I do not own Twilight or any of its' characters
BPOV
Chapter 23
First Night
The first sound that I heard was a loud bang followed by a snapping sound, followed by a low rumble and another bang. I was so startled that I cried out as my body shot upright into a seated position in the bed. Edward had already shot up and was standing beside the bed, his reflexes still infallible.
Emmett's huge frame stood before us, practically filling the doorway, he was grinning ear to ear. The door barely hung on its' hinges, and a massive crack was going through the middle of it, and a painting lay on the floor by his feet.
"Emmett!" I shrieked.
"Emmett, Jesus, what the hell?!" Edward shouted.
"So the rumors are true, sleeping beauty has finally risen." Emmett chuckled.
Edward and I looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Alice."
With so much speed that I barely saw him, Emmett launched himself onto the bed bedside me and folded his hands behind his head, grinning. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Edward threw him a scornful glance as he made his way to the bedroom door and picked the painting up off the floor.
"Well you don't look so different, you smell funny though." Emmett said as he watched Edward come back over to the bed and sit down. "You're still an ugly bastard."
"I'm still better looking than you." Edward said sardonically.
"I'm still stronger than you."
"You know what they say, if you can't be smarter, be stronger." Edward said with a smirk.
An angry look crossed Emmett's face for a moment, followed by a guffaw that nearly shook the room. "I missed you man." He reached over and slapped Edward's shoulder. Edward's smirk formed into a genuine smile followed by an equally powerful laugh.
"God, we didn't think you were ever coming back, but witchy told us otherwise. She predicted you'd be up by this morning."
"She was right." Edward replied.
"You were awake this morning and you didn't even come downstairs to tell us? You are a bastard."
"I was preoccupied." Edward explained, glancing over at me.
"That's cold. She didn't even have to deal with your crappy attitude for two weeks and then you finally wake up and she's the one you run to?"
"That's correct," he answered.
"Seriously Bella," Emmett Continued turning toward me, "you weren't here, he was a beast."
"I should probably take the time to apologize to everyone for that." Edward said sheepishly.
"No time like the present, everyone's home." Emmett said pulling himself up and off the bed.
Edward looked thoughtful for a moment, and then glanced over at me apologetically. "Go on," I encouraged, "I'll stay here." He nodded at me and followed Emmett out the door.
As they disappeared, I saw Emmett grab him roughly around the neck and jerk him around, "aw, geez Emmet, watch it!" I heard Edward grumble.
I resumed my place in the bed, pulling the covers way over my head, my weather prediction was right, and it had started raining. I listened to the tapping drops on the roof and wondered how things were going downstairs. Clearly Emmett was beyond excited that Edward was okay, I wondered how the others would react. About an hour had passed; I started nodding off again, when I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. The door opened and Edward was back. It was odd to me that I could now hear him from wherever he was coming from, in the past, he had been as soundless as a phantom and now he was just as noisy as me. I liked it.
"How'd that go?" I yawned.
"It went just as I had expected, Emmett mocked me, Alice hugged me, Rosalie ignored me, Jasper watched quietly, while Carlisle and Esme are just pleased. More than pleased, Esme would have cried, if she were able to."
"Clearly," I agreed. I stood up and stretched, instantly, Edward was in front of me, playfully grabbing my waist.
"So, it's New Year's Eve…" he started. I completely forgot, I had been so caught up in everything that I had lost track of time. "Can I take you out tonight?"
"Do you have something in mind?" I asked.
"Well, I didn't, but the others did, and naturally, thought of us," he pulled me closer to him. "You might have to dress up a little," he murmured in my ear.
I backed away from him and glared at him, "what do you mean a little?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"You won't have to wear a dress or anything," he said throwing his hands up in front of him in defense, "nothing like that, but you will have to look your age."
"And what exactly is my age?" I said aggressively stepping toward him.
"Twenty one." He said with a smirk.
"But I'm not twenty one, I'm nineteen."
"According to this, Miss Swan, you are twenty one," he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card. He dangled it in front of me, just out of my reach. I snatched it away from him and looked down. It was a fake ID with my picture perfectly mounted on it, decals and everything, it was flawless.
"Where did you get this?" I asked.
"Ask Jasper and Alice," he shrugged, "I have one too." I looked closely at his, equally as impressive and believable.
"Where are we going?" I asked trying to hold back my excitement.
"A nightclub in Seattle, it's called Black. We've been there a few times, Emmett is friends with the bartender." He explained.
"You've gone clubbing before?" I asked in disbelief.
"It was mostly for business purposes," he said very seriously. "Besides, Alice and Jasper like to go and they always drag me along with them."
"Jasper?" I choked. He nodded. "I have to see this, do Carlisle and Esme go too?"
"No, just the five of us, well the six of us now," he smiled at me and rubbed my back. I really was a Cullen to them, I liked that.
"I've never been to a nightclub before, what do I need to wear?"
"That's more of a question for Alice." He said uncomfortably. "If it were up to me, I'd tell you to wear that." He gestured to my Gap sweatpants, tank top and zip up sweatshirt (a $7.99 target special).
"I don't think Alice will go for this." I muttered gesturing at my frumpy ensemble.
"Would you like to go out with them tonight, or would you rather we just do something together? Because either way is fine with me, love."
"Let's go out with them." I said cheerfully, "It'll be fun, they haven't been able to hang out with you in a while, and I can't keep you all to myself forever." I teased.
"Thank you Bella," he replied, kissing my cheek. I could tell from his eyes that he was hoping I would opt to go out with his siblings, he had missed them.3
"What time will this excursion take place?" I asked.
"Nine o'clock."
"Really? That late?"
"If we get there any time before that, we'll be the only ones there."
"Nine o'clock it is." I glanced at my watch, two o'clock, "that'll give me enough time to spend part of the day with Charlie, eat something, shower and change." I was so used to getting all that done before I would go out with Edward when I lived at Charlie's house that it was second nature to do so.
A perplexed look crossed Edward's face and as if he was trying to wrap his mind around some bizarre concept. He slowly spoke, "oh, right, I guess I'll have to do all of that too…this is going to take some getting used to."
I smiled mischievously and asked, "Are you planning to drink tonight?"
"I hadn't really thought about it," he said, confused.
"Eat carbs. Carbs are a good base for when you go bar hopping, alcohol doesn't hit you as fast." I said reassuringly, gathering my coat and keys from the armchair.
"I don't think that will be necessary." He assured me, looking increasingly turned off at the thought.
