Standard Disclaimer – I do not own Twilight or any of the characters from the story. All song selections have been provided by my amazing beta, NoWayWithWords. She is the greatest! She has set up a YouTube playlist that includes the songs chosen for the chapters. If you would like to check it out, see my profile for the link

The song for the chapter is "See the World" by Gomez

Chapter 16 – The Big Easy

We still hadn't seen Jane, or heard anything from Glenn, Mike, or his band. I hoped that everything was going well for them, well for Glenn, Mike, and his band anyway. I could care less about Jane.

Later that night, we were all gathered around the fire pit, toasting marshmallows and eating s'mores, when I felt a sharp pain in my ear. I dropped my perfectly toasted marshmallow to the ground and grabbed the side of my head.

Edward looked up at me, just as another jolt of pain shot through my ear, making me whimper. "Bella, are you alright?"

"My ear. It's hurting again."

Marcus asked, "Haven't you been taking your medicine?"

"Yes, I took the last pill this morning."

Edward said, "They must not have been strong enough to kill the infection." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called his dad. He told him about my ear. His dad suggested I stay out of the water and the wind until I could see a doctor.

First thing the next morning, Edward and Sam, the security guard, escorted me to a clinic in town. The doctor at the clinic gave me a prescription for even stronger antibiotics and a second prescription that was supposed to help keep me from getting a yeast infection that women often ended up getting from the antibiotics. He told me that I needed to wear ear plugs when I was outside in the wind. He also said to stay out of the water, to keep the water out of my ears. Before I left, he suggested that I wear earplugs while performing. He said the vibrations from the amplifiers may have been what initially irritated my ears and started the problems.

When we left the clinic, we stopped at a drug store to drop off the prescriptions. We had to wait for them to be filled, so we headed to the grocery store to stock up on food. We barely made it through the checkout line before we were bombarded with fans wanting to take our pictures and have things signed. Sam did a great job of keeping people back and eventually got us out of there. When we arrived back at the pharmacy, the place looked pretty busy, so we sent Sam inside to pick up my prescriptions.

By the time we made it back to the beach house, Paul was busy trying to get a few photographers to back off. Now that they knew we were in town, they were determined to get pictures. They took a few pictures of me and Edward going inside the house, while Sam joined Paul in kicking them off the property.

The rest of the vacation was spent primarily indoors, snuggling on the couch, cooking together, and making love. Glenn, Mike, Tyler, and Eric showed up the morning we were supposed to leave with a woman that I had never seen before. Glenn introduced her as his daughter, Jessica. He said she had a house in Corpus Christi. Glenn, Mike, and the guys stayed with her while they were gone. He said that Mike and the guys played at a few local bars and Jessica went to every performance.

Jane showed up a few minutes after Jessica left. She didn't say a word to anyone, just marched up to her room to grab her things and climbed on the bus. No one asked her where she had been, because no one really cared.

As we all stowed our stuff on the buses, the only people missing were Garrett and the other bus driver. Garrett had started disappearing shortly after my trip to the clinic. He would pop back in and have dinner with us, but leave for the night around 10 pm. All I could get out of him was that he had met a waitress named Kate and she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. I have to admit, I was really hoping to get a glimpse of the woman Garrett was so taken with.

I was rewarded ten minutes later when Garrett pulled up in a blue BMW. He got out of the driver's side and went around to the other side of the car. The woman, Kate, got out of the car. She was not at all what I expected. She was tall, probably 5' 10", with long straight hair and big hazel eyes. She was overweight, but it did not look bad on her. She had large breasts and broad hips, giving her an hourglass figure, like Mae West or Jessica Rabbit.

Garrett kissed her a few times. I caught him sneakily groping her breasts while they kissed. He promised her that he would call her as she got behind the wheel, and I was pretty sure he actually meant it. He stood there and watched her drive away before getting his things together and loading them on the bus.

I couldn't help it. I had to give him a hard time. "I can see why you didn't have any interest in Jane."

He shrugged and said, "What can I say, I like women with a little meat on their bones. I also don't like vapid bitches."

