AN: I'm sorry! ::hides in corner:: I'm still sick and feeling like dook, that's why this chapter is late...well one of the reasons anyway. Blame Lovebugkiss for the rest because she has me totally addicted to writing my odd chapters of Anywhere But Here. Speaking of which...from the way things are moving along, ABH should be getting launched by the end of next week. YAY! From the way we're trying to work things out, you can expect an update in ABH every Tuesday and Thursday, Tuesday being Lovebuggkiss's chapters of either BPOV or JPOV, and Thursday being mine of either EPOV or the very seldom APOV. Once ABH gets launched TOF will be on an alternate schedule. You can expect chapters every Wednesday and Friday, occasionally Mondays if I'm able to cram a chapter out at work over the weekend and type it up when I get home. Either way, we'll be keeping you all loaded up on updates to read. I've rambled quite enough so I'm done now. ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but hot damn do I wish I did!
Oh Evil Sun...Thou Art Thine Enemy
BPOV
"Bella! Come on! We have to go!" Rosalie yelled up the stairs as I hopped around Edward's bedroom trying to get the rest of my things together.
"I'M COMING!" I yelled back, severely frustrated at the time with how our morning had started.
The night before had been utterly perfect. We had gotten back to the island a little after six in the evening, and spent the majority of the night out on the back deck of their home. Emmett made Jasper cook everyone dinner for having desecrated his master suite on the boat, while the rest of us lounged about in the pool, drinking wine coolers and beer and just enjoying ourselves.
While Jasper was cooking, and Alice, Rosalie, and I were floating around the pool on rafts, Edward and Emmett discussed their options for their supply run. After much debate, it was decided that Edward and Emmett would be making the run together, and Jasper would be staying behind with us. Apparently no amount of our assurances that we would be fine without them could sway their decision on the matter.
Unfortunately, I still hadn't gotten to tour the entire house. The only room aside from the kitchen downstairs that I had seen was their living room, or great room whichever you preferred to call it. The thing should have had a name like echo room or something like that because it was just plain old massive and completely open. The thing that surprised me the most about the room, was there weren't very many photos around, save a few of Emmett and Edward from when they were younger. Most of the room was decorated with canvas paintings and such.
I had asked Edward why his aunt and uncle didn't have more family photos around, and he laughed when he told me that his aunt had removed all of them and surrounded her painting room with them. She liked being able to submerse herself in all of the memories depicted in the photos when she painted. He said he would have brought me up there, but he felt that area was private to his aunt and would rather have her show it to me if she wished. I respected that, simply because I wouldn't want someone invading my privacy that way without me knowing about it at the very least.
By the time we had all decided to turn in for bed, Edward and I were both fairly intoxicated...and completely unable to keep our hands off of one another. I think we actually left a few pieces of clothing on the steps leading from the second to the third level of the house, because when I got dressed the following morning, I couldn't seem to be able to find the shirt I had been wearing after we had gotten out of the pool.
Three rounds, and hours of making love later, we finally collapsed next to each other and passed out, only to be rudely awaken in the morning by Emmett pounding on the door, yelling something about having things that needed to be done. As far as I was concerned, the only thing that needed tending to when I opened my eyes, was Edward's erection that was pressing into my back. Which brings us to the reason that I had been hopping around the room, looking for my stupid shirt, and trying to put a flip flop on my foot at the very same time.
"Where is it?" I grumbled, to no one other than myself. Edward had left to finish packing a few pieces of his clothing that were still in the laundry room.
"Are you looking for something, love?" Edward said and my head snapped up from where I had been looking under his sheet stripped bed to see him standing in the doorway, smirking and holding onto my shirt.
"Yes, where was it?" I chuckled as I got up and walked over to him.
"Hanging on the banister of the stairs," he laughed as he handed it to me and pulled me into his arms.
"How come none of your clothes ended up in the stairwell?" I chuckled as I looked up at him. He bent down and kissed my lips gently before pulling back.
"Because when you threw my shirt, it ended up getting snagged on Emmett's door handle. He handed it back to me this morning," he laughed softly.
