Disclaimer: Stephene Meyer created Twilight. Her characters would not curse or be all about the smexy bizness like mine are but *shrug* whatever. (hehe)

Bidness: I'm like a columnist and stuff! So, check out my article that posted today on the discerningficster(at)blogspot(dot)com - it's all about newbie story promotion, and I think it's sorta funny and helpful. Also, the ficster blog offers good recs. (Link on my profile.)

What I've been reading: If you like my story you'll love Innocence and Experience by Thallium81. She's a brave author, and her story is deliciously complete with a badass fight scene at the end, so it can sate you while you wait for WaxCr to pick up on the speediness.

So, the chapter below, things kick into high gear. Yay! And the plot is set folks, so have no fears.

Chapter 32: Girls Unfurled

Estela had me by the hand. We were both running down the lamp-lit street.

And giggling.

Like the drunken stooges that we were.

When a strolling security guard's mouth fell open in shock, I recognized that we needed to keep it in check and attempt to act human. I came to a grinding halt. Estela kept going.

"Estela—slllllllllllrrrrow down," I called.

"Ay, no—corrrrrrrrrrrre!" she made a point of prolonging the roll of her r's, and then she ran back to where I stood and pulled on my hand.

"Esssssssstellllllllllllllllllllla!" I yelled, yanking my arm away and smacking my hands over my face in my best imitation of Marlon Brando.

She stopped, pivoting on her heel.

"Ay, no!" she snapped theatrically.

"No, what?" I asked curiously.

"Eh'look missy-Loch-Ness-lizard—eh don't make fun of my name. Also, you need to work on your impressions—Marlon, mi amor, does not sound ni jota like that."

I huffed. I thought I did pretty well.

So I showed her the image in my head instead.

She patted me happily on the arm. "Now that is nice," she purred, gazing up dreamily.

I smiled at her.

"And soooo, ya gonna show me a few good shots of Jakie, too?" she teased, already skipping back from me.

I lunged anyway.

But she dodged.

"Nessie! You're still so uptight, you need to drink more…" and then she held up a new vial.

I held out my hand.

"Eh, no—we need to find a proper bar," she insisted, shoving the vile back into her purse. "Some place with martini glasses and pretty cocktails."

"What about Jake and Nahuel?" I whined.

"I'll text them—tell them to stay away. We need girl time. Martini and cocktail girl time," she insisted, pulling out her phone and pressing buttons.

I raised an eyebrow at her—I was pretty sure "martinis and cocktails" would taste like saccharine drool.

But I followed her anyway.

Twenty minutes later found the two of us tittering over the topic of Estela's love life.

"And I say to him, 'you big snow cone—eh'stop licking me!'"

I had to control my laughing in order to ask "Did he stop?"

"No! He asked me if I'd prefer that he bit me!"

My laughter cut off, and I gasped dramatically.

She laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "And I said—I don't need your venom from there—I'm interested in the other snake."

"Esssssssssstelllla," I groaned. "I don't need all the details."

"Oh, but details are fun. You're gonna give me Jakie details, no?

"Nuh-uh. No way, Missaaayh," I fervently shook my head at her.

"But Nessie-Sexy, it's not like you have anyone else to talk with this about," she argued.

My mouth opened to argue, but no words came out. She was right. Talking to any of my aunts about Jake… Or urgh, even worse was the thought of talking to my mother. Not even a remote possibility. And then no human girl could really understand, and then there were the questions I'd always wondered about… Well, actually, Leah could probably be counted upon—not that she'd ever want to talk about my relationship with Jacob, although admittedly I'd spent a good portion of the past two years listening thoughtfully to her never-ending disappoint with all creatures classifiably male…

But Estela had a point. She was a half-vamp, like me. I eyed her carefully.

She mimicked my look, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips in imitation.

I rolled my eyes, but then I asked, "…sooo Estela, have you or any of your half-sisters ever considered having…?" I trailed off, because I was uncomfortable.

Estela eyed me amusedly. "Having…?"

"Um, babies?"

And then the world seemed to seep away, because Estela's normally bright and playful eyes seemed to fade into a muted cloud of gray and the expression remaining on her face was guarded, defensive and also undeniably lonesome.

"Estela, I shouldn't have asked—I'm sorry. We can just forget—"

"No."

"Estela, I—"

"Hush," she shushed me, and then she pulled the martini glass filled with Grey Goose off the table, lowered it just below, and poured some of the red vial into the basin. The blood swirled dissonantly against the clear liquid until they dissolved into one another.

"Hey, Estela, I think the bartender is starting to take notice. We've probably drank our weight in vodka tonight."

She shrugged as she brought the glass to her lips. "We metabolize and burn it off too quickly—we're not drunk, just un poco tipsy," she giggled, and then she waved her hand aloft. "Besides, we're drinking the expensive stuff—he won't care unless we cause trouble."

"Alright, then, hand it over," I demanded. She handed me the vial, and I deftly lowered it beneath my table and poured some into my drink.

I had just taken my first sip, when Estela spoke, "So, babies."

My head popped up again. "Estella, really, you don't have—"

She started talking over me, like I hadn't said a word. "I don't know if we can have babies, Nessie. I don't. Although, I will say this. You smell like you can have babies."

I frowned at her. The orchid smell was not something I loved having discussed.

"Also, I think it will be different with you and Jakie. You have the same chromosomal count. Also, there's this imprint to consider."

"But Estela—I mean my mom and my dad—she was human—why do you think you couldn't…?"

Estela shrugged again. "Maybe we're like mules. Mules gain the best characteristics of horses and donkeys—making them worth breeding, but they themselves are sterile."

