Chapter 29
"And this is the kitchen," Alice about bounces as she drags me over to the bar area where several bottles and an ice bucket are strewn about haphazardly. "Hmmmmm? What should I make you to drink?" She says tapping her chin while smirking devilishly at me.
She pauses looking at me and then around at the other occupants of the room. Drink…crap I'm not about to tell her no I don't want anything to drink. She may like me right now but I have barely said two words to her throughout her long tour of the entire house culminating with the bar.
"I know just the thing." She says grabbing a large glass from behind the bar. "You like ice? Doesn't matter stuffs pretty cold anyway." The clunk clunk of the ice has my eyes watching what all she is putting into my cup. A large bottle of red stuff is the first thing she adds to my large glass followed by a large bottle of blue stuff. Wow, it sure look pretty, I am surprised when she fills the rest up with 7up instead of alcohol. She winks at me before fixing herself an identical drink but she adds vodka to hers instead of just 7up.
"Thanks, Alice." I say as I reach to pick up the drink that she made me, wondering if those red and blue bottles contain any alcohol, but I push it aside and take a sip. Sure doesn't taste like alcohol.
"No problem, just designate me your personal bartender for the night and try to relax a bit." She picks up her drink with a smile, "C'mon lets go find Emmett he is always good for a laugh or two, plus I'm sure my other half is close by his moronic friend." He giggles and I follow along behind her taking it all in.
No one is acting crazy, no one is yelling or fighting, I can do this. Parties obviously aren't all like the crazy ones portrayed on tv sitcoms or movies. 'Relax, Bella' isn't that what everyone tells me, nothing is gonna go wrong. We make our way into a game room of sorts, well the room where the pool table and music is coming from that is...thus most of the party guest are here too.
Alice pauses briefly in the doorway taking her time scanning the room, I see Edward leaning against a wall talking with a few people that I don't know. Across the room from him, I see Emmett, well I hear him first, it seems to be some kind of game but from this vantage point the only thing I see is a slight crowding around what I can barely make out as Emmett's large body.
"Oh yeah, I win again!" I hear Emmett shout as the crowd breaks up giving us a better view of him and his competitor.
"What were they doing?" I ask Alice quietly as I gawk at the scene before me.
"Oh, they were prolly just racing to see who could drink the most, idiots." She says shaking her head slightly.
I wonder if they would have a different winner if they discounted the amount on each of the contestants' shirts and the floor beneath their feet. Probably not, can't see them getting technical during a party game.
"Come on, let's go laugh at the mess they made." I shrug and follow her over to the two guys, their shirts wet and clinging to the skin beneath catches my eye, but the overwhelming smell of beer makes me want to detach my nose from my face.
"Hey, when did you get here, Bella?" Emmett smiles reaching for a towel to pat at his damp clingy shirt and neck.
"Little bit ago, I guess, didn't know you liked to douse yourself in beer at parties, Em." I laugh at the silly smirk he throws at me.
"Yeah, well, there is quite a bit you don't know about me, little girl."
"I'm sure I already know too much as it is." I reply and Alice grins at our exchange. Probably the most she has heard me talk all evening, I'm comfortable around Emmett, he has been over to the house the most between him and Jasper and after that evil birthday prank I've kinda gotten use to his weird sense of humor.
"Come on, Bella, let mister champion here go change. I'm sure he'll want to impress Rosalie with something more than ode de Bud light." Alice laughs and I follow her away from the beer mess.
We don't get too far Jasper seems to appear out of nowhere and pulls Alice into a tight embrace. Okay, now I feel a wee bit awkward so I just keep walking letting them have their moment. Where to now, since my guide to all things that are parties is currently lip-locking with her man, my eyes roam over the people around me and I almost stop breathing when I see Edward. He is still where he was when we came in, leaning against the wall, his bad leg outstretched not bearing any weight, and he is totally focused on the people he is talking to.
Decisions, decisions, do I act like the confident girl I know I can be and walk up to him and put my arm around him or do I veer off and go sneak away from the crowd like the scared high school girl that I am. This could be the night it all blows up, if I don't act now who is to blame him when he realizes I'm not worth it.
I take a sip of my drink and allow my feet to carry me towards the man I came with, nerves be damned, I will not let all those older people intimidate me. Okay, so maybe that isn't entirely true but I won't let them stop me from approaching him. My confidence wears out just as I get my arm around his middle, his warm smile gives me just enough encouragement to finish greeting him.
"Hey, missed you." I murmur and gently kiss his chin before leaning against the wall beside him.
"Have fun with Alice?" He asks as his arm come around my shoulder.
"Yeah, how could I not."
"What ya drinking there?" He says nodding at my half-gone drink.
"Don't know Alice made it for me." I say and that is when I realize he has a beer in his over hand. Memories of him being drunk float through my head but I ignore them and just lean against him as he introduces me to the people around us. I get lost in the sea of faces and names, but manage to relax and join in on the conversation.
"Come on, let's get another drink." Edward says abruptly and clutches my hand leading me out of the noisy room.
Edward leans over with his head in the fridge, "You want a beer or want me to mix you up another fancy drink?"
"Beer tastes bad, right?" I ask scrunching up my nose a bit.
"Uh, I take that as a no for the beer," the smack of the fridge door draws my attention for a second and I seem to totally miss what he says next.
"Huh?" I look up at Edward a little confused and smile at my embarrassment.
"I asked if you wanted alcohol in your drink this time or if you wanted something like what Alice made you?"
I frown at him, "How'd you know?"
"Don't take it personally, Alice is a middle school teacher, she isn't willingly going to hand over alcohol to a minor. So, come on and tell me what you want into your drink." We walk up to the bar and I lean against the counter, expecting him to walk around to the other side like Alice did earlier, but he doesn't.
His left hand is the first indication that I get that he is behind me, the bottle of beer being placed on the counter is the next, and I really didn't need any more clues but his chest pressing against my back sure makes an obvious one. I feel his warm breath against my neck and a soft kiss just behind my ear has me clenching my hands on the edge of the counter.
"You may be a virgin…" He whispers soft and an octave lower than usual. His tongue snakes along the shell of my ear, "but I'm willing to make you something other than a virgin cocktail to drink…my morals aren't as steadfast as some." His mouth closes over the tip of my earlobe and his teeth give it a little tug as he pulls away. His gaze stays locked on mine as he slowly makes his way to the other side of the bar.
"What shall I make you?" He asks leaning across the bar so close that I can smell the beer on his breath and feel the heat emanate from his moist mouth.
My brain is so not working, what was the question? I wonder as I watch him across from me.
"Bella?"
"Ummm, surprise me?" I say and am greeted with an evil looking smirk.
"Thought you hated surprises?" He says but starts looking through the bottles behind the bar.
"Usually do…but I'm kinda out of my element here." I say waving my hand at the bar.
"Gotcha…trust me then huh?" The familiar blue stuff and orange juice are the only things I recognize going into my drink, making me a little worried but I ignore it.
"Of course, how could I not?" I smile and twirl his beer around on the counter as he finishes off filling my glass.
I hesitantly reach towards the glass and bring it to my lips and am surprised to have it taste good though I can taste the bitterness of the alcohol behind the fruity flavor.
"Like it?" He asks grabbing his beer from the counter and taking a sip.
"Mmmm-hmmmm it's fruity." I take another sip and lick my lips to get the stickiness off them.
"Great."
Okay yeah i know i stopped writing at a werid spot but i thought i should post instead of letting it sit around while i figure out what happens next.... hope you Enjoyed Reading and i am working on the next chapter
