Chapter 14: If You Can't Stand the Heat

A/N: Thank you to everyone who contributed to my very first, 1k review fic. I love your response to this fic. I've tried to be diligent about answering questions. My New Years resolution is to be diligent about responding to all of you. Rest assured that you make my day, always. Mwah.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, as much as I want them to be.

Bella let out a groan of frustration, leaning both her elbows on her desk and putting her head in her hands. "The air conditioner has to be broken. It's like... Texas in here. When did I move to Texas?" she muttered, mostly to herself. "I can't even concentrate."

Behind her, lounging on the couch as he read, Edward chuckled. "The AC works fine. You're just an oven right now," he said. She looked over her shoulder, and Edward glanced at her from over the top of his book. He smiled and her heart skipped a beat. His reading glasses were driving her to distraction. His lip curled up. "You should take a break, Bella."

It was hard not to give in instantly. There was an insanely attractive man stretched out on her couch. She was wearing a simple dress. It would be so easy to just straddle him right there. She would demand that he leave those glasses on.

But no. That would do very little to take care of her overheating problem. Bella breathed deeply and forced herself to turn back to her computer screen. "No," she sighed. "I need to finish this. Work before play."

There was a shuffle as Edward stood, and then Bella found herself being propelled backward with her chair. "What are you-" she began only to be cut off when Edward swept her up into his arms. Her startled hands went to his neck and she clung to him even as she protested. "Put me down!"

"Nope. Hush you cantankerous beast."

Bella laughed. "Beast," she muttered. "I need to work."

"Just trust me," he said, placing a kiss to her cheek. He laid her carefully on her bed, taking off the slip on shoes she wore. "Now. Stay," he commanded in a stern voice. "Take off your dress. I'll be right back."

"Edward, I don't have time-"

"Trust me," he said again. "Take off your dress. If I have to take it off for you, you'll really be distracted."

Bella glared at him, pretending that his words didn't have an instant effect between her thighs. He smirked as if he knew what she was really thinking, brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles and then strode out of the room. Bella watched him go, admiring his ass and the way his shirt hugged the musculature of his back.

Shaking off her lust, Bella slipped out of her dress and laid back on the pillows, wondering what Edward had up his sleeve. With the thin material gone, her skin felt slightly cooler. Still, she was uncomfortably warm and it threatened to make her very, very cranky. She closed her eyes, searching for some sort of inner calm to ease her irritation.

When Edward came back into the room she didn't open her eyes, pretending instead to doze. She heard him set something down on the nightstand and felt the bed dip under his weight. Then she gasped when she felt something cold and wet touch her.

Her eyes fluttered open to a beautiful sight. Edward sat on the edge of the bed, one hand supporting himself as he leaned over her, the other extended, a piece of ice held in his graceful fingers. His lips turned up at the very corners, the sunlight making his hair particularly red and though Bella was sad to see he'd put the glasses away, she was glad for the unobstructed view of his eyes.

Bella sighed, letting delicious tingles course through her body as Edward traced the ice around the tops of her breasts. He winked at her, grinning impishly as he pushed the ice into the center of her bra. He left it there and reached back, grabbing another piece of ice from the small bowl he'd brought. This he ran over her lips, then around her mouth. Bella tilted her head back as he traced the line of her jaw to the underside of her chin.

"God," she breathed. "That feels incredible. You have no idea."

"Cooler?" he asked, running the ice along her collarbone, back and forth along her skin.

She nodded, stretching her arms above her languorously. "Getting better by the second."

"Good," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her lips lightly. He moved his hand to the apex of her belly and began making tight circles from her belly button out, out, out.

In a state of near total relaxation, Bella reached up, running her fingers through his hair as though she were stroking a cat. He tilted his head against her hand, looking as content as she felt.

With a third piece of ice, Edward reached the top of Bella's panties and as he drew a line where fabric met skin, she shivered. "Too much?" he asked, his voice low, taking on that heavy quality it often did when he was riled up.

"Come here," she said, tugging lightly at his hair. Obediently, Edward leaned down, kissing her again. "Mmm," she mumbled against his lips. "I think it's just a matter of finding the right balance of hot and cold."