The other driver showed up a few minutes later. With one last check, we loaded up on the bus and headed for New Orleans. It was going to be a seven hour drive which meant we would arrive around 5 pm. We were going to spend four days in New Orleans because we had two charity appearances and two concerts to play. The hotel where both charity events were being held provided rooms for us, so we wouldn't have to stay on the bus. Apparently Peter had called them while he was in Dallas to arrange our rooms, because they put Edward and me in a suite that we shared with Peter and Garrett.

Peter said it was safer that way. Apparently Edward had experienced trouble the last time he was in New Orleans. According to Peter, some stalker fan managed to climb up the side of the building and was camped out on his balcony naked. They had to get the police involved to force the guy to leave.

Edward shivered, "I'll never forget that. It freaked me out. I'd just got out of the shower and was headed for bed when I heard a knock on the glass door leading out to the patio. I stepped into a pair of jeans and went to the patio. I could see the shadow of some guy. I thought it might be Aro or Marcus out there for some reason, so I pulled back the curtains to find some naked guy spanking it on my balcony!"

Peter laughed, "You should have heard him. He screamed like a girl! I could hear him from across the hall. When I opened the door to see what was going on, he bolted across the hall into my room screaming and pointing. He couldn't even tell me what the hell was wrong. I went over there to see what the problem was and called hotel security. They held the guy until the police could get there."

"Hopefully that won't happen again," I said trying to fight off the laugh bubbling up inside me.

Peter shook his head, "We're staying in a room that has no balconies this time. We'll be in a two bedroom suite so Garrett and I will be there in case anyone shows up at your door. We have also reserved the entire floor. The only people that should be up there are people we know. I think we're pretty safe this time."

The Hotel we were staying at was right inside the French Quarter. It was very modern considering the historic area where it was located. We all got checked in and carried our things to our rooms. Glenn and the other bus driver had to drive the buses to the outskirts of town and take a taxi back to the hotel, so we all agreed to wait for them before heading out for dinner.

While we were waiting, Edward and I snuggled on the couch in our suite and flipped through the channels on the television. He found a news channel and was trying to get caught up on what was going on around the world when his cell phone started ringing. It was his mother, so he got up and went into the bedroom to talk to her privately.

I turned down the volume on the TV and walked over to the window to look out at the busy streets. The sun was going down, casting an eerie gloom across the city. I was anxious to explore the streets below. The city had such rich history. I found it fascinating. I went back to my place on the couch and turned to one of the hotel channels that was talking about all the restaurants and interesting things to see.

Peter came out of his and Garrett's room to join me on the couch. "What are you watching?"

"I was just trying to plan what I wanted to do while we are here."

"I've been here several times on vacation. What kind of things are you interested in?"

"I'm not really interested in the drunken parties and girls flashing their breasts for plastic beads that they could buy themselves for pocket change. I want to see some of the history and hidden treasures of the city."

"Well, tomorrow Edward has a photo shoot for a magazine all morning, then you both have a charity dinner to attend, but it's not until 7 pm. If you'd like, I can put together a list of things for you to do while Edward is busy. That way you can see some of the things I love about the city. You would have to take Garrett along, of course, but I promise they are worth seeing."

"That sounds perfect. Thank you, Peter."

Peter went down and spoke with the concierge and came back with a map. He sat down with a pen and circled different places and made notes. By the time we left for dinner, he had my morning all planned out.

Dinner was delicious. We went to a seafood restaurant. I had Oysters Rockefeller for dinner and Bananas Foster for dessert. The food was incredible and we were all having a great time. We ended up spending three hours laughing and talking with everyone.

Mike told us about one of the bars they played at in Corpus Christi where people kept buying them drinks. He said they were so trashed by the end of the show that Jessica had to practically carry them out to the car. He said when they went back, two nights later, he told the bar tender to serve them non-alcoholic drinks, but make it look like they were drinking real drinks. The bar tender suggested they order a drink called a 'sneaky fucker'. He said it was basically Dr. Pepper with a splash of grapefruit juice. It was served in a rocks glass and looked like a mixed drink when they made it. The bartender told him that guys order it when they are looking to get their girlfriends drunk, but want to stay sober enough to properly take advantage of them later.

Edward made a face. "That sounds disgusting! Dr. Pepper and grapefruit juice?"

Eric smiled. "It grows on you. I have never been a big fan of Dr. Pepper, but I kind of liked it with the grapefruit juice. It made it so that it wasn't so sickeningly sweet."

