A/N: This took me a bit longer than expected. The usual deterrents of work and life got in the way.
Sorry to all the readers who wait for this story! I do it too with the fanfics I'm reading.
So here it is : )
Enjoy!
B.P.O.V
I stood and watched the organized chaos around me. Music was softly playing in the background, setting the mood for the evening. The T.V was alive with pictures of Dick Clark in Times Square. The countdown at the bottom read ten seconds. Esme and Carlisle were slow dancing by the T.V, nearly making me cry with how cute they were. Alice and Jasper were huddled on the couch, waiting for the timer to reach zero. Emmett was in the other room talking to Rosalie, who was on the other side of the country. Edward had his arms wrapped around my entire body as I stood watching. We had food and pop and champagne and balloons and streamers and other party favours littered across the entire living room. Esme, Alice and I sort of went nuts earlier with the decorations. It looked like the inside of a party store had blown up and landed in the Cullens living room. As I peeled my eyes away from the T.V, the countdown coming to five, I saw the Cullen crest glinting from Edward's wrist, making me smile. I turned in his arms and looked up to him. He had the most content look on his face; like nothing in the world could possibly be bothering him at this moment.
He kept his arms tight around me as he bent down to kiss me. I heard Alice chanting the rest of the countdown, like she always did, as Edward's tongue entered my mouth. It was cold and soft and tasted faintly of champagne. He had been hesitant to drink the champagne, even when I told him I was okay with it; I trusted him. I pressed harder against his mouth, feeling that this kiss was supposed to be special because we were passing into a new year. I felt his hot body vibrate against mine as he suppressed a groan, pushing his tongue further into my mouth. I moved my hands around to the back of his neck and fisted them into his hair, pulling his face closer. When people on the television started to talk we both pulled away at the same time. Edward gently rested his forehead against mine and sighed. I saw him smirk slightly before he softly kissed the middle of my forehead.
"Happy New Year," he said to me. I smiled and kissed his chin, the only place I could reach when I was flat on my feet.
"Happy New Year to you too," I replied. Edward let me go and went over to Esme and Carlisle and wished them a Happy New Year, kissing them and hugging them. Alice bounded over to me from the couch and wrapped her tiny, strong arms around me, saying the same. She pulled away and smiled big at me. She was going to do what we had planned because we knew it would make Jasper and Edward go nuts. Alice reached on her tip toes and planted a kiss right on my lips. She held it there for a good five seconds before pulling away. She giggled quietly before skipping over to an open mouthed, panting Jasper. I laughed before turning around to find Edward staring at me. His eyes were hooded and his lips were parted ever so slightly. They looked wet and red and soft. His hair was erratically splayed across his head, making him look irresistible, like always. Before his eyes could fully entrance me though, Esme appeared from behind Edward and hugged me.
"Happy New Year Bella," she said happily. I smiled at Edward over her shoulder.
"You too Esme," I replied.
"Happy New Year Bella," Carlisle said from behind her.
"Yeah, Happy New Year Carlisle," I said. They moved on to go speak to Alice and Jasper and Edward was immediately dragging me away, out of the living room. He was muttering and shaking his head like crazy. He stopped and pushed me up against the wall, trapping me with his hands. His blazing eyes stared me down so intensely that I felt that I was naked. He had stripped me of everything and his eyes were making me bare my soul to him.
"You make my life extremely painful sometimes Bella," Edward said to me in a throaty, sexy voice. It nearly made me melt. He took a hand off the wall and dragged it down the side of my body, resting at my hip. He slipped his fingers underneath my shirt and grazed them along my skin, heating the places where he touched.
"Wh-why's that?" I asked in a shaky voice. His hand moved to behind my back and he slid it up more, massaging my spine as he went. He slid his fingers up to my bra, and with one swift motion he undid it. My breathing turned ragged as he moved his hand under the cup of my bra and gently massaged my breast with his palm.
"God I'm making this so much worse for myself," he said, dropping his head to my neck. He kissed it ravenously. He nipped at my skin, giving me goose bumps, as he trailed back up to my ear. "Do you realize how embarrassing it is to have a hard-on in front of your parents?" He asked me in a whisper. I would have laughed, but I was too turned on to emit anything close to a laugh. I just breathed in harder, snaking my arms around his neck.
"Why would you have one of those?" I joked, kissing the side of his neck. We were both making this worse for ourselves. But we couldn't help it.
"Ah," he said with a deep, seductive laugh. "That's how you make my life painful. I swear to god Bella...if you kiss Alice one more time I'm dragging you to my room," he growled. I felt even more wetness gather between my legs as he said those words. He massaged my breast more firmly, his breathing becoming more forced as well. I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers brushed across my hard nipples. He was severely testing my will power right now, making me weak in the knees. Could he handle it if I tested him back?
"Alice?" I asked with a moan. Edward's lips stopped on my throat. "Mmm. Her lips are so soft, and her tongue in my mo –" It was too much for him. My plan worked. He groaned and attacked my lips, making my knees even weaker. I turned to putty in his arms as he brushed his tongue along mine. He forcibly pressed his palm against my breast again, bringing the other one to the back of my head.
"Edward?" I heard someone call. Damn. Like always, we were interrupted. He pulled away.
