a/n: WE WON! GROUP I STATE CHAMPIONS IN NEW JERSEY!!!!! only 6 teams remain. Us (glen ridge), Millburn, Villa-Walsh, Haddonfield, Westfield, and Red Bank Catholic!!! Haha we are amazing!!!! I promised you guys 2 updates and you WILL get them. Here is the first, and the next will be up once I get it completely edited.
Edward's POV
I walked behind Emmett and Charlie, carrying one of the pies while Jasper and Alice carried the other two. Bella was tucked into my side, my free arm draped over her shoulders as we approached the 'Hale Mansion', as Bella lovingly referred to the large home where the Hales resided. We didn't even have to knock, Charlie simply opening the door with no qualms about entering another person's house without their permission.
Emmett led us to the kitchen where I could hear Rosalie speaking with another woman about her newfound free time. He snuck up on his girlfriend and I could hear Rose smack him upside the head before I rounded the corner to see her do it two more times. Bella laughed beside me, and I just smirked at Emmett who frowned at his ill received greeting.
There was another woman standing in the kitchen, smiling sweetly at Bella and I. She was clearly Rose's mother, just by looking at her one could see that. She had the same perfect blonde hair and her bone structure was nearly the same. She was just a few inches shorter, though that was likely due to her lack of high heels while Rosalie had an extreme pair strapped to her feet. Her smile wasn't quite like Rose's, but her eyes were an identical color. Her features weren't quite as fierce, but at the moment, here in her home, neither were Rosalie's.
"You must be Edward," she finally spoke, wiping her hands off with a towel before walking toward me and examining me with a scrutinizing eye. I swallowed loudly under her gaze as Bella squeezed my hand on her shoulder and Jasper set the pie I'd previously been holding on the counter.
"Yes, I'm Edward Cullen. It's nice to finally meet you, Missus Hale," I greeted nervously.
Suddenly, she smirked at me and then leaned into Bella's ear, saying something that caused my love to giggle and nod. Finally, she walked over to me and took my hand in both of hers. "Please, call me Jackie. And the pleasure is all mine. It's nice to finally meet the man who seems to have stolen little Bella's heart."
I chuckled. "No, no, no. You've gotten it all wrong. She stole mine."
The girls all 'aw'ed and Bella placed a quick kiss on the back of my hand, still interlaced with her fingers and resting on her shoulder.
"Duuuuude, why do you have to make us look bad?" Emmett whined and I laughed.
"It's not intentional," I answered. "Maybe you should try and make yourself look good for once."
He huffed and walked out of the room, Jasper placing a kiss on Alice's temple with a chuckle and then following after the sulking ogre.
Rose, Alice, and Mrs. Ha—Jackie had begun on the work in the kitchen, most of the cooking looking to be done while Bella just peacefully sniffed the aroma-rich air.
"Smells good, doesn't it?" I asked her as I leaned back against the door frame, turning to face her as she stood directly in front of me. I placed my hands on her arms, rubbing up and down them mindlessly.
"Absolutely wonderful," she replied emphatically, nodding her head vigorously. I chuckled as my hands went up to cup her cheeks, preventing her from nodding so hard that she might hurt herself.
I leaned forward and brushed my lips across hers quickly, then kissed her forehead. "Go have your fun with the women. Don't huff too many vegetables. I love you." I jump out of her reach just in time to miss her swipe at me for my huffing comment.
"I love you, too, jerk," she called after me before scuttling away adorably.
She looked great in the outfit Alice had excitedly chosen for her earlier. She wore a mustard-brown turtleneck sweater dress with quarter sleeves, which fit her perfectly, accompanied by black stockings and comfy (as she had admitted reluctantly to my sister) but stylish flat boots. Her hair was straightened with the ends flipped out and her makeup was very natural, as per usual, but with more earthy tones than simply nude. She wore a gold bracelet on her wrist that she'd told me earlier was a gift from the Hales for this past Christmas, as well as a pair of matching earrings that had accompanied the bracelet her following birthday. Alice had painted Bella's nails a scarlet red and they were longer than usual.