"Oh," I said dumbly as I blushed faintly.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked and I nodded as I tossed my shirt over my head and then grabbed my bag off the bed before walking hand in hand down the stairs with him.
"It's about damn time," Rosalie laughed as she held the door leading into the garage open for us.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumbled as I walked through and headed toward the back door of the crew cab.
Edward climbed in next to me as I sat next to Jasper. Rosalie and Alice were sitting up front with Emmett as he pulled out of the garage and headed toward the resort. I leaned against Edward as the guys all talked about things they needed to get done around the resort that day. Alice and Rosalie were talking to each other about heading back to the shops the following day. Neither conversation was particularly interesting to me so I closed my eyes.
When we got to the resort, Edward headed up to the front desk and grabbed all four sets of keys for villa number four, the one he and I had stayed in the night I thought I was locked out. When I asked him why he had taken all four sets of keys, he told me he wasn't taking any chances, that the fourth key would be at the house where any one of them could retrieve it should we need it, without having to worry about someone else taking it.
After tossing our overnight bags into our new villa, we all headed off to have some breakfast down at the buffet before the guys got started on their tasks. During breakfast, Alice and Rosalie suggested we relax down on the beach for the day. I told them that we should grab some towels from the villa and head over to an area just down the beach that had hammocks slung between palm trees. I had seen them the night I walked the beach to clear my head. The best part about that area, was that there was a tiki bar not more than ten feet away, which would please them immensely.
"You guys having fun over there?" I called out to the villa next door as I leaned over the railing of our new porch. We had finished moving everything over and I was killing time waiting for Rose and Ali to finish getting ready to head down the beach.
"Loads," Emmett chuckled as he and Edward struggled to remove the broken part of the door frame.
"Just don't bash any of your thumbs with those hammers," I laughed, watching Emmett turn bright red as he pulled on the hammer that was wedged under the wooden plank.
"Did I cement this damn thing in?!" he cried out when it wouldn't budge and Edward and Jasper laughed. He gave one more forceful tug, and it broke free so fast that he went stumbling backwards, crashing right through the porch railing and falling into the sand.
"EMMETT!" I yelled as I ran down the steps and between the villas. Jasper and Edward were bent over laughing hysterically.
"Oh my God! Are you okay?" I cried out as I sank down in the sand next to him as he rolled on his side, letting out a high pitched whimper.
"I'm...fine...baby girl," he said with a strained voice as he tossed his hammer off to the side. I flushed like an idiot when his empty hand went straight to his groin and had to look away as I bit my lip to fight off my chuckles. Poor Emmett caught himself right in the family jewels.
"What the hell was that noi... Oh shit! Em are you alright?" Rosalie shrieked as she came flying down the steps and sank down in the sand on his other side.
"I'm fine, baby. I just gave my future children their first ass whooping...that's all," he chuckled breathlessly as he rolled on his back and dropped his head in the sand with a groan.
"Oh man...are you sure you're alright?" Rose chuckled. He sighed and nodded as he started to sit up.
"Emmett, man...how the hell did you manage to do that?" Edward chuckled as he hopped down off the porch and held a hand out to him to help him up.
"It didn't feel like the damn thing was coming loose so I gave it a real hard tug. It would have been fine if I hadn't nailed myself in the treasure chest," he laughed as Edward pulled him up and I finally let my chuckle through.
"We don't need to babysit you guys, do we? We're not going to come back and find this place in a pile of rubble or something, right?" Rosalie chuckled and I laughed. Not only did they have to fix the doorway that Edward had broken while trying to get to me, now they had to fix the porch rail that Emmett had plowed through as well.
"Very funny, babe. I think we're done playing Dukes of Destruction for the day," Emmett chuckled as he dipped his head to kiss her cheek. I stood and wrapped my arm around Edward's waist as he surveyed the damage to the porch.
"Damn, Em...this is gonna be an all day job now," he said as he tore off one of the half broken pieces of the railing.
"Yeah...an all day job for another day, because we don't have the materials to fix it. The best we can do for now is tear that side off," Emmett replied as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"What happened to the porch?" Alice asked as she walked over to us.