He shifted then, laying on the bed beside her so that his body lined up against hers. His socked feet played with her bare ones. When the ice melted away, he moved his fingers down below the waistband of her panties. She gaped, and she felt his lips curve up into a wicked smile against her skin. "Just trying to be thorough," he rumbled when her eyes met his.

The icy coldness of his fingertips was a stunning contrast to how overheated that particular area of her body was. She arched up slightly against his fingers, her legs spreading to give him better access to her.

"I thought you had work to do," Edward said, but then he was kissing her and his fingers were circling her clit before she could properly think about his words.

Her moan was wanton. What was work? Fuck work. She wanted to stay in that bed forever. She quickly brought her hands up, beginning to unbutton his shirt. "Stop me then," she challenged, kissing his chin and along his jawline - everywhere but his lips.

Edward didn't stop her - even though he knew it meant he'd just have to cool her down all over again. But, after all, that was what cool showers were for.

~0~

Between busy schedules and avoidance on both their parts, Edward and Bella put off going back to his parents' house until the second to last week of July. Even then it took Emmett putting up an event on Facebook. Emmett Cullen has invited you to attend the Cullens' Bitchin' Pool Party.

Everything seemed so much more official on Facebook.

Bella felt slightly more at ease knowing Jasper and Peter were invited to this get together.

It wasn't that Bella didn't like the Cullens - far from it. They were warm, funny, amazing people to be around. It was just that being around them was confusing. Because she'd never been in a relationship, she still had residual 'meet the parents' nervousness. Of course, as far as she knew, Edward's family was none the wiser about their relationship. So while she felt closer to them than merely being the stranger who just happened to be carrying a baby that was related to them, she also couldn't acknowledge her status as Edward's girlfriend.

What neither of them were ready for was anyone else's opinion or intrusion on the matter. They would all want to know how their relationship would affect the baby. Edward and Bella were barely grasping how it affected them.

In theory, Edward and Bella's plan made sense. They were learning how to be a couple. Their hearts had obviously rushed ahead of them, despite all logic. Bella couldn't deny that she adored Edward, and she could admit to herself that she couldn't remember what her life was like without him. They were slowly learning what it meant to be part of a couple, enjoying each other's company even when they weren't naked. Stupid things that seemed to flow naturally to other couples were puzzles to Edward and Bella. For instance, the first time Edward had freaked out because she hadn't responded to his texts all day, Bella was furious at the implication that she was obligated to check in with him. It took a rather heated conversation before she realized that he was merely worried about her. She'd worked very late that evening, and it was Los Angeles after all. There was plenty of crime in the area. They were two highly independent adults learning to compromise.

When they figured out how they worked, then they would be better equipped to figure out how they were going to raise a child together. What neither of them were acknowledging was what would happen if the baby arrived before they knew what they were going to do about her.

So even though Bella very much enjoyed the Cullens, there was always a slight anxiety - like going to school, knowing you hadn't studied the material and hoping to high hell that the teacher wouldn't call on you that day.

The day started out pleasantly enough. For one, Rosalie wasn't there. She had a photo shoot downtown and wasn't expected until nighttime.

It was Emmett who opened the door, immediately drawing her into a big hug. "Hello there Mafiosa Mama."

"Why Mafiosa?" Edward asked, joining them in the foyer. He flashed Bella a gorgeous grin, making her heart flutter.

Emmett kept his arm slung casually around Bella's shoulders. "Hella Bella is Queen of the Mafia Wars world, Edward. When I need an energy pack, I got an energy pack. When I need help whacking a guy, Bella's got my back."

Bella blushed, ducking her head. "Mafia Wars is a Facebook game," she explained to Edward.

He pursed his lips, obviously trying not to laugh. "I would never have figured you for a Facebook Gamer."

"I'm telling you, bro, the queen." He drew Bella forward into the house, chatting conversationally. "So, tell me. Why is your name Bella the Toothache?"

"Um, that was Jasper's idea," Bella admitted, spotting her friend already there, lounging in a chair by the pool between Peter and Alice. "I couldn't think of anything."

"Yeah, but what's it mean?" Emmett prodded.

"It means she's sweet. So sweet she'll give you cavities," Edward supplied.

Bella turned to him, arcing an eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

He tugged her ponytail playfully. "Lucky guess," he said with a small smile.

