Oh. My. God. I have been gone forever... and I AM SOOOO SORRY. I've been busy with school and relationships and life and well... this kinda fell by the wayside. But I'm on break now and I'm busting my ass to get this story finished before I go back to school. As always, enjoy the update, and make sure to leave me some love.
Oh! And I, of course, don't own these characters or Twilight or anything like that. What do I own? Well... I don't own him but I'm a proud mommy to be! :)
I woke the next morning naked, wrapped in Edward's arms, warm sunlight filtering in through the wood shutters. I turned around in his arms, pressing my face into his chest and groaning, grinning a bit when I felt his arms tighten around my waist.
"Ready to meet my parents today?" he said, his voice still thick with sleep. I nodded against him, yawning a bit and stretching in his arms.
"Good." He said, pulling me tighter against him.
I scooted up in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling back a bit so that I could see him better. "Are they going to like me?" I asked, feeling my cheeks flushing a little.
Edward looked at me for a few moments before breaking into a smile. "They're going to love you. Not as much as I do…" he said, reaching up to run his fingers along my cheekbones, "but close enough." I smiled up at him, pulling his mouth to mine, not really caring that neither of us had brushed our teeth yet this morning.
If we both taste nasty it's fine, right?
Before I knew it, I was on my back, Edward hovering over me, ours hips moving together as we became desperate for contact.
I could feel his erection on my hip and I smiled to myself as I ground against him, tempting him into finally giving me what we both so desperately needed. But I knew that he was stubborn enough to tease me for a while longer.
"Not so fast, baby." Edward growled, pulling his mouth from mine, trailing his lips down my neck, nipping at my skin.
"Don't… give me… a hickey." I gasped, my rapid breaths causing my chest to hit Edward's, "We're meeting… your parents today."
Edward chuckled against my skin, "I'll just have to give you one they won't see then, won't I?" Edward kissed down my skin, dipping down, and pressing his mouth just over my left hip, sucking away at the skin.
It drove me absolutely wild.
A few moments later (I really had no concept of time anymore… he could have been sucking on my hip for an hour), he pulled back, admiring his work. I pulled myself up on my arms and looked down. My skin just above my tattoo was already starting to turn blue.
"Edward." I said, looking at him and shaking my head. He smiled brilliantly at me, and pulled himself back up, smashing our mouths together and effectively silencing my complaints.
He slid inside me as he ran his fingers all over my skin, his hands seeming to touch every single inch of me before repeating some unknown path he had set up on my flesh.
We didn't speak as we moved together, our eyes and bodies effectively removing the need for words to be said between us. We knew what we wanted, what we were looking for… and we knew how to get it.
We collapsed together a few minutes later, our bodies spent, our minds cleared and silent.
I rolled over onto Edward's chest, propping myself up a bit on my arms. "Ready to get the day started?" I asked with a smile. Edward sighed and wrapped his arms around me, "Only because I know we have to get up." He said, leaning down to kiss me.
I chuckled, jumping up out of bed, grabbing his boxers and rolling them a few times, settling them on my hips, before I slid on one of his button ups, buttoning a few buttons in the middle to keep my breasts from spilling out of it.
I spun on my heel and I slid socks onto my feet and looked at Edward. He was laying on the bed, his naked body gloriously on display, one hand thrown behind his head, the other playing with the trail of hair that traced its way down his lower abdominal muscles.
My breath caught, but I quickly raised my eyes to his, "You coming?" I said, my voice huskier than I intended. "Just did, love. Though I wouldn't mind coming again." He winked at me, and I felt my knees go weak.
"Don't you get all saucy with me, Edward Cullen." I said, shaking my finger at him. He laughed, and moved to toss a pillow at me as I skirted out of the room.
Edward ambled out of the room about ten minutes later, just as I finished mixing the batter for the pancakes. "Chocolate chip?" he asked me, leaning down to press a kiss to my neck. I nodded, and he smiled widely, swatting my ass, before walking to grab place settings and cups from the cabinets, quietly walking out of the kitchen to go set the table on the balcony.
He walked back into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around my waist and placing a kiss on my neck, resting his chin on my shoulder while I turned the pancakes. "I can't wait for you to meet them." He said, smiling against my neck. "I can't wait to meet them either." I said, reaching back to rub his neck, running my fingers through the little bit of hair that dotted about under his hairline.
