AN: Three weeks... Not too bad, right? This chapter was hard to get through for some reason. But it's here in honor of Eclipse. You'll all hate me for mentioning this, but I actually saw the movie last night (one of the perks of working at a theater). You will not be disappointed, so enjoy! :)
Thanks again to my beta, SwallowedxInxThexSea, as well as all my readers. You guys are awesome! And reviewers, you came very close to getting that second teaser for this chapter. Fourteen reviews for last chapter! Think you can beat that this time?
Disclaimer: I still own nothing beyond the plot of this story, Bella's grandparents, and Joshua. Everything else you recognize, not mine.
Chapter 20 – Cheeseball
EPOV
For being welcomed so easily into Bella's family, I still felt uncomfortable spending time at the Swan house. The fact that Bella could barely stay longer than a few hours herself didn't help.
The fact that I was a "perfectly functioning, virile, and willing" man meant that I was constantly being given advice on how to make Bella more willing. Her Gran was unrelenting. Something new came out of her mouth at every pause.
"So, Edward, I bet with all those girls going in and out of the shop, you must be very experienced. You must have so much to offer Isabella."
"Oh, Isabella! That boy makes you so happy. Has he finally put those long artistic fingers to a better use?"
"Those walls at your apartment better be thick, Edward. When you two finally discover how great it is to spend the night doing something other than sleeping, your neighbors will get upset if you're too loud. Lord knows, our little Isabella will be a screamer."
"Maybe you should measure yourself, Edward. You need to be sure that you and Isabella have proper protection. It would be just horrible if you were to get the wrong size and something should happen!"
Bella had a habit of curling into my embrace whenever her grandmother opened her mouth, just in case. It was her preferred defense mechanism and I couldn't say I minded. It gave me an excuse to hold her. I just didn't appreciate the reason that she needed to hide.
I went as far as asking Jasper what I should do about it. That tactic didn't get me far at all.
"Dude, she actually said that shit to you?" he question between fits of laughter. "Oh, boy. You're in it for the long haul, buddy. Good luck." He gave me a sympathetic pat on the back before walking away.
Asking Rose during a slow period at work resulted in a similar response.
"That is priceless. I need to meet this woman. She needs to be congratulated for finally shoving the two of you to the edge. Now someone just needs to push you off…"
"Thank you, Rosalie. You do realize that it's really more about Bella not being ready than it is about something being wrong?"
She shrugged and went back to what she was doing. "Considering the boner I see you sport whenever she walks in the room, it's amazing you haven't jumped her yet. Maybe you'd be a bit less tense if you acted like Emmett for once in your life."
"But Bella-"
"Bella will do whatever the fuck you want because she loves you more than should be allowed." Rose looked back up at me and stared me down. "Seriously, if you guys don't just up and fuck each other soon, you're going to go insane."
Everyone seemed to be of the same opinion except Bella and me. We still fooled around, getting closer and closer to the point of no return, but we never discussed it. I tried a couple times, but Bella froze whenever anyone brought it up. It was better to let it go for now. I could wait for her, no matter what anyone else said.
It was getting closer to the big party Alice was planning. She'd been out of the hospital for over a week, but was still only allowed minimal activity. That was more than enough for her to plan a party. She took pleasure in ordering everyone else around to get what she wanted.
I was nervous about the party, even more so than I had been about meeting Bella's family. They – with the exception of Renee – felt compelled to give me a chance simply because Bella loved me. The people at the party would not have the same courtesy. They would see that I wasn't part of their own group and say I wasn't good enough. That fact in and of itself wasn't enough to make me worried; it was the idea that it could affect Bella that made me nervous. She didn't need that.
Then there was the Alice factor to contend with….
"You need a suit," she told me. "Something dashing."
"Why does it matter what I wear? No one's going to care either way," I protested.
"It's my party and I want you to look good. Emmett and Rose already agreed to dress up," she glared at me. "Not to mention I'm a hormonal mess. If you don't let me have this, it will probably throw me into a fit and then you'll have to deal with Jasper."