"We'll see," I taunted. Edward grabbed his coat and walked me down through the house to my truck. "I'm going to go home, but I'll see you tonight."
"Alright love," He said opening the door for me, immediately he looked down at the seat and started chuckling.
"What?"
"Alice left you a note." I looked down and saw a neatly folded white piece of paper lying on the seat. "It appears as if she's taken your wardrobe into her own hands." He snickered.
I looked in the backseat and saw that Alice had left me a pile of clothes to sift through at home that she thought were club attire appropriate.
"I better get going." I grumbled as I climbed into the freezing cab of my truck, Edward shut my door for me and gave me a wave, and I drove off.
When I got home, to my surprise Charlie was there. In my arms I carried the giant pile of clothes Alice had left me, I laid the bundle down on the coffee table with a huff.
"What are you doing home at this time of day?" I called toward the kitchen, concern wavering in my voice.
"It's New Years Eve Bells, I'm working the third shift tonight." He said coming into the living room eating a bowl of cereal.
I supposed that made sense, but I didn't like it, after Charlie's accident I had grown increasingly overprotective of him. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
"Never sure about that," he answered. The concern in my voice filtered straight into my facial expression, and Charlie noticed. "Don't you worry about your old man, I'll be careful."
"Make sure you wear your vest okay?" I said shakily, "And your seat belt, and have your walkie on at all times." I tried to think of some way I could bubble wrap my father forever.
"Bella," he said putting down his bowl and placing his rough hands on my thin shoulders, "it'll be alright, at most I'll probably have to break up a few rowdy parties, and I can handle that." He put on his bravest crinkly eyed smile for me.
"I know, I know." I answered trying to sound casual. He retrieved his cereal and started munching away again.
"What's all that about?" he asked gesturing to the pile of clothing.
"Oh, that," I said rolling my eyes, "those are Alice's, I'm going to a fancy restaurant tonight and she wanted to lend me something, so I have to go through that and find something to wear."
"Edward's feeling better then?" I had led Charlie to believe that Edward had caught some kind of devastating upper respiratory condition that had rendered him bedridden for these last five days.
"Yes, he's feeling much better, he was up and about today and feeling pretty good, so he and I are going out to dinner tonight with his siblings." I said, lying through my teeth.
"Well, alright," Charlie said, "he's not still contagious is he? Because you don't need to get sick either." He said in a very parental tone.
"Dad, he's fine, I probably would have caught whatever he had by now anyways if it were going to happen."
"Well, still, try to avoid kissing him and other stuff like that." Charlie warned uncomfortably.
I felt my cheeks flush, as if that would ever happen. "Dad… come on."
"So, how late are you going to be out?"
"I would assume at least until midnight if that's okay." I said, annoyed.
"That's fine, but my shift doesn't start until eleven, I'm not really comfortable with you being by yourself here overnight."
"Do you want Edward to sleep over?" I asked.
"No, no, that's not necessary," Charlie said hurriedly, "But do you think Carlisle would mind if you stayed over there?"
"I'm sure they would be okay with that." I said, trying to hold back my smile. I didn't often stay overnight at the Cullens, really the only time I had was the night before we went to the airport. I assumed that Charlie was more comfortable with me going over there where there were parents, and siblings, rather than us staying alone together here.
"Good, I'll call just to double check, I'd just feel better Bells."
"Fine dad." I stood there with him in awkward silence for a moment. I was waiting for him to say what I was anticipating he would eventually say.
"Bella, I know that the two of you live together up at school, and that I'm being silly, not allowing him to sleep over here, but I feel like I have to have some control here, I'm really having a hard time with this." He explained nervously and there it was, the anticipation dissipated through the room like a mist.
"Dad, I said it's fine. I understand, it's no big deal." I reassured him patiently.
"Don't get me wrong…" he continued, "I'm glad you're with someone who cares about you as much as Edward does, but it just seems like you grew up awfully fast these last few months."
I needed to end this conversation, like yesterday. I tried to come up with something to say that would get my point across without alienating Charlie. "Dad, Edward and I love each other very much and someday, we're going to end up together. But, we both have a great deal of respect for each other and are responsible people and we're not planning on doing anything reckless or stupid any time in the near future." It was like a written statement and I said it with a tone of finality. It seemed to satisfy Charlie, or make him incredibly uncomfortable, because his only response was,
"I'm going to call Carlisle and make sure he doesn't mind if you stay over tonight." With that he left the room in search of the cordless phone.
I turned and stared at the massive pile of clothing before me and sighed hotly. With a grunt, I gathered everything up and made for my room. It was going to be a long afternoon.
By three thirty I had narrowed the garments that Alice had sent into three different categories. I had the pile of clothes I liked on my bed, the clothes that were plausible slung over the rocking chair and what I called the hell no pile on the floor shoved under my dresser. Practically everything she had sent over had the word 'less' in it when you described it; backless, strapless, braless…I needed to find something to wear, no doubt Rosalie and Alice would be dressed to the nines, I'd have to blend in with the Cullens if this were going to work. The most beautiful family on the planet, and I had to blend in with them. I almost cried at the thought of it. I tried to channel Alice and Rosalie, I couldn't think about what I would wear, I had to think about what they would wear, and then formulate it somewhat to my sense of style.
I figured I could start with shoes, Alice was a ballet flats type of person, that wouldn't work for me tonight, Edward already towered over me, I wanted some height. Rosalie always wore break neck heels, that wouldn't work for me either, I might be able to pull off a high heel boot…I rifled through the pile of accessories that Alice provided and found a pair of dark brown, knee high leather boots, three inch heel, I could handle that. I slipped them on; they fit perfectly and were, to my surprise very comfortable. The boots had a few folds here and there and a gold buckle at the ankle that dressed them up and I was actually enjoying wearing them. Okay, time to move on to bottoms, there was no way I was going to wear a skirt or slacks or what were those, I thought to myself as I shook out a pair of bottoms, chaps, no definitely not wearing chaps. What kind of a person did Alice think I was anyways? I sifted through everything until I found a pair of dark denim hip huggers. I tried those on too, they hung a little low on the waist, showing off my back a little, but they'd have to do. I just had to hope for a longer shirt. In the pile of clothes that I liked, I found a beautiful silk top that was a brilliant peacock blue. It had one strap for the shoulder and the other side cut across the front of my chest at a diagonal, similar to a toga. It was a little clingy, but very long, and because I had a long waist, the material scrunched perfectly at the small of my back and I was very pleased at how it made my butt look. I smirked a satisfied grin in the mirror as I looked at the outfit all put together. I grabbed a khaki colored tailored jacket with cargo pockets to go on over it and matched up a gold chain belt and some bangles and long earrings for accessories.
