Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended and in order to keep it that way, No reproduction, copying, reposting, downloading, or any kind of redistribution of this story is allowed. This is to cover my arse as much as yours! And finally, the Original characters, plot, names, nicknames, songs, poems—anything I created from my very own brain—are all the property of the author of this fanfic, My-Bella. Unauthorized use of the material is plagiarism so please be kind and don't steal my creations.
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Chapter 46 – T-shirts and Talks
Saturday, August 2nd
Masen was awoken by tugging on his ear and he popped one eye open to get a look at his attacker. Lizzy seemed to be smiling at him and he snorted as he reached above his head to grab hold of her and move her to his chest. She tried to wiggle her way to freedom but he had expected it and easily kept her in his hands. He hoped to calm her by stroking her back but she was not in the mood and nipped his finger while growling at him.
"You're supposed to be a sweet girl," he chastised as he hugged her, laying his head on her back. "Sweet girls don't bite."
Lizzy barked at him this time and left him no choice but to get up and get out of bed before she woke Bella. They had been up late, luxuriating in the ability to be alone and not have to get up early the next day for a full day of work.
He snagged his clothes and shoes from the floor on his way out, not trusting Lizzy to behave long enough for him to get dressed in the room. He managed to keep her quiet long enough for him to dress and use the restroom but once she was racing out the front door there was no stopping her happy barks. Actually, there was no stopping her in general and he had to skip his usual warm up pace so he could catch up to her.
"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" he asked as they passed the dune Bella liked to sit on.
Lizzy slowed down some but didn't halt her journey across the sand until she reached the dip where the bay water pooled just enough to be the perfect size pool for one small Boston Terrier. She dove into the water head first, managing to make a big splash with her little body.
Masen shook his head and laughed at her, always amazed by how her love of getting filthy was only ever dwarfed by her hatred of baths. "Lizzy, what am I gonna do with you?" he asked her.
She looked up and smiled at him for a moment and then proceeded to jump deeper into the make-shift pool.
He settled himself in the sand a little further up the beach where he could be close in case she got into trouble but far enough away to avoid the spray from her splashing.
While he waited for his puppy to tire herself out, he thought back on his conversation with Bella and to the big choices they'd made together. What he remembered most was the look of confidence and conviction in her beautiful brown eyes. It wasn't logical for her to want him more than she wanted Atlanta but he was damn sure glad she did. And her desire to continue with MMR was equally exciting; she pushed them all to be better teammates.
There was a lot to consider and even more details to hash out. He was itching to focus on figuring out all the answers since there were only three weeks left before the summer ended and they'd head back to Hawaii. It was damn hard to resist that impulse, especially with how instinctual it was to him. He had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't the right way. Talking things out with Bella was the right way. It helped to have her assuring him there would be time to focus on them once their work for MMR was done, but it didn't completely relieve the urge to chase down the answers.
Lizzy's bark drew him out of his head and he looked up to find her trying to follow a seagull that was not at all interested in becoming friends with a puppy.
"She has far too much energy for this time of the morning," Lee announced as she walked up with a thermos in each hand. "I figured if you had to suffer being dragged out of the house this early, then you should at least get coffee," she explained as she settled in beside Masen. "Two sugars and a fat drop of cream as per your exacting standards."
"Moments like these, I remember exactly why it is that I love you," Masen joked as he popped his thermos lid open.
She snorted. "As if I'd ever let you forget."
He hummed in satisfaction after swallowing a warm mouthful. "Thank you for this."
"Honest appreciation without dragging it out of you … What gives?"
Masen slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled their heads together. "I'm a lucky guy, Lee-lee. I was already blessed to have a family like no other and now I've got this woman in my life who loves me as much as I love her. She can be an absolute pain in my ass sometimes but even those times I find myself learning something from her."
Lee smiled knowingly. "When you tell her you love her, you don't say it out of habit. You say it to remind her that she's the best thing that has ever happened to you."
"Romantically," he amended. "In the friendship department, there's no beating you, just a hard fought tie."
"Damn straight," she agreed while giving his mess of hair a ruffle.
"Lizzy," Masen called out in warning, not liking how close she was getting to the surf. The tide was rough this early in the morning and it wouldn't take much for it to sweep a small dog out.
His puppy immediately twisted around and went back to the safety of her pool, splashing around in complete enjoyment.
"That dog is lucky on so many levels. She gets to lead a simple life of infinite pleasure under the watchful eye of her loyal Masen. And from what I've seen, she's been getting an extra dose of spoiling from Bella."
He opened his mouth planning to tell Lee all about how the spoiling would get worse once he and Lizzy were living with Bella but then he remembered he'd promised Bella they would tell Esme and Carlisle first. He played it off as a yawn and then quickly filled his mouth with coffee.
When he was sure Lee hadn't noticed, he asked about what she'd said earlier. "What you said about saying 'I love you', does that apply to you and Emmett?"
Lee whipped her head around so fast that her long hair smacked him in the ear. "You used his actual name!"
Masen was confused by her excitement. "So?"
"So you never use his real name. It's always 'Gopher this' and 'Gopher that'. I'm not stupid to your ways, Mase. That's your way of keeping him at a distance. Hearing you use his real name, it means you've really been letting him in this summer."
He shrugged. "It's never been that I don't like him. It's just hard to trust him knowing how much of a goofball he can be sometimes."
"He's never once been anything but professional during work hours."
"I know that. And you know it's hard for me to trust that he can really keep the overgrown kid in him locked up when it counts."
"Doesn't help that you and I are naturally slow to trust either."
"No. But I like to think we're getting better at it. I'm even going to trust you right now. I want to spring the surprise date on Bella tonight. I'd like you to distract her later today while I pull together a few things."
Lee smiled wide and rubbed her hands together. "What do you have planned?"
He leaned back and pointed to the mountain range behind them. "Sunset picnic at the top."
Lee smacked him on the shoulder. "Where the hell was your romantic bone when we were dating?"
He knew he shouldn't but he just couldn't resist since she'd set it up so perfectly for him. His lips pulled up into his shitty grin as he responded, "In my shorts."
Lee threw her weight against him and knocked him into the sand, sending Lizzy rushing over to protect him. While Masen laughed, Lee lifted up his puppy so they were nose to nose. "You are far too loyal to him, missy."
Lizzy smiled with her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
Lee snorted and set the puppy down, then gave her a good scratch behind the ears. "I know, I know. I'm the pot to your kettle."
Masen refrained from mentioning how lovable he was as he brushed sand from his hair and shirt. He did not however completely stop himself from teasing Lee. "When you open the door like that, how am I supposed to resist walking through it?" he asked.
"Whatever," Lee replied grumpily.
"Lizzy," he whined as his puppy made herself comfortable in his lap—every wet, sand-coated inch of her. He appreciated how much she loved him but he could have done without the wet lap.
"That's what you get for being a jerk," Lee told him. "And another thing, I was going to help with Bella for free but now you owe me something. Something big."
Masen had already had a return favor in mind and he was pretty sure it would meet her requirement of "big" and also show he cared for her relationship with Emmett. One of the many things Bella had shown him this summer was the importance of time alone to just be a couple together. Lee and Emmett didn't get much of that during MMR's work seasons and Masen wanted to change that for them.
"How about I get the others out of the house for a few hours today so you can be completely alone with Gopher?" he offered. "I figured I'd take Bella, Whit, and Alice over to Kleinmond for brunch or lunch depending on when they wake up."
Lee studied his face while responding, "Don't get me wrong because I am so taking you up on this, but why?"
"My focus has always been on growing and protecting the bond we have as a family because that bond is one of the major reasons MMR is so successful. It reinforces our trust in each other. Now that I'm learning to look at things from a different perspective, I see where it's just as important for a couple to grow and protect their own bond, which means they need time away from the team." He paused to pick his words carefully, once again fighting the urge to tell Lee everything. "When we prep for our next season, I want you to help me work in time blocks for individual free time. A few here and there should be enough to make sure any couple relationships stay just as strong as the team and family."
Lee's smile had that predatory edge that came out whenever she knew she had backed him into a corner. "Guppy picked MMR over Atlanta, huh? Not that I'm surprised she picked us, just that she picked now rather than waiting until the end of the internship. I know it's important to her to feel like she's earned her place with us."