She had to play the baby card… She knew I wouldn't imagine doing anything that would hurt the baby. I sighed and allowed her what she wanted. I ended up with fitted black dress pants, a black button-up shirt, and a grey vest with subtle white pinstripes. Alice assured me it was fine and appropriate for the occasion. I wasn't so sure, but I wouldn't argue with her.
"I take it this means you're picking out Bella's outfit as well," I guessed.
"Of course. You two are a power couple now, whether you want to admit it or not and you need to make a good impression with the uptown crowd. Bella needs to look radiant next to you and she will," Alice explained. "But no, I will not, under any circumstances, give you hints."
"Damn you and your pregnancy hormones," I grumbled. "They're making you into one sneaky manipulator."
"But you still love me," she said before pushing me out of the room so she could decide how to dress Bella.
A few days before the party, I was invited back to the Swans for dinner. Bella insisted it would help get me in the right mindset, but we were both uncomfortable with the turn of events.
Bella's mother was droning on and on about her friend's daughter's new billionaire fiancé and pointedly ignoring my presence while Bella clenched her fist around my hand to prevent herself from murdering her mother.
Charlie, Ronald, and I exchanged uncomfortable glances every once in a while. It was official that they were on my side, but those glances meant that no one would be able to get Renee to shut up. Eleanor was in her element, subtly insulting her daughter and pushing Bella and I closer to the edge. But even with Gran's overwhelming backup, Renee was a force to be reckoned with.
"Oh, Bella," she spewed. "With a man like that, you'd never have to work a day in your life! You could spend time at home, raising children, throwing magnificent parties, and supporting your husband. It's a perfect existence to be sure."
"Mother, I told you. I don't want that," Bella insisted. "And stop acting like Edward isn't here. He doesn't deserve this."
"Baby, it's fine," I tried to reassure her, but she wouldn't have it.
"I refuse to have her treat you as an inferior," she hissed back to me. "It's degrading to you and immature on her part."
I sighed, reaching over to stroke her back, and nodded.
"See, what I don't understand is why," Renee said, completely ignoring me. "You keep saying you want to work and you want a normal life…. But that's not how we raised you."
Bella stiffened as the rest of the table went silent. Her mother continued, unfazed.
"Every little girl's dream is to be treated like a princess, right? Well, the perfect way to get that is to marry someone like James or Lettie's boy, Mark. To stoop to the level of a struggling artist recovering from a meth addiction is just silly, Isabella. You'll grow out of it soon enough and return to what makes sense."
Once again, Bella's hand found mine and she proceeded to channel her anger into crushing my fingers. I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb, trying to soothe her, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
Bella cleared her throat and addressed the rest of the table. "May we be excused? I'm not feeling well and I know Edward isn't a big fan of what we have for dessert."
"Of course, Bella," Charlie said carefully, eyeing his wife. "You two kids go unload some steam and we'll see you later."
"Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Eleanor sang as we calmly left the dining room.
By the time we reached Bella's room, she was ready to unleash her fury. She slammed the door closed so hard that some of the CDs on her shelves shook.
"I can't believe her! The nerve…! She may as well have called you the spawn of the devil and gotten it over with!" she fumed, pacing in the limited space.
"Bella-"
"She's still trying to set me up with people, you know. Behind my back. It's like I don't even have the option of thinking for myself at this point. Anything less than a millionaire is off the market, after all!"
"Baby, I-"
"Fuck! I can't deal with this! You are not trash, Edward! You're a wonderful, caring, sexy, hardworking man who doesn't deserve her shit and-"
"Bella!" I said, wrapping my arms around her and effectively putting her pacing to an end. "Baby, you need to calm down."
"I can't, Edward," she said. Her body was still tense beneath my grasp. "I can't let her win this. It's past the point of no return for me."
I ran my hands up and down her arms and kissed the top of her head. "Baby, you're making it worse. You're giving her what she wants. What we need to do is stay calm and try to ignore her. If that doesn't work, we run away, elope in Vegas, and move in with some Eskimos."
My ridiculous comment finally got a reaction out of her. She cocked an eyebrow at me and I felt some of the tension recede.
"Eskimos? You've got this all planned out?" she asked.
"Well, I had to think about it for a while when I thought I'd need to kidnap you to save you," I said, focusing on getting her to relax. "Did you really think I was going to let you marry that asshole? No. Back then, I was planning on dragging you on a road trip to Niagara Falls and ask you to marry me on that stupid boat."