Heidi said, "One of my friends used to be a stripper. She said that the bar where she used to dance kept a bourbon bottle behind the counter filled with tea and a vodka bottle filled with water. That way the strippers could get guys to buy them drinks, make them pay full price, and not get the girls drunk."

This led into a discussion about how stupid guys can be when they are horny. The girls all agreed that men are much more gullible when they think they might get in a woman's pants. The guys disagreed, but after exchanging stories, we convinced them we were right.

After dinner, most of our crew went out to stroll down Bourbon Street and hit a few bars. I was feeling pretty tired and Edward wasn't looking forward to being mobbed by a bunch of drunk fans, so we headed back to the hotel with Peter and Garrett in tow.

The next morning, Edward was up and showered before I even woke up. I climbed out of bed and practically attacked Edward for the cinnamon roll he was eating. I was starving. We ate breakfast together before he had to leave for his photo shoot. I threw on some casual clothes, grabbed my sunglasses and the map Peter had left for me before heading out the door.

Garrett warned me that the only thing he would be helping me with would be reading Peter's handwriting. All the other tasks on the list would be for me to perform on my own. I didn't understand what he was talking about until I read his notes on the map. They consisted of things like, "Go to this restaurant and ask to use the restroom," and "Go here and ask for Maggie. Ask her about her tattoo. Tell her Peter sent you."

I decided to start off easy, so I headed down to Jackson Square to take a tour of a beautiful cathedral there. It was a very touristy thing to do and it was early enough that most drunks were still sleeping it off, so I thought it wouldn't be so crowded. The church was beautiful. I talked to a nun that was working the gift shop for a few minutes while I shopped for souvenirs. She was really sweet but didn't take crap from anyone.

From there, Garrett and I took a ride on the Mississippi River on the "Natchez," a huge sternwheeler. It was relaxing and well worth the money. It was lunch time before we got off the boat, so we headed over to the restaurant Peter indicated on the map. It was in a building that was built in the late 1700's. We had a light lunch and were about to leave when Garrett reminded me that I had a task to complete. I flagged the waiter down and asked where the restroom was. He pointed to a door and told me to follow the signs.

I walked out the back door of the building into a closed off alley, where the signs directed me to a door at the other end that led me into a more modern building with a proper restroom. Other than it being in another building, I didn't see anything special about it. On my way back through the alley, I spotted a small set of handprints in a patch of old plaster low on the wall. Below the handprints was some writing. When I looked closer I could see that it was a name. Part of the last name had crumbled off with the stucco. It said, "Mary Francis DuB…" Below the name was a date, "October 1794." I dug my camera out of my purse and took a picture of the handprints.

The rest of my afternoon was spent seeking out the people and the places that Peter indicated on the map. I found Maggie and asked about her tattoo. She was a sweet old lady with a full back piece of a tiger with his claw positioned on her right shoulder blade perfectly aligned with four scars that extended to the top of her shoulder. She told me that her father was a lion tamer in the circus and her mother rode the elephant. She traveled with the circus throughout her childhood. When she was 20 years old they got a new tiger cub to start training. She was cleaning out the tiger's cage when it attacked her. It left four nasty scars on her shoulder and bit her head. She said it was only playing and didn't mean to hurt her. While she was in the hospital she fell in love with her doctor and they ended up getting married and settling down in New Orleans.

One of the stops on Peter's map was to tour a really old cemetery. It was creepy, but really interesting. I ended up taking lots of pictures there. I found an old man named Leroy. Peter recommended I ask him to take me on a walking tour. He was probably close to 80 years old, so we walked really slowly while he told me all about what New Orleans used to be like. He told me about the slave trade and showed me approximately where the slave auctions took place. He told me about the corrupt politicians of the day and showed me where they were killed. He even showed me a building that used to be a brothel. His walking tour pointed out all the seedy and ugly details of the city, but they were incredibly interesting. It was refreshing to have the details that weren't in bold on a travel brochure. After our walk, he directed me to the French Market, but warned me to watch out for purse snatchers while walking through the booths. He was a grouchy old man, but I truly enjoyed his company.

