Hey guys, A.S.R. here. Thank you for your interest in my story, and your patience with the pace it's moving along. I promise the good stuff is coming, don't lose faith quite yet! Here is the sixth chapter, ready for your reviews! It's kind of long, could be good, could be bad, it's your call. Enjoy.
"Doesn't Jasper get lonely when you're over every night?" I asked Alice on my phone as I shoveled a salad down my throat at work that Monday.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Her tinkling voice was sending shivers through me, but I repressed them best I could by concentrating on the words themselves. "Rose and Emmett are flying in tonight, so Jazz is going to meet them airport, and the three of them are going to meet us at the theater around eight. Rosalie loves The Nutcracker." Alice had gotten me tickets to see my favorite ballet for an early Christmas present, but I had just found out that it would be a group outing. I didn't mind, I was excited to finally meet more of her family.
"I get to meet Rosalie and Emmett?" I was a tiny bit anxious to meet Alice's beautiful older sister, whom I'd only seen in photographs. Alice had admitted to me that Rosalie was not thrilled that Alice had fallen for a human. "First Edward, now you, too? What the hell?" were her exact words, as I was told.
"Yup," Alice told me cheerfully now, and I groaned in the slightest bit, and she tinkled that tiny laugh that makes me melt. "Emmett is quite excited."
I smiled at that. I'd always enjoyed Alice and Jasper's stories about their goofy big brother, and I looked forward to finally meeting him. Then the absence of his wife's name faded the grin. "Rosalie not so much, huh?"
"Rose will be fine, don't worry about her. She's tenacious by nature," Alice told me, and I chuckled sardonically at the way my mate downplayed her sister's attitude. "She's not as opposed to the idea of you being with me as she was Bella being with Edward," she added pointedly, hoping to put me at ease, but it didn't work.
"Yeah," I sighed, sitting back in my chair and glancing at the clock on the wall above the cafeteria door, lamenting my last two hours at work. "I suppose I'll be home around five-thirty or six, I have to drop some books off at the library on my way to the gym, and I may take a quick browse while I'm there."
"Don't get lost in the stacks, Andie," Alice warned me. She knew me so well, and it made me smile. "We have a very busy night. And I don't understand why you still go to the gym. Don't you get enough cardio with me?" My face went blood red at her innuendo, my mind replaying events from the morning before. Alice had perfected making love to me without so much damage to my body, so she had been more than willing when I woke up with a psuedo hard on.
"Mmm, not enough. I could never get enough cardio with you," I toyed with her, grinning.
"Well, we should work on that," she purred seductively, and I felt the phantom of her kiss on my jugular, sending delicious chills through me. "Then that hour you spend working out three times a week could be spent with me."
"Hey, this stomach you like to kiss on so much needs that hour, three times a week." Looking to the clock again, I sighed heavily. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Most definitely. I love you."
"As I love you," I returned warmly, my heart filling to the bursting point with my love for my Alice.
I was still pink in the face with my silly grin etched on when I reclaimed my position in front of my computer at the nurses' station. "Alice on the brain?" my co-worker Mandy teased me as she handed me a patient's file.
"Always," I answered with a smile, opening the folder to start entering the written information into the database. "We're going to the ballet tonight, with a few of her siblings, and it's my first time meeting two of them."
"Nervous?"
I gave a hysterical laugh in the back of my mind, thinking of Rosalie, and silently said that she had no idea how nervous I really was. "Nah, not at all," I told Mandy aloud, not looking up at her as I typed, staring intently at the open file. "I'm saving the nerves for Mom and Dad." This was partly true, as I was more nervous to meet Carlisle and Esme than any of Alice's other four siblings, or her niece, for that matter.
"Do you know when you'll be meeting the parentals, yet?" Mandy asked, and I shook my head, which was also the truth. Carlisle and Esme were on an extended holiday, and Alice had no idea when they would return to the States. Mandy patted my shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll love you, you're a really good kid, Andie."
I gave a grateful smile at that, appreciative of her support, though she really had no clue about the situation. I watched as she walked away to continue her rounds, and sighed at the fact that I still had so long until I could see my mate. As if on cue, my cell phone vibrated, and I opened a text from Alice, blushing furiously at the words: Thinking about you... if you know what I mean.
Boy, did I ever. I sent a quick text back. Don't tease me while I'm working, it's rude lol.
I went back to my task, and then my phone went off again, this time with a picture message, and I hesitated for a minute before I decided to look, anyway. With a sharp gasp, I felt the heat flood through me as I gazed at Alice's dripping lips, and I don't mean the ones on her face. Her tiny, talented digits were teasing it, and I shuddered at the memory of how those fingers worked. You're evil, Alice, I texted back with a giggle, and I saved the image to my phone. Lewd photo of Alice number 27, I thought to myself with a grin.