I took everything off and set it aside for later on that night. Alice had even left me some designer handbags and I chose a dark red clutch bag for contrast. The trickiest part would be makeup and hair but I'd worry about that later, I was on my way to blending in with the beautiful people for one night.
Charlie helped me make dinner and we ate together quietly and then did the dishes. I had a couple more hours before I had to get ready so he and I sat down and watched part of the Rocky movie marathon that was annually showed every New Years Eve. I really didn't like the Rocky movies very much, but it was tradition and I knew Charlie loved them. It was getting to the part in Rocky IV where he was training to fight the Russian, when I noticed that it was eight o'clock.
"Oh, dad, I have to get ready."
"But Bells, you love the training music montage," he insisted.
"You're right; I do, maybe ten more minutes." Charlie smiled warmly and sat back further in his recliner.
When the training montage ended, I started my own montage in my head, the getting ready to go out montage. I ran upstairs and took the quickest shower of my life. I dried and curled my hair, pulling half of it back in a series of twists that gave me that big, stylish coif look on the top of my head that was popular these days. I let the rest of my hair fall down around my shoulders. I threw on some bronzer, mascara, eyeliner, I tried out the smoky eyes look trying to remember everything Renee had told me about lines and blending. By the end of it all, I looked like a raccoon; a sexy raccoon. I smirked at myself in the mirror and put on some lip gloss. I was thankful that I had chosen my outfit beforehand because I was dressed in minutes, the whole look was pulled together and I still had twenty minutes to spare. I used them wisely, filing and buffing my nails and throwing on a coat of bone colored quick drying polish.
I slipped on my coat with confidence and swaggered down the hallway and down the stairs, stumbling on my boots only once. I stocked my handbag with some cash, lip gloss and my ID, I was excited, this was starting to be fun. My stomach did flip flops in anticipation of what would happen tonight.
"Do I look alright?" I asked Charlie, unable to resist doing a little spin in front of him.
He looked up from his chair and did a double take, "Bella?" he stood up and walked up to me studying me closely. "Are you wearing makeup?"
"Yeah, does it look stupid?"
"Well, it's a little heavier than I'm used to with you, but you look…you look so grown up."
"Thanks dad." I gave him a gentle hug, in fear of messing up my hard work.
"But, don't make a habit out of it."
"Yes chief Swan." I said making my way to the front hallway. They would be here any minute now.
At nine o'clock on the button, a black hummer the size of Charlie's tiny house pulled up. It looked showroom new, like it had just been detailed and it was dripping with chrome. I opened the front door to get a closer look. The back door opened and Edward hopped out and strode up the walkway. He looked more gorgeous than ever, as he slowly approached. His hair was freshly gelled and styled carelessly so it stuck out everywhere, but somehow remained neat. He had left his coat in the car, and wore a dark brown button down shirt, that was slightly more fitted than the others he usually wore. Across his breast pocket was gold filigree that crept up his shoulder to the back of the shirt which I later found out had tattered angel wings in gold painted on it. His dark jeans accentuated every part of his amazing body perfectly, as always, his sleeves were rolled up slightly, proudly displaying his Cullen wrist band. Around his neck just as proudly, he wore the necklace I had gotten him. As he got closer, I could see that he had shaved, but had intentionally left a thin line of stubble around his jaw creating a manly frame around his face. He looked like a rock star, an edgy, bad boy rock star.
The rock star fantasy quickly dissipated when he flashed his sweet, crooked smile at me and said eloquently in his soft voice, "good evening love." He reached his hand out and led me out onto the porch. He stepped back and looked me over and a huge grin spread across his face. "What have I done?"
"You said dress up, so I did on my terms." I said smiling.
"You look absolutely perfect. I think I'm quite possibly the luckiest man alive." He kissed my hand, "but I already knew that." He winked at me and I simultaneously felt my legs buckle.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Yes! I'm so excited" I dropped my voice to a whisper, "I told Charlie we were going out to eat."
"I know." He said calmly.
"Can you still hear his thoughts?" I whispered in disbelief.
"Yes, to my dismay I'm still somewhat of a freak." He said coyly. "Come on, it'd be impolite if I didn't say hello to Charlie."
He walked into the house, "Hello Charlie."
"Edward," Charlie said getting up, "Glad you're feeling better. Where's your coat?"
"In my brother's car."
"I spoke to Carlisle, I hope it's alright if Bella stays with you tonight, I have to work late."
"Absolutely, she can stay in Alice's room." He said glancing at me briefly. "I'll get her home early tomorrow." He assured.
"Fine, be safe, both of you." Charlie commanded.
"You make sure you do the same." I instructed at him.
"Bye Bells," Charlie said kissing my cheek.
We got into the back seat of the car and there sat Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice were in front. Emmett quickly picked up Rosalie and sat her in his lap to make room for the two of us. Once inside the car Edward quickly slipped into his pea coat, clearly uncomfortable from the cold.
"Hey Bella!" Alice squealed, "I can't wait to see your outfit all together. Nice boots!" she said glancing back.
"It took me an hour and a half to put this together; I don't know how the two of you do it."
"Unlimited time." Rosalie answered.
"Sorry we're a little late." Alice said turning around in her seat so that she could see me, "Edward was doing his hair." She whispered lowly.
Edward narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance, Emmett burst into laughter.
"Edward says you've never been clubbing before Bella." Rosalie said without interest.
"No, I haven't really, do you guys go a lot?" I asked.
"Maybe like once a month." She continued, "Its more Jasper and Alice's thing."
"I love to dance!" Alice said excitedly.
Why does that not surprise me? I thought to myself. "I'll bet." I replied to her with a smile.
"Anyways, this club is pretty cool, and on New Year's they do this thing where they have some kind of activity every hour." Rosalie explained, she was being awfully personable tonight.
"What kinds of activities?" I asked, confused.
"You'll see." She said smugly.
We continued to chatter while we drove, I mostly listened and so did Edward, it was the four siblings who were carrying on about other times that had gone clubbing. I leaned my head against Edward's shoulder and he put his arm around me, and I smelt something, something different, was he wearing cologne?
"Are you wearing cologne?" I whispered in his ear.
