Chapter 13 - T Shirt
Taking them off cause I feel a fool, trying to dress up when I'm missing you – Shontelle Layne
"Pick it up ladies," Rosalie yelled to Bella and Alice as she turned around to run backwards so she could see them.
Rosalie woke the girls saying they had been skimping out on their runs…so now they were all at Central Park, on their first lap.
"Roooose it's too early and wa-ay to cold…the sun isn't even u-p-p yet!" Alice yelled back, her voice shivering as she fought with the zipper of her light blue Nike Jacket.
Rosalie was about five feet in front of them and was still running backwards to Alice's dismay. How in the world could that girl have so much energy at five thirty in the morning?
"Pssh, the snow melted yesterday Al. The faster you run, the warmer you'll get. Bikini season is six months away. Move it or loose it!" She said turning back around to run forward.
"We'd rather loose it!" Bella yelled jogging next to Alice, smiling at her running obsessed friend. She could beat Madonna and Fergie in a race any day.
"Oh we can't be too mad at her B," Alice said with an evil smile on her face. "Either A it's her woman time of the month, or B she's not getting any kisses from big Emmy-bear."
"I'll have you know that I'm sleeping over at his house, thank you very much!" Rosalie shouted not bothering to turn around.
"WHAT! Does Papa Hale know about your new sleeping arrangements?!" Alice shouted as they sprinted to Rosalie's side.
"It's only for this week. My man has four broken bones, okay? I'm just helping him and stuff," she said trying to shrug it off like it was no big deal.
"Uh huh. So are you his hot nurse or somethin'?" Alice said laughing and nudging Rosalie playfully.
"Pul-ease! His surgery was only two days ago, so we can't do anything! And where did 'somethin' come from? I think that cowboy is rubbing off on you," she fired back.
"Speaking of your cowboy, isn't he supposed to be leaving tomorrow for the Rag & Bone shows?" Bella asked when she finally mustered enough air to speak. Running and talking at the same time was not something that came naturally to her.
"Yeah, I'm helping him pack tonight," Alice said with a pout. "He'll be in London for a week."
An entire stinkin' week.
"This! This is what you created!" a very heavily caffeinated Francisco spat.
He had received one bad review on his spring collection. Just one and all hell broke lose. The New York office of Calvin Kline was not a safe place to be right now. Like less safe than than Tori and Candy Spelling in the same household.
"I um – I…" stuttered one of Alice's fellow co-workers.
"Um! That's de best you can say! Well, since Keith seems incapable of putting together a proper layout, you will take over Ali-uce. I will expect half in my mailbox by noon for approval and de final draft in my office by eight tonight."
With a nod of his head, Alice's boss left the meeting room leaving the entire table stunned.
Alice couldn't even blink. An entire layout! Plus the work she already had planned for the day. The man had lost it. He had lost his mind!
"Excuse me," Alice muttered excusing herself from the room. Folder in hand, Alice sprinted on the balls of her black ankle boots up the stairs into the safe confines of her office.
Surprisingly enough Alice was actually able to finish half of the page when eleven o'clock rolled around. If she kept up her current speed, she would still be able to make it to Jasper's tonight.
After sending her document to her boss's e-mail, Alice put her elbows on her desk and ran her hands through her straight shoulder length hair and waited for a response so she could continue.
Absentmindedly fiddling with the large watch that hung from her slender wrist, Alice took a deep breath and let it out Gandhi style.
"Ugh. I love my job, I love my job, I love my job," she whispered trying to convince herself as her light silver covered eyelids drooped closed.
The fingers on their clock sat there taunting Bella.
Tick..tick...tick...
Edward was coming over at seven since it was his night off and Alice would be at Jasper's.
Refusing to be one of those girls who sits around waiting for her boyfriend, Bella got up and headed for the kitchen to start her famous chocolate lava cakes. They made a deal that Edward would make dinner if she made dessert.
Deciding that she needed a serious energy fix, Bella popped in one of Alice's old Basshunter CDs.
No mater how completely 'last year' the DJ's music was, it always gave her a boost of energy.
Singing to Angel In The Night, Bella bobbed her head and swirled her chocolate mixture into her fluffy egg whites.
You are the light in my dark, you're the beating in my heart...
Thank you God for what I've found, I don't know how, I don't know why, But you're my angel in the night
After finishing her chocolate mixture, Bella turned towards the cabinets to take out the white ramekins.
Bella's heart skipped unhealthily when she spotted her boyfriend leaning against her stainless steel refrigerator, arms crossed and a smile threatening to break out on his face.
"Ahh!" Bella squealed jumping, clenching her heart as if her hand would some how magically lower her heartbeat. "I know I gave you a key, but good lord! Warn a girl!"
"I'm sorry," he said trying to butter her up with her favorite crooked smile.
Be strong B, don't give in!!!
"Uh huh, you don't get to lick the spoon now buddy," she said forcefully grabbing the glass cups off the wooden shelf.
Bella tried to stand her ground as she turned around to grease the cups. Her breath hitched when she felt his arms rap around her waist and his head rest at her neck.
"I'm really, really sorry sweetheart," he whispered kissing her jaw line. His touch made her knees wobble, her arms shake.