Masen was a complete floundering fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly over and over again until he finally squeaked out a high-pitched "How" that had Lee laughing and Lizzy barking.
"You can't say anything," Masen pleaded. "I made a promise to Bella."
"That's your problem," Lee replied, still chuckling. "Oh, Mase."
"Lee, seriously. You can't say anything. And nothing I'm saying confirms anything either. Just … Just please don't say anything, okay? Remember that you really do love me."
Lee laughed brightly and ruffled his hair. "Of course I love you, Mase. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't torture you for my own personal entertainment in a red hot second."
He let out a miserable groan and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I'm so fucked."
"Make you a deal," Lee offered. "I'll let it go for now if you promise to tell me everything as soon as you've fulfilled whatever your promise is to Bella."
"Done. Promise," he immediately responded. "Thank you."
Lee smiled wickedly. "No, thank you, Mase."
"Okay, we're done," Masen said as he tucked Lizzy under his arm and got to his feet. He wasn't so much annoyed with Lee's teasing as he was with himself for whatever he'd done to clue Lee into Bella's choice.
Lee hopped up laughing. "We are so far away from done, but I'll leave you alone for now. I'll even help you bathe Lizzy."
"What do you really want because we both know it's not to help with her bath?"
"Details about tonight," she said as she caught up to him and matched his pace.
Masen grinned. "Mountain. Sunset. Picnic. Kapu."
"What about the music? You need music for the mood."
He snorted. "Right because the ocean view from a mountain top isn't a mood setter all on its own."
"I've got the perfect mix CD for you."
"Don't need it."
Lee reached out and pinched his cheek. "It's not all about you, Masey."
He swatted her hand away but he also conceded. "Fine, I'll take your CD. And just for the record, I already know it's not all about me. That's why it's sunset and not sunrise."
Lee smiled genuinely as she hooked her arm around his. "Proud of you, Mase. Also, slightly jealous you're learning to be a couple faster than I did. Then again, you probably have a binder full of observations you've noted about her."
"I could fill a binder," he agreed. "But somehow I like learning from her more than studying her." He leaned in and pressed his head to Lee's. "I'm sorry." Their ridiculous attempt to be more than the great friends they were had been foolish. Lee had never really wanted him—she had wanted to be wanted and needed by someone. Gopher was her someone and he gave her everything she wanted and more. Still that didn't completely erase the sting of watching Masen give Bella everything he'd been incapable of even seeing Lee had needed.
"You're sweet to apologize but it's unnecessary since I was equally at fault."
"Yeah, but I'm supposed to look out for you and I flaked."
"You didn't flake. You just didn't know what to do. Neither did I. We were kids still. Now we're sure of who we are and want we want. Time to forget about the mess we made and focus on the bright side! Mine is that our friendship never suffered and we are now with the people we were truly meant to be with. Yours?"
"Everything you just said."
Her teasing smile popped out. "Such a copycat. First the surfing, now everything I'm saying."
Masen lifted his leg and used the side of his foot to kick her upper thigh. "I was surfing before I ever met you, you brat."
Lee laughed while shuffling a few steps away. "If that's what you want to call it. Race you home?"
He looked at her as if she'd suddenly gone crazy. He might struggle to best her in surfing but she was no match for him in running.
"Fine. Be afraid to lose to me. Again."
He stopped to tuck Lizzy closer to his chest and make sure his grip was firm.
"What are you doing?" Lee asked.
"Getting ready to beat you with a dog in tow."
"I've got two thermoses so that makes us even by my estimation," Lee said as she lined her feet up with his.
They shared a smile and then they gave their most impressive mean faces. They didn't bother counting, knowing it would just give the other a way to cheat. Instead they waited for a loud sound to release them—it was a short wait and the sound was the shrill cry of a bird flying overhead. There was no joking, no laughing, and no half-assing. They pushed themselves across the sand as fast as they could while holding tight to their loads.
Had it been a photo finish, it would have been Masen by half a shoe. But since there was no camera to definitively declare a winner, they agreed it was a fair tie and headed inside to give Lizzy a much needed bath.
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"It just seems more probable that something is wrong with the tag," Whit replied as he followed Edward into the house.
"Why?" Edward asked. "Why can't the tag be right? You know it wasn't that long ago that we thought Great Whites only lived into their thirties. Now we know they live well into their seventies. Why can't we be wrong about their dive depth?"
"I'm not saying we can't be wrong. I'm saying we have zero data to suggest we might be wrong."
"But this could be that data."
"So much for agreeing again that work would be left for tomorrow," Bella said, shaking her head as she shut the front door. Despite occasionally being annoyed with the guys for their continued work talk, she'd had a great outing with her sister. She'd even brought back a surprise for Lee and was excited to give it to her.
Lee came out of her room and nearly knocked right into Bella. "Woah. What's with Frick and Frack and their raised voices?"
"They're arguing about the tag data again," Alice explained.
"You would need a comparative sample," Whit continued, completely oblivious to the conversation the women were having.
Edward smiled. "Exactly. We need to tag another Great White. A bigger one this time. A large male."
Bella and Lee exchanged worried glances but before either could bring up their concerns, Gopher put an end to the conversation. "Not another word from either of you," he ordered, pointing at Edward first and then Whit. "Lee has been relaxed all morning but you two just got home and already she's got a stress crease running across the middle of her forehead. Save it for tomorrow's work day."
A moment of silence passed before Whit broke it. "Gopher's right. It's an off day and we shouldn't be talking about work. We made that deal with each other to make sure we didn't burn ourselves out and we need to stick to it, no matter how exciting the subject matter is to us."
"Masen's got a shitload of boxes on the table over there," Gopher told them. "There's bound to be something exciting in one of them."
Edward leaned to the side to see past Gopher. "What are you doing messing with my boxes?" he asked with a grin.
"If you'd rather them be outside, I can sure as hell put them back," Gopher offered.
"It's fine," Edward answered with laugh.
"Three … four … five. Damn, Mase. What did you order?" Whit questioned.
"Yeah, what's in them? What did you get?" Gopher pressed.
Edward chuckled. "You sound all of five right now."
Gopher ignored the comment. "Is one of them mine? Mine, mine, mine!"
"Bro, you imitate the birds from Nemo far too well," Whit remarked with a snort.
"Well at least someone has enough of their attention to stop the shark talk," Alice said to Lee and Bella. "We were no match."
"We had fun regardless," Bella pointed out. She turned to Lee and raised the bag in her hand. "And I brought you something."
Lee smiled wide while taking the bag from her. "Is it diamonds? Diamonds are supposed to be a girl's best friend."
"We aren't really the diamond types," Bella pointed out.
"Oh that's right," Lee agreed with a snap of her fingers. "That's in our next life. We'll even take it a step further and have diamond skin."
"Wouldn't that hurt?" Alice questioned.
"Nah, we'd just have the sparkle without the sharp edges," Lee explained.
"And extended lives," Bella added. "If we're going to have amazing skin, we should have it for a good long time."
"I'm on board," Lee replied. "Now let's see what my favorite Guppy has brought me." She pulled the sides of the bag apart and peered inside. "Holy—Oh this is so perfect!" she exclaimed, reaching in to pull out one of the items. "How did you know snow seals were my favorite?" she asked as she checked out the soft, snow white seal pillow with its fat head and flat back.
"You mentioned it once," Bella replied. "And I double-checked with Edward." Even if the snow seal hadn't been Lee's favorite, Bella was sure she would have enjoyed the pillows regardless. Lee had made it perfectly clear she was a huge fan of sleeping in and what better way to do that than on some comfy new pillows.
Lee reached into the bag again and this time pulled out a fuzzy blue pillow with a seal's face embroidered on it. She set her her two new snow seal pillows between her shoulder and cheek and let out a dramatic sigh of relief. "So soft!" Just as quickly she stood up straight with a mischievous smile curling her lips. "Let's go try them out on the bed!"
Her plan was thwarted by Edward. "Wait a minute. I need you ladies over here first," he announced.
"Seal pillows, Mase," Lee replied. "This is the holy grail of sleep supplies and I must test them posthaste."
