I glanced at myself in the mirror, hardly recognizing the girl in front of me. Alice had secretly bought me an outfit for my unexpected bachelorette party tonight, and I was more than a little uncomfortable. I wore a short black cocktail dress that was incredibly form fitting, revealing curves that I was shocked to find out I had. The straps were thick, and the neckline was very low cut. And it wouldn't be Alice if she didn't give me matching accessories. Around my neck I donned a single blue stone, and my ears held a matching set. They were beautiful, but they meant nothing compared to the ring I proudly wore on my left hand. My hair was down and slightly curled, framing my face. Rosalie had been in earlier to lightly apply makeup, and my eyes stood out more than usual.
I sighed and went to flop down on Edward's couch. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My thoughts wandered to Renee and my trip to Florida. She took the information better than I expected. She was very surprised to say the least, but after some relentless explaining about how there was no way I would ever love anyone as much as Edward, and that I was of age and she couldn't really stop me, she reluctantly resigned her argument. There was some tear shedding and forceful hugs amidst her declarations of "My little Bella" and "all grown up." I was relieved to say the least, after Charlie's embarrassing outburst. Renee was going to be flying in with Phil tomorrow, the day before the wedding.
I just had to get through tonight first. I had no idea what Alice had planned. She was flying about the house getting everything prepared, and I hadn't really had time to drill her about it. It didn't escape my notice that even Rosalie was a little excited. She smiled at me right when I walked in, looked at Edward and smirked. "Ready for tonight Bella?" she had said. I gave her a questioning look but she quickly walked up the stairs before Edward could read her thoughts.
I at least was informed that Angela and Jessica were also attending. Alice, Rosalie, Jessica, and Angela, I thought with a groan. WHAT is going to happen tonight? I lifted my head at the soft knock at the door.
"Bella?"
I closed my eyes briefly upon hearing his musical voice. I hadn't spent much time with him lately and I missed him terribly. He was the main reason I didn't want to go to my party; I wanted to be with him. I wanted to fill the hole that was starting to taunt me due to all our time apart.
"Uh, come in," I croaked. I stood up nervously, remembering my outfit. My face heated up due to the sudden wave of self consciousness I felt. I saw him unlock the door and quietly close it behind him. He turned to face me.
His eyes widened and then blinked rapidly for a moment. He stood impossibly still, nonmoving from his position, and stared openly at me. It was slowly becoming an awkward silence. I twisted my hands nervously in front of me, wishing I could disappear into the carpet.
I couldn't stand it after a moment and I broke. "It's too much isn't it?" I felt a frown starting to settle onto my face. Damn that Alice, I knew I looked like a tart.
"Bella I…" He started to move toward me, cautiously. "You look…I can't."
He was struggling for words. This didn't happen often, and I looked at him curiously because I couldn't fathom why he was moving so slowly. He kept moving forward until he was about a foot away. He reached out to grab my hand, and kissed my ring.
His eyes were blazing, with something that almost looked like sadness. "Bella, I am at a loss. You can't imagine how striking you look," he said softly. He brought my hand up to his cheek and closed his eyes as he rubbed the back of my hand against his icy skin. He was touching me more delicately than usual, if that was possible.
He opened his eyes to search my face, and I cringed at the blush that I knew was flooding my expression. I felt his hand tugging on my wrist, leading me over to stand in front of the mirror.
He stood behind me and rested his chin softly on my shoulder. His hands moved to the top of my arms and he buried his face into my hair. "So Beautiful Bella," he murmured, pushing my hair off my neck. He placed a chaste kiss ever so lightly on my earlobe.
My head lolled to the side on its own accord, and I released a small breath. His hands began moving ever so slowly down my arms, leaving goose bumps in its wake. "When I first came in here, you don't know how breakable you looked." Kiss. My eyelids fluttered toward the mirror and my knees got weak. His hands had reached my waist and were gripping me tightly. He was in control of all of my weight. There was no way I could stand after seeing us in the mirror. We looked…hot.
"And by breakable, I mean, too beautiful and precious to touch." He spun me around and carefully placed his lips against mine. Chills rushed down my entire frame and I felt him grip my waist even tighter. After a few moments, I felt a slow ache starting to build deep in my gut, I wanted more, I needed more.
"Edward…" I said breathlessly in between kisses, trying to voice that need.
A loud knock suddenly pulled me back into reality. "BELLA! You look fantastic! Now get out here, Jessica and Angela are just pulling up!"
Edward let loose a soft growl and rested his forehead against mine. I groaned and held him close. "Edward, I don't want to do this, I really just want to spend time with you."
"Bella, I know, me too. But tonight will be fun for you…and Alice." He added with a chuckle.
"Well, at least warn me what I'm getting myself into, what does she have planned?"
His brow furrowed and lifted his forehead off my own. "I don't know? For some reason, I hadn't really been paying attention. I was thinking about you the whole time I guess?" He seemed a little distressed.
My face turned into a grimace and I smoothed out my dress. "Oh well, let's get this over with." I grabbed his hand and turned towards the door.
--
As we descended the staircase, I saw Jessica and Angela sitting nervously in the living room. Their eyes lit up as they saw me and Jessica ran over and literally squashed me in a huge hug.
