If You Only Knew Chapter 13: Opening Night, a twilight fanfic

.: disclaimer :. i don't own any of the twilight characters.

.: special thanks :. I want to say a special thank you to Together(dot)ForeverandAlways for going back and reviewing every chapter! You're the best!

BPOV

We should never have taught Ryan that word! Now he's going to give us away! I thought frantically. I felt Edward hold my hand underneath the table. I turned my head slightly so I could see what he was up to.

He looked comfortable and relaxed. What was going on? Wasn't he afraid of Alice and Jasper knowing about our….relationship?

Alice was waiting patiently for Ryan's answer. In fact, we all were.

"Mama!" Ryan finally said while looking at me.

Alice raised her eyebrow, "Oh? Daddy kisses Mommy?"

Ryan said again, "Me!"

Alice looked puzzled. I let out the breath I was holding.

"I think he's trying to say, 'Daddy and Mommy kisses me every night before I sleep', isn't that right, Bella?" Edward answered for Ryan smoothly.

I nodded. More like Daddy and Mommy taught me the word kiss because they did it themselves, I thought.

I finally looked back at Alice, and she seemed a little disappointed. Ryan was beginning to lose interest in this topic and resumed playing with his plastic fork and spoon.

"How about we all move to the living room? I think Ryan's getting bored." Edward suggested, trying to change the topic.

"Sure!" Alice returned to her happy self.

I sat on the sofa, talking with Alice, while the guys were on the ground playing with Ryan's toys. Edward was teaching Ryan to share his toys with Jasper.

"Oh! I forgot to give you my friend's business card that day. She said that if you wanted to go back to her shop, give her a call and she'll have the salesperson at the store give you a discount." Alice started rummaging through her bag in search of the card. "And have you decided which dress you're going to wear to Emmett's opening? The red one?" Her eyes were still looking into her bag.

I sneaked a look at Edward. I saw him freeze in his actions for a second before resuming playing with Jasper and Ryan.

"That one shows too much legging!" I whined. Edward's blocked tower tumbled.

"And you've got great legs to show off." Alice finally looked up from her bag, holding a business card in her hand.

"Eeee!" Ryan yelled happily.

"Did you win the tower building contest Ryan?" Alice asked sweetly. Ryan nodded with a big smile plastered on his face. Edward wouldn't even look at Alice's and I's faces.

Alice turned to me again, ignoring the boys on the floor. "Bella, remind me again why we had to go shopping last week? You need a change of clothes, girl. You'll have guys flocking around you if you wore the clothes we bought. You could snatch a great boyfriend in no time, you know."

I could see Edward clenching his fist already. Thankfully, it was on the side where Jasper and Alice couldn't see. I didn't think I wanted to find out Edward's limits on this particular subject tonight. But I kind of like this possesive side of him…

"I'll think about it. It's very different from what I'm used to wearing." I said, trying to close the subject.

"Wear the dark blue one then." Alice slyly.

"Alice, you do know that if I'm hesitant about the red dress, I probably wouldn't even be considering the blue one. That one hardly has a back!" I hissed, lowering my voice for the last part, hoping the boys couldn't hear.

I heard the sound of blocks falling down again. I didn't turn my head to look at the direction it was coming from this time as it was pretty obvious who lost…again.

Alice smirked, then said to me, "Your pick then."

Alice and I talked casually about other things, and it surprised me how close we were after only knowing each other for such a short time. Ryan yawned, turning all our attention to the time.

"Oh! We're so sorry! It's already Ryan's bedtime; Jasper and I should leave soon." Alice exclaimed.

"It's alright. We all lost track of time." I reassured.

Edward picked up Ryan in his arms, "Let's go say goodbye to Jasper and Alice, okay Ryan?" All five of us said our goodnights at the front door; Ryan even looked a little sad at Jasper leaving. It wasn't every day the little boy got another guy to play with him.

Edward and I hurried through Ryan's bath, seeing him more tired than usual. We didn't even bother with the bedtime story tonight because he was already fast asleep when we put him down in the crib.

Edward worked beside me, cleaning up the mess in the living room and kitchen. He was unusually quiet though.

We settled on the sofa after the cleaning. He put his arm around me while I snuggled against him.

"So…are you going to wear one of the new dresses?" Edward asked hesitantly.

I looked up at him. He was as nervous as hell. "Was that what you were worrying about the whole time? You were strangely quiet." I teased.

He nodded.

"I'm not sure if I'll be wearing the dresses Alice and I got last week. I still need time to get used to the idea of me in those dresses." I said honestly.

"Yeah, okay then. It's your decision anyway."