Edward was not swayed by her argument. "Your haste can wait until I'm finished with you."
Lee begrudgingly took a step towards him and a chuckling Bella followed her.
"Which of these boxes is mine, Mase?" Gopher questioned.
Edward glanced up from the box he was opening. "Why would one of them be yours?"
"You owe me for ruining my Green Lantern shirt by bleeding all over it."
"I didn't tell you to take it off and put it on my hand."
"No, you just made it medically necessary."
Whit snorted. "He's got a point, bro."
"The boxes are all mine," Edward said, looking specifically at Gopher. "But a few of the contents might belong to others."
Gopher responded with a loud and exaggerated "sweet" while smiling wide and rubbing his hands together eagerly.
Edward popped the first box open and reached inside. After peeking under the packing material, he pushed the entire box away. He did the same with the next two boxes. It wasn't until he got to the third box that he actually took something out. He unfolded the black shirt and turned the short sleeve tee around for everyone to see.
The black t-shirt was emblazoned with white text and a cartoon shark jumping out of an old fashioned TV set. The words read: Shark Week. You're gonna need a bigger TV.
"In honor of our yearly tradition of watching Shark Week piled up on Esme's couch, I ordered all of us this tee," Edward explained. "I even grabbed ones for Alice and Carlisle so they can join in on the fun."
Alice looked as though she'd just swallowed a bug. "Thoughtful," she croaked as she struggled to smile.
"Maybe you can bedazzle it and it won't be so bad," Bella suggested in a teasing tone.
"Brat," Alice huffed while pushing on Bella's shoulder.
"Bro, these are sweet," Gopher said as he held up his own shirt in front of his broad chest. "Do I have to wait until we start the viewing fest to wear it?"
"It's your shirt so wear it whenever you want," Edward answered. "Just make sure you still have it for the marathon."
Lee took the shirt Edward was holding out to her. "While I love the idea, did you really have to get black? It's so hot in the sun."
"It only came in black or white, and the white didn't look right." Bella gasped at her blunder and turned her wide eyes on her sister. She had agreed with Edward that it was best if she not reveal her part in ordering the shirts to avoid any sibling conflict.
"You were in on it! You really are a brat!" Alice cried.
Everyone but Alice laughed in response, although Bella did catch her sister's little smirk.
"Mase, what about the other boxes? Huh? What's in those?" Gopher pressed. "Can I look?" he asked, already reaching for a box.
Edward grabbed the flap of the box and pulled it in front of him. "Patience, my large friend. Patience."
Bella watched as Edward opened the smallest of the five boxes and she knew right away what it was—his iPad. She was so glad it had come today. Esme's had arrived yesterday and he'd been itching to get his hands on his own so they could video chat and see each other's faces.
"Fancy iPad you got there, Masen," Gopher remarked. "What, oh what, made you think to get one of those?"
Edward's lips turned up in a smirk and he slid the box he'd taken away earlier over to Gopher. "Shut up and look in there."
Gopher quickly and enthusiastically tossed away the packing material to find the treasure inside of the box. "No fucking way!" He not only sounded stunned, he looked it as he showed his prize to the others. His exuberance burst forth along with his joyous smile. "Jawesome. Simple yet sophisticated. And totally me. Babe, look!"
"I see," Lee replied with a laugh. "Thank you, Masen."
Edward favored her with his shitty grin and then put the other two boxes in front of Gopher. "This makes us even, Gopher."
"We'll see," he said as he peeled the flaps back on the next box. "Oh, yeah! I'm wearing this today!" And he meant every word because he pulled his shirt off and put his brand new one on. "See what it says? True words, bro. True words."
Bella giggled as she stared at the shirt and the man in it. The red t-shirt was emblazoned with the words I'd flex but I like this shirt.
"Done," Lee said with a groan. "So done with these men in my life egging each other on."
"Told you to be careful what you wished for," Edward told her.
"Heaven!" Gopher yelled. "I'm in t-shirt heaven. I don't know which to wear first. Technically, I guess I already did but all the options." He finally showed off his last two treasures to the gang. The first was a black t-shirt that proclaimed Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman. Then always be Batman. It even had the bat logo at the bottom of it. The final shirt was grey with Spider-Man's face in the center and it gave the following advice: Keep calm and be amazing.
"Mase, bro, thank you a thousand times. This is above and beyond and I appreciate it," Gopher sincerely said as he forced a hug onto Edward.
Edward extracted himself from the hug and then suddenly looked very puzzled with his eyebrows drawn in and his lips turned down. "Lee, where is my puppy?"
Now that he'd mentioned it, Bella wanted to know Lizzy's whereabouts too. It was odd that they hadn't even heard her bark for Edward when they'd come home, much less with all the noise they'd been making this whole time.
"Your monster is in time-out in the baby pen downstairs," Lee answered, looking far too happy about it.
"Oh damn!" Whit exclaimed. "Lee put Baby in the corner! Shit went down while we were out."
"Which of your shoes has gone to Sole Heaven?" Edward asked, struggling to hold back his smile.
"You're not cute," Lee warned him.
He chuckled while backing away toward the stairs. "Nope. I'm fucking adorable."
Bella struggled to hold in her own laughter over Lee and Edward's behavior. "So did you really lose a shoe?"
Lee nodded. "My penguin slippers are no more. She chewed the nose off one and the back foot off the other."
Gopher joined their conversation. "To be honest, babe, those slippers were on their way out anyway. Maybe we can find you some seal ones to go with your new pillows."
"That's actually not a bad idea," Lee relented.
"So … um … why is there a baby playpen downstairs?" Alice asked, looking very puzzled and troubled.
Whit snorted while Lee and Gopher chuckled.
In between her laughing, Lee explained about the playpen. "Her highness, the princess puppy of Masen-land, is far too fragile to be put in a dog crate so she has a top of the line playpen."
"Yeah, Lizzy's the only proof we've ever had that Masen can be illogical just like the rest of us," Gopher added.
"He has gone to some pretty interesting lengths to pamper that dog," Whit allowed. "But then again, I can point out things he's done for all of us that go above and beyond."
"That's not illogical," Bella told them. "That's a man with a lot of love for his family."
Whit slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "You know just because you have sexy times with him now doesn't mean you have to be all mushy about him. You can still make fun of him just like the rest of us."
"Oh, I plan to," she assured him. "But I'll stick with doing it when he deserves it. You and Lee have every other moment covered nicely." Her comment had them all laughing.
"Look, Lee," Edward called out as he came back into the room with Lizzy nestled in his arms. "See how sorry my sweet girl is? Look at her big, sad eyes. She loves you." He lifted Lizzy and pushed his lower lip out. "You can't stay mad with a little puppy this sweet."
Lee stared at him straight-faced. "You owe me slippers."
Edward must have seen something Bella was missing because he responded as if Lee had said she'd forgiven Lizzy. He puckered his lips at Lee and told her, "Love you, Lee-lee."
Lee groaned and rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, Bella," she said as she took hold of her friend's arm. "Let's go before I decide to punish him for his sweet puppy's bad behavior."
Bella couldn't help her giggle this time. The relationship Edward shared with Lee was so lovable and funny, even when they were supposed to be annoyed with each other. It was exactly what a great sibling bond should be.
Alice followed them into Lee's room and asked, "How long do you think before they start talking about that tag again?"
"I think they're really done for today," Bella told her.
Lee smirked. "Sweet, sweet, innocent little learner fish. I love your optimism. But I've known these guys a smidge longer and despite Gopher's declaration to leave work for work, his own curiosity will probably be the spark that reignites the conversation. They'll just be careful to shut up around us for the rest of the night."
"They really are some strange numbers," Bella allowed.
"Yeah, but it's work and work comes tomorrow. Right now, we are testing my pillows." With that, Lee hugged her pillows to her chest and tossed herself onto her bed.
For the next hour, Lee enjoyed her pillows, Alice enjoyed Lee's stash of fashion clothing magazines, and Bella enjoyed talking about music with Lee. She hadn't realized she'd been sharing a boat with a music lover of such wonderfully varied taste but now that she knew she couldn't wait for them to compare their collections. She had even been seriously considering grabbing her laptop but then Edward had come to get her to video chat with Esme and Carlisle.
