Hi, everyone! TGIF! I must say that I have really awesome readers. I was blown away by your response to Renee's turn around how understanding you were. I had been worried that you guys were going to send the lynch mob after me, but instead you all got exactly why I chose to have her redeem herself. You deserve an Oscar for best readers!
Now who is ready for some bachelor/bachelorette party fun?
Thank you My-Bella and Hope4more, for all the time you put into the edits and re-edits and for making sure I put all those annoying commas in all the right places. You both Rock!
Disclaimer:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original aspects of this story—all original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted. Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms— it's theft. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. And of course just in case that doesn't cover it, Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.
~*Edward*~
December 17, 2011
"Do we really have to go?" I asked Bella as I trapped her against the wall of our hotel room and nuzzled my face against her neck. I began trailing kisses along her neck and bare shoulder. I could feel her breaths quicken. "Mmm, I really like this color of blue on you."
"More than purple?"
"No. Purple will always be my favorite color on you. Are you sure we can't all just go out together? Or stay here so I can peel you out of these clothes?"
"While the thought is very enticing—" Her words cut off as I licked up the column of her neck causing her to shiver. After a moment she was finally able to finish, "Your brother and Jasper want a boys' night out with you. Is that so wrong?" Her voice was breathy and soft as I continued my assault on her bare skin.
"No." I sighed and pulled away after placing one last kiss in the shallow dip where her neck and shoulder met. "The three of us haven't had much time together lately. Everyone has been so busy."
"But I might agree to a compromise," she offered as she grabbed the belt loop of my jeans and pulled me back to her.
"What sort of compromise?"
"I'm willing to face the wrath of your sister and stay in and let you have your wicked way with me if you tell me where you're taking me for our honeymoon." My gorgeous fiancée had a fake pout on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes. If it were anything other than the destination of our honeymoon she had been asking for, I would have caved to her attempts to seduce me into telling her. However she was going to have to accept defeat this one time because I was not caving.
"That's an intriguing idea, Miss Swan. However, it's not going to work."
Bella had been begging me to tell her where we were going as soon as she had found out I'd chosen the location. It had taken me a while given we had to stay someplace close. I had plenty of time off since the school district was closed for Christmas break, but Bella hadn't been at her job a full year yet so she hadn't accrued any vacation time. While her boss understood and was willing to give her a couple of days off, a whole week was out of the question right now.
So in order to maximize the time we had I had chosen someplace close. Crescent City, California to be exact. I had reserved us a private cabin that would be fully stocked with anything we'd need during our stay. We could hike through the amazing giant red wood forest, walk along the beach, take a boat out on the water, visit the lighthouse or sit and watch the sunset from the coast. But most importantly we could just relax and be together.
"Well then I guess you will have to wait until later to peel me out of these clothes," she said with a fake pout on her face. "Besides, it's only a few hours and we're all meeting up later. So go have some fun and then I'll make it up to ya when we get back here tonight."
Bella rose up on her toes and pulled me even closer to her with the hold she still had on my pants and with her other hand that was now knotted in the back of my hair. She then kissed me hard, leaving no doubt in my mind about what she meant when she said she'd make it up to me.
Not that I didn't already know, but I did love it when Bella took the initiative and was a little more aggressive.
When she pulled away, she let her body slide down the front of mine and as she began to walk away, she looked over her shoulder and flashed me a sexy grin and winked at me playfully.
Damn it was going to be fun to see what she was like tonight after a night out drinking.
A short time later we met everyone down in the hotel lobby. I could see by the looks on both Emmett and Jasper's faces as they took in the magnificent sight of our drop dead gorgeous women, they were thinking something similar to what I was. Maybe we should follow our women around tonight after all. They were too damn sexy and gorgeous for their own good. And that was when they weren't dressed to kill like they were tonight.
The only man of the four of us that looked completely at ease was my father. Not that my mother wasn't gorgeous herself, but she was dressed much more modestly than the three other women, but I guessed when you had been married as long as they had you just gained a certain amount of confidence and ease in just about any situation. When my parents had agreed to us making this a full weekend trip so we could enjoy a night out, they did so with the stipulation that they be allowed to go along as our designated drivers.
I was quick to accept their offer knowing that the girls wouldn't mind having my mother along and that my father could be helpful in keeping Emmett from getting out of hand. Even when my father had informed me that he'd arranged a limo for the women, I knew the idea of having a designated driver was also the responsible thing for us guys to do since I knew there was a huge possibility of a large amount of alcohol being consumed.
