A/N: Hello again everyone! I hope you are enjoying your February. It seems like we just celebrated the new year, and here we are a month later. Time certainly flies when you are totally busy with school/work. I hope all of you are well and happy.
I was just remapping out the rest of my story and it looks like we are getting close to the end. I think we will be finished no later than chapter 60 - 65... So less than 20 chapters. I want to get back into posting every couple days, so it should go quickly (I know that is a mixed emotion there).
I hope that I don't rush things and that I can finish up these last two and half years without diminishing the quality of the story and/or characters. I do promise to have some more lemons included because we all know that we all can appreciate a good lemon now and again. And with that, I suppose it's time for me to get on with the show.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, therefore I own nothing Twilight related.
OH! By the way, I was watching the Tudors the other day and got to thinking about how gorgeous Jonathan Rhys Meyers is… *sigh* then I wondered if maybe he could play a part as one of the Volturi… any thoughts??? Ah well… here we gooooooo…
BPOV
Last time….
The only car I could see following us was Carlisle's black Mercedes. Obviously, we were on the interstate, so there were other cars around, but none of them seemed to be following our little train. I just hoped that was the case and that everything would work out okay.
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It had been four weeks since that weekend away in Seattle with Edward. I still looked around my house before getting into cars. I bought heavier curtains to make sure no one could see into my bedroom. I wore more clothing, but still felt totally exposed. I had no idea who this crazed lunatic was, so I couldn't protect myself.
My father armed me with a lifetime supply of pepper spray and told me all the places I could conceal it on my body without detection. I wasn't sure if this was a father thing or the fact that he watched too many cop shows on TV. Either way, it made me feel a tiny TINY bit safer, but I knew that if this guy was truly crazy, a little pepper spray wouldn't do too much to stop him.
I was currently daydreaming in my last class of the day. I had the next two weeks off from school and I couldn't wait. Alice was already planning a sleepover and Edward wanted to do something special for New Year's Eve. We had a Christmas tournament for basketball coming up, but other than that, I was free to sleep and see friends.
Our basketball team was currently undefeated and rumors of us being ranked in the state were becoming more and more realistic. Coach James was going crazy with the practices and insisted that all statisticians and cheerleaders do their best to keep the spirits of all members of the team up and positive. He constantly invited me to his classroom to input stats into the computer, but Edward refused to let me out of his sight anymore. I tried to reason with him, but he held firm.
The bell rang, bringing me back to reality. I stood and gathered my books as quickly as possible. I was heading towards the door when Coach James approached me.
"Bella… do you have a few minutes… I need your help with something." His blue eyes pierced into me and I couldn't help but nod. He began leading me towards his office beside the gym inside the boys' locker room.
I hesitated at the door, but Coach assured me that there weren't any guys in the locker room for at least ten more minutes. I sighed and followed him into the office. His computer was on and stat sheets were scattered all across the rest of his desk and floor. I stepped gingerly so I didn't slip and fall and made it to a seat across from him.
"I am apparently extremely unorganized, as you can obviously see. I have been trying to get each type of stat into piles and then put in order, but I'm just making more of a mess. Do you think you could stay here today while we practice and make a dent in this?" I eyed the obvious mess around his office and sighed.
"Well, just let me call my parents first. I mean, I should let them know where I am. They'll worry if I don't come home like I said I would." I don't know why, but I was surprised when he held up his phone for me to call my parents.
Not surprisingly, my parents were fine with me staying here. It could have been because Emmett and Edward would be nearby, but they seemed to believe me to be safe here. I hung up the phone and got to work. I began sifting through the mountains of papers looking for all the rebound stats when Coach James left. I heard him yelling at players, but ignored him and continued to work.
I gathered all the different stats into piles. There were close to ten piles. One for rebounds, one for steals and assists, one for turnovers, one for blocked shots, one for fouls, one for points, one for minutes played and quarters started, and one for free throws made. I got to work on each pile and put them in order. So far we had played twelve games, so there were twelve sheets per pile.