"Nope, you still don't get any," she sputtered breathlessly. Trying escape his strong hold, Bella turned and wiggled out.
When she turned, her arm hit the rubber spatula and the chocolate contents on the spoon splat all over her face and Stella McCartney crew neck sweater.
Oh this was so not cool, so not. He would pay.
"Edward flippin' Masen, this is cashmere!" she screamed stretching out her now dalmatian like spotted, once cream colored sweater. "You better think of a way to clean this Mister!"
Bella felt the sink against her back as she backed away from his sly grin.
"Oh, I have a way..." he said smiling crookedly, placing both of his hands against the counter top so that she was stuck, and lowering his face to her neck.
Bella lost it when she felt him licking off the chocolate from her Chanel No. 5 scented neck.
Chocolate was officially her new favorite dessert.
After slipping in the spare key Jasper had given her (yes the key was a VERY big deal...bigger than Chace Crawford playing the main role in Footlose), she set down her tote and flipped her BCBG black fitted blazer on his couch.
"Hey Jazz?" she called into the empty apartment. Alice was able to finish the mega amounts of work and still stop by.
The lights were on, but where the heck was he.
"Jazz?" she called again, tapping on his bedroom door.
"Ya used your key," he said after opening the door and looking at Alice. The smile on Jasper's face was so big, it looked like his face would crack in half.
"Uh yeah?" Alice said confused. Isn't that the reason he had given it to her?
"An you're wearin' ma watch."
Jasper caught Alice off guard when he leaned down to kiss her.
The kiss was more excited, more spontaneous...not that Alice minded one bit.
The only hard part, well not really hard, just annoying, was that her neck always got really stiff. He was so tall.
"You know the one problem when we kiss?" she asked breathlessly teasing him while she played with the color of his navy Lacoste polo.
"What's the problem?" he asked trying to sound mad. She could see it in his eyes that he wasn't upset.
"Well, it's just that you are soooo tall," she answered shaking her head.
"This better darlin'" he said wrapping his arms around her light pink chiffon covered waist. He held her up so that her heels dangled about two feet above the air, and their heads were leveled.
"Much better," she said smiling. She was finally tall enough to thread her fingers through those blond locks.
"Blue or black," Jasper asked holding out two Burberry dress shirts.
After their nice little greeting, Jasper decided he had to start packing. Reluctantly, Alice situated herself on top of his bed, sitting crosslegged next to his suitcase and helped him sift through his closet.
"Blue, it brings out your eyes," she answered confidently. Those gorgous x 10 saphire eyes.
"What about jackets?" he asked disappearing in his closet again.
"Well England is really cold now...what about your black leather jacket and then another for dressy dinners. They will probably have after parties."
About ten seconds later it dawned on Alice. A whole week without him...
They had fallen into a routine. Lunch together, texting during the day. He would always call at eight, if they didn't meet up for the night.
Would he even have cell phone reception across the ocean?!
"Alice?" Jasper asked standing in front of her, snapping her back into reality.
"Oh sorry...what?" she said shaking her head.
"I was just askin' ya somethin'... hey what's the matter?" he said seeing the tears that were threatining to spill over her cheakbones.
"Oh nothing, I was just...just, I really going to miss you that's all," she said quietly looking down at her/his watch.
"I'm gonna miss ya too darlin'. I'll call every day," he promised kissing Alice's temple, soothing her.
Every single day felt like ten.
Alice was going through a major case of Whitlock Withdraw. It is a pretty serious illness. The symptoms include: lip biting, teeth grinding, daydreaming, nail biting, cutical scratching, sleep deprivation and intense longing in the heart area.
Alice relapsed into the disgusting nail biting problem she had managed to quit at the age of ten. Her once finely cleaned cuticles had even taken a hit. She wasn't even sure if they were still visible under the ripped shreds of skin.
Half way through the week, Alice snuck into Jasper's apartment and stole one of his old football T shirts to wear to bed.
It was more embarrassing than Avril Lavin with pink hair, more than Kanye West advising people on their life choices by "writing" a book, more than AT & T confirming that they helped rig the results of American Idol in Kris Allen's favor.
But she couldn't help it.
It was actually helping her sleep better somewhat...being able to smell him at least.
True to his word, Jasper had called her every day. The first time he called her at three in the morning, forgetting about the time difference. It was really cute.
Even with the girls night and shopping sprees at Barney's with Riche, Alice was still in a slump.
It wasn't like depriving herself of Calvin Kline and French and Italian Vogue at the same time. Pul-ease! Alice had tried that once during lent. This wasn't even close.
She was falling, falling fast and hard.
Ohhhh Alice is getting some feelings!!! Oh man there was a lot of lovin' going on in that chapter! Did ya like it?
I have to give credit to The Devil Wears Prada, because I stole one of the lines from the movie. Lets play a game...Can you find it??? (Hint - it was in one of Alice's sections)
Sorry for the whole Basshunter moment, but he's awesome x 10 (even if his last album came out in 08!!!)
As always thank you for reading
xoxo
Lex
P.S. I have no idea if that is how Francisco Corta really acts, and I'm in no way trying to make fun of him at all. If I ever meet him I would probably faint from being around so much awesomeness...no joke!