December 31st
"Are you ready?"
"Almost. One more minute," I yelled over my shoulder. I was in the bathroom, putting the finishing touches on my makeup.
"Bella," Edward's voice was much closer now. "We're going to be late."
"No we're not," I promised. "And even if we were, I don't think your parents would mind."
"It's not that they wouldn't mind," he said, standing behind me and placing his hands on my hips and his chin on my shoulder, "I just don't want to keep anyone waiting."
I looked at him through the mirror. "It's a New Year's Eve party, Edward. We're not holding anything up."
He sighed, but I could tell he wasn't really annoyed. "Hurry? Please?"
"One more minute. I promise." I turned my head to kiss his cheek.
He stepped back, allowing me to finish my primping. I truly didn't have much left to do, so I threw on some sheer lip gloss before assessing myself in the mirror. My makeup was light, my hair was slightly wavy, and my dress was simple. Even for a cocktail party, I was fairly low maintenance.
I turned to face him. "Well?" I hedged.
A slow smile crossed his face and he walked back toward me. His eyes grew slightly heavy as he responded, "Bella, you are so beautiful."
His dropped his face closer to mine, intending to kiss me. I turned my head at the last minute, causing him to hit my cheek instead of his intended target.
"Ah …" I warned. "You wouldn't want to mess up all my hard work, now would you?"
His arms wound around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "I'm very tempted to ruin all your hard work."
I managed to hold in my chuckle, pushing him away slightly. "Now, now … you were the one so insistent that we leave. We wouldn't want to keep your parents waiting, now would we?" I quoted him, taking a step back out of his embrace.
His eyes narrowed, weighing his choices. I took the opportunity at his hesitance, pushing past him and out of the bathroom.
I stopped, glancing back at him. "C'mon, Edward. Let's go," I called back over my shoulder. His trance broke and I hurried out of our bedroom and downstairs, grabbing my coat and purse and waiting by the door.
"I can't believe I married such a tease," he mumbled as he descended the stairs, stopping by the hall closet to retrieve his coat.
I laughed and held out my hand. "Let's go. Your parents are waiting."
He took my proffered hand and led me to the car, opening the passenger door and making sure I was situated before shutting it lightly and heading to the driver's side, starting the car and pulling smoothly out of the driveway.
"Will everyone else be there?" I asked when we were safely en route.
"I think so," he answered, running his hand through his hair, messing it even more. Instead of placing it back on the wheel, he reached over and placed it on my knee. My breath caught slightly and I tried to figure out if his actions were supposed to be a continuation of his advances in the bathroom. I shook my head slightly; his actions seemed innocent enough.
"Good," I smiled. "I haven't seen Alice in forever."
"You talk to her almost every day," he laughed.
"It's not the same," I pouted slightly. "I can't believe that she actually decided to go to Paris for the year."
"I can," Edward replied. "What I can't believe is that Jasper went with her."
"That I believe. He'd pretty much follower her anywhere, I'd bet."
Edward squeezed my knee slightly. "Would you follow me anywhere?"
"Of course. Anywhere." I turned to study his face. "You're not going anywhere, are you?"
He laughed softly. "Nope. I just wanted to be sure that I'd always have my Bella."
"You're so insecure," I teased lightly as he pulled into his parent's driveway.
He parked and gave me a look. "I'm not the only one."
"I love you."
His hand slid up my leg, coming to rest at the hem of my dress, which was slightly higher than mid thigh. "I love you, too."
I put my hand on top of his, bringing it my mouth and kissing his wrist lightly. I turned it in to a sign of affection, but I wanted to stop him before his hand made it any further up my leg. "Let's go in." I paused slightly before adding, "I want to see Alice."
His eyes dropped and I saw his head shake slightly as he got out of the car. As soon as his door shut, I laughed out loud. He looked like he had actually expected something to happen in the car in the driveway of his parent's house.
He was opening my door before I had completely composed myself, holding out his hand to help me out. "Let's go see Alice."