"So how do we do this?" Edward asked as they settled on the end of the bed.
"Do you want to tell them? Or should we do it together?"
He knocked her back onto the bed and growled against her neck. "We always do it together, kapu."
"How can you be so serious with work and such a goofball with me?"
"Considering that it didn't happen until you forced me to fall in love with you, that makes it all your fault."
"Forced you?" she cried indignantly. "I was fully prepared to keep things professional. You couldn't keep your lips to yourself."
"Yes, a reaction I didn't have before you came into my world. So again, all your fault."
She couldn't help laughing at his ridiculousness. "Which of us is going to share our news with Esme and Carlisle?"
He lifted her arm and kissed her wrist just above her bracelet. "I guess both of us. You can tell them you're staying with MMR and me, and I'll tell them we'll figure out the small details as soon as we get back to Hawaii."
She snorted. "You call where I'll live and what I'll do in the off season small details?"
"Not small as in they don't matter—just not as huge of a decision as choosing me and MMR over Atlanta. And it's where we will live, kapu."
Her hands slid over his stubble and she loved the way he closed his eyes at the feel. "We'll live and love and argue and makeup."
His eyes popped open—a stark green compared to the soft blue they'd been earlier. "I love you."
She smiled and pulled his face to hers, kissing him softly. His hands slid under her shirt and gripped her sides, giving him the positioning he needed to deepen the kiss. And then the iPad beside them started to ring with an incoming video call.
Edward groaned but didn't make any attempt to move so Bella had to push him off. "Behave," she warned as she sat up and he reached for the iPad.
Esme squealed with delight once they could see each other. "Look at that handsome devil! My kid!"
"Mom," Edward replied while laughing. "You're ridiculous."
"It's damn good to see you."
"You too, Mom. I miss you."
Esme's eyes watered even as she smiled. "Only sixteen more days. That ain't nothin'."
He laughed and nodded in agreement. "No time at all."
Esme looked a little confused. "Kid, you're way more chipper than I expected you would be after our texts. What's up?"
"Is Carlisle there?" he asked.
She twisted with her iPad and a newspaper came into view. "Carlisle, are you here?"
"Always for you, my love," he responded from behind the paper.
"What about for our kiddos? They seem like they have something to share with us."
Carlisle immediately put the paper down and scooted closer to Esme. "Bug, is she right? Do you have something to share?"
Bella slid her fingers between Edward's and gave his hand a tight squeeze. She loved the fact that his smile was just as big as her own. She turned her focus back on the iPad and to the curious couple looking back at them. "Edward and I have been talking about our relationship and my career options. We've decided we're going to continue our relationship when we get back to Hawaii. And I've decided my future job is with MMR, not in Atlanta."
"We don't have any specifics nailed down yet, but we fully intend to do that once we're back in Hawaii," Edward contributed. "Bella's position with MMR is one she's earned with hard work and dedication to a job well done. It's not a give-away to keep her with me."
"And I wouldn't take it if I thought for a moment that I couldn't do the job as well as any other team member," Bella added. "It'll be hard when we study sharks, I know that, but it'll be worth it for all the times when we study other species. Before my dad—working on the water was my original dream and to finally be able to live it is what I really want."
"Bella, you know that my wish for you is always what makes you happy," Carlisle told her. "If you truly believe continuing to work with MMR is your path, then I support your choice. My only concern is the intensity of living with and working with the person you love. Have you thought about the strain that could put on you both?"
"I have and I even have a couple ideas on what I might do in the off season to give us a break from each other."
Carlisle smiled wide. "Then I wish you both love and happiness, and the best of luck with MMR."
"Mom, you okay?" Edward asked. "You're never this quiet."
"Edward, sweetheart, you know I want nothing more than for you to share your life with someone, but are you sure you're ready to do that all day every day? Living with Bella will come with a whole new host of responsibilities, many that overwhelmed you when you tried to have your own place once before. If you're going to live with Bella, you're going to have to work less, focus more on your personal life, and share in all the daily household responsibilities. Those are all non-negotiable, especially the working less.
"I'm sorry if I sound harsh or like I don't want you to do this. I very much want this for you—for both of you. But as your Mom, I'm not going to lie and tell you this is going to be easy. It will more difficult than you can imagine right now when every possibility seems available to you both, when it's easy to say 'of course I'll work less'."
Bella looked up at Edward, trying to guess what he was thinking and feeling. She was troubled to hear he'd failed at living on his own—she'd never expected such a thing could happen with him being so organized and regimented. He really had to have gotten incredibly lost in his work for him to fail at it. She wanted to believe it couldn't happen again, that things were different now because they were together, but then she thought of how he and Whit had kept talking about work this morning and she wasn't so sure.
Edward raked his hand through his hair and then slowly began to respond to his mom's comments. "I don't think it's going to be easy … I think I'm going to screw up a lot in the beginning. I'll forget to pay bills and that it's my night to cook. I'll have to be dragged away from my projects because I lost track of time and I'm late for dinner or leaving to go somewhere."
He turned his green eyes on Bella and smiled while gently squeezing her fingers. "I know for sure that we are going to get on each other's nerves. She'll complain when I forget she's sleeping and I get too loud with my experiments, and I'll make snarky comments about her sloppy closet and offer too many times to organize it for her."
He looked directly into the iPad for the last part of what he shared. "It'll never be easy, Mom. But I don't want easy. I want Bella. I want her ridiculous giggle and her goofy behavior. I want her to argue with me until she's either satisfied with my explanation or she's convinced me to change my stance. I want to keep feeling this frustrating mix of needing to be with her and wanting to be alone to work at the same time. I want to be a better man, the one she deserves. And what I want most of all is to never let her go."
"Then go for it, Kid," Esme said between sniffles. "Go for it with my blessing and my support and all of my love for you both. It will be worth it, worth every ounce of frustration because you have a future full of promise ahead of you as long as you never let go of each other."
Edward's smile was comically large and far too wide for kissing but he tried it anyway and Bella found herself laughing with relief and pure joy. All of Esme's concerns had been completely valid but so were all of Edward's answers. Hard for sure, but possible and worth it to share the love they'd built together. And while they were adults and they didn't need anyone to agree with them, it meant a lot to have Esme and Carlisle's support.
"So, Mom, what's Carlisle's homestead like? How's it stack up to our place?" Edward asked.
She laughed and glanced up at Carlisle. "His kitchen appliances are slightly better but we definitely have the better view."
"Even with the backyard?" Carlisle questioned. "I thought you loved the gazebo."
"The gazebo is wonderful," Esme agreed. "Especially with the beautiful flowers Bella and Alice chose to grow around it. But I'm afraid nothing beats the sand and the sea for me."
Edward's lips pulled up into his shitty grin. "What about Bella's room? Any embarrassing posters of celebrities on her wall?"
"Let's go look," Esme said as she stood with the iPad.
"What?" Bella shrieked. "No! You can't do that. Uncle Carl, stop her!"
Carlisle's snickering came through loud and clear. "Sorry, Bug. My hands are tied."
"Hey, you've seen both of my rooms so it's only right that I see your one room," Edward pointed out.
Bella covered her face with her hands and mumbled into them. "Oh please kill me now."
From the way both Edward and Esme were laughing, she was sure they'd heard her.
It wasn't that she felt her room was embarrassing or boring. It was just really, really feminine. She'd let Alice do most all of the decorating and she knew Edward would know right away whose idea it was to have a lilac comforter and pastel flowered wallpaper.
"I like the rug. I want a rug like this for my room," Esme said.
Bella peeked through her fingers and saw the fluffy white rug that rested under her bed and nightstands. Both stands were covered in haphazardly stacked books—Edward was sure to love more evidence of her messiness.
"Kid, if I only looked at the nightstands and bookcase, I'd think I was in your room," Esme commented.
"His books are so neat, though," Bella pointed out.
Esme snorted. "That's because I made him clean his room before you arrived. He's famous for leaving books lying all around the house."
"I once found a book of Bella's in the freezer," Carlisle confided. "She had to put it down to grab a bag of frozen vegetables and completely forgot it was in there."