She shooed me from over her shoulder and I finally decided to follow Emmett's booming voice to join the men. Sitting in a very well equipped entertainment room with expensive looking living room furniture were Charlie, Emmett, Jasper, and another man who was presumably Rosalie's father.
His hair was completely gray, a stark contrast to Jackie's, and he looked more like Emmett than he did Rosalie. I could see her in his smile, however, as he laughed at some ridiculous comment Emmett voiced, his loud guffaws nothing like Rose's ladylike giggles (and occasional snorts).
"There you are, Eddie! We were startin' to think you were lost," Emmett announced enthusiastically as I walked into the room, heading directly toward the empty seat next to Jasper.
"He wasn't lost. He was busy charming our women," Jasper replied mockingly.
"Dude, I don't plan on charming your woman. That's incest," I quipped at my (in all likeliness) future brother. "Quite frankly, I don't think of my sister that way."
"So, boy, you're Edward?" Mister Hale questioned.
I nodded. "Edward Cullen, sir."
"Jonathan Hale, but just call me Joe. Oh, and none of that sir stuff, alright?"
"Of course."
He grinned at me. "So…" he leaned toward me conspiratorially. "Since you grew up with Alice, and spent a good amount of time with my nephew, Jasper, here…" he drew it out, making me wonder what his next words would be, "have you got any good, embarrassing stories to tell about them?"
My crooked grin lit up my face as I rubbed my hands together deviously. "When we were all sixteen…"
………………
"Emmett was itching for a week!" Charlie cried, laughing as tears streaked down his cheeks in merriment.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Dad," Emmett mumbled in embarrassment as Charlie recalled Bella and Rosalie's retaliation for one of his many legendary pranks. In this situation, he had let loose a few creepy, crawly critters into Bella's room one night in high school when the two decided to have a Girls' Night. Their response was to put itching powder in all of Emmett's clothes, mix it into his muscle cream (which he'd used religiously in high school), and, most importantly, his favorite sock. Take note that this sock wasn't worn on either of his feet.
I looked at his face and his cheeks were redder than I'd ever seen Bella's, making me burst out into a round of raucous laughter once again.
"That's nothing compared to what Alice did to Edward," Jasper replied, grinning over at me.
I groaned, knowing the story he was about to tell.
"Back after Alice and I first," Jasper started, but stopped for a second.
Yeah, that's right. Fucker. Stop now before you dig yourself a hole.
He turned to look at me, then grinned. "When Alice and I were first together in an intimate manner, Edward wasn't the nice brother that Emmett was." I shot him a murderous look as I tried to hide myself in the seat cushions. I was afraid to look over at Charlie, who sat on the chair right beside me. When I heard a slight snicker at my reaction coming from that way, I looked up nervously to see Charlie with his brow raised looking at me.
"Edward beat the crap out of—"
"Watch your language, Jasper Whitlock!" Jackie shouted from the hallway where she'd been passing by.
"Sorry, Aunt Jackie," he mumbled repentantly.
When she was gone, he cleared his throat and continued. "Right, well, Edward pummeled the snot out of me. It was actually kind of funny, because I had no idea he had it in him. Anyway, when Alice saw the condition of my face and Edward's knuckles—which she probably wouldn't have really noticed had Edward not hissed the second he started to play that night—she was so pissed off that she practically birthed a full grown cow. If I hadn't dragged her out of the room and taken her outside to cool down, there would have definitely been Edward's blood on those precious, sparkly white piano keys.
"She decided she needed to retaliate." I went to stand up but Charlie grabbed my wrist and pushed me back toward my seat. I was sure he was enjoying my embarrassment, especially since I had defiled his beautiful daughter.