I smiled sweetly up at him, kissing him quickly on the cheek before running off toward the front door. I didn't bother to look behind me, but I was pretty sure Edward didn't share my enthusiasm for the night. I didn't stop to knock or ring the doorbell. I knew it wasn't necessary. Instead I let myself in, standing in the entryway, shrugging off my jacket.
"Edward and Bella are here! … Bella!" Alice had launched herself at me before I could even process her presence.
I hugged her, laughing. "Hi Alice."
"Bella! I missed you so much! It's so great to be home."
Edward had made it into the house and was closing the door behind him. "You talk to her almost every day, Alice."
She stepped back from me slightly. "It's not the same," she echoed my earlier words.
I laughed and shot Edward an 'I told you so' look. He took my jacket and hung it with his in the front closet.
"Bella, you look fantastic. Did you do this yourself?" Alice gestured to my outfit.
I blushed and shrugged slightly. "I knew I had to make you proud."
"You do," she beamed.
"I missed you too, little sister." Edward was back by my side.
Alice tore her attention to me, laughing and wrapping her hands around Edward's neck. "I missed you, Edward," she said dutifully.
He placed his hand on the small of my back as she released him. "Can I have my wife back?"
She shook her head. "You get Bella all the time."
"Where's Jasper?" he tried a different tactic.
"He's catching up with Emmett and Rosalie in the living room." Alice grabbed my hand, pulling me down the hallway. "I'm sure they'd love to see you," she called behind her.
"Alice!" I heard him yell to our retreating backs, obviously annoyed that his sister was planning to steal me away.
She pulled me into the kitchen where Esme was arranging some snacks on a plate. I laughed, turning to her. "Alice, Edward's not going to be happy with you."
She waved her hand dismissively. "He'll get over it."
"Hi, Bella," Esme greeted me warmly. She turned to Alice, "Are you giving your brother a hard time already?"
I laughed at Alice's innocent look. "I'm just talking to Bella, mom."
Esme handed Alice the finished plate. "Here. Take these to the others. I'll be out in a minute."
"If Edward thinks this means he's going to get you back, he's sorely mistaken."
I laughed and followed her into the next room, where Edward was talking with Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and Rosalie. He stood as we entered the room and his eyes locked with mine, smiling. I smiled back, sitting on the opposite couch as Alice placed the plate on the coffee table before coming back to take a seat next to me.
I turned my attention back to Alice. "Tell me about Paris, Alice. Is it amazing?"
Out of the corner of my eye I could tell that Edward had sat back down. I tried to pay attention to Alice as she gushed about Paris, but I could feel Edward's gaze on me. I tried to ignore it, but every time I thought I might be able to listen to Alice, I felt his gaze on me even stronger. A glance out of the corner of my eye confirmed that his eyes were indeed on me. I shivered and smiled slightly, dragging my focus back to Alice, thankful that she had started talking to the whole room and not just me.
"… all the way back to our apartment," she beamed. "Right Jazz?"
Jasper nodded, affirming whatever story Alice had just told. I smiled in her direction, basing my reaction off of everyone else's.
I made the mistake of looking back at Edward, whose gaze still hadn't left me. His smile widened when I caught his eyes and I felt my self control slip. I contemplated relocating myself so that I was seated next to him but was distracted by a clanging in the doorway. It was Esme, trying valiantly to maneuver a drink cart through the doorway.
"Esme!" I jumped up, thankful for the distraction. "Let me help."
She smiled gratefully as I held the door, allowing her to push the cart through the doorway. I followed her to the opposite side of the room, helping her to arrange various bottles and glasses and garnishes.
"Thank you, Bella."
"It's no problem. You should have called from the kitchen," I told her.
I felt a warm hand on my back. "Yes, you should have." Edward had come to help.
"No matter," Esme shook her head slightly. "It's done now." She moved past us and kissed Edward lightly on the cheek. "I should go help your father. He's bringing out the dessert plates. Excuse me," her eyes sparkled.