"Oh, I've got that beat," Esme said with a wave of her hand. "One summer night, when he was about thirteen, I decided to trust Edward to be home alone while I went to visit my friends for a few hours. He was sketching when I left and I honestly thought that would be how I found him when I got home. Little did I know that soon after I left, he got himself into a tizzy over not being able to fully recall a motor design he'd seen in a book. He also couldn't remember which book so he went through every book in the house. When I got home, there was a trail of books showing me every room he'd been in. It took him and Whit the entire next day to put my house back in order."
"How did you convince Whit to help you?" Bella asked. She would have guessed that he'd have teased Edward about the mess rather than help clean it up.
"He wasn't as much of a help as an annoyance," Edward admitted. "He spent most of the time teasing me until I'd yell at him and then Esme would yell at me to calm down and get back to work. That's why it took a whole day to put everything back."
"This vision—it's so beautiful," Bella teased, pretending to wipe away a tear.
"Yuck it up, Guppy," Edward warned. "Mom, what's that over on the end of her bed?"
Rather than fill with a blush like usual, Bella's face went white. She knew what was there—Alice's magazine. Alice's special issue magazine with all of the sex articles!
"Look, Edward! It's your favorite—Cosmo," Esme announced as she picked up the magazine and held it closer to the iPad.
"That's not mine!" Bella blurted out.
"It's in your room," Edward replied with a chuckle. "Fess up, kapu. Do you read it cover to cover or do you complete the surveys first? I bet you read the big articles, then do the survey, and then go cover to cover."
"What? No!"
"No reason to be embarrassed, Bella," Esme told her. "We all have our guilty pleasure reads.
"But it really isn't mine. It's Alice's," Bella protested.
"Hey that's the one with the bucket list survey for sex," Edward commented. He smirked and turned his attention to Bella. "Not to brag, but I checked off quite a few of those. How many did you check off, Bella?"
A coughing and red-faced Carlisle jumped in at that moment. "Maybe that's a question best answered in private."
"Just having a little fun at Bella's expense," Edward assured him.
"You will regret it," Bella threatened as she poked Edward in the chest. "I don't know how or when, but you'll regret it."
Amazingly, his payback happened immediately after and was brought to him by his own mom. "Oh, Carlisle, look at this one," Esme chirped. "Nine ways to improve sex in under a minute."
Under his tan skin, Bella could see Edward had a blush of his own. "Mom, you're not funny."
Her eyebrows arched up. "Did I sound like I was joking?" To prove she wasn't, she hugged the magazine to her chest and left Bella's room with it. "Shall I show you Carlisle's room? He has a wildly impressive bed in it. Plenty of room for us to explore the twenty-four sex tips article headlining the cover of this Cosmo."
"Okay, so I'm gonna go now," Edward said, standing and passing the iPad off to Bella. "Mom, you have yourself a great afternoon or night or whatever it is there and I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear all of what you just said. Carlisle, good luck, man."
"Where are you going?" Bella called after him.
"Somewhere. Anywhere," he yelled back from the other room.
Esme's chuckle had Bella looking back at the iPad in her hand. "Guess I teased my kid a little too much this time."
"No, that was perfect. Absolutely perfect," Bella promised.
"So, Bug," Carlisle began. "I now have two very important reasons to spend as much time as possible in Hawaii."
She smiled wide. "Not anywhere near where we thought this summer would lead, huh?"
Carlisle put an arm around Esme and kissed her temple. "Sometimes the best things are the ones we didn't plan to happen."
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
Masen grabbed the doorway and poked his head into Lee's room. He saw right away that the person he was looking for wasn't in there. "Where's Bella?"
Lee didn't look up from the magazine she was flipping through—thankfully not Cosmo—but he could tell from the smirk on her face that her eyes were dancing. "What's it worth to ya?"
"I already paid you in alone time."
"That was before your puppy ate my slippers."
He snorted and came all the way into the room. "You know those raggedy things didn't have much life left in them."
Lee lifted her head and smiled at him. "Your kapu's in the bathroom freshening up."
Masen narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You didn't tell her, did you?"
"Of course not, you dork," she answered as she rolled her eyes at him. "She's taking out her ponytail and brushing her hair."
"Thank you." He turned to go but she stopped him with a question.
"You're not wearing that, are you?"
"What's wrong with it?" He glanced down at his white t-shirt and khaki shorts; they were a little rumpled but there weren't any stains on them.
"Go change. Green polo with your dark jeans."
"We're just going to be sitting on the tailgate," he pointed out.
Lee smiled and repeated her clothing choice. "Green polo. Dark jeans."
Masen shrugged, figuring it wouldn't hurt to follow her advice. He headed into his room and opened the closet—and immediately grimaced at Bella's side. He murmured the words Esme had said to him when he'd complained to her about the state of the closet, "Leave it alone. She has a right to be messy just like you get to be organized."
Once he had on the clothes Lee had picked for him, he realized he was no longer going to be able to get away with wearing flip flops. He almost put his original outfit back on but then he thought about what Bella might like and figured she'd expect a little effort in his outfit on an official date.
After putting on a pair of socks and his black Converse sneakers, Masen went in search of Bella again. He found the bathroom door still closed so he decided to sit on the arm of the couch to wait for her.
His mind went straight to the conversation they'd had with Esme and Carlisle early this afternoon. If he ignored the part where his mom had told him way more than he ever needed to know, it had been a great talk. He'd known Esme would question his ability to keep from getting lost in his work, and despite not being able to come up with anything solid to say when he'd practiced beforehand, the answers had come to him fairly easily once he'd been sitting there with Bella at his side. Now he just had to back up his words and make an effort at not over-working.
The sound of the bathroom door opening had him up on his feet. He had a clear line of sight into the hall and as soon as Bella stepped into it, he found himself needing to sit back down. The only clear word in his foggy brain was "mine" which did him zero good because he was still baffled by how much she wanted to be his.
"What?" she asked while looking down at her dress—the very same dress she'd been wearing the night she'd walked into his life. "Is it too much?"
Masen tried to tell her the dress was perfect but nothing came out.
She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "It's too much. I'll go change."
Before she could take a single step he was standing in front of her. "You look gorgeous, kapu."
"Are you sure? I can change."
He cupped her chin and lifted her eyes up to his, wanting her to see his smile and his sincerity. "Gorgeous."
She relaxed and smiled back. She also teased him. "Gorgeous, huh? How many steps above 'lovely' is that?"
"Enough to make me honestly speechless," he admitted. But no sooner than the words left his mouth, he realized there actually was a problem with her dress. "Bella, how did you know to change?"
"Lee suggested I might want to brush out my hair and put on something flirty but comfortable. She didn't give any details, so don't worry about that. Are you sure this is okay though? I'm not sure I own anything flirty so I went with the dress from the night you and I first met. I figured if it got your attention then, then maybe it would now."
Masen took her hands and held her arms out to the side, getting another full glimpse of her in her devilish dress. He said only one word but he knew she understood all it meant from the blush in her cheeks. "Gorgeous."
He leaned in to kiss her but the alarm on his watch stopped him in his tracks. They had to leave now or they wouldn't have enough time to get the top before the sun set.
"What's the alarm for?" Bella asked as he led her towards the front door. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere."
She let out a loud huff. "That's what Lee said. She's such a sneaky nudger—Whit usually tells me exactly why he wants me to do stuff. She just laughs."
Masen chuckled. "It could also be because she knows I'd toss her ass overboard for telling you anything."
"Now that you know she didn't, you can tell me all about it," Bella suggested.
He helped her up into the Bronco and then leaned into the doorway. "Are you really that curious?"
It took her a second to stop staring at his mouth and answer. "Yes."
He leaned in further as if he was going to kiss her and then pulled away at the last second. "Let's keep it that way a little longer," he teased as he shut her door.
He climbed in and immediately felt the chill she was sending his way with her arms crossed and her body completely on the passenger side instead of right up against his like usual. He let her sulk for a little, mostly because he was trying not to speed while still getting them where they needed to be on time. But eventually he had to get her talking and smooth things over with her—and hopefully before they reached their destination.
He was smart enough to know from her body language that she had zero interest in speaking to him right now so anything he said would aggravate her. He might as well be brazen and put the issue right out there the way he saw it. "Are you going to get mad at me every time I try to do something nice for you?"
"No, just those times when you're being a jerk about it."
