AN: So, here's another chapter! I know it's a little shorter than the last few but there is a reason. Due to the impending month of November and my participation in National Novel Writing Month, I won't be able to write an update for this story during that time. So what I did was write a longer chapter and chop it into two parts. This update is the first of the two parts. I will put the date when I'll post the second part in the author's note at the bottom.
I want to thank everyone who reviewed and added alerts and favorites. And I want to thank my awesome beta once again! Also, the song that I was thinking of while writing both parts of this chapter is Might Tell You Tonight by Scissor Sisters. Go listen to it!
Disclaimer: I have nothing creative. I don't own Twilight.
Chapter 9 – Might Tell You Tonight
BPOV
I stood in front of the full length mirror in Alice's bathroom. Somehow the two of us had convinced my parents that I could stay at Alice and Jasper's for a few days. I was starting to regret that.
"I can't wear this, Ali," I said.
"You look hot, Bella," Alice replied from across the room as she fixed her own makeup. "Edward will shoot his load as soon as he sees you."
"I'm barely wearing anything!" I retorted.
"Exactly my point," she smirked.
I looked back at my reflection. The girl – no, woman – who looked back at me was unrecognizable. The blue, lacy corset top and denim miniskirt made her seem more confident. She knew how to handle the stilettos tied with white ribbons. Her pin straight hair was sophisticated. The smoky makeup made it easier for her to play her part.
That wasn't me.
But the thought of Edward reacting favorably…
I moved around a little and I felt the confidence start to rise as I got a feel of the ridiculous heels and the revealing nature of the clothing. A small smile crept across my lips as I thought of Edward's face when he would see me.
"Now that's what I want to see from you!" Alice said, breaking me out of my reverie.
"Shut up," I said, blushing. "Let's just go."
"I'm still not ready yet," Alice said. "Go wait with Jasper, I'll be done soon."
"Fine. Just don't take too long."
I carefully trekked into the living room, taking care not to trip in the heels. Jasper was perched on the edge of one of the couches so as not to ruin his clothes. He had a fairly tight, white cotton T-shirt with a charcoal grey phoenix sketched across half of it. His black pants were snug, but not too tight.
"You look nice," I told him.
He shrugged. "Ali picked it. She usually does. And she did a really good job with you tonight," he said. "Turn around. I want to see the full effect."
I glared at him, but slowly turned, letting him see the outfit. As I came close to facing him again, he let out a low whistle.
"What?"
"If Edward doesn't jump you the second he sees you, then he has more control than any man I've ever met," Jasper said pointedly.
"What is it with everyone assuming that Edward will just crumble in front of me?" I yelled. "It's still me! I'm just… in less clothing. But it's still me. I don't get it!"
"Really, Bella?" Alice chirped, poking her head out of the bedroom. "You should know by now that guys think with their dicks, not their heads.
"Ali!" I said, shocked.
"What? It's true," she said. "Just look at James. I'm not sure there's even a brain behind that thick skull of his." I started to say something else to her, but she just slid back into the room.
"Why did I marry her again?" Jasper asked quietly.
"Because you love her and can't live without her, even if she says the most inappropriate shit?" I suggested.
He sighed and shook his head. "I think you're right," he said. "But sometimes I wonder how she comes up with these things."
It took another half hour for Alice to finally finish and join us in the living room. Jasper's mouth instantly split into a smile when he saw the dress she had on. She must have been making up for something because it seemed like she was attempting to recreate their first date. She had the same cute, flowing red dress that came to her knees that she'd worn when he first formally asked her to dinner when they were seventeen. Of course she still fit into it. I took a look back at Jasper's outfit and smiled. He'd grown out of his original outfit, but Alice came pretty close to getting it right. And judging by the look on his face, she'd already made up for whatever it was she'd done wrong.
"So, are we ready to go now?" I asked, hoping to speed things along.
"Nope," Alice said cheerily, still looking up at Jasper as he pulled her closer to him and wrapped an arm around her waist. "We're not leaving until eight-forty-five."