His cheeks flushed a little at the suggestion, how adorable. "I might be," he whispered back.
"Why? You never wear cologne."
"I never had to before." He stated in a whisper.
"You still don't need to. I can still smell you." I said smiling, "it's more subtle, but it's definitely there."
I saw him smile to himself. "It smells nice though." I whispered.
"Thank you." He said tightening his grip around me a little.
"Can you still smell me?" I asked quietly.
"Every second you're with me."
"Really? Still?" I was impressed.
"Like you said, it's more subtle, but it's definitely there."
It didn't seem like we had been driving very long when Jasper announced that we had arrived. I peered out the window and saw a very ordinary stone building with a velvet rope around it marking a walkway. The line was wrapped around the building and I wondered if we would be able to get in, my heart sunk at the prospect of having to turn around and leave. Jasper got out of the car and handed his keys to a valet with a few bills.
"Just follow our lead," Edward said lowly in my ear as he helped me out of the monstrous vehicle.
"Okay." I said.
I figured we would get at the end of the line and wait for our turn, but Jasper had other plans. He walked along on the outside of the velvet roping and to the front and unhooked the latch and let Alice in. People in line started giving him dirty looks and muttering to one another as they marveled at his boldness.
"What is he doing?" I hissed at Edward.
"Just wait." He whispered back with a smirk.
"Sir, you're going to have to, oh, Mr. Cullen!" The bouncer started, "We weren't aware you were coming tonight please, follow me, hello Alice,"
"Hello Gary, how are you?" Alice said musically, slapping on a prize winning smile.
"Just fine, thank you. Are the others with you tonight?"
"Certainly," she said grinning.
Jasper held the rope back and Emmett and Rosalie stepped forward, Edward put his hand on my back and gently pushed me forward.
"This is Bella swan, she's with my brother." Alice explained
"Hello, Miss Swan, any friend of the Cullens is a friend of mine. If you need anything, please let me know." Gary said.
"Thank you." I said, unsure.
We were all in front of the door, and Gary said, "I'm going to need to check IDs; my boss is standing right inside."
"Of course." Jasper purred, his southern gentlemanly manner shining through ever so delicately. He handed Gary his and Alice's ID, the rest of us followed suit.
"Looks good to me." He said smiling, "you folks have yourself a good night." Gary held the door open for us and hundreds of people waiting in line watched us go in before them. In the corner of my eye I saw Jasper slip Gary a handful of bills.
I felt like a celebrity walking in, people watched us from every direction, Edward put his arm around my waist and strode in alongside me. As we walked down a long tunnel esque hallway I could hear the music getting louder, the hallway itself was full of red light and curtains of silver beads spilled over the walls on all sides. We reached the end and entered the main club. The dance floor was down a handful of steps and in the center of the room. It was immense, music was pulsating all around us and there were four fully stocked lit up bars in each corner of the room. High rise tables and booths were everywhere, the lighting effects were amazing, I couldn't take everything in all at once. We followed Jasper to check our coats, which gave me a chance to finally check everyone out. Alice had on a flaming red backless halter top that she had paired with black capri pants and black strappy stilettos. A massive red flower was tucked behind her ear to accentuate her raven spiky hair, and she had on bright red lipstick. She didn't look anything short of a Betty Page pinup girl. Jasper was more subdued, with a tight fitting black button down shirt with red pin striping and dark wash jeans. Emmet wore a steel gray Henley with a black design along the shoulder that he left the three buttons undone on. Rosalie, wore a black halter top with a solid gold neck clasp that opened all the way down to her navel in front, her pale white skin shimmered under the strobe light as she adjusted her thigh high black stiletto boots that she wore over a pair of jeans.
Alice was so giddy with excitement that as soon as she checked her coat she had her eye set on the dance floor. She took my hand and started to parade me out there with her. I came to such an abrupt halt that my body almost pitched forward.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked nervously.
"Come on Bella, it's New Year's Eve, you have to come dance with me." She pleaded.
"No I don't," I insisted, digging my heels into the floor. I'm not sure why I even bothered doing that since both Alice and I knew that if she wanted to lead me somewhere, she had more strength in her pinky finger than I had in my entire body to do so with.
"Ugh!" She snorted in frustration. She narrowed her eyes at Edward, "You better come dance with me later."
A look of surprise crossed his face, "How is it that I just got dragged into this?" He asked, looking in my direction. I looked away, offering him no support. Alice was getting frustrated.
"Fine." Alice grumbled, "come on Jazz." Jasper obediently followed her and went to escort her onto the dance floor. "Cute outfit by the way," Alice said on her way by me, "I couldn't have done better myself, I think Rose is jealous." She snickered, I blushed a little and looked at the floor. "We'll see you all later." With that, Alice and Jasper were headed to the dance floor. Jasper wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and they swaggered out together, I watched as they approached the steps and I saw Jasper hitch Alice's tiny frame up onto his waist as she giggled girlishly and he carried her out with him. They quickly disappeared into the flood of people in the center of the room.
"Now what?" I asked Edward.
"Well, I suppose we could…" He started.
"Not so fast," Emmett interrupted, "you two are spending the night with us." He said putting his arm around Rosalie.
"Follow us." She said wickedly. We obediently did as we were told.
Emmett and Rose led us to the largest bar in the club, "have a seat." He ordered. Edward stared at him hesitantly and then shrugged his shoulders, mounting the bar stool in one swift movement. Before I could protest, Emmett had picked me up and plopped me on the stool.
"Could we get some service here?" Emmett bellowed impatiently, banging his fist on the bar.
The bartender angrily turned around and started to say something, but stopped when he saw Emmett. "Emmett! Long time no see, where the hell have you been brother?" He said pleasantly, shaking Emmet's hand roughly.
"Been around," Emmett went on, "listen, tonight is my little brother's 21st, so we need to get him and his lady good and shitty." Edward glowered at him.
"Alright, good enough, good enough." The bartender chuckled, "congratulations man, 21 was a great year for me."
"What Emmett didn't tell you is that his little brother has mentally been older than him for decades now." Edward said acidly to the bartender, smirking and placing extra emphasis on the word 'little'.
"Woah, that's cold man," the bartender laughed shaking Edward's hand. "I like you, what can I get you?"
"Something strong that will shut him up." Emmett snapped.
"Bourbon," I said hastily. Edward threw me a surprised look and then flashed me a secret smile which I quickly returned.
"Lady's choice," Emmett said smiling, "bourbon it is, four of them."
