Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all.
Rated M for several reasons.
Chapter 5: Dinner and Dancing
BPOV
The dinner and dance to raise funds for the hospital is next week and, typically, I have put off buying a dress. Alice had lobbied hard for an Edwardian era theme, but everyone thought that was too complicated, which may have been deliberate because when she suggested the twenties, we all went for it. So now I urgently need a flapper dress. I will have to go to Seattle, and I am seriously tempted to ask her to come with me, since I suck at clothes shopping.
As if by magic, weird and getting weirder all the time, as I round the next aisle in the grocery store there she is. Bouncing happily from foot to foot.
"Just the person I was hoping to run into," she says with a wink.
"Hi, Alice."
"Have you got your dress for next Saturday yet?"
"No," I reply, although I would bet my salary that she already knows that somehow.
"Would you like to come to Seattle with me tomorrow to shop for one? I bought one last month, but Jasper doesn't like it so I'm going to look for another one."
Ah, her boyfriend Jasper. If I had not seen him with her a few times from a distance I would have started to believe that he does not exist. Where she is tiny, he is huge, must be well over six feet, with chin length dark blonde hair, and guess what? Deep gold eyes.
"I would love to Alice; I do not even know what shops to start in. Shall I pick you up at nine?"
"No need, Jasper will drive us, he's aces at carrying shopping bags and surprisingly good at picking out dresses."
"Oh, okay."
…..
Jasper turns out to be a man of even fewer words that Edward, although he is much more comfortable to be around and he is does not give off the impression that he hates the sight of me. I was worried that three would be a crowd but in no time at all he was just a gently smiling presence in the background. His mere presence also calmed some of Alice's wilder extremes.
Shopping with Alice was something of a workout. She may have shorter legs than me, but she moves them with a purpose I have not found with anything in life other than my studies. I was quite sweaty by shop three and absolutely dragging by number six, when she finally noticed.
"Silly me," she giggled, "I forgot to feed you. Where shall we go for lunch?"
Feeling a bit like a beloved pet I opted for a burger, I really needed a burger, fries and a milkshake right about then.
Sometime in the late afternoon we went back to shop number two because it had the beaded flapper dresses that Jasper said looked best on both of us.
Alice looked fantastic in a short emerald green one that made Jasper's smile turn into an approving smirk and I finally chose one in a light shimmery black and turquoise that fell to mid-calf and he said showed off my curves without shouting about it.
I thought we would be done at that point, but it turned out that I still did not know Alice very well. I was finally returned home, late in the evening, with a dress, shoes, a jewelled headband and some hair products she said I would need to get the right hairstyle for the dress.
I left my new things in the kitchen and collapsed onto my bed for a deep and dreamless sleep.
…..
I could not find a single image that suited my long hair for the 1920s, so I am having to put it up, with the aid of Alice's products and a video I found on YouTube. Even with the headband it is going to come down the first time I nod too enthusiastically but it looks great, so I have just wasted twenty minutes taking selfies of it share with the 'datees' later.
And now I am just procrastinating in front of the mirror. I look great, for once, with the dress, the hair and dramatic makeup.
"Looking pretty darn hot Bella Swan. Pretty darn hot."
Thankfully, the party has already started by the time I get there so I am able to sneak in, get a rum and coke from the bar and peruse the seating plan before anyone notices me.
I am not surprised to find that my table is mostly the Cullens, but I am a little concerned about it. I know it is probably silly, and in the grand scheme of things I barely spend any time with them at all, but I feel . . . . I feel like I am being gradually pulled into their orbit, like a bit of space debris. And I feel like they know far too much about me, can almost see through me or read my mind. And, worse from my point of view, it does not feel like something I want to change.
"Bella," Carlisle's voice shakes me out of my revere. "You look wonderful, doesn't she Esme?"
"Beautiful," Esme me confirms as she leans in to brush my cheek with her cool lips.
"Thank you, it was mostly Alice's work, she's quite the stylist. You two look fabulous, like you have walked straight out of the pages of a contemporary magazine."
"You should see Rose," Esme laughs, "she wears it like she was born to it."
"Oh good," Carlisle observes, "you're on our table. Now you can properly meet the rest of the family."
"Bella!" One of the nurses calls, "over here!"
I excuse myself from Carlisle and Esme and hurry over.
At dinner I find myself sitting between Carlisle and one of the more worthy hospital administrators however, by now I have had quite a bit to drink and so I am, relaxed.
Carlisle introduces me to Rosalie and Emmett who are sat opposite. Rose is a statuesque, patrician blonde who instantly makes me feel like the most inadequate woman on the planet. Emmett, I like, he is shaped like a linebacker, muscles straining the seams of his jacket, but his smile and twinkly (deep gold) eyes could light up a thousand rooms. He is also wearing an obviously fake 1920s style moustache, which is hilarious.