"What? Alice, that's fifteen minutes away. We'll never be there on time!"
"Don't worry. There's never any traffic then," she said, waving me off.
"And there is now?"
"As a matter of fact, there is. It will lighten up in about ten minutes and then we'll leave."
I sat down on the couch, grumbling and making sure I stayed covered so I didn't give Jasper a show.
True to her word, ten minutes later, Alice was herding us out the door. I looked out at the road.
"Huh, you were right," I noted, surprised. Alice just smiled smugly at me.
There were almost no cars. We were able to make it to Club Skunk in record time, just after the agreed meeting time. As we pulled into the parking lot, I figured I would text Edward to see if he was there with Rose and Emmett already or not.
We just pulled up, are you here? –B
His reply was almost instantaneous.
Look for the outfit. See you soon. –E
I couldn't contain the smile that was forming on my face. He'd worn the outfit I asked him to. He'd worn it for me. Alice saw my face and laughed.
"I guess they're already here," she chirped. She knew the bouncer so she skipped right in, pulling Jasper and I along behind her. "So, where are they? Lead the way," she said to me when we were inside, her voice rising to be heard over the music.
I looked around and realized what a mistake I'd made in the outfit I'd asked Edward to wear. The room was dark, even as strobe lights flashed and spotlights flipped around. There was no way I could possibly find him.
I started walking into the crowd turning every which way for a glimpse of Edward, or even Rosalie and Emmett.
By some stroke of luck, the spotlight passed a table in the back corner of the seating area and shone off Edward's remarkable hair. I immediately grabbed my friends' hands and trudged through the crowd.
It didn't take long before I'd finally reached the table and I dropped Alice and Jasper's hands. And apparently we'd arrived in the middle of a conversation.
"Fuck you," Edward said firmly as he glared at his cousin.
"Why are we mad at Emmett?" I inquired with a smile, knowing that Edward was usually mad at his loveable teddy bear of a cousin.
Edward's head flipped around when he heard my voice. His gaze didn't stay on my face for very long before it slowly took in my state of dress. Well, undress, really. He looked almost like he was in pain by the time his eyes saw my shoes.
"Edward, are you okay?" I asked after a few seconds when he stopped breathing. I waved my hand in front of his face, trying to get a reaction.
His eyes finally found mine again. Rather quickly, I might add. "Yeah. I'll be fine," he said. The shakiness in his voice didn't have me convinced at all.
I nodded, but never actually gave the impression that I believed him. When I turned back to the rest of the group, Alice and Rosalie already had their heads together, clearly planning something. I hoped it had nothing to do with me. Emmett and Jasper were conversing over the girls, but I couldn't tell exactly what they were saying.
"Bella!" Rose's voice suddenly said. "Why didn't you say that you had a free pass for the weekend?"
"I just got here, Rose," I said with a laugh. "It's not like you're that far out of the loop."
"Still… would have been nice to know ahead of time," she said, though I could barely hear her over the music.
I looked over at Edward with a smile to see what he had to say, but he just smiled back.
The conversations continued, mainly just catching up with each other since we hadn't hung out together since that day at the restaurant. Rose and Emmett mentioned that the family dinner had been postponed. Alice and Jasper filled them in on all the parties my mother dragged me to, dropping hints that I had started paying less and less attention to my fiancé.
I chanced another look at Edward. He was looking back at me, but he had the strangest expression. His eyes were slightly glazed and unfocused. My gaze involuntarily dropped to his jeans and there was a distinct bulge. A large tent of a bulge. My smile somehow transformed into a grin and I met his eyes. I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I-I, uh… Bella, I mean," he stammered.
I decided I needed to start trying to get a reaction out of him. "Edward Masen, is that really proper?" I teased.
"Bella, I-"
"Eddie! Baby Bell! We're dancing!" Emmett boomed, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the floor.
"Emmett! What the hell are you doing?" I said, laughing the entire way, but still struggling against his grip.
