Chapter 29
I'm still floating pretty high when the sound of the front door slamming somewhere in the distance makes me scramble off Edward's lap and back onto the step beside him. As if that alone wasn't enough of a rude awakening, I catch a glimpse of him in the halflight as I turn my head toward the sound, and for a split second he looks enough like Carlisle to make my heart stop beating for a moment. I refocus as I do a double-take. It was nothing more than a passing resemblance as my eyes flitted past him. Right now, as his brow furrows with a touching amount of concern, I can see exactly who he is.
"Are you okay?" He reaches out to place his hand on my arm. I plaster on a smile and shake my head as I look away, too ashamed to make eye contact as I curse the fact that I ever had anything to do with his father and wonder if it will permanently taint what's developing between us.
"I guess I drank more than I realized." I think he knows I'm covering, because I feel him watching me long after he should have looked away, his eyes lingering on my face.
I'm saved from further scrutiny by Emmett's bare butt pressed against the glass behind us. It's not my distraction of choice, but it works well enough.
"Jesus Christ." Edward shakes his head as I bury my face in his shoulder, smirking as I try to escape the sight.
"Is it safe yet?" I ask, my voice muffled by his body.
"That depends on your idea of safe. If you mean has Em pulled his pants up, yes he has."
I raise my head and turn tentatively back to the window, only to be greeted by Jess's naked ass instead.
"I have no idea if introducing those two was genius or the world's worst idea," I confess.
"I'm scared."
"For them or us?" I ask.
"For society in general. Imagine if they have kids…"
The door opens and Jess sticks her head out, still laughing.
"Em's just setting up some shots. Are you guys joining us?"
"I'm good, another coffee would be great though." I pick up my empty mug and hold it out to her.
"Yep, they're in!" Jess turns and calls behind her, winking as she ducks back inside and pulls the door closed. I set the mug back down, shaking my head.
"I'm going to wind up carrying her home."
Edward pulls me back toward him and settles his face against my neck, pressing his lips to my skin and causing a delicious tingle to run up the back of my head.
"You could always stay here."
I could and it's way too tempting, but the thought of rushing in and ruining things is terrifying me.
"I don't know…" I'm aware my hesitancy is blatant - in my words, my voice, my body language - it's impossible to hide.
Edward raises his head and cups my cheek gently, forcing me to look at him.
"Hey." His voice is tender and brimming with concern. "We don't have to…" He tilts his head and his eyes blaze into mine, leaving the unspoken words as clear as if he'd said them out loud. "I just really want to be with you."
His proximity conspires with his words and the way he looks at me, causing my emotions to rise so suddenly and violently that tears push their way into my eyes, escaping down my cheeks in gentle streams. I'm overcome with feeling for this man before me. He's gentle and compassionate, and every time he turns his eyes on me, I feel cherished. In this moment, in the moonlight with the warmth of alcohol and in my post-bliss state, it's all too much.
The door opens again before Edward has time to comment, and I swipe hurriedly at my wet cheeks before anyone else can see.
Jess dances past us and down the steps, singing Tequila by Terrorvision as she balances a tray containing four shot glasses and a bowl of lemon wedges. Emmett follows behind her with a bottle of Patrón and the salt shaker, moving them like maracas.
I look at Edward and grin and his face relaxes as he sees my smile.
"Jess, you don't drink tequila, remember?" I say.
"What?" Emmett's question and the appalled tone he throws it out in, is overly theatrical as he jolts his head to look at Jess.
"I'll be fine, ignore her." She busies herself setting everything up.
"Last time, as I held your hair while you puked into the toilet with half your clothes missing, you begged me never to let you drink tequila again, remember?"
"Well I have to say, I'm not crazy about the puking part," Emmett interjects. "But I'm more than happy to lend a hand should you have problems with missing clothing."
"Wow, Emmett, you're a gentleman," I tease him. He winks at me and I can't resist returning the dimpled smile that accompanies it.
As a responsible friend, and feeling a little fuzzy myself, I decide it's time to rein things in when Jess returns from the bathroom without her jeans.
"Uh, Jess?" She looks at me as I nod toward her bare legs.
"I couldn't get them back on," she says, slurring a little as she lands heavily in Emmett's lap. He's deep in conversation with Edward, and does a double-take as his hand comes to rest on naked flesh instead of the denim he was expecting.
"Why had you even taken them off?" I ask, closing one eye as I frown, to try and focus better.
"I had to pee." Clearly she thinks I'm the dumb one here.
"Who takes their pants off to pee?"
My question goes unanswered as Emmett raises the tequila bottle in the air, barely more than an inch of liquor left in the bottom of it.
"Who wants another?"
Jess whoops and I groan. Edward catches my eye and reaches toward Em.
"I'll pour these," he offers. Emmett looks more than happy to stay where he is with my half-naked friend on his knee, and let's go of the bottle. It drops to the floor, somehow not breaking as it rolls away.
"Noooo!" Em pushes up from his seat, trying to hold Jess upright as he stands, but she slips and lands in a pile at his feet. She shrieks loudly, pulling everyone's attention back to her, until Emmett pulls her upright. Gingerly she turns and we all see her wet backside - thankfully still in underwear - where she landed in the spilled tequila.
"Maybe we should just call it a night," Edward suggests. I study his face and suspect that he engineered the whole bottle-dropping incident in the first place.
"I hate wet clothes," Jess whines, as Em swipes at her butt as though he can brush the tequila away.
"Let's go in and get you out of those wet clothes," he says to her. I'm watching carefully for a leer or some recognition of the double entendre, but he shows nothing but concern and care. It looks like it was unintentional after all. Jess lets him wrap a huge arm around her and lead her inside, and then we're alone once more.
I feel Edward's hand take mine as I watch the others make their way through the house on the other side of the door.
"Have you thought any more about my offer of a bed for the night?" he asks softly, as I feel fingers run down the length of my hair. I turn to face him, taking hold of his other hand.
"I have." It's the truth, the thought has hardly left my head in the couple of hours since he suggested it.
"And?"
"No expectations and no pressure, right?" I ask.
"I really hope not, because after the amount I've drunk tonight you could be leaving here very disappointed." He smiles and I laugh, looking away for a moment. When I look back, his face makes me shiver in the most wonderful way. He has the capacity to disarm me most of the time anyway, but the intensity that pulls at his features now leaves me unable to contemplate leaving when he's asking me not to.
"Okay. I'll stay," I whisper.
He smiles again and I realize that I could live to make this man happy.