"Bella!" Alice called, grinning and waving from across the pool. She tried to stand but was set off balance by her burgeoning belly. Jasper quickly stood, helping her up. She looked slightly sheepish but excitedly made her way around the pool to Bella. "Hi!"

Bella hugged her back as well as she could, laughing at the way their bellies met in the middle. Come October and November they wouldn't be able to touch if they stood tummy to tummy.

"Bewwa! B'la," two voices came from the pool. Bella looked over to find the twins splashing and waving at her. Both of their arms were decked out in floaties, and they stayed within arms reach of where Tanya sat on the steps of the pool.

"Lookit me!" one of them shouted. She kicked herself around in a circle and then looked up at Bella for applause.

"Well you're a swimming champion," Bella said, clapping dutifully.

"Now lookit me!" the other twin cried, not to be outdone. She put her whole face in the water and then popped back up, blinking furiously and looking to Bella for approval.

"Wow, you sure can hold your breath for a while," Bella said, mentally crossing her fingers that she'd guessed correctly the stunning talent the twin-girl was trying for. It must have been the right thing to say because she was rewarded with a toothy grin.

Tanya gave a friendly wave. Carlisle and Esme each greeted Bella with a hug and a cheek kiss.

Peter's greeting was a little too enthusiastic. Ever the joker, her picked Bella up while she was distracted with Carlisle and Esme, marching her to the edge of the pool and threatening to spill her in.

"Peter!" Bella protested, clinging to his neck for dear life. "Peter, I swear to god. Let me go, or I'm going to-"

Laughing, Peter set her safely a few feet away from the pool before she could do harm to innocent ears. "Sorry, Bella. I had a bet with Jasper that you wouldn't get in the water. I was just hedging my chance at winning."

Over Peter's shoulder, Jasper motioned to Bella to keep quiet. He crept closer. Bella made her best mad face. "I didn't even bring a suit so you better be ready to pay up."

Before Peter could respond, Jasper had grabbed him around the waist, hauling both of them into the deep end of the pool. Everyone laughed when Peter screamed like a little girl, the high pitched noise swallowed by the great splash of water. They reappeared, engaging each other in a splash war of epic proportions.

Not to be left out, Emmett elbowed his little brother. "Come on, Edward. I bet I can still beat you to the other end of the pool."

Edward raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Emmett, you've never beat me to the other end of the pool," he said dryly.

"Bet you I will today!" Emmett crowed, jumping feet first into the shallow end and taking off.

Edward pulled his shirt over his head in one swift motion. "That's cheating!" he yelled as he followed his brother into the pool.

Arms crossed as she watched the state of chaos in her Olympic sized swimming pool, Esme chuckled. "Boys will be boys. They never do grow up." She turned slightly patting Alice's belly. "Good luck with that one, dear."

Alice grinned, scrunching up her nose in response. She turned to Bella then. "I have something for you," she said cheerily.

Bella's head snapped over to her friend. She felt a little thickheaded. Seeing Edward strip off his shirt had thrown her momentarily. "I'm sorry, what?"

The diminutive, raven-haired beauty chortled. "I said, I have something for you. Come on."

Alice led Bella into a glass covered, jacuzzi room just off to the side from the pool. Hung on a rack in the far corner was a modest bathing suit. It was a one piece that Alice explained was designed to accentuate the legs. "Why would I want to accentuate my legs?" Bella asked, thinking it was an odd thing to say.

"No reason," Alice said with a shrug and a not too convincing innocent smile.

Bella couldn't help but feel suspicious. "Well, I don't know if I want to swim," she hedged.

"Oh, come on," Alice said, pouting ever so slightly. "It'll be fun. I mean, have you discovered how buoyant we've become? Having a beach ball down your front has its advantages." Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

Eventually, Bella let herself be convinced. And Alice was right - she was very buoyant. The twins seemed to find this particularly amusing, one of them hanging on to Alice or Bella as they floated on their backs. It wasn't at all irritating as Bella would have imagined.

A little later they were all played out, sitting at the outside picnic table, eating skewers that Carlisle prepared. Edward's hand was resting discretely on her knee under the table, his thumb occasionally brushing her kneecap. Bella was starting to feel right at home and comfortable.