"Alright, the lucky couple has finally arrived," Emmett cheered while clapping his hands together and then rubbing them in anticipation of our night out. "Let's get this party started," he added.
Bella walked over to Jasper after we greeted my parents. She poked him in the chest and said, "You see that overgrown gorilla over there?" She removed her finger from his chest and pointed it at Emmett.
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
"While completely cute and loveable—"
"That's me," my brother interjected proudly.
Bella shook her head and rolled her eyes at him and then continued, "He is trouble with a capital 'T'. You are Edward's best man correct?"
Jasper nodded not quite sure what my lovely fiancée was getting at, but certain he was probably much better off to agree with her than not to.
"That means you are responsible for him. To make sure he doesn't get in any kind of trouble tonight because of that one over there." She pointed at Emmett again while the rest of us struggled to keep from laughing at the surprised look on my brother's face. Bella then looked back at Jasper and continued. "That also means I am holding you responsible for making sure Edward comes back to me with not a hair on his head injured. I'm putting my trust in you as his best friend and as his best man. I am holding you personally responsible for him tonight. Think you can handle that?"
By this time we were all giggling except for Bella, Jasper and Emmett. Although I could see Jasper's lips twitching as they fought to keep from grinning. Emmett on the other hand looked like someone had told him he had to stay home and not have any fun.
Jasper placed his hands on Bella's shoulders and looked her right in the eye. "Darlin', I promise to bring your betrothed back to you just as spiffy as he is right now. Albeit a bit more intoxicated… well, actually probably a whole lot more intoxicated, but unharmed."
"Good. I knew I could count on you," she said as she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Just remember, your wife is my best friend. I'd hate to have to go through her for your punishment."
She then turned and stepped closer to me and slid her arm around my waist. God how I loved her. She was truly amazing and I was one hell of a lucky man to have her to share my life with.
*X*X*X*X*
"Do you have any clue where the hell this place is, Emmett?" I swear it felt as if we'd been driving in circles for nearly an hour now. "Why can't we just go find a bar and throw back a few beers?"
"This is your last time out as a single guy, Eddie my boy. Just any old bar won't cut it," he replied with a smirk on his face I didn't like. My brother was up to something and Jasper was being uncharacteristically quiet. Which meant, despite his warning from Bella, he was in on whatever it was Emmett had planned.
Finally Emmett found what he was looking for; a strip in downtown Seattle that had several bars and clubs scattered about. The area was alive with activity and flowing with people. Emmett informed us that the place he'd heard about from some of his teammates didn't open until nine, so we had a couple of hours to kill. We found a spot to park and then walked around the corner to our first stop.
Time went by much faster than we'd realized and before we knew it two hours had gone by and we'd popped in and out of three bars, tossing back a few beers and playing a few games of darts. Since the bars were all within a couple blocks from where we parked, it was easy to make it back to the car when Emmett saw the time and was ready to head to the place he had heard about.
Because everyone except my father had begun to drink, he was now behind the wheel as we made our way to the next bar.
"Yeah baby," Emmett called out as we pulled up in front of the place. "Now here is where we are gonna have some fun!"
I looked out the car window and sighed. I had heard about this place. It was supposed to be crawling with half dressed women and waitresses that hopped up on your table or the bar and danced in front of you.
"Shit, Emmett. Why can't we just hit the regular bar scene and shoot some pool or something?"
He reached up from where he was sitting in the back seat and clamped his huge paw of hand on my shoulder and said, "Look, dude, this is your last weekend as a bachelor. It's your night to live it up. You're only going to have one last night out as a bachelor, right?"
"What the fuck, Em? What kind of a question is that? Of course I'm only going to have one. I plan to spend the rest of my life with Bella. But I don't need some half naked bar girl dancing and hanging all over me."
"Come on, Bro. Just because there are half naked chicks in the place doesn't mean you have to hang on them or let them hang on you. Jesus, dude. Lighten up and have a good time. You can look at the eye candy if you want, or don't. I just want you to have a good time. You think I would risk my life with Rosie for one of those barflies?"
"Fine. Point made," I conceded.
There was a line about half a block long, and more people walking up to add to it, so Dad dropped us off and drove around the corner to park.
