Chapter 17
The next few days flew by in a haze of post planning craziness. I was getting ready for the big end of the year party at my house, which meant I had to clean everything, find a place for the kids to stay, buy food and make sure the bar was well stocked. All of this had to be done on top of the three days of meeting that I had to attend and all of the paperwork I had to get finished with and turned in. The end of the year was always crazy like that, but it also meant that I would soon be free - well somewhat free. I was extremely grateful to Alice for her generous offer to keep the little ones while I worked this week. It was almost impossible to get things completed when Seth and Leah were with me, and driving them to Forks each morning - or even worse - LaPush didn't, seem like a very viable option either.
Besides, it probably wouldn't have been very safe to drive that far each day with the little amount of sleep I was getting each night. Edward and I had settled into a strange little routine. Since Saturday, he had come over every night - always with the intent that he was just going to pop in for a little while to visit after Seth and Leah were in bed. Every night he ended up staying with me in my bed until I kicked him out at around 4:30 each morning. It sucked that I had to kick him out, but it was working for us. Some nights he would already be visiting Alice and Jasper, so we actually got to spend the evening together, but those visits were always extremely guarded since the kids were around. The entire situation was actually quite thrilling. It felt almost like we were teenagers all over again. Except this time, we weren't trying to hide our relations from our parents. I do think Charlie had some idea though... he was just too polite to ask.
The party was to take place Saturday night, so Friday afternoon was frenzied at the Black house. Of course, kids have that weird sixth sense that tells them when mommy is super busy, so they need mommy for everything and want to pull out every toy that they haven't played with in years. I was fed up with the whining, so I put Leah down for a much needed nap and sent Seth outside to play. It was an unusually sunny day, which strengthened my resolve to make him go outside and enjoy the weather. After going over all the rules about how Seth had to stay in the back yard and he wasn't allowed to go leave the fenced in area, I sat down on my bed for a few minutes to enjoy the quiet. I woke up about thirty minutes later to hear the phone ringing and feel it vibrating in my pocket. Smiling when I saw who it was, I tried to answer in my sexiest voice. I ended up sounding more like a frog...
"Were you asleep?" Edward's voice sounded concerned.
"Not on purpose. I sat down for a minute to enjoy the lack of whining in my house, and I must have dose off for a bit." Telling Edward reminded me that I needed to go check on Seth.
I could almost hear the smirk on Edward's face as he said, "I'm sorry, I know that you must be exhausted because I haven't let you get much sleep at all lately."
I walked out on the porch and saw Jasper pushing Seth on the swing. I wondered briefly why Jasper wasn't at work on a Friday afternoon, but once I heard Seth's giggle, I came back inside to finish my shopping list.
"You won't hear me complaining about our evening activities," I said with a grin. "Although, I'm thinking you may not want to come tonight. It seems as though I will be out of commission for a few days." I was completely pissed about the fact that I started the day before I was going to drop my kids off with their grandfathers for three days (Charlie and Billy were taking the kids camping and fishing - all that outdoorsy stuff that I never did with them).
Edward sounded almost irked as he said that I was being ridiculous. "I don't just come by for sex, Bella - although we usually end up in bed. I come over because I want to be with you. Please don't put me in that booty call category."
"Edward, I wasn't trying to make light of anything. I'm sorry if I came across that way... It just sucks that we have three days with no children around and I can't have sex."
"Let me say for the record that I would spend much more time with you - no sex- if you would let me," Edward said in his serious voice. Then his voice became much more mischievous when he said, "But I promise you that I can make our time without your kids quite fulfilling. Even with your little problem."
I was so tempted to keep the conversation going, because I knew that Edward could probably get me off simply by telling me the things he was thinking about doing to me, but I decided it would be best for me to wait and find out. I had so much to do still, so we hammered out our plans for this evening, and I got off the phone.