"What?" He grumbled loudly against my lips, kissing me again as soon as he was done talking. I whimpered as his tongue re-entered my mouth. He dropped his hand from my breast and rubbed it along the back of my thigh.
"Dude where are you?" It was Emmett. Edward almost growled.
"I'm getting something from the kitchen," he replied, dragging his fingers to the front of my jeans. His eyes bored into mine as he stood in front of me, panting and sliding his fingers between my legs. I had jeans on, but the heat was emanating from me so obviously at Edward's every touch. He pressed his palm firmly against my crotch, sending a wave of pleasure through my body. I gripped his hair firmly and breathed raggedly again.
"Stop," I moaned. Yeah, like that was believable.
"What?" I heard Emmett call again.
Edward's palm pressed harder for a fraction of a second before ceasing all activity whatsoever. It made me angry, but was probably for the best. I didn't really think Esme would like it if I ripped Edward's clothes off in the middle of her hallway.
"Oh..." I heard Emmett say. Edward and I both snapped our heads to the right. His right hand was rested against the wall behind my head and his left was rested on the front of my thigh. He was leaning down, right in front of my face. My whole body was pressed into his. Fantastic. This didn't look sexual at all. "I didn't know 'the kitchen' was our new code word for Bella," Emmett said with a smile. Edward emitted another growl and stood up, taking his warm body with him.
E.P.O.V
I stood with Bella's body emanating sex next to me. Emmett had an amused look on his face as he took in our situation. Why did people always insist on trying to find me when I was with Bella? Couldn't they just leave me the fuck alone? The absolutely raging hard-on in my jeans was slowly fading as I took in the sight of my beast of a brother. Knowing he had just had phone sex with Rose for the past hour was sure to kill the erection.
"So what's up?" I asked with annoyance.
"Resolution time..." Emmett said with an eye roll. I smacked myself in the forehead. I was such an idiot to forget. Every year Esme and Carlisle did this thing where everyone writes down their resolution in this book. They make us think long and hard about them, and get on our asses about keeping them. My resolutions had always been easy things such as getting grades up or something stupid like that.
"What?" Bella said, unhitching herself from the wall. I looked over to her to see her crossing her arms under her tits. I smirked...but stared at her chest like a rabid dog stares at meat. She had her bra undone right now. I felt myself getting hard again at the thought of her topless. Oh god. Maybe my resolution should be to stop being a horny pervert. Nah. I enjoyed it way too much to stop ogling my girlfriend on a more than regular basis. Also, I think it would give Esme a heart attack if I wrote that in the book. Bella cleared her throat blatantly and widened her eyes at me. I drew mine away from her chest and gave her an 'I can't help it' type of look.
"This thing mom and dad do. We have to write our resolutions down in a book." She furrowed her eyebrows in thought and nodded her head. I leant down to her. "Go to the bathroom and fix yourself before I go insane, please," I whispered. She was blushing fiercely when I moved away from her. She just ducked her head and scampered off to the bathroom; I couldn't help but laugh.
"Dude...honestly. Save groping Bella for when you're not in the middle of the hall," Emmett said to me. I grinned and shoved the hair out of my face, walking towards him.
"Sorry. My hands sort of have a mind of their own right now," I admitted shyly. I didn't like talking about my lust for Bella with Emmett; but right now I was horny and frustrated and needing to talk about it.
"I know how you feel man," Emmett said, clapping his hand on my shoulder. "When I see Rose...fucking stay away. I haven't seen her in almost three weeks. Fuck phone sex man, it sucks. You think you're uptight? By the time we're ready to go back I'll be completely high strung." I laughed at him, but felt bad. It was true. He definitely had it worse. His girlfriend was on the other side of the country and all he had was several issues of Playboy, his hand, and a phone. At least I had Bella with me. But sometimes that just made it worse because she was here, but I couldn't be with her like I wanted to.
"Yeah I know man. But I'm with Bella and can't...you know," I said suggestively.
"You can't fuck her, yeah I know."
"Em," I said, giving him a glare.
"Okay sorry," he said, rolling his eyes. "Make love to her...whatever." I laughed again as we rounded the corner into the living room. Esme and Carlisle were sitting on the couch with Alice, Jasper, and the crazy resolution book. It's always the next New Year's that we see if we actually accomplished the resolution. I had accomplished mine – but mine was kind of easy. I had made a resolution to organize all of my music albums into alphabetical order and by year. I had done it one day during the summer when I was really bored. It was a fluke resolution, and I wanted this year's to be meaningful; something I wanted to do. I think on some level it had to do with the way Bella made me feel, the way she changed me.
"Where's Bella?" Esme said as she looked up to me and Emmett.
"Bathroom," I replied. I sat down on the loveseat and waited for her to return. Emmett took up a spot on the floor.
"So what are we doing?" Alice asked merrily. She was nearly bouncing on the couch next to Jasper. She was so full of energy. I think maybe she had one too many glasses of champagne.
"Well I want everyone to think of a resolution, and we're going to write it down here. And next New Years we look at it again to see if you kept it," Esme told her.
"And we trust each of you to make sure the others are being truthful about their resolutions," Carlisle added. Bella entered then and came over to sit with me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me, not letting her move an inch.
