A/N - Happy Saturday! Sorry that I just disappeared on you guys! You would not believe my life right now if I told you! haha! Edward and Bella would be jealous of the drama! Thanks for being patient. Of course I will post tomorrow to make up for missing you on Friday! I hope you're all having a great weekend! Enjoy!
Chapter 49 – Apartments and Aprons
"So, we signed a lease," Emmett said, before taking a big bite of his pepperoni pizza. "How weird is that?"
Rose giggled. "It's a little weird."
"It's not weird," Carlisle said. "It's part of growing up."
I smiled as we ate lunch, together. After looking at the four different apartments that Em and Rose had picked out online over the weekend, they ended up choosing the first one we looked at. It was close to the water, was on the second floor and had an airy feel to it. It felt clean, was freshly painted white and the balcony doors opened to let in a nice cool breeze.
It was small, just one bedroom and one en suite bathroom, but it was all they needed. And they would be spending about two-hundred dollars less than they would have, had they picked the two bedroom place. They didn't really need too much room. It was just a nice place to stay during the week, a place of their own. A start of their future as a couple.
And the place where Emmett would propose to Rose at the end of the summer. I couldn't wait to see her wearing that beautiful engagement ring that Em had picked out for her on Saturday.
"Five-fifty a month," Emmett said, smiling. "I'm stoked about that."
"I know," Rose said. "It's only two-twenty-five each once we split it. And it comes with a fridge, stove and dishwasher."
"And included utilities," Rose's dad added with a smile at his oldest daughter.
Esme and Carlisle had paid the damage deposit and the first month's rent for them. It was sweet and their little way of showing Emmett that they approved of his choices in life and love and higher education. I couldn't wait to shop for furniture with them. But they wouldn't get the keys to their place until the first of September, so they decided to wait on that step, for now.
Esme had teared up a little when Emmett was signing the papers, but for the most part, she'd done well. I was proud of her. I knew this was hard on her, but she was letting her kids grow up gracefully. She encouraged them and she loved them with her whole heart.
"So, what are we doing for the rest of the afternoon?" Alice asked Edward after we'd gotten into his car after lunch.
The Hales were heading back to Forks, as well as Esme and Carlisle. Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Maria were going to go shopping at the mall, and Edward and I decided to take Alice early. She was so excited about the sleepover, tonight, I thought we could make a day of it.
"What do you want to do, Princess?" he asked, peeking over his shoulder at her.
"Um. I don't know. Something fun."
I giggled and looked back at her. "Wal-Mart? We'll go get some new Barbie clothes."
"And the Justin Bieber Remix CD?"
Edward laughed. "Does this mean we have to listen to it?"
The giggling from the backseat make us both smile. "Of course," she got out. "'Never Say Never' is such a cool song."
"Yeah, Edward," I said, winking at him.
"Okay, okay. I'm a good brother. Let's go get your supplies for a girly afternoon."
"It's not girly. It going to be awesome. You're going to play with us and bake cake with us and let us do your hair, right, Edward?" Alice asked.
I reached over and rubbed Edward's thigh and he winked at me. "Of course."
Alice chattered in the backseat to Edward about how cool the lyrics were to one of her favourite songs. And Edward, like the good brother he was, listened intently and laughed as she spoke, so seriously, of course.
As for me, I couldn't stop staring at my fiancé. His mouth, his smile, his hands loose on the steering wheel. My mind kept jumping to the night before, to Edward's hands on my body, his lips on mine.
We'd both been tired and emotional last night. We'd shared some personal thoughts and feelings about our future as parents. Our conflicting emotions. But, it was real and I felt lucky to have a relationship with a man who could communicate with me about the hard issues. He cried with me. He held me. He never discounted my fears. He was genuine and he was mine.
So, when we made love, we gave ourselves to each other wholly. Our connection felt deeper, his touches were new, but they felt right. And I came, I came completely.
"What are you thinking about?" Edward whispered in my ear as we stood at the end of the aisle and watched Alice as she tried to decide between a peach ball gown and a green pantsuit for her Barbie dolls. She didn't need to worry. Edward would probably buy her both.
"Now? How you're a fabulous big brother."
He smiled and kissed my cheek. "How about before?"
"In the car? I was thinking about how sexy you are, actually."
"Ooh. Tell me more."
I squeezed his bum. "Not here."
"Was it about last night?"
"Mm hmm."
He chuckled. "I can't stop thinking about it, either. I love when you let me touch you, when you trust me to make you feel good."
"How did you know that I would like that?" I blushed. "You know, that I'd like for you to touch me, there."
"Because it's an erogenous zone, baby." He kissed the corner of my mouth. "It's even in the sex book."
I laughed. "You're still reading that, huh?"
"I am. For a year now. I'm pretty fluent about all things sex," he said, whispering the last word.
"Oh. I know you are."
Edward winked at me, again. "Alice. Did you choose, yet?"
She drug her feet and shuffled over to us. "I can't pick."
He chuckled. "Let's get both."
"Why didn't you tell me that, hours ago?" Alice said.
Edward laughed. "I like watching you trying to decide. You never can."
"That's mean," she said.
Edward took her hand and twirled her around. "I'm not mean. Now, let's go pick up a cake mix."
"A cake mix?" Alice and I both asked at the same time.
"I thought you were making cake?" Edward asked.
"Bella doesn't use a cake mix," Alice said, matter-of-factly. "She uses scratch."
Edward laughed and smiled at me. "We should call her scratch."
"Yay. Bella has a nickname."
I giggled, knowing exactly what kind of scratching Edward was thinking about. "Okay. Al. I have a plan." I took her other hand and Edward and I walked, with Alice between us, over to house wears. I smiled when I saw the aprons.
"An apron?" she asked. "Can I get one?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking," I said. "You can pick one out from this row, the children's aprons, and we'll leave it at my house for whenever you come over. That way, you can bake with me all the time."
"Look Bella," Alice said, looking through the aprons. "It's got cherries on it."
"Oh, that's so cute." I flipped through the adult aprons and found the matching apron. "Ooh, look what I found." It actually had a really sexy nineteen fifties vibe to it. I was definitely going to wear this one for Edward when we were alone, too.
"We're going to be twins," Alice said, hopping up and down. "This sleepover is going to be awesome."
Alice chattered all the way back to Forks, even louder than her new CD playing in the background, and in between bites of the danish Edward bought her from her favourite bakery.
I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed his palm, before pressing little kisses to each of his fingertips. He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. I was excited for the sleepover with Alice, too. But, I knew that Edward would figure out how to sneak me away in the middle of the night. And I couldn't wait. It was bound to be the highlight of my night.
