Chapter 18 – Operation Blinders Off
Rose took Jasper out for a brother-sister lunch and some early Christmas shopping, and then Alice and Edward helped me, as we got busy decorating the family room and pool house. I looked up and couldn't help laughing, as I watched Esryl decorating Honey with a sparkly streamer, poor puppy. She was such a good sport and worshipped Esryl with her big droopy eyes, as Esryl continued to wrap her in the crepe paper strips.
After we had everything ready and set to go for the party, Alice and I took Esryl and went to get ready. We had filled Esme in on the plan, and she was happy to help. She had gone shopping and bought the perfect ensemble for Alice. The outfit was a clingy little one-shouldered, olive-green dress with a thin, black patent leather belt and a flouncy hem that stopped about mid-thigh. She had also found Alice a pair of four-inch black patent leather heels and a black lace panty and strapless bra set from La Cage that made her recently increased bustline stand up to be noticed. Rose returned from shopping, and she came in and did Alice's makeup to look really sophisticated, and then she styled her hair. Since Alice's short locks had grown out almost to her shoulders, Rose trimmed them and then used a flat iron to smooth her hair into a sleek, sexy little French bob that was slightly longer in front with side-swept bangs.
Alice stood before the same mirror I had caught her unhappily posing in front of the day before, smiling at her reflection now. She had always been very cute, but that word no longer applied. She was stunning. Still very much Alice, but with an air of maturity and grace that she had never had about her before.
"Girl, if this doesn't shake him tonight, I don't what will," I smiled, as I spritzed her with a shot of good perfume.
Esme agreed with me, adding, "Remember, honey, don't hang on him. In fact, just ignore him altogether. Make sure you're where he can see you, but don't acknowledge him unless he addresses you directly, and then keep it simple and smooth. You're going for mature and sophisticated, not overly bubbly and immature. Got it?" she asked, and Alice nodded, taking a deep breath.
The doorbell had rung a few times in the past couple of minutes, so people were starting to arrive. We made our way to the living room to find most of the SHAGNICs already helping themselves to the food and giving Edward and Emmett their drink requests. Seth looked up and caught sight of Alice as we entered the room. He let out a long, low wolf whistle and stalked slowly up to her, bending down and wrapping her up in his arms and pressing his lips to hers without any fanfare…just as Jasper, Sue and my dad walked in.
Alice's arms went up around Seth's neck, and all movement in the room stopped. Everyone stared, as Alice and Seth continued like that for several long seconds. When they finally broke away from each other, they both looked stunned.
"I've wanted to do that ever since I saw you the first time, Alice," Seth said quietly, his arms still around her. "I don't know what came over me tonight, but I just had to kiss you. You look so beautiful." Then, I saw him wink slightly at her and shift his eyes toward Jasper. Alice understood and smiled sweetly up at Seth.
"That's so sweet, Seth," Alice said, laying it on thick. "You should've said something sooner. I'm not going out with anybody, are you?"
Seth shook his head no, and they smiled at each other again. During this whole exchange, Summer had been slowly skirting around the room, trying to get closer to see what was going on between Alice and Seth. The look on her face was priceless: a combination of realization, confusion and maybe a bit of…jealousy? When Seth bent down and placed another gentle kiss on Alice's cheek, Summer spun around and stomped out of the room, her long hair flying out behind her, her eyes flashing in anger, which caused her face to tint a bright red. She was furious now. I glanced over at Jasper, and the expression on his face, though not as pronounced, was similar. Maybe this little plan would work after all. If someone didn't get hurt tonight, that is.
Everyone was having a great time eating and talking. After a while, the adults went into the kitchen for a round of cards, so we all moved out to the pool house, and everyone who wanted to swim went to get their suits on. The other thing Esme had bought for Alice was a new swimsuit, and it was something else. She had actually found it on a clearance rack, but I would swear they had been holding it just for Alice. The tiny red bikini did amazing things for her now curvier figure, and it looked gorgeous against her creamy pale skin. Seth was already in the pool when Alice came out into the pool house, but he got out as soon as she came in to help her into the water.