"Okay so..." Esme said, turning to a page in the book. "Carlisle your resolution last year was to take your full vacation time away from the hospital." Esme smiled at him. Carlisle's work was his life, he loved it. He hated taking time off, and never used his vacation time. Esme had nagged him to because he was entitled to it, and because he deserved time off. She said he over-worked himself. If I was not mistaken, I was pretty sure that Carlisle had accomplished his resolution.
"I'm sure the two week vacation to Italy this past summer had accomplished that," Carlisle said with a grin. That hadn't been the only family trip we had taken, but it had for sure been the longest. Carlisle always hated being away from work. It usually pained him to not be able to help people on a regular basis – which is why he was so good at his job. He loved helping people.
"Mine," Esme continued. "Was...to buy fewer shoes," she said sadly. All of us erupted with laughter. Esme was a woman of fashion, and loved her shoes. She had made a resolution to buy less of them because we were rapidly running out of space to store them all. "Well mission accomplished," Esme remarked sadly. Carlisle patted her on the back and said something that made her look like she had just won the lottery.
"Well that's not your resolution this year," he said to her sweetly. Esme laughed her dainty laugh and put her hand on her chest.
"How I missed all of my shoes!" I felt Bella's body shaking with laughter next to me. My mother was so ridiculous.
"Amen to that," Alice replied from beside Esme. She exchanged a quick glance with Alice before reading out the other resolutions. Mine of course was done, and Emmett's fluke resolution of actually cleaning his room a few times during the year had been done as well. He was a cheater though – he just shoved everything under his bed or in his closet. He was twenty for god's sake; you would think he could be a bit neater. I shouldn't judge him though...I was almost as bad.
"Alright, new resolutions!" Esme said with enthusiasm. It was now twelve-thirty and I could feel Bella relaxing into every inch of me. She and Alice and Jasper were staying the night because Esme refused to let them drive home at this hour. I wasn't about to protest even though I clearly wasn't going to be sleeping with her. At least when I woke up she would be here.
"Tired?" I whispered in her ear. She nodded and nuzzled her head deeper into my side. I gently stroked the back of her head with affection, waiting to see what everyone's resolution for this year was going to be. I had to think about mine still. I wanted it to be good. Esme had made her resolution to expand her clientele; she wanted people to know who she was outside of Port Angeles. I thought it was a challenging resolution, and a good one. Carlisle had made his to build a new closet for Esme's shoes. This one made us all laugh, but would also be challenging. Carlisle didn't know the first thing about handiwork, and had vowed in his resolution not to get professional aide. God help us all. Next it was Emmett's turn.
"I..." Emmett began nervously. He was watching our mom and dad intently for some reason. "My resolution this year is...to move out." Esme gasped at Emmett.
"What?" Esme asked with tear-filled eyes. "You want to move out?" She asked with hurt in her voice. Emmett got up off the floor and went to kneel before our mother.
"Mom look, I'm twenty years old. I need to move out...be on my own. I want to...live with Rosalie." I felt Bella smile against my chest, most likely happy for Emmett and Rose. Little did she know that I was planning the same thing? I hadn't told her about it yet, and I wasn't going to. I wanted it to be a surprise. Of course I would talk to Jasper and Alice about it first, not that they wouldn't want to. Esme started to cry, not wanting her son to leave home.
"Where are you going to live? New York? Here?" She asked through the tears. Carlisle wrapped his arm around Esme and cradled her.
"Honey, shh," he said to her. Carlisle knew that it was part of growing up. Emmett needed it. He wanted to be on his own, doing his own thing. I wanted it too, but wouldn't dare tell Esme until I was sixty if she was going to cry like that. "He was bound to move out someday." Carlisle grinned at Emmett. Esme nodded and lifted her head away.
"Dad's right ma. We might just live in New Hampshire. Somewhere close to the school. I'll still come home during the holidays of course. I just won't be here...unless, you know...it's a holiday." I watched as our mother's heart slowly broke at the thought of Emmett not being here all the time anymore. Esme sighed finally and wiped her face of her tears. Bella was wiping her face too. I peeked down at her and saw her face streaming with tears as well.
"Sweetheart why are you crying?" I asked with concern.
"I hate seeing your mom cry," Bella said like she had a frog in her throat. I softly chuckled and kissed the top of her head. I noticed as I looked over to Alice that she was crying a little bit too. Women.
"Okay," Esme finally said. "Emmett's resolution is to break his poor mother's heart." She wrote something in the book and looked to me. "Edward...please don't break my heart too." I smiled a bit at her.
"I'm the good son mom. I would never do any such thing." Esme smiled widely at me. Emmett rolled his eyes and sat back on the floor. "But my resolution..." I started. "Is to start playing piano again." Esme kept her brilliant smile and Bella sat up off of me, giving me a look of wonderment. I had never played for her before. I had been thinking lately of playing again because I missed it. I had been listening to Jazz play so much guitar this year that I wanted to be able to play something myself.
"That's a good one Edward," Esme said, jotting it down in the book. "You haven't played in so long! How about you play for us after this?" I nodded, and took Bella in my arms again. It was her turn next.
