A/N: They're home!! Haha. Here's the next chapter. It's a little long, I didn't know where to end it and stuff. There's probably going to be two more chapters than I'm done. I keep saying that don't I? Maybe I should just say that it's almost done, because I want this to be finished before Breakind Dawn comes out. So I hope you guys enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight... Well I own the book but I don't own these characters... sadly.
Now onward to the story...
A Lost Bet
Genius!
EPOV
I hear Alice's Porsche pull in to the driveway and I run out of my room to greet my wife. My brothers all do the same. I hear a door slam and Bella comes rushing in to my arms so fast I don't even realize it.
"Edward! I've missed you so much. You don't even know how much!" She kisses me passionately and looks up in to my eyes. I smile her favorite crooked smile.
"Man, if this is the greeting I get when you leave to go shopping..." She slaps my chest.
"Don't even think about it Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" She hugs me tightly and I wrap my arms around her waist. I lift her up to carry her up to our room.
"NOT SO FAST!" Alice exclaims and I stop in mid turn.
"What?" I ask as Alice throws Bella bag.
"Remember, we have Carlisle's hospital dinner party we have to attend tonight. So we should be getting ready. It's going to be in a couple of hours." Alice smiles as Bella groans.
Carlisle walks down the stairs to check up on all the commotion. "Alice is right. I forgot to mention that earlier. We're going to have to eat... human food. So I want you all to be on your best behavior."
That causes Bella to groan even more. "I haven't even looked at human food since I was changed! How am I supposed to manage eating it?"
We all laugh as Bella puts her face against my chest. "It's okay Bella. We all have to deal with eating the disgusting food, too. Maybe we can play a game?" Emmett suggests causing everyone to look at him.
"A game?" Bella's head perks up at the suggestion.
"Yeah, a game. Alice, will we be sitting with other humans?" We all look at Alice.
"Yes. We will, Carlisle's colleague, a doctor and his wife, along with his two little girls. They are ages nine and twelve."
"Okay. Well, each of us has to ask a question about their lives. It can't be a yes or no question, and after we all ask a question who ever gets the shortest answer has to take a bite."
"Emmett, that'll be too long. They'll get suspicious as to why we're not eating." Jasper rolls his eyes.
"I'm getting to that part. Alice, are we sitting near a trash can?" Alice closes her eyes again and she smiles.
"GENIUS!"
"I know! Right?" We can play "basketball" by throwing the food in to the trash can while they're all pre-occupied by eating and answering our questions.
"Emmett, can you clarify what you're thinking to those who can't read minds and see the future." I say for the rest of our family's benefit. Carlisle, Jasper, Rosalie and Esme all nod in agreement.
"We'll play basketball. You know, throw the food in to the waste basket as we "eat". They'll be too pre-occupied by answering our questions or eating their own meal that they won't even notice. Voila. That's my master plan! Top that dudes." Emmett crosses his arms across his chest wearing a smug smile.
"That might actually work." Bella says with a smirk across her face. "I like the way you think, Mr. Emmett."
Emmett laughs and high-fives Bella. Carlisle on the other hand looks a little apprehensive. "I don't know about this you guys. Something could go wrong and we'd get exposed. I don't want to risk it. Can we just eat like normal people?"
"Don't worry, Dad, nothing is going to happen. And, don't forget... someone does have to take a bite." Alice chirps up and pats Bella on the head. Bella freezes up and stares at Alice.
"No, please say it's not me, please say it's not me..." She starts to whine. Alice chuckles and shakes her head.
"No. It's not you, Bella. Besides, you can just freeze the whole room if you don't want to miss." Alice gets a look in her eye. "Speaking of freezing... Bella! You're a genius!"
"I am? What did I do?" Bella looks at me in confusion and I can't really tell what's going on either.
"You can freeze the room, except us! And then we can just dump our plates towards the end." Bella shakes her head along with Carlisle.
"No, Alice, that's to risky. One of you guys could forget what position you were in before we froze them. It'll be too much of a hassle to deal with later. Just stick with Emmett's plan." Carlisle throws that idea away and Alice pouts.
"Fine. Let's get ready for the party!!" Alice jumps up and down and grabs Jasper before bounding up the stairs. I chuckle as Jasper sends me a pleading look before he heads up the stairs behind Alice. I carry Bella up in to our bedroom and shut the door behind me. I place her on our bed and she's still clutching the bag Alice thrust at her.
"What's in the bag, love?"
"A dress." She replies shyly. "One of the many clothes I bought with your Gold Card."
"Bella, love, we're married. Anything that belongs to me, belongs to you. Don't forget that." Bella nods and starts to pull out the dress she has in the bag. It's green, a different color choice than the blue she usually gets herself.
"Alice says you're going to love this dress." She says with a smirk. "Better go test out her visions."
She smiles at me and runs in to the bathroom with a quiet laugh. It seems like Bella did have a fun time with our sisters. I start to get ready for the dinner as well, while I wait for my wife to come out of the bathroom. I start to tie on my tie as Bella walks out of the bathroom, looking absolutely stunning.
