Disclaimer:
The characters from the Twilight Series belong to the absolutely talented Stephenie Meyer. We hold no rights to them otherwise. DARN!
A/N:
I love to read all of your reviews! Wow, I was actually laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes!
mikenewtonh8er- nice one!! I actually pictured Emmett saying… okay, THAT sounded REALLY wrong.
xxXAliceInWonderlandXxx you won't be waiting much longer : )
You all enjoyed the caring Edward…could he be any other way? Even I was falling more in love with him as I wrote this! He is the ultimate male! I am sooo jealous of Bella!
I did notice something in a few of the reviews and wanted to refresh for everyone…
During all the frustration of the Bella/Emmett chapters, some of you may have missed this part:
Chapter- The Calm Before The Storm:
"Don't even say that!" I frowned at him. "I so very much want to be with you Edward! You mean so much to me and I guess I should have explained earlier. We don't need any of Emmett's little foil wrapped presents. My brother has no idea I've been on the pill since I was 15 years old. It wasn't any of his business and I suppose it still isn't. My mom took me to the doctor because I was having so many problems with cramping and headaches so we all agreed that the pill would help. It was the only reason I needed to be on it…until now. I guess it works out kind of nicely. No worries." I smiled shyly up at him.
"No worries." He replied as he let himself relax.
"When the time is right, it will be perfect." I saw a sparkle in his eyes and I would bet he could see one in my eyes too.
So, I hope this will help you all to feel better about the inevitable closeness of Bella and Edward. They are safe : ) Thank you for caring about them so much! It is an important issue.
Another important issue is the fact that I am rattling on too much!!
Let's get reading!
Previously:
"Let's go everyone. As much fun as it is to sit with candlelight, on the media room floor, I think you would rather be in beds with some electricity from a generator." Esme encouraged us.
We gathered up anything we would need and climbed into the van together after locking up the house. Carlisle maneuvered the roads perfectly and we were soon at the motel.
BPOV
The ride to the motel didn't take long at all thank goodness. It was quiet at first until Emmett started humming.
"Da da da da…da da da…da da da da…da da da…da…da" He was grinning and staring out the window the whole time.
"Emmett…really! The theme from Indiana Jones?" Rose was staring at him.
"What? It just fit Rosie. Look at those clouds coming in…look at the roads…it's dark, it's DANGEROUS…" He gave her an evil grin.
"Oh stop it! I'll show you dangerous!" She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled his face to hers so they were eye to eye. Her brows were furrowed and she even growled at him.
"Rose, I know what you are trying to do," Emmett told her with a smirk, "but it's actually just turning me on."
"You're a piece of work Emmett Swan." Rose scolded him but couldn't keep from smiling. In fact we all started laughing at the two of them. Emmett grabbed Rose and pulled her into his lap.
"I can't believe the sky was so clear and now look at those clouds coming in. They're dark and scary!" Alice pointed out the window.
"That would be the other half of the storm Alice. We are in the center of the storm right now, the eye. I can be very deceiving because of how calm it is." Carlisle explained. "It's going to get windy and rainy all over again very soon.
"So we had an intermission to give us a break." Alice commented.
"I guess you can put it that way." Carlisle said. "We are just lucky the eye is passing over where we are. Some people have to deal with the storm nonstop without the eye passing over where they are located."
"Yikes." Alice trembled and buried herself closer into Jasper.
"The whole thing is actually very amazing!" Jasper said looking like an excited 3 year old at an amusement park.
"It's not so much fun trying to run though." Edward grumbled. "Talk about getting a workout! The only thing that kept me going was, knowing that I had to find Bella."
"I am so glad you were able to reach the shop. Bella, I'm sorry I locked you in there. I had no idea you were in the back room." Esme looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"Esme, it's not your fault. I wanted to finish putting a few things away and I should have just made sure I was out front with everyone else. It was a big mix up. Everything is okay now." I assured her. "I was scared at first. I didn't think anyone would know were I was. I was happy that Edward came to find me. I felt so much better when he was there." I looked into Edward's eyes and felt his arms tighten around me. I don't think we have let go of each other since we left the shop.
"Well everyone is okay and we're all together. That's the important thing." Esme said.