"Whatever you say," the bartender said getting out the glasses.
"I'm not doing this," Edward whispered intensely to me.
Before I could answer him Emmett was beside him, he laid his huge hand on Edward's shoulder, "sure you are, don't worry, Rose and I will take care of both of you. Tonight's a night to celebrate, just relax and be a normal guy for once, freak." He smirked.
The drinks clanged as the bartender placed them on the counter, to my surprise, they were doubles. "Happy birthday man," he said to Edward with a wink.
"Thanks," Edward replied, awkwardly picking up one of the overfilled glasses.
"Alright, let's do this!" Emmett said enthusiastically, he reached up and adjusted the cadet hat he was wearing, and grabbed up a shot glass and handed it to Rosalie, he took one for himself and I hesitantly took one as well.
"Here's to Edward," Emmett said raising his glass, "this is the first night of the rest of his life." He winked at me and we all clinked glasses and downed our drink. Emmett shouted something and slammed his glass down on the bar, upside down, Rosalie and I had no reaction, even though I could feel the thick syrupy liquid sliding down my throat, burning me, I took it like a champ and slammed my glass down as well. Edward swallowed his down quickly and immediately started choking. Peals of laughter echoed from Emmett, "Edward, I think your girlfriend may be a better drinker that you." He teased.
"That's doubtful." Edward scoffed with one last cough.
"Really?" I asked, "Care to put a wager on that?"
"Name your price." He challenged readily.
I hadn't planned on that for a reaction. What I had planned on was him giving me a lecture on alcohol poisoning and the dangers of drinking too much. Instead, he immediately agreed, there was no backing out now I thought. This would be interesting. I nervously ran my fingers through my hair and Edward watched with amusement. I quickly gathered up my gumption and said defiantly, "I don't have one. The deal is we drink the same amount and by the end of the night, the one who's left standing is the better winner."
"Shut up, no way!" Emmett guffawed.
"This could get interesting," Rosalie mused, suddenly intrigued.
"How are we going to know who's had what?" Edward asked, "We're going to lose count after awhile I'm sure."
"Not if we keep score." Rosalie said, fanning herself with a pad of paper.
"Diabolical." Emmett said shaking his head.
"This is not a good idea." Edward warned. Aha, there was the Edward I was used to. I didn't want to let this go now, this would be too much fun.
"You just know that I'm going to win and you can't stand the thought of me being better at something than you." I goaded, "pompous ass."
Emmett and Rose sucked in their teeth at that remark. It was then that I had thought I had gone too far. I monitored Edward's expression to confirm that I had, and then I would promptly beg for his forgiveness. His face remained blank for a moment and then a playful smile made its' way across his lips. "Wreckless human," he teased.
"Welcome to the club." I said defiantly.
He leaned forward and kissed my earlobe, and said softly, "You're on."
Edward and I had agreed on a one beer one shot policy, meaning that we would switch back and forth so as to safely draw out the competition more. For fairness, I chose the beer and Edward chose the shot, we had decided to stick with the bourbon and I chose magic hat 9 beer and so it began.
By eleven o'clock, I had had two shots and was working on my second beer. Edward seemed unaffected, but I had to admit, I was having trouble keeping up with the conversation the four of us were having. I had that warm feeling in the pit of my stomach and I could feel that my cheeks had flushed slightly, but I was still quite lucid. I did notice that Edward was becoming more talkative as the night went on, he usually would settle in the background of a conversation and speak when spoken to, but it seemed like he was holding center stage now. He seemed so much more relaxed, like he was comfortable with himself, whereas before he had been very reserved, but he was still my Edward, which was what I had worried about most. I had been worried that his transformation would render him without a part of him that I knew and loved, but it seemed that the change he had undergone had simply accentuated all that I knew was good about him.
Midway through my thoughts, Alice appeared, a song by Hot Hot Heat was just starting. "Edward, come on it's our song, you need to come dance with me." She said quickly, tugging his arm.
"No. I'm not going out there."
"Edward, pleeeeaasse, the routine, come on."
"No Alice, not the routine, I don't even think I can remember it or even do it anymore." He begged.
"Yes, yes you can."
"Not the routine," Rosalie groaned, Alice flashed her a nasty look.
"Edward, Pleeeeeaaassse." She whined, making her eyes huge.
"Fine," Edward sighed, standing up, "Finish this," He said handing the remainder of his beer to me.
"Nope," Rosalie said grabbing it from him, "it will taint the results." She placed it down on the table.
Alice nearly pulled Edward's arm out of the socket dragging him onto the dance floor with her. Jasper came up the stairs and sat down with us to wait out the song. Emmett reappeared with two shots in his hands. "Where's Ed…Oh God no," he said listening to the music, "the routine?" He asked Jasper.
"The one and only." Rose grumbled.
"What are you guys talking about?" I asked, confused.
"A few years ago, Edward lost a bet against Alice and his payment was he had to be her Fred Astaire for one night, and she came up with a routine for this particular song." Jasper explained.
I started laughing, "You mean like Ross and Monica on friends?"
"Exactly," he laughed.
I looked out onto the dance floor, sure enough, there he was, standing out there with her, mostly as a prop for all of her little spins, and kicks and hops that went to the beat of the song. Every so often he'd move along with her or pick her up or dip her or something. He seemed to have maintained his sense of rhythm into his human life. It was really sweet, to watch them together. At one point in the song, Alice reached up and pulled down a pair of sunglasses he had resting on top of his head over his eyes and he started laughing.
"It's really sweet that he does that for her." I said dreamily looking out into the crowd, my eyes focused only on him.
"It's really stupid if you ask me." Emmett snorted.
"Edward's the only one of us who would go along with something like that." Jasper said smoothly.
"Really Jasper?" I said turning to him, "Not even you?"
"Bella, I love Alice more than anything, but even I have my limits. Edward doesn't seem to though." He said thoughtfully.
The song finished and Alice allowed Edward to come back to us, and beckoned for Jasper to return to her, of course, he happily obliged. Edward returned and saw the shot sitting at his seat waiting for him and quickly swigged it. I drank mine and Rose made a note on our scorecard.
It was getting close to twelve and Edward and I were still seated together at our table talking and competing. My head was starting to swim slightly now, and his speech was getting a little sloppy, but we still had our wits about us.
"You do realize," he said taking my hand playfully in his, "that it's almost midnight and you haven't danced with me yet."
"Very good reason for that, I don't dance." I answered.
