Forty-three
"Baby, my feet are cold," I whined, rolling onto my back and looking over at Edward. He groaned and lifted his shirt up. "Thank you," I sighed, slipping my feet into his shirt.
"Jesus Christ, Bella," he yelped the moment my feet touched him. "Why aren't you wearing socks?"
"I hate socks," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Besides, that's why I have you."
"Gee, so glad I could be here for you," he said, sarcastically.
"Hmm, I could stay home tonight and make it up to you," I purred.
"No," he said, simply. I groaned, digging my feet into him. "Stop!"
"Fine," I sighed, pulling my feet out from under his shirt and rolling on the bed so that I was back onto my stomach. "If you don't want me here."
The bed shifted as Edward moved so that he was hovering over me, pressing his delicious body down onto mine. Like that was going to help me not call the girls and cancel on them tonight. Edward slid his hand down the side of my body to the hem of my blue t-shirt. Slipping his hand under, he slid it back up my body, leaving a fiery wake in it's path. My body shivered against him and it had nothing to do with how cold it was.
"Baby, you know that I want you here," he murmured, caressing my skin. I lifted my ass, pressing into his growing erection. "Beeellllaaaaa."
"Yes, love," I whispered, looking over my shoulder at him.
"You need to start getting ready," he groaned, falling onto the bed next to me. "Alice and Rose will be here soon and if you aren't ready… Well, I don't think I want to think about what she will do to you."
We both knew he was referring to his sister and the fit she would throw. "I don't want to go," I muttered.
"Yes, you do," he smiled, rolling so that he was facing me. "You'll have fun."
"But I'm going to miss you," I mumbled, feeling my face turn bright red.
"I'll miss you, too, Baby, but you need girl time," he murmured, pushing a strand of hair out of my face. "Have fun, please? For me?"
"You're a cheater," I grumbled.
"I know," he smirked, leaning over and kissing me. "Now, go shower."
I didn't argue with him as I climbed off the bed. However, I did strip off my shirt and throw it at him. He growled, causing my panties to dampen. The man had no clue how much him growling turned me on. I walked into the bathroom and stripped off the rest of my clothes, tossing them into the hamper before I started the shower. I turned back to the mirror, letting my eyes drop to my flat abdomen. I wonder how long it would be before I started showing.
I couldn't wait for my belly to start growing, to feel my baby moving inside of me. To know that he or she was really in there and really doing ok. I shook my head, trying to push all negative thoughts out of my head and stepped into the shower. Worrying that something was wrong with me or the baby wasn't going to help anything but cause me undo stress and lots of sleepless nights. Lord knows, I don't need either of those.
I quickly showered and dried off. Alice and Rose would be here in less than an hour to pick me up for our girls night out with Kate and Lauren. I wasn't sure why I agreed to go out with them and leave my very sexy and very loving husband at home but I did. Now, none of them would let me out of going with them. I suppose I saw their points about needing to have girl time and whatever but I was going to miss him. Fuck, I sounded so sappy right now.
When I walked back into mine and Edward's bedroom, I expected to see him laying on the bed but he wasn't. I walked over to the closet and tried to decide what to wear. If Alice was here, she would insist that I wear a dress or at least a skirt but since she wasn't here, I decided to go with a pair of nice jeans. It was cool tonight and I was already a little cold. Slipping on a pair of panties and a bra, I pulled the jeans on, buttoning them. They were very tight and I wouldn't be able to wear them for much longer. Now came the hard part, trying to decide what shirt to wear.
If I didn't know that Alice would have the big one, I would wear a t-shirt but I knew my little pixie friend and she would literally fall over and have the big one if I dared. That really left me a couple of sweaters and a handful of blouses. The problem was, I really didn't want to wear any of them but didn't have much else to wear. Sighing to myself, I reached in and grabbed the first shirt my hand touched. It was a chocolate brown silk top that hung loosely off one shoulder and clung to my boobs. I pulled on a pair of matching brown boots and pulled my hair up into a messy twist on the back of my head. I had just finished with my make-up when the doorbell rang.
"Where's my Bella?" squealed Alice. I rolled my eyes as I walked out of the bathroom just as she was barging into the bedroom. "OH BELLA! You look beautiful."
"Thanks," I muttered, pulling a cream sweater out of the closet. "Are we ready to go?"
"Yep," she smiled. I followed Alice back out to the living room.
Rose was standing next to Edward, looking nervous but excited. I knew all too well how unnerving Alice could be when she got like this. The great part was that I wasn't the only one wearing jeans. Rose was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans and a vibrant red top with a pair of red heels. Alice, on the other hand, was wearing a shirt black leather skirt, a silver halter top and a pair of knee high, black boots with a three inch heel. I thought about reminding her that it was October and that it was cold out but decided not to. Picking your battles and everything.
