(Edward POV)
Willy simply rolls his eyes at me. He switches his gaze back to Bella, who is still rambling on about the house we purchased.
Yes, purchased.
I slide my hand under the table and along Bella's thigh until I reach her knee. Once I do, I give it a gentle squeeze. It's the weekend, finally, and summer is in full set. July 21st is what I woke up to and will (hopefully) fall asleep to. I say hopefully because I am a night owl even though I really don't want to be. I always tend to have thoughts that occupy my mind non-stop and they just like to ramble. It's hard to say 'night-night' with all that going on inside my head. Bella's usually asleep by midnight, but I'll stay up in bed watching the late night talk shows or catch the news. All the while, my mind will run rapidly.
Bella and I met up with Sienna and Willy out at the local bar, Quicksand, to catch up. Of course Willy and I talk everyday at work, but outside of work it's nice having a social life. Plus, Bella doesn't come to work with me and Sienna doesn't go with Willy. It's like a date night and it's a luxury being able to go out, even if it's to the closest and cheapest bar. It's not too packed; a lot of locals come in every week and play a few games of pool. Others shoot darts and shoot the shit, while some people just want out for a drink. The air is energized, it's like a frenzy and that could be from all the alcohol being passed around or the frenzies radiating off people's skin. Probably both. The lighting is dim but there isn't foggy smoke throughout the place like most bars are pictured. It's more of a local hot spot, like a café that sells alcohol. Yeah, that sounds about right.
"I don't know what he was thinking." Bella finishes and takes a long sip of her strawberry daiquiri. She's one for those fruity and filling drinks, where I just want a Coors. I nurse the neck of my current beer and let out a snort of a life while someone in the background lets out a whoop of excitement from his or her sunken pool ball.
"I was thinking it was a great house." I reply to Bella with a soft smile. "You said you saw it too."
"I did!" She insists and I lift an eyebrow. "I do. It's just, we want to move."
"And we will."
"I think she means sooner rather than later. It sounds like a lot of work, Ed. I mean 'course I'll help all I can but…" Willy takes a swig of his beer before continuing; "I might need a few more beers before I'm totally onboard."
Bella and Sienna laugh and I take my turn to roll my eyes. "Come on. It'll be done by the new school year. Right before September."
"Edward, it's July." Sienna reminds me. Her dark, tanned skin glows under the dimmed lights in the bar. Sitting beside Willy she looks small, but she herself is a whooping 5 feet and eight inches. She flips her dark, straight hair over her shoulder and clicks her tongue. "You'll need more help than Willy. The man hardly ever picks up a hammer. I had to hang the picture of Carl up myself last weekend."
"He's your dog," Willy retorts. "I didn't want that mutt."
Sienna shakes her head in amusement. "You go all oogly googly when you see him. You love him." Now I've seen this dog a few times and it is a mutt. He looks like a pile of fluff. Something that could so very easily be vacuumed. Bella of course, loves him.
"Anyways," I pull my hand back from Bella's knee and rest it around her shoulders on the back of the wooden chair. "I can do this. We can. It doesn't need that much fixing up."
"The kitchen is actually spotless. It recently got renovated. The owner moved in with her mother and wanted to sell the house for extra cash to pay for her schooling she's planning on doing. She wants to become a Nurse Practitioner. She invested a little in the house to boost up its value, but that was months ago. The place has been vacated for so long that the front yard is pretty much a wreck." Bella adds in. She seems onboard with the house, but I can tell she's skeptical.
"Here's the deal," I feel like I'm telling the whole house story over again. Oh wait, I am. "The place is sturdy, in good condition. It's been abandoned for too long and needs to be cleaned up. The porch needs some paint, but the wood is as solid as Willy's noggin. The house has one creaky step that's leading upstairs. There needs to be appliances since right now it's empty. The walls need a fresh coat of paint, but there's already hard wood floor. The exterior makes the house look deceiving. Really, the inside is top notch apart from the paint colours. It's all neutral to attract buyers. I don't understand why it wasn't sold before Bella and I bought it. It's been on the market for a long time."
Bella sniffs, "As you said, the outside scared buyers."
"Yeah, we'll I'm already having that fixed up this weekend. I hired some people." I look over to Willy. "Arnold's landscaping. Ring a bell?"
Willy shrugs. "I coulda done better."
"Oh Willy!" Sienna laughs hysterically. "Really? You're always saying you want a project to do but I can't even get you to hang up a picture frame."
"That's no fun." Willy grumbles and looks over to me. "What can I do?"
I chuckle but am also eager. "We've owned the house for two days," I peer over at Bella and smile. "But I think we can start fixing up the downstairs bathroom."
"Ooh, let's go appliance shopping." Bella pipes up looking over at Sienna. "Let the guys get all the paint and shit, you and I can be the decorators!"
"Now that sounds like heaven. Girl, when are we talking? ASAP I hope. I get this week off for vacation you know." Sienna responds to a giddy Bella. Sienna is a manager at a clothing store in the mall in the closest city. Though the forty-minute drive to work isn't satisfying, the paycheck is.
While Bella and Sienna plan a shopping day Willy and I offer to get more drinks for them. The minute we're out of hearing range, Willy pipes up and nudges me with his elbow. "Okay, so now you're making progress. You know after a month Sienna moved in with me."
"Yeah, Bella moved in with me soon too." I reply and try not to be defensive.
"What I'm saying is now you've got your own house, a career, a girl, Alice taken care of, money in your pocket, your shit together, awesome-as-fuck friends," Willy pauses to smirk as we reach the bar. We both lean against it and wait for the bartender to walk over. He's currently handing some fruity drinks to a blonde lady a few paces away. "When are ya getting hitched? Married. Come on, it's gotta have passed your mind."
"Of course it has." I reply. Willy and I standing meet eye to eye, the two of us are probably the tallest people inside this joint. "And I already asked her dad."
"Wouldn't doubt it. Sounds like you. Don't you hate her dad though?"
"Yeah, but it's her dad." I pause when the bartender walks over and order Bella and I our drinks. Willy orders his and when the bartender walks off to get them ready, I continue. "I got to respect that."
"True say. So when you asking her?"
I shrug.
"Come on!" Willy insists. "You have all this shit settled, but not the date."
"No." I look down at my brown shoes. "Not really."
"You're scared."
"Am not."
"Are too. You know she'll say yes." Willy tells me.
"No I don't. I look at him." He cocks and eyebrow. "I think she's completely against marriage. She was almost forced into one with that Crowley fucker."
"But she told you she'd marry you one day."
"I think she was just saying that to please me."
Willy rolls his eyes. "Seriously. She'll say yes because she wants to."
I just shrug and grab the drinks I ordered.
I wish I had that much confidence.
A/N: And of course I'm sure Willy isn't the only one wondering when Edward will pop the question.