The line moved much faster than we'd thought it would and after about fifteen minutes we were inside. It was really crowded and there was still a line behind us waiting to get in at least as long as the one we had waited in. Place must be very popular.
We made our way through the throngs of dancing people and found an empty booth. A waitress came over to take our order and it was impossible not to look at her in the getup she was dressed in. She had on a black, mostly lace, halter top along with black and white cow patch patterned chaps that were held on by a wide black leather belt and a cowboy hat and boots.
"Hi, y'all. I'm Stacey, welcome to Cowgirls. What can I get for you tonight?" Her fake southern accent was horrible and I caught Jasper smirking while rolling his eyes at her. Having moved to Washington from Texas a couple of years before we had, he always found it quite humorous to watch others try to impersonate the twang he could slip into as if he'd never left Texas.
We ordered a round of beers for everyone except for my dad who got a club soda with lime. Of course Emmett being the bottomless pit that he was had to order a tray of appetizers too.
"What? We're celebrating. If I'm gonna be drinking all night I have to keep some food in me too."
We all just shook our heads and laughed. But his comment about celebrating wasn't missed by the waitress.
"What would y'all be celebrating tonight?" she asked.
"Well, ya see," Emmett grinned widely and smacked his hand down on my shoulder. "My baby brother here is getting married next weekend. So this is his last night out with the guys as a bachelor."
"Ya don't say?" she stated. She was still trying to pull off that southern drawl.
"Yes it's true. I'm marrying the love of my life next weekend," I told her confirming what Emmett had said.
"Well what a lucky woman she is," she said with a flirtatious wink. "Congratulations."
She left after that and returned a few minutes later with our drinks.
"Damn," Emmett exclaimed as she turned to leave again while at the same time Jasper went all bug eyed.
"What?" I asked.
Emmett, who had been just about to take a swig of his beer, tipped the end of his bottle in the direction our waitress had gone.
I immediately knew what he had been all worked up over. He hadn't noticed the first time she had been to our booth, but this time Emmett had not missed that fact that under her chaps the waitress was only wearing a pair of black boy shorts that were shorter than any I'd seen Bella wear to bed. They left absolutely nothing to the imagination and barely covered her ass.
I was about to let out a huge sigh of relief that she hadn't made some big production out of why we were celebrating, when our attention was called to the center of the dance floor. We saw several of the waitresses slash bar dancers standing around an empty chair and one of the girls was swinging a piece of rope in her hand.
"Howdy, y'all," crooned another one of the girls into a microphone. "We'd like to welcome you to Cowgirls this evening and let you know that we have a special guest here with us tonight."
Loud whistles and cat calls echoed throughout the establishment as two of the girls walked like cats on a prowl over to our table. They were dressed in even less than our waitress had been, wearing black leather short shorts, matching bikini tops, cowboy boots and hat.
"We heard that one of you handsome men was celebrating a special night," one of them said.
"That would be this guy right here," Emmett offered as he gave me a light shove.
"Thanks," I muttered snidely to him for outing me.
"Well we'd like to make your last night out as a bachelor one to remember so we have a little treat for you. All you have to do is sit in that chair right over there," she told me while pointing to the chair in the center of the dance floor.
"That's okay. I appreciate it, but it's really not necessary." There was no way in hell I was sitting in that chair without knowing what the hell they were going to do.
"Awe, come on." She flashed me a wide smile, but there was only one woman's smile that could get to me and she wasn't here right now. "What did you say your name was?" the girl asked.
"I didn't."
"Edward. His name is Edward," Jasper offered with a shit-eating grin on his face. "And he'd love for you to give him a treat."
I glared at Jasper briefly and was about to excuse myself to the restroom to get away from the situation. However before I could really grasp what was happening, my brother was pushing on me as the two girls were tugging on my hands and pulling me out of the booth.
"Awe, folks, it looks like our guest is resisting. Maybe you could give us a hand in getting him out here on the dance floor," the girl with the microphone announced. "What's his name, Kate?"
"Edward," the blond who was pulling me along hollered.
"Okay, guys and gals, let's hear how bad you want Edward to come up here with us."
The whole bar erupted in cheers, chants and applause, encouraging me to participate and weren't really leaving me much choice but to do so without looking like a complete idiot.
"Okay, okay," I said while holding my hands up in surrender.
Reluctantly I sat on the chair and silently prayed that whatever it was they were about to do wasn't too off the wall.
