Spinning Bottles

~Chapter 28 – Shifted~

Bella listened to my story, and surprisingly didn't laugh. Neither of us was in a laughing mood, but it was so unbelievable that I didn't know if it would be possible for her to take me seriously.

"And, you think all that really happened?" she asked me carefully.

"I know it did," I said confidently. "And that's how I know everything is going to be ok." I placed my hand on Bella's flat stomach, and took a deep breath. "This is Carlie Elizabeth Masen. She was named after your father and my mother, and she's the most beautiful, brightest little girl I have ever known."

Bella was quiet for a moment as she let my words sink in, and then she placed her hand over mine on her abdomen. "I believe you," she whispered. "As you were telling me everything, it was like I could see it, like your words were bringing back some kind of forgotten dream, or something. But…What if you're wrong? What if this baby turns out to be a boy, or has your eyes instead of mine?"

I thought about it, but then shook my head. "It won't. I can close my eyes right now and see her face, and when she's born, it'll be her."

"I believe that you believe that, and I'm not trying to say it didn't happen, but…based on pure anatomy, the child we would have had seven years ago, wouldn't be the same one now. Different egg and different sperm," she said carefully. "How would you feel if we had a completely different child?"

"Ok, first of all, I would love any child of ours…but you're right, scientifically, the timing of this child's conception would make it completely different than one conceived seven years ago…but it doesn't matter, because it's still her. I know it doesn't make sense, but neither does magical spinning bottles that transport people to alternate lives. I don't know how it works, all I know is that I am one hundred percent positive that this is Carlie…and Anthony will come around in the next couple years. Some things are just meant to be; it may take longer to get there, but Carlie and Anthony will exist in this world too."

"I wish I could have really seen it the way you did, maybe this whole thing would be less…daunting," she said as her voice broke at the end. "I'm just really afraid, you know. I don't know anything about kids; I've never even changed a diaper before."

"We'll figure it out together…. And you don't have to worry because you will be an amazing mom, I've seen it."

But then tears ran down her cheeks again. "What if I can't? You saw a completely different version of me, one that was natural with kids and not…screwed up. I'm not her, I wish I were, but I'm not."

"No, you're not….But I'm sure she wasn't in such control when those kids first came either. Not many people know what they're doing before they do it, but they do it anyway because it's what needs to be done. It'll get hard, and I'm sure there will be times when we feel completely lost and overwhelmed, but that's all just part of it."

She was quiet again, but I could feel her body tense in my arms as she seemed to think about something that bothered her.

"What is it?" I asked.

"If you didn't go to that other place, then none of this would be happening now. You would have never wanted me back, so really, you just love her…the other me, I mean. And if I can't ever be her…then I'll never be able to make you happy."

"Bella, I went to that other place, because I needed a wakeup call. I needed something big to happen to get me back to where I always should have been. I got off course in life, and I threw you off at the same time. It was a glimpse of what should have been and it got me to want that in my own life. But as far as loving her more than you, well it's simply not the case. You're my Bella, and I love you."

"But I'm a mess, and she was -"

"Not right for me. Bella, I loved her because she was you, not the other way around. You messed up in life, but so have I. You and I fit, we belong together. 'It's the struggles that bind us together'….the other you told me that, and I never understood it more than I do right now. You can be a ruthless, coldhearted…bitch, and believe it or not, I love that about you. And I love your drunken Bella…she was a lot of fun."

She smiled despite herself.

"Baby, I don't want you to change completely, because believe it or not, you are a strong woman. I just want to make you happy…truly and legitimately happy, and everything else will fall in place."

"I'm not strong," she whispered.

"Yes, you are…because regardless of what you've been through, you are going to make it out of this better than ever. You've stumbled, but now you can catch yourself and take off running. It's in you, you just have to put one foot in front of the other, and keep moving forward."

I couldn't believe all the cheesy cliché phrases that were coming out of my mouth, I sounded like a fucking Hallmark card, but Bella's confidence was being dragged behind her, and she needed all the assurance and motivation she could get.

We continued to discuss my otherworldly trip for a while longer, but then her words began to slow before gentle steady breathing took their place. It was dark in the room, but I could see her enough to spend some time just watching her sleep as she laid still in my arms. But even though she was asleep, the muscles in her face never fully relaxed, so very gently, I rubbed the crease between her brows until she finally let them rest.

