Dinner Party
The entire ride back to my apartment, Emmett kept us all entertained with stories of all of his shenanigans. I was still laughing about something Emmett had said as Edward walked me up to my door. I turned around to thank him for the eventful evening, and was met with his emerald eyes that were filled with indecision. I could see the battle of his two options fighting mercilessly inside of him.
One side must have been stronger and won as he lifted his elegant hand to brush the side of my face. I closed my eyes as I reveled in his electric touch. He sighed loudly as he withdrew his hand as if it was painful for him.
"Goodnight Bella," he said, taking my hand and kissing the back of it. Before I could respond, he was sauntering back down my hallway. My shaky fingers somehow got the key into the slot and unlocked the door. I walked in and leaned back on the door as I closed it. I slid down the door onto butt. I sighed, gazing lovingly at my hand that was still tingling from the contact that his lips made with it.
"Bella? Are you home?" Alice called out as she turned the corner to see me against the door.
"Oh my god! What happened? Did he hurt you? I'll kill him if he touched you!" she screamed, seeing my position with my head down. I looked up at her and starting laughing at her pacing up and down the short foyer hallway, fuming. She looked down at me confused until she saw the wide grin on my face.
"Ahhhhh!" she squealed. I didn't have the heart to tell her to take it down a notch, too much in my own euphoric world to pay any attention to anything other than my beating heart.
"How was it? What happened? Are you going to see him again?" she asked hurriedly as I got up off of the floor and walked into the living room. Jasper was sitting there on our worn out sofa, watching some sort of design show that I'm sure Alice was subjecting him to. He looked up smiling and waved apologetically at his energetic girlfriend.
"It was amazing Alice. We didn't end up going to eat, we had to get his brother out of jail for swimming in a mall fountain, but I met his brother and soon to be sister-in-law. They were all fantastic people. And I hope I get to see him again. He has my number so he'll call if he wants to get together again," I replied to all three of Alice's questions. She smiled dreamily up at me, but remembered something that had happened to her today and chose to share it with me. She was so easily sidetracked.
"Thats fantastic! Oh and by the way we are going to my new friends house tomorrow! I met her at the cutest little shoe store yesterday! Her finance and her just moved into their apartment and she invited us to christen her new kitchen with her tomorrow at a small dinner party with just us six. Her fiancé's brother is going to be there as well as her own cousin too, so don't worry, you won't be a third wheel," Alice informed me. She looked sad at the fact that Jasper wouldn't be present as well, but seemed pleased at the prospect of new friends.
I just nodded, knowing that if I tried to argue, it would be a lost cause. What Alice wants, Alice always gets. I had learned this a long time ago.
"Okay, sounds good. I'm going to bed, so just wake me up as late as possible, when you decide that I need to start getting ready. I had quite a day and need as much sleep as I can get," I replied.
Alice nodded and returned to her previous position in Jasper's lap on the couch. I retreated to my room and quickly put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and took off the makeup Alice had put on me earlier.
My action-packed day was finally catching up with me. Today was the longest day ever. So much had happened in just 24 hours. I got into my fluffy down comforter falling into a deep sleep, thinking only of bronze and green.
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I woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting into my room from the kitchen. I rolled over to look at the clock on my nightstand. 2:30! I had slept over 12 hours. I was surprised that Alice hadn't woken me up hours ago. She was a morning person and refused to let me sleep past eleven. She must have known how badly I needed to catch up on my sleep.
I got out of my bed and padded down the hallway to find Alice prancing around the kitchen, pouring coffee and singing along to the radio. She didn't notice me standing in the doorway, so I decided to join her. I started singing along with her at the chorus of the song.
She turned around to smile at me without missing a beat. She was standing over the stove, scrambling eggs and frying some bacon. I skipped over to the radio and turned the music up and jammed along with Alice to one of our favorite songs.
You're beautiful
Every little piece love, don't you know
You're really gonna be someone, ask anyone
When you find everything you looked for
I hope your life leads you back to my door
Oh but if it don't, stay beautiful
Cory finds another way to be
The highlight of my day
I'm taking pictures in my mind
So I can save them for a rainy day
It's hard to make conversation
When he's taking my breath away
I should say, hey by the way
[Chorus]
If you and I are a story
That never gets told
If what you are is a daydream
I'll never get to hold, at least you'll know
You're beautiful every little piece love,
and don't you know your really gonna be someone ask anyone.
and when you find everything you looked for,
I hope your life leads you back to my front door.
oh but if it don't will you stay
beautiful beautiful beautiful
beautiful beautiful beautiful
la la la
Oh, oh oh oh
oh but if it don't,
stay beautiful
stay beautiful
Na na na na na
(Stay Beautiful by Taylor Swift)
As the song came to and end, we put the bacon and eggs on two plates and poured each of us a cup of coffee. I turned the volume on the radio down, but kept it going as we sat down at the kitchen table. We ate in a comfortable silence, singing along every once and a while to a song we both knew on the radio.