The sniffle she tried to hide alerted me to the fact that she was crying. I looked up to see a few tears falling down her cheeks.
"Baby? What's wrong?"
She shook her head and let her forehead rest on my shoulder.
"Bella? Was it something I said, love?"
"You're so good to me, Edward," she whispered. Looking up at me, she gave me the sweetest smile. One of her hands reached up to play with the hair at my neck. "I love you so much and I have no idea what I did to get a man like you."
I leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "Better me than James," I said. "Would he come up with a contingency plan to get you up to the Eskimos? I don't think so."
She laughed and kissed my jaw. "Damn, I was really looking forward to that boat ride," she joked back.
I chuckled and led her over to the bed. We lay next to each other, just talking for a while.
"I don't want to go back down there," Bella confessed as she noticed the time getting later.
"Neither do I, love. Your Gran is starting to make me seriously consider that Eskimo integration," I laughed.
"She just wants me to be happy," she groaned. "It's just that she thinks happiness is always somehow linked to sex."
I shrugged. "I guess they kind of are tied, if you think about it. I mean, so many marriages these days end because they're not satisfied with the sex."
Bella nodded, but wouldn't look me in the eye. When I asked her what was wrong, she hesitated.
"Well… I mean, do you…." She sighed, playing with one of the buttons on my shirt. "Are you getting frustrated with me? For not sleeping with you, I mean."
My jaw dropped. Even without seeing her face, it was easy to see that my answer was very important, despite the simplicity of the question. I sighed and lifted her chin. She still wouldn't meet my gaze.
"Bella, love, I need to look into your beautiful eyes when I tell you this," I coaxed. She finally, reluctantly, looked up. "There are two parts to my answer, so please don't freak out. In terms of the perpetually immature, physically-oriented part of my brain, I think I am a little frustrated. But that's only because you're so ridiculously sexy without even realizing it."
I let my hand slip down her side, grazing the edge of her breast as I went. She gasped, but didn't look away. That was good. She needed to see what I meant – all of what I meant – and that I wasn't about to force her into anything.
"If I could, I would drag you back to my place right now and worship you for days like you deserve. I can't deny that I want that. I want to see you under me, writhing with pleasure that only I can give you," I said, my tone dropping to a huskiness I usually tried to restrain around her.
Her eyes turned glassy and her breathing hitched as she listened. The thin fabric of her dress failed to hide the pounding of her heart.
I took a deep breath before continuing. "But I know you're not ready for that, baby. I am willing to wait for you and you need to know that. I won't resent you if you want to wait until we're married. I won't get mad at you if you tell me to stop something because you're not ready. I don't want you to worry about me not being satisfied. This is more than just about me and my physical satisfaction. I love you, Isabella Swan. I'm not some asshole waiting around until you put out just to drop you on the curb. I'm in this for the long haul."
Her lip started to quiver, some tears still falling, and I was afraid I'd upset her without meaning to.
"Are you okay, Bella?" I asked cautiously.
She took a shaky breath. "You are such a frickin' cheeseball," she managed to get out, lightly hitting my chest before cuddling into my side. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, love," I answered, kissing the top of her head. "Now, do we go back to join your family, risking torture and uncomfortable conversations, or do we stay up here and discuss contingency plans?"
The next few days Bella and I spent apart. She had become Alice's slave, planning and preparing for the party while I was at work. Alice was a force to be reckoned with for sure. It would be interesting to see how the party came together. To my shock – and great relief – she asked me to extend invitations to Emmett and Rosalie as well as my aunt and uncle. Despite Bella's wishes, this party was partly for her and me; it would be nice to have some people I knew there.
Finally, Saturday came and Rosalie and I closed shop a little after lunchtime. I double-checked that everyone knew where to go and when to be there. I was freaking out and it wasn't even my party to host.
As instructed, I showed up at Alice's family's house an hour before the party was scheduled to begin. The door swung open to reveal a flustered woman in a chef's coat.
"Are you Edward?" she snapped.
I nodded, confused. "Do you want a photo ID?"