Edward turned his head to me, his hand sliding slowly down my back. "Would you like a drink?"
I held his gaze for a moment before answering. "Sure," I breathed.
He moved toward the array of ingredients. "Anything in particular? Maybe a Goodnight Kiss? Or a Love Shot? Sweet Release, perhaps?"
His words caught me off guard and I looked at him. He pretended he didn't notice as he continued on, surveying the contents of the drink cart Esme had brought out.
"Or if you're looking for something a little … harder," his volume dropped slightly, "there's always the classic Sex on the Beach. And it looks like we could also do a Slow Comfortable Screw." He gestured to a bottle of vodka. "Maybe we can make that last one Up Against the Wall?"
My jaw dropped slightly. His voice made me slightly weak, and I struggled to keep my composure at his obvious innuendos. His sexy smirk was not helping as he waited for my response.
"Actually, water is fine for now." I moved past him toward the kitchen, stopping when I felt there was a safe distance between us. I turned back to face him. His face had fallen slightly. "You, however, might do well with a Jerkoff."
His face was torn between his arousal and confusion.
"You know," I clarified, "Jack and squirt."
Edward's eyes widened as I turned back toward the kitchen, heading to get my glass of water. Behind me I heard Emmett's laughter followed by a muttered "damn"; he must have heard the end of our conversation. I smiled widely, pleased with myself, both for being able to come up with such a comeback and for being able to resist Edward's advances.
Rosalie and Alice were in the kitchen with Esme when I entered.
"Having fun Bella?" Esme inquired.
I laughed and nodded. "I just came in for a glass of water."
Once I had the glass of water, I stayed in the kitchen, chatting with Esme, Alice, and Rosalie. I loved them all, and I was glad to be able to spend some time girl time with them. I counted myself lucky for marrying into such an awesome family.
We were in the middle of giggling over something Alice had read in Cosmo when Edward appeared in the doorway.
"Edward," I quieted my giggles long enough to greet him, pushing myself off the counter I had been leaning on.
"Did you want a glass of water, too?" Alice asked, clearly not all that happy with her brother interrupting the girl talk.
He shook his head and held his glass up slightly, looking me up and down before catching my gaze. "No, I'm good. I decided to try the drink Bella suggested."
I flushed slightly, remembering what I had suggested he try. But then I was confused. Was this his attempt at a truce? I wouldn't have thought that he would have given up quite that easily. I flashed him a smile anyway, in case he was looking to make peace.
"I just came in here to spend some time with the most beautiful women in the world. Is that a crime?" he continued, coming to stand next to me.
"I think that's a lie," Alice called his bluff. "What are you really doing in here, Edward?"
"Aw, I missed you, too, Alice," he ignored her, his face the picture of innocence. "Please, carry on."
"What at the others up to?" Rosalie asked, trying to change the subject to something that would include Edward.
He gestured to the door with his drink, using the opportunity to put his free hand on my back. "I think they're making some bets on the football games tomorrow."
Rosalie rolled her eyes slightly. "Emmett is convinced that Penn State is going to beat USC. And as much as I'd love for that to happen, I think he's an idiot."
Edward laughed. "I hope he didn't bet too much, then." As he spoke, Edward's hand slid down to my ass, squeezing it slightly.
My eyes grew wide and I sputtered on the water I was drinking. So much for a truce.
"Bella? Are you okay?" Alice asked.
I nodded, desperate to turn attention elsewhere. "I just… ah… swallowed wrong."
Alice studied me for a second and then turned back to the conversation.
He did not just do that. I turned my head to look at him, but he was carrying on a conversation with the others, not looking at all like he was groping me in front of his mother, sister, and sister-in-law. His hand continued to move, and I tried to control my shocked expression.
I reached behind me, hoping I didn't draw too much attention to myself by trying to get Edward to drop his hand. He did, and I took a deep breath, relaxing slightly. My victory was short lived, however, when I felt a hand moving up the back of my thigh. Oh God. This was worse. Much worse.