BPOV
I walk out of the bathroom feeling a little foolish. I didn't really do much with my hair, just pulled it up in to a pony tail. No doubt Alice is going to do my hair for me anyway. The dress isn't low cut. It shows off some cleavage but not enough to make it look like I'm trashy. It's long and cuts a little after my knees.
The look on Edward's face is priceless. I can hear him catch his breath. He looks so handsome with his tie partly tied and his nice looking suit. I smile forms on my face knowing that right now, we're both dazzling each other.
"You look, absolutely stunning, love." Edward says as he makes his way over to me. His lips crash on to mine and I kiss him back with the same passion.
"I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too, love. You don't know how hard it is to keep my mind off of you." I laugh.
"I know what you mean."
Alice knocks on our door signaling that our reunion is going to be cut short. "Knock, knock? Is everyone decent?"
I laugh as I tell her that we're good. She comes walking in with her hand in front of her eyes just in case. "Alice, we're decent you don't have to close your eyes."
Alice opens them and smiles big. "Well, you never know. Anyway, ready for your hair and make-up, dear sister?"
I roll my eyes and give Edward one more kiss before I waltz off with Alice to her room. Rosalie is already there, dressed in her beautiful red number. She's starting to apply on her own make-up as the curling iron is heating up. Alice sets me down in the chair in front of her vanity and spins me around so I'm facing away from the mirror.
Rosalie finishes up with her make up and starts helping Alice do my hair. Apparently, it's going to be in loose curls. I can feel the hot curls hit my back, and it's almost comforting. It's been awhile since I've felt the warmth that I did when I was human.
In a matter of seconds, all my hair and make-up is done. Alice turns me around and like always, I'm stunned by my new beauty. I look at myself in the mirror and touch my curls. Alice slaps my hand and smiles. "Don't mess the do." I laugh as she pulls me on to my feet.
"Can I wear flats with this dress? Or are you going to stuff me in to heels?" Alice looks thoughtfully and shrugs.
"Either way. Whatever you feel like this time." My eyes open in shock.
"Really? I can choose?" Alice nods as I hug her tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
I run out of the room and down the hall to my bedroom. Edward is sitting on the bed waiting for my return. He smiles at my amazing entrance and laughs as I run to closet to pull out my white flats. "Alice says I can wear flats. This is the best night ever!"
- - -
This is by far the worst night ever. So we show up late, because you know we all have to be fashionably late. And right when we come in, they introduce Carlisle and his new family to the crowd of people. I don't like being the center of attention!
"Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his family all moved from Washington State. His children all attend the Dartmouth College. He and his wife, Esme, adopted all of their children."
I groan, does this mean we're going to pretend to be siblings? Not husband and wives? I look down at my hand to see my wedding band still on. I look at Edward's hand and his is still on, too. Just to make sure I look over at Alice and Rosalie and their bands are still on. Hm, so we are going to be husband and wives?
Maybe, Alice just forgot about that part of information. We all smile shyly, from the sudden attention we are getting. A few gasps come from the crowds and I hear a few stray thoughts about how beautiful we are. It's become very common to hear thoughts about how beautiful my family are.
"Dr. Cullen, would you care to add a few words?" The announcer guy asks in to the mic. Carlisle graciously agrees and he walks gracefully up to the podium.
"I'm very grateful I was welcomed with open arms to join this wonderful team of Doctors and hospital staff. There are many wonderful people here, and I'm sure my family will agree with me after this night. My children, from left to right are: Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Edward, and last but not least, Bella."
I feel the sensation of blushing come on, but I know I'm not. I bite my lip instead. Edward grabs my hand squeezes it to let me know he's there for me. I look up at him and smile. Thanks, Edward. Edward smiles hearing my thoughts and I can tell he's extremely happy for that. Although, he can't hear all my thoughts... it's nice to be able to hear my voice in his head. Or that's what he's thinking.
Carlisle finishes with a polite 'thank you' and we all make our way to the table that we're sharing. I trip over the bump in the rug, grateful for wearing my flats instead of heels. Edward balances me as Emmett quietly chuckles behind me. I turn around and glare at him for a brief second before continuing on to our table. We all take a seat and the family that is to be sitting with us joins us.
"Hello, Dr. Carlisle." The older man says as he shakes hands with our father figure.
"Please, Dr. Hank, call me Carlisle."
"And call me Hank." They both laugh as they sit down next to each other. Our table is a big round one able to fit all twelve of us at the table. Hank's wife and kids take their seats beside him. The youngest is sitting next to me, feeling a little afraid. I smile at her, hoping to throw away any thoughts about me being scary... and it works. She seems nice.
"Hi, I'm Bella, what's your name?" She smiles shyly.
"My name is Mackenzie. But I like to be called, Maxie."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Maxie." Maxie smiles at me and then taps her sister's arm.
"This girl's nice. Talk with me." Maxie whispers to her sister. Her sister smiles and looks at me with a slight hesitation.
"Hi." She says, "I'm Trista."
"Hi Trista, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you girls. How old are you?" Their eyes light up.
"I'm nine."
"I'm twelve, and three quarters. I'll be thirteen in a couple of months. How old are you?" Trista asks a little to loud. Her mother scolds her in saying it's not polite to ask an adult their age. "But she doesn't look like an adult mummy." Trista whines.
