All the usual disclaimers apply!
Thanks muchly to vjgm for her Super Beta skills and for letting me run around her head and pick her brain, you rock girl!!
And thank you to all of my super cool readers out there, you keep me going!!
EPOV
Jasper and I laughed for a good while after Emmett slammed his door shut.
At least he should be in a better mood later.
"You wanna watch the game, Eds?" Jasper asked, walking into the living room and flicking on the TV.
"Nah, I think I'm going to take a walk."
Jasper stood up, I assume to join me, but he sat back down when he saw that I had grabbed my sketch book.
My brother knew me well. Sketching was something I did alone, when I needed to think.
I walked out through the back yard and right into the forest. A few hundred feet from the house was my spot, the one I liked to sit and think in. I took a deep pull of the air, it smelled, better than it used to. It almost smelled like…Bella. I knew she had smelled familiar last night, but I couldn't place where I had smelled that scent before.
Strange.
I flipped open my sketch book and looked at one the drawings I'd worked on last. It was one of Bella, naturally.
These days, all my drawings were of Bella.
I flipped to a fresh page and closed my eyes, bringing her face into view. My pencil moved swiftly across the paper and her eyes started to emerge on the sheet, big beautiful eyes.
I stopped and looked into them. It felt almost like she was there, looking right back at me through the page.
I took my time on the sketch, making sure I had gotten every feature as perfect as possible. The soft slope of her nose, curve of her lips, arch in her brow and the soft little wisps of hair that I imagined would be blowing across her face if she were standing in front of me right now.
I sat back against the tree and looked at the drawing, I had inadvertently written 'My Bella' at the bottom of the page.
I had to laugh at myself. I didn't even know this woman.
I shook my head. "My Bella," I said out loud, laughing even harder at the sheer ridiculousness of what was happening to me.
What is happening to me?
I thought about my brothers as well, they were just as bad off as I was.
What is happening to all of us?
I sighed and took one more look at Bella's picture.
I couldn't speak for my brothers, but I was falling in love with this woman who I hadn't said more than three words to.
And I didn't know how to stop it.
Then, a scary thought occurred to me, I didn't want to stop it.
There was definitely something, I don't know, otherworldly, going on here and it scared the shit out of me
But it excited the hell out me too.
I wanted Bella.
No, I needed Bella.
JPOV
"Hey Jazz," Edward walked into the living room and looked around. "Where's Em?"
"Still up there," I nodded up the staircase to the second floor.
"Still?" Edward looked up the stairwell and shook his head. "That can't be normal," he said, shaking his head.
"Has Emmett ever been normal?" I asked with a laugh.
"Good point," he said with a nod.
About that time we heard a door upstairs fly open and Emmett came bounding down the stairs, leaping when he got toward the bottom and sailing over the last three steps, landing with a thud on the kitchen floor. He tossed the empty mixing bowl in the sink with a loud clang. I didn't even want to know what had happened to the water from the melted ice that should have been in that bowl.
"You," Emmett shouted, spinning around and shooting me the double point, "are a fuckin' genius!"
Before I could say anything in response, he sprang across the living room, picking me up out of the chair and squeezing the hell out of me.
"Emmett…" I choked, gasping for air.
He bent his head and gave me a huge wet kiss, right on the cheek.
"ARGH, Emmett!" I yelled, trying to wiggle free of his crushing embrace. "That's disgusting!"
He dropped me and scrubbed my cheek with the end of my shirt.
"You too!" he pointed at Edward, who was laughing his ass off on the couch. "Come here!"
He grabbed Edward in a head lock and rubbed his knuckles over Edward's head.
"Em-mett!" Edward howled, trying to break free.
After a few good noogies, he let Ed up. He puffed his chest up like a giant peacock and took deep long breath.
"Ahhh," he said as he exhaled. "Let's get the hell out of here, shall we?"
With that he flung open the door, jumped off the porch and bounded for the jeep.
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"I don't know, maybe he damaged the blood flow to his brain or something," Edward replied.
"Come on ladies, let's go!" Emmett yelled out the window of the jeep and started laying on the horn.
Edward and I piled into the jeep just as dad was pulling up next to us in the cruiser.
"So, where you boys headed off to?"
We all looked at each other for a second before I answered. "Just goin' out," I said. That seemed a general enough answer.
"Well, you boys have fun, and try to stay out of trouble" he said, slapping the hood of the jeep. "Oh, I'll probably be gone by the time you boys come in tonight, Frank and I decided to head out to the lake and camp out tonight. Gonna try to get in some night fishing. I'll be back tomorrow night."
"See ya pop," Emmett yelled as he hauled out of the driveway.