He nuzzled my neck, before kissing my skin, walking over to the fridge to grab orange juice before wandering out and placing it on the table on the balcony, before coming back and starting tea.
"Tea?" I asked, smirking at him. "I am English, love." He said, chuckling at me. I laughed and swatted at his chest, pouring another batch of batter onto the griddle. "We're going to have pancakes for a week!" Edward said, catching me in his arms and pulling me to him.
"That's the idea…" I said, smiling up at him, "If we have enough food here, we won't have to leave." I winked at him before wiggling out of his arms and attending to the food.
Once we were satisfied with the selection, we wandered out onto the balcony, each of us carrying plates and teakettles, carefully balancing everything so as not to make a horrid mess.
As we ate, we settled into a comfortable pattern. Sometimes we would talk, but only when we had something to say. We didn't fear the silence; instead of representing the fact that we didn't have anything to say to each other, it represented the fact that we were able to sit together in silence and still be completely content.
And content I was.
I ran my foot up and down the length of Edward's calf as we ate, laughing at him when I would occasionally go a little higher and his eyes would widen. I could see him controlling himself so that he didn't practically leap over the table to get at me.
We finished our meal, each of us grabbing some dishes and tossing them into the dishwasher before walking back outside to sit and drink our tea.
"So what's the game plan for today?" I asked, looking over at him.
Edward took a sip of tea before looking back, "Well… we're going to my parents, hopefully we'll get there in time for afternoon tea. And then we'll go catch that football match I'm so excited about." He smiled at me, and I smiled brilliantly in return.
Whenever he talked about football, his eyes lit up. It was absolutely adorable, and I fell ever more in love with him every single time.
"And then we'll head back to my parents for dinner."
"Are your parents coming to the game?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"The match?" he asked, smiling at me. I wrinkled my nose at him, and he shook his head. "Americans…" he muttered. "But yes, I grabbed them tickets."
"Perfect." I said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his lips.
I finished my tea and grabbed my mug, walking into the kitchen to put it away before I walked back to Edward's bedroom to find something to wear.
I dug through my bags for a few minutes, finally managing to find a gold silk top that I absolutely adored. It was a soft, rich gold (the shade reminding me of the flecks of gold that adorned Edward's eyes) and hugged my curves without looking slutty. I grabbed a dark pair of skinny jeans, pleased with the outfit I was planning to meet Edward's parents in.
I laid the outfit out on the bed (which Edward had made, surprisingly), grabbing my pair of short black suede boots and tossing them nearby. I grabbed my makeup bag and my hair stuff, walking into the bathroom just as Edward walked into the room and locked the door.
"Baby. Let me watch you get ready." He said, knocking softly on the door. I chuckled, but decided to give in.
I unlocked the door, opening it up a bit, before beginning to carefully wash my face and brush my teeth. Edward walked in grabbed his tooth brush, and began brushing beside me.
The domesticity of the moment nearly overwhelmed me. All I could think was that as soon as I could be, I would be back here every day, brushing my teeth beside Edward every single morning. The idea made me smile, almost too widely, as I finally began putting on some makeup.
"Why are you wearing makeup?" Edward asked, reaching out to run his fingers down my cheek as I curled my eyelashes. I looked over at him, "What do you mean?"
He grasped my hips in his hands, spinning me to look at him. "You're absolutely gorgeous. Why are you wearing makeup?" I smiled and stood up on my tiptoes to kiss his face, before spinning back to the mirror and lining my eyes.
"Because I like to accent my eyes, babe." I said, a slightly sarcastic smile gracing my lips. He swatted my ass, but let me get to work, running his fingers through his hair a few times before giving up and walking into the bedroom to get dressed.
Once I finished my minimal makeup, I grabbed my curling iron, heating it up while quickly applying some curl enhancer to my hair. I ran the curling iron through my natural waves, making them more cohesive ringlets, shaking out my hair once I was done.
I looked great. I couldn't be happier.
Walking back into the bedroom (and pleased to see that Edward was in the closet doing god knows what), I slid off my current attire, and pulled on my perfectly planned outfit all before he wandered out of the closet. To say I was proud of myself would be a complete understatement.
