AN: I will never learn my lesson about checking emails at work…The support my story has received so far astounds me! I appreciate each and every one of you! Thank you for reading, following, reviewing, and added my story to your favs!
This chapter is a bit shorter than normal but I wanted to get something out for you. Work has been a little crazy so I haven't had as much time to write this week.
The song in this chapter is called Dust to Dust by The Civil Wars.
Twilight isn't mine, Surviving is!
BPOV
"For fuck's sake Bella! Hold still!" Rose exclaims as I fidget in the chair again.
The better I get to know everyone the more I can see why she and Emmett are an ideal match for each other. They're beautiful, smart, funny…often at inappropriate times, and swear like sailors. And while she can be a bit standoffish at first, he is outgoing from the word 'go'. Perfect balance.
"I'm almost done and then you can look." She and Alice have been working on my hair and makeup for the past hour.
"Sorry." I lean back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest. I know I'm pouting, but I can't help it. I've never been pampered like this before and honestly I find it a bit tedious. I close my eyes, trying to stay still and think back over the past two weeks.
After it was settled, in no uncertain terms, that I would be staying with Edward everyone headed out. Edward and I spent the rest of the night talking. He told me stories about growing up in Forks, his family, his friends and his school. I opened up to him about my parents and the letter my mom had left me. He held my hand and wiped my tears away when things got too hard to talk about.
When his parents got home that night I panicked. If they knew I was there they would have to inform someone. He assured me that everything would be okay and his parents would never be the wiser.
He insisted on me taking his bed while he crashed on the couch. Lying there that first night I sent my thanks to whoever sent this wonderful group of people into my life.
The following days we sort of fell into a routine. He would get up early, bring breakfast upstairs and we would eat together before he left for school. I would spend the day in his room, exploring his vast movie and book collection. When he got home, usually with the gang in tow, we would sit around talking and planning the Halloween party while they did their homework.
When everyone would start to trickle out for the night, heading home for dinner, Edward would go downstairs and talk with his parents while they made dinner together. When it was ready he would grab enough for both of us and come upstairs to eat. He had told his parents he was working on a big project for school so they wouldn't question his absent. We would spend the rest of the night snuggled together on the couch talking or watching movies. The next day we would do it all over again.
Today we had spent the day at the hospital. It's Halloween and the kids were so ecstatic to see us. Reverse trick-or-treating was simply amazing! I had volunteered to pass out the goodies while everyone else posed for pictures and interacted with the kids.
The girls had dressed up as the princesses from Frozen, which Emmett said was 'kid crack', "Seriously Bella, you would've thought they pumped drugs through the vents in the theatre the way people ate this shit up!" I had laughed it off until we stepped into the first room and the piercing screams started.
When the boys had come out of the bathroom in their costumes, I don't know which one of us girls laughed harder. Emmett was dressed like the Cat in the Hat and Edward and Jasper were his Thing One and Thing Two. After drying our tears I looked up to find Edward watching me with a smirk on his face.
Seeing him like that; making a fool out of himself just to put a smile on a child's face, I knew I couldn't fight my feelings for him anymore. I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
When we got back to Edward's Alice and Rose surprised me with a costume for tonight's party and whisked me away to begin the 'Bella Barbie' hour.
"Alright Bella, open your eyes and follow me" Alice grabs my hand pulling me from my memories and the chair. "Edward is going to love it!" I look at her…am I that transparent? Can they tell how deep my feelings for him are? I turn my attention the mirror and can't believe my eyes.
I'm standing there in a retro style, bright aqua stewardess uniform mini dress with short sleeves and white trim. It gives me an hourglass figure and hugs all the right spots. My hair cascades down my back, curled and shiny with a military style mini hat sitting slight askew. My eyes look large and sultry. Rose calls it the 'smoky eye effect' and she's added a hint of aqua eye shadow to match my dress.
"Damn Swan! Edward might want to join the mile-high club tonight" Rose says with a wink as she heads into the bathroom to put her costume on.
I look at Alice confused. "What's the mile-high club?"
"Oh my god Rose!" she laughs. "Well…it's…um…" she giggles again. "It's sex on a plane."
I feel the heat rise up in my face. SEX! With Edward?! I feel a tingle in the pit of my stomach.
"Your shoes are on the bed, Bella" Alice says as pulls her wig on. "Oh and the white gloves are for you too!" I sit down and pull on the knee high white boots. Thankfully they have a small heel.
"Okay girls. Time to make our men drool!" Rose does a twirl as she steps out of the bathroom looking stunning.
We do one last check in the mirror and head downstairs. We stop to wish Dr. and Mrs. Cullen good luck with the fundraising on our way to the basement.
"You girls look fantastic!" Esme pulls us into a group hug.
"Thanks again for all your help with the decorations. It looks great in here!" Carlisle says as he steps into the room.
"No prob Uncle C." Alice says as she bounces over to hug him. "You guys look fabulous! Your costumes are better than my parents…Don't tell them I said that!" She laughs. Esme and Carlisle are fully decked out in Greek god and goddess costumes.
They laugh. "Go on now kids, you have a grand entrance to make. The boys are downstairs and the party is already in full swing." Esme pushes us towards the stairs. "Have fun!"
I take a deep breath and follow the girls. 'Okay Bella…your first party. You can do this!' I mentally pump myself up as we head down.