I got up and collected all of the dishes and put them into the sink.
"You can do those later. We have to get ready!" Alice said, pulling me down the hallway towards our bathroom. She turned on the shower and pushed me into the warm water.
"Make sure to shave!" she yelled as she closed the door. I took my sweet time, washing my hair with my favorite strawberry scented shampoo and my freesia body wash. I shaved my legs, luckily not cutting myself once, and then dried myself off. I opened the door of the bathroom, knowing that Alice would already be waiting for me to finish outside of the door, so that she could dress and beautify me.
I sat dutifully at the vanity, not making a peep as she slathered me with creams and pulled on my hair. I distracted myself with thoughts of Edward which lead me to wonder why he hadn't called yet. Maybe I imagined us having a good time. Suddenly, it came to me. I hadn't checked my phone since I woke up! He could have called or texted me, and I just had no idea! I tried to jump up, but Alice wouldn't let me budge.
"Just let me put mascara on you then help you into your dress, and then you can go wherever you want," she said, trying to appease me. I huffed and nodded and waited impatiently as she put the finishing touches on my makeup and hair.
She turned around and grabbed a garment bag. She pulled out a gorgeous off the shoulders royal blue silk dress that was loose and tied around the waist. The dress was calling my name. Alice smirked at my awestruck expression and handed over the dress along with some lacy black lingerie so that my undergarments weren't visible. I pulled it on and grabbed the shoes that she put in my face. They were these black leather Jimmy Choo gladiator heels. Surely I would kill myself in them, but they worked so well with the dress that I didn't have the heart to complain.
I turned around and looked in the mirror for the first time. The person staring back at me, didn't even look anything like the Bella I was used to. Her long chestnut locks were curled and lazily waved over her shoulders. She had silvery grey smokey eyes with berry colored lips. The blue dress she was wearing didn't hug her curves, but made her look so curvaceous and feminine. Alice was truly a miracle worker.
I turned around, my eyes becoming teary, to give Alice a hug to thank her, only to find Alice already dressed in a chartreuse green once shoulder mini dress. Not many people could pull it off, but with her petite frame and feminine features, Alice could pull off anything. She paired her eccentric dress with strappy silver Jimmy Choos and pulled the whole look together with a headband with a peacock feather piece attached to it. Now I know why Alice went into the fashion business by opening her own boutique that was now the most famous one in the whole city of Seattle. Throughout my attempt at blocking out the pain of being done up by Alice, I must not have realized that she already had her makeup and hair done. She must have done it while I was in the shower. (A.N.- Pictures of dresses on my profile!)
I hugged her, not needing to say a thing. She squeezed me back and grabbed my hand to pull me down the hallway and out to the front door. She grabbed both of our coats and was off.
We got into her yellow Porsche and she sped off, excited to get to her new companions. I am truly not surprised that she made new friends and was already going to their home. Alice was the most outgoing and vivacious people that I know, and I loved her for it.
After ten minutes of driving through the lively streets of Seattle on a Saturday night, we pulled up to a large apartment building that was clearly more on the pricey side. It's not that I couldn't afford to buy nice things, and I could with my new job, but I just found it unnecessary. I have learned to not even flinch at the pricey designer clothes that Alice was always buying me, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't bother me. Oh it does, I have just been fighting this loosing battle with her for twelve years already.
She pulled straight up to the front of the building, and got out, giving her keys to the valet with a warning about them being careful with her baby. I will never understand the love she has for that car.
We walked into the polished marble lobby, only to be greeted by a friendly looking doorman.
"Hello, my name is Dean. How may I help you two lovely ladies today?" he asked with a charming smile. He was older, somewhere around 60, but I could tell that back in his day, he was quite the dashing young man.
Alice smiled brightly at the prospect of another new friend and gave Dean her tiny hand to shake. He took it gratefully with an even wider smile.
"Yes, we are guests of Ms. Hale," Alice responded politely.