Edward walked out of the closet (looking mighty fine in a pair of khakis and a black Ralph Lauren oxford), took one look at me and stopped dead in his tracks.
"You cannot leave the house like that." He said, walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Do I look horrid?" I asked, now worried that I wasn't up to the standards set by the Cullen clan. "The exact opposite, love. You look good enough to eat." Edward bent down, nipping at my neck with his lips, causing me to giggle and squirm under his touch.
"Don't you dare, Edward Cullen. We have a three-hour drive ahead of us. We need to get on the road now." I swatted his hands away and walked out the bedroom, leaving him to gather himself together.
"At least you managed to wear Truro FC colors!" Edward yelled from the bedroom. I laughed, wiping down the counter while I waited for Edward.
Edward walked out of the bedroom a minute later, sneakers on his feet, shoving his wallet and keys in his pocket. "Alright, love, let's go." he said, smiling at me.
I grabbed his hand, and we walked out of the apartment, taking the elevator down to the garage. We walked through the parking garage, walking towards what I assumed to be the very back of the place, until we reached an absolutely AMAZING car.
"You… you…" I stuttered, looking at the blue piece of heaven in front of me, "You drive a BUGATTI VEYRON!" Edward looked over at me and laughed, opening the door on the passenger side. "I come from money, love." He said simply, smiling at me as he shut the door behind me, walking around the front of the car to climb in.
Edward started the car, the purr of the engine making me absolutely ecstatic.
Note to self, convince Edward to let me drive this baby. Maybe road head will convince him…. Hmm. Definitely on the way home tomorrow.
I smiled to myself, and decided that I would need something to distract me for a bit while I hatched my plan.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Jake.
"Black." Jake answered. I chuckled, he sounded serious, so I knew that he hadn't looked at the caller ID before answering the phone. "Jake, it's Bella." I said, smiling.
"Oh, hey Bells. What's up?" He said, his voice back to its usually light, carefree tone.
"Edward and I are going to see his parents today." I said, the tension clear in my voice. Edward reached over with his left hand, running his hand along my thigh. I wrapped my right hand around his, linking our fingers together. "Eek, meeting the parents." Jake said, "You prepared for that, Bells? Want me to do some recon?" I laughed, "No Jake, I think I can handle it."
Jake laughed, "Just offering, Bella. But what can I do for you today? I figure there must be a reason for this chat." I snapped my fingers with a laugh, "Damn. You know me too well Jacob Black." Jake laughed, "Don't I know it, Bells."
I smiled, "Alright, since you brought it up…" I said, trying to make it sound like he was forcing me to say it, "I was wondering if you'd found anything on Riley's phone we need to know about. And what James has been doing recently. You've been tracking him, right?"
"Yes, I am actually tracking James as we speak. But let's talk about Riley right now." I hummed in acknowledgment, and Jake continued. "Riley has a lot of numbers belonging to weapons dealers all over the globe on his cell, probably the archive that he was setting up for this buy, though he now has Edward's number favorited, so I'm taking that as a good sign." I tapped Edward, "We're favorited on Riley's phone." I stage whispered to him. He smiled, giving me a thumbs up, before shifting gears on the car.
"That being said, I also found a lot of old, and when I say old I mean like from a month ago, communication between James and Riley. It was mostly emails and they all include James trying to convince Riley to sell him the file in some way. He's been after this file for a while, Bells. I wouldn't take anything he says about his loyalty to you two at face. I'd watch him."
"Do you think we should cut him?" I said, curious. "That would be too obvious, and would probably incite something we aren't ready to deal with. I can't have you and Edward in the line of fire from James, and I'm pretty sure that Emmett would agree."
I sighed. I hated it when Jake treated me like this. "I can handle my job, Jacob." I said, seething. "Oohh, the whole first name. Calm down, Bells. I'm looking out for you." I rolled my eyes, but waited for him to continue.
"As for James, he's in London now. I'm trying to figure out what he's doing, but he just placed a call, and he was definitely setting up a lunch meeting. I don't know who with, but we'll find out once they meet."