He looked like he was completely concentrated on the conversation. I couldn't even begin to process what they were talking about.
At that moment, Edward reached forward to set his empty glass on the counter of the island in front of us, dropping the hand that had been exploring my leg. When he leaned back, he replaced his hand on my body, once again on my back, pushing me forward slightly. I stumbled, not expecting it. He took a moment to situate himself behind me before pulling me back to lean against him.
As I relaxed against him, I realized he had an ulterior motive for his little move. He was still nonchalantly carrying on a conversation, but I could feel him hardening against my lower back. It seemed as though his little stunt to seduce me had backfired, and now he was trying to preserve his modesty in front of his family.
He wasn't as composed as I believed him to be. Well, if he wanted to be a tease, I could play that game. I could be a tease. And now, I had the upper hand. I smirked inwardly, feeling slightly bad about what I was going to do. But he'd been cocky and sexy all evening, and now it was my turn.
I shifted my body slightly, pressing back into him, hoping that I had created enough friction to tease him a bit. The hand that rested on my hip tightened, trying to still my movements. I felt a surge of satisfaction knowing that I could put him on edge just as easily as he did to me. I placed my hand over his on my waist, stopping my teasing for the time being.
Minutes passed and the conversation continued, with Edward still using me to block his slight problem. Feeling mischievous, I started moving slightly once again, slowly enough to look like I was fidgeting instead of looking like I was trying to drive Edward crazy. I started to make my movements more deliberate just as we heard a crash from the boys in the other room. Edward groaned gratefully.
"We should go see what the guys are doing," Esme suggested. "I hope they're not destroying the house."
Esme was the first to leave the kitchen, followed quickly by Rosalie. Alice took a second longer, turning back to us, eyebrow raised. "Coming?" she asked.
As much as I wanted to leave Edward hanging, I couldn't expose him without incriminating myself. "In a second," I tried to buy some time. "I'm just going to … get another drink. I'll be out in a second."
She smirked and for a second I was afraid she was going to call my bluff. Instead, she nodded and disappeared though the door.
As soon as she was gone, I turned to Edward, backing away slightly. "You are so bad! I can't believe … with your mother and your sister right there!" I tried to make myself sound angry, but I was more turned on than anything.
"This is your fault, you know. If you hadn't insisted we leave right away earlier …" he trailed off.
"Oh no. You cannot blame me for this one. You and your –"
"We can fix this, you know," his eyebrows rose in a silent suggestion.
My eyes grew large. "I am NOT having sex with you in your parent's kitchen!" I struggled to keep my voice down. "With your parents in the next room! You freaked out enough when we had sex in our kitchen, with no one around. Besides, I'm not so sure Alice isn't going to come barging through that door at any moment."
He moved toward me, and I shifted, grabbing my glass off the counter and filling it with water to keep up my story with Alice.
"I love making you all flustered."
"Yeah well …" I tried to compose myself so I could join the others. "You're going to fix that," I gestured to the obvious bulge in his pants, "- somehow-, and then you're going to join the rest of your family. And then we're going to celebrate New Year's Eve with them."
Feeling satisfied that I had made my point, I moved to pass him and exit the kitchen. He caught my free arm, drawing me to him to kiss me thoroughly. When he drew back, we were both breathless. "We'll see," he breathed.
He released me and moved to the opposite counter, leaning his hands against it and his head bowed. I could see him breathing deeply. I stood there for a moment longer, making sure that my breathing calmed before scurrying to the door, joining the rest of his family.
***
The rest of the evening passed rather uneventfully; well, at least Edward managed to keep his hands to himself, for the most part. We still got to witness Emmett trying to rap (to no avail; he sounded so white it was hilarious) and Rosalie vowing to divorce him if he didn't stop. Those kinds of events I could deal with. In fact, I found them rather amusing.