"I'm bringing you to the dance floor," he said. "You're dancing with me, and that's final."
I looked over to see Alice and Jasper in their own little world, and Rose smiling and dancing with Edward. He looked slightly uncomfortable, like he wasn't used to dancing in public. Or just dancing in general. It was proof that he was still adjusting to being out with people. Once he closed his eyes, I could tell he was concentrating on forgetting everyone around him and focusing on the music. He was much more relaxed when he did that.
I found myself having a lot of fun with Emmett. One second he would be dancing really well, attracting all sorts of female attention from around the room, then he would suddenly yell, "Oh! Have you seen this move, Baby Bell?" before breaking into the most ridiculous moves I had ever seen. I knew he'd only had one or two drinks so far, so he wasn't exactly drunk yet. If this was what he was like sober, it would be interesting to see what he did with more alcohol in his system.
Alice scooted me out of the way after a few songs, demanding that Jasper was no fun and she was determined to find fun somewhere. Apparently she thought that source would be Emmett.
I just shook my head and went to join Jasper. We went back to sit at the table, both needing the break. I had no idea how Jasper could handle Alice all day, every day on top of having a good job. I ordered a coffee, opting not to drink for the night so that Edward wouldn't feel like he was the only sober one and so that I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of him, while Jasper ordered a beer.
We watched our friends on the dance floor, Alice and Emmett going crazy even though the song didn't have a very fast tempo and Rosalie and Edward moving to the beat, but concentrating more on the conversation they were having.
My eyes stayed glued on Edward. His shirt was clinging to his muscles more than normal from the heat. His movements were fluid and smooth, unlike the jerky, spastic movements of most of the male population out there. There was a soft smile on his face and I knew he was thinking of something else. He was probably remembering a better time, before his parents died, when he came to a club like this.
Jasper leaned over to me so that he didn't have to yell. "He only came here for you," he said.
"That's not true," I scoffed. "He came because he wanted to spend time with his friends."
"Then why hasn't he stopped looking at you every chance he gets?"
I turned my head to glare at my friend. "That's ridiculous."
He smiled. "Look behind you."
I peeked back and, sure enough, my eyes instantly locked with Edward's. I blushed and bit my lip, but forced myself to keep the contact. I wanted to show him that I was ready to be with him, even if I couldn't really say it out loud yet. He smiled, clearly seeing my blush. He was heading back toward the table when the song changed again.
Rosalie started cheering when Single Ladies by Beyonce came on. She rushed past Edward, beating him back to the table.
"Bella, you need to dance with me on this one!" she said, dragging me back out.
"Why, Rose? Why can't I just hang out at the table?" I pouted. I knew there was no point since we were already at the dance floor, but I had to at least try to get out of it.
"Because you need to show Edward exactly what you can do," she said, placing her hands on my hips and dancing with me. "Now that he's not on the dance floor, he can watch you without being distracted," she explained.
"Rose, that's-" I looked back over at the table midsentence and was surprised to find Edward looking intently in our direction. I could tell he wasn't about to look away.
"The best idea ever?" she said with a smirk. "For some reason, girl on girl action turns guys on. Now he won't be able to keep his hands off you for the rest of the night."
I didn't know how to answer her, so I looked back at Edward, his eyes still on me. Jasper was sitting behind him, sipping at his beer and smirking at me.
Edward really wasn't going to stop looking at me. He really had come out tonight for me.
Jasper was right, which meant there was only one thing to do.
"Let's dance," I said, more to myself than Rose, but she heard me anyway and cheered.
We danced together for three songs, just having fun. She convinced me to not look back at the table, to just forget he was there, and concentrate on the moment.
"If you pay attention to him, you won't have fun," she told me. "The whole point of this is to have fun and look hot doing it!"
Rose showed me different moves that she'd learned over the years. It was a lot different than anything I'd learned growing up with my mother. It took some getting used to. Rosalie got so fed up with me not being able to understand anything she taught me, so she went with the simplest thing she could think of.
She taught me to grind.