"I don't know, guys and gals," she called out while swirling a lasso in the air. "He still doesn't look too thrilled to be up here. I'm thinking he might be one of those who will try to get away. Maybe we should rope us a stud. Whatcha think?"
Loud chants and cheers filled the air and I wasn't surprised when I could hear Emmett's loud mouth above them all.
She flung the rope and it settled over my upper body perfectly. As she pulled the end she still held in her hands, the loop tightened around me holding me to the chair. "He's a real looker, this one, isn't he ladies?"
Cheers from all the women echoed while the men in the bar booed. I kept my eyes on her and shook my head, knowing that somehow some way I was going to pay my brother and best friend back for this.
"Tell us, Edward, what brings you here tonight? What is it that you are celebrating?" she asked holding the microphone down so I could speak into it.
"I'm getting married next weekend."
"You hear that, ladies? Edward here is getting married next weekend. Sorry all you single gals, it looks like our stud here is already spoken for."
Next thing I knew another rope was lassoed around me and the two girls started walking in opposite directions around the chair, winding the rope around me.
"Wait. What the hell!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, settle down there, honey. We just want to show ya a little fun before you go off and get yourself a Mrs."
I could feel them tugging the rope as they knotted it. Next about six girls lined up in front of me and the loud thundering beats of Joan Jett's Do Ya Wanna Touch Me began to pound through the bar's sound system.
They began their dance, shaking their hips, smacking their asses and stomping their feet to the beat of the music as they gradually got closer to me.
About halfway through the song, I found myself surrounded by the women as they took turns shaking various parts of their body in my face. Now, I'm a guy and I can appreciate a pretty woman when I see one. Problem was I hardly noticed them because for me there wasn't one who could hold a candle to Bella. When they began to brush their asses across my lap and run their hands up my chest and through my hair, it felt really wrong. If it were Bella doing these things, I'd be all for it. Hell, I'd be more than all for it. I'd be all over her faster than these girls could shake their asses. However just because I was a man didn't mean that I could be aroused by any woman. The fact of the matter was that it was more annoying than anything. Only Bella could ever affect me behaving like these women were.
Wishing the song would hurry up and end, I groaned and threw my head back wishing the song would just end already. Was this some sort of extended version or something? My response turned out to be a huge mistake, as the girl who was currently rubbing her ass across my thigh took my reaction the wrong way and she ground herself even harder on my leg.
Emmett was so going to fucking pay for this.
In an attempt to stay in my own world and wait the song out I closed my eyes and tried to picture Bella in an outfit like the ones these girls were wearing but that only made my situation worse. As my mind conjured up the images of her, my body started to react and that was the last thing I needed right now.
"Fuck," I cursed to myself.
Fortunately a few moments later the song finally ended. I was up and out of the chair as soon as the ropes were off me. It had only taken them a few seconds to untie them, but it felt a lot longer to me.
Everyone was cheering and whistling again as I got up to head back to our table. I just gave them a quick wave and focused on getting off that damn dance floor.
"Dude, that was fucking epic," Emmett yelled. He held out his fist for me to bump it, but I just placed my hand over it and shoved it out of the way.
"I don't know when, I don't know how, but I promise you, Emmett, I will get even with you for that shit."
Jasper snorted and nearly choked on his beer while doing so. But I set him straight too. "That goes for you too, Mr. Edward, his name is Edward."
My father was just sitting there with a smirk on his face like he was struggling not to bust a gut laughing.
"Oh I guess you find this humorous too?" I asked him as I tipped my beer back and chugged almost the whole thing in one swig.
"You really should have seen the look on your face. It was a look I'll never forget. It was some weird cross between you being mortified, shocked and at one point maybe even a little excited," he said.
"Oh totally, bro. I'd give an entire paycheck to know what was going through your head when that one chick was grinding on your leg and your head fell back," Emmett added.
"A whole paycheck? Really?"
"Okay, so maybe not a whole paycheck. Rose would have my ass for that. But I'd still like to know."
"I was thinking about Bella in one of those outfits," I said so fast, running the words together and hoping he hadn't caught it before I brought my bottle of beer back to my mouth.
"No shit?" Jasper asked apparently hearing every word. "I bet Alice could get her one with the connections she's got."
"Really?" I asked actually considering it for a second as I chugged the rest of my beer. I set the empty beer bottle on the table and raised my hand to the waitress for another.
