#Belward – Chapter 25

The last time all the girls had gathered together, it was because Edward had left for Paris. This time, they were gathered because Bella was leaving for Paris. Just like the last time, Bella, Angela, Vanessa, Maria, Emily, Alice, Rosalie, and Tanya were huddled in Bella's living room amongst a mountain of pillows and blankets. However, this time, instead of pizza and wine coolers, it was tacos and margaritas.

After taking a sip of her strawberry margarita, Maria nudged Tanya with her shoulder. "Come on, Tan, give us an update. Have you found your unicorn on any of those singles apps?"

"Ooohhh, yeah. Come on, let us live vicariously through you," Vanessa said, her taco all but forgotten. "It's been so long since I've been in the game and out on the chase. Being old, married, and surrounded by My Little Pony just doesn't have the same adrenaline rush."

Tanya laughed. "I'm still old, and I'm surrounded by Miles from Tomorrowland. Same thing. I just don't have husband."

"You're avoiding the question," Rosalie said before she stuck a wedge of lime in her mouth.

"Well, there is this one guy that I've been talking to," Tanya said quietly while she twirled her straw in her cup.

Looking around, all the other women shared glances. When their eyes met, Alice asked with a smirk, "Are we too old to squeal just because we're in our thirties?"

"Thirty is the new twenty, bitch. Don't call me old," Rosalie said, spitting the lime wedge into a napkin.

"You're never too old to squeal when a girlfriend gets some happy in her life," Angela said reasonably.

After all of her friends finished squealing for her, Tanya laughed and said, "I can't believe I actually met a guy on Bumble, but Demetri is so nice. We only met up for coffee a couple of times, but he's actually kind of sweet in that way. He wants to actually get to know me, so he's the one that suggests the dates in broad daylight. He knows I'm trying to be cautious because I have to think about Caius, and he's completely okay with me having a kid from someone else."

Biting her lip, Tanya looked at the melting ice cubes in her margarita and said, "I actually kind of tested him a little bit. I wore a really tight, v-neck shirt the last time we met up a few days ago, and I did catch him looking at my boobs. He blushed. It was the cutest thing. It kind of made me want to jump him."

Bella laughed and said, "Tan, you were baiting the man. How could a guy not look at your boobs?"

"Right?!" Vanessa said. Reaching forward she grabbed one of Tanya's boobs and said, "As the only other mom here, I have to say that it's something to be proud of when your tits still look like this after you've nursed a kid. Gravity is a bitch."

Tanya just laughed and took a bite of her taco. Swallowing, she said, "Demetri actually asked me on a night time date this coming weekend. He asked if I'd want to go to an early dinner and see Wicked with him."

"Yes you do!" Emily, Maria, Rosalie and Alice said simultaneously.

"I'll come by in the afternoon and get Caius. Jake and I will take the kids for a play date and sleepover," Vanessa said with finality. "Jake likes having a boy around that he can play rough with."

"You guys, it's been so long since I've been on a nighttime date," Tanya said feeling a little insecure. "It's a Broadway show and everything. I don't-"

"Don't you even say that you don't have anything to wear," Alice said, pointing her sparkly manicured finger at her friend. "Hello? If I can't hook my friends up with free designer stuff, then I have no reason to exist."

"Alice and I will bring Rachel and the supplies," Rosalie said, throwing her arm over Tanya's shoulders. "We'll have you pampered and feeling nothing but sexy by the time Demetri picks you up."

Maria and Bella leaned on each other with their heads together. Bella took a sip of her margarita and said sadly, "We're gonna miss it. It's my girl's first date, and we'll be all the way in Europe."

"To see your men!" Tanya said excitedly. "If all goes well, there will be more dates for you to see me off on. You've been waiting for two months to see Edward and Embry. You guys go. We can Skype when they're on set, and I'll tell you all about it."

"Your date is going to be awesome," Emily said with confidence. "In fact, we'll go shopping and bring you back some sexy French lingerie in preparation for your future dates with Demetri. Shit, even his name is sexy."

"Amen, sister," Rosalie said, toasting to Emily's last statement. "His name just rolls of your tongue."