Edward was on his best behavior after the incident in the kitchen. He had managed to keep his hands mostly to himself. We still touched – a brush of our hands here, a quick kiss on my cheek there – but it was more normal behavior. There were no more suggestions of quickies in the kitchen.
So when Edward approached me around 11:30, I didn't think twice about it. We were on our best behavior now.
"Bella," he began, holding out his hand to help me off the couch I was sitting on. "I need your help."
I was confused. He sensed my hesitation. "Please?" he implored.
I took his hand; I could never deny him anything, especially when he looked at me like he did. His grin widened and he led me down the hall and up the stairs.
"Edward? Where are we going?"
He didn't respond, instead just leading me down the hallway, finally opening a door on the left and pulling me inside behind him. Before I could comprehend what was going on his lips were on my neck and his arms were around me.
"Edward …" I squirmed, trying to get away from him before I gave in. His lips felt amazing on my neck. "An hour … we can be home in an hour."
His head shook against my skin. "I want you now." His lips stopped their assault on my neck and he drew back to look at me. "Right here."
For half a second, I froze. Part of me couldn't believe what he was saying. I wasn't even sure where we were, other than the fact that we were somewhere on the second floor of his parents house, with said parents (not to mention the rest of his family) downstairs. The other part of me was ecstatic – isn't this what I wanted? Him taking control and pushing boundaries? This was definitely pushing boundaries.
He took my inaction as a passive agreement and his mouth crashed into mine, his hands in my hair. I was still shocked and could manage nothing more than moving my mouth slightly under his. My unconscious response must have spurred him on, because he deepened the kiss, drawing me closer to his body and exploring my mouth with is tongue. The sensations that flooded my body were too much, and in that moment I knew that I was going to go along with anything he suggested.
He played with the bow at the back of my neck for a moment before tugging at the ends, effectively untying the ribbon that held the bodice of my dress in place. It fell to my waist when he dropped the ribbon.
His lips left mine to trail kisses along my jaw line all the way to my ear. "If you don't want to do this, tell me to stop," he mumbled into my ear. If it were possible, he pressed himself closer to me, forcing me to backwards until my back pressed against the wall next to the door. His hands found my waist, moving upwards to run his hands over all the skin that he had exposed. "We can go back downstairs," his teeth nipped at my ear, "and celebrate with the others."
"Don't stop." I was breathing heavily, and I let out a gasp as his hand found my nipple. I had made my decision, consequences be damned. "God, please don't stop."
He drew back with the sexiest smile on his face, bringing his mouth to mine once more. I held on to him, wanting to feel him against every part of me.
When his lips started to move down to my neck to my chest, I was helpless to stop him. My hands were in his hair, half guiding him, half holding him to me. He placed a chaste kiss to each of my breasts, moving to his knees to be able kiss my stomach, running his hands down the length of my legs before reversing directions to follow them back up and under the skirt of my dress, ending their journey to rest on my hips, toying with the elastic of my panties.
He smirked up at me. "If this is going to work, these need to go," he said, pulling them down. He spread my legs slightly as I stepped out of the panties, tucking them into this pocket. "But I would hate for them to get lost."
His lifted the skirt of my dress, tucking it into what was already pooled at my waist, exposing me to him. My head dropped back against the wall and I felt him drop a kiss on my sex, shifting my legs open wider before shifting one leg over his shoulder.
I was splayed against the wall, one hand was in his hair, the other on the wall above me. I tried to muffle the moan of pleasure as he went to work, licking and sucking and nibbling over every inch of skin he could find. The last thing I wanted was for someone to hear us.
"What would… your mother say… if she saw you… with your head… between some girl's legs?" I managed between pants.
His fingers replaced his mouth, the pleasure never stopping. "Well, you're not just some girl. You're my wife." He paused as the smirk came back to his face. "And I would imagine she would be proud that her son could give his wife so much pleasure." His fingers began to move harder against me. "But if you're thinking about my mother right now, I'm doing something wrong."