"Ah yes! She told me she was having two guests over to have a small house warming party this evening," he exclaimed as if Alice had just jogged his memory.
"Well please ladies, head on up. She's on floor 16, apartment 1608," he responded with a nod of his head.
"Thanks Dean!" Alice called over her shoulder as she pranced over to the gold elevators. I waved and then turned to follow Alice.
We got into the plush elevator and she pressed the level sixteen button. We quickly fixed our outfits and makeup in the mirrors of the elevator as the numbers on the screen climbed. The elevator dinged and we stepped out into the dimly lit hallway.
"1602, 1604, 1606.... 1608!" Alice mumbled as she walked down the hallway, looking for her friends door. She knocked swiftly three times and then took a step back as she waited for someone to answer the door.
I could hear the distinct clicking of heels and Ms. Hale skipped down the hallway to answer the door. The doorway swung open to reveal a very familiar blonde woman standing in front of me, a clear look of shock across her face.
"BELLA?!"
"ROSALIE?!" we both exclaimed at the same time. She squealed and ran giddily towards me for a large hug that could rival Emmett's. She looked absolutely gorgeous in a garnet colored dress that hugged her every curve like a second skin, with her wavy blonde hair down naturally and black patent Valentino stilettos with a big bow on them.
Someone cleared their throat behind us and I turned to see an incredibly confused Alice still standing in the doorframe with her jaw slack as she took in the sight before her.
"Oh!" I squeaked as I realized how confusing this must be for her. "Alice, this is Edward's brother's fiance! The one I was telling you about earlier," I said, trying to clear up her confusion. Rose laughed, imagining all that I could have told Alice about our adventure yesterday.
"What ever she said about Emmett my fiance, is probably true," she said laughing. Alice smiled widely, clearly pleased that her new friend and I have already met and get along so well.
"Well I'm glad I don't have to make any awkward introductions!" Alice exclaimed as she waltzed into the apartment. Rose and I followed slowly behind her.
"Oh my god!" Rose squealed, "I knew that Alice was bringing her roommate, but I had no idea you lived with her! Edward is going to be so surprised to see you here. All he was been talking about for the past two days is you! He should be here any minute. My cousin is already here. I can't wait for you to meet him, he's a great guy."
"JAZZY?!" Alice screamed from further inside of the living room. I heard a glass shatter and ran down the hallway to see what all of the commotion was. I turned the corner to find Jasper and Alice standing in front of each other with shell shocked expressions on their faces. There was a glass shattered on the floor all around their feet.
"Ali, what are you doing here?" Jasper asked after recovering from his initial shock.
"I told you I was going to my new friends apartment for dinner tonight! What are you doing here?" Alice replied.
"I told you I was going to my cousin's apartment for dinner tonight!" Jasper exclaimed. I was still standing there, trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Emmett was sitting on the couch, his face scrunched up in confusion as he took in the sight before him as well as the sight of me standing in his living room.
"Jasper, you know Alice?" Rose asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Of course he knows me! I'm his girlfriend and I have been for six years!" Alice exclaimed.
"Wait wait wait!" Emmett exclaimed from his perch on the sofa. "You mean to tell me that your cousin Jasper, is dating your new friend Alice, who is our little Bells here's roommate?" Emmett asked, finally putting into words that none of us could. All that I could do was simply nod after I made sense of the discombobulated question Emmett had just asked.
"So you are telling me, that you are the Dr. Edward Cullen's older brother who had to have his fiance come and bail him out of jail yesterday for getting arrested for swimming in a mall water fountain?" Alice replied.
"HEY! That was a genius plan that would have worked if it weren't for those stupid mall cops!" Emmett replied offended. We all looked at each other before we burst out laughing. This has got to be the most confusing night of my entire life. Somehow, before we all even knew it, we all knew each other in some way.
"This is absolutely the strangest things that has ever happened," Jasper said. Right then, there was another knock on the door. Every single pair of eyes in the room, turned to look at me.
"Bella, you have to go answer to door! Edward won't know what hit him!" Rose exclaimed. "He thinks that I am having a friend over that I met at a shoe store yesterday and she is bringing along her roommate. He'll be so confused. WAIT! Let me go get my camera! I have to get a picture of his face when he sees you. It'll be priceless!"
Rose ran down the hallway and disappeared into a room. She appeared seconds later with a small silver digital camera in her hands, just as there was another knock on the door, this time, more impatiently. Everyone gathered around me and Rose gave me a push towards the door.
