Friday Night
Edward's POV
After closing up shop for the night, I stopped at the liquor store and bought three bottles of wine before heading over to Rose and Emmett's house for our weekly Friday night dinner. Pulling up to the curb, I realized I was the first one there. I knew they would leave their shop around the same time I did unless they ran late, as they occasionally did, and Alice and Jasper usually arrived from Seattle about an hour later, so I wasn't too surprised.
I let myself in with my key and set the bottle of wine in the kitchen before petting their two dogs. "Hey, guys, how ya doing?" I picked up Teeny and patted Cindy on the head before heading to the back door to let them outside. While the dogs did their business, I thought about the pair of them.
Rose had heard from a customer at the garage last year about a large group of little Yorkshire terriers that had been rescued from a breeder who'd been running a terrible program. When they began allowing adoptions of the rescued dogs, she dragged Emmett with her to the shelter and immediately fell in love with the smallest, most terrified-looking one in the bunch. Teeny was exactly that. He was about half the size, full-grown already, of most of the other Yorkies, and she told us that night that his eyes looked absolutely haunted. He'd come a long way in the last year. Of course, he'd immediately taken to Rose, and even my big hulk of a brother, but he was terrified of anyone else. Especially men. It had taken a good six months before Jasper or I could pet him without him cowering in fear. It was only in the last couple of months that we'd been able to pick him up and have him be fairly at ease.
We would never know for sure what had happened to him before the rescue, but Rose had been able to find out a little bit of information at the time. The dogs had lived in horrible conditions. There were way too many dogs per cage, and the cages themselves were filthy. The cages were stacked one on top of another with nothing on the bottom of each cage but a thin layer of newspaper, so many of the dogs in the bottom and middle layers were sick due to the urine and other nasty things that fell through the wires. The dogs were all covered in fleas; most had ear mites and other problems of that nature. Worst of all, we knew by Teeny's reaction to people that the dogs had most likely been through some form of abuse, aside from the obvious neglect and horrid care. There wasn't one of us in our group of friends and family who, given half a chance, wouldn't hesitate to throttle the people who'd made him the way he was.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was their black lab, Cindy. She was still a puppy, just over six months old. Emmett had gone shopping for laundry detergent and came back carrying the soap in one hand and a six-week-old puppy in the other. Rose had just rolled her eyes when he'd said she'd called his name when he saw the box of puppies a man was giving away outside the store. I chuckled as I watched Cindy running in circles around Teeny outside, trying to get him to play. She was a big part of why Teeny was doing so well now. Not even the most timid dog could resist the playful puppy.
I called them inside, checked to make sure they had food and water, and then washed my hands and stuck the meatloaf from the fridge and the potatoes sitting on the counter into the oven, per Rose's instructions on the note sitting on the counter. When Em and Rose walked in, I was sitting at the piano, playing the song I'd begun composing a few days before. The dogs were curled up on the floor at my feet.
"Thanks for putting dinner in the oven," Rose said as she headed back to the bedroom to shower away the day's grime.
"No problem," I called, shaking my head.
"Hey, Eddie, want a beer?" Emmett shouted from the kitchen.
I rolled my eyes but answered, "Sure, thanks."
He walked into the living room and handed me my beer as we moved to the couch. "So...how's Bookstore Bella?"
I worked to keep my face blank. "Bookstore Bella's fine, I assume."
"Come on, man. You mean you haven't seen or talked to her again yet?" Emmett sounded like he couldn't believe it.
"Well, I saw her for a minute today. Her friend Ben came over while she was gone and asked if I'd paint her store name on the window while she was gone. When she got back, I ran out to give her the keys to her store that Ben had left with me."
"And?"
"And what?" I replied.
He rolled his eyes. "I swear, getting information out of you is like pulling teeth. What'd she say?"
This time, I couldn't hold back the grin. "She hugged me and said thank you and that it was great."
"All right!" He reached out a fist for a bump. "That's what I'm talkin' about."
I laughed and bumped his fist with mine. "Go take a shower, man. Rose is gonna kill you if you get that shit from the garage all over the sofa."
"Yeah, yeah. She'll get over it." He might say that, but I shook my head in amusement as he took his beer and headed toward the back of the house.
Grabbing the remote, I flipped through the channels until Rose and Emmett came back in a few minutes later.
"I'm gonna get the potatoes started. Doing twice-baked instead of mashed tonight, if that sounds okay," Rose said, turning the corner into the kitchen.
I breathed out a sigh of relief, until suddenly, her head popped around the corner and she glared at me.
"Don't worry, Edward. You'll get grilled well and good once Alice and I have you cornered at dinner." She grinned before moving back into the kitchen.
"Aww, crap," I muttered.
Emmett laughed. "Suck it up, dude. You know they've both been waiting on pins and needles for you to find someone you're interested in. You can't expect them to be silent for long!"
I shook my head. "I know, I know. Can't you, I dunno, distract her or something?"
His eyes got dark, and he grinned.
I grimaced. "Never mind. I don't even wanna know what that dirty mind of yours just thought of."