"And you?" I asked Bella. She sat up and grinned.
"My resolution...is to be more accepting of presents," she said, her tone suggesting that her resolution wasn't something she wanted to do. I loved her resolution. So I could buy her something anytime and she couldn't get mad at me.
"Perfect," I said with an eager voice. She grumbled a little.
"I'm going to regret this aren't I?" She asked. I nodded my head happily. Esme wrote the resolution down in the book and turned to Alice. She breathed in deep and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to try," Alice started; opening her eyes to make sure everyone knew she was trying. "To be less of a neat freak." Bella actually full out laughed at Alice.
"Honestly?" Bella said with a raised brow. Even the insane amount of decorations that plastered the living room were arranged in an orderly fashion. If one balloon was out of place Alice would have had a fit. Alice nodded at Bella and she scoffed next to me. She stood up and looked around the living room. She reached up and ripped some streamers down, looking back to Alice. Alice's face was like stone and her lips were pursed. Bella continued on her rampage and moved some balloons around. She rearranged the party hats and cups on the table to make them look out of order. When she was done she came back and sat next to me, a content look on her face.
"Are you sure you can handle it?" Bella asked Alice. Alice brushed the hair out of her face and plastered her best fake smile on.
"Positive," she replied. "Esme you can write it down," Alice said confidently. She stuck her tongue out at Bella and frantically looked around the room; most likely trying to figure out how to clean it up without seeming like a neat freak again.
"Jasper, last but not least," Esme said. She still had a hint of sadness in her tone at Emmett's resolution. I had a feeling that the rest of the break would be spent with Esme trying to convince him not to move out.
"My resolution is to be neater," Jasper said with a laugh. Yeah right...with Alice being less neat how the hell was that going to work? The only reason our room was spotless now was because Alice spent a lot of time in there. Jasper got up and quickly fixed everything that Bella had messed up, making Alice smile from ear to ear. Alice stuck her tongue out at Bella again. Jazz sat back down and smiled like a smug bastard. Bella crossed her arms, pretending to be mad.
"Alright, great," Esme said, closing the book. She yawned and covered her mouth, looking more than tired next to Carlisle. "Edward would you mind playing for us quick before we go off to bed?"
"Sure," I said with a grin. I stood up off the couch and took Bella's hand. I towed her out of the room and into a different room towards the back of the house. It was just down the hall from the kitchen. I heard everyone following us as I opened the door and flicked on the lights to the music room. I ushered Bella in the door and walked her over to the piano bench. When I released her hand I sat down and patted the space next to me. I turned and watched everyone else take spots on the couches and chairs that were arranged in the room. I lifted the cover from the piano's keys and watched Bella's amazed eyes. I wasn't even playing yet and she looked like she was witnessing something wonderful.
B.P.O.V
"So what are you going to play for us?" Esme asked Edward. He straightened his form next to me, placing his fingers over the keys. He tapped a few of them, sending a beautiful tinkling sound into the room.
"Uh...I don't really have a name for it. I just...lately I've been thinking about playing and composing. I kind of just made it up. I don't know how it's going to sound....here goes," he said, glancing sideways to me. I just sat completely speechless next to him. He had never played for me before and I was eager to see what he had been 'composing'. I didn't know he'd been thinking about playing again either. My thoughts however were stunned to silence along with my voice when Edward began to play. The melody started slowly, flowing together in a perfect harmony. His brows furrowed in concentration as his beautiful, slender fingers danced across the chiselled ivory. His concentration on playing was making me fall in love with him even more, or maybe it was the song. The tune he was playing was deep and melodic, it sounded like something from the heart. Towards the middle of the song, when he hit the climax, it became soulful and passionate. I felt my lungs aching for air as I watched him play like a professional. After two minutes of pure bliss from Edward's playing, he finished. It didn't sound complete...but it was amazing.
"Wow," I breathed quietly. I literally had no other words.
"Edward..." Esme said breathlessly. I looked up to find Esme sitting on a couch clutching Carlisle's hand. Her other hand was over her chest, tears staining her face. "That was beautiful," she said to him a minute later. Edward turned his head to meet my gaze.
"So beautiful," he whispered so low only I could hear as he stroked his fingers across my cheek. "Thanks mom," he then said to Esme. "It's not done yet." My breathing was now hard and laboured as everyone complimented Edward on his playing. I was still speechless. I sat beside Edward in a deep trance, staring at the black and white keys of the piano, imagining his fingers gently caressing them again.
"Hey," Edward said to me, lifting my chin to meet his gaze. His eyes were full of emotion as he studied my face. I looked behind him and realized that we were alone.
"Wh –" I said, coughing. My voice was raspy from not talking. I still had no words to describe the way he played. "Where'd everyone go?"
"To bed," he replied quietly. I cleared my throat so as to not sound like a frog.
"Edward...I don't even know what to say. It was...incredible." That word wasn't even close to describing it, but it would do. He brought his hand to my face and absently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Why thank you, oh muse," he said tenderly. My eyes widened at him. That song was for me? He saw my expression and smiled. "You were my inspiration."
"Me?" I asked stupidly, blushing a deep shade of red.