"Emmett happened to it," Jasper chuckled as he bent over the railing to give her a kiss and then they spoke quietly to one another.
"You gonna head down to the hammocks now?" Edward asked and I smiled as I looked up at him and nodded.
"Yeah, I figured I'd have another go at this book that I tried reading on the flight here," I said as he started to walk me back over to our new villa.
"Okay, if you need anything you know where I'm at," he said as he bent down for a kiss.
"Just be careful," I said as I pulled away. He chuckled and nodded as he backed away and I bent down to grab my towel and book. He whistled and I started laughing as I turned around and pointed at him.
"You get back to work and stop staring at my ass," I chuckled as he pouted.
"Don't even think about it," I laughed as he looked like he was about to make some kind of potentially embarrassing remark. He grinned widely and started laughing as he shook his head and walked back next door.
"Love you!" he called out.
"Love you more!" I yelled back as I walked down the steps. He tilted his head toward me and winked as he smiled.
Alice, Rosalie and I walked down the beach to the hammocks, and after claiming our three, we made a trip up to the tiki bar. They both got themselves a cocktail, but I wasn't in the mood for one so I got a bottle of water instead. I'd had enough to drink the night before. The palm trees provided perfect shade, and as soon as I had made myself comfortable in the canvas hammock, I opened my book to where I had last left off. Alice was busying herself with a sketchpad, probably drawing out ideas for her winter fashion line since her fall one was already being produced, and Rosalie was sifting her way through a stack of automotive magazines that she had packed away in her suitcase.
At some point during my reading, my eyes started drooping and my built up fatigue caught up with me. I took a quick peek at Alice and Rosalie as I dropped my book down into the sand, and noticed that they appeared to have fallen asleep. Aside from the music coming from the tiki bar, and the distant voices of people milling about around the pool, it was peaceful. I closed my eyes and quickly dozed off, listening to the crashing waves on the shore, and the palm branches blowing in the breeze that was caressing my skin.
"Little one, wake up," Emmett's voice floated into my awareness some time later. "Damn...baby girl, get up honey. You're burnt."
"What?" I mumbled as I squinted my eyes up at him.
"You guys fell asleep on the hammocks. You're burnt to a crisp doll," he said as he crouched down next to the hammock. I lifted my head and looked down, touching my skin gingerly.
"Shit," I grumbled as my head flopped back. "Did they burn too?"
"No...they covered themselves with their towels. It looks like they threw one on you, but you must have knocked it off," he said and I grimaced as I tried to move.
"Perfect," I muttered as I stood and felt the stinging sensation of my tender skin stretching. "This is awesome. Where's Edward?"
"He's taking a quick shower. We were going to see if you all wanted to grab some lunch with us," he said and I nodded as I started taking steps toward a still slumbering Alice as he made his way over to Rosalie.
"Ali...wake up," I said as I shook her shoulder. She mumbled something and I chuckled as I shook her again. "Come on...get up. We're going to get lunch."
"I'm up, I'm up," she said as she squinted up at me.
"Bella..." she said as her eyebrows furrowed and she rolled toward me, pulling the side of my bikini bottoms down minimally. "Oh jeez, that's gonna hurt like the devil."
"Figured as much when I stood up," I said as she sat up and started to stand from the hammock.
"What happened to the towel I covered you with?" she asked as she took a closer look at my reddened skin.
"I think I kicked it off or something," I said as I tried to figure out how much of me was actually burnt. So far it looked like it was just my thighs and most of my belly. The palm branches must have still been shading my chest, face, and calves because they seemed fine.
"It shouldn't be too bad after a day or two, especially since you've gotten a lot of color over the last few days," she said as she stood. I nodded and I cringed while pulling my shorts over my thighs.
"Damn Bells...I can feel the heat radiating from you from here," Rosalie said as we sat down at the table after making our trip through the buffet.
"I know...I'll be cryin' later," I chuckled as I speared a piece of fruit from my plate. My thighs were on fire and I was cringing and squirming in my seat trying to find a comfortable position when Edward and Jasper walked up to the table.