"God, I wish I knew what you're thinking," I murmured.

A few minutes later, I heard a car pulling up outside, and I knew Alec was home. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand and was shocked that it was one am. I wanted to get up to yell at him for being so late, but a part of me was actually happy about it. When I first arrived he didn't have any friends at all, and staying out late and getting into some innocent trouble was what being a teenager was all about. Plus, Bella was lying on my arm and I didn't want to wake her to move. So I sighed and just decided to talk to him about it in the morning.

But then I heard the sound of his bedroom door shut, and though it wasn't loud, Bella jumped in my arms and then opened her eyes. "What's that?" she asked groggily.

"Alec just got home," I explained quietly. "Everything is fine, just go back to sleep."

"Mmmhum….Just hold me, ok," she mumbled.

I laughed once softly. "I am holding you."

"Don't let go."

"I'll never let go again," I assured her.

I thought she had gone back to sleep, but just as I started feeling myself drift off as well, she started moving around like she was trying to get comfortable. I lessened my hold on her so she could move easier, but she just pulled me into her tighter.

"What are you doing?" I asked amused.

"Nothing," she said quickly, sounding slightly guilty of something, though I had no idea what.

After a few more minutes of us both being still, she began moving around again, except this time her movements seemed heavy with purpose. – Her legs were wrapped around one of mine, as her pelvis slowly but surely began grinding against my hip.

"If you're horny, you could just tell me," I said with a smile.

"You're awake?" she asked horrified.

I laughed again. "If you prefer to take advantage of me while I sleep, I can pretend that I am…But it'll be a lot more fun if you let me participate."

"Oh," she whined. "I just wanted to lay here in your arms, but I'm all…tense and I was just trying to get some relief. It was involuntary," she said sheepishly.

"Well, I'm really good at 'relief'," I told her, then pushed my hand between my hip and her pelvis, and right to her warmth. She moaned from my touch, but then pushed my hand away.

"I want you inside of me," she breathed, and she didn't have to ask me twice. I didn't even realize until then that we hadn't had sex since New York which was weeks before, and suddenly I became even more desperate for a release than she was.

I sat up and leaned over her before my mouth crashed down on hers and began moving with vehemence. We were all lips and tongues and teeth, and as I started undressing her, I realized something had gone on for far too long. "We have got to get you some better clothes," I mumbled as I peeled my ratty old sweat pants off of her legs.

"I like wearing yours," she said, becoming short of breath with anticipation.

I traced my hands back up her now bare legs, and when I reached her underwear, I had to laugh at the fact that, those too, were mine…my old tighty whities.

"They're very comfortable," Bella said with a giggle.

"Please tell me you're not wearing one of my old bras too," I joked.

"You don't have any bras."

"Yes, I do. I went through a chubby phase and I needed the support."

"Yeah right, I think I would have remembered that."

"It was before we were together," I said quickly, really having no idea why the hell I was continuing with the joke when I could be inside her.

"I knew you before we dated," she argued playfully. "You may have forgotten, but we shared our first kiss at thirteen during a fateful game of spin the bottle. And you most certainly weren't fat….A little nerdy, but never fat."

"Nerdy?"

"Don't feel bad about it, most people go through an awkward phase. You grew into your nose and big teeth eventually, so everything is fine."

I sat up with my legs crossed in front of me like a pouting child, scrunched my face, and reached up to rub the bridge of my nose as if she had just punched me there.

She sat up too, and climbed on my lap so that she was straddling me. "Oh, baby, you have a beautiful nose," she cooed while grabbing my hand and pulling it from my nose so she could kiss me there tenderly. "Now," she added.

"And the hits just keep coming," I feigned offense. "That's ok though, I can afford a nose job."

"Don't you dare touch your nose. I love your nose," she said before kissing it again. "It's a perfect nose…on the most perfect face I've ever seen."

"Ever? I suppose that's a compliment since you work with models and such," I said, still pretending to be bitter.

"Not even the Abercrombie models are as pretty as you," she assured me.

"Well, that's good, cause I'm unemployed and could really use a job. Are they hiring, can you write me a letter of recommendation?"

"Sorry, no."