I had a schedule taped to the side of Coach James' desk to remind me of the exact order for each of the games. I was halfway done organizing the stat sheets when I heard a locker slam shut loudly. I was so startled that I jumped up from my seated position and the pile in my hands went flying. One hand immediately went to the pepper spray in my front pocket.
I closed the door to the office quickly. The windows and the door allowed me to see out. I knew I was being paranoid, but chose to be safe rather than sorry. I locked his door and backed away towards the desk. The phone was beside me. I saw a shadow moving to the right of the office and the phone was in my hand, ready to dial for help. I was pushing the 9 to call 9-1-1 when the shadow began moving closer to the office. My heart was beating harder and faster than ever before, and I tried to control myself so I didn't pass out.
I had just pushed the first 1 when a scream escaped my throat. The shadow had a body and he was big. I began to push the second 1 when Jacob came around the corner holding a roll of athletic tape in his hand. I hung up the phone and ran to the door, throwing it open as fast as I could.
"JAKE!!!! You scared me half to death. What are you doing in here. You're supposed to be practicing." I knew I was rambling, but my heart was still beating as if I had just run a marathon.
"Well, as you can see," he held up the tape as he paused, "I stubbed my finger and Coach wanted me to tape it so I didn't injure it. I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't know you were in here. Why are you in here? It's the boys' locker room. Are you trying to get a free show, because I'm sure we could talk to a bunch of the guys and work something out for you." He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I couldn't help be laugh as I began to relax.
"I'm helping Coach get the stats in order and into the computer." I was almost finished organizing when I heard the locker slam. I panicked and almost called 9-1-1. I'm being silly I know. As for the free show, besides one player, I have no interest in what you all have to show me." I smacked his arm playfully and turned back to the office.
I cleaned up my mess quickly and settled back into my work. Once I finished organizing, I grabbed the first stack and sat in Coach's seat so I could help him input the stats. I looked at the rebounds for each player for each game and began inputting the data. I had no clue what he was going to do with this, but I didn't think I really needed to know.
That pile was done pretty quickly and I began work on the second sheet. I found the screen for that stat and began inputting the numbers. The door opened as I was halfway through and I looked up to see Coach James and Edward walking through the door laughing. I finished the player's stats I was on and stood.
"I got the rebound put into the computer, but I'm only halfway through with the assists." Edward looked at me a little funny, but Coach seemed thoroughly pleased.
"Bella, I don't know how to thank you. You probably just saved me five hours of work during this holiday. You know, if you want, and if you parents are okay with it, you could come to practice with your brother and put the stats into the computer. You're obviously better at it than me." He smiled down at me as I promised to talk it over with my parents.
I was about to leave the office when Coach stopped me by grabbing my arm. "Wait! You can't leave!"
I turned, startled and stared at him. "Wh… wh… why not?" I stuttered.
"Because it appears that most of the players are showering, and I doubt that you really want to see that."
I felt the blood rush to my face and I immediately looked at the floor. "Oh. Um, no… don't… want… that… I… um… well…"
"Relax, Bella… go ahead and sit back at the computer. You can try to finish that stack. I'll go let Edward and Emmett know where you're at so they can get you when they're leaving." And with that he walked out of the office.
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Three days later it was Christmas Eve. Esme was inviting us all to their house again for a big Christmas Eve dinner. She insisted that we should exchange our gifts that night and then have our quiet family gatherings the next day. I had been shopping with my mother and found some sheet music of Debussy's greatest compositions for Edward. He was getting so good at the piano, and I wanted him to have something to relax with. I had gotten Alice gift certificates to three different stores, giving her plenty of excuse to go shopping. Then again, Alice needed no excuse to go shopping. I got gifts for Jasper and Rose as well. Emmett would have to wait until tomorrow for his gift. I was excited to spend the day and evening with Edward. The "kids" had planned a movie night while the adults spent time in the living room with their coffees.
We arrived a little after three. Alice had picked out my outfit, stating that I wasn't capable of doing it myself. She had chosen a sparkly blue top with a short blue skirt. I had to admit, Alice knew how to put together an outfit. And she must have known Edward's preference to blue. I was happy that she was choosing something that would please Edward as well as the parents because it looked cute on me.