I was a bit concerned about what I was going to do with a bunch of drunk teachers tomorrow night. In the past, all of the people that drank too much would just crash in my basement, but that wasn't an option any more. When I tried to explain to the people that usually got so intoxicated they couldn't make it home that they were going to have to find a way home, I just got a bunch of stupid comments. One of the guys offered to sleep in my bed with me, and another lady asked me if I had taken in boarders because I was broke. The worst was the teacher that asked me if Erik (that was my boss) was staying with me. I had been rumored to be having an affair with my boss for the past five years or so (something that I was pretty sure was started by Lauren). He and I became instant friends when we started working together, but it wasn't at all like that. Sadly, when I agreed to have the end of the year party each year, I was agreeing to invite everyone from work...even the idiots. Unfortunately, those seemed to be the people that ended up too drunk to get home on their own. I refused to let anyone sleep in my kids' rooms, so I was trying to think through what I would do about that when the doorbell rang.
Not expecting anyone, I looked through the peephole to see a huge bouquet of my favorite flowers, lilies. I couldn't see much about the person holding them other than the long chestnut hair. Figuring that Edward had sent me flowers or that someone from work had ordered them for the party, I flung the door open. My heart almost stopped when I looked into the face of the woman that I once thought of as a mother.
Esme hadn't changed much at all in the years it had been since I had seen her. She looked at me with curiosity, but she still had that look of love in her eyes that I used to be so enraptured with. I must have been looking at her blankly, because she simply smiled and nodded her head towards the flowers asking me if she could come in.
"Of course," I said blankly as I led her into the kitchen, "please excuse my rudeness, I just wasn't..."
"Of course you weren't expecting me, dear. I thought about asking Edward to let you know that we were visiting, but I was afraid you wouldn't let me see you." Esme still sounded exactly like I remembered her sounding. This incredible sense of nostalgia hit me full-force.
"Why wouldn't I want to see you?" I asked - truly confused with what she had said.
Esme was always so intuitive. "I just don't want you to think that I am trying to force myself, or Edward, back into your life. Well, honestly, I guess I am forcing myself... just not Edward. That's for the two of you to work through. I spoke with Sue the other day at the grocery store, and she told me about your mother. Knowing you, I figured it was probably something that you were working through silently. Edward has said very little on the matter, and I wanted to see you personally. Bella, I know that you didn't have a strong relationship with your mother, but it can't be easy for any child to lose a parent."
That reminded me of my children, which reminded me that I needed to check on Seth. I asked Esme to join me on the porch, where I could watch my son, and she surprised me by telling me that he was fine. Carlisle was playing with him in the back yard. I walked out onto the porch again to realize that it hadn't been Jasper pushing Seth, but Carlisle. They were still giggling as they played hide and seek in the fort. Jane had joined them.
"Bella," Esme asked, "Do I make you nervous? That wasn't my intention at all. We were visiting Alice, and I wanted to see you. We have missed you so much."
I sat down feeling defeated. I knew that there was no possible way to resist this tiny little woman. Even if I were able to resist her, I'm not sure that I would want to. We sat on the back porch and watched Seth play with Carlisle and Jane for a while. It always struck me as strange that the one person in the world that I always thought of as the quintessential mother had such a difficult time with conceiving and carrying children. Alice had been Esme's only natural born child, but she had always loved and treated each of her children equally. The fact that Alice wasn't Carlisle's biological child never seemed to cause him a second thought either.
Thinking about all of Esme and Carlisle's difficulties just made me think about all of the stuff that Edward and I had yet to deal with. I was thankful for the distraction when Leah came ambling out onto the porch and climbed up into my lap.
My daughter was usually quite shy and reserved when it came to people she didn't know, but it took less that five minutes before Leah was out of my lap and sitting in Esme's. They were discussing Leah's obsession with Barbie's and all of the new ones that her mean mommy hadn't bought for her yet. It was incredible to watch my daughter bond with someone so rapidly and it was obviously a very strong bond. I explained to her that Ms. Cullen was Jane's grandmother and that she was around a lot when I was younger.
"Is that because you spent so much time with Edward and Alice?" My oh-so perceptive child asked me.
I explained that I had spent a lot of time with them and that, yes, Esme had been around a good deal of that time as well. We went downstairs to visit with the Whitlocks and just hang out. It was so nice to feel like a part of a normal family for a while that I didn't even mind Edward's parents treating my kids as if they were family. In fact, it never even occurred to me that my kids were lapping the attention up until Alice said something about Grandma Esme. I wanted to correct her, but I didn't have the heart. Instead, I vowed to enjoy the fact that my kids looked completely content and happy playing with Edward's parents. I would think about what that all meant later.