"She played sick three days later and stayed home from school. Esme was out of town and Carlisle was working a long shift at the hospital, so no one else was there as she then spent the next seven hours taking all of his jeans and cutting holes in the crotch of them, stealing all of his boxers, and replacing them with frilly pink underwear and thongs. She then decided that this just wasn't enough, so she cut out the butt of each pair too. She did the same with his sweatpants and shorts. That night, Edward went to bed without even a clue that she'd been in his room."
I can't believe we're talking about underwear in front of the father of the woman I love.
I buried my face in my hands as I prepared for the next part.
"The next morning, when he found out, he just started screeching at the top of his lungs and cursing more than ever before. I was sitting at the kitchen table when he came down in his towel holding up a pair of jeans and the girly panties. As I howled in laughter, he glared at me, trying to get Esme to do anything about it. She was hardly capable of holding back from laughing as she kindly told Edward, in a way only that wonderful woman could do, that it served him right, that he had to wear them until after school, at which point he could go to the store and buy new clothes, and that, no, he could not stay home.
"Edward trudged upstairs and searched for an hour, trying to find anything that wasn't damaged, until finally he came back downstairs in a pair of jeans with that pink underwear shining for the whole world to see through the openings. I can't recall ever laughing so hard!"
Everyone started laughing, and I could even hear laughter from the kitchen as Alice came bolting out toward the den with a smile on her face. "Wait! That's not even all of it!"
I frowned at her and glared, warning her silently not to do this to me, but she just winked and finished the story. "When we all got to school, every student, and I do mean every student, was gathered around the front doors of the high school. Hanging down on wires from the roof were Edward's boxers and briefs, sewn together, with glittery pink, yellow, and silver cursive reading, 'Yeah, it's 'cause I'm gay. Right Ty? –EAC'. Which, of course, was perfect because he'd been accused just the week before that he was gay because he'd refused to date Lilly, Queen Bee, because he knew that Ty wanted to go out with her. That'd been his answer. It sounded so wrong!"
Alice collapsed in a fit of giggles on Jasper's lap and I heard Bella's melodious laughter coming from the hallway as I groaned again. She began making her way into the room, no longer laughing. Instead, she had a very determined, very concentrated look on her face as she tilted her head to the side as though she were listening. While the others continued with their breathless guffaws, I stood and walked to her. I kissed her forehead softly and took her hand in mine, returning the adorable smile she gave me.
"You think that's funny, love?" I asked her.
"Yep. Very much."
"Just wait. I can pull pranks with the best of them," I whispered in her ear, pulling her closer to me in a hug. She instantly tensed in my arms and I, of course, immediately knew why. "Don't worry, Bella, I won't get you back just for laughing. Relax."
She sighed into my shoulder and nodded as her body eased to a more natural feeling.
"What are you two whispering about over there?" Emmett asked.
"Nothing that should concern you, Em," Bella replied, though the words were muffled by my shoulder.
I released her and started walking back to my seat, noticing that Alice had long since left the room and the men were now watching the football game. Bella followed me to my seat, and when I sat, she plopped down into my lap. My eyes grew wide, knowing Charlie was sitting not two feet away from us, but he just turned and winked at me. Bella sighed happily, not even realizing the small exchange, as she wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled into my embrace.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the kitchen, Bells?" Emmett queried, eying the two of us.
She huffed, pouting. "They kicked me out."
"Sniffed too many veggies?" I asked her, earning a playful smack to the side of my head.
"Alice took over all of my usual jobs, and they won't let me cook." She frowned as she moved her head in the direction of the kitchen, loudly saying, "Because apparently I'm incapable of melting a stick of butter in the microwave!"
"Shut up, Bella!" Alice and Rose shouted from the kitchen.
"Hmph!"
I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the testosterone, love," I told her.
…………………
Bella's POV
"Dinner smells absolutely incredible!" I exclaimed gleefully as Edward helped me to a seat at the crowded dining room table. It was usually incredibly spacious, but today we'd added three more guests and a lot more food.
The thick aroma of the meal permeated the air, overwhelming my senses in the most pleasurable manner. I sighed happily as I took it all in.