Garrett was really uncomfortable with the idea of shopping in the market because it was really crowded, but somehow I managed to get him to let me pop into a few booths for things for friends. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a lingerie shop so I could buy an outfit to surprise Edward. Garrett didn't go into the shop with me. He said that he didn't even want to know what I had purchased. He mumbled something about not wanting a visual to go along with the sounds coming through the paper thin walls as he blushed. I just laughed and told him to call Kate.

Edward was waiting for us when we got back to the hotel. I had to shower and get ready for the charity dinner, so he told me all about his photo shoot while I was getting dressed. They had him pose on an old Mardi Gras float. He said he had a lot of fun.

We arrived at the charity dinner just in time to get blinded by photographers as we walked from the limo to the door of the building. Edward guided me with his hand on the small of my back as we smiled and passed the cameras. We stopped and spoke briefly to a couple of reporters that Edward knew. While they talked to Edward, one of the reporters nearby would inevitably ask me a few questions. Being included by the reporter made me feel like I wasn't just an arm decoration, so I didn't mind it at all.

The dinner was tolerable. With it being New Orleans, I was surprised we didn't have seafood, but they ended up serving us some fancy French style food that was pretty, but flavorless. I would have much rather had some good barbecued ribs and potato salad, but I guess real food is not suitable for a charity dinner.

After dinner, some guy went up to the podium and talked about the charity and thanked everyone for coming. Different people went up and presented checks while we all applauded. I smiled and clapped my hands when everyone else did, but I honestly wasn't paying attention to a thing they were saying. All of my focus was on Edward's fingertips tracing light circles on the inside of my thigh as he inched the dress up bit by bit. He had a sparkle in his eye as he looked at me and unleashed that sexy smile that gave me goose bumps all over.

He leaned over so close that his lips brushed against my ear when he said, "Are you ready to dance, Bella?"

For a brief second I thought he asked if I was ready to go, and my heart skipped a beat with excitement, but then he stood and took me by the hand and led me to the little dance floor. They were playing slow songs, so he pulled me close and we moved gracefully across the floor. He was an excellent dancer.

"Are you having a good time, Bella?" he asked, as we swayed to the music.

"Yes, this is nice."

"What did you think about the food?"

"It was… pretty."

He laughed, "Pretty awful. I don't know why they serve stuff like that. They spend a lot of money renting out the space, decorating, and having a professional chef cook the food. They should at least make sure it tastes good."

"I agree. I think I would rather have a cheeseburger from McDonalds than have something that looks and tastes like plastic food."

"That's one of the things I really like about you, Bella. You're not high maintenance."

"Thanks… I guess."

We continued to dance for two more songs while he hummed in my ear, and then mingled with other people while we sipped wine. My feet were killing me by the time Edward signaled Peter, who had been hanging out by the door, to have the limo driver pull the car around so we could head back to our hotel.

I was never so happy to climb into a car in my life. As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, Edward pulled my shoes off my feet and started rubbing them.

"I'll never understand why women wear shoes that they know are going to hurt their feet," he said.

"We wear them because they make our legs look good and men find them sexy."

Edward placed a kiss on the top of my bare foot and murmured, "I find everything about you sexy, Bella."

Garrett snickered and Peter rolled his eyes. I couldn't hold back my laughter and soon we were all rolling in hysterics. The rest of the ride back the hotel was filled with laughter while Peter and Garrett told us about the funny things they observed at the party.

When we made it up to our suite, Edward and I both agreed that we were too tired to mess around, so we slipped into bed and fell asleep. We slept in the next morning and got up in time for lunch and then took a tour of the children's wing of a hospital.

Garrett and I went to the Audubon Zoo with some special needs children that afternoon while Edward had some meeting that I didn't know much about. I had so much fun at the zoo with the kids that I didn't want to leave. Even Garrett was having a good time. He held the hand of a little boy that could not see and led him around the petting zoo. The little boy was nervous, so Garrett would tell him all about what animal he was going to pet before leading him over to it. The boy was fascinated with the little horns on the goat and the feel of the turkey's feathers.

Garrett and I took turns snapping pictures of each other with my camera and finally posed with all of the kids while the teachers and volunteers took pictures. I stopped into the gift shop and picked up a few things before we headed to the hotel to get cleaned up. It was a great afternoon, but the sun and the kids really wore me out.

