DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creation of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Cullens attend a Frat Party.
Frat Party 1
"Isabella, if I swear not to ruin a single pair of underwear for an entire year, can I please not dress up for this?" Edward begged.
"Tempting offer," I sang, pulling his costume out of the closet.
He pulled me into his arms, turning the full force of his dazzling, golden eyes on me. But I was prepared for his trickery. I took a deep breath and smiled at him.
"You're dressing up," I told him.
"I love it when you're forceful," he purred, rubbing his cheek against mine.
"You can cheat all day long, but I won't fall for it today," I said.
I was surprised by the conviction in my tone because it certainly wasn't in my heart. Alice had already warned me that she didn't see him giving in. I also had a sneaking suspicion that she hadn't told me about the entire vision. She'd been smiling wickedly at me a little more than usual lately.
"I'm prepared for all of your little tricks, honey," I added, hoping he would give up, but knowing he wouldn't.
"Impossible," he growled, pressing his lips against my neck so the vibration rippled against my skin. "I haven't shown them all to you, yet."
I blinked, trying to remember how to speak. He'd never done anything like that before. My mind and body weren't sure how to react to it. I wanted to yell at him and call him a cheater, but I also wanted to forget all about the party and stay home. I settled for just standing there, clutching his shoulders to stay on my feet. He started chuckling as he realized just how completely he'd dazzled me.
"No costumes, love."
"Okay," I squeaked, amazed I'd been able to manage a single word.
"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" he whispered, gently kissing my ear. "If you'd give into my dazzling this easily a little more often, you might be pleasantly surprised with the results."
I sighed, resting my forehead against his marble shoulder. "What are we wearing since the costumes are out?"
"I'll let you choose if you'd like."
"No. You'll just find some reason to dazzle me again. You didn't want the costumes, so you pick the clothing."
"Alright, my love. Why don't you have a seat on the sofa and I'll find us the proper attire."
"I think you better walk me to the sofa. I don't think I'll make it that far. I'm still feeling rather spongy at the moment."
"My, my. I seem to have outdone myself."
"One of these days, I'm going to figure out how to turn the tables on you, and you'll be very sorry."
"I don't doubt it," he chuckled, as he set me on the sofa. "But there's really no need for us to dress up, love. Emmett will draw more than enough attention for all of us."
"His costume better be as good as you keep hinting it will be," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
I sighed loudly to prove my aggravation to Edward. He chuckled again, probably knowing full well I didn't really mean it. I stretched out on the sofa and closed my eyes. I had a pretty good idea that this new level of dazzle was the thing Alice had been grinning about all week. That sister of mine was one darn sneaky pixie!
I concentrated on the sounds in the house. I could hear Emmett snickering. At least he thought his costume was great. Rose was muttering, but it was too low for me to make out what she was saying. Either she was having trouble finding something to wear or she didn't care for Emmett's costume; knowing Rose, I'd probably say it was the latter. Alice and Jasper were both quiet. I took a quick sniff of the air, just to see if they were even in the house. From the faintness, they were either in the basement or had recently stepped outside. Esme was humming a tune to herself; she was probably painting in her room.
"Bella, my love. Time to get ready."
I opened my eyes and looked up at Edward. He was wearing his black jeans with a dark blue button-up shirt, leaving the top two buttons open just the way I loved it. He was holding my clothes in his hand. I got up, took the clothes, and headed into the bathroom to change. Edward had picked out my hip-hugger jeans and a v-neck sweater that matched the blue of his shirt. All I had to do was pick my shoes out. I settled on a pair of black boots with a bit of a heel, happy that I could now wear these types of things without killing myself.
I put my shoes on, then stood and turned toward my husband. "How do I look?"
"Beautifully stunning, as always, my love," he replied, holding his hand out for me.
I took it and he pulled me close, kissing my cheek. He wrapped his arm around my waist and we left our room. We were the first ones to make it to the living room. Edward sat down on the loveseat and pulled me onto his lap, gently brushing my hair away from my face.
"I feel guilty," he whispered suddenly.
"About what?" I asked. I looked into his golden eyes and saw he was being completely honest. He was feeling incredibly guilty about something.
"Dazzling you into not wearing costumes. I shouldn't have done that."
"Edward, you silly vampire," I sighed, resting my head against his shoulder. "I didn't really think you were going to agree. Alice said the chances were pretty slim. Besides, it's not like I actually complained about the dazzling, now is it?"
"There's still time to change if you want," he offered, sounding remorseful.
"No. I don't want to change. I like what you picked out. It's very comfortable. And we'll both have a much better time if we're comfortable. Now, stop feeling guilty over nothing. If you want to feel guilty about something, make it be that you haven't taught me how to dazzle yet."
"Trust me, Bella. You dazzle all day long, you just don't realize it," he said, nuzzling my neck with his slender nose. "Have you already forgotten what happened after your walk with Jasper?"
"Of course not," I sighed, lifting my chin higher to give him better access.
"Pay up, Emmett!" Jasper ordered.