"Come on love, it's New Years Eve and it's my 'birthday'." He said making quotations with his hands.
"I don't care." I said defiantly. "When is your birthday anyways, do you remember?" I asked as I took a sip of my beer.
"April 23rd," He said. I was shocked to hear it, Edward claimed that he couldn't remember most things about his human life.
"Really? Taurus huh?" I asked thoughtfully.
"To a tee." He said forming a letter T with his two pointer fingers.
"I could see that." I said looking to the side and nodding.
He slowly ran his hand up my foreman and made slow circles around my wrist with his finger and stared intently at me, "please dance with me Bella, one song." I looked back at him; his liquid green eyes were making me melt.
"Fine." I said, exasperated, "one song." I added.
He took my hand and led me out onto the floor. My stomach felt like it was becoming overrun with squirrels. I felt like everyone was watching us, even though surely they weren't. A slow echoey Dido song started to play. The DJ announced that this was the last song before midnight. I stood close to Edward facing him, searching his face desperately for help.
"I won't let you make a fool out of yourself, I promise. Besides, I've done enough of that tonight for the both of us." He teased, crookedly smiling at me.
I put my arms around his neck to feel more secure, he continued to smile, "Relax, it's very easy." I stood frozen and stared desperately into his eyes. "Okay, listen, follow me," he whispered. He leaned over putting his face close to my ear so that only I could hear him, "slow, slow, quick, quick, slow," he instructed, moving my hips for me. "Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow," he repeated. I started to focus on the task at hand, moving as he directed me, like an apt pupil. "Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow."
After awhile the music got louder and I felt safer, like the noise would hide me from everyone else. He continued to distract me with his instruction, and soon he was only mouthing the words to me. I loosened up my grip on Edward a little bit and started to venture out on my own, moving my hips a little bit more, Alice was nearby with Jasper and I looked over at her and she gestured for me to raise my hands up. Slowly, I was able to do so; Edward was cautiously giving me space, just bouncing a little on his own to the beat. The music hit a climax and got louder, a bongo solo was playing against the club beat and at that point, he had slipped behind me and I was against him. I let loose, and swiveled my hips side to side, throwing my hands high up in the air. Everyone else on the dance floor was moving faster too and the crowd was growing thicker and finally I felt inconspicuous. I swiveled my hips more drastically and into Edward, his arm caught my every move as if our bodies had been made for one another. He was perfect to me, everything about him was perfect and made for me. The song's climax went on for too short of a time it seemed, and then got very soft, Edward spun me around pulled me close into him. I gazed up at him and he gently took my arms and placed them around his neck. He held me against him and we swayed to the fading music slowly.
"Ten seconds to midnight…" the DJ announced.
Edward stared at me nervously and just as the music hit a dramatic point, he planted his lips against mine. I held his neck more tightly, kissing him back. Then I felt his lips part against mine, I could smell his sweet Edward smell mixed with his cologne, my heart skipped several beats as he slowly slipped his tongue into my mouth. My knees went weak, he had never kissed me like this before, he had come close, but never this far. I was enjoying it too much, I returned the gesture, his arms tightened around my waist, and his mouth moved awkwardly against mine. I tugged on his damp hair lightly, and his hands pressed into my back, I felt him lift me off the ground a few inches, holding me against him. I could feel his beautiful human heart beating wildly in his chest.
"3,2,1, Happy New Year!" the DJ announced. Edward lowered me to the ground and we just stared at each other in surprise and then the shyness set in for both of us. I felt like I had just gotten my first kiss at a school dance, and it made me all warm inside knowing that Edward had just gotten his. He looked away from me boyishly and his eyes darted down to his feet and then back up to my face. I was so euphoric from what had just happened, that I didn't notice the soap suds that were now dropping from the ceiling in celebration of the New Year. Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Edward, kicking soap everywhere and throwing it at Jasper.
I couldn't stop staring at him, I was in a trance, Edward Cullen had dazzled me yet again, and from the look on his face, it looked like I had done the same for him. As Alice pulled me deeper into the crowd, I continued to watch him and eventually before he was completely out of focus he glanced back at me with a smile the size of Texas on his face.
Alice, Jasper and I screwed around in the soap until it was gone. I headed back up to the table and sat back down with Edward. Alice and Jasper were going outside for a minute and Emmett and Rose were MIA, which just left the two of us. We decided to continue on with our contest, and had another set of shots and beer. Rose had left the scorecard, so I politely filled out what she had missed.
"What time does this place close?" I asked doodling on her paper.
"Usually around two, but we'll get thrown out before then." Edward assured me.
"Why do you say that?"
"You'll see soon enough."
"Are you drunk yet?" I asked blatantly as I noticed that the score was reaching five shots each and seven beers.
"Getting there, you?"
"Absolutely." I confessed, "But I'm still standing and that was the deal."
"Yeah, I lied, I'm pretty trashed right now." He informed me, "you certainly prove to be a worthy adversary, Miss Swan."
"You have no idea." I giggled.
The DJ made the announcement that the champagne contest would start in five minutes and I saw Edward shake his head.
"What? What's the champagne contest?" I asked.
"That is what is going to get us thrown out." Edward said, stammering slightly.
"No really, what is it?" I repeated.
"It's a contest where they gather up a bunch of girls, most of which are intoxicated, and play music, let them get up on the bar and jump around and then the bartenders spray them with champagne. The most appealing girl wins two hundred dollars."
"Who judges?"
"The audience."
"How is this going to get us thrown out?" I asked, wondering if in my increasingly woozy state I had missed something.
"Ro-sa-lie." Edward said, carefully annunciating each syllable of her name and gesturing with his hand the annunciation.
The DJ made another announcement for the contest, last call for all those who want to enter. For half a second, I considered going up there, but I wouldn't want to go head to head with Rosalie or upset Edward.
The contest began; Edward and I ordered another round for the two of us, secretly knowing that this round would be the key to my undoing. The DJ started playing some remix of a heavy rock song and girls of every shape and size were hopping up on the bar preparing to put on their performance. Alice and Jasper appeared by our side suddenly.
"What's going on?" Alice asked.
"What do you think?" Edward retorted nodding toward the bar.
There was Rosalie, in all her glory, standing proudly beside all of the other girls that her perfect face and physical attributes put to shame. She strutted back and forth across the bar, her halter top barely containing her huge breasts.
"I don't understand why she feels she needs to do this." Jasper said seriously.
"Because it involves two of the things she loves most, money and her appearance." Edward answered harshly.
