*groan* Aw, hell... Why'd y'all let me drank so much? My head's a-poundin' out the beat to "Black Betty" thanks to that last round o' shots! So, while I take me some Hair o' the Dog, why don't you folks backtrack for me and find out what got Coot—uh, Emmett, that is—and Rose so "friendly."
Rosalie followed her city slicker friends step for step, but immediately froze when she spotted a familiar short-cropped mop of curls tangled in the talons of an aggressive redhead. Emmett.
Something must have snapped, because a streak of jealousy so hot burned through her and forced her entire body toward him.
"Cooter, what in thee hell you thank yer doin'?" Rosalie shouted over the thumping music. Gesturing rudely to the redhead, who was ignorantly tossing condescending looks at the statuesque blonde, Rosalie growled another question. "Who the hell is this floozy?"
"I don't rightly know, Miss Rosalie," he said with an infuriating dash of sarcasm, his sparkling blue eyes piercing right through her. "But don't you worry none; we're havin' a grand ol' time!" He laughed, but she felt his bitterness hit her in the gut. He spun himself and his dance partner away, but not before the girl incensed Rosalie further: she flipped her off.
Aw, hell NAW she didn't.
It wasn't that Rosalie didn't know how she felt about Emmett. Nor was it that she didn't want to be open about it. And it certainly wasn't that she didn't trust him. Truth was, Rosalie was scared. Of more than she'd ever admit. Right at this moment, she was petrified. Of losing him.
Without her conscious permission, her body took over, pushing her past the few people barring her path. Gripping the long fiery locks in her fist, Rosalie yanked the offensive woman easily out of Emmett's arms. "Red" lost her footing and fell backwards into Rosalie, who shoved her away by the back of her head and into a few unsuspecting fellow patrons. An unapologetic expression plastered comfortably on her face, Rose moved her feet apart a little further, readying (and hoping) for a fight.
Red grappled for balance before facing Rosalie again, taking in her combative stance. She emitted some sort of growl or a snarl and charged at Rosalie in an obvious attempt to tackle her. Rose quickly sidestepped to her left, swiping Red's leg as she did. Red went stumbling into another couple, who started clucking and bitching in annoyance. Security was sure to be moving in soon.
Way to spoil my fun, Rose thought as she watched the mousy girl drag her boyfriend away.
In the meantime, Red was back up and throwing a punch. Her fist landed comfortably enough in Rose's palm, who maneuvered Red's arm behind her back. "This man," Rosalie hissed into her ear while directing her captive's attention to Emmett, "is mine. So, I can throw you outta here—literally—or you can walk away with just a black eye."
Rosalie let her arm go, and Red spun to face her. "What black eye?" She snapped, a pathetic excuse for a bitchface in place.
Rose smirked, cocked back her arm, and punched the woman dead in the face. "That one," she spat.
Red rocked back, flailing into the arms of a longhaired greaseball, who took the opportunity to grope her boobs. She elbowed him in the stomach and stalked off the dancefloor, palm over her eye.
Rosalie shifted her satisfied gaze to Emmett, whereupon her expression mutated back to angry. Emmett had stood by and watched the show with a heady mix of awe, lust, and pride, and the blend of emotions were still apparent as she looked at him. She narrowed her eyes and spun on her heel, intent on making a statement by walking away. In a flash, his large hand encased her bicep and brought her around, crushing her to his chest. He was breathing heavily as he tried to think of what to say.
"Lord in Heaven, Rosalie, why are you still fightin' me?" He panted, his voice strained. "You know yer killin' me, right? I have been patient. I've let every one of yer barbs and blowoffs roll down my back like water off a duck's ass. I know why you do what you do an' say what you say, an' I know you needed me to wait. And I been waitin'! But why? I ask m'self all the durn time, my head runnin' in circles thinkin' I might get somewhere."
Her eyes burned with the threat of tears, but she was stone still as he continued. "But I always end up right back at the same place: I love you. I. LOVE. YOU. Never loved no one 'sides you. Ne'er will. And here you are..." He trailed off, chewing on his lips, unable to complete the sentence. He huffed, his next words quieter. "Just a second ago, you were fighting for me, and yet you go on an' treat me like—"
Her lips finally cut him off, kissing him with everything she had always held back. Emmett froze in shock momentarily, but quickly recovered, returning the sentiment in kind. In many ways, it was their first real kiss. Every other time, every other caress, every other touch... they had all been laced with frustration and doubt, despite the deeply-rooted, frantic need that drove them both.
"I love you, Emmett," she said against his lips. "Always."
The unabashed display of love ignited into a frenzy of mouths and hands, but unfortunately, it was short-lived.