"You are tracking Riley's phone, right?" I said. "Yes, Bells. I've got it covered. I don't even want to know what the electric bill is going to be at the agency this month." I chuckled, when my phone started buzzing in my ear. "Hold on Jake, I'm getting another call."
Who ELSE could possibly be calling me from Baltimore at this time? It's like four thirty in the morning there.
"Hello?" I said, not expecting the nearly ear splitting scream I heard on the other end. "BELLA!"
Oh my god, it's Alice.
"ALICE!" I yelled, laughing a bit when Edward jumped beside me.
"Bella, Bella, Bella! You'll never guess where I am or what I just did!" She sounded so happy, I could only imagine. "You're in New York and you just convinced Barneys to open just for you?" I guessed. Alice laughed, "Good guess, but no. We are in Vegas, and you are now speaking to MRS. JASPER WHITLOCK!"
OH MY GOD.
"OH MY GOD! ALICE THAT'S FANTASTIC! OH MY GOD!" Edward jumped beside me again, and I laughed, reaching over to rub his thigh, taking the phone away from my face, "My best friend just got married!" I said, smiling at him. Edward smiling warmly, "Give her my congratulations." He said, grinning at me.
"Edward says congratulations!" I said, laughing. "Tell me everything!" I said, giggling like a girl.
"WELL, Jasper and I have been together every single night since you pushed me to talk to him, thank you for that by the way, and the other night he told me that he absolutely couldn't live without me. He got down on one knee and everything, Bella! Proposed to me with a gorgeous ring he'd picked up from Tiffany's when we went to pick out your outfit back in December."
"He's been planning this for that long?" I said, shocked. Alice laughed, and I could practically hear her enthusiastic nod through the phone, "He said that I had been the center of his world ever since he interviewed for me all those months ago. He said that he wanted to ask me out and ask me as soon as he thought the time was right."
I sighed, "That's so romantic, Ali." "I know!" she squealed, "But anyway, he proposed, we had FANTASTIC sex, and I decided that I didn't want to wait anymore. I fired him (immediately hiring someone else) and had the new guy fly us to Vegas. And we got married as soon as we could!" "Alice, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to congratulate you in person."
"So what's new with you?" She asked, obviously asking about Edward.
"Well," I said, trying to by coy, "Edward and I are now officially dating and in LOVE." Alice squealed and I ignored her, "And I'm moving to London as soon as this is over to be with him!" Alice and I squealed simultaneously this time; I was bouncing in my seat and I knew that Alice probably was too.
I looked over at Edward and he was smiling. "Talking about me, love?" "Of course I am, baby." I answered, leaning over to kiss his stubbly cheek.
"So are you guys getting married?" Alice asked. I smiled, looking over at Edward, rubbing the back of his hand, "In time, Ali." I answered, smiling when he leaned over to place a peck on my cheek.
"I totally want to move to London now." Alice said. I could hear the gears in her head turning. "OH MY GOD, I TOTALLY COULD. I could transfer and work out of London… the CIA won't care. Jasper could teach his history class at Oxford… it would be perfect!"
"Wait, Jasper teaches?" I asked, stunned. "Yes, Bells. He flies planes because he needed the cash to finally get his doctorate in history. He's been offered a few jobs, and Oxford was one of the places. He's going to be a professor of American History at Oxford, Bella! I get to live in London with you!" I laughed, slapping my hand against my thigh, jumping up and down in my seat. "Alice, that's fantastic! Oh my god, I can't wait for you to come over! It's so gorgeous here, it really is." "You're going to stay with the CIA though, right? I don't want a new boss." I said, chuckling. "Of course, Bella!" Alice said, probably rolling her eyes.
"Can you start to clear everything with the higher ups so I don't have to once I get home?" Alice agreed. "Good. Edward and I are trying to make it so that we can end the mission back in Baltimore so I can pack and send as much of my stuff across the pond as humanly possible." "Sounds like a great plan, Bella! Well, I have to go. MY HUSBAND and I have a wedding night to celebrate!" I chuckled, "Bye Alice. Tell Jasper I said hello!" Alice laughed, "Gotcha, Bells!" and hung up.
"Wow." Edward said, looking over at me with a shocked expression on his face. "I've never seen you that happy before." I chuckled, "My best friend in the world just got married to the man she loves. And he's a fantastic guy who I know will treat her right. Why wouldn't I be this happy?" Edward smiled, not saying a word, and reached over, placing my hand on top of his on the gearshift.