"What's wrong?" I asked because I detected some desperation in his words.

"I know I'm not your boyfriend or anything, you could go out with anyone you like. But I don't think I could handle the thought of you….." Edward placed his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands before he finished the sentence.

"Of me hanging out with other guys, right?" I finished for him. I rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Yeah," he said sheepishly, "I mean, you could do whatever you want, and I'm not supposed to control you like this, but I just can't help it. I know it's selfish but…" He looked at the ground, afraid of meeting my eyes.

I smiled. "Edward, I know we haven't decided whether or not we're taking this huge step in our relationship, but I'm not interested in seeing other guys right now."

Edward raised his head up slowly, and met my eyes. His green eyes were bright and piercing, and they searched my eyes to be sure I meant what I said. Edward gathered me in his arms, and I hugged him back tightly. We both knew what we were telling each other without words—I'll wait for you.

xXx

"Bella! What time do you get off for lunch?" I heard Alice say excitedly on the other end of the phone.

"Hmm….I get off in about thirty minutes." I answered, looking at my watch.

"Great! I'll pick you up in thirty! Lunch is on me!" And she hung up without letting me have a say in the matter.

"What's got your face all scrunched up and everything?" Edward chuckled. I jumped; I didn't realize he was right beside me!

I swatted his arm. "That's not nice, Edward! Alice just called."

He raised his eyebrow, "And…..?"

"And she wants me to meet her for lunch."

"That's a bad thing?" He grinned.

"No! I'm surprised, that's all." I defended.

"Really….." He gave me a skeptic look. I glared at him.

"I'm not invited?" He asked faking a sad expression, "then who will I have lunch with if you're not eating with me?"

"Now that you mention it, I could call back and tell her you're coming with us." I smirked, already flipping out my phone.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm fine by myself." He backed out instantly. He knew that if he came with us, we'd just be ganging up on him.

"If you're sure then," I put my phone back in my pocket. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, I guess." Edward stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Bye." After I checked that the coast was clear, I tiptoed and gave him a quick peck on the lips. I turned swiftly around, wanting to leave him speechless, but failed because I was such a klutz.

I tripped on my own feet.

I reached out my hands, wanting to soften my fall. But I felt a pair of arms catch me from behind.

"You think you could get away that easily, huh?" Edward whispered softly in my ear.

I gulped. I could feel his breath tingling on my neck. I couldn't believe the tables were turned now!

He gave me a light kiss on my cheek, and I only had to turn my head slightly for our lips to meet.

However, like usual, luck wasn't on our side. I heard the sounds of footsteps and people talking around the corner. We jumped apart quickly, our eyes looking everywhere but at each other. Thankfully, we didn't know anyone from the group heading our way. I looked at Edward one last time, and found him gazing at me, too. Then, we headed in opposite directions.

Thirty minutes later, I was in Alice's car. We were speeding towards a small restaurant that Alice's friend in the area recommended. We were walking into the restaurant in no time.

"Reservation under the name Brandon." Alice said to the waitress.

The waitress looked at her list for a while, running her finger down the names. "This way, please." She led us further into the restaurant. There was only one more booth we haven't passed by yet, but there was already a lady sitting at the table. What was going on?

"Oh hey Rose! You're early!" Alice laughed happily. Rose turned her head at the sound after Alice's voice rang out.

"Nah, I didn't have anything else to do. So after I dropped Emmett off, I came right over." Rose hugged Alice lightly. When Rose's head came up after the hug, she finally saw me. Her lips turned into a thin line and as she drew back from the hug, she asked Alice, "I didn't know you were bringing someone…" She managed a tiny smile in front of Alice.

"I didn't? Oh my gosh! I completely forgot!" Alice exclaimed, making a scene in the process. Some of the customers turned to see what was happening with these three girls in the corner. "Oops…." Alice said silently, she crept to our table with her eyes darting around.

"What are you looking at?" Rose snarled at a guy who was eating at a table a few feet away. The man looked away quickly. I sat in the corner and Alice slid in beside me. Rose sat across from Alice.

"So, have you ordered yet?" Alice asked brightly, trying to lift the awkward mood.

"Not yet, I was waiting for you." Rose replied, clearly only talking to Alice. Alice herself either didn't notice the awkwardness around the table or she ignored it. Rose ordered a salad while Alice and I ordered pasta.

The conversation went well, at least better than I thought. Though Rose rarely talked directly to me, I could still participate in the conversation and not feel left out. I was afraid she would start the "Do you remember the time when…." topics, and since I had no history with them, I would more or less feel invisible.

"So who's watching Ryan today? The sitter or Angela?" Alice asked, wanting to include me in the conversation.