"Bella, congratulations! This is so exciting isn't it? I've never been to a real bachelorette party before! Wow, you look great! Am I underdressed? What are we doing tonight!? Oh hi Edward, um congratulations to you too." She halted her ramblings and shyly addressed him.
"Thank you Jessica." Edward replied politely. "Hello Angela."
"Hey guys." Angela appeared behind Jessica and gave me a hug. "Yes, congratulations to you both. I'm so happy for you Bella, this IS really exciting." She beamed at me and Edward.
Just then Rosalie came and descended the stairs looking nothing short of perfection. Jessica gaped at her. She was wearing a short red halter dress that looked as if she had painted it on her body. She was glaring at Edward. "Why are you still here? Jasper and Emmett have been waiting for you out back for over ten minutes." As she went by she grabbed my hand and led me over to the couch. "I knew that dress would be perfect for you," she said once we sat down. I waved Angela and Jessica over to come sit.
"I wanted to see Alice before we left," called Edward. "Where is she?"
"Oh no you don't Edward Cullen, you just want to find out what were up to tonight. And you're not finding out from me either."
He stared intensely at her for a moment and suddenly let out a loud noise of disgust.
"UGH Rosalie! What is wrong with you? I don't even know if I want to see Emmett after that." He shook his head trying to clear the thought from his mind.
"That's what you get, now stay out, and get out!" She smirked and motioned her hand towards the door.
Jessica and Angela looked at each other, then at me, obviously confused by the exchange that had just taken place. Before they could ask, Edward leaned down and kissed me softly on the mouth. "Be safe Bella. If you need me, I won't be far." He leaned back, grabbed my hand and kissed my ring again, then all the sudden he was gone.
"My goodness Bella," Jessica shook her head jealously. I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in Edward, he was everything I ever wanted, and nothing I had ever expected. I gazed at the door longingly.
"Is he gone?" Alice appeared at the top of stairs.
"Just left!" Rosalie suddenly stood up and went into the kitchen.
"Finally!" She ran down the stairs and swept me into a hug. "You look just how I imagined. Hey Jessica, Angela, tonight is going to be so much fun!"
"What are we doing?" questioned Jessica, eyes ablaze. I knew Jessica was planning on recounting every detail, excited to have this extremely worthy piece of gossip.
Rosalie chose that moment to reappear back from the kitchen. She held four bottles of the biggest champagne I had ever seen. Not that I had seen that much. "And there's plenty more where that came from!" She laughed and grabbed five glasses from behind the couch.
"Um, do your parents know we're drinking?" Angela looked a bit nervous.
"It's okay Angela, you don't have to drink if you don't want to," I told her. I didn't know if I wanted to either, but there was no way I was going to be allowed to say no, plus, I was just a BIT curious if I was honest with myself.
"Carlis-uh mom and dad aren't home tonight, don't worry we have enough room so you all can sleep here, everything's already taken care of."
She looked a bit reassured but didn't say anything further. Jessica on the other hand looked ecstatic and gave me a tense excited look. I figured it must be one of those normal girl things. Alice began moving furniture around. I was going to ask if she needed help, but of course I knew she didn't. Before I knew it, the couches were pushed up against the wall facing the rest of the living room that was pretty much empty.
"Alright everyone take a seat!" I could tell Alice was more excited than usual. I watched as Rosalie set 5 sparkling glasses one the table, one for each of us. Jessica grabbed hers right away.
"Wait for the toast!" screeched Rosalie in annoyance. I could tell she hadn't wanted Jessica or Angela to come and was doing it for my sake. Once everyone had their glasses in their hand, Alice cleared her throat. "To my new sister Bella, welcome to the family," she gave me a happy smile and raised her glass. "Thank you for taking Edward off our hands, and welcome," added Rosalie. "To many years of happy memories," chimed Angela. "To my best friend Bella, who would have never known about Edward Cullen unless I-"
"TO BELLA!" interrupted Alice, and we all clinked glasses and took a sip. I let the cool liquid slide down my throat. To my utter shock, I LOVED IT. I quickly took another sip, this stuff was great. I nudged Alice, "Hey Alice, I thought you hated human stuff, how can you drink alcohol?"
She swallowed and whispered, "Well this stuff doesn't always taste so great to you humans either now does it?" She didn't let me answer, but put down her drink and stood up.
"All right girls, I have one for each of you." She ran across the room and came out with five heart necklaces. They had long gold chains and each had a huge golden heart hanging from it. I looked closely to find that each of our names had been inscribed in one. I suddenly felt nervous.
"Cool! What are we doing with those?" asked Jessica. Rosalie laughed.
"Well," Alice said mischievously, "Let's bring in the rest of our guests and find out! Get in here boys!"
I whipped my head towards the door and my jaw dropped. Over 20 of the most handsome human boys walked in, each carrying a heart of their own. Their bodies were chiseled to perfection, enough to give Emmett a run for his money. I noticed they all seemed to be smiling at me, but I was so shocked I couldn't do anything but openly gawk back.
Rosalie let out a perfect whistle. "Drink up ladies! You're gonna need it!"