"Of course you were. It was sort of like I was trying to put the way you make me feel into a song. You have no idea how hard it is," he said with a gentle laugh. I took his hand in mine and softly planted a kiss on each finger.
"I loved it," I said to him.
"It's not done," he replied sadly.
"Still...it was lovely," I said with a smile. He smiled back at my choice of words. He eventually closed the cover for the piano keys and stood up, extending his hand to me. I took it graciously and allowed him to lead me out of the room. We walked back into the decorated living room and sat on the couch, more than exhausted. It was way past our bed time. I never went to bed this late. I yawned and threw myself onto Edward's lap, hugging his waist.
"I think its sleep time," I said tiredly. He laughed and cleared my face of my erratically splayed hair.
"I think it is too," he replied, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek.
"I still can't believe you can play like that. You're amazing," I said to him, looking up to his face from his lap. His lips curled up into a small smile as he played absently with my hair. "Will you play for me again tomorrow?"
"I'll play for you whenever you wish my muse," he said to me, flashing me a heartbreaking smile. "Just maybe something that's complete this time. I need to work on that other one." His brows furrowed as he thought about his latest composition. It sounded heavenly to me despite what he thought of it himself.
"But I like the one you played me," I said with a lip pout. His forehead smoothed as he smiled at me.
"As you wish," he replied, leaning down to kiss my forehead. I smiled back, laughing as I sat up. "Let's get you to bed my beautiful Buttercup," he said with a wink. I couldn't help but laugh at his reference as he turned off the lights to the family room and quietly guided me up the stairs. Alice and I were just sharing one guest bedroom while Jasper took another. She was most likely already asleep because she had had a few glasses of champagne during the celebration. I stopped in front of the door to our room and was instantly reminded of Dartmouth. We always said goodnight in the hall in front of our rooms, it was something of a ritual for us. I stood up on my tip toes and snaked my arms around his neck, gently pressing my lips to his. I didn't kiss him for long because I was more than tired and could sense that he was tired too. I pulled away and wrapped my arms around his waist, squeezing him as tight as I could. It most likely wasn't much because I was as strong as a wet noodle.
"Goodnight Stable Boy," I said to him, kissing his chin. He chuckled lightly and kissed the top of my head in return.
"Goodnight Princess," he whispered. I let him go and looked back to him one last time before disappearing into the room. Once inside I could hear the deep breaths in and out of Alice, telling me she was in fact asleep. I crept over to the bag I had brought, careful not to trip over anything in the dark. I picked it up off the floor and snuck back out of the room to the bathroom down the hall. After changing and brushing my teeth and washing my face I was nearly falling asleep on the bathroom counter. I quietly made my way back to the guest bedroom and dropped my bag to the floor. I was much too lazy to walk all the way around the large king-sized bed, so I crawled over Alice's tiny body and sunk down on the empty mattress next to her. I curled the cold comforter around my body, letting it heat up to make me more than comfortable. I let myself drift off into a blissful unconsciousness, letting the New Year become my clean slate. It would just get better from here.
E.P.O.V
"Dude...Edward, wake up man," Jasper's voice was saying to me. I grumbled something incoherently to him before cracking my eyes open ever so slightly. It was still dark in my room, with only a small amount of light coming from the window.
"What the hell time is it?" I asked him with annoyance in my voice. He had to know by now that I wasn't a morning person. He gave me a funny look and darted his eyes to my bedside table – where my clock was. I rolled over onto my side and looked at the damned clock that I wanted to throw against the wall. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet. "Honestly Jazz? Why so early all the time? Sleep in for once." I rolled back over and turned away from him, but the damn Southerner was persistent.
"I had an idea..." He said thoughtfully. His ideas were always good so I decided to humour him. I rolled back over and pushed the unruly hair out of my face.
"Let's hear it then."
"Let's make the girls breakfast," he said with a grin. I cracked a smile too, liking Jazz's train of thought even if we were up before the roosters. Breakfast in bed for Bella to start the New Year sounded like a plan to me.
"You my friend are a genius. Meet you downstairs in ten?" I told him, sitting up. He nodded as I threw the covers off myself and went into my bathroom. I performed my morning ritual of showering and brushing my teeth. I was done within the ten minutes and went downstairs to find Jasper gathering food and utensils and pots and pans. This was either going to be a nightmare or a complete success. I was rooting for a success. I was an alright cook, but I wasn't too sure about my friend here.
"So what are we making?" I asked him humorously. For some reason the idea of Jasper and I cooking breakfast was all too funny. Jasper came back to the island with some strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.
"Well I was thinking maybe some pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast," he said with a shrug.
"Then what's with the strawberries and whipped cream? Do I really want to be there when you wake Alice up?" I asked with a chuckle. He rolled his eyes but laughed too. We were both suffering from the same thing – we were being taunted and teased to death.