"The sitter. I figured I shouldn't be asking Angela and Jessica all the time because I've been bothering them too much. Edward and I are just so busy." Alice nodded, and she suddenly noticed a waiter walk by, so she asked for some more water since she hit empty.

At the same time Alice was talking to the waiter, I heard Rosalie mutter under her breath, "…doesn't know how lucky she is…..complaining…" I was burning with anger inside! How dare this woman judge me from the very second she saw me? What was her problem? Apparently, she was fine with Alice, but what had she got against me?

"Hey Rose! Have you seen Ryan's picture? He's so adorable!" Alice gushed. "Show her the picture Bella!" I could see that this perked Rose's curiousness. I reached into my bag for my mirror. I flipped it open; the picture was on the left side while the mirror was on the right. The photo was taken by Angela; it was a picture of Edward, Ryan and I smiling broadly to the camera. I handed the mirror to Rose.

Rose commented after a while, "He doesn't look much like Edward."

Alice burst out laughing, "That's because Ryan isn't their child! Edward and Bella aren't even dating, they're just really good friends. I want to see the picture again." And she took the mirror from Rose.

Rose seemed shocked as she absorbed this new piece of information. "But I thought Jasper said…?"

"Oh, that was a mistake. Jazzy kind of just blurted out the information we assumed was true, and we forgot to call and correct our mistake."

"So…how did you guys get Ryan?" Rose asked. Her tone was warmer; I wondered what made the difference?

"Actually, Edward didn't know about me adopting Ryan at first either." I continued on with the story I've repeated a thousand times already. By the time I finished, Rose was acting completely different towards me, in fact, she was being…kind?

"That's so nice of you. I've always wanted a child of my own." Rose gave me a small smile.

I smiled back, "Well, you could always come over and meet Ryan. We're letting him get used to people other than Edward and I."

"I'd love that. Thank you." Rose said gratefully. "But you and Edward really fooled me at the airport yesterday. You guys could pass for a married couple, you know."

I blushed, "Er, thanks?" Rose and I laughed together. I know we weren't great friends yet, but I felt it was a step in the right direction. And by the way Rose was really trying to make up for her cold attitude towards me lately, I was starting to warm up to her. Since Rose and I were joking around, we didn't notice Alice being quiet on the side. So we were astonished when Alice blurted out, "I want to get married!"

We turned to look at Alice, surprise plastered on our faces. Rose recovered first, "Well, woman, you should be telling that to Jasper and not us. We don't have the ring nor the money for it."

"That's the problem," Alice whined, "he doesn't want to get married."

"How do you know that? You guys have been together for years, and he loves you very much. We can all see that." I said reassuringly.

"Have you talked about this with Jasper?" Rose asked.

"Not really. Every time I bring up the topic, he avoids it."

"You could flirt with other guys to get him jealous and make Jasper want to claim you as his legally." Rose suggested.

"I think I'm leaving that as a last resort. Because I'm afraid that would only send him running in the opposite direction." Alice replied.

"Hmm…we'll think of something eventually, Alice. We'll help, won't we Bella?" Rose said confidently.

I admired Rose's way of boosting her friend's confidence. "Of course! We'll drag Jasper to the altar for you if it's the last thing we do." I joked.

"Ooh! We could do that, too!" Rose said.

I laughed. "Jasper doesn't even have a ring on Alice yet, Rose. First things first." I grinned.

Alice and Rose talked on about how they might be moving to Seattle soon. Jasper was getting more invitations to universities on this side of the country, and Emmett wanted to expand his business in Washington and California. We were all excited by the news, since that meant we would be living closer to each other.

Alice looked at the time, "I should get going, I promised I was going to help out in one of my stores this afternoon. Keep talking, I'll see you guys tonight. Oh, and I'll be at your door at five-thirty sharp, Bella."

"Why?" I whined.

"Because I want you to spin Edward's head around tonight. Bye guys!" Alice answered as a matter of course. Rose and I waved to Alice.

Rose and I sipped on our drinks for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say now that Alice was gone. "I guess I should tell you my side of the story." Rose spoke up.

I looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I know I was kind of cold and distant to you. The truth was….I was jealous of you."

"You? Jealous of me? What do I have that made you jealous?" After I said that last part, I suddenly knew—Ryan.

Rose knew that I figured it out, too. She sipped on her drink again before continuing, "Em and I have been married for a while. I've always thought that the 'baby' part in a marriage would come naturally. We've been trying for such a long time, been to the doctors and did everything we could, but nothing worked." Rosalie said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Rose." I put my hand over hers on the table. "Have you considered adopting?" I asked gently.

