Sorry for only getting to about 90% of review replies last chapter! If I missed you, I'm sorry and thank you!
Chapter 21
"Summer loving had me a blast
Summer loving happened so fast
I met a girl crazy for me
Met a boy cute as can be
Summer days drifting away to oh oh the summer nights." – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, "Summer Nights", reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in September of 1978
"Okay, now keep your eyes closed," Charlie says as he leads me out the front door.
"Your monster hand is not only covering my eyes, but my nose as well. I'm pretty sure I can't see or breathe."
I stumble at the step, and I'm positive he didn't tell me it was coming up on purpose because he actually laughs at me as he holds me upright. "This better be good," I say, half-grumpy and half-smiling because I don't think my dad would joke around if he were leading me to something horrific. But I guess you never know.
"Okay! Open them up!" Charlie says excitedly and removes his hand. It takes me a second to blink life back into my eyes, but when I finally see what he's led me to, I let out a loud squeal.
Sitting there in the driveway is a brand new, cherry-red Corvette complete with T-top.
"You got me a Corvette? Holy shit!"
"Ha! No, I got myself a new corvette." He dangles keys in front of my face. "You, my dear, are getting my old car."
I look from the dreamy Corvette to the five-year-old maroon Chevy Nova sitting next to it. "That was really, really mean."
"Happy eighteenth, honey!" Charlie is laughing and slapping me on the back while Renee comes out shaking her head.
"I told you not to do that to her."
"She's fine. It's a car, isn't it?"
I get over my disappointment quickly. "It sure is!" I grab the keys and walk to my dad's old car. It may not be the flashiest thing, but hell, who am I to complain about finally having some freedom?
"I cleaned it up for you," he says and follows me over. I get in and sit in the driver's seat. It's the car I took my driving lessons and test with, but now that it's mine, it feels brand new. Charlie leans his elbows on the window frame and I'm about to tell him to get off it 'cause I don't want his arm hair all over it. "I might've added a fancy new cassette player for you."
I look down and sure enough, where the 8-track was, is a radio with a cassette deck. "That is so cool!"
Renee opens the passenger side door and climbs in, handing me an envelope. "Happy birthday, sweetie." I open the envelope to find a card I don't read and a gift certificate to Tower Records in it.
"Bitchin!" I hug her and she fiddles with some of the dials. "Thanks guys, really. This is great. Much better than the mood ring I was expecting," I joke.
"So does this mean I don't get to drive you anywhere anymore?" Edward appears suddenly in the window besides Charlie's head.
I smile bright, happy to see him. "Nope, you're now my bitch. Get in!" Renee scoots out and Edward takes her place. I start up the car and turn the radio up immediately.
Charlie cups his hands around his mouth to shout. "Turn that down! You'll blow the speakers!"
"What?" I yell.
"I said, you'll blow the speakers!"
"I can't hear you!" I tease, and start backing the car out of the driveway.
"Be home by six! We're having fondue!" Renee yells, and I definitely hear that so I stop and turn down the volume.
My stomach rolls at the thought of having to eat Renee's food tonight. I was hoping for some birthday take out. "Fondue?"
"Yes, don't worry. Esme is coming to help. Although I'm sure I could handle melting cheese in a pot and cutting up bread."
"Sure you can, honey," Charlie says and puts his arm around her. He's been even more affectionate with her than usual since the morning with the magazine a few days ago. I look at Renee, who still has shadows under her eyes, even though she's doing her best to look happy for me.
"Fondue sounds great," I say and smile at Edward. "Guess your folks are coming to dinner, hope that means you are too."
"Wouldn't miss it, birthday girl." I grin cheesy at him when all I really want to do is kiss him, but Charlie and Renee are looking at us like nerds.
We wave our goodbyes and take off down the street.