Jasper had settled into one of the deck chairs and was watching everyone having fun, but he seemed to be brooding. Edward came out in his swim trunks and shoved an extra pair toward Jasper.
"You're wasting time sitting here, idiot. Get in that pool, or you're probably going to miss out on one of the best things that could ever happen to you."
Jasper looked up at Edward for a moment then toward the pool, where Alice was squealing and laughing, as Seth held her above his head and blew raspberries on her bare stomach. Jasper snatched the trunks from Edward's hand and stalked into the bathroom. Edward turned to me and winked.
The rest of the evening was a blast, and it was funny to watch, as Jasper did his best to get Alice's attention. She stuck with the plan, though, and unless he was directly in front of her and demanding her attention, she ignored him and focused on Seth. I could tell it was getting harder for her to ignore Jasper, and he was definitely getting frustrated being ignored. Summer had finally gotten into the pool as well, and she wasn't fairing much better than Jasper.
It was well after eleven o'clock when the party finally wound down. Most everyone had gone home, and I was busy picking up empty cups and taking down decorations when I heard it. Someone was crying. I followed the sound and found Summer sitting in a dark corner of the dining room.
"Hey, Summer. What's the matter?" I asked her, concerned.
"Nothing, really," she whispered. "I have no right to be upset. It's not as if I ever had a chance with him, anyway. He's so gorgeous, and now he has her…" she choked, and then she was off and crying again.
"You're talking about Seth, right?" She nodded and sniffled, as more tears poured down her cheeks. "Hey, come on. Stop crying, and I'll let you in on a little secret."
So, I told her all about the plan to make Jasper notice Alice, and that Seth and she were totally acting for his benefit. I didn't tell her that part of their act was for her benefit as well, but apparently, it had worked on her, too. We peeked around towards the living room and noticed Jasper sitting on the couch, talking with Emmett, Rose, and Edward, but he was watching Seth and Alice saying goodnight from the corner of his eyes. Seth leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on Alice's forehead, and Jasper's hands clinched into fists.
Summer wiped her face and squared her shoulders, and then we joined everyone in the living room. "Bella, can I borrow your phone? I need to call someone to come pick me up," Summer asked, and before I could say anything, Seth offered her a ride home.
"We just live around the corner from each other. It's no problem, Summer." Seth flashed one of his megawatt smiles at her, and she grinned back at him. As they were leaving, she turned back to me and winked. I mouthed, "Go get him," to her, and her grin spread even wider.
One down, one to go…
"Jeez, I'm tired, but I'm not really sleepy yet. Anybody want to watch a movie?" I asked, and everyone agreed. "Okay, pajamas, pillows and a huge pallet on the floor in the basement in thirty minutes. I need to get Esryl to bed first."
After I gave Esryl a quick bath, she wanted to watch a movie in Edward's room. She fell asleep before the opening credits had even finished, so I tucked her into Edward's bed, and then I went and got into my own pajamas. I was in the mood to be comfortable tonight, so I found my little dark blue tank top and short set. I figured the room would be dark, and we would be under quilts, so no one would notice. I met Alice in the hallway, and she was wearing the new set Esme had gotten her, which was similar to mine, only in red.
"Looking good, Alice," I grinned, and she grinned back.
"You, too, Bella."
We made our way down to the basement, and the boys had already laid out the sleeping bags under the quilts and had queued up a movie. There was a space saved for me on the end next to Edward, so I climbed in and snuggled up to his side, laying my head on his shoulder. Rose and Emmett were in the middle, and Jasper was on the end, with space between him and Emmett saved for Alice. I thought I would pee myself laughing at the expression on Jasper's face when Alice climbed up into the pile and snuggled down between Edward and Rosalie, pushing Emmett over and up next to Jasper.