"I'm sure the man's got a lot more things that he'd love to have roll off your tongue," Emily said with a wink.

Bella was laughing, as she pushed her margarita onto the coffee table. "Too much tequila. I have to stop. I don't want to be hungover when I get on that plane."

Sobering up a little, Rosalie extended her foot across the circle and nudged Bella's sock covered foot with her own. "So, Bella, in all honesty and seriousness, what did you think of these last couple of months without Edward?"

"It wasn't what I expected," Bella said slowly. Smirking, she said, "In some ways, it was good that I had the Book Tour because it distracted me from missing him, but at the same time it was a constant reminder that he wasn't here."

"Yeah, his fans are fucking nuts," Emily said as she shot the last sip of her margarita. "But you were a champ."

Bella just shrugged her shoulders. "I had to be. If I let myself be sad, I'd be bone crushingly sad. Acting is a part of who he is, and that is going to take him away from me sometimes. I get that, and I accept it. This is just the first time of many that we'll have to be separated for months at a time. If I couldn't make it this time, I would really have to question whether I'm supposed to be with Edward."

Maria could empathize, and put her arm around her friend. Squeezing Bella's shoulders, she said nothing and just offered silent understanding.

"I wasn't looking for him," Bella said softly. "But I'm so glad that I found him. He's everything I didn't know I wanted. Everything I didn't know I needed. I loved my life before him, but with him everything is so much better. It's so cliché, but I swear to god it feels like colors are brighter, sounds are clearer, and everything is just more defined. It's only been a few months, and I've spent more time away from him than actually with him. But I know. I know that he's it for me. Because I know that, I have to make myself get used to this life where we won't always be able to be together physically."

"We're proud of you, Bella," Angela said. "You faced down a lot of horrible people, and you did it with class and tenacity. I know it wasn't always easy for you, but you did everything you needed to even when you didn't want to."

"And I know that there was a lot for you to get used to," Rosalie said warmly. "Sex scenes with ditzy redheads be damned. Like I told you before, it's worse for the person having to go through with it. Edward sounded so sick that morning that he had to go through with the scene. He kept saying that his body was yours, and he didn't want to be naked and touching Victoria. I completely understood because it's that way for me all the time. And it made him feel so much better when I could tell him with certainty that you weren't mad, and you trusted him completely."

Bella picked up a small piece of tomato and popped it into her mouth. "If I didn't trust him completely, I wouldn't have been able to let him go to Paris period. Silly man. I felt worse for him because he had to act it out and physically go through with it. At least when I write love scenes, I just live it in my head. I can put his face and have him act out every hero in every book. It's actually more fun for me. I can't imagine what it must've been like for him to have to do what he did. If it were me, I'd probably have quit."

"You're both doing what you were meant to," Angela said. "And now you'll finally get to be together again."

"Yeah, reunion sex beats make-up sex any day," Maria said winking at Bella.

Rosalie reached over and high-fived Maria. "Hell yeah it does. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and the reunion night get longer. Fuck yes all night long, girlfriend."

"Ugh, now I'm going to be thinking about sex on my date tomorrow night," Tanya mumbled under her breath. She didn't mean to say it out loud, but it just came out. Damn lack of a verbal filter. Fucking tequila.

"Tequila is a mind and filter eraser!" Alice said looking at her empty cup. "And why the hell would you not be thinking of sex on a date? If a guy doesn't make you think about sex on a date, you shouldn't be dating him."

"Okay, hussy, not everyone jumps the bone on the first date," Rosalie said with a laugh.

"That's my brother!" Maria said covering her ears. "We talked about this. No sex talk about the brothers. You can do that after I pass out!"

#####

"Drive faster," Edward said from the back seat of the car without looking up. For the past three days, he had been addicted to the Tsum Tsum game because one of the child actors on set showed it to him. Now he had to get a new high score, and it was driving him crazy.

"What the hell do you think this is?" Quil said from the drivers' seat. "This is not the Autobahn."

Embry looked up from his phone at Seth and asked, "We should totally go there! How far is that? Can we get there from here? Let's go now."