We drove along, chatting happily when we had things to say, remaining silent when we had nothing worth sharing.
"So once, Emmett and I convinced my mum and dad to take us to Disney World Europe. We were so excited about it; it was all we could talk about for weeks. The kids in my primary school class were ready to kill me. Well, we finally got there, Emmett saw Mickey Mouse and ran screaming from the park. We went home the next day."
I laughed, my whole body shaking as I tried to control myself. "You and Emmett had the best childhood." I said, finally managing to control myself.
"I'm glad you find my primary school humiliation hysterical." He said, frowning at me. "Oh, don't even." I said, reaching over and running my fingers through his hair. "You made it out alright." He grumbled, "Just barely." And I laughed again. "Tell me a story about you." He said, smiling at me.
I sighed, and thought for a minute, watching as he pulled off the main high way he'd been on and onto a small back road. "Are we almost there?" I asked, happy, yet also insanely nervous. "Yes. Now, stop trying to distract me."
I giggled a bit, taking a second to think about a story.
"Okay, so this isn't from my childhood, but it's a pretty ridiculous story about my past." "Okay…" Edward said, laughing.
"So, have I ever told you about how I met Jaidee?" I asked, smiling at the memory. "No…" Edward said. I chuckled. "Well, I was sent out on my first international mission from the CIA, and I had to fly to Thailand to get to know this guy in the weapons trading business. He knew a lot of people in the buying business, and we were trying to get solid evidence that he was connected to a lot of famous terrorists at the time. So I was supposed to meet him at this bar, when all of a sudden some woman comes running out of the bar, screaming at my contact." I rolled my eyes, the scene playing itself out in my head. "I had no idea what was going on, and I had just learned Thai, so I was still a little shakey with my speech and auditory recognition. But all I got was that the Thai government was looking to press formal charges against him for his illegal status in the country." I sighed, looking over at Edward. He was looking at me like I was insane.
"The beginning of my career was very…active." I said, with a small laugh. "That it seems." Edward said, "I hope you were being safe?" "Not at all." I said with a laugh.
"So anyway," I said, ignoring his chastising look, "I figured that since this was my contact, it was alright if I followed them in a quiet pursuit. So I took off after them, making sure to follow them from a bit of a distance. That plan was compromised, however, when Jaidee caught the guy and began kicking the ever loving shit out of him. It was her way of incapacitating him so that he couldn't run anymore. So I ran over, trying to break it up, when the cops showed up. They broke us up, throwing us all in jail for the night. They tossed Jaidee and I in the same cell. My first words to her were, "Nice right hook"… we've been great friends ever since." I laughed.
"What happened to the guy?" Edward asked curiously.
"I managed to get all the information I needed out of him once I told the police why I was looking to talk to him." Edward nodded knowingly, keeping me from having to go into details.
The life of a spy isn't always as glamorous as the movies make it out to be.
"Your parents know what you actually do, right?" I asked, trying to determine what I could and couldn't talk about once we had dinner with them.
"Yes, they know. Emmett and I had to tell them all the details of our work before they would agree. They are very influential in the government, and we would have been fired if they heard anything they didn't like."
I nodded quietly, digesting this information.
We rounded the corner on the dirt road we were now on and pulled through the trees, outside a gorgeous white mansion. The house had an amazing porch, which spanned nearly the entire left half of the front of the house. The double doors that lead inside were large and black, two huge windows running down the middle of each door. The house was three stories tall, and probably had over twenty rooms inside. The place was gorgeous.
"Edward…" I said, looking between him and the house, "is this where you grew up?"
"Yep." He said, shrugging his shoulders, and climbing out of the car, walking around to help me out.
As we walked up to the door, the door suddenly flung open and a little red haired girl jumped out. "Uncle Edward!" the girl shouted. "CLAIRE!" Edward said, laughing a bit as the girl jumped into his arms. He held her out in his arms so he could look at her. "This isn't my Claire." He said, smiling, "My Claire is a little girl. This Claire is a beautiful big girl!" Claire giggled, "It's me Uncle Edward, it's me!"