We're zipping along and Edward only makes two jokes about my driving as he holds onto the door handle like he's clinging to life. I let it go though because he opens up a bag and holds out the new Boston album for my cassette deck. "This isn't your gift, but I thought you'd like to listen to it." He unwraps the plastic and hands it over. "Here you go."
I look over at him quickly with puppy-dog eyes at how sweet he is. Taking the cassette, I fumble with it blindly while I keep my eyes on the road until Edward takes it from me to put it in–"A" side up.
"So, were you surprised with the car?"
"Oh my God! How cool is this? I mean, it's not that sweet Corvette that Charlie bought for whatever mid-life crisis he's having, but yeah, I love it!" I turn to him when I pull up to a stoplight. "Did you know?"
The smirk on his face tells me he did so I punch him in the arm. "Why didn't you say anything?"
He laughs. "I wasn't going to spoil your dad's big moment."
"When did you know?"
"I've known he was going to do that for a little while." He shrugs, and I wonder just how much Charlie and Edward discuss me.
"I'm not sure it's cool to be so chummy with your girlfriend's father."
"I'm not a cool guy, so it's okay."
I stare at him bug-eyed. "You are the coolest person I know!"
"Aw shucks." He nods his head towards the road. "Lights green." When I start to move, he asks where we're going.
"It doesn't matter. Nowhere, everywhere!"
"I'm never going to be able to drive again, am I?"
"I dunno, I still like the idea of my boyfriend driving me around." Not to mention the thrill I still feel from being in EDWARD CULLEN'S Jeep.
"Good, 'cause I kinda like driving you around."
I drive us up and down PCH a bit, and while it's not as fun as being in an open car like the Jeep or a convertible or anything, we have the windows down and it's almost as good. We stop at Tower Records and spend an hour debating which cassettes I should buy with my gift certificate.
We roam up and down the crowded aisles while David Bowie plays over the speakers. I keep an eye out for celebrities, 'cause they've been known to show up here, it's a popular store to be seen at. How cool would it be if the Bay City Rollers or Fleetwood Mac decided to make an appearance today? On my birthday? But alas, it's just a bunch of teenagers like us. Edward likes most of my choices, but loudly and embarrassingly protests the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack I stick in my basket with glee. At checkout, when he's not looking, I sneak a postcard-sized picture of Valerie Bertinelli in with my purchases to surprise him with later. No one will ever be able to say I'm not an awesome girlfriend.
He's got his arm around me as we walk lazily back to my car. My plastic bag is swinging between us, and I can feel the warmth from the asphalt on this beautiful, late summer California day against my bare legs. "So what's the plan for tonight, birthday girl?"
"Fondue with the 'rents apparently."
"What do you want to do after?" The way he says after, in my ear and all breathy, makes me giddy inside.
"Um, we could go to Mac's, maybe? Angela said she and Ben would be there tonight and she'd buy me a birthday milkshake."
"Birthday milkshakes it is. I'm glad you're over your fear of being seen at Mac's with me." He takes my keys and unlocks my door, ushering me in and I know I will never get tired of just how special he is.
"Nah, I'm past it." Just the thought still makes my insides flutter, but for completely different reasons now. Gone is the fear of the unknown with him, which makes our Mac's debut exciting. "Then maybe after that…" I trail off as he gets in, closing his door behind him.
"I'm all for whatever 'after that' entails." He leans against his door and looks over at me with sex eyes I don't think he realizes he throws around like a Nerf football, and that one-sided upturned smile of his. I think about the early days of my crush, when I'd see that expression and the longing for him would be all-encompassing. It hits me all at once that he's now mine. Truly mine.
I think 'after that' is going to beat the car in the favorite gift ever category.