"Only because Alice didn't attempt to help," Rose snickered.
"Hey, I take offense to that!" Alice protested.
"Come on, Al. You know darn well it's the truth that you can't boiling water without burning it," Edward goaded.
I was sure she made some sort of gesture, and because there were adults here, I assumed she'd stuck her tongue out.
"Whatever."
I could hear dishes beginning to clink against each other as people started passing them around, and before I could ask Rose, on my other side, to help me with my dish, Edward's hand brushed my upper arm and lifted my plate away from me.
"What would you like, love?" he asked me.
I hesitated for a moment, as most of the table seemingly had judging by the lack of sounds other than breathing. "I…erm…Some turkey…and stuffing…" I began telling him, and before I finished with the third thing on my list, Edward had placed the food down before me. It only took some gentle prodding with my fork as well as a bit of subtle sniffing to realize Edward had set my plate perfectly with my usual requests without me even telling him. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with carrots and corn, candied yams, and, of course, a healthy helping of gravy.
"Thank you," I leaned over and whispered into his ear. I heard him swallow whatever he'd been chewing as I pressed a kiss into his cheek, a smile on my lips.
"What for?" he asked me as Emmett's knife painfully scratched against his plate like nails on a chalkboard. Edward and I both cringed in reaction, and Emmett muttered his apology to everyone at the table.
I cleared my throat then and responded, "For plating my dinner."
He shrugged, his shoulder under my hand. "No problem, love. It's what I do."
Conversation progressed as we all began to eat, and I happily talked with Rosalie and Jackie about life these days. In truth, with Edward around, Rose had spent much less time with me. She no longer came over every day to pick out my clothes; Edward helped me out now whenever he was over if I needed any help. A very small number of those nights together – so small I could count them on only one hand – were spent doing anything other than snuggling or sleeping. On the nights we spent apart and he didn't stop by for a quick breakfast together in the morning, I would easily just pick out a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt.
Em and Rose had also stopped coming over every night. Edward and I were generally together, and while they still showed up on occasion, the four of us easily enjoying the time spent together, they generally enjoyed their newly received free time. The only time every week that we were assured would be spent together was during the hours we spent in the gym working on soccer. I'd been working very hard lately, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did beep baseball.
When we got back, Rose, Alice, and I would be having a Girls' Day/Sleepover before finals descended upon us, while Em, Jazz, and Edward would be going out to some new sports bar they'd heard about through the grape vine.
"So Charlie, where's Sue?" Joe asked rather loudly as everyone stopped and I turned my face toward my dad's seat.
I could only assume that Sue was Dad's new girlfriend.
He cleared his throat before answering, "She's with her son and their friends in La Push," Charlie answered. I heard him quickly scoop up a bite of mashed potatoes or yams or something else mushy, effectively ending that conversation.
The men then began discussing, very animatedly, about different football teams. Already, they were stating who would be fighting in the upcoming Super Bowl and then going into a very difficult-to-follow conversation about what had happened between the Giants and Patriots, and the Steelers and the Cardinals. I had listened to the games, but hadn't paid enough attention to contribute.
I could hear Edward speaking to Charlie on his other side, facing away from me. Rosalie was engaged with Jackie and Alice, the three of them conversing about Guess's upcoming line. I sat quietly as I forked a candied yam and carried to my mouth. The sweet sugary coating caused me to hum in delight.
When I swallowed, my mouth was rather dry. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite sure where my glass was. The table had already been set perfectly by Alice much earlier while I wasn't paying her much mind, and Jackie, as always, had told her to use the wine glasses. I knew the glasses were expensive, and one wrong move would easily tip them and break them…that or spill my grape soda (yum) all over the table. Not wanting to disturb anyone, I tentatively reached out for it, but my hand had hardly crossed over the table before I felt the stem of the glass on my palm.