"I don't know…" Edward said, tapping his chin. "What is my Claire's FAVOURITE game?" Edward said, smiling. "The tickle game!" Claire yelled. Edward laughed, "You are my Claire!" he said, grabbing the little girl's sides, tickling her, causing her to laugh and thrash about happily.
They settled down, and Edward sat Claire down on her feet. "Claire, this is my best girl, Bella. She's my girlfriend, and soon," Edward leaned down to whisper to her, but made sure to keep his voice loud enough so I could hear, "I'm going to ask her to marry me." Claire giggled, "Hi Aunt Bella!" before she took off running into the house, "MUM! AUNTIE ESME! UNCLE EDWARD SAYS HE'S GOING TO ASK AUNT BELLA TO MARRY HIM!"
I laughed, wrapping my arms around Edward's waist. "You like to start trouble, don't you?" "Only where you're involved, baby." Edward quipped, leaning down to kiss me quickly before leading me into the house.
A tall man, whom looked EXACTLY like Edward with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a woman with striking green eyes and flowing bronze hair, greeted us. "Edward." The man said, walking forward and wrapping his son in a hug. "Dad." Edward said, smiling warmly, "This is the love of my life, Isabella Swan. She prefers Bella." Edward wrapped his arm around me, smiling down at me warmly, kissing my forehead. "Bella, love, this is my father, Carlisle."
Carlisle stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, patting me on the back. "I don't know how Edward convinced you to love him, but I'm happy to meet you." I laughed, hugging him back, "Edward is a fantastic man. You and your wife did a brilliant job raising him."
"An American?" he said, pulling back and winking at Edward. "Great snag son." I chuckled as Carlisle stepped back and was immediately hugged by the woman I knew to be Edward's mom.
"Bella, it's wonderful to meet you. I'm Esme, Edward's mum." She said, I smiled, hugging her back.
"Mum, don't scare her." Edward said, sighing. I laughed, holding Esme at arm's length. "Hush up, Edward. Your mother is very sweet." Esme smiled at me, "See, Edward. Leave us girls alone." Esme let me go and walked over, wrapping her arms around Edward and hugging him tightly. She pulled away, placing a sweet kiss on his cheek, before pulling back and ruffling up his hair. "Do something about this." She admonished him.
He chuckled and rolled his eyes, smiling at her. "Come, Bella," Esme said, smiling at me, "would you like to prepare tea with me?" I smiled, "Of course!" Esme linked her arm through mine, and we walked towards the kitchen together.
"So how did you and Edward meet?" Esme asked, letting go of my arm and pulling a teakettle off of the stove and filling it with water.
"We actually met in the dressing room at Barneys, but I didn't know it at the time. We met later that night in Baltimore, where I lived, at a New Years Eve ball. He was my contact for the mission we're currently on."
Esme nodded and smiled, "I've talked to him a few times since you've met. He's changed so much since you two have started your relationship." "All positive things, I hope?" I said, smiling at her. "Of course, dear. Before, he was just a quiet man, just working. He came around between missions, but didn't have the social life that most men his age typically have. And even though he was always happy with his life, to a point, he was ruined after that whole mess with Tanya. He's back to being old Edward, and it's amazing. He's so happy Bella it's… astonishing. Truly, thank you."
I smiled at Esme, "Thank you for saying that. I can honestly say that I'm the happiest woman on Earth for somehow managing to snag Edward. I'm quite in love with him. I'm so glad that he asked me to move out to London with him."
"Oh he asked you!" she screeched. I chuckled, "Yes, I'm moving as soon as we are done this project."
Just then, a woman with bright red hair, much like the color of Claire's, came walking into the kitchen. "Esme, you aren't grilling the girl, are you? Hi, I'm Charlotte, Edward's aunt and Esme's sister. You're Bella?" I smiled and nodded, "Great to meet you." I said. She walked over and wrapped me in a hug. "You as well. I hear you already met my daughter, Claire?" I smiled, "Yes, we met her at the door." She laughed, "She's with my husband Peter now, recounting all the details of your doorway encounter."
I laughed, "She's absolutely adorable. Looks just like you." "Aw, thanks love." Charlotte said, smiling warmly at me. "So, how have you managed to keep yourself sane, spending all this time with Edward?" Charlotte said, laughing. I smiled, "Barely." I chuckled when Edward walked in. "How are you all? Talking about me, I presume."