Edward hangs out with my folks and his parents while I take a quick shower and try to do my hair and make-up nice for the dinner party. I don't know why I'm so stressed about it, the Cullen's have seen me at my worst – salty, wet beach hair and no make-up smelling like ketchup – but since it's a dinner in my honor, I feel like I need to make an effort. I stand in front of my closet trying to decide what an outfit by a newly-minted eighteen-year-old looks like and get a pang in my stomach. This is the kind of thing I'd go to Rosalie with, but we haven't been able to get a hold of her. Renee has tried every friend of Rosalie's she knows that might have Emmett's number, and Charlie even went to the used car lot only to find out that Emmett McCarthy is no longer a greasy car salesman. Charlie said he threw a fit and tried to get them to reveal his address, but they wouldn't.
Sighing, I tiptoe into Rosalie's room. The bed is still made, her makeup is gone off her princess table, and there's an eerie stillness to it all. Contemplating, I finally cave and open the closet. There's still a bunch in here, but it's mostly stuff she'd wear to school. All of her sexier outfits are gone, like her tube tops, slinky dresses and heels. Remaining is a bunch of t-shirts, some peasant blouses and a pile of cutoffs.
I slide the door closed slowly like I've disturbed some recently dug up tomb.
Finally ready, I open the door to the patio to join my guests. Carlisle gets up and gives me a big hug, wishing me happy birthday, before Esme does the same. They're already into the martinis and Charlie asks me what I'd like to drink. Edward has a beer, but today feels fancy. "How about one of Renee's whiskey sours?"
She beams brightly and goes to make my drink. We all toast the fabulousness that is me before Renee and Esme return to the kitchen to prepare the fondue. It smelled pretty good in there when I walked through, melty cheese and warm bread, so I'm hopeful this will not be a failure, and I'll have to scarf down a burger at Mac's later.
We sit around the pool chatting and it doesn't feel weird at all when Edward and I cozy up in a lounger like we've done this a million times in front of our parents.
Charlie and Carlisle are talking about surfing when Edward leans close to my ear. "You look really pretty."
"This old thing?" I say, smiling and finger the wrap dress it took me an hour to decide on.
He kisses me lightly behind my ear and I want to die. "You don't know what seeing that color blue on you does to me."
Blushing, I reach my mouth up to his ear. "I can take it off, if it's too much for you to handle." Wowzers. I can't believe I just said that.
He doesn't seem to mind. "I've seen you in a bikini," he whispers. "Less clothing is not the better option for me at the moment." He shifts in his chair and I can only hope to god that he's moving around like a teenager because he doesn't have a book to hold in front of him at the moment.
I have nothing to say to this, so I just duck my chin into my chest, smiling like a fool. Renee ruins the moment by announcing dinner is ready. Edward groans when I move away, so I sway a little bit more than usual to make it harder for him to stand. I hope that's what I'm doing, anyway. He might've groaned at the thought of eating dinner.
The meal takes a while since you're dipping and cooking basically one thing at a time, but we're having so much fun that it doesn't even bother me I'm spending my birthday with our folks. We dip bread and veggies into the melted cheese with long forks, and there's a pot of oil we put steak and shrimp in to cook. We laugh every time our forks get tangled, and we have to fish out the meat from the oil pot or rescue an errant piece of food from the bottom of the cheese one. Renee has cut up other things too, like apples, broccoli, and potatoes, basically anything you might put cheese on which is everything, in my opinion. Esme whipped up some sauces to dip the meat and shrimp, and I stuff myself full of everything.
Edward is holding my hand on the table as we all sit and continue the party, bellies full, commending the cooks and not in a hurry to end the evening, when suddenly, I feel the presence of someone at my elbow. I look up and standing at the end of the dining table, wrapped gift in hand, is my stepsister.
"Well, isn't this cozy."
PB Fun Fact: For special occasions like birthdays or whatever, Mom would pull out the fondue pots and we'd spend hours cooking the food and dipping stuff into cheese. She'd spend all day cutting up stuff to put in it, the meat, chicken, shrimp, etc. It is maybe one of my fondest memories of time spent with my family.
Huge thanks to the two girls I would eat hours of fondue with any day (In fact, let's make that happen!) LayAtHomeMom and CarrieZM!