His fingers hit a sensitive spot and I groaned low in my throat. I pulled his head back to me, wanting him to continue his earlier ministrations. He complied and I threw my head back once again, surrendering to the sensations he was causing. My release washed through me without warning. Edward kept his grip on my hips, never relenting in his movements. I had to work hard to stifle my moans, and my pleasure ended up being vocalized in slight whimpers.
After my body had relaxed, Edward stood and pulled me to him, grinding his hips into mine. I could feel him, hard and ready, and I wasted no time in dropping my hands to undo his belt and unzip his pants, freeing his length and pushing his pants and boxers down as far as I could reach. He didn't move to take them completely off, instead letting them drop to his ankles. He hoisted me up for better leverage, simultaneously bringing his head down to kiss me and his hips up to enter me.
I was thankful that he had had the foresight to initiate a kiss because now I was free to groan into his mouth, knowing that it would be muffled. My legs wrapped around his waist as his hips picked up speed and I felt my orgasm rushing toward me once more.
"Bella … I'm not going to last very long."
I rolled my hips into him in response, whimpering at the new sensation. He continued to thrust into me, and seconds later my second orgasm ripped through me. I bit my lip to keep myself quiet, silently riding out the waves of pleasure. I vaguely registered Edward pushing into me hard once more before his pleasure took over and he moaned into my neck.
Minutes passed as we tried to collect ourselves and calm our breathing, kissing softly. When I was pretty sure I would be able to stand, I dropped my legs from around his waist. He pulled out of me, letting me stand, but made no move to step back from me.
"I can't believe we just did that," I blushed in the darkness.
"I can't believe I finally got a hot girl into my room." Edward's eyes met mine.
I glanced past him into the darkness of the room. I could make out a desk on one side of the room, and a couch facing the windows that were flanked with bookshelves on the other. "This was your room?"
He nodded. "Now it's my dad's office, but yeah, this was my room."
I didn't know what to say so I just held his gaze. A moment passed before he bent down to kiss me slowly.
"I love you, Bella. So much," he declared as he drew back.
A lazy smile crossed my face. I would never tire of hearing those words. "I love you, too. But we should probably make ourselves decent. I'm afraid Alice might come to find us."
He laughed, but moved backwards to give me space to get straightened, pulling his pants up in the process. "She'd just be jealous that she's the only one that hasn't gotten any around like this."
I paused and looked at him curiously.
He nodded. "I'm not sure about when we were younger, but Emmett and Rosalie have done what we just did."
My eyes widened. "Really? When?" I shouldn't have been, but I was curious. It made me feel slightly better about what we had just done.
He looked slightly guilty. "Our engagement party."
My eyes grew even larger and my jaw dropped. "Emmett and Rosalie snuck away during the engagement party your parents threw for us to have sex?" I was completely blown away.
He nodded again. "I didn't know until tonight. Emmett told me. It sort of… inspired… this."
"Remind me to thank them later, then," I laughed, retying the strings of my top around my neck and smoothing the wrinkles out of my dress and combing my fingers through my hair the best I could.
"Edward? Can I have my panties back?"
His lips curved up in a smile and he shook his head. "Nope. They're mine now."
"And I'm just supposed to go commando while you carry them around in your pocket?"
He shrugged. "Pretty much."
My eyes narrowed at him, but he ignored my look, pulling me to him. "I'm just kidding."
I relaxed against him, kissing the underside of his jaw.
"I'll put them in my coat pocket."
"Edward!" I pulled back. Downstairs we could hear Edward's family gathering to count down to the New Year. "We don't have time for this," I sighed. "Can I please have my panties back?" I tried to put on my best pouty face.
He just shook his head.
I huffed, pushing myself away from him. I wasn't really upset at him, but I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about spending more time with Edward's family knowing that we had snuck away and Edward had left me panty-less. There was no way I was going to be able to look Esme in the eye. Downstairs everyone else had started the countdown to New Year's.