Conversation is light as we eat, with most us complimenting the food and each other's outfits. Rose looks like she is bored enough to kill someone, which seems to spur Emmett on to act the ever-greater fool.
Once desert is out of the way people start getting up and moving around and I find myself seated between Alice, who has brought Jasper over from their table, and Edward who does not look much friendlier than Rose.
"I like your suit," I tell him when we are inevitably left alone together. "It looks authentic."
"It is."
"Are you having fun?" I try again.
"Not really."
"Oh dear," I attempt a light laugh, "did Esme make you come?"
"No."
Jesus, what an ass.
I am about to make my escape when Alice and Jasper cut me off.
"Edward! Bella! Come and dance with us!"
Jasper nods enthusiastically, laughing when I shoot him a look of pure loathing.
Problem is, clearly no one can deny Alice as mere moments later Edward and I are shuffling awkwardly round the dance floor, so far apart in hold that I can barely register his delicious scent. I wonder if I can find out what cologne he uses?
"How are you finding being back in Forks?" He asks eventually.
"Okay, I didn't do all my growing up here, but it feels like home."
"Where are you from originally?"
"Phoenix, I lived there with my mom."
"Why did you move here?"
"She got married again and I was in the way I guess."
"Must have been hard?"
"It wasn't all bad."
"I am sorry," he confesses after a pause, "I am a terrible dancer."
"No, he isn't," Emmett calls as he and Rose foxtrot past. "He's just repressed."
Edward's face is thunderous.
"They tease you a lot, huh?"
"You have no idea," he admits with a faint smile.
The music changes to a Charleston and Edward and I gratefully pull apart give up our pretence of dancing in hold.
"I don't know how to do this one," I say, by way of an exit strategy.
"Don't worry!" Alice says, appearing from nowhere and grabbing our arms, "we'll teach you."
"No! Alice, no, I don't want to . . . ."
"Come on Bella, Mrs Newton, Mrs Webber! Esme, help me!"
I am saved from certain mortification because clearly very few other people seem to know how to dance it either. Within minutes Alice and Esme, with help from Emmett and Jasper as models, are conducting an enormous dance class. It is so much fun that I do not even notice at first that the person I am laughing with, and clinging onto, is Edward.
Immediately I am flustered and feign tiredness in order to get back to my seat.
He is hot on my heels though, a worried look on his face.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes," I assure him, "I'm getting old, I need a break."
He raises an eyebrow and lets me follow his gaze to Mrs Newton, I went to school with her youngest son, Mike, who is still giving it her all on the dancefloor.
"I am older than you," I point out.
A wry smile forms on his lips and he shakes his head in amusement.
"Can I get you a drink?" He asks.
"Yes, please. A cold water would be wonderful about now, all these beads are heavy."
He inclines his head and walks away.
This is ridiculous, I am setting up that date with Dr Tom first thing tomorrow, I need to go out with a man my own age. And quick.
Nevertheless, I spend the rest of the night talking to Edward at our table. He asks me a great many questions which I gradually get more comfortable answering and is knowledgeable way beyond his years.
When its finally time to leave I do so with a sense of melancholy. The fates are cruel . . . .
Charlie is outside, waiting in the cruiser, which reminds me of old times. Nothing kills a potential teenage end of party romantic encounter like your cop dad waiting for you in his uniform. The only boy ever bold enough to tough that out was Jake.
"Good party?" He asks as I settle into my seat.
"Not bad." I allow.
"Why is the Cullen boy staring at you?"
"What? Where?" I ask, twisting my body to look back at the hotel.
"Too late, he's gone. The youngest one, Edward."
…..
Finally, ready for bed I flip on my laptop only to find myself just staring at the screen.
There are a couple of things I need to do for my own sanity, the main reason being that I need to wean myself off the Cullens and build a life of my own here. They are very kind to me, but I am not one of them and I do not belong in their kind of world.
Case in point, I spent nearly a thousand dollars on my outfit for tonight. I can afford it as a one off, we doctors are not exactly poorly paid, but I cannot afford to do it all the time the way the Cullens clearly can.
They also are not good for me because I am always measuring myself against them and finding myself lacking. Confidence is in short supply with me at the best of times and its not a good idea to squander it.
There is also, I can admit alone in my bedroom, something not quite right about them or their interactions with me. Its all just 'off' somehow.
And lastly. While Edward does not fit the normal template of a teenage boy and it is okay for me to think of him as attractive and erudite, it is not okay for me to have a crush on him. He is a child and I am a grown woman.
My selfies from tonight prove it.
I send them to the 'datees' who already know about the fundraiser. Then I gather all my courage and message Dr Tom.
'Hi, I am in Seattle next week if you would like to meet up for that coffee?
Bella'