"Ugh, Estella, farm animals."

She laughed. "You know, I asked Carlisle about it when we were doing blood testing. He couldn't give me a clear answer, but he gave me some theories. It is possible that venom is incompatible with our systems—especially, you know, down there," she wiggled her eyebrows, and then she continued, "Carlisle noted that your blood is quite different from mine. Did you know that? He said mostly because you've never hunted humans, and well there's also…"

"Also what?"

" Also, Nessie, I've never been with a human—not in that way…" she trailed off again.

"Really?" I blurted. I couldn't hide my surprise.

She smiled weakly at me. "Well, there was only once, and…"

Her eyes cast down, darkened.

"You bit him," I finished for her.

"I killed him," she muttered, not looking up at me.

"I'm sorry."

We sat there in sad, sobering silence.

"I thought at the time that I could make it work. He loved me, and I thought I could return…" she took a long breath. "I'm not sure we—humans, vampires—can live in the same world, you know? I know you begged to go to high school, and I understand why you wanted to go, but I'm not sure our worlds can mix."

I frowned at her. "The wolves do alright."

"They do, but they don't crave the blood, which makes all the difference," she said, and then her expression visibly brightened. "You know, querida, I really do want to meet Jakie's pack brothers. I do. The idea of being with someone warm and yet unbreakable is verrrry appealing." She smiled wickedly at me, and I could tell that happy Estela was back.

I smiled back, and then I tapped my finger on my chin. "Hmmm… I wonder if you'd like Embry or Seth or one of the younger ones. Seth is really sweet—smart as hell, too, while Embry is pretty much a 'dude' who's good at all the mechanical..."

"Stop. Stop. Stop. If you tell me too much, I'm eh'gonna get my hopes up."

"Ha! I'm going to spend some time at La Push this summer, so you'll have to—"

But we were cut off by a guttural slurring. "Why, I say hello there, helllooooo there, moooonshine and sunny-sunshine," drawled a large cheeked, red-faced man. He had both hands on our table, using them to support his weight.

"Eh, uh, no. Goodbye," Estela retorted, waving her hand dismissively at him.

"Aw, now. Don't be like that, now," he slurred.

We both stared at him. Our stares were not human stares. Boar face took an unconscious step back in response, his eyes widening, his breath accelerating, and a new layer of sweat sweeping out of his pores—the smell of whiskey strengthening. Estela raised an annoyed eyebrow, and then she raised her finger and made a quick circle, showing him that he needed to turn and leave. He did but slowly, taking stiff steps over to the bar.

"Oh, Nessie. Why is it so hard to meet nice men?" Estela groaned, returning her eyes to mine.

"Well, at least you've got time on your side," I joked.

"Ha-ha-ha," Estela laughed falsely, but then she smiled for real. "So, what did Jakie do to piss you off?" she asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She laughed, leaning back in her seat. "Eh, come on, Nessie. I bared my soul, now you get to bare yours."

I gazed at the ceiling. It totally figured that Estela would guilt me into talking about my sex life—or lack thereof for that matter, so I sighed and spat it out, "Jake wants to wait 'til marriage."

"Eh, he-he-he, HAH!" Estela thumped the table with her hand and threw back her head and laughed.

"Yeah, thanks for the support, really," I grumbled.

"Eh, he, he, no. No, Nessie. I understand, but ya know, you should understand Jake's point of view, too," she was still smiling, but her expression was considerate.

I pursed my lips.

"You love your family, no?" she asked.

"Well, yeah."

"And you love, Jakie?"

"Yep."

"Nessie, you need both, claro."

"I don't see how marriage is a necessary ingredient in that equation."

She shook her head in disbelief at my words. "You have a father that reads minds. Your mother used to be Jake's best friend. Rosalie wants to lob off Jake's furry tail, and to top it all, Jakey accepts them for you, even though his natural enemy is the vampire," she listed out.

I shrugged, "I never said it wasn't complicated."

"Jakie's just doing what's best for you in the long run."

I huffed.

"And if you think about it, really, it's the short run, considering that you've got most of eternity to dance and play."

I smiled at that thought.

"You know," she said slowly, "I say this despite the fact that I hoped you'd go for my brother."

I shrugged my shoulder. "I do like Nahuel."

"I know," she smiled at me. "And love cannot be forced—it's not worth it that way."

"Well, you know, there is one girl who might—" but my voice cut off because my nostrils flared.

The smell was a piney, oily scent mixed with a sweet tingle of dew. My body reacted, my sense of smell automatically following the trail of scent and leading my attention to the end of the bar.

Boar face still sat there, but now he was accompanied. A woman, white-skinned with long, shimmering, silver hair, leaned against the bar in front of him. His eyes flicked constantly between her abundantly visible cleavage and her sharply angled face, seeming incapable of settling on a choice between the two. At a first glance, she appeared to be not a day over thirty, but then a second glance showed the slightest of lines around her eyes, even as her skin was taught and firm at every inch.

But, then, of course it was. She was a vampire.

Though, not one I knew.

She took a single finger and ran it along the top of boar face's hairline, wiping away a trail of perspiration. Both Estela and I could see the resulting shiver.

And then, she hooked a filed nail through his belt loop and pulled him with her, as she gracefully made her way to the front door.

The man opened the door mechanically.

She stepped forward.

But not before turning in the direction of Estella and me.

Her black eyes held just a tinge of crimson as she winked at us. And then she and the boar face man disappeared into the dead of the night.

Estela and I sat still for only a moment.

And then I stood up.

* * *

So, the cliffies are back—which means things are rising fast! Updates shouldn't be long in a'comin.