I do a quick sweep of the room the moment I hit the bottom of the stairs. There are probably fifty or sixty people down here. I continue my search until I find him. He is standing across the room talking with a group of guys, Jasper and Emmett among them.
He is wearing a black with gold trim pilot's uniform that fits his frame well. He is so freaking handsome! I squirm a little; the tingle is back but lower on my body.
"I said we were going to make them drool, Bella." Rose stresses the word them as she laughs. "Need a napkin for your mouth…or maybe another place." She wiggles her eye brows at me. I flush which just makes her laugh louder.
"Be nice Rose!" Alice slaps her arm. "Oh good they've finally noticed we're here!" She nods towards the boys who are heading our way.
"Holy Fuck! Look at my woman!" Emmett shouts making half the party look at us. He lifts her off the ground and plants a loud kiss on her lips.
"Alice, darlin', please tell me you own this." He tugs on her skintight bodysuit. She looks up through her lashes and winks at him. I look away, embarrassed by the intimacy surrounding me.
Edward steps forward and grabs my hand "Dance with me?" I nod and he pulls me towards the dance floor. He feels my hesitation the closer we get to the mass of bodies, so he stops at the edge of the crowd. He positions us so we are closer to the wall rather than the crowd. I love that he knows me so well already.
A slow song starts to play and Edward places his hand on my waist. We sway to the music, and I'm lost in his deep green eyes. I bite my lip and look down; his touch, his eyes, even his smell…it's all so overwhelming.
He pulls me closer to him, our bodies flush together. He rests his forehead against mine as he beings to sing along with the song.
"You've held your head up
You've fought the fight
You bear the scars
You've done your time
Listen to me
You've been lonely, too long"
His hand moves to my chin, pulling my face gently upwards. Our eyes lock.
"Let me in the walls, you've built around
And we can light a match and burn them down
And let me hold your hand and dance 'round and 'round the flames
In front of us"
His thumb ghosts over my bottom lip.
"Dust to dust"
He leans down, his lips capturing mine, soft but firm at the same time. My body ignites; passion running rampantly through me. My hands make their way to his hair, knocking his hat to the ground in the process.
He groans against my mouth. His tongue darts out, tracing my lower lip. I deepen the kiss, meeting his tongue with my own. A low growl emits from deep in his chest, he turns and suddenly I'm between him and the wall.
He grabs my hands and pins them to the wall next to my head, his body getting closer to mine. He breaks the kiss and I gasp for air. His lips never leave my skin, traveling along my jaw and down my neck.
"Bella…" he mumbles as he licks and nips at my collarbone. "Do you know how sexy you look right now?" He looks up and I shake my head unable to speak. His lips crash onto mine again.
I squirm against him, my panties becoming more and more moist the longer he kisses me. I've never been this turned on in my entire life. He pulls back and this time we both gasp for air. He releases my hands and takes a step back, his chest heaving as he looks me up and down.
"Take a walk with me?" he asks after a moment. I nod, still unable to find my voice. He reaches for my hand and pulls me towards the stairs. I look around, seeing if anyone noticed our intense make out session. I see Rose and Alice giving me the thumbs up as Emmett and Jasper laugh.
"Hey Eddie! Where are you going? Off to join the mile-high club?" Emmett shouts over the music. My face heats up as my mouth drops open. Everyone…and I mean everyone is now staring at us.
Edward simply flips him off as we ascend the stairs. "Sorry about that. I'll kick his ass later."
"Rose made a similar joke earlier." I say finally finding my voice.
He looks back at me, rolling his eyes. "They really are perfect for each other." I laugh, nodding in agreement. "I was thinking we could take a stroll outside, is that okay with you?"
I shyly smile at him. "Sounds great." He runs up to his room to grab our jackets while I stand in the foyer. I can hear laughter coming from his parent's party.
"Bella! How have you been?" I look over to see Mrs. Cope walking towards me.
"Mrs. Cope! I'm good and you? Mr. Cope?" I smile at her.
"We're good, thanks dear! How is Forks treating you so far?" she asks as Edward bounds down the stairs.
"Mrs. Cope" He nods to her, holding my coat open for me. I slip into it quickly.
"Well I can see I'm interrupting something" she laughs. "It was good to see you Bella! Don't be a stranger" she turns and heads back towards the party.
"You make quite the impression on everyone don't you?" He pulls his own jacket on and grabs my hand again. "Ready?"
"Yep." I pop my 'p'. He laughs and opens the door for me. "After you Bella."
We stroll down around his house in comfortable silence. It's a clear night and the stars are shining brightly. We stop to admire them for awhile. I look over to find Edward staring at me. He gives me his famous crooked grin.
"You are so beautiful." He turns to face me, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Inside and out. I never thought I would meet someone like you. Someone who is so compassionate, intelligent, loving… someone so strong."
My tears begin to fall as he continues. "You have been through so much and yet you still manage to smile every day. You are one my heroes Bella. I aspire to be like you…to be worthy of you." He wipes the tears from my cheeks. "I'm in love with you Bella!"
"Oh Edward!" I throw my arms around his neck."I love you too! So much!" I rise up on my toes, pressing my lips to his.
I feel him smile and he deepens the kiss. Our tongues battle for dominance as we lose ourselves in each other once again.