"HO-LEE HELL, I ne'er thought I'd see the day!" Rosalie's teeth bit down on Emmett's bottom lip as Edward's unwelcome interruption was shouted over the noise in the club. They released each other to turn and glare at their friends, each of whom had nothing but a shit-eating grin on their face.
"Y'all wanna get to that room now? We ready to hit it." Jasper smirked proudly before making a grunting sound as Alice dug a heel into his toe. He directed a pout at her. "What?"
"Terribly uncouth, Jas," Emmett said, punctuating it with a snort. Edward started wheezing with laughter, Bella giggling into his shoulder.
"That on yer word o' the day calendar, Cooter?" Jasper retorted with a loud chuckle, undoubtedly entertained. "I think I'm jus' shocked you used it right."
Emmett moved to start a "boys-will-be-boys" wrestling match, but Rosalie put her arm across his chest and nodded towards the other side of the dancefloor. "Let it go, baby. Security's a-comin' to kick us out. Might as well hit it." He caught her eye and the mischievous glint in it, the urge to get Jasper in a headlock instantly gone. He smiled ear to ear and led her out of the crowd, his arm around her waist and her arms around him.
Instead of waiting for the other four, Emmett hustled Rosalie into a cab and set off for the hotel. The entire ride, Rosalie was somewhat amazed at her inability to keep her hands off him, her lips almost constantly on his. The cab driver cleared his throat a few times, but to no avail. Emmett was certainly not about to complain as her ass ground into his lap.
Mostly feeling his way into the hotel with a free hand, Rose wrapped around him and kissing him, he somehow managed to steer them to the elevator and into their room unscathed. Perhaps it was divine guidance—or maybe they did run into stuff, but were just too focused on each other to notice.
Once truly alone, door locked behind them, Rose sobered. Her lips stilled against his, and she unwrapped her legs from his waist, sliding slowly down his body and backing away. The look on his face told her he expected rejection yet again, and her own heart broke in two. She'd always known that it wasn't easy for him to act like nothing was actually going on, and that it hurt him a little bit every time she pretended to be disgusted by his flirtatiousness, his chivalry and advances.
But right now, she finally felt the full effect of her mistake and she wanted to apologize. "Emmett, I don't..." she said softly, raising her hands to reach out for him. His face fell a little further before she could continue. "NO! That's not... I jus'... shee-it!" she swore with frustration.
Sliding out of her shoes and kicking them aside, she stepped forward and pressed her self against him, resting her cheek against his chest. "I jus' wanted to apologize. I don't deserve you—that's what I's gon' say. I been so horrible to you fer so long," she paused, taking a deep breath. "I don' know how you... how you still want me."
She listened to his chest rise with a deep breath, fearing momentarily that he would actually change his mind. When she began to jostle about, she realized he was laughing, but his arms tightened around her. "Good God Almighty, Rosie! You gots ta be kiddin' me!"
Rosalie stepped back, breaking from his embrace. "Don't you be makin' fun o' me! I'm serious!" Her indignation only made him laugh harder, and he clutched his stomach.
"Oh, baby," he said, still chuckling as his breath returned. "I have ne'er seen you so unsure of yerself—that was just a shock to m'system. How you could thank that I'd ever stop wanting you after everthang I ever done or said, I... I jus' cain't figure."
As he spoke, he walked toward her, and she walked backward. When her legs hit the bed, he leaned forward and she lost balance, falling back onto the mattress. His muscular frame hovered over her, his arms trapping her between them.
"I am totally shor o' m'self!" She argued from beneath him, narrowing her eyes and continuing with a half-assed grumble. "Tellin' me I'm not... SHOR er somthin'... ya thick-headed idjit."
Emmett snorted.
"Well, I jus'... I wanna be better, or... y'know, I—"
"Rosalie?"
"Hmmm?"
"Kin we shut up now?"
"Jus' tell me 'gain," she ordered softly. "Please."
A huge grin stretched from one ear to the other. "Yes, ma'am." Leaning in, he kissed her earlobe... "I." The stretch of her neck... "Love." Her lips... "You."
Rosalie smiled the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen grace her face. Putting her hands on both sides of his face, she steadied him by looking deep into his eyes. "And I love you, Emmett."
He kissed her then, putting the kibosh on any more words. With every pass of their lips and caress of their fingers, an article of clothing was discarded and the sense of urgency heightened. Until there was skin against skin, there was no sating their hunger for one another. A twist and a flip, and Rosalie took the lead, straddling Emmett with a smug smile. She leaned forward and shifted back, slowing as they connected. She laughed loud and freely as his subsequent groan broke in the middle like a boy who's voice was changing. His hands that were gripping her hips moved upward, following the slopes of her curves until her breasts were fully encased behind his touch. Her laugh morphed into a moan and her head dropped back. His hips bucked up, throwing her forward and forcing them into a faster rhythm.
