Four hours later, I sat patiently on Alice's bed waiting for the timer to go off. I had to admit that I'd been having a good time. Although my skin was buffed, my face was exfoliated and my hair was currently wrapped up in some genie-towel-deep-conditioning-treatment, I'd enjoyed spending time with Alice. It had been too long. And she, amazingly, didn't even bring up any wedding planning details.
We were giggling over the story she just finished telling me about Edward and Emmett's epic catch and release competition, when my stomach rumbled loudly. I laughed, embarrassed.
"Woah, Bella. You don't have to growl at me just because you're hungry!" Alice teased. "Your hair is done now." Obediently, the timer on her nightstand dinged. "Let's go rinse it out and we can get you some lunch."
Rinsing out my hair also apparently included drying and styling, so it was well past noon by the time my food was set in front of me at the local diner.
Although I appreciated that she didn't treat me like a fragile human and freak out every time I made a noise, I was ravenous. I dug into my hamburger and fries with gusto. Alice grimaced at her own plate. I ate half my burger before Alice switched plates with me. Realizing the ingenuity of her idea, I ate half of her burger and finished off her fries. A half eaten burger sat in front of both of us.
I relaxed back into the booth, sipping on my milkshake. Alice shook her head at me in amazement. I shrugged. A girl had to eat.
"What's next on the agenda, Alice?" I had roughly three more hours until Edward came home. And I decided I wouldn't mind spending them with my best friend.
We headed home in today's car, the much less conspicuous Volvo. I enjoyed the smell of Edward on the leather seats the whole way while we chatted. Alice grinned at me knowingly. When we pulled into their driveway, Alice shut off the car and turned to me.
"Now I don't want you to freak out..." uh, oh. "But I have made some plans for us tonight and everyone is really looking forward to it."
She was already laying on the guilt before even telling me what she had planned. I steeled myself for something awful.
"We all want to go dancing." My jaw dropped.
"No! No way. I can't dance. I'm not going dancing."
"Bella, I said don't freak out."
"Alice, I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't even dance. The last time I went dancing, I had a cast on my leg and Edward had to move me around the floor on his feet. I'm a danger to myself and everyone around me."
"And...?"
"And what? Isn't that enough? " I asked, panicking.
"And... you had a great time! Don't try to lie to me. You loved dancing with Edward. You looked great together. Everyone noticed."
I buried my face in my hands, shaking my head. She was going to talk me into this.
"Think of how much easier it will be without the cast," she pleaded.
My head shot up. "It will be worse, Alice. I will be at full clumsiness without my cast to slow me down."
Alice shook her head. "That's not what I see happening." Intrigued, I watched her face. She didn't hold out too long. "You know how you and Edward have been pushing your boundaries a little?" I nodded, trying not to be embarrassed. She squeezed my hand in support. "This is going to make a huge difference."
"Really?" She had found my kryptonite.
"I promise, Bella. Part of the reason I barged in on your morning was because Edward had made his mind up to talk with you about slowing things down." My face fell. She hurried to reassure me. "Trust me, it's not because he didn't like it. I think he liked it too much. I saw his whole speech planned out in his head. He's so scared of losing control with you. You need to show him that he can trust you to also be in control of the situation."
I nodded. I knew I needed to work on that. Smelling an easy victory, she continued.
"Tonight, you are going to drive Edward wild. But you will be able to control yourself and show him you can be trusted. It's just what you two need to keep things moving in the right direction." I sighed, giving up the fight. She squealed in delight at her victory.
When we arrived home, I was dragged into her bedroom and deposited on the bed. She disappeared into her giant closet and I could hear clothes rustling around and hangers clicking. She emerged with a shoe box in one hand and a black garment bag in the other. She looked at me appraisingly. I tried not to flinch in fear. Alice was a force.
Setting the garment bag across a chair, she approached me with the box. Opening it with a dramatic flair, she pulled out the highest heeled shoes I had ever seen.
Okay, maybe not the highest. But they were way higher than anything I would ever dare to wear. I started shaking my head, ready to tell her off.
"Bella, do you to trust me?" She looked into my eyes. I felt a little bit dazzled with their intensity. I nodded slowly.
"Alice, I won't be able to walk in those things -"
"These are not things Bella. They are one of a kind, commissioned Manolo Blahnik, patent leather sling backs." She grumbled at my blank look. "They are works of art- no, masterpieces for your feet."
"I still don't think I'll be able to walk in these masterpieces." I looked doubtfully at the ridiculous high three inch heels.
She cut me off. "That's why we're going to practice."
She placed the shoes on my feet and helped me to stand. I looked down as she nudged the box out of the way, holding both of my hands. I towered over her with my new height, but I knew she could still catch me if - no when- I tripped. She walked backwards in front of me holding my hands.
I took tentative steps in her footsteps. I was surprised at how comfortable the shoes were. I expected them to hurt, but they didn't. My heel wobbled a little bit as I transferred my weight. She steadied me, coaching. "Keep most of your weight on the front of your foot."
Struggling to learn, I tried to adjust my weight forward and almost toppled over. Alice tried another tactic. "It's all about confidence. Look up." I didn't dare. I was going to fall. "Look into my eyes, Bella. Confidence."
Trusting in her, we locked eyes as we stepped carefully around the room. The clicking of my heels against the wood floor was loud and slow. Her smiled never faded and I had to smile in return at my progress. Eventually she dropped one of my hands and walked next to me holding onto only one elbow. As I made my rounds, I began to feel more confident. I hadn't fallen once. She carefully released her last hold on me and watched like a proud mother hen as I walked across the floor on my own. I smiled back, beaming with pride.
After about half an hour of practice I felt better about my ability to walk in the shoes. I flopped on the bed, thinking my training complete. It was surprisingly successful. Alice stood over me.
"You're not done yet grasshopper." I rolled my eyes at her about to retort when Rosalie walked into the room.
I sat up on the bed. Rosalie gave me a hesitant, but genuine smile. I smiled back softly, unsure of where this was going. We both looked at Alice.
"We're going to learn about dancing now," Alice clued me in.
"Alice, I know how to dance. Well, I don't. But Edward does. We can just do what we did at Prom. Won't that be enough?" I asked, unsure. Alice and Rosalie laughed. It was like to chimes tinkling in the wind. I smiled nervously, unsure of the joke.
"We won't be doing that kind of dancing, Bella." Rosalie explained.
"It's time for your first lesson in dirty dancing." Alice grinned evilly. I gulped.
AN: Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I always respond with a sneak peek at the next chapter :)