I failed miserably. I just couldn't wrap my head around the subject.
"It's in the hips, Bella," Rose said, moving my hips with her hands. "Just let your hips move to the beat."
"I can't do it, Rose," I said with a laugh. The situation was hilarious, even to me. "We may as well give up now."
She sighed, but then something over my shoulder made her smile. "Maybe you just need a better teacher," she said happily. "Hi Edward!"
I hissed at her so no one else would hear. "Rose, I'm not falling for that shit. You can't-"
"Hi, Bella," I heard in my ear as I felt Edward's hands on my hips. My eyes widened and I was glad for the loud music because it was quite possible that I whimpered. Rose was still smirking in front of me, but she decided to leave and find Emmett.
"Edward," I breathed. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"Well, I was watching you dance, or trying to dance… but Rose didn't seem like she was helping too much," he explained. "I figured I might be able to help. Besides, I promised to dance with you."
Somehow, I managed to get my brain working enough to regain my ability to speak. It was a little easier once I remembered that I didn't have to look at him while I was talking. "What makes you think you can help any more than she can?"
"My mother made me take ballroom dancing lessons when I was younger," he said. "I had to get used to this kind of dancing just like you." His thumbs rubbed circles into the skin between my top and my skirt, making me once again lose brain function.
"Oh," I said. "Um, okay."
"If you don't want me to, Bella, I won't," he said gently.
"No!" I said, startling him. His hands gripped my hips tighter when I turned around suddenly. "I mean, I want you to, Edward."
He smiled down at me and I just had to smile back. "Good," he said simply.
The music changed again. This time, The Toadies' Possum Kingdom blasted through the club. Edward turned me around and made sure I was pressed tightly against him. I felt his erection pressing into my lower back and my breathing hitched. He pretended to not know exactly what he was doing, but I could hear the smile in his voice when he started giving me tips.
"Find the beat," he said. "Move your feet like you would with any other dance, but don't move around." I tried to do what he said, but my feet ended up carrying me away from him in the process. His hands, still firm on my hips, pulled me back to him and making me stumble on my heels. "No, Bella. You need to transfer the work from your feet to your hips. Just follow what I do."
I concentrated on the movement of Edward's hips. Mine moved when his moved.
Well, that was putting it politely.
I kept in contact with the one part of him I had always avoided until tonight. Somehow, it had somehow become acceptable to me to keep in contact with his erection while I danced with him, to take a peek at it when he's clearly staring at me.
And now I couldn't get enough.
The dancing itself got a lot easier with this tactic. Edward noticed and backed off, but not before saying, "I think you've got it. Let's see if you can do it without me."
I froze for a second, just listening to the music, trying to remember exactly what Edward did while I wasn't focused on his crotch behind me. I closed my eyes, like he had done earlier, and just let the music flow through me. I concentrated on the beat and quickly found what I had missed for the rest of the night.
I felt Edward behind me again after a little while. "You've got it," he said proudly.
"I guess I did," I answered happily.
I let myself drift back into feeling Edward behind me and following his movements. I was finally able to listen to the song without worrying about focusing on exactly what I was doing.
I can promise you
You'll stay as beautiful
With dark hair
And soft skin...forever
Forever
Make up your mind
Make up your mind
And I'll promise you
I will treat you well
My sweet angel
So help me, Jesus
The lyrics had never really meant anything to me before that moment. But hearing those lines – and I could swear to God Edward was singing along behind me – made me think of something more.
Could that be what I hadn't seen all along?
Could that be what Edward had been thinking?
I turned myself around and put my arms around his neck, but still tried to keep dancing. It wasn't working too well, but I really didn't care.
Neither did he. He just smiled down at me.
I smiled back briefly before resting my head on his chest. My arms tightened around him. Somehow I would work up the courage to tell him. I had to….
The next song was slow – at the request of one of the more regular patrons – so Edward and I stayed as we were, his arms around my waist and my head resting against his chest as we swayed. Neither of us said a thing until it was over and I tried to shift back for the faster tempo, but lost my footing. Edward was still holding me, though, so I didn't fall.
