Disclaimer:
All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. We are so jealous! We promise to put them back in their book when we have finished playing with them.
A/N:
Wow! That was one heck of a hiatus! I had no plans of being away from this story for that long. It was one thing after the other. Sometimes life's a joy and sometimes it tests your patience!!
I hope you are all still here…Hello? Hellooo?!
Ah, there you are! And I thank you, thank you for being patient and coming back again to read AKU!
So, where were we?? Oh Yeah! The storm has passed and the clean up is getting under way. Not much left of the gang's summer in the Keys and I am sure they will be planning to make sure there's plenty to remember it by : )
Previously:
We all said thank you then continued eating and talking about things we would like to do before we had to go back to Michigan. As I finished my plate of food I looked at Jasper and noticed he was done too. He looked at me and together we nodded as we stood up.
"Where are you boys going?" Carlisle asked with a smile.
"Round two at the buffet." I smiled back at him. "Hey Jazz, I bet I can…"
"NO! No betting!" Everyone shouted together and we all laughed hysterically.
BPOV
I was curled up tight next to Edward on the oversized sofa chair. I let my head rest on his chest as his fingers ran through my hair and down my arm, over and over again. This was the most comfortable place in the world. I think I even started to doze off after I felt him kiss the top of my head.
"Bella, would you like anything else?" Edward's voice sounded in my mind.
"Mmm, just you, wearing nothing." I answered rather groggy. "That's all I need."
"Bella? Are you still sleeping?" Edward laughed.
I also heard another chorus of giggling nearby and something that sounded like a low growl followed by a thud and an "OW, Rosie!"
I opened my eyes to see two bright, beautiful emeralds staring at me. Edward chuckled and kissed me on the nose.
"My silly Bella." He said shaking his head then whispered in my ear so no one else could hear, "We'll see what we can do about making your request come true later."
"Ahem…Bella, want to tell us what you were dreaming about?" Emmett asked as he gave me the stink eye.
"I didn't realize I fell asleep. I guess I must be more tired than I thought I was." I smiled shyly avoiding the question. Everyone's eyes were on me.
Alice and Rose were trying to hold back giggles. I actually saw them high 5 each other behind Emmett's back. I better sit up and get my bearings before I say something else out loud that I don't mean to!
"I'm sorry, did I miss anything?" I asked.
"Carlisle went with Jack to take a ride around and Esme is helping the ladies in the kitchen. We're all just waiting to find out what we'll be doing." Jasper explained. "You were only out for like a half an hour."
"Yeah, lucky you." Said Rose. "You missed Emmett's Michelin man in the snow breakfast sculpture."
"Oh no, Emmett!" I groaned. "Not the one with the stacked up mini powdered sugar donuts with a sausage link; standing in front of a pile of yellow scrambled eggs!"
"So you've witnessed this interesting talent of your brother's?" Alice smirked.
"More times than I want to admit." I frowned at my brother.
"What? I don't see any of you being artistic?" Emmett boasted.
"Yeah, you should see what he can do with Jello, pink m&m's and …" Jasper started.
"Babe, I could probably come up with something a lot more fun to do with Jello than watching Emmett make obscenities with it." Alice purred.
Jasper's jaw nearly hit the ground as he looked around at the rest of us. "Alice, not in front of everyone." He hissed.
We all burst out laughing and Jasper turned three shades of red even though he was laughing too. Alice hopped up into his arms and kissed him full on the lips causing him to stumble backward and fall onto the couch with her. While we continued to laugh he buried his face in Alice's neck.
"Oh Jazz, you are such a gentleman." Alice complimented him.
"Well, everyone seems quite cheerful. Did I miss a good joke?" Carlisle asked as he looked around at all of us.
"Bella and Jasper were just making us laugh." Said Rose with a giggle. "You really had to be here."
"Okay, well I'm sorry I missed it." He smiled. "With the colorful expressions on both of their faces I'm guessing it was unintentional."
"You could say that." Edward grinned and we all laughing again.
Esme walked up and wrapped her arms around Carlisle. "I missed you." She said sweetly and Carlisle dipped her romantically as he kissed her.
"Now that my boys," winked Esme, as Carlisle stood her back up, "Is the way to charm a lady."
"You better have been paying attention Emmett." Warned Rose.
"That stuff's easy." He smirked. "Watch this."
We watched as Emmett sauntered over to Rose. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other behind her shoulders. After he wiggled an eyebrow at her, he dipped her low to the floor and removed his hand from her waist sliding it slowly up her side until his fingers pulled her shirt away from her neck. He then quickly dropped his head and began sucking on her neck. A loud gasp escaped Rose's lips. Alice bounced up off the couch and started clapping.
"Oh my, it seems you may already know a thing or two." Esme stifled a giggle.
"Emmett…you better stop now honey." Rose panted breathlessly.
"Yeah, Emmett. Stop now…please." I told him. "You don't want to give me any ideas for my dreams now do you?"
He pulled Rose upright and hugged her tightly into him. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, with all this pent of energy, maybe it's time we head out and get some work done." Carlisle smiled. "Boys I will need you to come with me. Jack has a tree down in his yard. Luckily it didn't hit his house, but it's blocking his front door. We will need some muscles to help move it."