I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, "Not at ALL honey." Edward rolled his eyes and bent down to press a kiss to my lips before slapping my ass. "Yeah right, baby." he said. I chuckled, turning around and sticking my tongue out at him over my shoulder. "Go play with Claire. Leave us ladies alone." Edward walked over and kissed me again, before whispering, "Don't stick your tongue out at me unless you intend to do something with it."
He then winked and walked away. I nearly passed out.
Charlotte let out a laugh, "Well, that man seems to have you wrapped around his finger, doesn't he?" I smiled, "Believe me, he does. Though, I have him wrapped around my finger too. We're equally smitten. It's a beautiful thing." I grinned widely, unable to control my smile.
"Do you think we should call the men in for tea? Or should we just call in Claire and have girl talk?" Esme asked, laughing a bit.
"Well, I know Edward will pout if he doesn't get his afternoon tea before that football match he's chomping at the bit to go to." I said, laughing. "Chomping at the bit?" Charlotte asked. "Oh…" I said, blushing, "It's a saying. It basically means that he's been dying to do something." "Oh. You Americans are so strange." She said, laughing a bit.
I smiled, "Aren't we, though?" They both laughed, "At least you aren't afraid to admit it." Esme said, giggling.
"Boys!" Esme called, her voice travelling through the house, "Tea is done. Get yourselves in here. I expect you to be clean!"
I smothered a laugh with my hand as I took to setting out some teacups and plates, along with the tray of sandwiches Esme had gotten out of the refrigerator. The boys all filed in, taking their places at the table, each leaving a spot beside them for their significant other, Peter sitting two seats over from Edward so that Claire could sit next to her favorite 'uncle'. Once we all had our tea and had each taken a small sandwich (or, in the boys case, a few sandwiches), we all fell into easy conversation.
Edward and I talked about how we met, the plans for my move, and a variety of other things about our relationship.
No one asked about our work, or the mission we were currently on, for which I was grateful. I knew that we couldn't really talk about it, so I didn't really want to have to get asked about it. That, and I wasn't comfortable talking about this particular mission. God knows whom the people involved knew, and the last thing I needed was for something to accidentally get passed behind enemy lines.
We finished our tea, and I could tell that Edward was dying to get into the city to go see his football match. "Mum, did you want to go to the match, or would it be alright if I took Uncle Peter?" Edward asked, his body bouncing as he shook his leg around nervously.
Esme laughed, "Edward, dear, take your Uncle Peter and your father. Char and I have no interest in a football match today. And we need to keep Claire away from that madness for as long as possible." "Yes!" Edward's Uncle Peter pumped his fist in the air and jumped up out of his seat, absolutely elated that he was going to the match.
"Let me go get my jersey from the car, I'll be right back!" Peter leaned down and kissed Charlotte on the cheek before running out of the house. We all started laughing once we finally heard the door slam.
"Bella, are you sure you're ready for the madness that is an English football match?" Carlisle asked, looking at me with a bit of a sly smile gracing his features. "I've been to a Ravens/Steelers American football game… I'm ready for anything." I said with a laugh. "Well… that means nothing to me, but I'll have to take your word for it." Carlisle said. I laughed, "They are huge rivals, and because they played in Baltimore, I decided to go to the game. I saw quite a few fights… it was a great game though." Carlisle smiled, "Hopefully there aren't any fights today, though it's never really football without one." Edward laughed, "Remember that time you got into a fight there, dad?"
Carlisle laughed and Esme rolled her eyes. "I was trying to defend Emmett. It's not my fault he got in over his head." Carlisle said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Well, dad, it is your fault you called the guy a bloody wanker and called his girlfriend a bint."
The whole table broke out into hysterical laughter, and I watched as Carlisle blushed a bit before joining the rest of us. "Alright, so that may have been my fault then."
Peter came back in the house, his jersey on, eye black on under his eyes, his expression excited. We all chuckled a bit as he grabbed us from our chairs, forcing us to the door, walking us out to the car.
"Dad, let's take the Rover." Edward said, smiling. I rolled my eyes. This family probably had more expensive vehicles than I cared to think about.