I moved over to Edward, wrapping my arms around him. "I'll call you," I murmured.
"No, she won't," sighed Alice, pulling on my arm. I turned and glared at her, yanking my arm out of her hand. Her eyes flew open and she realized that she had done wrong. "I mean, of course she will call."
"Have fun," chuckled Edward, turning my face to his. "Please."
"I'll try," I whispered. "Don't miss me too much."
"I will," he murmured, pressing his lips down onto mine. "Every second."
"Oh, for fuck sake," griped Alice, storming out of the house. Rose laughed as she followed her out, letting the screen door shut behind her.
"Go before she does something to your car," smiled Edward.
I kissed him again, grabbed my coat off the back of the couch, and ran out of the house, leaving him standing there laughing at me. Alice was standing next to my car, scowling at me as I damn near skipped down the driveway. She could be such a drama queen sometimes.
"You know, Bella," she started, folding her arms in front of her, "I'm happy that you and Edward are all in lustful love with each other but not all of us want to see you sucking face all the time. He is my brother, after all."
"Nobody asked you to watch, Mary Alice," I smiled, unlocking the car. I placed my hand on the top as I looked up at her. "Besides, how many times did I have to sit there while you and Jas made out or damn near fucked in front of me while we were high school."
"Don't know what you are talking about, Isabella Marie," she muttered, coyly.
"Of course, you don't," I scoffed. "Let's go so we can get this night started!"
The three of us climbed into my car and headed over to meet up with Kate and Lauren at Kate's house. They climbed into Lauren's car and followed us onto highway 287 and on toward Amarillo.
An hour later, I pulled my car into a parking space in front of Chili's. We climbed out of our cars and headed inside. The hostess lead the five of us to our table and we took our seats. I sat between Rose and Alice, while Kate and Lauren sat across from us. Our waiter came over and took our drink order, water, before heading to the back. Of course, not before giving Lauren the once over. She rolled her eyes as he left.
"Just like high school," I giggled, giving Lauren a pointed look.
"Don't bring that shit up," she smiled.
"What shit?" asked Rose. I turned from Lauren and looked at Rose.
"When we were all juniors we had come up one day during the summer and spent the day shopping. Before we left to go back home, we stopped here to eat. Well, our waiter flirted with Lauren the whole time. He was like really creepy looking and had to be at least a good fifteen years older than us," I explained, looking back at Lauren. "We had just started eating when he came over with the biggest Margarita I have ever seen and placed it right in front of her."
"I looked up at him and asked him what the fuck this was," laughed Lauren. "He started stammering that he thought I would like one. I stood up, placed my hands on the table and said 'I am sixteen fucking years old, asshole. Not only that but her father is the goddamn sheriff and would hand my ass over to my parents if I came back with one sip of tequila in my body.'"
"Of course, she said this as loud as she possibly could," smirked Alice.
"I had to make sure he got the point," laughed Lauren. Kate was doubled over, laughing so hard that she was drawing the attention of those around us.
"Well, he did," I snorted. "When the restaurant manager heard Lauren's rampage, he came over to see what was going on. Once he heard the whole story, he fired our waiter and gave us our food for free if we would keep this all on the down low."
"Did you?" asked Rose.
"Hell yes!" we said, together.
"Carlisle and Esme would have taken my car away," muttered Alice.
"Charlie would have made me go shopping with Alice," I smiled.
"Hey," whined Alice, huffing.
"Love you, pixie," I smiled.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"See, Rose, technically, we weren't allowed to come to Amarillo and we did not want our parents to find out," said Kate.
"Why did you then?" asked Rose.
"You live in Clarendon," snorted Alice. "There is nothing to do there."
"I don't mind it," smiled Rose, looking down at her hands. "It's nice to be someplace where I don't feel rushed all the time."
"Did you grow up in Chicago?" asked Kate, sipping on her water. Rose shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable talking about her past. Alice knew everything but Kate and Lauren didn't.
"No," murmured Rose. "I lived in New York until I was sixteen."
"Do you miss it?" asked Lauren.
"No," smiled Rose. "That wasn't my home anymore. It hadn't been in a long time."
"But don't you miss your job at all?" asked Kate.
"Trying to get asshole rapist and child molesters tossed in jail?" asked Rose, bitterly. "Why would I miss that?"
"I…" Kate looked away, awkwardly.
"Chicago wasn't Rose's home anymore than it was mine," I said, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "We both came home."
"I didn't mean…" Kate looked back at us. "I didn't mean it like that."
"We know," I said, quietly.
"Yeah, besides, Clarendon needs a good lawyer," said Rose, smiling softly. "Who knows what kind of trouble Emmett will get into."