I went by the library as planned, a vague idea of what book I was going to peruse the shelves for, and I was so caught up in the thought that it surprised me when I turned the corner of the row and ran into Alice standing there with the very book open in her hands, reading it. She looked up at me with that smile, and I nearly became a puddle on the carpet. "I figured I'd help you out finding this," she told me smugly, waving it at me. "We're extremely pressed for time, and had I left it to you, we would have been late to meet Rose and the boys."
I ignored that for the moment, pulling her to me and kissing her for the first time in what felt like days, but had only been hours. She pulled away from me when it started to become a little heated, and gave me that single-dimpled grin, the right corner of her addictive mouth pulling up. "Not a wise decision to rape me in public, Andie. Come on, let's get you checked out so we can go to your gym."
"You're coming to the gym with me?" The information surprised me so much I forgot to goad her about the time being an excuse to see me sooner.
"I am," she affirmed, leading me out of the stacks by the hand and towards the counter.
But what about all those people in there, beating hearts, sweating, the rushing blood? Wouldn't that bother her? I asked her this in her ear, and she looked at me with an affronted stare. "Andie! Have you no faith?" she asked, and I blushed in shame. Of course I had faith in her ability to abstain, I was merely worried for her having to fight the animal in herself.
"I– you know I do! I just– I don't want you to have to suffer," I explained, but she was smiling at me, so I knew I hadn't really offended her.
The librarian was staring at us expectantly, and I jumped when she cleared her throat to catch our attention. "I'm sorry," I told her as I took the book from Alice's hands and placed it on the counter.
Once we were in my car, I looked over at Alice and shook my head at her as she played D.J. on my iPod, settling for The Beatles, which I knew she loved. So as the opening notes to "Love Me Do" rang out of my speakers, I reached over for her hand. I was still in a kind of awe that she belonged to me, and I found myself wondering for the millionth time what she saw in me. I didn't question her feelings, I knew she was in love with me, the look in her eyes when we were together told me all I needed to know. The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to go to the gym, other plans forming in my mind.
When I turned the car onto my street, she looked over at me with a grin. "Oh, yeah?" I felt her tighten her fingers on my hand, her thumb caressing it.
"Maybe," I said vaguely, shrugging my shoulders.
"You have an appetite that could rival a newborn," she said with an airy chuckle, shaking her head at me in wonder.
I glanced at her as I pulled into my parking garage, waving my card in front of the gate laser. "What do you mean by that?"
"Newborn vampires only think about two things: blood and sex. Their appetite for both is insatiable."
Blood and sex, huh? I thought back to Alice telling me about her vision of me as a vampire. I wondered if I had a blood lust in it, and that took me into a whole new place in my head, imagining myself with a human being's head cocked to one side, my teeth sunk deep into it. Blood. Forever. Nothing else. Could I really be destined for that? I looked at my angel as I pulled into a parking space and put my car in park. But forever meant Alice. But the blood. Ugh. I didn't even really care for the sight of it, which is why I remained in hospital book keeping, so how I could I spend eternity surviving on it alone?
"Andie?" Alice's voice brought me back, and I realized I had been staring at her with my mough hanging open for some long seconds.
"Sorry," I mumbled, looking away from her, shutting off the engine and pulling my key loose from the ignition.
"Are you okay? What did you see?" she asked worriedly, placing a hand on my arm. "You were lost in your head there for a minute, and it didn't look like you were happy about it."
I didn't say anything, and she gasped, realizing what I might have been thinking. "Andie- it wouldn't be like that forever. You wouldn't be a monster. I would help you through that, if you were to become like me. I would protect you." I didn't answer her still, afraid I would throw up if I opened my mouth at all. She moved that hand on my arm up to my cheek, and traced a finger over my cheekbone. "Baby... look at me." I shifted my gaze to her, my eyes tearing up at her tone, noting that was the first time she'd called me that. "I love you. I will stand by you, no matter what." She leaned to brush her lips against mine, and I sighed, looking at the long walk to the elevator, feeling weak.
"I'll carry you," she offered with a grin, and I couldn't help but smile back, knowing she tote me in one hand if I allowed it.
"I can walk," I replied after a deep breath. "Alice, if I ever become like you, promise me something."
"Anything," she answered immediately, straightening up in her seat.
I cleared my throat. "If I ever kill a human, promise me you won't hate me for it."
She gave me a smile. "I can definitely promise that. But I also promise we will try everything for that not to happen."
We spent the afternoon curled up on my couch with each other, Alice holding me and playing with my hair as we watched The History Channel, my thoughts still trained on "what-if". So far that I'd seen, Alice's visions were accurate 99.9% of the time, and though I'd made no decisions to change, the feeling that I would indeed share her life for a very real eternity was set in my heart. I wondered if she'd seen anything more on the subject, but I was terrified to know, and I doubted she would say anything to me unless I asked.