Ten, nine, eight, seven…
Edward caught my arm before I could reach the door. "Bella…"
Six, five, four, three…
He pulled me back to him and I was immediately lost in his green eyes and his musky smell. Damn him for being irresistible. I completely forgot why I was annoyed or what I was supposed to be doing. All that mattered was him.
The side of his mouth pulled into a smile before his mouth met mine, moving smoothly and gently against my lips. My arms moved up and I gripped his shoulders tightly.
Two, one…
After what seemed like forever, he pulled back slightly. "Happy New Year, Bella."
I smiled and pressed closer to him, bringing my mouth back to his. He kissed me for half a minute before pulling back abruptly.
"If we don't stop now, we'll never make it home."
I giggled but stepped back. He took the opportunity to cross to the other side of the room and throw a window open, letting in the cold air from outside. I wanted to follow him, but I didn't move.
"So … how do we get back downstairs without drawing attention to our absence?"
He shrugged.
"How did Emmett and Rosalie do it?"
He laughed. "Emmett went out the window."
I laughed with him. "That's not going to work for us, is it?"
"No, probably not." He shook his head. "And there are a lot less people around now. I'm sure they've noticed we're missing."
I blushed at the thought. I really didn't need everyone else knowing about our sex life.
"We'll just go back downstairs. No one will say anything."
"Emmett will," I protested.
"Emmett won't," Edward countered. "Unless he wants everyone else to know about what he did with Rosalie, he'll keep his mouth shut." He turned to shut the window.
I sighed. "Let's go then. Before we have to explain about missing even longer." I held out my hand.
He crossed the room and took it, bringing the back to his lips. "I love you."
I studied him. "Panties?" I tried one more time.
His hand tightened around mine. "I promise they'll make it home."
I let out a breath as he opened the door. I wasn't going to win that fight. He led me back down the hall and down the stairs. When we had reached the bottom, he let me go.
"You can go first, if you want."
I nodded. Best to get the humiliation over with. I gave him one more quick kiss before heading toward the living room. It took a minute for anyone to notice my presence.
"Bella!" Alice called. She glanced at me. "Where were you? You missed the countdown!"
I faltered for a second. "I was lying down." I gestured behind me. "I didn't feel well." I could feel Edward walk into the room and I heard Emmett snicker.
She studied me like she didn't quite believe my story. "Oh, well, I hope you feel better."
I nodded. "I feel much better."
Emmett's snickers got louder and I turned to glare at him. "Happy New Year, Bella," he offered.
"Yes," I called his bluff, "it's a very happy New Year." I shot a glance at Edward, who stifled a smirk. Happy New Year, indeed.
Author's Note: First, I'm terribly sorry about the delay. I'm a slacker. But the good news is that This is much longer than any other chapter. Props there, right? All mistakes are still mine, because this story had no beta.
Anyway, this is the last of Exchanging Gifts. I've had a blast writing it, and I hope that everyone else had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. And a special thanks to those that have been with this story from the very beginning. It's awesome. This one-shot turned into my first 'real' story (albeit with a very iffy plot), but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'm sad to leave it behind.
I've still got the longer story (with a plot that's more than sex, I promise!) in the works, plus another one shot that popped into my head, so keep an eye out if you're interested in my stories. Thanks to everyone who has already put me on favorite author/author alert. It's stuff like that that makes me feel warm and fuzzy, because I'm pretty sure I don't deserve it.
Add on: I've tried to respond to most reviews in some way because I do value all input. I've gotten one or two reviews that I've questioned, and I would like to say this: if you're going to leave a less than glowing review (meaning, you have a problem with the story in some way), that's fine. Bad reviews come with the good. But please, have enough courage to sign them in some way. Even better, log into you FF account an leave them with a link to your profile. I'm not going to freak out about bad reviews. But I will address any concerns that you might bring up. What I hate the most are the "anonymous" reviews that criticize in some way. I'm willing to stand behind my work - you should be willing to stand behind your review ... you know who you are.