"Yeah. You should see some of the shit she has special ordered for people. If she can't get the exact thing, I'm damn sure she could get something similar."
"Nah. It's a nice thought, but Bella would probably never go for it. Besides she doesn't need that kind of shit to turn me on. She does it perfectly all on her own."
"Just saying. If you change your mind let me know," he said before finishing off his own beer.
We drank a couple more beers and finished off the huge plate of wings Emmett had ordered before deciding to go play a game of pool. However on the way to the pool tables, we discovered they had a mechanical bull and Emmett decided that a game of pool wasn't exciting enough for him anymore.
"Come on, where's your sense of adventure, Eddie? You used to be way more fun than this when we were kids."
"That's just it, Em, we were kids."
"Just as well, I'd probably kick both your asses anyways," Jasper chimed in.
We continued past the bull to the pool tables.
Three beers and a game and a half of pool later, along with several jabs from Jasper about how being from Texas he could show us how it's done in his sleep, I gave in. "Alright fine," I huffed and laid my pool stick down on the table.
"You quitting, dude?" Emmett asked.
"No. Jasper isn't going to shut the fuck up unless we put our asses on that bull, so let's get the shit done."
"Holy shit, I never knew all it took was getting you liquored up a little to pull that stick out of your ass, Edward," Jasper declared.
We reset the pool table for the next round of players and made our way over to the bull.
"Dad, you going to give this thing a go?" I asked partly joking, but partly curious if he'd give it a try. He was completely sober so he had that much going for him, whereas we'd each had at least five or six beers at this point.
"No," he answered and I knew by the unwavering tone of his voice there was no changing his mind. "I think I'll have a lot more fun watching the three of you. Besides, if one of you breaks your neck, I have to be able to put your ass back together."
"Alright, kiddies. Let's make this a bit more interesting," Emmett suggested as he waved for the waitress to come over to where we were.
"Just what are you proposing?" Jasper asked.
"We'll go in rounds. Loser is whoever stays on the shortest amount of time at the end of each round."
"Okay," I agreed. There didn't seem to be any harm in that.
"What's the catch?" Jasper asked.
"Loser has to take a shot of tequila."
"Just one?" I asked.
"Yup. Just one," Emmett confirmed. "You in?"
"Yeah, I'm in. Jazz?"
"Hells yes, I'm in," he drawled, turning on the southern accent as easy as flipping a light switch.
"Hold up now," my father said as the waitress stood waiting for us to give her our order. "You guys can't do many shots of tequila and walk your asses out of here. And I sure as shit can't carry you out. I suggest you change that to something a little less lethal. How about rum instead?"
"Rum it is," I told the waitress. She asked how many shots and we told her to bring six to start. We figured that was two each if it worked out evenly. Although I was certain that wouldn't be the case.
"Alrighty now. Here we go! What's that saying from that one rodeo movie we saw?" Emmett asked while rubbing his hands together like a little kid about to hit the jackpot in a candy store.
"Which one? Jasper has made us watch so many over the years."
"Oh I got it now," Emmett said. "It's guts and love and glory, one mortal's chance at fame. His legacy is rodeo, cowboy is his name!"
"Yee haw," Jasper crooned as he stepped up to the bull to go first.
About an hour had gone by and we were all pretty even. We'd all taken two shots each with the exception of Emmett who had downed three. But with him having more body mass than either Jasper or I had, we were still pretty evenly intoxicated.
With time running out before the bar closed and getting closer to when we were supposed to meet up with the girls, in our inebriated states we began taunting each other to cause whichever one of us was on the bull to lose his concentration and fall off.
It started when I was on the bull. Emmett was talking trash and making comments to distract me, I was able to tune him out for the most part until he said I should pretend the bull was my bride on my wedding night. I was somehow able to flip him off and keep my balance on the bull until the buzzer went off signaling I had stayed on for the full three minutes. I won that round and Emmett was the one who had stayed on the shortest amount of time so he had to take the shot of rum.
We started our last round—my dad said we had just about reached our level of intoxication to be able to walk out on our own. We had somehow evened up again, but Emmett was determined to win. He was able to get Jasper to fall off when he acted like he was going to moon him. But what had actually caused Jasper to fall off was the giant pair of red lips that was on the back of Emmett's boxers with the words 'kiss me'. Jasper had lost it and rolled onto the floor laughing his ass off.