"Don't back talk me, boy. I've dealt with so much shit today and I'm not in the mood."
Another younger girl popped her head around the corner. "Is that him?" she asked.
"Unfortunately," the first grumbled.
"Oh, thank god. We need you in here," the second panicked. "Dan's messing everything up and we can't-"
"Can't leave you alone for ten minutes without something going wrong," the woman fumed. She pointed to me. "You, go to the living room and sit your ass down. There, my job is done."
Without another word, both of them rushed off to deal with whatever Dan had screwed up. I shrugged to myself and entered the house, shutting the door behind me. It didn't take long to find the living room. It was the only room in the house that didn't have people scrambling in and out pinning up decorations or moving furniture. No, this room only had one poor soul in it.
"Jasper, you look like someone's got a gun to your head," I said. "What's with the statuesque pose?"
He rolled his eyes. "Apparently the two of us are under orders to not mess up our own clothes or the room. Which, for me, translates into not moving."
"Wow, you're more whipped than I am," I laughed.
"You just wait until Alice checks in here again," he warned with a glare. "If she doesn't approve, you'll get a beating in places you don't want to hurt."
He was dead serious and I knew it. I sighed and sat across from him, allowing myself to slouch slightly.
"How long have you been in here?" I asked.
"Eh, about twenty minutes. It's better than the last party she threw here. We weren't married yet and she was scared to death about what her parents would say if I screwed anything up. She sat me in here for three hours before the party just to make sure I'd be ready," he explained. "Bella's managing to keep her somewhat calm this time because of the baby."
I nodded. "And how's that whole adventure going?"
He sighed and played with the ends of his sleeves. "Well, some days I feel like it's the greatest thing that's happened to us and the next day I want to hide from my crazy, hormonal wife, no matter how much I love her."
And here I thought a normal Alice was bad enough…
"Good to know."
"We're both very excited though. Once you get past the mood swings, the cravings, the morning sickness… it's kind of awesome," he said, cracking a smile.
I laughed and nodded. "Glad everything's working out, man. Congrats."
"Thanks."
We spent the next forty-five minutes just talking between us – and Emmett as well when he and Rose arrived. Rosalie went to join the girls, but Emmett was instructed to stay out of the way with Jasper and me.
"Dude! You look like a frickin' rock star," my cousin said, staring at my outfit. "That girl of yours is going to flip her shit when she sees you."
I shrugged uncomfortably. "I was told to wear this. And no one wants an upset Alice," I said.
"Well, from what I've heard, you're going to be in one hell of a state when you see Bella," Emmett said. "She's got a-"
"Emmett…" Jasper warned.
"Right. No revealing the outfit. Sorry."
I groaned and leaned back into the couch. "Come on… I don't get any warning?"
"Let's just say you may rethink your opinions about waiting until Bella is ready to jump her bones," Jasper said. "I saw when she tried it on before. You don't stand a chance."
"Thank god we'll be surrounded by a group of people then," I sighed. "Hopefully that will help keep me from going caveman…"
"Honestly, man, I'm surprised you haven't already!" Emmett announced. "That girl is a fucking queen. Nothing quite like my Rosie; she's a fuckin' goddess. But Bella is almost that level of awesome. I bet she'll be a fuckin' wildcat in the sack."
Images of Bella and me naked in various parts of my apartment popped through my head. Even the thought of Bella taking that step with me was mind-blowing. I squirmed in my seat as I developed the most inopportune erection in a while.
"Ugh, talk about something else. Something disgusting," I said.
"Does Alice being worried that her pussy is going to stretch beyond recognition after the baby count as something disgusting?" Jasper inquired.
"Shit! That's true?" Emmett said. "I thought that was one of those lies my mom told me to keep me from having sex in high school!"
"I heard girls sometimes take a dump at some point during the birthing too," I mumbled, trying to distract myself.
"Remind me to stay by Ali's head when the time comes," Jasper said, disgusted.
"Well, thanks, guys. That certainly had the desired effect," I said.
"Okay, boys! I need all three of you up and ready to mingle," Alice's voice called out as she finally acknowledged us. "The seats are for the guests."