"Why?" I asked incredulously. "You just said…"

"I said you were beautiful, but…"

"I also have an amazing body," I added quickly.

She giggled and ran her hand up my chest. "True."

"But…you don't want to share me?" I guessed playfully.

"No, and I won't, but that's not the issue."

"Well, what is it then?"

She leaned in so she could whisper in my ear. "You're too…old."

"Old?" I nearly shouted. "Thirty is not old."

She pressed her lips together to hide a smile, and raised both brows. "Models peak at twenty three."

"That's ridiculous. No wonder why so many turn to drugs," I said without thinking. Bella's face dropped, and I knew the time for jokes was over. "Bella, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine," she said quietly.

"No it's not, I shouldn't have said that."

"Look, despite what I did in the past…I don't need you to be careful and censor yourself with me….All I need…is you," she said intensely.

"And you'll always have me," I told her doubtlessly.

"Edward…I love you so much." Her voice had faded to a whisper, but she could have screamed it and it wouldn't have made a bigger impact. They were words that I had begun thinking I'd never hear from her again, and yet, I always knew she felt them deep down.

"I know," I told her, because at that moment, she seemed almost desperate for me to believe her but didn't think that I would.

And then the tears were back, sliding down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry for everything I did, I was…." She began crying harder, and the rest of what she was saying was unintelligible.

I cradled her face in my hands, and gently caressed her bottom lip with the tips of my thumbs. "Shhh…None of that matters anymore; we're together now. I made a bad choice and it screwed up a lot of lives, but I swear to you, I will never fail you again."

"You can't blame yourself for everything that happened to me. People get their heart broken every day and don't let it ruin their lives…" she argued.

"But I've seen what would have happened if I stayed….Maybe you could have done things differently, but you would have never been faced with those problems if I stayed."

She pressed her forehead to mine, and I knew she didn't agree, but didn't have it in her to go back and forth on the topic any more. "I love you so much," she murmured. "Just promise me you'll never leave me again."

"Baby, I wish I knew how to prove it to you, but there's nothing in life that I want more, than -"

"Just promise me, and I'll believe you," she interrupted.

"I swear to you, I will never leave you again."

Her lips found mine again, but this time, they weren't going to let jokes get in the way.

I pulled her shirt over her head, and because she wasn't wearing a bra, I had full view of her perfect breasts, and I just had to kiss them.

God, I loved the way she tasted. Nobody had skin like hers, and if I lived a hundred years, I would never find anything that remotely came close.

When our last article of clothing was sprawled carelessly on the floor, I laid her back and moved between her legs. My entire body was buzzing with need, and if something were to happen to make us have to stop, I was sure to implode. I had to be inside her; it wasn't even a desire, it was a basic necessity to sustain life.

My kissing briefly moved to her neck as I brought one hand to her thigh, and lifted it to my hip so I could have better access.

"Edward," she breathed. "Tell me."

I was in the moment so deeply that I was actually vibrating with anticipation, but I couldn't help but smile at her quiet demand. I had never been inside her without reciting the words and I fully planned on saying them, but just hearing her ask again after so long, was just the homecoming that I needed.

"Bella, I love you forever."

And then she lifted her hips, begging me to enter her….and I most definitely wasn't going to keep her waiting.

I pushed into her slowly to savor the feeling, but then stilled, not wanting to blow it too soon again. I just wanted to feel her, all of her, from the inside out. We were pressed so close together that there was no space between us, and I was so deep in her, that I filled her completely. She was so amazing, and even without actually moving, I was in nirvana.

But then abruptly and completely unexpectedly, I felt Bella's body stiffen as her inner walls clamped around me in the most intense way.

I couldn't take it; her additional throbbing pressure was about to force me into a place that I wasn't ready to go, so I began thrusting, which only added to her climax. I needed to stay in control, she may have lost it early, but I was not going to fall victim of the minuteman curse, not again.

She was everywhere, her body was completely wrapped around mine, and if it was possible to prolong that feeling, to live in that euphoria for the rest of my life, I would have. I kept her legs up over my hips so I could reach that spot inside her that I knew so well and cherished like an old friend, and I continued to pound into her; faster, then slower, then faster again. She dug her nails into the skin on my back, which hurt like hell, but just made me wish she'd do it harder.