"What's wrong?" Edward asked as he sat down next to me.
"Sunburn," I grumbled as I scrunched up my face.
"Lemme see," he said as he pushed his chair back from the table. I turned toward him and he hissed as his hand hovered over my heated skin.
"Emmett...gimme your phone," he said quickly as he held out his hand. Emmett handed it to him and he quickly flipped it open and dialed a number.
"Hi Kate, is Aunt Di around?" he said after a few moments as he tucked my hair behind my ear.
"Hey Aunt Di...no everything is fine... yeah... no she's fine... yeah we did... I know," he said as I watched and listened. Every few moments he would chew on the inside of his mouth as he listened and then either roll his eyes, smirk, or seem frustrated. Watching his eyebrows was entirely too amusing as it seemed as though they were dancing with his changes of expression.
"Aunt Di... uh huh... yeah... she's fine I swear," he said and then growled as he rolled his eyes and held the phone out to me. My eyes widened as I took it from him and put it to my ear.
"Diane?" I asked, wondering what in the world she would need to speak with me about.
"Bella honey, I heard what happened the other day. Are you really okay?" she asked worriedly and I chuckled.
"Yes Diane, I'm perfectly fine," I assured her.
"Did they move you all out of that villa?" she asked and I suppressed another chuckle.
"Yes, they did, and they took all the keys from the front desk," I replied as Edward rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering something under his breath.
"Good," she sighed. "Edward's taking good care of you, right? We don't need to whip him into shape do we?" she asked and I laughed.
"That won't be necessary. He's taking perfect care of me," I chuckled as he sat back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips mashed together in a tight line.
"How are Alice and Rosalie? Are Emmett and Jasper taking good care of them?" she asked and I bit my lip momentarily so as not to laugh again.
"They're doing great, and yes they are taking perfect care of them as well," I said as I speared another piece of fruit.
"Okay, if you all need anything, don't hesitate to ask, and you all must come visit while the boys are away," she said and I smiled as I dipped my strawberry in my little bowl of yogurt.
"We will, thank you Diane," I said gratefully.
"Anytime sweetheart. I hope to see you soon," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
"I'm sure you will, here's Edward," I said and then passed him back the phone. He shook his head as he took it and put it back up to his ear.
"Are you satisfied now?" he chuckled and I swatted at him.
"I told you she's fine. Listen, what can I use to relieve sunburn on top of that ointment?" he asked and then chewed on his lip as he listened.
"Yeah, it's pretty bad...uh huh...that actually works?...interesting...uhhh Bella," he said as he cast me a nervous sideways glance right before I heard Diane's voice emanate from the phone as he pulled it away from his ear and cringed.
"Aunt Di...I am!...I am taking good care of her!...I don't know, I was with Emmett and Jasper fixing the front door of the villa," he rambled as all eyes at our table focused on him. Most of us were stifling our amusement aside from Emmett who was grimacing and shaking his head while still looking somewhat amused.
"I feel like I'm in high school and I just got caught stealing my parents car," he grumbled as he covered up the speaker on his phone. I slapped a hand over my mouth and laughed silently as he removed his hand from the phone.
"Diane...you know I can't be there twenty four hours a day...uh huh...what do you want me to do? Hire her a body guard?...yes I was joking... I'm well aware of that and we took care of it... yeah, Jasper's staying with them...uh huh... Aunt Di I gotta go...yeah I'll tell her... okay okay... yeah we'll see you when we get back...alright...love you too," he said and then snapped the phone shut and tossed it back to Emmett who was now booming with laughter along with everyone else.
"What'd she say?" I chuckled and he huffed as he flopped back in his chair.
"She said put vinegar compresses on it during the day, take short cool baths a few times a day, and put a healthy dose of that ointment on it before you go to bed," he said as Emmett pounded his fist against the table as he laughed. Jasper was close to tears and Alice and Rosalie were leaning against them as they laughed in silent hysterics.
"Bro...what else did she say?" Emmett chortled and Edward grumbled before answering.