I happened to look at the clock right at six-fifteen, jumping to feet, adrenaline pumping because I was running way late on getting ready. I still had to shower before getting dressed, and we would have to leave my apartment in an hour at least to get to the theater by eight. "Alice! Why didn't you remind me to get ready?" I laughed, shocked that she had let me lay there that long.
"You still want to go?" Her eyes lit up, and she sat up off the couch excitedly.
"Why wouldn't I? It was just... It's okay, Alice, I'm fine." Partly true. The blood was the heaviest thing on my mind, but the idea of Alice forever was tantalizing. Torn is not a viable word for the emotions in my chest.
"Great! Well, what are you waiting for, silly? Go get in the shower!" She slapped my butt as I took off for my room, in overdrive for the night.
An hour later I was sitting next to Alice in a cab on our way to meet them, and her hand was resting on my thigh. It remained still, but I thought about how I had ruined the mood for us earlier, and I hoped I hadn't let her down too badly about that. I would have to make it up to her. I was thinking about how I was going to do that when she looked at me with a pointed "Ahem."
"Huh?" Gosh, I was so articulate in her presence.
"Planning something?"
Damn visions, I thought to myself. "Stop cheating," I told her with a grin.
There was a crowd in front of the theater when we arrived, and Alice helped me out of the vehicle politely before she was all of a sudden swung away from me and into the arms of a tall, burly man, who laughed and spun her around. "Alice!" he said happily.
"Emmett! Put me down!" she laughed back, beating a tiny fist against his back uselessly, and her brother set her back down on her feet beside me.
"Alice!" A breathtaking blonde beauty now closed her pale arms around my tiny mate, hugging her hard. "I've missed you so much!"
When they broke apart, Alice reached behind herself and scooped me forward, beaming proudly at her siblings. "Emmett, Rose, I want you to meet my Andie. Andie, this is my brother and sister."
Emmett's grin grew wider, and Rosalie's face dimmed, but she didn't look at me like a carcass, either. "Wow," Emmett said, looking me up and down, making me blush, pulling my over coat tighter around me. The dress Alice had bought for me to wear was tight up top with thin straps, so I felt exposed. "Nice to meet you, after all the raving I've heard about you."
Rosalie didn't say anything.
"She raves about me?" I looked at Alice, who hid her face in my shoulder, making me laugh, and I kissed the top of her head happily.
"Soft word," was the first thing Rosalie said, rolling her gold eyes at Alice, but faintly smiling.
Alice pulled me forward, and we both gave Jasper a hug as well, then the five of us made our way to the entrance. I sat between Alice and Emmett during the show, and Alice kept a firm hold the whole time, both of us like children seeing Clara and company for the first time. I squealed when the Rat King attacked, and cheered in a whisper as the Prince came to save the day, and Alice giggled at me, while I thought I heard Rosalie scoff. After the show, we said our goodbyes, and though I encouraged Alice to go home and visit with her family, she insisted on accompanying me to my apartment, reasoning that she would be with them while I was working the next day.
It was late when we arrived back at my apartment, and I was dead on my feet after ebeing awake and active for eighteen hours straight. Speaking of feet, mine were killing me after wearing the heels Alice swore were the only shoes to wear with my dress, and I whined the whole walk to my bed, falling face down across it. Alice slipped my shoes off, and unzipped the back of my dress, planting light kisses down my spine, making me whimper in an entirely different fashion. "Come on," she whispered tenderly, rolling me over. "Let's get you ready for bed, and I'll rub your feet. I owe you for looking incredibly sexy in those heels."
I rolled my eyes at her, letting her strip me and then slipping into a pair of shorts and a tank top, giggling at the tickle from my left foot as Alice rubbed at the aching arch. "Easy," I told her, not believing she was really massaging my feet. No one had ever done that for me before.
"Ticklish?" she asked, testing me by running a finger down the arch, and I convulsed involuntarily, laughing, trying to pull my foot back to me, but she held tight. "Uh oh," she taunted me, attacking me mercilessly, and I flopped around in my bed howling in laughter and pleading with her to stop.
"Alice! Oh God, baby, please stop! Hahaha! Please!"
She was on top of me in vampire speed, waiting on me to catch my breath, then she bent down and kissed me very sweetly, keeping her face against mine. "That's the first time I've ever heard you say anything like 'Alice, oh god, please stop'. Usually you're screaming 'Oh god, Alice, please don't stop'," she teased me, and I squirmed as she pressed herself down on my hips, grinding a bit.
"True," I agreed, kissing her persuasively. Hell, I found myself thinking as we wound each other up in foreplay, if I ended up a vampire, I bet making love to her would be the bigger appetite for me. That didn't sound so bad... I couldn't wait for the day she finally let me touch her.
A/N : More Cullens to come, and Jacob and the Black Pack (haha) too. Stay tuned for Andie's first visit to Forks.