"Fuck no," Edward said looking up from his game. "I have waited 58 days to see Bella, and it's finally day number 59! So drive fucking faster!"

Embry looked at his watch and back at Edward. "Dude, there's no need to rush. Her plane doesn't even land for another two hours. We have all the time in the world. Autobahn!"

Quil glanced over at Embry and said calmly, "We're headed to Paris. The Autobahn is in Germany. It'd take more than two hours to get there and back."

"Well, Bella can wait-"

"NO!" Edward yelled, his game completely forgotten. "She cannot wait. I cannot wait. Drive faster!"

Turning around in his seat to look at Edward, Embry said calmly, "Edward, I think you need to get laid. You seem a little tense."

"No fucking shit, Sherlock!" Edward said as he threw his head back against the headrest. "Quil, I will give you a million dollars if you accelerate this vehicle and DRIVE FASTER!"

Embry turned around and shook his head. "Don't do it, Quil. He always says he'll give you a million dollars if you do something, but he's full of shit. He'll never give it to you. Motherfucker owes me about $10 million by now."

"That's just bullshit," Edward said scoffing. "Embry doesn't do jack. The only person he listens to is Maria, and that's because he is a pussy-whipped little bitch."

"And you're not?!" Embry said turning around. "You're the one sitting here whining and crying because you want to see a woman who isn't even in the city yet."

"We weren't talking about me. We were talking about you," Edward said as he crossed his arms like a petulant child.

"Oh my god," Quil mumbled under his breath as he started to drive a little faster. "For the record, I'm not driving faster to get to Bella or the Autobahn. I'm driving faster to get you two idiots out of my goddamn car!"

#####

The second Bella walked into her flat in Paris, she was engulfed by Edward. She was right where she wanted to be with his arms around her and her face buried in his strong, warm chest. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled his clean, masculine Edward scent. Tightening her arms around his neck, Bella felt Edward stand up straighter, so she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Bella had dropped her bags in the doorway, but she didn't care. She knew Sam and Emily were behind her with the other bags. All she cared about was the man that she'd desperately been missing the last two months.

Edward walked them over to the couch and sat down with Bella in his lap. With his face still buried in the crook of Bella's neck, Edward mumbled, "It's day 59. We made it."

"We did," Bella said. With her fingers still in his hair at the nape of his neck, Bella closed her eyes and said, "I kept telling the pilot to fly faster, but he kept telling me it was against the rules. I fired him five times on the way over, but no one would listen to me."

Edward laughed and pressed a kiss to Bella's neck. "Quil got so fed up with Embry and I arguing in the car that he tried to quit a few times. We both said no. We told him he had to serve a life sentence with us."

Bella laughed. "You guys are mean to him."

Their little bubble was popped at the sound of two suitcases being dropped at the doorway.

"Okay," Emily said when she came to stand behind Sam and the suitcases. Stepping around her husband and over the bags, she leveled Bella with a glare. "Lady, I get that you missed your man, and you are itching for some good lovin'. I don't blame you for getting yours. But will the two of you please practice safety?!"

Edward gave Emily his best panty-dropping smile. "Bella gets the shot, so we're covered. Thanks."

Sam grabbed his wife's waist before she could charge Edward. "Say goodbye, Emily."

Pointing at Edward and Bella, Emily said, "Close the door and lock it before you start getting naked! And do NOT go out without calling me. Embry said he's going to be busy sexing his wife tonight, and Quil is boycotting you, Edward."

Snuggling closer to Edward, Bella said, "I think we're just going to stay in tonight. I'll call you tomorrow morning."

As Sam was dragging Emily away, she yelled one last time, "Close and lock the door!"

Edward kissed Bella's head and slid her off of his lap. Walking over to the door, he picked up her bags and shut the door. Locking both the door and the deadbolt, he asked, "Do you want these in the bedroom?"

"I'd rather have you in the bedroom," Bella said with a smirk.

Grinning back, Edward said, "Sweetheart, you can have me in the bedroom, on the couch, in the kitchen, in that awesome looking tub you've got. You can have me anytime, anywhere."