"Oh man Edward," Emmett laughed and shook his head. "Looks like you'll have to stay out of the way and watch then."
Edward stood up quickly with a big smile. I barely had time to see him reach behind my back and pull something from the chair. A small, round pillow shot across like a bullet hitting Emmett in the stomach before I even realized it came from Edward.
"Ugh! Damn!" Emmett bent forward holding his abs as he moaned. "Who the hell fired the cannon ball at me?"
"Dude…I sure hope you learn to catch his throws before baseball season or we're going to be in big trouble!" Jasper looked disapprovingly down at Emmett.
"Hey, I wasn't expecting a fast pitched pillow coming my way." Emmett grumbled.
"That…"said Edward. "Was my slow pitch."
"No shit?" Emmett was stunned and started to laugh. "Thanks for being easy on me then."
Rose helped Emmett straighten himself up while we all joined in laughing together.
"Alright boys, let's get a move on. There is a lot to do." Carlisle told them.
"I'll take the girls with me to tidy up around our house." Esme said. "Stop by and see us when you're finished."
"Well, you heard her guys, let's get this tree taken care of so we can get back to our ladies." Emmett said with enthusiasm. He smiled at Rose sweetly and then followed a laughing Carlisle out the door.
"I'll see you in a little bit." Edward smiled at me. "And, will you do me a favor? Don't be offended but try not to hit your head on anything or get locked in anywhere."
"Very funny Edward." I grumbled but couldn't help myself from melting at his touch.
Edward ran his fingers down the side of my face and across my jaw. He tilted my chin up and kissed me softly. "Until I see you again, be safe."
"I promise." I murmured against his warm lips.
Jasper had just finished hugging Alice as Edward grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him away from her. They jogged out the door to meet Carlisle and Emmett.
After gathering the little bit of things from the rooms, we meet Esme down at the car. The sun was trying to peek out from the clouds and we were happy to see it. Many people were out sweeping up the sidewalks and streets and we drove slowing back to the house. It was nice to see everyone helping each other. Communities always seem to come together at times when the need is great.
"It looks like everything is still standing." Said Esme. "That is a very good sign."
"Do these hurricanes happen often here Esme?" Alice asked sounding concerned. "I would hate to think you have to do all this clean up on a regular basis."
"Once in a while they do. Sometimes we can go a few years without having a storm." She explained. "We haven't had a very bad storm in quite a long while. Thank goodness."
We pulled up in front of the house and left our bags in the car. On our way to the front door we picked up sticks and small branches that were scattered around. We placed them in a large pile near the curb to be disposed of later. Once we were in the house we walked from room to room to make sure there were no problems. Aside from the mess we had left in the media room when we made our hasty escape, everything else seemed just fine.
"Girls, I will straighten up in here if you want to head out back and pick up the patio and pool area." Esme told us.
"Sure thing Esme." I said. "Let us know if you need us in here."
We went out back and I took the keys to open the small shed by the pool. As I was pulling out the brooms so we could clean up the debris, I felt the presence of some one behind me. Or maybe I should say two someones behind me.
I turned to see Rose and Alice blocking the doorway and my escape with their arms closed in front of them. Uh oh! I'm stuck! The interrogation was about to begin.
"Hey guys, I have brooms for you." I attempted to act like nothing was up and held two brooms out in front of myself.
"Bella, are you going to talk about your night or do we drag it out of you forcefully?" Rose taunted. "We planned hard to make that happen so we should get some scoop."
"Yeah, spill it. Did my brother curl your toes or what?" Alice began bouncing up and down in anticipation.
"Well..." I proceeded to talk as I cautiously moving toward the door. "We had a very nice quiet night together and…"
"You're not getting out of here until you talk." Rose smiled slyly wagging her eyebrows at me.
"Oh all right!" I gave in and let the words roll off my tongue as fast as a waterfall off a cliff. "He was hot, sexy and completely made me melt in his arms. In fact, things got really sweaty and that just made me even more turned on. He has a gorgeous, toned body that I made sure I put my hands all over! We were like two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly in all the right places. When he slowed up and started worrying about hurting me it drove me crazy but, it just made me fall in love with him that much more! And yes, it was uncomfortable and even hurt a little but it was an absolutely amazing experience and I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone but Edward! Oh, and I want to be able to do it again…and again. Well, I would have to make sure Emmett wasn't within a hundred miles of us so we would have no disturbances. Anything else you want to know?"
There! I got it all out in one long breath. At this point my hands were on my hips and my heart was racing but I was putting up a strong defensive front. Alice and Rose were standing in front of me like two alabaster white statues with their mouths hanging open.
Are you serious? I actually had the upper hand with them? I better write this day on my calendar!
"Whoa Bella," Alice snapped out of it. "I have a visual of my brother that I really didn't ever want to have! I know I saw you to being together…but I didn't want to be able to see you two being together, if you know what I mean."
Rose laughed loudly and grabbed Alice by the shoulders. "Face it Alice, your brother is hot, sexy man and Bella gave you a visual to prove it!"