"It's okay, I just turned nineteen." I say keeping up with my usual birthday. And then it hits me. The reason why Alice and Rosalie were so insistent on making me go to New York City this weekend. Edward leans over and whispers in my ear.
"Happy Birthday, Bella." It's my birthday. Today. I would be nineteen years old if I was human. How could I forget about my own birthday? And why didn't Edward or any other family member make a fuss about having a birthday party for me?
Maybe, my hatred for birthday parties finally sunk in on them and they realized that me and parties don't mix. But then again, I'm at a party right now, aren't I? So why no birthday surprise? Unless... the shopping trip was the birthday surprise. But why didn't Alice or Rosalie say anything this morning? I bought everything with Edward's card this weekend... Edward must have been in on it, too. Secretly.
Or maybe I'm just reading too in to it. I mean, Alice would have surely made a big fuss about my birthday today.
"Hello? Bella?" Maxie waves her hand in front of my face snapping me from my thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh I'm sorry. Did I miss something?"
Emmett lets out a loud laugh and I glare at him again. Let's not make this a, "Let's Embarrass Bella Night", or I'll embarrass the hell out of you, so help me God. I think in to Emmett's head and he immediately shuts up.
I've got a secret weapon, I can freeze anything on the spot. So, if he was in the middle of throwing one of the foods in to the trash can, and it just so happen to freeze right in front of Dr. Hank's face...
What a sight that would be.
"Bella, was your birthday recent?" The doctor's wife asks again and I smile.
"Actually, it's today."
"Oh, well, happy birthday!"
"Yeah, happy birthday, Bella!" The two girls say enthusiastically.
"Thanks." I say before excusing myself to turn to Edward. "Edward, you knew it was my birthday all along didn't you?"
"Yes. But the shopping trip wasn't your present. You're getting your present tonight." He raises his eyebrows, and I chuckle. So it's going to be like that tonight.
"Why, Mr. Cullen, I do believe we have young ears nearby." I whisper softly so only Edward can hear me. He leans closer to my ear, I can feel his breath against it.
"Well, then, Mrs. Cullen. Sometime, tonight we'll discuss it when there isn't any ears nearby." He leans back to see my reaction, and my eyes light up.
"Nobody? At the house? Just you and me?" He nods and I silently squeal. This has got to be the best night ever. No sensitive hearing vampires in my house on the night of my birthday. "Best birthday present, ever."
"You haven't even gotten it." Edward jokes and I smile.
"But I know it's going to be the best. Because it involves you." Edward chuckles and shakes his head.
"You amaze me every day, love." He kisses my cheek, and I bite my lip, out of habit. Maxie examines Edward and I closely and she smiles.
"Are you guys married?" I smile politely back at her.
"Yes, dear. We are in fact married. So isn't Jasper and Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie."
"But aren't you guys like brothers and sisters?" Trista asks, thoroughly disgusted.
"We are brothers and sisters, yes, but we have no blood relation. Well, except for Jasper and Rosalie. They're twins." I say, keeping to our masquerade. The mother and her daughters all seem to buy it.
After a few minutes of everyone talking back and forth, the food arrives and Alice confirms that Emmett is the one with less information gained on his questions. We all silently chuckle as Emmett starts to cut his steak.
Well, at least it's the closest thing to animals that we eat. Alice, Rosalie, and I all talk animatedly to the family about our New York City trip we took over the weekend. It's a good way to distract them while our family is playing "basketball" with our food. It's a stupid game. I don't think I'll be able to get anything in the waste basket. So, I transfer my food to Edward's plate and he takes care of it.
No one really knows what's going on. Emmett is eating his steak very slowly and faking how delicious it is. "My God! This steak is amazing. The most delicious steak I've ever tasted!" He boasts.
"Indeed, Emmett, I do like the steak as well. Do you think it's the seasoning?" Hank asks and Emmett agrees, with some hesitation.
The dinner continues on well. All of our plates are semi-spotless. Emmett looks like he's about to hurl. I think he's going to, soon. Alice chuckles at my side glance to her when they start playing happy birthday music.
"Alice." I hiss out and she shrugs her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I just couldn't resist. There's cake and everything."
"Excellent." I hiss out again. Now, I'm going to have to eat cake. Everyone starts to sing the joyous Happy Birthday song. I hate that song, it isn't joyous, it's utterly annoying. I look over at Edward, pleading with him to make it stop but he just smiles, while trying to hold back his laughter.
I should have known.
Alice is making a fuss over my birthday.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
A/N: Please review! Tell me what you think! I'm not really sure if I'm going to make the next chapter Lemony because I'm not a really good lemon writer. Trust me, you'll be very disappointed. So just to let you all know, next chapter isn't going to be lemony.
REVIEW PLEASE.
Thanks to my reviewers: xxTunstall Chickxx, Techno-Poet, briiitx xhc, therealBellaSwan-Cullen, Edwella4eva, RosalieLillianHaleCullen22, Bella Cullen 99, sassydolphin007, ILoveEdwardCullen1, Reshmi Solaris, and Shadowgirl61!!