Edward must have been watching for us, because he was opening my door as soon as the car was stopped. "Hey… you look beautiful," he said as he pulled me into a tight hug.
"Oh, yeah… I guess what they say about an outfit making a woman…" I felt a familiar
blush flooding my cheeks and looked down at my feet.
"You have that backwards… a beautiful woman makes an outfit spectacular." His lips grazed my chin bone and then he led me into the house.
Dinner was supposed to be in three hours. The girls pulled me away from Edward and we all headed towards the kitchen. I began peeling potatoes so we could mash them. I was also in charge of keeping Rose from doing anything cooking related. I instead directed her to folding napkins and getting out plates and utensils.
We talked about the boys when the moms weren't close enough. And when they came close, we switched out topic to school and after school activities. It was so great having this big group around me. It was like we were one big, happy family.
Dinner was placed on the dinner table promptly at 6. We all sat down together and Carlisle said a small prayer of thanks for our safety, company, and comfort. It was so wonderful. Edward and I continued to hold hands after the prayer and throughout the dinner. I realized in that moment that he was my future, even though we had just met a year and a half ago.
Esme returned to the table carrying a large tray of Christmas cookies and coffee cake. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper began clearing the dinner plates while Alice, Rose, and I brought in desert plates and coffee cups for the adults. The kids had our own tray of cookies thanks to Esme. We excused ourselves and made our way to the basement for our movie night.
We started up the movie and exchanged gifts. My heart filled even fuller when I saw the love and thought put into each gift for my friends. Edward gave me a pair of heart earrings with pink and clear gems. He loved the sheet music, and placed it on the piano quickly so he could return to me.
The lights were turned low during the movie and I settled myself in beside Edward. He started giggling silently beside me, and I looked up to see what he was laughing at. He jerked his head towards his sister and Jasper and my brother and Rose. They were all heavily making out.
"Think we can sneak out without them noticing," I whispered in his ear. I swear I felt his body shudder before he stood carefully and pulled me up. We stepped over various legs of the couples. Edward lifted me up onto his back and carried me to a small room beside where our "theater" was. He shut the door silently and set me down on a small sofa.
He knelt down in front of me. He kissed me softly, letting his fingers graze the skin of my face. His lips were like velvet against my skin. I felt my hands raising up to hold onto Edward's shoulders. He positioned himself in front of me pushing my legs apart. I could feel his excitement against my upper thighs.
I felt my heart race as Edward's fingertips danced across my stomach, pushing up my shirt. "Bella… I love you with everything I am."
"Edward… make love to me before someone notices we are missing." That was all the encouragement he needed to pull my shirt above my head. He pushed my skirt up and pulled my soaked panties from my heated core. He wasted no time in burying himself in my slick folds causing me to cry out in ecstasy.
His tongue and his fingers worked in unison causing me to cum quickly and hard all over my lovers tongue, face, and hands. After licking and sucking me almost dry, Edward stood and released his rigid cock from his pants and boxers. I wasted no time in taking him deep into my mouth. I needed to taste him and in my zealous effort sucked him hard and deep. His moans filled the room as he shot his hot seed down my throat.
I licked my lips as he pulled away from me. I watched as he pushed me back on the sofa and hovered over me momentarily. He entered me with one quick thrust. Both us of moaned in satisfaction as we began to rock together. Our hearts and love beating in complete and perfect unison. Our hips met with each thrust. I could see his emerald eyes piercing into my own as we each fell over the cliff of ecstasy. Edward collapsed on top of me and I felt his weight happily on my heaving chest.
I reached down to kiss the top of his head while we came down from our high. I loved this man with every part of my being and I knew that he felt the same way. I released him a few minutes later so we could pull ourselves together and redress. We kissed some more before silently opening the door back to the theater. Both couples were still tangled in each other so we climbed the stairs quietly.
Edward grabbed my coat and his own. We walked out the back door and walked in the snow and moonlight. The stars lighting the backyard while we talked about school and basketball. Neither of us mentioned the future but knew that whatever was thrown at us, we would be able to face it as long as we were together.
A/N: so what did you think? Review and let me know. I love hearing from you all. An update will be posted Friday or Saturday (I think). Love you all!