"She said I'm a shit for letting her get burnt again, and if Esme was here I would have already had my ass handed to me...more than once, um we should all be taking better care of them, and if we can't handle it then the girls should go stay with them for the remainder of their visit," he chuckled humorlessly and I toppled over into him as I laughed.
"Speaking of which, she told me to tell you that you are all more than welcome to come stay with them while we're gone," he said as he wrapped an arm around me and rubbed my arm.
"Oh man...we've totally been replaced," Jasper chortled and both Edward and Emmett nodded as they chuckled.
"I can't believe she lit into you like that. It's been years since I've heard her go off the wall like that," Emmett said as he laughed softly.
"You're telling me...the last time I heard anything like that was when we were all visiting Grandpa Cullen in Italy and we got drunk off Uncle Aro's secret stash of aged wine," Edward replied as he shook his head.
"I still wonder how that old geezer even knew there was any missing," Emmett said with a thoughtful expression.
"Old man had eyes in the back of his head. Carlisle always said that as a kid he could never get away with anything, Aro caught him every single time," Edward chuckled.
"How big is your family?" I asked as I shook my head. I couldn't keep track of who was actual family or friends of family that they referred to as aunts, uncles, or cousins.
"How much have you had to drink today? Cause explaining our family is...difficult," Jasper said as he leaned forward.
"I haven't had anything but water," I chuckled as I sat upright and picked my fork back up.
"The easiest way to explain our family would be to say that as far as blood relations go, my parents, Emmett's parents, and the three of us are our entire family. It's when you factor in everyone else that it gets crazy. Our aunts and uncles would be Marcus and Diane, and Carmen and Eleazar who live in Alaska. Our cousins are Kate and her brother Felix, and Carmen and Eleazar's kids, Irina and Demitri. Then there's Aro and Cauis who we refer to as uncles, or great uncles whatever. They were really close friends of Carlisle's father, and I'm gonna stop there because I'll end up confusing even myself," Jasper chuckled and I laughed.
"That's like Alice's family...I can't ever keep track of who's in the whole first, second, or third branches of their family tree," Rosalie chuckled and I nodded in agreement. I had given up trying when we were still in middle school.
"It's not that bad," she scoffed. "There's..." she started and both Rose and I cut her off for everyone else's sakes. We'd be sitting there listening to her ramble off names and relations for the rest of our trip.
"Ali don't... we'll be here 'til we're old and gray," I chuckled and she stuck her tongue out at me before laughing softly.
The rest of lunch passed by with casual conversation, and shortly afterwards the guys walked us back to the villas. I took a cool shower and Alice and Rosalie applied some vinegar compresses to my burned skin. Aside from the smell, it was actually quite soothing. They sat and talked with me for a while, until it was time for me to rinse the vinegar off my skin, and then they headed off to the pool. I'd had enough of the sun for the day, so I busied myself by checking my e-mail on Rosalie's laptop.
I had gotten a few e-mails from Angela, assuring me that the editing process on my most recent submitted work was going smoothly and sending her wishes that I was enjoying myself. I replied, telling her that I was indeed having a good time, and asked a few questions regarding the release date, as well as having a copy set aside prior to the release date for me so that I could give it to Esme. I was sure it wouldn't be a problem, since Angela had always set aside a copy for my grandmother.
After sending a quick reply to my mother's numerous e-mails inquiring where I was and why I wasn't answering either her calls or e-mails, I spent a bit of time surfing the web for some ideas on redecorating my house. In just over two weeks, we would be returning to Seattle, and the last place I wished to return to was my crap hole little apartment. My home had remained empty aside from a few furnishings for two years, and it was about damn time that I pulled myself together enough to reclaim something that had once filled me with joy and a sense of accomplishment. Alice and Rosalie had always been right when they'd said that it was never his house to start with, it hadn't even ever been our house, it had always been mine. I had made every mortgage payment, I had paid all the bills, and I had paid for all of its furnishings. There hadn't ever been any part of it that he could have even begun to lay claim upon.
"Whatcha doin' love?" Edward called from the doorway. I smiled as I looked up at him and pushed the laptop away from me.