"Why don't you two give her a break? We all like money and value our appearance." Alice said looking at the two of them, "It's just, she's not afraid to admit it. Besides, we spend so much time hiding and trying to cover up who we are, it's nice to be able to go out and act as irresponsible and common as everyone else. It's fun!"
We watched Rosalie prowl back and forth, many of the girls had been booed off or had shied away from the bar by now, but Rosalie was in her prime, and not many others had stuck around to fight her for the win. Finally came the point where the champagne came in. The bartender that had served us earlier shook up a bottle and prepared to spray it all over Rosalie. She would have none of that, she took it from him and poured it on herself, taking a big swig at the end. The crowd howled at her performance. I noticed now, that Emmett was close by, watching her hungrily, she had her eyes locked on him, it seemed that the rest of her display, in her mind, was for him. This whole contest almost seemed liked foreplay to me. I looked over at Edward in curiosity and saw the expression of disbelief on his face as he watched his sister.
"Can you believe that I was the one who was supposed to be set up with her in the first place?" Edward said, incredulous.
In the end, Rosalie won the money, they handed her a stack of twenties and when the song was over, she proudly swaggered back to the dance floor, fanning herself with her winnings. Alice hopped down off the stool chased after her onto the dance floor.
Jasper disappeared again and Emmett joined us, he noticed that I was peeling the label off of my beer bottle.
"Hey did you know that when a person peels a label off a bottle, it means that they're sexually frustrated?" Emmett teased Edward. "Poor Bella."
"Fuck off Emmett." Edward retorted with little interest.
I would have made some kind of smarmy remark in response, but the alcohol was really starting to hit me now. My vision was becoming blurred, and my head was spinning. I couldn't drink anymore or I'd be in a coma by morning. I looked up at Edward to make a comparison, he swayed slowly in his stool but still seemed focused, and I felt like I was going to lose this bet.
He leaned in to me and stared closely at me, "Tell me about your friends in Phoenix." He said, stammering a little at the end.
"Why?"
"Because, I want to know how you have had," he picked up the scorecard and held it away from his face and brought it slowly toward him, trying to read it, "how you have had six shots of bourbon and eight beers and you are still sitting here, talking to me. I want to know what kind of training you've had, so I know what I'm getting myself into next time I agree to something like this." He said as smoothly as his condition would allow.
I started laughing and reached over and touched his hand. I was preparing to answer him when Alice appeared, her voice urgent. "We need to leave, now. Rosalie just broke some guy's arm."
"What did I tell you?" Edward said throwing his hands up. "I told you we'd get kicked out eventually."
"What? She broke some guy's arm? Is he okay?" I asked, alarmed.
"Who cares?" Emmett said getting up, "we've got to get out of here before the cops come and find out it's her."
Edward took my hand and I quickly grabbed my purse, as soon as my feet touched the floor, I was unsteady. I knew Edward wanted to carry me out, but he was stumbling around slightly as well, before I could make my next move, Emmett scooped me up and started walking toward the door, a triumphant look beamed in Edward's eyes.
"This doesn't count!" I shouted at him, "I can walk, just not quick enough to keep up with Emmett and Alice."
"Jasper and Rose grabbed the coats and are coming around with the car; we need to meet them now." She said frantically.
We hurried out of the car and piled into the Hum-v, Rosalie in the driver seat.
"Rose, what the hell? You're breaking guy's arms and shit, they're never going to let us come back here." Emmett said irritably.
"He grabbed me, and I don't like to be grabbed Emmett." She hissed. "And besides I think I just dislocated his shoulder, someone can pop it back in for him later. Nobody saw us."
"Whatever you do, don't tell Carlisle," he instructed.
"Carlisle's not going to care once he sees what you did to Edward and Bella." Rosalie growled.
"I didn't do anything to them. They did that on their own."
"You started it." She said sourly.
"Whatever, they finished it." Emmett said folding his arms behind his head and pulling his baseball cap over his eyes.
"Bella and I are fine." Edward said coolly, lying through his teeth.
"We'll see when we get home." Rose said looking at us through the rearview mirror.
I had no idea what time it was by the time I got to the Cullens, everything around me didn't seem to be really happening; I would be surprised if I could make to the front doorstep without falling into a bush. I had started to doze off when Alice announced that we were home. I was leaning with all of my body weight on my door and I felt Edward pull me away from it as Emmett came around to open it.
"Alright, out you come." Emmett said easily picking me up off of the seat and carrying me toward the house.
This was too much, I could walk, it would just take me a minute, maybe Emmett was trying to prevent any accidents that would cause me to bleed, just in case. I decided that's what it was and let him carry me. I leaned into his massive chest and wrapped my arms around his tree trunk of a neck and sighed against him. His chest vibrated slightly as he laughed quietly under his breath.
We came in through the front door and Carlisle and Esme were close by, but I didn't think that they were truly waiting up for us.
"What happened to Bella?" Esme said rushing into the front hallway, alarmed, Carlisle followed her. Typical, in less than two years I had already achieved accident prone status in the Cullen household.
"Nothing Esme, Bella just had a little too much to drink. Isn't that right sweetie?" Emmett asked me.
"Sure." I mumbled.
"Emmett how could you? She's underage." Esme scolded, her eyebrows knit in frustration.
"How is this my fault?" He complained.
"You were supposed to watch out for her. Where's Edward?" She asked angrily.
As if on cue, Edward came stumbling through the front door noisily, Alice and Jasper close behind, trying to anticipate his next footfall. Rosalie was the last to enter.
"Edward too?!" Esme shouted.
"Honestly Emmett," Carlisle stared with disappointment in his voice, his youthful gold eyes looking over the two wasted teenagers in front of him, "Edward's first night as a human and you get him and Bella, inebriated?"
Edward chuckled softly at that phrase, Carlisle threw him an irritated look and he stopped, or at least made an effort to.
"Again, how is this my fault?" Emmett grumbled.
"Put me down!" I said sharply to him, he slowly lowered me down and I made my way over to Edward as he put his arm around me in an effort to steady himself.
"Rosalie broke some guy's arm!" Emmett shouted, throwing her right under the bus.
"Dislocated." She corrected crossly, I was sure she'd make him pay for that later and I giggled to myself.
Carlisle and Esme looked incredulously at each other. "Apparently Jasper and Alice are the only ones that can control themselves when you six go out." Esme growled, my heart jumped into my throat when I realized that I was being included in her rant of scolding and disappointment, I giggled softly at that too.