We pulled into a parking spot at the motel. The widows were all boarded up so you couldn't see any lights. The wind was starting to pick up as we climbed out of the van and we could here the sound of generators running. The parking lot was littered with branches, seaweed, broken folding chairs that came from who knows where, and palm tree leaves. There was even a palm tree lying on the top of someone's car.
"Ouch, someone's gonna have to call their insurance for that one!" said Emmett.
We sloshed through the puddles until we made it to the front door of the lobby. Jack was standing just inside the doors waiting for us.
"Well, well. Look what the storm blew in!" Jack exclaimed. "So happy you are safe my friends. We have three rooms waiting for you but there is also food there in the banquet area so please help yourselves and get comfortable."
"Food? I'm there!" smiled Emmett. "Rosie, you know where I'll be. Come on Jazz!" Emmett grabbed Jasper by the back of the shirt and they headed off toward the smell of food.
"Thank you Jack. We're glad we won't have to sit out the rest of this storm without power." Carlisle told him.
"My friend, I am glad I could help. Here are the keys for your rooms. You can all relax now. We are halfway through and the worst has already past us." Jack grinned. Carlisle handed the keys to Esme and walked off with Jack as they continued to talk.
"Okay girls, there are two rooms for you kids so split them up as you wish. You can get something to eat or just go up and relax. Just don't leave the motel." Esme said as she handed the keys to Rose.
"That's not a problem." I said and everyone else nodded. Then Esme walked off to join Carlisle.
"Alright, I need to have a human moment. Are you girls coming with me?" asked Rose. She was tipping her head to the side as she looked at Alice.
"Now that you mention it, I better go. Come on Bella, girl time." Alice said and pulled on my hand.
"I…um…" I turned to look at Edward who was still holding onto me. "I think I better go to."
"You can let her go Edward. I promise to bring her back to you as soon as we're done." Alice giggled.
"Oh, yeah sure, sorry Bella. Here, let me take the blanket for you." Edward seemed to come out of a trance. I unwrapped the blanket from around myself and passed it to him. "I'll be in the banquet room waiting for you."
He kissed my cheek and smiled then walked off toward the sound of Emmett's laughter. Alice and Rose dragged me into the ladies room and checked to make sure no one else was in there. We were alone and all of a sudden, I felt cornered.
"Alright Bella, spill it!" Alice ordered. I was surprised at how fierce she could look.
"Easy Alice, maybe Bella doesn't want to talk about being all alone with Edward, in the middle of a hurricane, in the dark…" Rose was staring at me with interest, waiting for my response.
"What exactly has gotten into the two of you?" I asked trying to back away a bit. "You're not going to eat me or anything are you?"
"Bella! You were all alone with my brother for a couple of hours. What happened?" Alice was on her toes bouncing up and down.
"Well, he took that lock off the door and I was so glad to see him!" I answered with a big smile. "Then we tried to find a flashlight, which we did, and a first aid kit to fix my head, and we found that too…"
"Oh my gosh girl! Get to the good stuff!" Rose squeezed her eyes shut with frustration.
"Sure, sure" I said. "I know what you girls are looking to find out and I don't have anything to tell you."
"Are you serious? My brother hasn't taken his hands off of you since you both returned. I almost needed to pry his hands from you just to take you to the bathroom! Something must have happened." Alice grumbled.
"Yeah Bella. Why don't you tell us why you're both wearing matching sweat suits? At some point your other clothes went missing." Rose was wiggling her eyebrows at me.
"Really guys, come on. I hit my head trying to get out of that place and by the time Edward got to me, he was soaking wet from the storm. He was sweet enough to rinse the blood out of my hair and bandage my head. We both were wet, cold and needed to put on something dry so we changed, simple as that." I explained with a frown. I can see where this sounded a bit boring so I tried to give them a bit of what they were looking for. "Although we did cuddle on a blanket in the back room while we waited for the storm to let up."
"And…" encouraged Alice.
"And I fell asleep." I groaned dropping my chin to my chest. "Wow, I had him all to myself with no Emmett to interrupt and I had to ruin it by getting hurt. How pathetic is that?"
"Bella," Rose giggled. "You need some help girlfriend, and we have the ability to move you in the right direction. The rest is all up to you." Alice looked at Rose and they both turned to me with major grins on their faces.
"Exactly what are you two up to?" I was almost afraid to ask.