Bella should have known it wouldn't last.

The questioning began innocently enough. Esme asked Bella if the nursery was ready, or if she had any plan on color scheme and design. Bella found herself hesitant to answer. She glanced at Edward out of the corner of her eyes, suddenly wondering if it was overstepping to make this kind of decision on her own. While she found herself wanting Edward in her life, she still wasn't sure how to grapple with the idea of sharing custody of her child. Was everything a team decision from what color paint would grace the nursery to how they would handle discipline?

So she gave vague answers, saying truthfully that she hadn't thought it all through. The conversation evolved to necessities and if Bella had bought many supplies. She gave Jasper a pointed look, saying that the baby had quite a respectable wardrobe already, but other than that, she hadn't really had time to gather what she needed.

And that was when Esme started talking about a joint baby shower for her and Alice.

"Mom," Edward hissed warningly. Obviously this wasn't the first time he was hearing about this idea.

"I'm really not a party games type of girl," Bella hedged, twirling the left over skewer between her fingers. "Besides, almost all of my friends are guys." She smiled sheepishly, hoping she wasn't coming off as rude.

Esme laughed lightly. "I hate shower games too. My baby showers don't include the ridiculous games. Ask Tanya."

"She's right," Tanya spoke, grinning. "Her parties are such fun, Bella. The boys and girls are all invited. The food was themed. Everything came in twos for mine, as you might imagine," she grinned, kissing the head of the twin who was seated on her lap.

It was hard to say no to all the grinning faces around her, so Bella didn't. She eventually let herself be talked into a baby shower.

"Good," Esme said, looking pleased with herself. "Don't worry about a thing. All you and Edward need to do is register for what you need or want."

Beside her, Edward set his soda can down heavily. He looked over, his eyes slightly nervous. Confused by his expression, Bella put her hand over his on her knee, squeezing reassuringly. Obviously noticing that everyone was watching, Edward smoothed the startled expression back into practiced indifference. "We can do that," he said simply.

Before the conversation could continue, bringing up more subjects she and Edward weren't prepared to face, Bella cleared her throat. "Hey, Alice. Can I ask you a random question?"

Alice shrugged. "Course," she said, popping a ranch-covered tomato in her mouth.

"Why is your and Rosalie's last name Hale?" From the comments on Facebook, especially from one Cynthia Brandon, Bella had pieced together that Alice's last name wasn't Hale as she had originally assumed. Obviously, Rosalie's last name had started out as Cullen. She was genuinely curious where they'd gotten it.

"Oh," Alice said, her lips turning up in a fond smile. "Well-"

"That's none of your business," a highly irritated voice interrupted them.

They all turned to see Rosalie standing at the back door. She looked fabulous - even more so than usual. Her hair was carefully windblown, and the dress she wore hugged her curves perfectly. She was glaring at Bella.

Bella cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. You're right."

"No, no she's not right," Alice said, her eyes narrowed at her lover. She turned to Bella, smiling forcibly. "You and I are friends. You have every right to ask me a question like that as my friend."

"I don't want her knowing about our private life, Alice," Rosalie protested.

Alice was quiet for a long moment, then she looked over at Rosalie with blazing eyes. "Are you ashamed of me?" she asked pointblank.

The furious expression fell from Rosalie's face, replaced by a look of complete shock. "What? Of course not!"

"Then you have no leg to stand on, Rose. Even if Bella were only asking to get a scoop, which she isn't, then all that would happen is that the general public would find out exactly how long we've meant something to each other." Alice put a hand to her mouth, her eyes suddenly welling with tears. "All this time, I've let you keep me in the shadows - something to hide like a stupid sex tape with that disgusting pig. Well, I'm sick of it."

She stood, walking as quickly as she was able to the house. "Baby-" Rose tried, stepping toward her.

"Your baby is going to be here come November," Alice snarled, glaring through her tears. "Are you going to keep him a dirty little secret too?" She didn't wait for Rosalie to answer, instead continuing into the house.

Rosalie stared at the glass door for a few seconds, looking shell shocked. She turned to look at her family, her eyes falling on Bella and turning hard. For one, two, three full seconds, they just stared at each other - Bella lost for any idea what to say and Rosalie glaring with pure malevolence. Then, the blond-haired woman turned, striding into the house after her tearful partner.