"I wish," he muttered after a minute. "But the fruit and whipped cream is for the pancakes." He sounded sad that he couldn't use the whipped cream to decorate Alice rather than the pancakes. I shook my head and went to get the pancake mix. It was one of those add water type of recipes which made my job so much easier. I poured the required amount into a mixing bowl, added the correct amount of water, and started whipping. I was done and ready to flip pancakes in five minutes. Jasper had the bread ready to go in the toaster and was now scrambling some eggs. I turned on the burner because I was sure that the pancakes would take the longest. I grabbed a large pan from the island that Jasper had managed to find and set it down, waiting for it to heat up. As I began flipping pancakes, Jasper began cooking the eggs. He was also monitoring the bacon, which was on the back burner. We worked together as a perfectly ridiculous team, cooking our girlfriends' breakfast. I laughed constantly watching Jasper arrange the eggs and bacon neatly on each plate. He said he was trying out his new 'neat freak' resolution. I wondered how long that would last. Once the eggs were orchestrated across the top of each plate and the two pieces of bacon arranged at the sides, all that was left was the toast and the pancakes.
Jasper buttered each piece of toast and cut it precisely before arranging it across from the bacon. When I was done with the two pancakes for each of the girls I set them down neatly in the middle of each plate. It was scary how identical both plates looked – maybe Jazz's resolution wouldn't be so hard for him after all. I dropped the pan in the sink and grabbed the fruit and whipped cream off the island.
"Does Alice like blueberries or strawberries?" I asked him. I knew Bella loved strawberries...and whipped cream too for that matter.
"Blueberries," he said, taking them from my hand. Most times I found that Alice and Bella were either scarily alike or complete opposites. "And Bella?"
"Strawberries," I told him, opening the package. I opened the can of whipped cream and made a small mountain right in the centre of each pancake. "We should do this professionally, look how good that is," I said jokingly. I had to admit though; the whipped cream mountain was flawless. Jasper agreed and went to wash the blueberries. I did the same and followed him over to the sink. I washed and cut the strawberries into fours, putting four small slices on each pancake. Jasper arranged four blueberries around each of his whipped cream mountains, much like I did. When we were satisfied with our creations we stood there like morons admiring the food. It was most likely getting cold too.
"Alright, ready?" I asked. Jasper nodded. "I hope they don't kill us for waking them up so early." I hadn't thought about that. But I'm sure Bella would appreciate the breakfast. "Wait..." I said, remembering Alice was an early riser too. "Why isn't Alice awake?" Jasper shrugged.
"When she drinks she tends to sleep in longer," he said, picking up his plate. It made sense I guess. I grabbed a fork and the apple juice that Jasper had poured and made my way up the stairs balancing everything in my hands. When we were upstairs I quietly opened the door to the guest bedroom to find Alice and Bella wrapped in the sheets, their heads nearly touching. They made me laugh. I crept into the room and heard Bella say my name as I made my way to her side of the bed.
"Edward..." She said sleepily.
"Hey, morning," I said to her, carefully setting the plate and drink down on the table.
"Edward..." She mumbled again.
"Yeah," I said, finally turning to her. Jasper was suppressing a laugh and I tried to as well when I realized Bella was still asleep. She was saying my name in her sleep, making my heart do all sorts of acrobatic tricks.
"She does that a lot?" Jasper whispered to me with a laugh. I nodded.
"Apparently," I said, crawling onto the bed. I snuck over to Bella and cleared the hair from her face. I brushed my fingers across her cheek and waited for a response. "Bella," I said to her, dragging my fingers to her neck. "Hey, wake up," I said. Jasper laughed as Bella began to stir and proceeded in waking up Alice. He sat on the bed and pulled her right into his lap, rocking her slowly back and forth. He was whispering to her, telling her to get up.
"Edward?" Bella asked, now confused. I knew her change in tone meant she was awake.
"Well hello there," I said with a smile. "Nice of you to finally join us in the land of the living." Her tired, barely opened eyes glared at me. I laughed at her in response.
"I'm joking...it's early. Please don't kill me." She stretched her little arms and sat up, letting the blanket fall to her hips. She was wearing her white tank top, with no bra. Was she trying to kill me?
"Just so you know, my face is five inches north of there," she grumbled, yawning afterwards. I chuckled and gave her a hug.
"Morning grumpy," I said, kissing the top of her head.
"Morning," she said back. "Is there a reason you woke me up at the crack of dawn?" I glanced over to Jasper, who had just gotten Alice awake. Her eyes were still closed but she was mumbling something incoherently to him.
"Actually, there is," I said to her. "You better be hungry," I told her. Her brows furrowed and she sat up a little more. She strained her neck to look behind me and saw the food that was on the table.
"Edward...you made me breakfast in bed?" She asked with a smile. She grabbed my hand and kissed the top of it. "Of course I'm hungry." I inched back over to the dresser and grabbed her plate and fork for her.
"There's apple juice if you're thirsty," I told her. She smiled and bit into a piece of toast.
"Food?" Alice gasped. I looked over to see Jasper nodding at her. Alice squealed like a little girl, bouncing in Jasper's lap. God she was funny. "I'm starved. And you...are amazing." Alice planted a kiss right on Jasper's lips and hugged him around the waist. He picked up her plate and Alice began eating ravenously, like she hadn't eaten in days.
"Hungry?" Jasper asked. Alice nodded as she took a large forkful of eggs. I laughed again as I turned my attention back to Bella. Only these three people could make me laugh at this early in the morning.
"It's so good Edward," Bella said after she swallowed a bite of pancake.