BPOV
I rounded the corner and saw Alice busy in the kitchen. I zipped in behind her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Thank you," I said with a grin. "I really owe you big."
"Don't worry about it," Alice smiled. "I saw Edward's little cop dream about the two of you and decided to steal it and use it on Jasper."
"You are such a little thief," I teased, reaching back and giving her a swat on her backside.
She giggled as she gathered three shot glasses and headed for the living room.
I grabbed the two bottles of Jack and followed her out.
"We're not going to have to drink this are we?" I wrinkled my nose at the nasty smelling liquid. I don't know how humans drank that stuff, for fun no less.
She didn't answer me, so I knew what that meant. "Ugh," I complained.
"Just one or two shots," she explained.
"Well which one is it Alice, one or two?" I asked.
"Three or four, five tops," she said quietly, giving me her best sweet pixie smile, "or ten…ish."
"Ugh," I heard from the staircase as Rose join in our conversation. "I can't stand that stuff, it's just…foul."
"I know," Alice said and we all shuddered.
"Well, at least I get to play with Emmett," Rosalie said, with a sigh and a smile.
We all giggled. "You seriously have a one track mind when it comes to that big one don't you?" Alice said.
"Yep." Rose squared her shoulders with pride. "And he's big ev-ery where," she said with a wicked grin.
I spun around and gaped at her. "Rose! You peeked!" I accused.
"Yeah, like you haven't," she snorted at me and then got very quiet. "Oh my god, you haven't!" Rosalie said as she burst out laughing.
"She's saving it, leave her alone," Alice defended, putting an arm around me.
"Hold up," Rosalie said. "You're telling me, that you haven't peeked. Not at all?"
"No."
"Not even in one of those little dirty dreams he has about you?" Rose grinned at me.
"That is different," I rationalized.
"How is that different?" Rosalie asked, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for an answer.
I took a deep breath. How was I going to explain this?
"Well, it's different because it's a dream," I said.
"So?" Rose said, shrugging her shoulders. "Naked is naked."
"No it's not," I defended. "When humans dream, they don't dream about themselves how they actually look. It's always, how they used to look or how they wished they could look."
Rosalie sat back against the big white couch and stretched out her long bare legs. "I don't know B, I've been inside Emmett's dreams and, they're pretty damned accurate."
I rolled my eyes at her. "Yeah, I've seen inside his dreams too Rose and I have to be honest with you, that human is not normal."
"Thank God for that!" Rose exclaimed, biting her lip. "I can't wait until he's stronger and he can just toss me around…" Her eyes fluttered back in her head and her whole body shuddered at her own twisted little fantasy.
All three of our heads snapped up as we heard their vehicle turn off of the main road.
"They're here!" Alice shrieked.
I sprinted upstairs to give myself a once over in the mirror, smoothing down the skirt of my dress. Alice had us all wearing these little cotton, summery dresses, they didn't show off too much skin, but at the same time were thin enough that they were nearly translucent, just enough to drive a human man crazy, she really was a genius.
I flitted down the stairs to meet my sisters and waited for the guys to pull up.
I was so excited I could barley contain myself. I bounced on my tip toes with my bottom lip clenched between my teeth. I couldn't contain the nervous laughter that bubbled out of me.
"I'm going to see Edward again!" I giggled, out loud, before I caught myself.
Rosalie and Alice both looked at me and we all started to snicker like three little thirteen year old girls.
"Shhhhh, they're coming," Rose whispered.
We could hear the guys talking out in front of the house as they were getting out of the car.
"If you have any questions on what to do, squirt, you just come see me," Emmett said, laughing.
"Shut up Emmett," I heard Edward say.
I felt a growl build in the back of my throat. I didn't like the way Emmett, talked to Edward. I'd teach him a thing or two about respect, by…
Rosalie's fierce snarl interrupted my thought process.
"Easy Bella," she warned.
I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders a few times, calming myself down.
"Well he started it," I muttered under my breath.
"Both of you cool it," Alice said, stepping between us to answer the loud knock that was practically rattling the door off of its hinges.
EMPOV
I had just finished razzing Ed when I could have sworn I'd heard a growling sound.
"Did you guys hear that?" I asked my brothers.
"Yeah," Jasper nodded. "Let's get inside."
Edward looked into the surrounding forest as we approached the big old house. "Ya know, I don't like them living way out here in the middle of no where," he said uneasily.
"Me either," Jasper and I said.
We were all on edge when I knocked on the door. The genuine male instinct to protect surged in my body. I had to protect my Rosie.
I banged the hell out of that door, I had to see Rosalie and make sure she was okay.