She came around the corner and I saw Jasper visibly tense. His gaze was stuck on his wife who had managed to find a maternity dress that didn't make her look like a whale. She looked happier than I'd ever seen her. Pregnancy suited her apparently.
Rosalie followed in a bright red strapless dress, revealing all her tattoos. She was a bombshell on any given day, but this was enough to make Emmett cease movement altogether. That was rare.
But the third woman was the one that meant the most to me. Bella had a dark blue satin dress that came to her knees with a deep plunging neckline. The thin material clung to every curve. It gathered around her breasts and made them look spectacular. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off her all night.
Jasper and Emmett complimented their women while I tried to break out of my Bella-induced stupor. They moved on to Bella and had her do a twirl so we could see the full effect. The straps crossed over her back and left most of it exposed.
"Close your mouth, lover boy," Alice ordered. "I don't need drool on my carpet."
Bella had just finished her twirl and met my eyes as I attempted to close my mouth in time. She blushed and it extended down to almost the end of her plunging neckline. It took a shitload of self-control to not to drag her upstairs and show her just how much I loved that dress.
"Wow," I finally muttered.
She looked down and started running her hands over the skirt, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles and folds. "I know it's a lot. It just looked so pretty and I didn't have anywhere else to wear it, and-"
I rushed forward and took her hands. "You look stunning, Bella," I breathed. "Absolutely beautiful."
Her blush grew more pronounced, but she smiled brightly. "You don't look so bad yourself, mister," she said.
We stood there, hand in hand, smiling at each other for a while before our friends got sick of it.
"Gah, I might gag with all the sweetness in the room," Rose said.
Bella broke our gaze with a small giggle. It was nice to see her becoming more comfortable expressing herself in front of others and not worrying about doing something wrong.
"Well, it's not like you two are known for your subtlety in public," I threw back at them as I wrapped my arm around Bella's waist.
Emmett laughed. "Oh yeah. I thought Rose was going to jump me right in the middle of the restaurant when she saw the-"
"Emmett!" Rose hissed, hitting his chest.
"Right. Sorry, babe," my cousin answered apologetically.
I cocked my eyebrow at him in a silent question, but he shook his head. Apparently he couldn't tell me.
As everyone else continued talking, I looked to Rose instead to see if I could solve the mystery. She stood very close to Emmett, even closer than she normally tended to. But something and completely out of character that was weird was the nervous fidgeting going on with her hands.
"Holy shit, you did it," I said quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Bella asked, looking up at me like I grew a second head.
Jasper and Alice looked just as confused, but Rosalie had a small smile on her face and she leaned into Emmett even more. My cousin was beaming down at his fiancée.
"Congratulations, guys," I smiled. "I'm glad he finally grew enough balls to do it."
Rose chuckled. "I knew he would eventually, but I'm glad he finally did."
Everyone was still baffled until Bella gasped, finally catching on.
"Oh my god, he proposed!" she squealed.
Rose burst into the most brilliant smile I'd ever seen on her face. "Thank god," she said. "I was having so much trouble just holding that in." She dug through her purse, pulled out a ring, and slipped it on her finger. "We were going to wait until this weekend to tell everyone, but fuck! This shit is hard."
"You're tellin' me," Emmett grumbled. "Do you realize how hard I'll have to suck up to my mom for not calling her the second you said 'yes'? She's been after me for months…."
"I'm sure Aunt Esme will forgive you, Em," I said.
"Yeah…. She'll never put up with that with you and Bella, though," he said.
"Right, like that'll happen anytime soon," Bella laughed. "I'm still recovering from my last engagement."
That statement was both depressing and a relief. I wanted Bella to be my wife, but I didn't want to go through the stress of proposing and subsequently dealing with planning a wedding. I didn't begrudge my cousin that task. Granted, Alice would probably take over everything by the end of the week.
Soon enough, the party was in full swing. I was being introduced to people left and right. There was no possible way I could remember all of them by the end of the night, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the beautiful girl in my arms and the fact that she simply glowed as we spoke to people.
My relatives were just thrilled at the idea of attending a party like this. It didn't matter that it was in celebration of Alice rather than one of the needless dinner soirees. I introduced them to Bella's parents – thankfully Ronald and Eleanor had made other plans and weren't able to make it.
