44
Our trip from Forks to Los Vegas felt like it took forever. I wasn't sure if it was really the fact that it took us nearly eighteen hours to make the drive or the fact that Bella and I made the trip in the backseat of my parents' car that made the trip seem twice as long. I suppose Bella and I were better off with Ed and Elizabeth than we would have been with Carlisle and Esme. Neither of us were talking to our siblings since they had decided to bombard us with contraception. They may have thought it was funny but we sure the hell didn't. It was humiliating.
So instead of riding with them, and having to watch them being all mushy and shit, Bella and I opted to ride with my parents. I'm not sure that was any better seeing as my mother spent nearly every minute of the eighteen hours looking back at us with a huge smile on her face. My face was permanently going to be bright red. My father tried to be more subtle with his glances but both Bella and I saw them. She thought it was funny while I was embarrassed as fucking hell. I mean, shit, I couldn't even talk with her without my parents smiling. It was annoying as fuck.
Finally, however, we pulled up in front of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. They were hosting the three day tournament that Bella and I would both be fighting in. We climbed out of the car, stretching out our sore and aching bodies. In all the places that I had been to with my family, Vegas was not one of them. The bright lights certainly lit up the strip and it was easy to see how they enticed people to come in and spend their money in their casinos.
Bella and I followed everyone in and over to a large banquet room that was filled with at least two hundred people. Some of them were boxers like us and others were their family members or trainers. Yeah, this was going to be much bigger than our Seattle competition. Carlisle lead us over to registration table and got into the long line. After several long minutes, it was our turn at the front of the line.
"Name?" asked the blond woman sitting behind the table. She looked like she had been at this for awhile and wasn't in the mood for any shit.
"Isabella Cullen and Edward Masen," said Carlisle. The woman's eyes widened a little when Carlisle mentioned Bella, who tensed up at the attention. I slipped my arm around her waist, trying to get her to calm down.
"Ok, once you get them weighed in, you need to take this form over to the other table that is on the other side of the room. They will get them their numbers," explained the woman.
"Thank you," murmured Carlisle, turning back to us. "Let's go."
"Good luck," said the woman.
Bella and I nodded at her, unsure of what to say, and followed Carlisle over to the weigh in station. Again we had to wait several minutes before it was our turn to weigh in. Bella weighed in first. She had lost a little weight since our match in Seattle but she was still in the flyweight division. She stepped off the scale and then it was my turn. I was still in the same division that I had been in Seattle too, light heavy weight division.
Once we had gotten done there, we moved over to the last table. The wait there took three times as long as it did at the previous two places. I was bored and tired. All I really wanted to do was go up to our rooms and go to bed. Finally, it was our turn. The dark haired woman nearly ripped the forms out of Carlisle's hands and slammed them down on the table.
"Cullen, huh?" she asked, looking up at us. Her eyes flickered from Carlisle over to Bella, who was looking any where than at her.
"Yeah," said Carlisle, shortly. The woman snorted and looked back down at the forms.
"Ok, well, everything seems to be in order," she said, pulling out two white papers with numbers on them. "Cullen is number 108 and Masen is number 157. Good luck."
"Thanks," said Carlisle, taking them from her.
The woman shook her head as she looked over at Bella again. I resisted the urge to lunge across the table and beat her fucking ass or at the very least, flip her the bird. Like I said, I resisted and followed Carlisle and Bella out of the crowded room and out to the lobby where everyone was waiting for us. As soon as we stepped out of the room, I felt Bella take a deep, calming breath. I tightened my arm around her, making sure she knew that I was right there with her.
"Ok, we got them registered," said Carlisle. He looked over at his brothers. "Apparently the Cullen name is still raising some eyebrows."
"Great," grumbled Emmett. He closed his eyes and shook his head, pushing out whatever thoughts were going through his head. Opening his eyes, he looked around. "Ok, well, we got everyone checked in. Our rooms are on the fourteen floor so we should probably get up there and get to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."
Everyone agreed so we grabbed our luggage and headed over to the elevators. Once we got up to the fourteenth floor, Emmett and Rose, Jasper and Alice trudged off to their rooms, which were a few doors down from the rest of ours. Ed and Elizabeth hugged me and Bella before they went into the room across the hall from mine and Carlisle's room.