But then her body began convulsing for the second time, and I knew I was done for. Every muscle in me tightened as I erupted into her, but I still pumped until that haze of warm numbing afterglow turned my body into mush and I was left helpless inside her.

It was fucking nirvana.

I mustered up whatever energy I could find, pulled out of her slowly, and then collapsed beside her on the bed. We laid there for a few minutes, with the only sound being that of our heavy breaths, panting for air as our bodies recovered from the amazing high.

I was fucking spent, but when the sensation began finally coming back to my limbs, I rolled over so I could lean over her and look into her face. She was utterly relaxed, and looked…serene in her 'just fucked' disheveled state, but she was the most beautiful I had seen her since we were teenagers…in fact, in that moment, she was the most beautiful I had ever seen her. Absolutely perfect.

"I do think this finally makes us even," I told her softly.

She laughed lazily. "Don't even say it."

"What's the word I'm looking for….'minute-wo-man'?"

"Ugh," she whined. "It's your fault."

"What did I do? I was barely inside of you and hadn't even moved yet."

"You left me waiting too long."

"Twelve years too long," I agreed solemnly. I knew that wasn't what she meant, but I couldn't help the wave of guilt that washed over me.

"Hey, I thought we agreed to move past it?"

I stared at her, and then a smile spread across my face uncontrollably. "We did, so let's move past it again right now," I said before kissing her again and shifting myself so I was back on top of her.

She giggled at first, but then must have realized that I was serious, so she quickly caught up to my mood and lifted her hips with insatiable desire.

….

The next morning, everything felt different. The world had changed and shifted to be a better place; even the sun had broken through the usual dreary morning of Forks. Bella was safe and finally allowing herself to feel love again, Alec seemed happy and optimistic, and My Carlie was on her way; life couldn't get much better than that. I would get my family back, and nothing else mattered.

"So, start explaining," I told Alec when the three of us went out to the diner for breakfast.

"What?" he pretended to be clueless.

"Don't give me that shit. Where were you last night for so long?" I asked, trying to sound stern, but failing miserably. Keeping a smile off my face at that moment was next to impossible, especially with the way Bella was sitting so close to me on the bench. It was a big booth, so it was obvious that she was sitting in that way on purpose.

"I just lost track of time."

"Yeah right…Out with it, what were you doing?"

"What? I met this girl, and we were hanging out. No big deal."

"No big deal? Could you possibly have… feelings for this girl? Cause I need to know if moving is going to be a problem."

Bella and I hadn't talked about where we wanted to live yet, but I was fairly certain she didn't want to stay in Forks full time. Alec and I had discussed Seattle, but the last thing I wanted to do was force him to leave behind someone he cared about the way I had. We couldn't continue to be stagnant; it was time to figure out our next move once and for all, and if that meant staying close to town for Alec's personal relationships, then I was sure even Bella would agree.

"Edward, we were just…" he shrugged and raised his brows suggestively. "I'm not in love or anything."

"Please tell me you were using protection," I said in almost a whine. I really couldn't handle a teenage pregnancy on top of everything else.

"Edward!" he said embarrassed, probably because of Bella being there.

"What? Bella knows how that stuff works. Just please, use protection. Do you need me to buy you some?"

"Ugh," he said disturbed. "You're so weird. Dad would never say this shit to me."

"I'm not dad. And I don't want any babies around right now," I told him, but then I thought about Carlie. "At least not yours."

"I'm not going to get anyone pregnant," he said annoyed. "We weren't even doing that….Wait, what do you mean, at least not mine?"

I glanced over at Bella, and she had an amused look on her face. She was finding our entire conversation funny, but was trying to hide it from Alec.

"I guess we should tell you," I said to Alec hesitantly, while still looking at Bella. She nodded, so I turned back to him. "We're going to have a baby."

"Really?" he asked strangely.

I suddenly became nervous about his reaction, and wondered if perhaps it was too soon to tell him. Maybe it would have been easier on him if we had been together awhile longer, made him feel more secure about our family unit before letting him know that a new member was on its way.

"I don't understand," he said with clear confusion written all over his face. "I thought she was your ex girlfriend?" he asked me in a stage whisper from across the table. I looked at him incredulously for a moment; she was sitting right next to me, did he honestly think she couldn't hear?