"I barely teased you. I could have started days ago when I figured out exactly what I wanted to surprise you with."
"That sounds like an amazingly sound plan. I can't imagine how it could ever fail."
He reacted to her sarcasm with complete calm. "Hey, if you never want to be surprised, that's fine with me. Sounds boring as hell, but whatever you want."
She sighed and finally uncrossed her arms but she didn't answer right away. "I'm not saying that at all." She turned her body toward his a little and he knew she was finally calm enough for an actual conversation. "Look, I'm bad with surprises. I usually can control the urge to be a complete brat about it, but sometimes I get irritated when I'm teased. I guess that's something I'll have to work on since you seem to enjoy surprising people so much."
"How about I offer you a compromise? I'll only surprise you for big events and I'll let you know ahead of time I'm going to tease you so you're not surprised by it."
"How is that a compromise?" she asked with a surprised laugh. "You just stated exactly what you were going to do. I didn't hear anything that resembled a plus for me."
"Of course you did. Big events only rather than any event where I feel the urge to surprise you. That's a huge plus for you."
She gripped his upper arm and gave it a shake. "You are so frustrating." Then she smiled and kissed his cheek. "But lucky for you, you're also sweet and cute. Thank you for wanting to do something nice for me, and I'm sorry I was a brat about it."
"There's my normally sweet kapu," he teased as he put his arm around her. "You disappeared for a little while there."
"What is this road we're on?" she asked, looking wary of the rise in the road ahead of them.
"It's a shortcut. It's fine, I promise."
She didn't look convinced.
He slid his fingers along her arm and smiled at her. "Do you trust me?"
She immediately smiled back and relaxed. "Always."
They made it to their destination with just enough time for Masen to get the back of the Bronco setup. It would have probably gone faster if Bella hadn't been making him laugh by tossing out ridiculous ideas on what he was doing that required her to stay seated up front without peeking at him. Still, he'd prefer her being goofy than her being annoyed with him any day.
When he finally felt the blanket was spread out perfectly, the pillows were stacked high enough, and the food arranged impeccably, he went to her door and opened it, offering her his hand. She held tight, using his weight to help her keep her balance on the uneven ground.
As soon as she saw the back of the truck, she let out a little gasp and tightened her grip on his hand. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad reaction.
The silence spinning out had him nervous that she was disappointed after the way he'd built up the surprise idea with his secrecy. "I know it's kind of homemade but I wanted something you'd find relaxing," he explained.
She turned her head to get another look at the view of the ocean and sky laid out before them and then focused on the truck again. "I don't know what to say."
His shoulders slumped and he felt awful for having guessed so wrong about what she might like. Even though it was a simple plan, he'd put a lot of thought into it, considering all of the things he knew she liked and disliked so far. "It's early still. We can go to Cape Town if you want," he offered. "We can even go to that restaurant here down by the marina."
She looked up at him, appearing honestly puzzled. "Why would we leave? I thought we were here to watch the sunset together. Or did I guess wrong?"
"No, that was my intent but—" He raked his hand through his hair, struggling to speak and control his disappointment at the same time.
She took his face into her hands and tilted his chin down so she was sure his attention was on her. "You're doing it again. You're trying to make things perfect when all I want is to be with you. It wouldn't matter to me if you'd forgotten the food or if it suddenly started pouring raining so hard we couldn't see anything. All I need for this to be an amazing night is for you to be here with me. Perfection still doesn't exist and never will, and honestly even if it did, I wouldn't want it. I'd give up perfection to seeing the love you put into things any day. All I want is you, Edward."
"I'm yours, kapu," he promised. He backed it up with a kiss that made her knees go weak and gave him the opportunity to scoop her up and set her down on the blanket.
She waited until he was settled against the pillows and then she leaned up against him and pulled his arms around her. "This is definitely the best official first date I've ever had."
Masen's smile was comically big for the second time today. "Me too, kapu," he said as he hugged her tighter.
The sunset came quick but it was just the start of their date. Once the last of the colors faded from the sky, he slipped away to put on the music Lee had insisted he take along. He set the volume low so they could hear it but still hear each other while they talked and ate.
By the time he made it back to the tailgate, Bella had tossed off her shoes and popped open the food containers. The little brat had even started eating without him, munching on the biggest of the calamari strips he'd made for them. There was also his self-proclaimed world famous creamy bacon and egg potato salad, the last of Esme's sweet tea, and a local dessert he'd picked up special at the marina's restaurant just for tonight. It was known as a milk tart and was made with simple ingredients like milk, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Something about the way it all came together made it a dessert he couldn't resist. In fact, he grabbed a fork and made that the first thing he ate for the night.
When his food was all gone, he relaxed against the pillows while Bella continued to enjoy her meal and tell him all about her favorite restaurant in Orlando. He loved the way her skin looked in the moonlight. Since it was nearly full tonight it was bright enough that he didn't need to turn on the camping lantern he'd brought along. Its yellowish light would have blocked out the moon's silvery glow against her skin.
Bella suddenly scooted across the blanket and hopped off the tailgate. She spun to face him, the bottom of her dress flaring out slightly. "Come here," she said as she held her hand out to him.
Masen shook his head. "I'm comfortable. Don't make me move."
She smirked at him. "You can relax later. Right now I want to dance."
"I don't dance."
"Not even when I'm wearing a gorgeous dress?" Her sad tone mixed with her pouty lower lip was stronger than his resistance and he found himself joining her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"For the record, I never said the dress was gorgeous," he told her. "I said you are gorgeous."
She laughed softly. "So long as you're dancing with me, you can think whatever you want."
"Swaying, not dancing," he corrected. To him dancing was actually moving around but all they were doing was holding each other and swaying their hips in time to the slow music coming from the truck's speakers.
Her smile widened while her eyes lightened to that caramel shade he loved. "Dancing and you love it."
He brought his lips down to hers but didn't kiss her—not yet. He had something important to say first. "You make it so easy to tease you, and usually fun too, but I hope you know that when it comes down to it, I'd do anything with you anywhere. Sunsets on mountain tops, moonlight dances, even something land-locked. I love you that damn much, kapu."
She smiled at him with so much love in her eyes that when they kissed this time, her knees weren't the only ones having trouble keeping them upright.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
"I'm not saying that at all," Bella argued as she opened the front door while carrying in the lantern and picnic basket. She knew he was purposefully being obtuse and twisting her words. He'd been doing it all night, making a game out of getting her riled up just so he could kiss her until he was forgiven. He thought he was so slick but he had no idea she'd just been pretending to argue with him just to keep those kisses coming—she'd known since the second time he'd done it thanks to his inability to completely cover up his laugh.
Like right now for instance. Edward was right behind her chuckling away with his arms full of pillows and the blanket, completely convinced she couldn't hear him. "Then what are you saying?" he goaded.
"Scary movies have a time and a place. It's called October. Outside of that, I don't see any reason to scare the beejeebus out of myself."
"They're home!" Alice announced at what had to be the very top of her lungs.
With Edward behind her and Lizzy and Alice charging at her, Bella was frozen where she stood waiting for the impact. Just before she was bowled over, two saviors appeared out of thin air—Whit pulled Alice back and Lee scooped Lizzy up.
The breath Bella had been holding whooshed out of her. She heard Edward once again laughing behind her and turned to shoot him a glare. "That is why I don't need scary movies. I have a highly unpredictable sister."
"Don't forget an affectionate puppy," Lee said, laughing while doing her best to keep Lizzy from squirming right out of her arms.
"Kapu, as much as I enjoy staring at your backside, I'm going to need you to move it. Kitchen or living room, doesn't matter so long as you get out of the hall."
Rather than move out of Edward's way, Bella backed up into him until she felt him losing control of the giant pile in his arms. She managed to get out of the impact zone and joined Lee in laughing at him standing there and staring in disbelief with his mouth hanging open.
"I told you I'd get you back for all that teasing," Bella remarked. Her smile turned into a puzzled frown. "Alice, what are you doing?" she asked, unable to believe she was really seeing her sister helping Edward clean up.
"The quicker we put this stuff away, the quicker I can show you," Alice explained.
"She's been wanting to show you for two hours," Lee confided. "Two long hours of her constantly moving around and yammering. She nearly got duct-taped to a chair at one point."