"Jasper and I are thinking about becoming professional chefs," I said with a wink. Bella laughed and almost spit out her strawberry when I said that.
"I...think, that's a good...idea," she said through bites of her food. She swallowed a third bite of pancake and looked at me curiously. "Have you eaten yet? Are you hungry?" After preparing the food and watching her eat I felt as hungry as a kid at fat camp. But this was her breakfast, my treat to her.
"I'm going to eat after," I told her with a gentle smile. She frowned a little and set her fork down.
"Please eat some. I feel so bad. This is all so amazing," she bit her lip afterwards and gave me her puppy dog eyes. Damn her.
"Bella," I scolded. "Please eat your breakfast. Are you thirsty?" I picked her glass up and gave it to her. She gave up on trying to get me to eat and drank down half the glass.
"I'm full," she said after she drank her apple juice. My brows arched at her, knowing she was lying just to get me to eat.
"Seriously, I'm eating after. Don't make me force feed you Bella." I tried to keep a straight face but it proved impossible around her. I cracked a small smile as she grudgingly picked the fork back up.
"Can I make you breakfast then?" She asked after swallowing a piece of bacon. I rolled my eyes, but conceded. I suppose she was feeling guilty that I did something for her; she felt that she had to return the favour. I just did this for her because it seemed like the perfect way for her to start her year.
"You can make me breakfast if you wish," I told her. She smiled, like she had just won some sort of prize, and continued eating. Alice, shockingly, was done before Bella. She was tiny and unsuspecting. Most times you never knew with Alice, she always kept you on your toes. She was perfect for Jasper because he was the laid back, 'go with the flow' type of guy. So anything Alice decided to do was most likely fine with Jasper because he was so free spirited and accepting of things.
"Done," Bella announced a few minutes after Jasper and Alice had left. I looked to her empty plate and grinned, thankful that she was putting her stubborn behaviour aside for the morning.
"Good," I replied. She set the plate down on the bed and crawled into my side, her small hands caressing the side of my neck.
"Thank you so much," she said quietly. Her voice was thick and deep. I pulled her head away from mine and her face looked full of emotion.
"Hey, love, you okay?" I asked her, brushing my fingers across her cheek. She nodded and smiled her gorgeous smile. "You sure?"
"I'm positive. This is the first time in my life I can actually say that. You," she said, swallowing hard, "you have no idea how much you have changed me Edward." Her eyes, a deep molten chocolate, gazed lovingly at me. Her raw emotion made me speechless. "I can't thank you enough for just...being you. For being with me, and loving me. You've changed my life." She had no idea how much she had all of a sudden done the exact same thing to me.
"Without warning, as a whirlwind swoops on an oak, love shakes my heart," I said to her. Her eyes were wide as I quoted poetry to her. Poetry had always been a favourite of mine in high school and I hadn't really studied it much lately. Since I had taken my Classics class we had briefly ventured into Ancient Greek Poetry, and Sappho was one of the few poets we studied. The short poem stuck in my mind because it reminded me of my love for Bella and how sudden it all was.
"Bella you've changed my life. More than you will ever know." She continued to stare at me, her eyes blurring and brimming with tears.
"That was beautiful," she said quietly, fumbling with my fingers as she held my hand. "Who is it?" I shrugged; she most likely wouldn't know who it was.
"Sappho. An Ancient Greek poet." I reached my hand up to her face and softly grazed it with a gentle intensity. "Without warning Bella you just walked right into that floor meeting and changed my life."
"Actually I think it was you who walked into the floor meeting. I was already there," she said to me with a smile. She hadn't shed a tear, but I could tell she was emotional as hell.
"Either way," I said, smiling at her technicality, "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied, her swimming eyes finally retreating. I often found that when Bella was emotional and crying I was usually the same. I was thankful she didn't cry because I would probably have done the same thing. "Come on. I can hear your stomach grumbling from here," she said with a cute laugh. She reached up and quickly kissed me on the nose before taking her empty plate and glass, and heading out the door. I followed her down the stairs, watching her make her way through my house like it was her own. When we met our destination of the kitchen I was greeted with a full house. Carlisle and Esme joined Alice and Jasper, and surprisingly Emmett was there too.
"So," I said to Bella, sitting down beside Jasper. "What's for breakfast?" She grinned at me and immediately went to work, flitting around the kitchen comfortably with Alice as the rest of us merely sat around the island and talked. Esme and Carlisle were sharing their usual toast and omelette, complete with orange juice and coffee. Emmett was eating a bowl of something that looked vaguely like Count Chocula. What was he, six? That had been the best cereal though. What kid wouldn't love it? All the major food groups were included. Sugar, check. Chocolate milk, check. Marshmallows, check.
B.P.O.V
I flopped down on the couch, surrounded by the other people that were helping with the move; Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Alice, Leah and Seth. Dad and Sue were still rearranging the furniture in the room that was now 'theirs'. I had just finished carrying Leah's bed up the stairs with her, something I wished I had let Edward or Emmett do. My arms were tired and sore from so many trips out to the moving truck. The snow also worked to my disadvantage, threatening to trip me on more than one occasion.