I was up next. I was doing good and keeping my balance until Emmett caught me off guard and distracted me when he yelled, "Well, well, well, Edward. It looks like the girls just walked in the door. Oh fuck, man, you should see the guy that's hitting on Bella."
My brother knew that some fool trying to hit on my girl would get me and sure enough I instantly turned my head and instead of focusing on the mechanical bull I was searching for Bella and lost my balance ending my time.
As Emmett prepared to get up on the bull for his final turn, Jasper came over to me and whispered in my ear, "Give me fifty bucks."
"What the hell for?" I asked him.
"You want to lose to Emmett or give him a dose of his own medicine?"
Without even answering him I pulled out my wallet and gave him the cash.
"Tell him to hold up until I get back."
I nodded and relayed the message to Emmett. I knew if Jasper's plan worked, it would give him the win, but that was far better than listening to my brother gloat for the rest of his existence. He was just as much of a sore winner as he was a sore loser.
I sat down on a bar stool next to my dad and waited to see what my best friend was up to.
When we saw Jasper coming back Emmett climbed up on the bull. Once Jasper was sitting next to me on his own stool, Emmett pushed the button on the bull to start its movement.
I had seen two of the bar girls following a short distance behind Jasper as he made his way back over to us, but hadn't thought anything of it. That is until the two girls went over and stood right in Emmett's line of sight and started kissing and pretending to make out.
Jasper, my father and I laughed as we sat back and watched Emmett loose his concentration and fall off the bull. After sitting up and giving us an ear full of curse words, Emmett fell back to the padded floor under the bull and laughed at himself.
By the time Emmett pulled himself up off the floor, the bar was making the last call announcement. We were ready to leave and go find our women and see what they had been up to all night. While my dad took care of the tab we'd run up, despite us all insisting we'd chip in, Jasper sent Alice a text to find out where the girls were. We made a quick trip to the restroom on our way out of the bar and were then on our way.
~*Bella*~
We had just pulled away from the Space Needle where we'd had an amazing dinner. I was still trying to get over the fact that we were being driven around in a limo for the night when Alice shoved a pink box into my hands.
"What did you do, Alice?"
"Me? I didn't do anything. We got you a little something to signify tonight's special occasion."
Alice could hardly contain her excitement as I opened the box and shoved the matching pink tissue paper aside to see what was underneath it. I was shocked she wasn't bouncing she was so wound up.
"We, huh?" I said to her while laughing, as I pulled the almost gaudy crown out of the box.
I glanced across from me where Rose was leaning forward so she could see what was in the box too. She very nonchalantly nodded her head in Alice's direction and winked confirming my suspicion that Alice was behind my gift.
"Isn't it perfect?" Alice squealed.
"It's um…it's cool, Alice." I just smiled brightly at her knowing there was no way I was going to get out of wearing it.
I looked at the shiny silver plastic tiara. It had the words 'Bride To Be' in glittery pink letters along with a few fake jewels adorning on the top of it. It totally screamed Alice. But I wouldn't begrudge her this one small indulgence tonight. She was my maid of honor and my best friend and even if the tiara was a bit ostentatious I knew it came from her heart.
"Here let me help you with it," she offered.
A few seconds later I was crowned and ready to have a great night out with my friends. The limo pulled up in front of a club I'd heard of but had never been to.
As the four of us entered Club Noc Noc I took in my surroundings. It appeared to be a hip popular place from the size of the crowd. To our left was the bar area of the club which was lined on one side by a long bar with a row of bar stools at it and the other side was filled with booths that had high backed benches for privacy. To our right was an open dance floor with more tables along the walls and a stage at the very back.
The club was decorated in a sort of modern Goth look with sconces and gothic arched frames on the walls along with various types of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to add to the ambiance of the space.
There wasn't an empty booth or table so Esme and I sat at the bar while Rose and Alice visited the powder room. Esme ordered a round of Long Island Teas for all of us when the bartender came down our way.
Much more accustomed to going out to clubs, Alice and Rose had downed their drinks in the same amount of time I'd barely finished half of mine. They set their empty glasses on the bar and were immediately dragging me out on the dance floor.
After we danced through a couple of songs I noticed an empty table. I pointed it out to the girls and we quickly retrieved our purses and jackets from the bar where Esme had been sitting with them and claimed the table before someone else took it. We'd tried to get Esme to dance with us, but she insisted she was just along for the fun of watching us have a great time.