"I'm going upstairs." Alice chirped, looking very pleased with herself and headed to the staircase, Jasper following her.
"Carlisle, Esme, honestly, I'm fine." Edward assured them in his most earnest and persuasive tone. I nodded seriously in agreement and then he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "No I'm not."
Uncontrollable giggles escaped from me at his side comment, "Shhhh…" I said sloppily, "They can hear you, they're vampires." He must have thought that was hilarious, because his shoulders began to shake violently as he tried to keep his laughter quiet.
We turned and saw that the four of them were staring at us, Esme looked ready to choke us, and Carlisle's look of vague disappointment was starting to turn into quiet amusement.
"Unbelievable." Emmett snorted, "I come home in one piece, sober, and without incident and I get the third degree, Edward and his girlfriend come home so drunk they should be legally dead, and it's comedy hour. He can get away with anything."
"He is the oldest." Carlisle smirked.
"More like the favorite." Emmett muttered. I clapped my hand over my mouth to suppress the guffaw that was preparing to erupt from me.
"I'm going to bed." Edward announced suddenly. He bent over slightly and I unsteadily climbed onto his back and we stumbled toward the staircase.
"Edward, not on the stairs, be careful." Esme called behind us.
"Will do Mrs. C." I said throwing up a hand.
Edward started cracking up, "Did you just call her Mrs. C?" He asked breathless between snickers.
"Oh my God, I so did!" I said smacking my forehead.
"She's going to kill you." He laughed.
We reached the top of the stairs and Edward continued down the hallway toward his bedroom, very nearly dropping me several times and banging into the wall once. We reached his door and he slowly lowered me down to the floor. He leaned up against the wall and slid down to a sitting position on the floor.
"What's the matter?" I asked, swaying slightly, but still maintaining my balance.
"I think I'm getting dizzy," He answered.
"Come on, I'll help you to bed," I persuaded, reaching my hand out for him.
"You're looking pretty imbalanced yourself." He said maintaining his old century elegance regardless of how trashed he was.
"At least I'm still conscious." I said grinning triumphantly. He reached up for my hand and let me help him to his feet.
He leaned against the wall and shut his eyes, "Why did you let me do this to myself?" He groaned remorsefully.
I managed to focus out of my stupor for a second, "Are you really feeling that badly?" I asked seriously.
"No, but I was hoping to spend more time with you tonight, but I don't think I have the stamina to do so now." He said smiling sleepily.
"That's okay, we have plenty of time." I assured him. I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
"Do that again," he said continuing to smile, eyes still shut. I happily obliged to his request.
"And again," he said more playfully, I kissed him again, keeping my face inches away from him. He smelled like the club, the distinct scent of fog machine chemicals lingered in his hair, but under that, I could still smell him.
I kissed him again and this time he took the back of my head and pulled me toward him. He moved his mouth fiercely against mine, jamming his tongue down my throat. Whatever nervousness and shyness between us that was present in the club had dissipated. I grabbed at fistfuls of his hair and pulled him closer to me. He started to move toward his bedroom door, pulling me along with him. I opened my eyes for a second and saw him reach behind him and clumsily rattle open the door. He pulled me along with him into the bedroom, letting go of me for a second to pull his coat off and throw it on the floor. I heard his keys clang loudly as he pulled them out of his jeans pocket and threw them on his bureau I frantically pulled my coat off and let it drop at my feet. His wallet hit the floor with a loud thud. He grabbed my head again with one hand and started kissing me again, with the other hand he clicked the button of the remote to his stereo, loud alternative rock started playing, he threw the remote across the room. With both of his hands available now, he scrunched his fingers in my hair and locked the other hand around my waist. I pressed myself up against him, wrapping my arms around his neck, it wasn't close enough, I needed to be closer to him, very uncharacteristically for someone like me, I hitched my leg up on his hip. His breathing became more rapid, my heart was beating a mile a minute, and I was turned on by his forwardness, I had an overwhelming urge to cry out or growl. One of his arms caught my leg, holding my thigh tightly, his other hand moved to my lower back. He started to move forward toward his bed, lifting me slightly so I wouldn't fall by grabbing my other thigh, he laid me down, a little more roughly than he intended I think. I didn't care, I welcomed this, I wriggled back on the bed slightly and he climbed in on top of me, not putting too much of his weight on me. I breathed hard as he pulled away and stared at me fiercely through his dark eyelashes. I sat up a little and went for his neck, running my mouth over the length of it, biting him softly; I think I heard him groan. I breathed hard in his ear and he kissed my bare shoulder. I almost started moaning, I lay back down on my back, because I was starting to feel dizzy. He eagerly clamped his mouth over mine, I clutched at his shirt and he ran his hands over my hips. I wondered how far this would be taken, but then went back to enjoying Edward's warm body all over mine. He kissed my neck, breathing heavily and I could smell the alcohol on his breath, it was hypnotic to me, I was swooning. He glanced up at me and caught my eye, and for the first time since I'd known Edward, he had a look of complete gratification about him. He dropped his eyes seductively and moved down the front of me, his face came close to my chest and moved along to my stomach and waist. He stopped there, slipping my shirt up carelessly, exposing my navel. How far was he going to take this? I grabbed the comforter in nervous anticipation.
I felt his warm, soft mouth against my skin, he kissed my stomach over and over and I thought I would explode at that very moment. He curled both of his arms around the small of my back and lifted me slightly, straddling me. He buried his face into the curve of my hip that the low rise jeans I was wearing exposed. I felt his tongue against the blade of my pelvis, I pulled at his hair roughly with pleasure. I almost felt the need to wrap my leg around him, but I decided to air on the side of caution. He ran his mouth over my stomach again, kissing me and then making wide circles with his tongue. I grabbed at his shoulders, massaging them hard, he slowed down a little, I felt his body relaxing against my touch, he rested his cheek against my stomach, kissing it softer now, and then, he came to an abrupt stop.
"Edward?" I said breathlessly. He gave no response. "Edward?" I said a little more loudly this time, sitting up. I looked down at him; his handsome face still against my bare stomach, his arms still curled around my hips, and saw that he was out cold.
I sighed loudly and flopped back down on my back. I ran my hands over my face and through my hair trying to calm myself down, my hormones raged like an angry sea inside of me. I took a deep breath and smiled, looking down at my hopelessly devoted, passed out drunk, ex vampire boyfriend. "I win." I whispered.