"We talked about adopting a few times, but we wanted to try and see if we could have our own baby. It's just that I've wanted a baby for so long, and when I found out that Edward and you had a kid, I was jealous. I mean, you guys were happily married and had a baby. At least that's the idea I got when Emmett told me about the phone call." She added. Then she paused before going on, "I hope you're not taking the stuff I'm telling you next the wrong way, but I tend to be pretty straight forward with my words…."

"It's alright, go ahead." I figured I'd better let her have it off her chest at once. Plus, I was curious too.

"Edward didn't talk about him being married and having a kid when we first met him in Chicago. And when I was told that by Emmett later on, I thought he didn't care about his family much; because normally, daddies would be ecstatic about having a newborn son and talk non-stop about his little kid. And when I met you guys at the airport, I figured you would bring Ryan along or gush about him. It made me a little mad to know that you guys could have a baby and not cherish him, when some couples can't even have one. But when I heard that you adopted Ryan today, I knew I got it completely wrong. So, I just want to say I'm sorry." Rose ended.

"I understand, it's alright, Rose. Edward and I have been trying all we can, since we're both new at this. I love my little guy very much, and I'm sure Edward does too or else he wouldn't be spending so much time with Ryan. And we're still letting him get used to the idea of playing with people other than us two. We think it's because he had to adapt to a whole new environment so young, and he doesn't have a very good sense of security if he's not with somebody he's close to."

"Like I said, it's not your fault. I should've just got Emmett to call Jasper again for details since I was curious as well. That would've cleared up the mistake in the first place." Rose said.

I looked at my watch, "I should get going, work is starting soon."

"I've got to leave too, Emmett still has some things that needs straightening up before he opens tonight. I don't know what he'll do without me." She rolled her eyes.

I laughed. We paid for our meals since Alice already put her share of money on the table before she left. I had a feeling that Rose, Alice and I would be good friends before long.

xXx

"Come on, Bella! What's taking you so long?" I heard Alice holler outside my bathroom door. Jasper drove her here, and she arrived on my doorstep at five-thirty. Jasper went over to Edward's place to wait until it was time to pick us up. They just didn't want to wait for us girls to dress up, I thought dryly.

"I'm almost done!" I yelled back. I was kind of scared how Alice might Barbie me up, that's why I was taking my time in the shower. Putting on a robe, I stepped out of my hiding place.

"Make-up first!" Alice squealed. Since I didn't know a thing about dressing up, I allowed Alice to take over. When Alice was finished, I looked at myself in the mirror. It wasn't too bad! I asked her to put light make-up on because I wanted to feel more like myself, and she did it perfectly. She also curled my hair in big waves at the ends.

"Thanks, Ali. This is great!" I complimented.

"Aw, it was nothing. Now go change into your dress! I'm changing into mine too."

I changed in my bathroom while Alice changed in the bedroom. I had chosen the dark blue dress. The one shoulder dress had a beaded rosette detail at the shoulder and hip. And although I wasn't really used to wearing dresses with a sweetheart neckline, I thought it looked pretty good along with the whole dress. I twirled around in front of the huge mirror, smiling to myself. It was a form fitting bodice, and I could definitely see the curves in my body. I was getting a little nervous since I hadn't worn anything like this before, but I wanted to give it a try. I called, "You ready, Alice?"

"I totally am! I want to see how you look!" Alice replied giddily.

I opened the door slowly, and stuck my head out first, hiding my body behind the door. I saw Alice dressed in a black and white bubble dress, and she did her hair so it gave a softer look overall. There were black vine-like designs printed on the white, pleated bodice. "Alice, you look great!" I gushed.

She grinned. "Now it's your turn."

I opened the door wider so I could come out. Once I stepped away from the door, Alice smirked, "Edward is going to have a hard time deciding where to put his hands." She pointed to my back. "Or should I say, once he puts his hands there, he's going to have a harder time taking it off."

I blushed, "Alice!"

She laughed, "I still need to put earrings on you, so get over here." As Alice handed the earrings to me, the doorbell rang. "You stay put. I'll get the door." Alice instructed. I heard Alice's light footsteps along with small padding steps which I assumed to be Ryan's. I had the sitter stay in the living room with Ryan while Alice and I changed. Angela and Ben were coming over to babysit Ryan for the evening since they said they hadn't seen Ryan in a while.

Alice came back quickly, and locked the door behind her. "We have two anxious guys waiting at the door. Well, actually it's only one," she wiggled her eyebrows, "since the other already saw me. Oh, and Angela and Ben just arrived as well."

