment.
"No silly, they're not laughing at you, didn't you hear the joke my cousin Andrew just told?" Bella shook her head 'no.' Rosalie smiled down at her sincerely, but did not pick her up. "Here Bella, sit here for a second, I forgot to say goodnight to Andrew, just stay put, okay?"
"No!" Bella yelped. "Rosalie don't leave me here!" Rosalie crouched down and knelt by the gorgeous, extremely high brunette.
"Look Bella, look at the moon, can you believe it's so orange?" Rosalie spoke to her like a parent would a toddler; she'd been high off of Rigg's weed enough herself to know that her tactic would work.
"Wow," Bella gasped as she gazed up in wonderment. Rosalie stood up and dusted herself off, fueled further by the laughing 25ft away.
"Look at her, she can't even stand!" Rigg exclaimed to his group of six friends, none of whom were laughing with him. Rosalie reached the circle in three easy strides.
She darted in, faking a lunge at Rigg, and her cousin cringed and put his hands to block. The group of boys around him started to laugh hysterically at his less-than-brave reaction to Rosalie's fake attack.
"Pussy," Rosalie sneered. Some of the boys echoed her sentiments, laughing and throwing food at her frightened cousin. They were all extremely high…
"Cunt!" Rigg yelled, but Rosalie ignored him.
"Oh that's really classy, douche bag," Andrew, Rosalie's cousin and Rigg's brother taunted him. "Hey Rosalie, I'm so sorry about this, I was on the phone and I didn't realize Bella was even smoking." Andrew held out his arms as he stood up, and Rosalie embraced him.
"Don't worry about it, Drew-key," Rosalie assured him, calling Andrew by his childhood nickname.
"CUNT!" Rigg shouted louder, trying to throw a beer at Rosalie and missing terrifically.
"I'll kick his ass," Andrew offered, still embracing his favorite blonde cousin. Rosalie assured him that she didn't care, because it was true; she didn't.
"Oh hey Rosalie," Rigg began, sitting up straight from his slouched position on a plastic chaise. "That little face Bella makes when she wraps her lips around the pipe, I bet that will look even hotter when her lips are wrapped around my-"
-CRACK-
The blonde boy slumped into the chair, knocked out cold in one shot. Rosalie brought her knuckles up to her face and inspected her hand.
"Shit, did you break anything?" One of the boys in the circle asked, legitimately concerned for her hand.
"Nope," Rosalie responded with her famous, shit-eating grin. "Just checking my manicure." With that, the boys all fell to the ground in hysterics, knocking beach chairs every which way as they spasmed in laughter.
"Rosalie Hale, I fucking love you!" One of the boys shouted between guffaws. Rosalie turned on her heels and loped back to Bella.
"Hey Drew-key!" She shouted, calling out to her cousin Andrew. "Let me know if he doesn't wake up so I can call your mother and apologize!"
"He's a douche bag, Rosalie, we won't miss him!" Her cousin yelled back gleefully.
###
Rosalie found Bella in the same place she'd left her, still staring up at the bright moon in awe. Rosalie scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way up the beach and along the narrow path back to the cottage, all while Bella gazed mutely up at the sky and trailed a finger back and forth along Rosalie's jaw, her eyes filled with wonder. Rosalie walked straight through the front door and back to the deck, laying Bella down gently on the tufted cushion of Rosalie's favorite double chaise lounge and making sure to angle the lounge so that Bella's view of the sky over the ocean was perfect. She knew the fireworks were only seconds away; in fact, she was surprised they hadn't started already. She grabbed two Gatorades out of the fridge and a spare duvet from a woven basket in the bedroom, and headed back out to the deck.
"Rosalie, come lay down with me," Bella whined as soon as she heard the sliding glass door open. Rosalie obliged, laying down next to the beautiful girl and spreading the duvet over them. "You need to smoke too," Bella continued to whine.
"Bella, I smoked with you on the beach, remember?" Rosalie rubbed Bella's thigh as the girl nestled in tightly to her. Rosalie loved the feeling of her arms around Bella, even if the girl was stoned. Bella shifted so she could look up at Rosalie.
"You're lying," she accused her drowsily.
"Are you kidding Bella? I'm out of my mind right now…" Rosalie's lie was convincing enough to get Bella to cuddle back into her.
"I'm sorry I got so fucked up, Rose," Bella slurred. "I was just really nervous because I know you brought me out here so we could have sex and I'm just afraid I suck at it."
"Whoa, wait a second Bella, I didn't bring you out here to have sex with you." Rosalie shifted so that she could look Bella in her (stoned) eyes. "I could just do that at home. I brought you out here because I wanted to spend time with you."
Bella looked at her sleepily. "Goodanswer." Her slurring was even worse. Rosalie rubbed her arms as she pulled her closer. Rosalie was telling the truth; she, of course, did want to have sex with Bella, but she always wanted to have sex with her. But just laying with her; just cuddling together, watching the sky – she wanted that too. Maybe even more. Rosalie pressed a gentle kiss to Bella's hairline as the first firework went off.
She rubbed Bella's back, herself completely content, as the smaller, super-high, beautiful brunette squealed with delight with every burst of color that exploded above them.
###
They lay like that for hours, snuggled together under the fluffy white duvet as Rosalie watched first the fireworks, and then the last remnants of a late-summer meteor shower, and Bella babbled nonsense into her neck, her fingers tracing each groove and contour of every single muscle she could reach on Rosalie's body, a body that had been secretly sculpted and toned specifically for her.
Rosalie was content. And content felt good.
###
TBC