Carlisle and Charlie bonded while Renee made the expected small talk before bolting to her comfort zone with her society friends. Esme cooed over Bella and how beautiful she looked. I hinted that they should go see how their son was doing. Judging by the squeals I heard minutes later, I knew Rose had given up the secret.
Eventually Bella stiffened against me. I followed her line of sight to see James Whitlock standing by the fireplace.
"I guess it wouldn't look right if he wasn't here to support his sister-in-law," Bella murmured.
"We don't have to go anywhere near him," I told her. "We can just pretend he's not here."
She nodded and turned to me. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm here with the man I want. I have nothing to worry about," she smiled.
"That's right," I agreed. I leaned down and chastely kissed her because I could.
"Whoa, now! Let's keep that stuff where the parents can't see it, hmm?" a deep voice said from behind me.
"Jo! Holy shit, you scared that crap out of me," Bella said. She was smiling, so I came to the conclusion that this "Jo" character couldn't be all that bad.
I turned around to find that I was wrong. "Jo" was exactly what I thought Jasper would look like in five years. A perfect mix of all the good Whitlock genes. Which meant "Jo" was Joshua.
"You might want to cut out the swearing too, kid," he laughed.
"Shut up," she grumbled, leaning into my side and forcing the other man to acknowledge my presence.
"And were you planning on introducing me or throwing him to the sharks?"
"Right, sorry. Joshua, this is Edward Masen. My boyfriend. Edward, this is Joshua Whitlock, one of Jasper's older brothers," she said quickly.
"The boyfriend," Joshua said, shaking his head. "God, I never thought Little Bella would ever find someone outside the bubble."
"Uh, thanks?" I said.
"Listen, I know you got the whole brotherly overprotective speech from my brother and all that, but he can't quite get the point across," he said, narrowing his eyes at me.
I was screwed.
"Jo!" Bella hissed, but he ignored her.
"If you hurt her in any way, make her feel uncomfortable, lead her to question how much you care about her, or even let her scrape her knee without being there to help, I will hunt you down," he said.
And he meant it. This was no idle threat or precaution like it had been coming from Jasper. This guy meant business.
"And if I see one tear from her eyes that isn't caused by sheer joy, you're gone," he finished.
"Permission to speak freely?" I asked.
He cocked an eyebrow and gestured for me to proceed.
"Bella is my world," I said truthfully. "I know you don't really get how much that means, but it's way too much to fuck up. She is the only reason I'm even functioning at a normal level. If I do anything to screw this up, I deserve more than you could dish out to me. I love her and for some unknown reason, she loves me too. I'm not about to ruin that."
Joshua looked shocked. "Fuck! I thought Jasper was lying when he said you were self-deprecating. Guess not."
"What is it with the men in my life that forces them to converge on you like vultures to a hunk of dead meat?" Bella fumed as her honorary older brother left to mingle.
"I think it's your brilliant metaphors," I teased.
"Shut up, you know what I meant," she grumbled before continuing. "I mean, this is, what? The third time you've heard some form of that speech?"
"That you know of," I countered. "Count your dad and your grandfather separately. Then you've got Jake's buddies on steroids. Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rose each had something to say. Need I go on?"
"Seriously? They all need to back off. I love you and I don't care if I need to stand on the roof and scream it so the entire fucking world can hear. I love you, Edward Masen. They can all deal with it."
The feeling behind that statement caused her face to go a little pink and her chest heaved with the breaths she was taking. She looked magnificent standing there like that proclaiming her love. Even if it cost me some of my masculinity, I wouldn't have given that moment up for anything.
I wrapped her in my arms and kissed the spot behind her ear that made her knees go weak. "I wouldn't have it any other way, love."
AN: Too much fluff? Not enough? Let me know in a review! Ten reviews for the chapter gets a teaser on my profile. Beat the review per chapter record (still 15), get a better teaser in addition. Also, any questions, concerns, suggestions, or additional comments can always be addressed in a PM. I read everything I get, so don't be afraid to drop me a line. :)
Next chapter: The rest of the party, including a little talk with James. Also, a surprise ending!
Please let me know what you think and I will try my best to get this next chapter out really quickly!
-Kaylee