"Yeah, and she's now not an ex," I said slowly, and just as confused as he seemed to be. What was his issue?

"But she's only been hanging with us for a few days, so how do you know she's pregnant...and how could it be yours?" he asked hesitantly. "No offense," he added quickly to Bella.

She laughed. "Well, I just thought I'd come hang with you boys and pass my baby off as Edward's, and hope he wasn't smart enough to figure it out," she joked.

Alec smiled at her, but kept his brows pushed together with his bewilderment.

"We were together in New York," I explained.

Understanding finally reached his eyes. "Oh. Well, I just assumed that when you said she was your 'ex', that it was an older breakup."

"Well, you assumed right. We weren't actually together, together in New York." – I said, meaning we weren't really a couple when she got pregnant. Why I told him that, I had no idea. Alec's confusion returned to his face, and Bella's expression mirrored his.

Thankfully, we were interrupted, thus the subject was dropped.

"He guys," A friendly familiar voice sounded from behind me; a voice which was accompanied by a hurricane.

I turned and saw Emmett walking to the table beside ours, with his entire family in tow. "Hey, how's it going?" I asked him with a smile. "Hey Rose." I briefly thought about the fact that if it had been only a few months earlier, I would have been pissed to be seated next to a bunch of rowdy kids, but now I loved every minute of it.

"Holy shit," Emmett said suddenly. We all froze, unsure what his issue was. "Is that Bella?"

"Hey Emmett," Bella said with a friendly but reserved smile.

"Holy crap! How are you?" he asked her excitedly.

"Daddy said shit…and crap!" one of the kids announced.

"Sorry," he said mumbled, but otherwise ignored the comment. "This is great, I really never thought I'd see you back here again…You know, after before," he said to Bella cryptically.

"Oh, well, I…" Bella seemed at a loss, and then she became anxious.

"Bella and I are together again," I told him shamelessly while holding her hand on the table. Obviously he knew about her stint with the town's resident losers, in fact, most of Forks must have known with how much people gossiped there, but I wasn't about to let anyone pass judgment on her, at least not in front of me.

And thankfully, Emmett wasn't the judging type of person. "That's awesome. Hey, you guys should come over for dinner tonight. It's supposed to be clear out, so it's a perfect time to barbeque."

Something made me glance at Rose briefly, and she looked…odd. "Are you sure that's ok with Rose?" I asked Em. "You may want to ask her first."

He looked at his wife behind him, and then turned back to me. "Nah, she's just a little…star-struck. Babe, come meet her then," he said with slight irritation.

Rose shook her head and shooed him away embarrassedly.

"Oh, come on. I told you that Bella was an old friend of mine. Get over here and meet her."

I didn't understand the whole 'star-struck' thing, until Rose finally decided to come over.

"I have to tell you, I subscribe to Poise, and I loved your cover," Rose said to Bella in a rush.

Bella smiled politely. "Thank you….You have a beautiful family," she told her, trying to make small talk.

"Thank you," Rose replied, looking legitimately proud of her very loud brood. "I guess we should get back to them." She gave Bella a nervous wave, and then grabbed Emmett's arm, and pulled him back to their table.

"That was so cool. Do you ever sign autographs?" Alec asked Bella quietly.

"Uh, not usually," she told him.

"Hey, maybe you can get me into modeling," he asked unexpectedly. I would have never thought he'd want to do something like that. Sure the black makeup was gone, but he still seemed like he hated most things 'popular'.

"Nah, I already asked her for me," I joked. "And if I can't be a model, then you certainly don't have a chance."

"Screw you," he said quickly with a smile, so I laughed.

"Actually, Alec is the perfect age to start, and he does have nice bone structure," Bella said.

"Oh, see," Alec said smugly. "You're just old."

I glared at him playfully. "Well, good. You can work, and I'll stay home all day and eat Doritos."

"Ooo Doritos," Bella said suddenly. "I haven't had those in forever."

"Love, are you having a craving?" I asked, way more excited than I probably should have been over such a simple thing.

"Is that what's happening?" she asked confused. "I'm not sure, but I feel like if I don't get some, I'm surely going to have a meltdown," she said casually, and I couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

"Damn. Hurry Edward, go get her some fucking Doritos," Alec said horrified.