"And your brother acts all nice and shy in front of everyone but his hands sure do like to roam my mountains and valleys! He is NOT shy behind closed doors. It's like riding a bucking bronco at the rodeo." Alice fired back at Rose.
"TMI, TMI!" I shouted not knowing if I should laugh or cover my ears.
"You got the ball rolling Bella." Rose pointed out. "As goofy as your brother seems to be, when he is alone with me he is also very romantic and caring. That is…after he is finished being a wild grizzly bear and tearing all my clothes off so we can stalk each other around the room. He makes the cutest growling sounds when he catches me and throws me down on the bed."
"Ugghh! So that's where those noises were coming from that one night in the house!" Alice and I shouted together.
We all laughed hysterically until we couldn't breathe. After a few minutes we began to calm down and decided we needed to make a new rule. No more using TMI as a weapon!
We shook hands and came together in a big group hug. I have found the two best friends I could ever have on this trip. And I know they felt the same way.
We grabbed our brooms and got busy with cleaning up the patio and pool area. Once all the leaves, sticks and other debris were cleared away and bagged up we used the nets to clean the top of the pool water. The clouds had cleared away for the most part and the warm sunshine seemed to give us energy. It didn't take long to put the chairs back out and together we untied the tables from their secure place along the side of the shed and put them back out where they belonged.
"That looks so much better." Commented Alice. "Once the power is back on we can run the filter to finish cleaning the pool."
"We should go in and help Esme." Said Rose. "The boys will probably be back soon."
"Good idea." I agreed. "Maybe we can fix something for everyone to eat when they get here."
"Come on my sisters!" said Alice cheerfully as she winked and put an arm around each of us.
We walked into the house together and glanced around the kitchen. There was a stack of plates and three large bowls with salad, fruit and bread in them. Another large platter on the counter held lunch meat and cheeses. There was also a jar of pickles, bags of chips, and a mountain of homemade brownies stacked on a plate.
"Hello girls," Esme said as she walked in from the living room. "You're just in time."
"Esme, where did all this food come from?" I asked.
"Oh, the ladies at the motel helped me pack up some things for us to have for lunch. There is just so much food there. You don't want anything to go bad so you just make sure you eat it or share it with others. We loaded it in the cooler in my car early this morning." She smiled. "Now, help me set the dinning room table before our men come back."
We had just finished setting things up and sat down in the living room when we heard the car pull up outside. Esme ran to the door to let them in.
"Hi, honey." Carlisle kissed her but remained standing on the front porch. "We're going to go around back so we can take off our muddy shoes before we come in. Is the patio door unlocked?"
"It should be." Esme answered. "The girls spent the last few hours cleaning everything up back there so please don't track mud all over and ruin all their hard work."
"Alright dear." He smiled and went to join the boys who were already on their way around back.
Esme shut the door, turned and walked over to us. She had a slight grin on her face
"They're up to something."
"Esme?" I was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Carlisle normally would just go around the back of the house and take off his muddy shoes. He came to the front door to make sure we wouldn't be looking for them out back. I know he is up to some…" She stopped abruptly.
We all jumped when we realized the guys had snuck in the house and were standing behind us. They each had a cute little smile and a lovely bouquet of assorted flowers in their hands. Carlisle held a dozen roses for Esme.
"Where did you find…" Esme exclaimed with excitement.
"We helped Ms. Clearwater take the boards off the windows of her flower shop and she was so grateful she let us each have a bouquet." Carlisle explained.
"They are lovely!" She smiled and hugged him tightly.
I didn't see much more that happened around me because once my eyes found Edward's handsome face, I couldn't look away. We met each other halfway across the room and he pulled me into his arms. After a moment he step back and handed me the beautiful bouquet.
"They are no where near as beautiful as you are." He smiled and kissed my lips so very softly then pulled back to look to look at me.
"Edward…" I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back to my mouth kissing him fiercely until it took my breath away.
When we came up for air, we looked around us and noticed that everyone else had left the room. Edward reached around his neck and grabbed both my hands.
"You're going to be the death of me, Bella." His smile made my heart skip 2 beats.
"I love you Edward." I smiled back. "Now let's go see where everyone else went."
Edward never let go of my hand as we walked into the kitchen. Esme was filling 4 vases with water from a bucket that she had filled and put in the pantry before the storm. We each arranged our flowers and took them into the dining room then placed them on the table to make a wonderful display around the food. We could here the boys talking nonstop in the kitchen and we were waiting for them so we could start to eat. Rose ran out of patience and decided to get their attention in the most shocking way.
She shouted into the kitchen doorway, "Hey, Grizzly Bear, Cowboy and Hot, Sexy man! Come eat, and bring Carlisle with you!"
As the guys walked through the door with eyes as wide as saucers and their mouths open in shock, the girls and I burst into a loud chorus of laughter.
A/N:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next will be posted within the normal week's time. Once again, thanks for staying with me and coming back to read. I see there are many new readers also! That is always great to see!!
As usual, feel free to leave your reviews. They make me smile : )