Esme cleared her throat, looking highly disapproving as she stared at the spot her daughter had disappeared from. She turned to Bella, putting on a warm smile. "Don't worry, dear. I think that was a long time coming."

Bella wasn't worried. She felt badly, hating that her very presence made Rosalie uncomfortable in a place that was her home more than it would ever be Bella's. But at the same time, her stomach twisted with frustration at the injustice.

"Come on, Bella," Edward said, leaning close to her. She could recognize the tightness in his voice, but he was obviously trying to distract her. "You want to see how quick I can beat Emmett at ping pong?"

Emmett chuffed. "In your dreams, little brother. Even my girls can kick your a-uh, hiney at ping pong."

~0~

A few days later, Bella was at her place, standing on the porch, saying a lingering goodbye to Edward that included lips and tongues, but no words. She sighed into his mouth, thinking that there were fewer greater pleasures in life than kissing Edward - and most of those included doing other things with him.

"I wish you could come with me," Edward murmured as they parted. He leaned his forehead against hers, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

Bella huffed slightly, tilting her head up for a small kiss. "I wouldn't go even if I could," she admitted. "I don't want to think about the heartburn Thai food would give me right now." With a sigh, she stepped away from him. "Have fun."

He grinned, "I'll try."

Bella stepped back in the house, leaning against the door and smiling like a goofball to herself. She was ridiculously happy, basking in the warm glow that spending time with Edward always brought. She gasped a little then, her hands going to her belly as she felt an unmistakable little flutter there.

"You like him too," she asked out loud, her fingers stroking her skin, marveling at the life that moved inside of her. She'd been feeling the baby's movements for about a week. "I guess that's a good thing."

Her doorbell rang then. With a smile of anticipation, Bella turned and flung it open, "Did you forget-"

Her question died on her lips as she saw that it wasn't Edward standing there but her father.

"Dad," she squeaked, feeling oddly guilty. "Hi."

Her father studied her carefully, and Bella felt her cheeks glow red. After a moment, he held up a paper bag. "Was out fishing this morning. Turns out you were right. There are a couple of lakes nearby - if you can call them that. Anyway, I thought we could have a fish-fry, for old times sake."

Just then, the smell from the bag hit Bella with the strength of a wrecking ball. She clapped a hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom.

When she emerged, Charlie was looking apologetic. Thankfully, the fish was nowhere to be seen, though Bella could still smell traces of it in the air.

"Come on, kid. I'll treat you to lunch. Whatever you want," he held the door open for her. "And then you can tell me about the guy I saw leaving just a minute ago."

~0~

Bella squirmed, looking everywhere besides her father. She felt like a teenager whose parent had found condoms in their nightstand. He was staring - she knew that. She could feel his eyes on the top of her head, like sun through a magnifying glass. Her face was hot, and for once she couldn't blame the baby.

"So," Charlie said, his voice a practiced calm of a man who's heard everything from juvenile delinquents and drunks, "this Edwin-"

"Edward," she corrected.

"Edward seems like a nice guy. Where'd you meet him?"

The questions were inevitable. Bella knew she had a choice. Lying outright to her father was entirely different from not correcting his assumption. And besides that, she had nothing to hide. It was her life to live as she chose. She would not feel ashamed when she hadn't done anything wrong.

So she told him about how this baby was conceived.

Charlie set his fork down and gaped at his daughter. "Bella, I thought you said you went to the clinic."

"I did."

"But it's his baby?" Charlie clarified.

"She's my baby," Bella countered.

Charlie fixed her with a disparaging look. "You know what I mean. You're with him because of the … mix up."

"No," she said, her voice more defensive than she would have liked, "it's separate. We're trying to figure us out separate from the baby." She placed her hand on her belly, stroking nervously. How could she explain? "I mean, just because we... I mean..."

Charlie leaned across the table. "Bells, one thing you're going to learn: when you have kids, there is no separate."

A/N: Thank you to the lovely jadedandboring for beta work. Miniest is home, and gorgeous I might add. So I put her back to work. ::cough::

I hope you all had a merry new year!

So, tell me about your baby showers.