Edward and I both looked up at our siblings. Neither of us had realized they'd entered the room. Jasper had his hand out toward Emmett while Rose and Alice were snickering.
"I told you he would get out of wearing a costume," Jasper continued. "Hand over my two hundred bucks, loser."
"You guess right one damn time and you think you're hot stuff," Emmett grumbled, as he pulled out his wallet.
It was then that I realized exactly where the wallet was coming from…A pair of shorts, tucked under an authentic looking Hawaiian grass skirt. I let my eyes wander further up. Emmett was shirtless, but not topless…Oh, no! He had a top, alright! It was a coconut bra that appeared to be made from a real coconut, judging by the hairy-looking texture of it.
Emmett handed the money over to Jasper, who suddenly giggled. I knew it was my fault. He was picking up on the laughter I was trying so hard to keep in.
Edward chuckled, obviously figuring out what was going on. He leaned close and whispered into my ear. "It's real and he scooped it out himself."
That was all it took. I started laughing so hard, my whole body was shaking. Edward had to keep a grip on my hips, just to keep me from falling off of him. If I could have cried, tears would have been endlessly streaming down my face. Jasper let my hilarity seep out into the room and everyone was soon laughing with me. When I started to calm down a little, Jasper did the rest of the job for me.
"What set you off like that, Picky?" Emmett asked.
I blew out a breath, somewhere between a giggle and a snort. How could he not know? I just pointed at him.
"Edward, I think your wife is broken," Emmett chuckled.
"No, Emmett. She's just dumbfounded by the lengths her big brother will go to in order to play the part," Edward explained.
"What do you mean?" Emmett asked, clearly confused.
"Emmett, look at what you're wearing," Alice giggled, as she waved a hand at him. "You're a giant man in a grass skirt and a coconut bra."
"What a fashion faux pas!" I chuckled.
I looked at our siblings, finally noticing that Emmett was the only one who was dressed up. I wondered if it meant he was going to still be the only one later on. Knowing Emmett, he may have just decided it was a costume party and not actually been told that it was.
"I tried to explain just how ridiculous he looks," Rose said, shaking her head. "He won't listen to me."
"It's a party! Lighten up, guys," Emmett announced. "Edward, are we taking one of your cars?"
"I don't feel like driving tonight," Edward replied.
Everyone stared at him for a second, but I smiled happily. He knew how much I loved it when he sat with me instead of driving. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Well, let's pile into the Jeep and get to the party, then," Emmett said, clapping his hands together once.
The ride to the party was fairly uneventful. Rose tried pleading with Emmett a few more times to stop somewhere and change. Alice had brought some clothes along just in case he agreed. But Emmett was not to be swayed. The only thing we could get him to agree on, was wearing a jacket once we arrived. It was the end of the first week of December and it was far from warm.
We all chatted about our current classes and the professors we had. Edward and I took turns talking since we had the same classes.
Emmett's driving was a little more insane than normal, since he was so excited to get to the party. He made it into Hanover, beating Edward's driving record by one minute. He parked right out in front of the house, and we all climbed out and stood on the sidewalk together.
The frat house was a tall, dark brick structure. From the number of windows, it appeared to be four stories high. Loud music was coming from the building, along with laughter and yells. The bushes and trees in the front yard had all been rolled in toilet paper. Alice and Rose both grimaced at the sight of it.
"If it's this bad out here already, can you imagine the inside?" Rose asked.
"I don't want to," Alice replied.
"Come on, guys," Emmett said, as he walked toward the front door. "It's going to be fun."
"Has anyone ever noticed every time Emmett says something will be fun, one, or more, of us ends up in jail with him?" Jasper questioned.
"I thought it was just me," Edward chuckled.
"Well, we can't leave him alone for too long," Rose sighed. "You know how easily he can get himself into trouble."
We followed Rose up the walkway and into the house.
There were throngs of people everywhere, most of them pressed up against their dance partner in a less than innocent way. I hoped they wouldn't overload Jasper with their lust, as it would make it very uncomfortable if he accidentally started seeping that particular emotion out to everyone.
Emmett was already in the backyard, showing off his outfit. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter when I saw that no one else had dressed up. I looked up at Edward and he winked at me. He'd known all along it wasn't a costume party. He hadn't dazzled me shamelessly – well, he had – but he had also saved me from being highly embarrassed.
I leaned up on my tip-toes and kissed his cheek. He smiled my favorite crooked grin for me and squeezed my waist a little tighter. I rested my head against his shoulder and sighed in contentment. I was truly married to one extremely perfect man.
There were lots of drunken humans in the house and backyard. Some of them could barely even stand anymore. I was really afraid for the ones standing around the roasting pig, scared they would fall into the fire.
I turned toward Jasper. "Can you hit them with a little fear and make them back up?" I whispered.
He nodded and smiled, and then all of the drunken guys around the fire took a few steps back.
"Good call, Picky," Emmett chuckled. "I don't think crispy human would be a good smell."
"Emmett, please smack your own self upside the head and save Rose the trouble," I said, rolling my eyes at him.