By the time I finished my second drink I was in need of a bathroom break. I was heading back to the table when this guy who had been walking in front of me just stopped out of nowhere causing me to run right into the back of him.
He turned around and I was about to apologize to him, even thought it was really his fault, when he looked down at me and smiled like I was the best thing he had ever laid eyes on and said, "Well hello there. Either I'm lost or this is heaven and you're an angel sent to watch over me."
I rolled my eyes at him while muttering, "You must be extremely lost," and walked right past him without bothering to apologize for running into him.
I was shaking my head still when I got back to our table.
"What's that look on your face for?" Alice asked.
I couldn't help laughing as I started to tell them. "You remember all those cheesy pickup lines guys used to use when we were in high school?"
"Oh no. Not you too!" Rose exclaimed.
"What do you mean not me too?" I asked her.
"When Alice and I went to the ladies room right after we got here, I was waiting just outside the door for her since it's kind of cramped in there. Well this guy comes up to me and says, "Do you have a mirror in your pocket, 'cause I can see myself inside your pants."
"No!" I replied while trying not to spit out the drink I had just taken.
"Oh yes, he did," Rose told us.
"What did you say to him?" I just had to know what kind of comeback Rose had for this guy.
"I told him the only place he was going to see himself was looking at the bottom of my shoe after I kicked the shit out of him."
"Did that scare him off?" Esme asked.
"Hell no, he then tried to hit on me further by telling me he liked his women feisty," Rose explained. "I was glad Alice came out of the ladies room right after that, because if he had said anything else to me I was sure he was going to find my foot firmly planted in his family jewels
Having no doubt whatsoever that she'd do exactly that, I couldn't help snickering at the vision I saw in my head before I said to her, "Damn, Rose you could cause some serious damage with those heels, girl."
She took a sip of her drink and with a devious smile on her face replied, "Four and half inch heels, not just for decoration anymore." We all busted out laughing at that.
"What did the guy you saw say to you?" Alice asked while trying not to laugh some more.
I told them what he'd said to me and we were all laughing again. What was even funnier was when Alice and Esme told us that he had apparently tried one of his cheesy lines on them as well. He had sat next to Esme at the bar when the three of us had been dancing and told her he was a thief and there to steal her heart and had tried that old if I told you, you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me line on Alice. And after we described him we were all certain it was indeed the same guy.
"You know I almost feel bad for this poor guy," Esme added. "He's hit on all of us with his silly lines and he appears to truly believe that they will work for him."
"God, I hope there isn't anyone who would actually fall for one of them," Alice said and then shivered as if it gave her the creeps just thinking about it.
We spent the next hour or so dancing and chatting at the table enjoying ourselves. I had been a little worried about what Alice and Rose may have had up their sleeves for tonight, but if dinner, dancing and tossing back a few drinks was all they had planned then I was seriously relieved. I was having a great time, letting loose with my friends, although I did from time to time wonder what Edward and the guys were up to. I knew there was no telling when it came to Emmett.
A short time later the dance floor was cleared and the staff filled it with several chairs for the show that was being held. I hadn't been aware we were going to see a show but apparently Alice and Rose were. The Sinner Saint Burlesque Show was performing and for some reason Alice and Rose seemed to be just a little too excited about this. It piqued my curiosity and made me wonder if they were up to something after all.
The show began with the MC—Mr. Emper-ROAR-Fabulous—as he called himself, took the stage to get things going. Each of the girls was introduced. They went by names such as Miss Patty Cupcake, Polly Wood, and Ember Devine, to name a few.
They were dressed in sparkly, glittery, barely-there costumes, complete with boas, elbow length satin gloves and a couple of them were even wearing nothing more on top than nude colored bra type tops that appeared to be only pasties which had tassels dangling from them.
"It's a shame the guys aren't here," I said to them. "I bet they'd enjoy this as much as we are."
"If not more," Rose added with a smile that told me she knew Emmett would be all over something like this.
The show went on for about two hours. The girls were very talented and beautiful as they danced through a variety of routines that were everything from sexy and sensual to funny.
It was just a little past midnight when the show ended. When the MC announced that the bar would be closing a half hour early for a special private party I started to get up and grab my purse, but was pulled back down in my seat by Alice.
"Not so fast, girlfriend," she said to me. "Your night isn't over yet."