I turned on the game system, and soon, Emmett and I were punching and kicking the hell out of each other on the screen, so immersed in our game that we didn't notice when Jasper leaped over the couch to plant himself between us, grabbing the third controller off the table in front of us and pushing the reset button to restart the game.
"Damn fucking shit! Fuck you, Jasper! I was kicking his ass!" Emmett whined.
Rose's voice shouted from the kitchen, "Quit being a baby, or I'll kick your ass."
Jasper and I laughed as we watched Emmett close his mouth and suddenly look the picture of innocence.
"Okay, baby. I'll be good," he said loudly enough for her to hear. Then, quietly, just to us, he muttered, "I'm gonna kill you both, motherfuckers."
"Bring it on, bitch." Jasper smirked, hitting start.
The game was on.
~*~*~CIBD~*~*~
Alice's POV
Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation as I walked into the kitchen, laughing at the guys. "Oh, Rose, lighten up! Boys will be boys and all of that, right?"
"I suppose," she said, grinning. "Besides, I'll just get them back during dinner when we grill Eddie in there about little Bella. But that's for later. How was your week? Work and school going okay?"
"Work was fine. I enjoy what I do, but you know I'd much rather be working on my own stuff all the time. Ah well. Soon, I suppose. Jazz had a full week since the summer courses are so much more packed. He was definitely glad to escape today." Both of us couldn't wait until he was finished in August so he could get a job down here teaching history and we could move down to be with our friends and family.
"Well, not long now, right? Only a couple of months?" She was pulling potatoes out of the oven as she talked. "Get the butter, milk, and cheese out, please."
I grabbed the stuff she asked for and put it on the counter beside her, getting the grater out of the drawer and shredding the block of cheddar for her. "Just over a month, actually. He's already spoken to the school down here, and it sounds like he'll come down in the next few weeks for an interview, but it'll only be a formality. They need a new teacher, and his qualifications make it perfect. He would start school a couple of weeks after he finishes his last class, giving us just enough time to move and get settled in before he had to start making plans for the school year."
Jazz was looking forward to teaching high school history, and even though we didn't quite understand why, all of us supported his decision a hundred percent.
"Oh, that soon? We'll have to start looking for a house! I know of a few not far from here that you can look at."
I laughed. "Sounds good. We can look this weekend, if you want. Do you mind if we stay till Sunday? I think it would do us a lot of good to get out of the city for a couple of days."
"Nah, we love having you here. Besides, Jasper keeps Emmett and Edward from picking on each other too much and keeps them out of my hair."
We finished with the potatoes, put them back in the oven, and then put the green beans on to steam. I got out enough wine and water glasses for everyone, but grabbed a bottle of wine and poured two glasses for the two of us now.
"Mmm, good choice," I said, looking at the bottle Edward had chosen. I squeaked as a strong pair of arms wrapped around my waist.
"Glad you like it," Edward's voice said over my shoulder. "Hey, Ali. Glad you guys could come down." Squeezing me once, he moved away to grab a few of the glasses and take them over to the table.
"Thanks, Ed. We're glad we could, too. You guys set the table, please," I ordered the guys who had followed him into the kitchen. It was unnecessary, really. They always set the table when Rose cooked.
Soon, we were all gathered around the table, plates and glasses full, quiet as we started eating. After I'd had a few bites of Rose's special meatloaf, I put my fork down and looked over at my youngest brother with a serious expression. "So, Edward...tell us all about Bella."
~*~*~CIBD~*~*~
Edward's POV
I knew the silence wasn't a good thing, but I'd hoped they would at least wait till dessert. No such luck, I supposed. Grinning, I said, "Well, her name is Bella, and she bought the bookstore next to my place."
Emmett flipped me off, and then Jasper, Alice, and I laughed as Rose smacked him across the back of the head.
"Play nice," she growled to both of us.
"Okay, okay," I said, afraid of getting my own smack.
Her eyes softened and she smiled. Rosalie might act fierce and bitchy sometimes—even she'd admitted to that—but she loved all of us.
"I met her the other day when I was coming back from buying coffee. She was on a ladder, beginning to paint the trim outside, when I saw her start to fall. I ran up and caught her before she hit the ground."
The girls "awwed" and "ooohed" as Jasper and Emmett chuckled. I told them about convincing her to let me paint the trim so she wouldn't have to get back up on the ladder, about our conversation as we ate, and about me surprising her by having painted her store name and everything.
"That's so sweet." Alice sighed, smiling.
Rose nodded in agreement, even as Em and Jazz pretended to gag behind their backs.
"Oh, look at the squirrels," I said to the girls, pointing behind them out the window. When they turned to look, I flipped off the guys, who began laughing. When Alice and Rose turned back around to look at us quizzically, the three of us just sat there smiling angelically. "Too bad. They ran off." I shrugged.
"So back to Bella," Alice prompted. "When are you gonna see her again? And when can we meet her?"