"So I guess I'll see you in the morning." Bella laid her head on my chest. "Get some sleep, ok."
"I will," I murmured, kissing her. "You too. I love you."
"I love you, too," she muttered, blushing when she heard Carlisle and Esme snickering under their breaths. "Shut the fuck up, Car."
"It's just so cute," he gushed, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "You love each other so much."
"Fucking jerk," mumbled Bella, storming into her and Esme's room.
I flipped them both off as I walked into my room. The door shut behind me and I leaned my door against it just in time to hear Carlisle and Esme tell each other that they loved each other. It was all fun and games until you are alone in the hall being mushy. I moved from the door and pulled out my cell phone and sent Bella a quick text.
B-They are in the moment. Start phase one-E
I placed my suitcase on the bed and pulled out my pajamas. I headed into the bathroom, changed, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. By the time I got back into our room, Carlisle was pulling out his own pajamas. My cell phone went off indicating that I had a new message. I pulled up the message from Bella.
E-Phase one is a go. Night-B
Smirking inwardly, I wished her a good night and placed my cell phone on the bed. I settled under the covers while Carlisle headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed. A few minutes later, he came out and climbed into his bed, flicking off the light. I waited a few minutes before I sighed, loudly.
"Is something wrong, Edward?" asked Carlisle.
"No," I said, sighing again.
"Are you sure? Because you sound pretty damn pathetic over there," chuckled Carlisle.
"It's just…" I trailed off and waited for him to take the bait.
"Just what?" he asked. "I'm tired and I want to get some sleep so just say whatever is on your mind."
"How do you know when you are ready for…more in a relationship?" I asked, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
"When you get married," he muttered, sharply. "And not until then."
"What if we, I mean, a person, isn't ready for marriage?" I asked. "Do you just…go for it and see what happens?"
"No, cause if you do that then the girls big brothers beat the crap out of you and rip junior right on off, understand?" he snapped.
"So what until marriage," I said.
"At least until then," he said, harshly. "Now, get your ass to sleep. You have to fight tomorrow."
I laughed to myself as I rolled onto my side. I wonder how Bella's conversation with Esme was going?
BPOV
After I sent Edward back a text letting him know that I was starting phase one on my end, I set my phone on the nightstand and waited for Esme to come out of the bathroom. She damn near skipped into the bathroom, singing and shit. Don't get me wrong, I love Esme but she and Carlisle needed to be taken down a notch or two and Edward and I were going to make sure we did just that.
Edward had been so embarrassed about making the trip from Forks with his parents but I liked it. It felt nice to have people, other then my brothers, that took an interest in what I was doing. True, they were embarrassing but they were parents, it's kind of like their jobs. Besides, they were pretty cool for old people.
Esme came out of the bathroom with a huge smile on her face and climbed into her bed. She reached over and turned off the light, sighing contently. For a moment, I almost felt bad about what we were going to do but then I remembered the box of condoms that she taped to Edward's door and the pamphlets that Carlisle had been leaving for me in my room and the guilt magically disappeared.
"Esme, can I ask you something?"
"Of course you can," she said. I heard her roll onto her side. "What's on your mind?"
"Ok, so this is really…embarrassing but I don't have anyone to ask and…" I trailed off.
"You can ask me anything," she said.
"Well, how do you know when you are ready to move on to…more?" I asked.
"More?" she asked.
"Yes, more," I said. I heard Esme take a deep breath and had to stuff my face into my pillow to stop myself from laughing.
"Um, well, you should make sure that you are in love with the person you are wanting…more with," she said.
"I am," I said. "I mean, let's say that you are."
"Well, you should be older," she said, quickly. "Like…much older…and married. Yeah, definitely, married."
"I don't, I mean, what if you don't want to get married?" I asked.
"Then you shouldn't be thinking of…more," she said, quickly. "Go to sleep."
"Ok," I sighed. "Thanks for the advice."
"Yeah, sure," she muttered. I rolled over and settled down on my side. As I drifted to sleep, I thought that phase one went pretty damn well.