"Didn't you hear what they just said?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I not only heard it, but I'm the one who arranged it," she declared with a wide mischievous smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.
"Alice," I said dragging her name out. "What are you up to?"
"Just a little private fun for the four of us and a private lesson in burlesque dancing for you," she stated plain as day like it was an everyday occurrence.
"A what?" I squeaked out as the bartender appeared at our table with a tray holding four shots of some sort of alcohol. He sat one in front of each of us and left.
"A private lesson. Loosen up, Bella, you can learn some new moves and then give Edward his own private dance on your wedding night," Rose retaliated.
I thought about what she'd said and decided that might be fun. Edward would certainly like it.
Rose must have noticed. She nudged Alice and pointed to me. "Look at her," she said with a snicker. "She's liking it now that we mentioned she should use what she learns on Edward."
Alice picked up her shot glass and raised it up in my direction indicating we should do the same.
"To Edward and Bella," she said in a toast. "We are all so very happy to have you back in our lives, Bella. But the happiness you have brought my brother is huge. It's written all over his face every time he looks at you and it's in the sparkle in his eyes when he talks about you."
Esme picked up right where Alice left off saying, "I couldn't ask for anyone better for Edward than you, Bella. I'm thrilled to be able to officially call you my daughter."
I felt the tears welling in my eyes when Rose added a bit of humor to lighten the moment. "And here's to Eddie not being such a grouch and crab-ass anymore. Welcome to the family, Bella."
We all raised our glasses and downed the shots.
"Holy shit," I blurted out. "What was that?"
"Tequila," Alice said.
"If I get sick, it's all on you, munchkin," I told her while calling her by the nickname Edward had given her years ago. "I've never had tequila before."
Alice and Rose laughed while Esme just shook her head at them.
"If that doesn't get her to loosen up, nothing will," Rose proclaimed.
I couldn't help it, I was having such a good time and we were all giggling like a bunch of school girls when one of the dancers came over and asked, "Who's the lucky bride to be here?"
I had taken my tiara off earlier in the night since it kept slipping off my head as I danced.
All three of them pointed at me while sporting wide smiles on their faces. The dancer introduced herself by her real name and told the others they were welcome to join us on the dance floor for my lesson if they wanted to take part and try out the moves too.
I was given my own hot pink boa and satin gloves to keep and the other dancers loaned Esme, Rose and Alice one of theirs to use.
I spent the next several minutes learning to gyrate my hips, kick my legs, and shimmy in ways I never thought possible. I was in the middle of trying to shimmy my way down in sort of a squatted position and back up again to the song Lady Marmalade when I felt a pair of hands on my hips. I knew instantly who it was. There was only one man's hands that could make my whole body hum in excitement with his touch. So when he grasped me a bit more firmly and pulled me back against him, I didn't hesitate to swivel my hips against his groin, like I'd just been shown how to do.
I heard him moan and then felt his lips skimming across my shoulder to my ear. "It looks like you're having a good time, baby."
"Mmm, I am," I responded while turning in his arms and wrapping my boa around his neck to pull him down to me for a kiss.
"Get a room!" Emmett hollered while someone else whistled loudly.
Edward and I broke apart and noticed everyone in the place was watching us. Not wanting to be a spectacle or a source of future jokes from Emmett, Edward leaned down and whispered in my ear. "I can't wait to get you back to our room and peel you out of these clothes like you promised."
Still breathless from our kiss, I nodded and then took a deep breath before turning to thank the dancers for our lesson. They congratulated Edward and me before we walked over to join the others who were standing by the table we had sat at all night. We all had a glass of champagne to toast to my and Edward's upcoming wedding and then Edward and I were shooed out the door into the waiting limo while Carlisle said he'd get everyone else back to the hotel in Emmett and Rose's SUV.
We made out in the limo like a couple of high school kids on prom night on our way back to the hotel. Once in our room, it didn't take long before our clothes were shed and we were lost in the tangled mess we became as we gave in to the fiery passion we spurred in one another. That was how we remained until the wee hours of the morning when we'd finally succumbed to exhaustion and drifted to sleep, still wrapped in each other's arms.
Have any fun or embarrassing bachelor/bachelorette party stories? As always there are pictures on my blog to go with the chapter.
Up next we have Bella and Renee's talk and Edward and Bella's big day. After that only the epilogue will be left.
Let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading!
EA