I checked myself in the mirror one last time, "Okay, I'm good. My stilettos are at the door, so let's go." I grabbed my purse and let Alice lead me out.

I saw Alice dance into Jasper's arms, and that was when I raised my eyes to meet Edward's. His mouth was slightly open, forming a small "o".

I stopped in front of him, "You like?"

He grinned, "I do. You look beautiful, honey." And he kissed my cheek. I was kind of disappointed he didn't make a big deal out of the lack of clothing covering my back. But I figured his reaction was enough. I put on my stilettos, and grabbed the shawl I draped on the sofa before.

We waved goodbye to Angela and Ben. Before I headed out the door, Angela pulled me aside into a small hug. She murmured in my ear, "His eyes are popping out." Then she winked and turned me towards the door.

When we arrived, there was already a long line of people waiting outside. Everyone who passed by would stop and see what was going on; drivers on the streets were slowing down the traffic too.

"I cannot believe it! Emmett is actually good at this! This is free advertising!" Alice exclaimed.

Jasper put an arm around her and chuckled, "Don't underestimate him, Ali. Come on, we're supposed to go in through the side doors. Rosalie said she put our names on the list to get us cleared."

Edward put his arm around my waist, hugging me close. We walked around to the side. A man in a black suit asked, "Names?"

Edward started, "Edward Cullen, Isabella Swan—"

The man looked up from his list and smiled warmly, "—and Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock. Go right in, the woman in charge made sure you guys were on the top of the list." And with that, he opened the door to let us in.

I glanced at Alice. She had half of her face hidden behind Jasper, and she was blushing. I grinned widely at her; she clearly liked the "new title", but she didn't dare take a look at Jasper's reaction. I saw her mouth "Rose", and I nodded to show my agreement. She and Jasper stepped in first.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" Edward asked lowly.

"Me? I don't know what you're talking about." I squeaked. Edward gave me a look that said, "I know you're lying, but I'm not going to ask."

"Oh hey guys! You got here!" I heard Rose call out.

"Wow! Have you seen the line of people outside? This place is going to be filled with people in no time!" Jasper said.

"That was all Emmett's idea. He posted something that said the first fifty people get discounts on memberships." Rose said nonchalantly.

Alice gave Rose an evil glare, "Rose—"

"Hi guys! How do you like my 'factory' so far?" Emmett asked while walking toward us eagerly. The name of his chain of fitness centers was called "Fitness Factory", and he often joked that he had 'factories' and not 'fitness centers'. He saw Rose and Alice having a "conversation" with their eyes. "What's going on?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing." Alice and Rose said in unison.

"Alright then. Come on in, I want to give you guys a tour first!" And we all followed him.

The rest of the night was great. Emmett and Rose invited lots of guests, and there was a party going on in the first floor where the juice bar and lounge were located. During the night, I noticed Edward was always standing behind me, or if he was standing beside me, he'd have his arm around my back. I smiled to myself in the dimly lit room. He was obviously trying the block the big opening I had on my back. So he did notice.

We left sometime after ten, because Angela and Ben were still at my place, and Alice and Jasper came in our car. We all thought it was a great night for the six of us to hang out, and agreed that we should all go out together again.

xXx

Yesterday, which was Saturday, was the usual. Edward had to go to the hospital so it was only me and Ryan at home. Alice and Jasper went house hunting because they wanted to be prepared if they decided to move here; Rose and Emmett slept in because they had the party going on into the middle of the night.

And today was Sunday. Ryan's "Dada" was coming by in the afternoon to take us to the park. As Ryan was playing with his toys in the living room, I opened today's paper. After scanning the headlines, I flipped through the sections. My eyes landed on a certain line of big, black letters across a page. Suddenly, I came up with an idea.

I dialed Alice's number quickly, and it didn't take long for Alice to answer. "Alice, is Jasper there?" Once I heard a "no" from the other end, I continued excitedly, "I think I've got the perfect idea on how to persuade him to put a ring on your finger."

What did Bella see in the newspaper to have her come up with the idea?

Til next time!

A/N:

LoL! A few people guessed the right outcome & why Rose didn't like Bella. :P

I am SO sorry for not updating until now! I am extremely busy, and I will just get busier as school starts.

So I'm going to say sorry in advance because I won't be able to update that frequently. But I will be updating if I say I'm continuing with the story.

And if you would like to see the outfits, please say so in your review; if a lot of people are curious about what they look like, I'll put them up!

Thanks again, and I hope to hear from you guys! Your support would be great! : )

Please review! It would only take a few seconds, but it would definitely make my day!

born2bmyself 2010.08.27