"Well, actually, I have a favor to ask you guys. Emmett and Jasper, really, although I guess the more hands the better. From a few comments she and her friends have made, it sounds like her dad's coming into town in the morning to help them unload all her furniture. I thought it would be...neighborly, I guess, to show up and offer to help. Alice, maybe you and Rose can help her unpack or something while the guys and I all unload her stuff. If you don't wanna come, that's okay. I'm gonna offer my help regardless."
They all four nodded happily.
"Dude, we're there," Emmett exclaimed. "What time?"
I smiled, thanking my lucky stars that I had family willing to do stuff like this for virtually a complete stranger. "I have no idea what time they're planning to start, and I don't wanna show up late. Can you guys come over around seven thirty or eight? I'll fix us all breakfast if they haven't started yet."
Alice and Rose visibly blanched at the early hour. I knew they both enjoyed being able to sleep in on the weekend. Then they looked at each other and shrugged.
"We can do that, but breakfast better be damn good," Rose threatened teasingly as Alice nodded and laughed.
I looked at Emmett and Jasper. "Sound okay to you guys?"
"Sure, man. We're there," Jasper said as Emmett reached out his hand for a fist bump.
"Yup, we've gotcha covered. It's not every day that little Eddie has a crush. I really wanna meet this Bella chi—uh, woman." Emmett grinned.
Laughing as I remembered the last time I'd heard him refer to women as chicks, I said honestly, "Thanks, guys." I felt myself blush, which was extremely unusual for me. "I don't know why, but I'm extremely drawn to her. Of course I think she's beautiful, but it's more than that. When she smiles, it makes me wanna smile, and when she laughs, it makes me wanna do something ridiculously silly to make her do it again. I can't get her out of my head." I shrugged. "Anyway, that's enough about Bella and me. Let's finish eating so we can play!"
It was tradition that when we all got together for dinner, we'd sit down and play a game together. Sometimes it was a board game, sometimes a video game or cards of some sort. Tonight was going to be a Monopoly night, and since I loved that game, I was in a hurry to get started. Plus, I'd talked about Bella enough. There were more things about her that I could talk about, but for some reason that I decided not to question, at least for now, I wanted to keep everything else to myself.
We finished eating, talking some about what Alice and Jasper wanted in a home and about some funny customers that Em and Rose had dealt with in the last few days. After the guys and I loaded the dishwasher and put the leftovers in the fridge, we finished cleaning off the table and set up the game while the girls cut pieces of the pie Alice and Jasper had brought for dessert.
Two hours later, I was dancing from my victory. "Woohoo. Thanks, guys! Always a pleasure," I said, grinning.
"Yeah, yeah," Emmett grumbled. He had to be the sorest loser I'd ever seen.
"Aww, Emmy-bear. Don't be mad," I cooed, winking.
He growled and lunged, and soon, we were rolling around on the living room floor, wrestling. After fifteen minutes, we both collapsed, our ears ringing after Rose had pulled a safety horn out of a drawer and pressed the button.
"Damn, Rosie baby! What was that for?" Emmett grumbled.
"That's for acting like a couple of children. Plus, Alice and I can't quit yawning, so if you want us up at the butt-crack of dawn, we'd better get some sleep."
As if to prove Rose's point, Alice let out a huge yawn, looking like a snake that had loosened its jaw.
"Oh! I'd better run. I need to stop by the store to get enough for breakfast in the morning." I stood up and helped Emmett to his feet, slinging my arm around his shoulder in a one-arm hug. After bumping fists with Jasper and giving the girls each a hug and kiss on the cheek, I said, "Good night, ladies. Thanks for dinner, Rose. It was delicious, as always."
She smiled and handed me my keys and phone that I'd left on the coffee table. "Thanks, Edward. See you in the morning."
I waved and left the house. I was about to take off, when my phone rang. I put the car back in park and took the phone out of my pocket, checking the Caller ID. I grinned when I saw it was Bella. "Hello?"
"Hi, Edward. It's Bella."
She sounded nervous, and I almost chuckled. Instead, I kept it inside and replied, "Hey, Bella! How are you tonight?"
"I'm good. Great, actually. I just wanted to call and thank you again for painting the store window today. It looks great."
I grinned. "I'm glad you like it," I told her honestly. "Ben had the paint and stencil as well as the clear film to put over it, so when you clean the windows, it won't come off."
"Yeah, I noticed that! Very smart and thoughtful of you both. Anyway, I need to go. My dad'll be here around nine in the morning to help us unload the truck, and after this long week, I really need the sleep."
The silence felt a bit awkward when she stopped talking, so I quickly murmured, "Get some sleep. I'll see you the next time we're both around. Good night, Bella. Have fun tomorrow."
I laughed when she replied quite sarcastically, "Oh yeah, right!" I could hear the teasing in her voice. She paused and then said, "Good night, Edward."
I waited until she'd hung up before hitting End and sticking the phone back in my jeans. I put the car in drive, and a few minutes later, I was at the grocery store. I got enough eggs, bacon, and biscuits to feed a small army and then headed home.
After unloading the stuff into the fridge, I went into the bedroom and set the alarm. Stripping off my clothes, I climbed naked between the sheets. I was out before ten minutes had passed.