"Well, I think I should be rewarded for my patience these last couple of months," Bella said, standing up from the couch. Turning, she started to walk towards the bedroom. Taking off her shirt, she dropped it behind her. "I'm ready to collect now."

Edward was right behind her in less than five seconds. "I'm ready to pay now."

#####

A few hours later, Edward and Bella were curled up on the couch each with a big bowl of Salade Nicoise. On the coffee table in front of them was a baguette, some brie, and a bottle of Rose Champagne.

"I'm so glad you're here," Edward said. "I was so worried that you'd call me one day and tell me that it was too much for you. I wasn't worth waiting for and my fans were too insane."

Reaching forward, Bella brushed her fingers down the side of Edward's stubbly cheek. "I was worried you'd find some French model that you'd rather date instead of plain, boring Bella."

"Bella, there's nothing plain about you," Edward said lovingly. "And I'd choose your curves over the bony models any day. They're pointy, and they smell like cigarette smoke all the time. No one ever caught my eye until you, and I can confidently say that no one will ever catch my eye again. You're it for me."

"You're it for me too," Bella said quietly. Reaching over, she picked up her glass and took a sip of the champagne. Looking at the clock, she saw it was already almost ten o'clock. "What time do you have to be on set tomorrow?"

"Seven," Edward said. He placed his empty bowl on the table and ripped off a big hunk of crusty bread. Feeding a small piece to Bella, he tore off another piece for himself. "Aro text earlier to say that being back in the city is inspiring him. I'm supposed to finish at 6 p.m., but might be a little later if his muse is speaking to him."

Bella laughed at Edward rolling his eyes at his director. "I'll be here whenever you get back. Maria, Emily, and I will probably just go shopping in the afternoon."

Edward's eyes shot up in surprise. Bella never went shopping voluntarily, and now that Alice had claimed her for a sister, clothes got sent to her on a weekly basis. "You're going shopping? Or Maria and Emily are going shopping, and you're just tagging along?"

"We're all going," Bella said. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on Edward's thighs and said, "Tan has a date! She met a guy, and she really likes him. I'm so happy for her!"

Edward smiled. He liked Tanya, and he thought she was a nice girl who got handed some bad luck in the past with her ex. "Did she as you guys to pick up stuff for her date?"

"No," Bella said shaking her head. "Maria and Emily thought it would be a good idea for us to buy her some sexy French lingerie for her future dates. She was feeling so insecure about not having been on a date in such a long time. Alice, Rose, and Rachel are going to help her get ready today, and we're going to get her some power panties to make her feel good for future dates. I'm sure eventually Demetri will probably enjoy our gifts for her too."

Edward stood up and went to get his wallet off of the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked as Edward came back to sit down next to her. When he handed her a thick wad of Euro, she just held it in her hand. "What is this for? I have money."

Edward looked at the bills in Bella's hand and took it back. "That's probably not enough. Here take my card."

"Edward," Bella laughed as she looked down at the credit card in her hand. "I have credit cards. What are you giving me this for?"

He thought for a second and placed the cash back in her hand. "Take that too. Just spend all of it. I know you have money, but I want you to use my money tomorrow. Buy Tanya some perfume. You always smell so good, and guys like when girls smell good. Tanya makes the most fuckawesome cookies, and I think she's a good person. Buy her something from me."

"Oh, Edward," Bella said, feeling her heart melt. He was such a sweet man, and it was little moments like this that made her fall in love with him over and over again.

"Then, I want you to focus on buying me presents," Edward said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"And what kind of presents would these be?" Bella asked.

"For every one piece of sexy lingerie you get for Tanya, I want you to buy three for yourself," Edward said. "I'm not picky. I'm an equal opportunity lingerie enthusiast."

"Really?" Bella laughed. "I was not aware that you were a lingerie enthusiast."

"Oh, Bella," Edward said leaning forward. He kept going until he was leaning over her on the couch. "It's more that I'm a Bella enthusiast. The lingerie is just pretty wrapping for my favorite gift of all.

She wasn't sure if it was all the champagne, his words, or the fact that she was finally close enough to feel the warmth of his body on hers again, but Bella was feeling all kinds of tingly at the moment. "And what gift would that be?"

"You."