"Dude, I don't think so," Emmett growled and squeezed closer to Rosalie, trying to keep any part of his body from coming into contact with any part of Jasper's. "You're going to be my brother-in-law someday, but me cuddling with you will never be on my fun things to do list." It took a moment for Emmett to realize what he had said, but when he looked back over at Rosalie and saw the tender expression on her face, he just smiled. "Yeah, babe, you're mine, and you always will be. And yes, I'm gonna put a ring on it." They were lost in each other's eyes for a moment before the make-out session started.
"Oh, brother, not again," Jasper groaned. "Are they always like this?"
"Yup," the three of us answered in unison.
"They really should just go ahead and get married. They're more in love than most people I know who've been married for years," Alice said wistfully, as she watched her brother and Rose kissing passionately. "Must be nice."
"Yeah," Jasper said quietly. Rose and Emmett finally broke apart, and both decided they needed something upstairs. We all knew what that meant.
"Use protection!" Edward yelled after them. "I'm too young to become an uncle just yet."
"Are they…?" Jasper asked, surprised.
"Have been for a long time," Edward answered, shaking his head. "It's a wonder we don't have a houseful of nieces and nephews by now."
"And unfortunately, my room is right next to Emmett's, so I've heard more than my fair share of things I'd rather not have," Alice added with a shudder. Edward pulled me tighter against him and kissed my forehead. I could feel Jasper watching us now.
"What about you two? How long have you guys been at it?" he asked, and Edward shot him a look that could melt steel.
"We're not 'at' anything. We've actually just begun to like each other after all this time. I was an idiot, and she's forgiven me. Maybe if you'd quit being an idiot, too, you might find something worth having right under your nose as well."
Alice was quiet during this whole exchange, and she didn't move from where she had been, leaving the gap empty between her and Jasper that Rose and Emmett had vacated. This time, it was Jasper who gradually scooted over toward Alice until they were within inches of each other. I smiled to myself.
I hadn't been paying attention to the movie they had put in until someone screamed on the screen, and I realized it was a horror movie. I always got freaked out during those and climbed over Edward to the center, away from the edge of the pallet. Edward turned on his side to face me and pulled me tightly against his chest, as we entwined our legs.
This one actually turned out to be a fairly freaky movie, and when the woman started crawling on the ceiling like a twisted spider and dropped down on her victim, Alice screamed and lunged sideways, burying herself against Jasper, trembling hard and panting in fright. He turned into her and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her cheeks and forehead gently, whispering to her that she was safe and that he had her. It was so sweet that I couldn't help the tears that fell onto Edward's arm. He felt the moisture and tipped my chin up to look into my eyes.
"Are you okay?" he whispered, and I nodded.
"Just happy for them," I whispered back. He nodded and kissed me gently.
"Yeah, Alice deserves to be happy," he whispered, kissing my cheek. "Who would've believed we'd ever be like this," Edward said with awe in his eyes. He pushed my hair away from my face and placed another gentle kiss on my lips.
"Not me. I was sure you guys would all hate me forever in the beginning," I sighed. Edward just shook his head and started to apologize again for how he had treated me, but I stopped him. "It's in the past, remember? What matters is now. I'm glad you came around."
"Me, too," Edward whispered, pulling me tightly against him and kissing me hard, conveying how much he meant it. He finally pulled back, panting. "I think Emmett and Rose had the right idea about getting out of here," he whispered before pulling me up, and we made our way upstairs. Esryl was still sound asleep in his bed, so we didn't want to move her and risk waking her.
"Sleep with me tonight?" I offered, and Edward nodded. "Showers, then back in here in twenty?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Edward yawned and headed off to get ready for bed.
I had just finished in the bathroom and had pulled on clean pajamas when I felt his body pressed against my back. He lifted me into his arms and climbed into my bed with me, where he cuddled me into his chest, and we settled in for the night. As I drifted off, I smiled, thinking I could get very used to this.