"Ok, we're all finished right?" I asked them. Alec had barely touched his food, Bella had eaten all of hers, and I was about half done.

"Yep, we're ready to go," Alec said in a hurry.

I paid the bill, but as we got up to leave, Emmett stopped me. "Hey, you guys coming over tonight?"

"Oh, uh…" I looked at Bella to see what she thought, but she was already half way out the door, so I glanced back at Alec, and then made a decision. "You know what; we have a lot more space, why don't you guys come over to our place."

"But you hosted last time," he argued.

"Yeah, but I wasn't there for the inspection, so I wanted to run a couple things by you….Thanks, by the way, for handling all that for me."

"No problem, Alec did most of it anyway…Well, ok; we'll come over your place. I'm sure the kids could use a break from our little house anyway."

"Alright, see you then."

"Cool."

When I was done talking to Emmett and said bye to his family, I went outside the diner and laughed to myself from seeing Bella already in the passenger side of the car, and Alec was behind the wheel, ready to drive away the moment I got inside.

"Hurry up man, it's going to get ugly soon!" he called to me. Bella just laughed.

I got into the back seat, and quickly buckled up while Alec sped out of the parking lot, and onto the street. There was a liquor store a quarter mile down the road, and when he pulled up there, he sprinted out of the car and into the store.

"Wow," Bella said as I unbuckled my seatbelt to get out. "What's he going to be like when I go into labor?"

I smiled. "I think he's just really excited to have a family."

"Me too," Bella said with a breathtaking grin.

"Well, that makes three of us," I agreed. I got out of the car, but there really wasn't a need, because Alec was already on his way out with an extra large bag of Doritos in hand.

"Thank you…You're my hero," Bella said to him theatrically.

"Hey, I just didn't want you having a meltdown."

Bella giggled.

"Give me the keys," I told him. "Now that you've handled the crisis, I think I can take it from here."

"Ok…But hey, since you're rich and all, maybe you can buy me a new car."

"Ha, maybe not. What's wrong with the car you drive now?"

"It's old."

"Hey, I drove an old car until I could afford to buy a new one myself," I argued.

"You don't want to buy me a car, that's fine. Bella is rich too, so…" he turned to Bella. "Will you buy me a new car?"

"Alec!" I yelled at him.

"What? Isn't it normal for teenagers to do the divide and conquer thing?"

"She's not buying you a new car either. There's no point anyway, not until we decide what our next move is."

"Well, maybe we should talk about it now, then," Bella suggested.

"Ok, let's," I agreed. "Alec doesn't mind moving away, in fact, he wants to, right?" I asked him, just to make sure he didn't change his mind.

"Yep. I like the plan of me being a model, let's go do that."

I rolled my eyes, and then turned to Bella. "I'm unemployed, so basically, you're the only one that has any ties anywhere…or did you quit your job before coming out here?"

"Oh, I guess I didn't. As far as I know, I still have a job in Milan," she said, becoming anxious again and biting her lip.

"Well…do you want to keep your job?" I asked slowly.

"Are we really moving to Italy?" Alec asked with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

"I haven't really thought about it. I don't know," Bella said.

"So, think about it. Do you like your job?"

"No," Bella said automatically, and then seemed surprised by her answer. "I guess I don't."

"Ok, so quit, and we'll find something you do like…Or, you don't have to work at all. Whatever you want to do."

"That's the thing, I don't know what I want to do right now."

"So take some time off, and then we can figure it out later."

"It's that easy, huh?" she asked apprehensively. "I'm not the type of person who takes time off. Being here in Forks has been my longest…vacation since I started working professionally."

"Me too, but it's been…refreshing," I told her. "Now I can go back to work with a better attitude and a new outlook on life."

"I guess," she said to herself. "Well, since I'm pregnant, it wouldn't make sense for me to jump into a new job when I'll have to take a leave in several months."

"Exactly," I agreed wholeheartedly. I didn't want her to work at all, but I understood why she would want to. But waiting until after the baby was born was definitely the best decision.

So with Bella's choice to quit her job, we had nothing holding us back from making our next big move. But as fate would have it, that choice became so much simpler….


****Everything is coming together!

Coming up next – An unexpected visitor and an unhappy run-in.

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