"Yes," she gasped, her eyes closed. Warmth rushed across her skin like a wildfire; heat, lust, and comfort flooding her senses.
Emmett refused to close his eyes; he wouldn't miss a moment of this. Pretending had always been difficult, but his faith in her was steadfast. Still, he was so relieved it was over. And watching her above him now, his love for her had only grown, his heart impossibly fuller than before.
Tracing his chest with her fingers, Rosalie was overcome with how different this time was turning out to be. Though Emmett and Rosalie had been "secretly" hooking up for years, the freedom of going public was unleashing a whole new set of emotions for the both of them. She leaned in to be closer, pressing her lips to his over and over, tracing them with her tongue and dipping past his teeth. As his thrusts quickened and her movements sped, they soon crested ecstasy and crashed, collapsing side by side.
A long, slow kiss, and several steadying breaths later, they each lay their heads on the same pillow and stared at each other.
"I shoulda taken you on a road trip a long time ago, Rosie," he whispered, a crooked grin chasing his words.
She snickered before lightly smacking his face. "I guess you know I like it when you call me 'Rosie', don't you?"
AHEM. Well butter my ass an' call me a biscuit! I don't think I'da ever seen that comin' in a month o'Sundays. Them two was always fightin' like cats an' dogs, jibin' one another with sharp tongues 'n' nasty looks. Jus' goes t'show that love works in strange, strange ways, I reckon. I wunner what the rest of 'em are thankin' back on the curb outside the club…
"Did I really jus' see what I think I saw?" Edward's look of astonishment was priceless as he watched the cab speed away.
'Yep. I think you did, Cuz." Jasper's tone matched Edward's.
"Uncle C is gonna have a coronary when he hears—"
Bella cut Edward off. "Edward, do you really think your uncle is that blind? Alice and I have known since practically our first day here. Rose just, well…"
"She just wanted it to be on her terms, is what I think you're trying to say. Right, Bella?" Alice interjected.
"Yeah."
The boys reacted in unison, making "who'da-thunk" faces at one another. "Huh."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The ringing of the hotel phone seemed to intensify the pounding in Bella's head, blindly she reached out to grab the receiver. "This better be life or death, or Alexander Skaarsgard. Otherwise, I'm hanging up."
Maniacal laughter greeted her from the earpiece. "If you hang up this phone, you hot mess, I'm gonna bust down your door and drag your ass outta that bed forcibly." Damn, Alice was getting feistier by the day. Just shows you what a little southern lovin' can do to a girl.
"So this would be Death, then? FINE. I'm up. Give us twenty minutes, and we'll meet you for breakfast in the lobby." Edward's groan reverberated through her back as she hung up the phone.
"Twenty minutes is not near enough time for me to wake you up properly, woman."
"I know," she agreed, feeling a grin spread across her face and body, "but she wants to shop before we leave town, and trust me—you don't ever keep her from any retail establishment without incurring bodily harm."
"Okaaaay," he replied, his hands beginning to wander. "Shoppin', it is. So, I'm jus' chopped liver compared to this Skaars feller, huh?" Fingers gently trailed across her stomach, raising goosebumps.
"Well," she dramatically considered for a moment, "he doesn't have mad car driving skills like you, so I'd say you're a bit more than chopped liver." She gasped as his light touch turned more aggressive.
"You'd better rethink that, little girl. I can make you squirm and cry 'til ya tell me I'm the best man in the whole world ... and you'll never, ever, leave me for another—includin' centuries-old vampire sheriffs." He squeezed her sides eliciting a giggle.
Bella's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "You watch True Blood?" She was simultaneously shocked and amused.
"It's a good show!" He said defensively, intensifying his tickle attack.
"No! Edward, don't! I will pee everywhere! Please, stop!" She squirmed ineffectually as he tickled her sides. "Okay, okay—you're the only one I want! I swear!" At these words, he stopped.
"Sugar, even though that was said under duress, I'm gonna hold you to that," he said, before kissing her deeply and leaving her breathless. Taking a few breaths for himself, he nibbled on her ear and murmured, "How 'bout we get a shower 'fore breakfast?"
She hummed in agreement—and contentment. Surprising her by leaping out of bed, he scooped her up gently and carried her into the bathroom.
They were late.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The four of them stood in the lobby waiting for Rosalie and Emmett. The boys were told to keep their mouths shut until they knew if the morning light had changed anything. They looked at the girls like they had stolen their favorite huntin' bows, but reluctantly agreed.