"Good god Leah. What's your bed made of? Bricks?" I asked, rotating my shoulder to make sure I wasn't in danger of permanent damage. She laughed at me and sat down beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
"Tough it out step-sis," she said with a chuckle. "And no, it's not made of bricks."
"I told you to let me do it," Edward said to me. I frowned up at him, not liking when he used that 'told you so' tone.
"I'm fine," I replied with a forced smile. He pursed his lips and stayed quiet, knowing I was getting aggravated from such a long day. It was only two days after New Years, and Leah, Seth and Sue were finally all moved in. I was happy that they'd finally be living here. I had felt bad about leaving Charlie all by himself when I left for school, but now he'd have a whole family with him all the time.
"Maybe you should go relax," Alice said in a sweet voice. "Use the bath salts and aromatic candles I bought you for Christmas." It actually sounded like a fantastic idea. It was just after one o'clock and we needed to leave by three. The concert was tonight – in Seattle. It would take us a few hours to get there even at Edward's speed, and the doors opened at seven.
"Alright. I think I'll do that. Are you going to go home and get ready?" Alice went deep into thought for a few seconds before replying.
"I might go home and get changed. I'll get ready here with you," she said finally. "I'll be back in an hour or so." She took Jasper's hand and they left the room. Emmett and Edward were standing languidly near the doorway to living room while Leah and Seth sat on the couch with me.
"I think I'm going to go get my room organized," Leah said with a smile. "Have fun tonight," she told me, getting up off the couch. She left the living room, with Seth right on her heels. That kid loved her more than any sibling loved their sister, he was her shadow.
"Thanks for helping us today Emmett, you really didn't have to," I said with a shy smile. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly at me.
"No problem Bella. I don't mind. It's not like I've got anything else to do, right? Besides, I kind of like hanging out with you guys," he said, nudging his shoulder against Edward's. Edward gave Emmett a small smile...a small forced smile. I tried not to get all worked up because he was upset. I had upset him. Our minor tiff that occurred mere minutes ago was still eating at him. He had to know that we would argue and get mad at each other every now and then? That's what made a relationship a relationship. Sensing that Edward wasn't being his usual self Emmett took his cue to leave.
"I'll, uh, see you guys later. I'm going to hit the road. Have fun at the concert," Emmett said, patting Edward on the back.
"Later," Edward replied lifelessly. Emmett waved me a goodbye and I did the same back, waiting for Edward to just say something.
"Are you going to have a bath? Alice will be back in an hour," he said, glancing to the clock on the wall. I stood up and went over to him, taking his stubborn face in my hands. He averted my gaze constantly, no matter which way I turned his head.
"Look at me!" I finally said with annoyance in my voice. "What is your problem?" I asked when his eyes met mine.
"I...Before I didn't mean to sound like a jerk. I wasn't trying to rub it in your face that I was right. I just...felt bad for you being sore. I just said you should have let me carry it. I hope you're not mad at me. Because Bella it's really nothing. I mean..." I bit my lip to stop from laughing now, and covered his mouth with my hand. He was beginning to sound like me.
"Shh," I told him. "You're rambling. I just got annoyed. I'm tired and sore...and yes, you were right, smart ass," I said with a smile. "Edward if we have little arguments or tiffs here and there don't get all depressed, please. We'll argue, and we'll fight sometimes. It's what makes us human. We aren't perfect." He raised an eyebrow and stepped away from me.
"Speak for yourself," he remarked sarcastically. I dropped my mouth open at his words and instantly began laughing.
"Well aren't we the optimist?" I asked, sauntering towards him. He shrugged and smiled playfully before he ascended the stairs to my room. I followed him up and trailed into the room after him. I tripped when walking in the door and cursed myself when I planted my hands on the bed to save me from falling. I looked up to find Edward standing in my room shirtless, very shirtless. Every organ started to catch fire and ache to touch the naked skin in front of me.
"Edward..." I said with a groan. His perfect, bare chest was too much to take. "What are you doing?" He stretched his arms out to the sides and curled them in. His muscles flexed perfectly, making him look mouth-watering. He was right, I speak for myself.
"Changing," he said with a smirk. He had brought a change of clothes for the concert so he wouldn't have to go all the way home again. "Oh...and giving you yours. I hope this tortures you as much as you've tortured me." I bit my lip and stood up fully, willing my eyes to look away from his body. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that every part of me was burning to touch him.
"Need to shower," I said hastily with an unconvincing smile. I grabbed my towel off the hook and bolted out the door, listening to Edward's laughter as I slammed the door shut. The wood reverberated against the frame as I rested my head against it. I calmed my swiftly beating heart by turning on the shower and letting the steam fill the small bathroom. As I undressed, I tried so hard not to focus on the fact that Edward was most likely partially undressed as well and less than ten feet away from me. I stepped into the steaming shower once I was bare and eagerly let the warm water rinse away the labours of my day and the heat inside my chest.
A/N: First off, to anyone who was confused at my reference with the Stable Boy and the Princess...that whole 'as you wish'...Buttercup thing. That is from The Princess Bride. One of my all-time favourite movies. It's amazing and cheesy and I love it. If you've seen it you most likely know what I'm talking about.
I don't really have a second off...hmm...
But! Reviews are better than killing the six-fingered man! : ) ....maybe not for Indigo.