"Lee, that's wrong," Bella admonished. And then she could no longer hold back her grin. "Funny, but wrong."
"Bella, put that stuff away," Alice ordered as she passed by with the blanket.
Lee snorted. "Better get on it, Guppy. Thumper sounds like she means business."
Bella shook her head. "It's my day off. I'm not taking orders from anyone."
"Said as you walk into the kitchen to put away the stuff," Lee taunted. "Tell me again how you're not taking orders?"
"Okay, everybody come here," Alice ordered, her voice bellowing from the living room.
"No one's deaf, Alice. You can bring it down a few hundred decibels," Edward told her.
"I'm just really excited," she replied, her entire body vibrating from the effort it was taking her to stand still.
Edward turned to Whit. "Whit, you remember those tops we had where you wound the rip cord around it and then when you pulled it away the top spun like crazy?"
"Yeah, I remember," Whit said, looking suspicious of his friend. "What about them?"
Edward grinned and jerked his thumb at Alice. "Human one right there."
"Any-way!" Alice called out while glaring at Edward. "I know it was hard for all of you to give me another chance and I want you all to know how much I appreciate it. I'm not that scared, mean girl that first greeted all of you. I was just really afraid for my sister and afraid of losing her. But I know now that there's no other team I'd trust to keep her safe." Alice leaned over the couch and when she stood up straight she was holding a shopping bag in her hands. "To show my appreciation, I picked a little something up for each of you."
Whit stepped up to hold the bag and allow Alice to pull something from it while keeping her back to everyone. She fussed with whatever it was for a bit and then turned with it stretched out in her hands. "It seemed fitting."
Looking at the navy blue shirt with the white lettering, Bella couldn't agree more. The shirt advertised White Shark Cafe – Seal Island, South Africa.
"This is a sweet shirt," Gopher complimented as Alice's handed him his shirt.
"I'm really glad you like it. I'd hoped you wouldn't feel burnt out on t-shirts after all the ones you got this morning."
"That probably won't ever happen," Lee shared while delivering a wriggling Lizzy into Bella's waiting arms.
Once Alice was done passing out the shirts, Bella noticed something odd. "Alice, where's your shirt?"
"I really wanted it to be a team shirt so I just got it for you guys. But I did find a different one I liked," she shared. "Let me get it."
While she rushed off to her room Whit let out a groan and covered his face with his hand. "You guys aren't going to believe this one."
"Unflappable Whit is flapped," Edward mused. "What in the hell has this woman done now?"
"With my sister, there's honestly no telling," Bella remarked as she gently stroked Lizzy's back. The puppy had finally calmed and stopped trying to both give kisses and get down at the same time.
"Ta-da!" Alice announced as she hopped over and threw her arms wide open. She'd traded her feminine cream sleeveless top for a black t-shirt with the outline of a shark in yellow and the words Caution – Does not play well with others. Seeing Alice in a t-shirt wasn't the weirdest thing, though. No, that honor belonged to the big pink rhinestone bow she'd added to the shark's dorsal fin.
Edward opened and closed his mouth a few times but all he ever managed to get out was a very confused and loud "What?"
"Told you, bro," Whit said, shaking his head.
"Did you even try to stop this insanity?" Edward asked.
Alice giggled while wrapping herself around Whit. "It's so cute how you think he could."
"Why? Why did it have to be this one?" Edward asked Whit.
He snorted and nodded his head toward Bella. "Same reason it had to be her for you. She's the one I need for balance."
"Oh! I have something else," Alice chirped. She untangled herself from Whit and ran off to her room once again.
When she returned this time, she carried a few sheets of paper and she delivered them all to Edward.
"What's this?" he asked.
Alice's smile was once again beaming. "Tomorrow's blog post and a receipt."
Bella and Lee looked to each other with identical wide eyes and Lizzy perked up in Bella's arms, her little ears rising fully.
"Just look through it," Alice encouraged. "I promise you won't be disappointed." She paused and then added, "Actually Whit promised and I trust his judgment."
While Edward read over the papers, Lee signed to Whit asking him what was going on and what the post was about. Whit only smiled and shrugged.
"He's not gonna give it up, is he?" Gopher whispered.
"That little shit will get his," Lee promised. "Just you wait."
It didn't take Edward long to read through everything and when he looked up from the pages Alice stopped rocking on her heels and stood completely still.
"You did this on your own?" Edward questioned.
Alice nodded. "Of course I told Whit about my idea beforehand, and Gopher helped me edit it after, but the words are all mine."
Gopher started to turn red the longer Lee and Bella stared at him; he was big time busted for fooling them. He gave a sheepish smile and then looked away, pretending to be fully absorbed in Alice and Edward.
Edward flipped through the pages once more and then looked to Whit for confirmation, getting a nod in response.
"So?" Alice pressed, already back to rocking on her heels. "What do you think? Good enough for the MMR blog?"
"I have a very important question for you and I need you to be completely honest," Edward told her. "And we both know Whit will tell me if you hold anything back."
Alice's gaze shifted to Whit and his smile set her at ease, getting her to stand still without the vibrations this time. "I'll be honest."
Edward held the papers up between them. "Do you mean everything you say in here? I'm not asking if you trust the statistics and facts. I'm asking if you mean your viewpoint, if you believe in what you wrote."
Alice struggled to speak and when she finally did, it seemed an awkward way to respond to Bella. "I don't want to for some of it, but I do for all of it. Does that make sense to you?"
Edward shocked everyone—especially Alice—by hugging her. "It's a good post." He let her go and smiled his shitty grin while teasing her. "Definitely not professional writing but we can't all be genius researchers."
Alice bantered right back. "I think you're getting genius confused with arrogant."
"Brat's got jokes," Edward replied while pushing her into Whit's arms. "Do something with her, will ya?"
"Plan to," Whit assured him while Alice laughed.
"What the hell did we just witness?" Lee asked Bella.
"I'll let you know once I figure it out," Bella responded. She wanted her sister to get along with Edward; she just hadn't expected it to start happening this soon.
Edward walked over and handed off the pages to Lee. "Let her know if anything needs to be fixed before she emails you the file to post."
Lee and Bella put their heads together and quickly scanned over the document. Bella wasn't surprised the post felt like a friendly chat—relating to others had always been a skill of Alice's. But the personal touches, the mention of their father—Alice's earlier comment made perfect sense now. She didn't want to need sharks in her world but she believed they were necessary.
"It's good," Lee said as she scanned through the pages a second time. "A couple grammar things I want to go over with her, but certainly good enough for the blog."
"So Alice, huh?" Bella asked, looking to Edward.
"Alice," he agreed with a nod.
She shook her head, knowing full well she shouldn't be surprised he'd been vague since she'd been that way first.
"When she's honest, there's no question she's your sister." Edward reached out and scratched behind Lizzy's ear before finally lifting his eyes to meet Bella's.
"Or that she's still hurting too. That's why you hugged her, isn't it?"
Rather than answer, Edward tugged at his shirt and looked down at his shoes. "I'm sweltering in this. I'm going to change real quick."
Bella caught his arm and stepped into him, hugging him the best she could while still holding on to Lizzy. "You have a beautiful heart and I love you."
He quickly kissed her cheek and then disappeared into their room. She left him alone, figuring he'd more than earned some space to himself. She also trusted he'd talk to her later if she asked—and she would ask.
He came back out a few minutes later in his white t-shirt from earlier and a pair of his basketball shorts with Lizzy's leash dangling from his hand. He didn't say anything as Bella handed him his puppy but he really didn't need to. His steel blue eyes spoke volumes about his level of agitation. She did the only thing she could think of at that moment—she kissed his cheek and told him he was loved.
When Edward finally returned home after being gone for nearly an hour, Bella was in their room in her pajamas, sitting on the bed and spreading a special lotion on her ray scar to help make it less visible.
"What's that?" he asked as he closed the door.
"It's a lotion that makes my scar less noticeable."
"I didn't think it was unless you were really looking."
"It wasn't at first but now that I've gotten a darker tan from all our outside work, it's more evident. I had the tube in my stuff so I figured why not give it a try." She could no longer see any of the white film from the lotion so she capped the tube and put it away in her trunk. After closing the closet door, she leaned back on it and studied Edward.