"We hold the key to your happiness." Alice giggled and bounced around the bathroom as Rose's laughter echoed off the walls.
"You two are nuts!" I stared in amazement unsure of what they were talking about. "Absolutely nuts! I'd stay away from any squirrels if I were either of you!"
"Rose you better explain. Bella is a little slow tonight. Must be the bump on her head." Alice laughed.
"The key Bella…the key to your happiness is in my hand." Rose lifted a room key and held it up between us. "We are going to make sure that you and Edward get a room to yourselves. Now do you understand? You have to go along with this. Don't say anything and just follow our lead."
"But…how…Emmett is going to…"I started.
"Emmett is not going to even have a clue until it's too late for him to do anything about it. I'll take care of Emmett." Rose smiled slyly. "Don't even worry about him. Besides, I don't think Emmett is going to give you so much crap anymore. He was very impressed that Edward risked going out in the storm to find you."
"He didn't even give anyone the chance to argue with him about going." Alice said. "Edward was so full of determination he would have fought anyone who tried to stop him. I have never seen him care so much for a girl that he would risk his life like that just to make sure she was okay. There is no doubt that he is head over heals in love with you Bella. I think Emmett saw that in him too."
"Bella, take this key." Said Rose. "There are two keys for both rooms. I'm going to give the extra key for your room to Edward and tell him it's a key for the boy's room and that we're using the other room. You just need to go up to your room before Edward does and be there when he comes in to surprise him. Whatever happens after that is up to you." She smiled.
"I…I don't know what to say." I smiled. "I have never been attracted to any boy the way I am to Edward. It's like my heart and soul belong to him. That sounds so crazy. I haven't even known him long enough. What if this is some school girl crush?"
"You two are so meant to be together. I didn't think I would ever see my brother look at a girl the way he looks at you." Alice sighed. "In fact, I was worrying…that maybe he might be…"
"ALICE!" Rose and I shouted and laughed together.
"Well, how was I supposed to know he was waiting for his true love to appear to him like an angel above the clouds? Granted we were on a plane…" Alice pondered. "Strange how things happen isn't it? When I locked eyes with Jasper at that airport, I just knew he was the one I would spend the rest of my life with. It felt like he was the one I have always been waiting to meet."
"Alice are you predicting your future again?" Rose asked. We all began to laugh and stopped abruptly when we heard a knock on the door.
"Um, Alice…Rose…Bella? Is everything okay in there?" It was Jasper sounding a bit uncomfortable. "I lost the bet and they sent me to check on you."
"Jazz honey; tell them we did not fall in!" Alice shouted with a giggle. "We'll be right out."
"Okay, hurry up or they'll send me back." He said and we heard him walking away.
We continued to laugh as we hurried up and used the facilities. I was washing my hands as we waited for Alice and Rose walked up behind me.
"How is your head feeling?" She asked pulling a brush from her purse.
"Much better. It just hurts in the spot where I cut it but only if I touch it." I said.
"Well I'll avoid that spot then. We need to do something about your hair." Rose said scrunching up her nose at me as she looked at all the tangles.
She proceeded to carefully and quickly brush out my hair until it was tangle free. It looked so much better when she was finished. It even made me feel better when I looked in the mirror. I was still holding the room key in my hand and I tucked it carefully into the pocket of my hoodie. Okay, I am ready.
"Thank you Rose." I told her with a smile. She gave me a quick hug and Alice grabbed both of our hands and hurried us out the door.
We found the boys sitting on couches arranged in the corner of the room. They had plates full of food on the coffee table in front of them. It seemed everyone at the motel was gathered together in this room. Carlisle and Esme were chatting with a few couples at one of the tables and everyone was laughing and happy to be together. It must be much more relaxing to be around a lot of people you're friends with when there is a storm like this. It feels safe here.
"Bella." Edward stood up when he saw me and held out his hand. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I feel just fine." I said looking into his eyes and placing my hands in his. I didn't even realize we were standing there gazing at each other until Jasper's shout broke us out of our trance. Edward pulled me down onto the couch with him and I scooted myself as close to him as I could get.
"Ha! I win. In your face Emmett!" Jasper beamed.
"How did you know she was going to take an apple? I thought for sure she was eyeing the cinnamon rolls!" Emmett growled.