"Looking at some new home furnishings. How's the work coming next door?" I asked as he walked toward me. He bent down and placed a chaste kiss against my lips before standing straight again.
"We're done for the day. There isn't much else we can do with the porch until we get the materials. How's the sunburn?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"It isn't too bad right now, just a little tender. The vinegar definitely helped pull some of the heat out of it," I replied as I touched the areas gingerly.
"Do you need anything before I hop in the shower?" he asked and I shook my head as I smiled at him.
He got up off the bed and gave me a quick kiss before grabbing his bag and heading into the bathroom. When I heard the water turn on, I went back to surfing the internet, and as I tried to think about which furnishings would look good in what room, one vision kept popping up in my head repeatedly, replacing whatever piece of furniture I had been thinking of...Edward. Edward in the living room, Edward in the bedroom, Edward in the kitchen, it was the same no matter what type of décor I was looking at. He replaced all of them, making each room, that I could only recall from memory at that point, brighter and warmer than I could ever remember them having been, and instantly filling me with that feeling of being home.
It made me wonder if it had ever truly been the memories, or lack thereof, of my relationship with Jacob that had pushed me out of that house and into hiding, or if it had been the emptiness that echoed through the structure after his departure. Had Alice or Rosalie ever felt that oppressing emptiness in their equally as large homes, or was it just something that I had imagined in the wake of my pain. Acknowledging my having run away also made me unbearably curious as to what had forced Edward into hiding time and time again as Jasper had once said. Was he just running from guests that were harassing him, or was he running from something that he felt as I had been doing for so long.
I pushed the laptop off to the side of the bed and padded my way over to the bathroom door. I rapped on it lightly and waited. As soon as he called back, saying that it was open, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. He was standing at the sink, with a towel hanging low on his hips as he stood in front of the mirror shaving. I walked over to the sink and pulled myself onto it, sitting myself on the edge of the counter. He grinned at me as I smiled softly and took the razor from his hand.
"Should I be running and screaming for my life right now?" he chuckled and I laughed as I rolled my eyes.
"No...I promise not to hurt you. My dad used to let me do this when I was a little girl," I said as I raised the razor and made a smooth swipe down the side of his face.
"Can I ask you something?" I hedged as I rinsed off the razor.
"Sure...anything," he replied as he stepped in between my legs and caressed my calves lightly.
"During the times that you secluded yourself from your family, was it because of something a guest did or was it something else?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure how he'd react to my knowing something so personal about him without him having told me. He reached out and took a hold of my hand, withdrawing the razor from it and placing it on the counter top before guiding my gaze up to meet his.
"Who told you about that?" he asked and I grimaced slightly.
"Jasper, right after you brought me that pina colada," I admitted. He nodded as he dropped his hand from my chin and laced our fingers together.
"Are you mad?" I asked worriedly. He didn't respond for a series of moments, but then he sighed and shook his head.
"No...I don't appreciate that he aired my business to someone he didn't know, but no, I'm not mad, and especially not at you," he replied as he gently squeezed our hands and I let out a sigh of relief.
"It was never a guest that made me pull away from my family," he said softly as he placed the razor back in my hand. I ran it under the water and lifted it back up to his face, making another smooth swipe down his skin.
"So what was it?" I asked as I rinsed the razor again.
"Different things at different times. Sometimes a memory of my parents would be triggered by something, and I'd have a hard time dealing with the sense of loss that I felt. I'd take off and head up to Chicago and visit their graves. Other times it was just a feeling of being lost in my life, not knowing what I was supposed to be doing, or who I was really supposed to be, so I'd leave for a while and do some "soul searching", but I'd always come back feeling just about the same as I had before I had gone, only able to mask it better."
"Once it was because I felt lonely, and I couldn't understand that because I was surrounded by people all the time. I left, thinking that it had something to do with how everyone around me was part of a couple, and that being away from all the people in loving relationships would help, but it didn't so I came back. And then other times, I just needed to get away and have a few days to myself without someone asking me if everything was alright, or if I was feeling okay," he responded, pausing each time I raised the razor to his face.