"What?" he cried, lifting up his hands. Emmett turned toward Rose and smiled wide. "Rosie, I want to introduce you to the guys that invited me." He wrapped his arm around her waist, dragging her off to another corner of the yard.
Alice, Jasper, Edward, and I headed over toward an area with a few tables and a small fire pit set up. Edward sat down in a folding chair and pulled me onto his lap, with Jasper doing the same with Alice.
"How long do you think it will be before Emmett gets into trouble?" I asked Alice.
She closed her eyes briefly and then chuckled. "He's going to behave, at least as much as he's capable of. But the coconut bra will be ruined in about fifteen minutes when he does a cannonball into the pool while still wearing it."
"Nice," Jasper chuckled.
"Shouldn't we stop him? I mean, the water and the weather and all? Won't the humans find it strange that Emmett's not cold from the pool?" I asked.
"It's a heated pool, Bella. That's why it has steam coming up off from the water," Alice explained.
Edward and Jasper struck up a conversation about ideas for their go-kart track. They were getting close to setting up a time to present the idea to Esme. Alice and I just held our own little conversation.
"Have you ever gone to a frat party before?" I asked Alice.
"A few times. They're normally much rowdier than this. But it's still early. There are a few who aren't drunk yet," Alice giggled.
"The ones dancing in the house looked pretty rowdy to me," I chuckled.
"The word you're looking for is 'raunchy', Bella," Alice laughed. "It's fine to dance that way if you love the person and you aren't drunk off your butt, but those humans were all smashed and purely lust filled."
"Poor Jasper," I said, shaking my head.
"He can handle it," Alice chirped, smiling brightly.
"He certainly can," I agreed, thinking back to our conversation earlier in the week. Jasper was much stronger than he sometimes gave himself credit for.
Emmett and Rose came over and sat with us. Rose was smiling while Emmett was obviously upset.
"What happened?" Alice asked.
"His new little human friends were ogling me and Emmett didn't appreciate it," Rose laughed.
"Apparently," Emmett growled, "I only got invited so I would bring my hot wife and sisters along."
"I could have told you that if you had asked," Edward chuckled.
"Some brother you are," Emmett muttered.
"Look who's talking," Jasper laughed. "You're the one constantly teasing Edward about every little thing. No wonder he didn't warn you."
"What happened to our united front against the Stiff?" Emmett asked, glaring at Jasper.
"Went out the window when you called me a loser earlier," Jasper shot back.
"Whatever," Emmett muttered. "I'm going swimming."
Emmett took off his grass skirt and handed his wallet to Rose. He ran toward the pool and jumped up, screaming cannonball on his way down. He landed with a nice sized splash, but managed to keep it looking human.
Emmett stood up in the pool and looked down at himself. He took his coconuts into his hands and cried out. "Oh, man. My boobies are ruined. Why didn't you guys warn me?"
"You jumped in too quickly," Rose laughed.
Emmett groaned and got out of the pool, pulling off his ruined prop. He dropped it onto the ground as he sat next to Rose. "Yes, because my human gallop to the pool was so much faster than your vampire tongue."
"Aw, Emmie," Rose purred, inches from his lips. "Don't be upset. You provided us with a good laugh."
Emmett grinned goofily. "I'll provide you with something else that's good a little later."
"Emmett!" Alice, Jasper, and Edward yelled. I just shook my head at him while Rose snickered.
I shifted around in Edward's lap, getting more comfortable and he let out a low groan. I realized what my quest to get comfortable had done to him and giggled, as I moved around again on purpose.
Edward's hands gripped my hips, keeping me from moving any further. His voice was low and husky in my ear. "That was not very nice, Mrs. Cullen."
"That was for the vibration thing you did in our room earlier, Mr. Cullen," I chuckled.
"Enjoy the gentleman side of me while you can, Isabella. Because when I get you home tonight, that vibration thing, as you put it, won't be the only thing I do to you."
"Edward Cullen! I can't believe you just said that to me."
"I didn't do anything…yet. I simply made a promise that I fully intend to keep, just as soon as I can get you inside of our cabin."
"Who needs a frat party? Let's go home now."
"Patience, love. Besides, you would hurt Emmett's feelings if you leave before you watch him perform at the luau. So for now, let's just enjoy the clear night."
"Can we race to the cabin when we go?" I challenged.
"Certainly. How slow do you think I need to go for you to be able to follow me there?" he chuckled.
"Don't be so sure of yourself," I chuckled. I turned and hugged him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"You teased me instead of giving me warnings about why we probably shouldn't race. You're trusting me, Edward. That means so much to me."
"You've earned it, Bella."
I smiled and hugged him even tighter. He was finally, truly trusting me and backing off from being overprotective. And to know that I had earned that trust, in his eyes, made it all the more special to me.
EBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB
All the thanks in the world to the most talented Beta / Friend – E.C. Cullen. If not for her, you guys would not have these two frat party chapters! She reads the reviews with me, so be sure to leave her some love!