The dinging of the elevator brought their attention to the doors to see if they could start ribbin' Emmett yet. What greeted them was a view of their cousin with her legs wrapped around Emmett's waist as her hands twisted in his hair. They were stuck to one another's faces like sweaty legs on a leather car seat in August.
"Can I comment now, Darlin'?" Jasper's not-so-quiet whisper broke a bubble of laughter stuck in Edward's throat, the sound of which pried Rosalie's lips from Emmett's with a few last pecks.
"Not one word outta you two or yer gonna regret ever tellin' me 'bout yer escapades while you was away from home. Got me?" Her look was not an idle threat, and it reminded Bella of her dad the time she got caught climbing out of her window to go out to a party with Angela Weber. He'd threatened her with permanent grounding and home school all in one sentence. It was scary.
"So, umm, breakfast anyone?" Edward squeaked.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
They were barreling down the highway, making decent time despite all the stops.
The boys sat in the front while the girls were in the back. Alice was currently painting Bella's toenails a bright red. Bella read a book, looking bored with the whole thing. Edward could tell it was more for Alice's benefit than his.
"Y'know, it's a damn good thing that Rosie's jeep had room for all your purchases," Jasper joked to Alice, "or we'da had to leave someone behind."
Alice stopped her intense scrutiny of Bella's toes to eye Jasper. "If you'd let me go to the Container Store like I asked, I could have bought more spacesaver bags and then we'd—"
Bella's head popped up from her book to interrupt. "Then we'd have had to stay another night in Atlanta. As it is, we are four hours later than we should be, Ali. We told her we'd be in town by tonight, so we need to be there before my dad calls out the SWAT team."
Alice's signature excitement was slightly dampened, but returned full force instantly. "I know, I was just having so much fun! And I want to go back to that lingerie store! You wanted me to go back there, didn't you Jasper?" Her giant eyes pled with him, and he was momentarily helpless.
"I, well, I—umm, shore, Sweetheart," Jasper hedged, looking a bit like a deer in headlights. "Maybe they have another one in New Awlins?"
"You are so whipped, boy," Edward mumbled with a smug look.
Jasper's eyebrow shot sky high. "Don't even go there, Cuz. I saw you in that store, too."
Edward had the decency to blush.
They stopped for dinner somewhere in Mississippi. It was a Cracker Barrel—nothing shocking as they were everywhere. Emmett complained that their gravy was nowhere as good as Rosalie's, which earned him a smacking kiss on the lips and a longing look that had Alice and Bella grinning madly.
Ten hours, nine stops, (two for Emmett to get some more food) and several weird car games later, the two vehicles pulled into New Orleans. Alice had turned her pouty face to Jasper at the last stop, and he crammed himself into the back seat with her. After ten minutes, both of them were sleeping soundly.
The salt of the sea greeted their nostrils the closer they got to the city, though there was an underlying sweetness to the scent as well. The streets were surprisingly busy for this time of night. Bella watched street signs pass as she navigated them through the city with her recently purchased map. The above-ground cemeteries made strange shapes in the night, looking like miniature cities. Bella was excited to go visit them in the light of day.
Aunt Esme's rented house was in the Garden District, but they had to drive through most of the city to get there. They quietly chatted about visiting certain places: Edward wanted to take a swamp tour and feed alligators, Bella wanted to eat at Café Du Monde and wander the French Quarter.
"At the next street turn left, and it should be the house on the corner," Bella instructed Edward. "She said it had a huge live oak in the front yard and a melon-colored front door."
"Are you sure we should show up at one in the a.m., Sugar? We could just go get a hotel fer the night."
"Aunt Esme is a total night owl, Edward. She may be a bit tipsy, but she'll be up."
Alice was sound asleep on Jasper's chest in the back seat, both of them snoring lightly. Edward and Bella were enjoying their drive through the sprawling city. It was a strange conglomeration of the old and new. She commented that she couldn't wait to see it in daylight, and he smiled at her in agreement. Following her directions, he took the turn and saw a sprawling house come into view, the front porch light on, illuminating none other than a melon-colored door.
Rose's headlights followed him as they pulled into the driveway on the right side of the house. Before he could wake up the sleeping couple in the back seat, a woman in a black, peacock-motif kimono carrying what looked like a flute of champagne leaned over the railing of the porch and hollered, "MARY ALICE BRANDON, wake your spritely little ass up and give your Auntie a hug!"
That Aunt Esme sounds like she might be even more of a handful than her niece! An' I gots a feelin' that this group might jus' get inta more mischief than even I'm used ta seein'!
A/N: thanks for reading. :)