"What made you leave your home to live in an apartment?" he asked and my eyes widened before they narrowed at a spot just to the left of his ear.
"Lemme guess...Alice," I said as I looked back into his eyes. He nodded slightly and I made a face to him, which he mimicked so I could shave above his lip as I spoke.
"For a long while I thought I just couldn't be there because of the memories that the house constantly reminded me of, but now I'm beginning to think it was more of the empty feeling the house had when I was left alone in it that drove me away," I replied and then rinsed the razor one last time and placed it on the counter as I wet a washcloth to wipe his face off.
"I can understand that. That's how my family's house feels when there's no one but me in it. Too big and nothing capable of filling the space," he chuckled humorlessly.
"Exactly," I breathed as I dropped my hands from his face, still holding onto the washcloth.
"So can I add shaving to my list of things I'd rather have you do?" he chuckled, breaking up our slightly awkward silence. I snorted and rolled my eyes as I slapped him with the wet washcloth in the chest.
"I'll make a deal with you. You rub some of that ointment on my sunburn and we'll call it even, cause I like it better when you do that," I replied coyly.
"Deal," he said quickly and then grinned crookedly at me as he helped me off the counter.
He led me over to the bed and slipped into a pair of gym shorts before grabbing the bottle of lotion off the dresser. His hands were impossibly gentle as he spread the ointment over my tender skin. When he was done, he climbed into the bed next to me and I snuggled my side up against the front of his body as he reached behind me and grabbed the remote for the TV. We sat that way, chatting about what we were going to do once they got back from their supply run, not really paying much attention to whatever was on the TV.
Alice and Rosalie returned a short while later, and prior to hopping in the shower, they informed us that Emmett and Jasper had made plans for us all to eat dinner at the resort steakhouse. I cringed slightly at the thought of putting on normal clothing that would chafe at my skin. Thankfully, Rosalie came to the rescue just as I was trying to decide what to wear, and pulled a cute little summer dress out of my closet that was light and non-formfitting.
After dressing, I pulled half of my hair up into a clip, leaving the rest in waves down my back, and applied light makeup to my eyes. My jaw nearly hit the floor as I exited the bathroom and spotted Edward wearing a pair of perfectly faded jeans, and a crisp, silver thread lined white button down with an embroidered navy pattern spanning the left side of his chest and shoulder. The shirt was untucked and only buttoned half way up, exposing his navy undershirt, and as usual, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He made the casual outfit look like something straight off the cover of a GQ magazine.
"Wow," I breathed and then smirked a little. "If I wasn't afraid it would hurt, I'd tackle you right here."
"If I didn't know you were in pain, you wouldn't have made it those two steps out of that doorway," he chuckled as he walked toward me, still adjusting one of his sleeves.
"You're breathtaking as always," he said as he leaned down for a kiss. I blushed slightly and cupped his face gently in my hands as our lips connected.
"Hey two-tone! Unlock those lips and let's go. I'm starvin' and Em's already pacing the front porch," Rose called as she flung my bedroom door open. I ripped my lips away from his and glared at her as he chuckled lightly.
"You two really are a match made in the kitchen," I said as I rolled my eyes and slipped my feet into a pair of mules with a low wedge heel.
"Don't you mean heaven?" she chuckled and I snorted as I shook my head.
"No...I meant kitchen. By the way you're both enamored by anything relating to food, I'd swear you were both conceived in kitchens," I laughed as I linked my arm with Edward, who was covering his mouth and chuckling away.
"Close...I do believe I was conceived on the dining room table...which ironically enough was part of the kitchen in our first house," she mused with a thoughtful expression.
"Gross Rose...I don't even wanna know how you know that," I grumbled as she started laughing and we walked past her.
"Hey Em! Where were you conceived?" she hollered as we crossed the living room. He stopped pacing in front of the doorway with a confused look.
"Kitchen floor, wedding night from what I've heard. Why?" he said and I bent over laughing as Edward tipped his head back and boomed with laughter.
"Damn...we really are a match made in the kitchen," Rose snickered, only fueling our laughter as Emmett started chuckling.