Edward and Peter were still gone when we got back, so I took a shower and stretched out on the bed to take a quick nap while I waited for him. I don't know what time he came home, I just know that when I woke up, I was completely naked and Edward's tongue was buried between my legs doing wicked and wonderful things to me. I was too distracted to even notice if the sun was still up, or if it was dark outside.

I grabbed a handful of his silky hair and moaned loudly as my body writhed in ecstasy. His eyes blazed with passion as he looked up at me. He winked and smiled, but didn't stop, which was good, because I was so close that I had no plans of letting him up for air until I was done.

I could feel my breath quicken and my pulse racing. He shifted and slid two fingers inside me. He knew exactly where to find the spot that would drive me wild. I barely recognized the sounds coming from my own mouth as I came, hard.

My body was still convulsing with pleasure as Edward crawled up my body and positioned himself between my legs. I finally noticed that he was also completely naked.

"Good, you're up. I didn't want to get started without you," he said as he took my nipple into his mouth.

My brain couldn't form a complete sentence, so I all I could say was, "Mmmm… Oh… Ungh… Okay."

His lips claimed mine and I could taste myself on his tongue as he pushed into me. We both moaned at the feel of it. I watched his jaw clench with restraint as he paused briefly then pulled out and pressed back in. My legs slid around his waist and I could feel the muscles in his ass flexing beneath my heels. For a moment I wished there was a mirror above the bed so I could see the way his body moved, I was sure it was spectacular. Before I could think about it too much, he shifted slightly and picked up the pace a little. I could see a thin layer of sweat on his skin shimmering slightly in the dim light on the bedside table. He was beautiful.

His eyebrows drew together and his head tipped back as he increased the speed even more, slamming into me in the most splendid way. He slid one hand under my waist, lifting my hips slightly, allowing him to somehow go even deeper, while the other gripped my shoulder softly, to keep me from sliding up the bed into the headboard. This brought his body down closer to mine. I could feel his breath on my neck and hear his grunts and moans mingling with my own. The sensation was incredible.

I heard him say, "Cum for me, Bella," and my body obeyed his command to the extreme. I clenched so tight around him that he moaned loudly and shouted, "Fuck!" before his body tensed with his own pleasure and he collapsed onto me, completely spent.

He stayed that way for a moment, while he caught his breath, then slid off of me and went to retrieve a washcloth to clean us both up. I was asleep by the time he came back.

I awoke wrapped in his arms. We were both still naked, so I took advantage of the situation and woke him up in the same way he had done to me the night before. Needless to say, we spent the entire morning making love and cuddling.

We had two concerts scheduled in New Orleans, which both went well. Peter, Garrett, Edward, Marcus, Aro, and I took a swamp tour while the others did some shopping. Everyone else went partying down on Bourbon Street, while Edward and I christened the hotel suite one more time. Well, it wasn't exactly ONE time; it was more like multiple times in one night.

As I expected, most of the gang were suffering from hangovers when they loaded up on the bus the following afternoon. Glenn just laughed at them as they climbed on board and headed straight for their bunks.

A/N: I have always loved New Orleans. I've been there many times. Sure it's a little dirty and smells bad in the morning, but the history and colorful people make it well worth it. If you ever get a chance to go, I recommend it. I promise, it's not all drunks and strip joints. They have a fantastic WWII museum. Their zoo is amazing. There are incredible art galleries and antique shops all within walking distance of each other. The food is great and the music is even better.

OK, I don't have much time to write because today is my son's 19th birthday. I find it hard to believe that my sweet little boy has grown into such a great young man. There have been times when I wondered if the boy had three brain cells in his head, but apparently they reproduced over time making him the charming, intelligent, well mannered young man that he is today. I'm very proud of him.

Before I go, I have to share a funny little story about my son. (Mom's love embarrassing stuff like this.) When my son was in kindergarten (five years old), he told the school teacher that he was going to drive an asshole when he grew up. Of course the teacher told me what he said, so later that evening I asked him what kind of car he wanted when he grew up. He said, "I wanna asshole."

I was confused. Surely he was thinking of something else. I asked, "What does it look like?"

He had the most innocent expression on his face when he said, "Those fast ones that drive past us on the street. You know. You say it's an asshole."

That's when I learned to watch my language in the car.