He stood at the window, looking out to the water she could hear lapping at the beach. She could only see the corner of his mouth but it was enough to know he was frowning. With one foot straight and the other pointed toward the bedroom door, he looked the epitome of a man who couldn't decide if he wanted to stay or go. Since his alone time had clearly not done much to improve his mood, she decided it was time for him to talk about what was bothering him.
Before she could say anything, he turned to face her. "It's my fault you have that scar."
"Excuse me?"
"The ray scar. I didn't protect you. I promised you it would be safe."
She went to him and pressed right up against him, sharing his personal space and resting her arms on his shoulders. "You promised fun and I had loads of that. I was the one who lost focus chasing a fish and ended up scaring a ray. It's true that I walked away with a scar, but I also realized that day just how much I was letting my fear control my life. If I hadn't been so focused on the rare possibility of a dangerous shark appearing, I would have been watching for the very real dangers of snorkeling."
"Bright side." He paused long enough to wind his arms tightly around her and then explained his comment. "When things don't turn out the way we planned, Lee makes me find a bright side. She thinks it helps us find perspective outside of our immediate disappointment. Sometimes it helps I guess."
"So what's your bright side for our snorkeling fiasco?"
His answer was immediate and firm. "You lived."
Bella didn't know what to say to that so she just hugged him.
"The other bright side is that I realized I loved you," Edward continued.
She smiled as she remembered his face the first time she'd said those three words to him. He'd looked petrified but then he'd kissed her and she'd known he felt the exact same even if he hadn't been able to say it to her yet.
"I had been trying to figure out how to tell you, how to make it a moment you'd always want to remember but you were still pretty weak from the ray venom. And then you were saying it to me and I had to tell you, to make sure you knew I felt the same."
"It's one of my favorite memories," she assured him.
"Yeah, well, we both know that wasn't the first time you heard me say it."
She lifted her head and smiled up at him, wanting him to see she was serious. "And that makes it even better. Edward, at that point you were so busy overanalyzing every single thing about us … I think if I hadn't heard you then, I wouldn't have known how you really felt for a long time after. Besides, hearing you talk to Lizzy about me, I knew I was really hearing what was in your heart and not your head."
He brought his forehead down to rest against hers. "More and more, I'm running out of ways to argue with your logic. I don't like it."
She chuckled and kissed him softly. "You're just gonna have to get used to it."
He finally smiled. "Smart ass."
As much as she didn't want to see his smile go away, she knew they had to talk about his earlier behavior. "What was it about Alice that upset you so much?"
Just as she'd guessed, his smile disappeared, right along with his arms so his hands could sink into his hair. "Do we have to talk about this?"
"Yes."
He sighed. "Fine. Let's sit though." They ended up resting against the pile of pillows and each other. "It wasn't really Alice, not directly … Her face, that look in her eyes … All of a sudden I couldn't stand missing Esme anymore and I didn't want to feel that way so I pushed it down like usual. And it was starting to work but then you said what you did and that feeling was back stronger. I guess I got pissed off that I can't just turn things off anymore."
"I'm sure that was very convenient for you, ignoring any thoughts or feelings you didn't want to have by throwing your focus into something else. But you can't hold on to that ability and grow as a person. You have to feel things, you have to face them. There's nothing wrong with missing your mom, Edward. It's completely expected with everything you both have been through."
Edward growled under his breath and got out of the bed, going back to the window. She could see the chords standing out in his neck and the thick ropes of muscle covering his arms down to his fisted hands. She expected to hear that visible anger in his voice and she was right, though he did try to rein it in at first by speaking slowly. "I'm twenty-seven years old … I shouldn't miss her to the degree that I'm angry I can't go into her room and talk with her and hug her."
"You absolutely should," she argued. "Edward, most men don't realize until it's far too late that they should have hugged their mom more, listened to her advice more, and let her know she was loved and appreciated. You are lucky to already know how important it is to do those things with your mom. Many, many, many years from now when you look back on your life and the time you spent with her, you are not going to be that guy regretting all the things he should have said and done with his mom. You know now is the time to show her and tell her, and you do so often that of course it feels unnatural not to have that."
His only response was a half-hearted grunt.
She got up from the bed and went to him, laying her head on his broad chest and wrapping her arms around his back. "Your anger is because you're worried something is wrong with you, but I promise there's not. I can't begin to quantify how many times a day I want to call my uncle to tell him something, something trivial and something big and something that only he will understand and appreciate with me. Many times I can't stop right then to share so I keep a list in my head and every night I send him an email to share with him."
"You really do that?" he questioned while folding her into his arms.
She smiled at the feel of his body relaxing against hers. "It's true. It's also true that most moms and dads aren't as involved as Esme and Carlisle are, but I say that's a shame for those other kids. You and me, we're lucky, Edward."
"Once again making too much damn sense for me to argue."
Having heard the smile in his voice, she looked up and traced his grin with her thumb. "I really don't want to see this smile go away but there's one last thing we need to talk about tonight."
"What?"
"What happened when you lived on your own?"
He shrugged. "It didn't work out. I tried it for a while and then I moved back home with Esme."
"Why didn't it work?"
"I don't know. Maybe because I was a nineteen year old kid at the time. Maybe it was the fact that I had only moved out because I thought that it what I was supposed to do. I thought I was supposed to be on my own to have the complete college experience, only I was never interested in that. It didn't take me long to realize I hated living alone. I constantly missed Esme and I never truly felt comfortable in the place. But I didn't want to give up and I damn sure didn't want to fail so I threw myself into my classes and my night-time projects. The more I worked, the less I thought about how much I hated being on my own. Unfortunately, it also caused me to overlook the small things, like buying groceries and paying bills.
"But you don't need to worry about that happening with us, Bella. I'll have you and Lizzy and I want to be present in your lives. I want to find a balance between focusing on you and focusing on work. I will find that balance. I just might need your help sometimes, and your understanding when I screw up."
"Always," she promised. "As long as you're really trying."
"So are we done with the serious stuff now?"
She couldn't help laughing at his ridiculously hopeful expression. "Yes, we are done with the serious stuff."
"Good because I've been dying to tell you how damn sexy you look in these pajamas."
Bella smiled, glad she'd chosen this pale pink tank top and sleep shorts set over one of the more revealing options Alice had suggested. "I'm happy to hear it, especially knowing how partial you are to my Dr. Seuss t-shirts."
He smiled slyly at her and then he leaned her back over one of his arms and hooked the other under her legs, lifting her up and causing her to squeal in surprise. He brought her over to the bed and then tossed her down on to it, climbing over her before she had a chance to move away.
He leaned in to kiss her but she grabbed his cheeks to stop him. "You're ridiculous and a mess and a ridiculous mess. You know that, right?"
"What I know for sure without a single doubt is that I love you, kapu."
She laughed as she thwarted another of his attempts to kiss her. "I love you too without a doubt but you're still a ridiculous mess."
He pulled her hands from his face and held them against his chest. "How dare you impugn my character like this! And after all I've done for you."
"All you've done for me? Is this in reference to purposefully annoying me on our date earlier so you could kiss your way to forgiveness over and over?"
He kept a tight hold on her squirming hands and dove in for the kill, growling against her neck and making her shriek with laughter. She finally got her hands free and used them to push against his chest. He surprised her by actually allowing her to push him off and she wasted no time in knocking him onto his back and climbing on top.
"Gotcha!" she proclaimed as she smiled down at him.
He chuckled, seeming happy to pretend she had his hands trapped against the mattress. "What are you going to do with me now that you've caught me?"
"Love you."
"Show me."
She happily obliged, sinking her hands into his hair and kissing him with every bit of passion and want she felt for him. He returned the kiss with equal fervor, leaving no doubt in her mind that a pleasurable end of the night was on the way for both of them.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
A/N: Greetings, Lovely Readers! We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We would also like to wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And if you celebrate a different type of holiday during this time, we hope you spend it with those who make you feel happy and loved.
We've put pictures of all the shirts up on the blog, along with Lee's pillows and Alice's blog post. Alice's post is worth the read :)
Happiness and Love to all of you from My-Bella and EternallyAddicted!