We all climbed into Carlisle's black Rover, Edward and I sitting together in the middle, while Carlisle and Peter sat together in the front. I listened quietly as the men all chatted about the match that we were going to see, smiling when they would occasionally start to yell over each other as they talked about the different players and a whole bunch of other things I didn't really understand.
Edward smiled, reaching over and taking my hand, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles as he argued with his dad and uncle. It was sweet. It reminded me that no matter what was going on around us, or what he was involved in, he was always thinking of me.
Edward knows how to make a girl feel special… And not just in the special-est of ways…
We pulled into a parking lot a few blocks away from where I assumed the stadium to be, and we all piled out, Edward and Carlisle walking around to the back of the car.
"Here, baby. Put this on." Edward tossed a jersey my way, which I immediately pulled on. "No sense in making you stand out any more than you're already going to." He said, chuckling. I laughed, slapping him in the chest as he pulled on his own jersey.
"Screw you." I said, smiling at him. He pulled me against him and kissed me, effectively removing the cocky grin from my face.
"Break it up, kids." Carlisle said, laughing a bit, before Edward and I could get really hot and heavy.
I blushed, and Edward laughed, wrapping his arms around my waist, giving me a kiss on the head, before taking my hand. We all walked off to the direction of the football stadium, the dull roar of the crowd getting louder as we approached.
"I had a really great time meeting your parents today, baby." I said later that night, as Edward and I walked into his childhood bedroom.
"I'm glad." Edward said, shutting the door and walking over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"It's just so amazing to think that one day very soon, I'm going to be living in London with you… I'll probably even pick up a bit of an accent." I said, chuckling, as I leaned up to press a kiss on his lips before placing my head down on my chest.
Edward nodded against me, "I can't wait." He said, leaning down and kissing my head. He swayed us side to side, giving me a moment to think about the night we'd shared with his family.
"THAT WAS SO AMAZING!" I'd shouted, the smile threatening to overwhelm my face as we walked back to the car after the match. "I can see the appeal, really I can! I wish America was more into soccer… thank GOD I'm moving to London!"
Edward laughed, "Is that the only reason you're glad to be moving to London?" I smiled, and placed a kiss on his cheek, "You're just a plus baby… you know I'm only moving here for the soccer." Carlisle and Peter laughed, and Edward grabbed my sides, tickling me a bit.
"I'll call your mum, Edward…" I threatened, pointing my finger at him. He bit the end, sucking a bit on the tip of my finger, winking at me when he pulled back.
Damn him.
We climbed back in the car and Carlisle kicked it into gear. We all chatted excitedly about the match, and Edward even made me call Emmett and try to tell him everything that happened. Needless to say, Emmett ended up getting frustrated with me and hanging up on me.
"It's okay baby." Edward had said, "He just doesn't understand your horrid American English."
I'd slapped his chest for that one.
When we got home, Esme and Charlotte were just setting the table for dinner, with little Claire sitting at the counter trying to fold napkins. I sat down beside her to help her out, whispering to her that I was taught when I went to a dinner for a certain Hannah Montana.
I couldn't hear for about twenty minutes after that.
I didn't think that I would mesh so well with Edward's family, but after spending only one day with them, I really felt like I could see myself here for the rest of my life.
I already knew that I got along with Rose, Emmett, and Trevor, but the real test is always the parents. Hell, I even met some of the extended family.
I smiled then, thinking about how perfect this whole thing between Edward and I really felt.
"What are you smiling about?" Edward asked, leaning down and looking at me, his own smile creeping across his lips.
"Just thinking about how much I love you… and how right this all feels." I answered honestly, looking him in the eyes.
"Me too, baby." Edward said, leaning down to kiss me.
We kissed for a moment, before I felt a yawn bubble to the surface. I blushed immediately. "Am I boring you, baby?" Edward asked, smiling at me.
"I'm so, so sorry. I am just really tired." I said, bumbling over my words.
"That's okay love…" Edward said, laughing a bit and kissing my forehead, "I am too."
Edward let me go, walking over to his bed and pulling back the covers, the two of us climbing in and immediately falling asleep.
Whatcha think?
Question for this update: What would you like to see in the epilogue?