Alice and Jasper came out of her room shortly after, and together we all made our way up to the steakhouse. Dinner was the typical boisterous event, filled with conversation, laughter, and jokes...mostly aimed at me and my new nickname of two-tone granted to me by my dearest friend Rosalie. We learned a bit more about their enormous family, most of them residing in Italy near their great uncles Aro and Caius.
Compared to the lengthy lists of family members from them, Alice, and Rosalie, my listing of my family members, that took all of approximately ten seconds to complete, was actually quite comical. I was surrounded by people that would need to remove socks and shoes, and borrow limbs from others at the table, to count their family members while I would only need one hand, two if I counted my long lost aunt, her husband, and their two kids. I only mentioned them in passing being that no one in my family had seen or heard from them since my maternal grandfather's funeral. Apparently there was some big to do over my mother being left close to everything in his will. It hadn't fazed my aunt in the least that my grandfather had explained that his reason for doing so was that our family could use the help, and her family was well off and didn't need it.
I found her to be rather shallow for that, especially seeing as how when my grandmother had passed away, she had left damn near all of her valuable possessions to my aunt, only sparing my mother a few insignificant baubles. That's just how it was though, my aunt was my grandmother's favorite whereas my mother was my grandfather's. Had it been he that had passed first, we would have been left with practically nothing of theirs, as it all would have gone to my aunt and her family. She didn't see it the same way however, and we haven't heard from her since her attempt to contest the will failed. I can't say it wasn't a relief to see them go though, since I had damn near always despised my cousins and their holier than thou personalities. Never having to share my "shoe box" of a bedroom, as they called it, with them again was the light in the darkened tunnel of my grandfather's passing.
After dinner, Edward and I took a stroll along the beach, sharing conversation and enjoying occasional kisses. I learned a lot about his Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle during that walk as he shared stories from his childhood that was filled with giant family reunions and vacations yearly. I laughed my ass off when he told me about all the competitions he and his cousins had participated in during the reunions, with he, Emmett, and Jasper always teaming up with each other to keep their title of reigning champions over the years.
It was easy to see how competitive the three of them were. It was even funnier when he told me stories of how the three of them would turn on each other, playing off each others weaknesses, during competitions where it was "every kid for themselves." Apparently Emmett had been quite chunky as a kid and he was rather slow, Jasper wasn't very strong, and Edward was overly predictable. According to Edward, predictability was the least severe of the weaknesses and he reigned as champion for years in certain events.
When he asked me if my family had ever done anything like that prior to my aunt's estrangement, I laughed and told him how I was always picked last, and considered the weakest link by far, whenever our family and my aunt's husband's extended family got together for such type of functions. I couldn't deny it. I caused people to fall during the three legged race, I always dropped the stupid egg and broke it during the egg relay, and I always ended up soaked, without ever landing a hit on anyone when playing a water balloon version of dodge ball. It was kind of ironic that the reigning champion of his family would end up with the reigning loser of mine. It kind of reminded me of a story I had read once where the main characters referred to themselves as a lion and a lamb, him being the fierce lion, and me being the uncoordinated lamb.
By the time we made it back to the villa, it was late and everyone else had already gone to sleep. Unfortunately, due to his need to wake up early and my tender skin, we headed to bed quietly and didn't end up naked for once. As if that wasn't unfortunate enough, I awoke the following morning to an empty bed, the only thing resting where he had once been was a folded up piece of paper with his elegant script across it bearing my name. I frowned as I picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it to read it.
My Beautiful Bella,
You looked so peaceful when I left, I didn't want to wake you. I put your phone back together and put it on the charger, and programmed Emmett's number in it for you. Call me when you wake up. I love you and I'll miss you.
Take care of my heart, I've left it with you,
Edward
AN: Alright people, you know what to do...REVIEW! Woooo! And if ya get the chance, head over to the TOF forum thread over on Twilighted. Help me pimp this shizz out people! I'll be there playin all night as I work on chaps for the upcoming Anywhere But Here story with Lovebuggkiss. Come hang with us! Love yas! ~Jersey~