"Calm down Em, you're gonna knock the damn door down," Jasper said, putting a hand on my shoulder. Jazz had a way of making a person feel better.
The big old door swung open and that little bitty Alice was standing there, smiling up at us.
"Hello, boys," she said and, it was odd, but I suddenly felt a little bit dazed. I shook it off, blinking my eyes a few times when I heard a weird, nervous chuckle to my left.
Did that just come out of Jazz?
I turned and looked at my brother. He looked like one of those cartoon characters that had just seen the love of his life. I could almost see the little cartoon hearts shooting out of his eyes.
"Hello, Jasper," she sang as she leaned around me to speak to Jazz directly.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head when Jasper fucking giggled, in response.
And they call me the idiot.
When I turned back there she was. Rosalie. My heart seized in my chest as a smile curved that perfectly full mouth of hers.
"Hi, Emmett," she said and waved her fingers at me.
I love you, raced through my head and I struggled like hell to not blurt it out.
"Hi, Rosalie." My voice came out all breathy. Shit, I was fighting off the urge to laugh like a little girl for fuck sake.
What the holy hell? Get a hold of yourself man!
"Won't you boys come in?" she asked, opening the door all the way.
I cleared my throat and gathered myself. "Yeah, we probably should," I said passing by Rosalie as closely as humanly possible. "I think there is some kind of animal out in the woods; we heard something growling as we were walking up to the door."
All three girls looked at each other and I could have sworn I heard one of them snicker.
Didn't they realize that this was serious? They could really get hurt, or worse, killed.
"Well, it's a good thing that we have three strong men to protect us huh?" the little one, Alice said, trying to hold back a laugh.
Protect…protect and serve…shit, the cuffs!
"That reminds me," I started, giving them all the old cop eyeball. "My brothers and I seem to be missing a set of handcuffs, each. You ladies wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"
I looked at Rosalie. God she was beautiful. Her arms tucked behind her back as she rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling, working her perfectly white teeth over her bottom lip as she grinned, trying her best to look innocent.
How I wanted to take that little bottom lip of hers into my mouth as I kissed the hell out of her. My heart raced with the need for her, and like she could hear what I was thinking, she popped her lip from between her teeth and giggled at me.
"I didn't take anything," she said, shaking her head and turning to her sister. "Bella?"
Bella shook her head at Rose. "No, I didn't take anything either."
Every eye in the house turned to the smallest person in the room, Alice, who just smiled up at us all. "Who wants a drink?" she said as she turned to walk away.
"Hold on there shortcake," I said, stopping her in her tracks. I raised one eyebrow and crossed my arms across my barrel chest giving her my best I'm-a-cop-so-you-better-tell-me-the-truth look.
She rolled her eyes at me! That little shit!
"Yeah right," Alice laughed, shaking her head. She reached down and hefted up a huge bottle of Jack Daniels. "How about a little game? I bet my sisters and I can out drink you three," she said, shaking the big bottle at my brothers and I.
I looked at Jasper and Edward and we all doubled over laughing. There was no way that these three little women could out drink three grown men. No way.
"Okay I'll bite, shorty, what's the bet?" I asked.
"If you win, you boys can have your silly little handcuffs back and use them on us as you see fit."
I looked at Rosalie. The thought of having her handcuffed to…well, anything, was so tempting that I blurted out, "Deal!" before even consulting with my brothers.
Rosalie cocked her head at me. "But you haven't heard what happens if we win," she said, a slow smile spreading on her full red lips.
Once again, my brothers and I laughed, I actually slapped my leg I was laughing so hard.
"You're not gonna win," I laughed. "So what does it matter?"
She narrowed her topaz eyes at me. Jesus, I think she was even sexier when she was pissed, if that was even remotely possible. She fisted her hands on her hips and glared at me.
God I want to bend her over the back of the couch, flip up the back of that little cotton dress and fuck the hell out of her, right now!
She bit down on her lip again and I think she moaned a little. Wait, I didn't just say that out loud did I?
"If we win," she began, walking over to the coffee table and filling a shot glass full of liquor, "we get to keep the cuffs and use them on you as we see fit."
"DEAL!" Jasper shouted, his voice cracking up an octave.
I looked at him like he had three heads. "Dude?" I muttered.
"What? That sounded really good," he whispered under his breath. "I'm thinking it's a win, win."
True, it could be a win, win. But I didn't loose. Ever. To anyone. Not even to little Miss Come-fuck-the-hell-outta-me Rosalie over there.
Nope, she was going down!
In more ways than one if I had my way about it.
I already knew that Jazz was in so I looked to Edward and he nodded.
"We're in," I said, grabbing the glass out of Rosalie's hand and knocking it back.
Game on!
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