"What kind of messed up games are you boys playing now?" Rose scowled.
"We're trying to bet on what kind of dessert each lady will choose when they come up to the food table." Emmett explained. "Oh, here come four ladies at once."
"That's easy." Said Alice. "Four chocolate cakes."
"No way!" Said Emmett. "The blonde is taking a cinnamon roll."
We watched as the ladies contemplated the choices. Then one after each other they all grabbed a piece of chocolate cake. Emmett slapped himself in the head.
"No freakin way!" He grumbled. We all rolled with laughter as we watched Emmett slide off the couch and onto the floor.
"Relax Emmett." Said Alice. "I heard them talking about how good the chocolate cake was when we passed by their table. It was the logical guess. Nothing psychic about it."
"You had me worried!" He looked relieved. "Jasper would have used you every time we had a bet! I never would have won."
"I'd never use Alice like that Emmett." Jasper complained.
"Jazz, you can use me any way you want to." Alice winked. Jasper blushed as Alice sat on his lap.
"Emmett are you getting off the floor?" Rose asked.
She sat on the couch behind him and straddled her legs on each side of him. Her hands massaged his shoulders and slid down his chest till her face was next to his ear. I am not sure what she was whispering to him but Emmett's face actually turned red. It's not easy to embarrass my brother. Maybe I never want to know what she said!
"So why is all this food sitting her getting cold?" I asked.
"We grabbed a little bit of everything so we could all share it." Said Edward. "Everyone grab a plate and take what you like."
"Oh, here's some bottled water." Jasper said as he tossed a bottle to each of us.
"Grilled chicken, yum!" said Rose. "Where did they get all of this food? The power went out rather quickly once the storm started."
"I guess they anticipate things like that. They had their gas grills going and cooked up all this food a few hours before the storm started." Said Edward. "Then they just keep it warm with the sterno heaters. There is plenty of ice in the coolers for the cold stuff."
"It pays to hang with the natives." Emmett said with a mouth full of food.
We talked as we ate all the food the boys had brought over. Then we went up for dessert. Emmett didn't want us to guess what he really wanted for dessert, so he took a little of everything. I finished eating first, and then Edward. We sat back on the couch and I snuggled up against him with his arms wrapped around me. I was so comfortable I didn't want to move. We listened to Jasper tell us about what they were doing at the house while we were stuck in the shop. Then they started teasing each other. I felt Edward lean forward and place his head on my shoulder.
"Bella, are you getting tired?" He asked. His warm breath on my ear sent a tingle through my whole body.
"No, I'm okay." I answered but then I quickly changed my mind. "Or actually, maybe I am a little tired." Rose and Alice both looked at me and smiled.
"Hey maybe you need to go lay down Bella." Said Rose. "You do look tired. I gave you our room key just in case."
"Yeah Bella." Said Alice. "You go ahead. We're going to stay down here for a little longer." Emmett and Jasper shrugged their shoulders and went back up to the table for more dessert.
"You girls have one room and we have the other?" Edward asked with a frown. "I guess that makes sense. Do you want me to walk you up Bella?"
"I'm okay, but thank you." I said as I stood up biting my cheek to keep from smiling. "Goodnight Edward."
Edward stood up with me and pulled me close to him. He placed his hands on my face and looking into my eyes.
"I won't be far away." He said before his lips touched mine. He kissed me so sweetly I didn't want to leave. "Go get some rest."
"Edward." Rose called. "Take your room key. If I give it to one of them it may end up lost on the dessert table." She pointed at Emmett and Jasper filling their plates.
"Goodnight Rose, goodnight Alice." I said before turning to leave.
"Goodnight Bella." They chimed happily together.
When I rounded the corner I quickly found the hallway to my room and let myself in. I shut the door quietly behind me and knew I only had a few minutes before Edward would decide to go to his room too. I felt the biggest grin light up my face. I had a few minutes before Edward realized that his room was our room and I was waiting here for him.
A/N:
Okay, okay this rubber band is about to snap! I don't think I can stretch it out any longer…although I bet that I could if I wanted to! LOL Yeah…no….
I am even yelling at myself to put Edward and Bella together already! I hear you, I really really do.
Have a glass filled with ice and sugar for the next chapter…Lemons are on the way!
Don't forget to leave your thoughts on the review page : )