Author's Note: I'm sorry it took me FOREVER to finish this. It's been what, two weeks? I'm really sorry. Life came up and slapped me in the face. But on to happier times! I can honestly say that you guys leave the most flattering reviews ever! AlexiaRiaper said that I write just like Stephenie Meyer, which floored me. Do I really? I thought it was an okay imitation. Thanks so much and keep reviewing!
As Edward and I descended the stairs, a feeling of dread crept over me. What kind of awful thing was in store for me downstairs? My grip on Edward's hand tightened, and he took notice. He disentangled his hand from mine, and put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
"It's not going to be a travesty, I promise. And if it is, then I'll take you out for breakfast, okay?" He kissed my forehead.
I sighed, nodding. What else was I going to do? Steal out the front door to breakfast with Edward? It was a thought, but I couldn't disappoint Alice like that. I suddenly wished that my stomach had a steel lining.
We reached the kitchen and, shockingly, there were no offensive odors or black clouds of smoke waiting to greet me. Actually, it smelled pretty good. Alice had her back turned to us, bending over to get something out of the oven. She used her bare hands to get whatever it was, and I cringed. Edward smiled.
"It doesn't hurt her, Bella. Relax." He stood behind me and massaged soothing circles on my shoulders. When he was done, he kissed my neck. Despite his lips being cold, I almost melted.
Alice was poking at something. I didn't let my eyes stray down to what it was, and focused my attentions elsewhere. I noticed that Alice had a frilly, red and white gingham apron on. I felt laughter building up, and I struggled hard to control it. Then, behind me, I heard Emmett's booming voice. It got louder the closer he got, and when he came into the kitchen, he started laughing, setting me off.
I was bent over the counter, trying desperately to control myself. Emmett was on the floor, his legs splayed out in front of him. Edward's hands were on my waist, attempting to pull me upright. I willed myself to stop laughing, and breath at a normal rate.
I looked over at Alice and saw something I wasn't expecting. It was obvious that her feelings were hurt. I felt bad immediately.
"Were you laughing at the food, Bella?" She asked quietly. Up until that moment, I hadn't even looked at the food. Words started pouring from my mouth, trying to reassure her.
"Oh no, Alice! I haven't even looked at the food yet. I was laughing at your apron. I never imagined you in such a…un-designer look." I managed to shut my mouth when I saw Alice smiling.
"I'm wearing the apron so that I didn't get food on my designer dress. Your laughter really wasn't about the food?" She was wringing her hands.
By this time, Emmett had gotten himself together. "No, Alice. It wasn't about the food. Relax." After delivering those comforting words, he strolled out of the kitchen in search of more entertaining things. Alice rolled her eyes.
I decided to get right to the heart of the situation. "What's for breakfast?" I asked, trying hard to keep the note of fear out of my tone. Alice either noticed it and didn't say anything, or was too busy flitting around to notice. I hoped it was the latter, but with my luck, it was probably the former. Alice turned to the counter, and snatched something off it. In less than a second, what Alice had made was sitting in front of me.
"Alice…what is it?" I asked cautiously. Alice smiled, and took a knife out from a drawer. For one crazy second, I thought she might stab me with it. I quickly shook all thoughts of being shanked by Alice out of my head.
"It's quiche. Don't worry; I made it out of a cookbook. It's not going to kill you." She sounded like she was getting impatient.
"What's in it?" I was insistent on getting all the information I could about what this was before I put it in my mouth. And considering the pizza incident, I thought that was justified.
"There's spinach and cheese. It's like an egg pie. I thought you might like it." Alice had her arms folded across her chest.
"It looks delicious, Alice. Thank you." I wasn't exaggerating. It was golden brown on top, and the crust was very nice. I went to cut myself a piece, but Edward took the knife out of my hand and cut it for me.
"Thanks, Dad." I muttered under my breath. Edward laughed lightly.
"I don't even want to think about what you just said." He finished cutting the quiche, and put a piece on my plate. Before I could eat any of it, he took my face in his hands and kissed me. I dropped the fork I was holding on the floor, wrapping my arms around his neck. I curled my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and threw myself into the kiss with abandon.
Edward broke it first, as usual. He stroked my cheek with his thumb and smiled at me, looking into my eyes. I blushed, and turned my head. He bent to pick up the fork, taking it to the sink to wash it.
He brought it back three seconds later, impeccably clean. This was it. The moment. The ultimate test. Time for breakfast. I cut the quiche with my fork, and brought a bite to my lips. I paused, was I really sure I wanted to do this? Alice had left the room, so it was just me and Edward. I bit my lip.
Edward sighed. "Just eat it, Bella." I took a deep breath and stuck it into my mouth. To my great surprise, it wasn't terrible. As a matter of fact, it was actually really good. I started eating faster. Edward laughed.
As I finished, Alice came into the room looking happy. "Did you like it?" She smiled as if she didn't already know.
"It was amazing, Alice. Good job." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, she had her arms wrapped around me.
"Thanks, Bella. You had no idea how much I needed to hear that." She kissed my cheek and walked out of the kitchen. Edward came up behind me, and rubbed my back.
"It's just you and me today, so whatever you want to do is fine." He kissed my cheek.
"Let me get dressed, and we'll figure something out." I ran up the stairs, and into our bedroom. I showered quickly, and blow dried my hair. As I was putting my shoes on, the bedroom door opened. Edward.
"Are you almost ready?" He asked, obviously anxious to go somewhere. He had his arms folded across his broad chest. I stood up and walked over to him. I tugged on one of his hands, pulling it away from his chest. His fingers wove through mine.
"Actually, I am ready. It seems like you have something planned." He brought our entwined fingers to his lips, kissing my fingertips one by one.
"Nothing in particular, but I was thinking of running today, if that was alright with you." He sounded like he really had his heart set on it, so I agreed instantly.
"Of course. Is there going to be rain today?" I wanted to know if there was going to be a repeat of a couple days ago. He and I in the meadow, and the rain.
"Alice says yes, sometime around dusk. But until then, it's just cloudy skies." His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer.
"Let's get out of here. I want to feel the wind in my hair." I stretched up to kiss his cheek. He nodded his agreement, and we started down to the door at a human pace. When we finally got there, Edward lifted me onto his back, and flung the door open. It suddenly felt as if we were flying. A thought flitted across my mind. Had Edward closed the door? Part of me was worried that he hadn't.
When I felt the wind rush past my face, and the almost tangible happiness radiating from him, I no longer cared. I held onto him tighter, and settled in for the ride.