Edward's voice and face were still pointed away from me as he spoke without breaking from his rant about some football player, but I could feel the intense heat rolling off his hand as he gave me the wine glass. When I had a hold of it, he released it and continued eating, Charlie cutting in to give his two cents on their exchange.
I just sat with my head tilted, wondering how he could have known what I needed, once again, without me even asking. It was as though he was just so attuned to me that our minds were on the same wave length.
Huh.
I sipped from my glass and set it back down carefully, suddenly too deep in thought to really care about eating. Honestly, I was a little too busy falling even deeper in love with the man sitting directly beside me.
…………………
Edward's POV
I sat once again with Bella in my lap as I wondered why she had been so quiet. Her head was on my shoulder, turned in toward my neck but her face was still inches away from being buried in it. Her glasses had slipped just a bit away from her eyes and I noticed they were closed. I ran my fingers beneath the rims of the sunglasses lightly and her eyes fluttered open immediately as she smiled up at me adoringly.
"Hello, Beautiful," I greeted her.
"Hello," she returned, kissing my palm that I then rested upon her cheek.
"A penny for your thoughts?" I asked her.
She shrugged. "Just thinking about the same thing as always."
"Mmmm, and what is that?" I inquired, nuzzling her face with mine, causing her to giggle.
"You. Always you." I smiled and pecked her lips chastely before laying my head back on the comfortable chair we sat in. Bella's legs were haphazardly hanging off the arm of the chair and her back was pressed against the other. She was leaning mostly into my chest, however, and her warmth seeped through my dress shirt.
"I should hope these thoughts of me are of good things," I replied and she nodded.
"Yes, very good things." She leaned into my neck to kiss the skin there chastely as all of us 'kids' watched a movie on the Hales' incredible TV. Pieces of April. It's a pretty funny movie. Bella wasn't really paying attention, though, and I couldn't blame her considering that she couldn't really see what was going on, nor could she easily understand just by sound. And I was more enraptured by her than I was the movie.
I ran my fingers under the rims of her glasses again, hating that we weren't alone so that I could see her eyes.
Suddenly, Bella began to shift around almost uncomfortably, and I immediately withdrew my hand, making her frown.
"Is something wrong?" I asked her, concerned.
She shook her head no, raising her hand up to her face before changing direction and running that hand up to my hair. She ran her fingers through my hair as she wore a contemplative look before determination suddenly overcame her features. With one final run of her fingers through my hair, her hand returned to her face. She slowly pushed her glasses up onto the top of her head, biting her lip enticingly.
My eyes widened as I realized what she was doing, she took a deep breath and remained with her eyes closed. I wondered if she was leaving it at that while I stared, but she then careful cracked one eye open, and the other followed just seconds later as she stared up at me. I gazed back, and while I knew I was the only one who could see in this situation, I swore she was looking past all that was on the outside and examining every speck of my soul. It was always this way when we did this. I now understood why Jasper and Alice could just sit there for hours doing nothing but staring at the other.
I laced my fingers with hers and bent down to place a kiss on her lips. It lasted longer than I expected, and when I pulled back, our lips made a loud smack. We both snickered at that as everyone suddenly turned to look at us, and Rose and Emmett gasped. Alice looked on in shock, and Jasper just smiled softly at the two of us.
"Bella…your glasses," Rose commented in a surprised tone.
Bella shrugged and snuggled into my shoulder, gripping my shirt with her free hand. She didn't close her eyes, determination still written in her features, but the fact that she was biting her lip and was slightly tense told me she wasn't as confident as she wished she could be at that moment.
I reached up to her face and carefully freed her lip from her teeth, bending down to place a soft kiss on that worried flesh before pulling back and rubbing soft circles into her hand and back.
She relaxed instantly against me and smiled thankfully. I pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead and then leaned back in my chair while Rose and Emmett just watched her with beaming smiles. Alice's shocked expression quickly mirrored Jasper's soft smile at the sight of us, and I smiled at my beautiful girlfriend with nothing but love surely shining in my eyes.
I certainly knew what I was thankful for this year.