We all laughed with her, knowing that she was right. Our waiter came back and we ordered our meals. After he left, we broke out into small talk, mostly about Lauren and Tyler's wedding, which would be held next June. She wanted all of us, including Rose, to be in her wedding. I wasn't sure if I would be up to since our baby was due in May but I couldn't turn her down. Not after all the support she gave us with our wedding. As we talked, I noticed that Rose relaxed a little at a time. This was something completely different for her. I squeezed her hand once more before I let it go and we joined in the conversation going on around us.
Once dinner was over, we paid our bill and headed back out to our cars. I wasn't sure where Kate and Lauren were leading us and Rose and Alice wouldn't tell me. I begrudgingly followed through Amarillo until we pulled up in front of Midnight Rodeo, a small bar. I groaned inwardly as I climbed out of the car and followed Rose and Alice up to the front doors where Kate and Lauren were waiting for us. Why in the hell would we come to a fucking country bar?
"I can't believe you guys want to come here," I muttered, following them inside.
The inside was crawling with drunks and women throwing themselves at said drunks. I worried my bottom lip as I followed Kate, Lauren, Rose, and Alice to a large table in the back. We took our seats as a server came around, asking what we wanted to drink. She rolled her eyes when all five of us ordered water. I wanted to tell her to fuck off but I didn't. Some people just weren't worth it.
"Why are we here?" I asked, leaning forward.
"Cause we can," smirked Kate, looping her arm in with mine. "Remember how we always said we were going to come here when we were old enough."
"That was when we were young and stupid enough to think this place was actually cool," I smiled.
"I know, right?" asked Lauren. "Ty and I came here once right after we started seeing each other. He nearly got into a fight when this motherfucker started sending drinks over to me. It took me while to calm him down."
"By that she means, that they fucked in the bathroom," laughed Alice. Lauren turned bright red as we all busted out laughing.
"Yeah, well, it worked, didn't it?" she shot back. "It was amazing."
"Ew, I do not want to hear about any of your sex lives," I giggled.
"Fine, let's talk about yours," smirked Kate.
"Gross," whined Alice. "That's my brother. I don't want to hear about him having s-e-x."
"Alice, did you just spell out sex?" I asked, laughing at her.
"Maybe," she said, blushing. Kate and Lauren were trying their hardest to stifle their laughter but they were unable to.
"Hey, Alice, you know what?" asked Rose, placing her hand under her chin as she leaned up.
"What?" asked Alice.
"Emmett is an animal in the sack," smirked Rose, winking at her. Alice grimaced. "He does this thing with his tongue-"
"Ugh," grumbled Alice, standing up. "That's it, I'm going to go dance."
Lauren and Kate chased after Alice and the three of them started to dance to some country song that I had never heard of before. Rose slid over into the seat next to me, laying her chin on my shoulder as we watched the three of them dancing.
"Is that true about Emmett?" I asked.
"Yes," murmured Rose. I turned and looked at her.
"When?" I asked.
"Your wedding night," she said, blushing. "It was the right time."
"Are you ok?" I asked, taking her hand in mine.
"I'm more than ok, Bella," she smiled. "I was scared at first but he was sweet and caring. Bella, I know now that he will never hurt me."
"No, he won't," I said, returning her smile. "But it's still scary, isn't it?"
"Yeah," she murmured. "Does it ever get easier? Emmett's the first guy I've been with since…"
"It get easier, I suppose," I said. "But I still find myself thinking about Edward's reaction before I do something or say something. Then I have to remind myself that Edward is never going to hurt me. That he loves me and our baby. For now, that's how I get through the panic when I feel it coming on."
"Me too," smiled Rose. "I am going to marry him, Bella."
"Has he asked you?" I asked.
"Not yet but we've talked about it. He understands that I need time to get my barring before we take that step but I will marry him. I will never let him go. He's it for me."
"Good," I smiled, taking her hand. "Because Charlie would probably kill him and I don't really want him to go to jail."
"Me either," laughed Rose, standing up. "Let's go dance."
"Ok," I giggled. Rose and I ran out to the dance floor and joined Kate, Lauren, and Alice.
By the time we climbed back into our cars, we were hot and sweaty but had had a great time. Several guys asked us to dance but we all smiled and said no, choosing to just dance with each other. Once we got back home, Rose and Alice headed back to their homes and I headed inside of mine and Edward's. The house was dark with the exception of a small lamp next to the door. I turned it off before heading into mine and Edward's room. He was sitting up in bed, reading. As I came in, he smiled.
"Have fun?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. I stripped off my clothes and pulled on my pajamas. "What did you do?"
"Nothing," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I watched TV for awhile but nothing was on so I decided to read. I missed you."
"I missed you, too," I said, quietly as I laid my head on his shoulder.
Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me right next to him as he went back to his books. I slipped my arm around his waist and drifted off to sleep in the arms of the man that I loved.