"Rose, I can hear your heels on the other side of the door! I swear to God if you don't open this door in five seconds..." Edward started before I swung the door open, cutting him off mid rant. As he took in the sight of me before him, his eyes widened and I could literally hear his jaw fall open. Before he could even compose himself, a flash blinded him from behind me. The light didn't even seem to register with him. His eyes were solely on me.
"B..Be..Bella.....?" he stuttered.
"Hello Edward!" Alice exclaimed from somewhere behind me. His eyes flickered over my shoulder to reveal a hysterical Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett all laughing so hard that tears were streaming down their faces.
"What the hell is going on here!?" he shouted.
"You..you...your face was priceless my brother!" Emmett got out between laughs. By this time I was laughing just as hard as the others. Alice was leaning on Jasper, who was leaning on the wall beside him for support, and Rose had her hand on her knees to keep her upright. Emmett was rolling around on the floor, clearly entertained by Edward's obliviousness.
"Could someone please tell me what's going on here?" Edward cried out. "What is Bella doing here with her roommate Alice, and why is Jasper holding Alice's hand?"
Once we all composed ourselves enough to talk, Rosalie began to explain.
"Well, you know how I met someone yesterday buying those shoes, well that was Alice. Little did I know that Alice is Jasper's girlfriend and also Bella's roommate," she clarified. The crease that had formed on Edward's brow cleared up once he understood what was going on.
"So the same woman that I got in a car accident with and attempted to go on a date with yesterday, is the same Bella who is roommates with your new friend who is also dating your cousin?" Edward made clear. Rose nodded her head in response to Edward's question, telling him that he had it all right.
"Whoa," was all he said.
"Tell me about it," I murmured. If I had any idea that I would be seeing Edward tonight, I probably would have had to give myself a pep talk just to talk to the doorman.
"Okay, well now thats all cleared up, let's eat!" Emmett exclaimed. We all laughed at his obvious enthusiasm about the night's meal, and followed Emmett into the dinning room. I looked over at Edward, who had a sort of disheartened look on his face.
"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked concernedly. He looked down at his hands as he mumbled his reply.
"I called you and texted you, but I didn't hear back. I thought your weren't interested in seeing me again." OH! Wow, I am such an idiot. I forgot to check my phone for any messages before I left the house. Now he must think that I don't want to be here.
"Oh, no Edward! I definitely wanted to see you again! I just completely forgot to check my phone for any messages. I woke up so late today from my exhaustion from yesterday, and Alice pulled me straight into the bathroom to get ready for tonight, that I didn't even have time to check my phone!" I cried out. Relief flashed across his face and then he gave me a crooked smile. He didn't say anything, but grabbed my hand and pulled me to the seat next to him at the dining room table.
The table was filled with lively conversation throughout the entire dinner. I kept glancing out of the corner of my eye at Edward, and whenever her would catch me looking, he would smile crookedly, making me blush and drop my head.
The entire night, I laughed and had the best time I had had in a long time. I was sad to see the evening come to an end, but the discussion of an all girls shopping trip with Rose, Alice, and I, gave me the prospect of seeing Edward again.
As Jasper and Alice said their goodbyes and promises to see each other tomorrow, Rose and Emmett had already said goodbye and were in the kitchen cleaning up. Edward and I were walking a few feet behind Alice and Jasper as we walked to the front door. I wanted to ask if I could see him again sometime soon, but he beat me to the punch.
"Bella, I was wondering if you would like to go out on a real date with me tomorrow, since we were so rudely interrupted on our last attempt, and i don't necessarily consider tonight a date?" he asked worriedly as if he was nervous that I was going to turn him down. As if I could ever say no to that face!
"Of course I would Edward!" I replied happily. He smiled crookedly at me once more before leaning in to kiss my cheek.
"Bellaaa!" Alice yelled from out in the hallway. With one last squeeze of my hand, Edward let go and nudged me out the door and down the hallway.
As the elevator doors closed, I caught one last glimpse of Edward waving from the door of Rosalie's apartment. I got home and quickly got ready for bed, wanting nothing more than for tomorrow to hurry up and come.
I fell asleep that night, dreaming in anticipation of my date tomorrow with a bronze haired god.
Review please! I would greatly appreciate all of your input. I have all of the pictures of the clothes up on my site as well as pictures of how I imagine the cast of Crash to look like. Thanks so much! R&R!
xo, VK