"Time to go back to the table?" he asked, guessing that my feet were killing me.
"Oh yeah," I said with a chuckle. "My feet need a rest."
Edward laughed and kept his arm around my waist as we walked back. He pulled out my chair when I got back to the table and I smiled to myself at his chivalry before the others' conversation reached my ears.
"Oh my God, Rose, did you see that, that… thing the other day?" Alice said.
"Wait, the thing with the doohickey or the one with the fat guy?" Rose answered.
"No! The one about the gross thing with the nipple."
"Oh! Hey, Ed," Emmett boomed. "Remember that thing we watched a while back with the three foot dick?"
"No one has a three foot dick, Emmett," Alice protested.
"No, this thing did! Real wood!"
I exchanged glances with Edward, knowing exactly what Emmett was talking about. They were also completely drunk, which made it even more hilarious.
"Uh-huh, right. And Jasper watches gay porn," Alice said.
"Baby!" Jasper protested.
"Wait, really?" Rose asked, interested.
"No!" Jasper assured her. "Well, there was that one with the girls… but it totally doesn't count!"
"Don't worry, Jazz," Alice said, patting the top of his head, needing to stand up to do it. "I was just making a point."
"So maybe there's no three foot dick, but mine is pretty close to a foot. Right, Rosie?" Emmett said proudly. "Rosie knows just how long it is." He nuzzled into his girlfriend's neck, kissing and nibbling at her skin.
She moaned and moved so that he could reach more skin. "Oh, yeah, Emmett…. Just like that, baby." She leaned over to whisper to him, not realizing we could all hear, when he came up for breath. "You better put that foot-long dick to use tonight. Maybe I'll even let you tie me up and-"
"Rosalie!" Edward hissed. "You are in public!"
She glared at him. "Fuckin' prude. You'd be doin' the same fuckin' thing if it was you and Bella. Don't even try to deny it, bucko." She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms, clearly pissed.
Emmett pouted over at his cousin. He looked like a three year old who'd been refused a lollipop after a shot.
"Ooooh, Rose got in trouble!" Alice said, drawing out the last word.
I sighed. "I'm going to get a refill. Anyone want anything?" I asked. I was immediately bombarded with drink orders. I went over them quickly before I left to make sure I got them right.
The bar was fairly empty at that point due to a flood to the dance floor for a popular song. I made my way to a free stool.
"What'll it be?" a frazzled bartender said when she came up to me.
"There's a few," I warned her. She sighed and nodded. I listed them off slowly, making sure that she got each one. She said them back to me before running off to make them. I sat uncomfortably at the bar waiting for her to get back, keeping my eyes on the counter and not looking around. I felt someone next to me, but ignored them.
"Hey there, sweets," a deep voice said. When I didn't answer, he moved closer. "Not a talker, huh? I bet I could get you to scream." His hand ghosted down my arm and I flinched away from him, still trying to ignore his advances and glancing back at the table. Edward could see me. "Oh, what's the matter? Your boyfriend here? Not to worry. I'll show you how a real man acts."
He grabbed my shoulders and turned me to him. He wasn't bad looking, but he was clearly drunk. His breath reeked of beer.
"I would very much appreciate it if you would leave," I said, trying to keep the image of a shy, demure girl. Little did he know what I was currently going over all the self-defense lessons Edward taught me.
"And if I don't feel like it?" he said with a smirk, his hands gripping my shoulders even more tightly. He had left my arms and legs completely unrestricted. Idiot. He was leaving himself completely open.
I put my hands on his shoulders, acting like I was leaning in and giving in, before I used my grip for leverage to knee him in the nuts.
He fell away from me, cupping his crotch and swearing at the top of his lungs. I calmly sat back on the bar stool and waited for my order.
"Nice to know you didn't forget," a soft, welcome voice said in my ear as Edward sat down next to me.
"Some things I just can't forget," I said with a small smile. "You made me drill that one until you needed to go get ice."
"It was worth it," he said sincerely.
The bartender came back with the drinks then, preventing me from saying anything else. I picked them off and we headed off toward the table again, but there were so many drinks. I could barely hold them all. Edward saw me struggling with carrying them and quickly took more than half from me, telling me not to worry about it.
We got back to the table and set everyone's drink down in front of them. They didn't even notice that we were back, still on the same subject. And I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Right, but you can't just go around your own place whippin' out your junk to measure it with Edward around. Now Jazzy and I, we can just go back to our place and do anything we want. Bella won't care. I've got this whole section of my closet just for role playing. There's this one for Jazzy that just makes me go wild. He's a Major in the Confederate Army and those pants… I just want to rip them off the moment I see him." Alice's eyes were unfocused and her breathing grew labored. I stared in shock. She was that easily turned on by just talking about it. "I think we're doing that one tonight, Major," she said, turning to her husband.
Jasper grinned at her and pulled her into his lap, earning a squeal. "Well, alright, little lady," he said, using his fake southern accent. It almost sounded authentic at times. "But only if you'll be my saloon maid, ready to show your support to a good, tired soldier."
"Oh, I don't think he's that tired," Alice said, unabashedly palming her husband's crotch.
"Alice!" I shrieked.
"What, Bella?" she said. "Oh, don't tell me you haven't been staring at Edward's anaconda all night long."
"She's right, Belly," Jasper added. "It's like you've had a radar for his dick and you've just been starting at him…"
"Jasper!" My friend just shrugged and I buried my now tomato red face in my hands, not wanting to look at anyone. I could hear a few of them snickering, but I couldn't quite make out who it was.
I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and instantly knew it was Edward's. I jerked away a little, not wanting to see his reaction.
"Bella," he said, his voice closer than I anticipated. "Bella, stop hiding."
"No," I mumbled into my hands. "I'm perfectly content right here."
"Well, I'm not," he stated. He took my hands and pried them off my face before pushing some stray hairs back. "There, much better."
My blush doubled, and I looked down at the table.
"Aww, Belly's blushing!" Jasper gushed.
"Rosie, baby, maybe we should try that role playing stuff," Emmett said, leaning over to his girlfriend. "Maybe you can be my-" A crash from the other side of the table alerted us to the fact that Emmett had fallen off his chair. "Ow…"
Edward sighed. "Maybe this is our cue to call it a night." He stared pointedly at the man groaning in pain on the floor.
"Yeah, I guess so," I said. "How did you guys get here?"
"Cab," he said. "Emmett didn't want me driving his car home."
"Well, we can throw them in another cab, but I can't drive Jasper's car," I said, grumbling. "Fucker had to buy a stick shift."
Edward chuckled. "It's fine. I'll drive. Come on."
Ten minutes later, we had Emmett and Rose in a cab and headed home. Jasper and Alice were waiting in the car, but I was having an internal debate and Edward, of course, noticed.
"What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his hands up and down my arms to keep me from getting too cold.
"As soon as we get back, those two will be going at it like rabbits," I said. "I don't want to be around that. But I refuse to go home." I sighed. "This sucks."
"Stay with me," Edward offered. I looked up at him, confused.
Did he just say what I think he said?
AN: *gasp* What's gonna happen now? Leave your guesses in a review! Or just tell me what you thought of this first part. I love knowing what everyone thinks, so please, please, please review! :)
Next Chapter: It's a little shorter than this one and still BPOV, but I'm sure you'll all love it. I can't give it away though! However, I can tell you that it will be posted on November 16th. I know it seems like a ridiculously long time from now, but would you ratherget it sooner and then have to wait even longer for the next chapter? (If I get enough people saying that they want it sooner, I will seriously consider making it sooner. Check my profile for updates!)
Everyone should definitely check out NaNoWriMo and if you have even the tiniest bit of interest in writing, try it! The stress is totally worth it!! And don't forget to press the green button to review!
-Kaylee