It wasn't long before Charlie arrived with all of his outdoor clothes on to pick up Seth and Leah. He and Billy were taking them camping right outside of Sue's house in LaPush. The plan was for them to get up super early and go fishing the next morning, but just in case one of them wasn't too thrilled with the idea of sleeping outside, the tent was going to be put up in Sue's back yard. That way, if one of them got scared and wanted to go in, Sue would be there. My kids loved her as much as they loved Charlie and Billy, so it should be a fun three days for them.
Charlie chatted with the Cullens as I finished packing the kids' things for them. As we finished packing Charlie's car, I couldn't help but think about how lucky my kids and I were to have such an incredible support network. Their father may be missing, but they have a great support network, and I will never let them forget that. I kissed my babies as they got into the car and waved at them for as long as they could see me as Charlie was pulling out of the driveway. I stood there for a while thinking about how much my life had changed over the past few years, but the changes helped make me into the person that I had become... Then I realized that I must be hormonal because I felt like crying for no reason.
****
Edward helped me get everything ready for the party. He had come over the previous night shortly after Charlie left with the kids. Esme had a twinkle in her eye as she informed us that she and Carlisle were taking Alice, Jasper and Jane home with them for the weekend. I assured them all that it wasn't necessary, but Alice told me that she really wanted to spend some time with her parents. Emmett was going to be home this weekend too, so they wanted to get together. I tried to convince Edward to spend some time with his family, but he wouldn't budge.
Embry was the first guest to arrive. He looked Edward up and down as he shook his hand. "Tanya was afraid to leave the baby this soon, so she couldn't make it."
I totally understood and thought it was a little funny that Embry didn't seem too thrilled with the fact that his wife wouldn't leave their four day old baby to come to a party. I handed him a beer and put him to work on the grill, where he always seemed to be the most at ease.
Edward snuck up behind me, putting his hands under my shirt and flat on my stomach. I could feel the shocking heat where his hands were. He asked me why I didn't ask him to grill since he had been there a while. I couldn't explain to him that if he were the guy grilling, it would make us look too intimate, so I told him that it was what Embry always did at the parties... hey, it was the truth. That seemed to appease him a bit as he began nibbling on my ear. I could feel the heat coursing through my body, and I wanted to turn around and kiss him with all that I had, but Embry walked in. Edward kept his hands on my stomach and his mouth at my ear, effectively keeping me from making an escape.
Embry looked Edward in the eye and said, "It's good to see her happy. I want you to know though, that if you fuck with my girl, I will kick your ass."
I felt the tension rise in the room as Edward asked, "Oh, and how is Bella your girl?"
Embry began giggling as he tried to explain that he didn't mean it that way, and all the tension in the room disappeared. The men started sharing Bella stories, which I didn't love, and soon I became the third wheel. It was alright though, because the doorbell started ringing. People started piling into the house, and the booze was flowing.
From what I could tell, everyone was having a great time. Several people ended up in the hot tub, and I made sure that all of the cameras were put away before too much alcohol had been distributed. I knew that there would be pictures taken that people didn't want their spouses to see, so I had a no picture rule. Edward seemed quite amused by all the drunk teachers at the party, and I could tell his views on education would be forever changed.
The party was winding down, and I was feeling dead on my feet. I wanted nothing more than to get everyone out of my house so I could clean up and crash. The few people that I could always count on to get rip-roaring drunk and then make an ass of themselves didn't disappoint. I had told them repeatedly that there was nowhere for them to stay this year, but I guess they didn't believe me. I think that two of the people were having an affair, and they were using my party as a hook up venue. I was so tired, and I didn't want to argue with them anymore. Just as I was about to hand them their keys and tell them to drive their drunk asses home, Edward stepped in. He told everyone that he would drive them home and then the told the two lovebirds that he would be happy to discreetly take them to a hotel. I was so thankful to him, that I almost jumped him right there in front of everyone.
I had the bigger car, so Edward rounded up the drunkards and crammed them all in. I managed to squeeze in long enough to inform them that if anyone threw up in my car, I would hurt them. Edward chuckled as he kissed me and took off down the driveway. Feeling relieved that he was taking them home (or somewhere away from where I was), I cleaned up the party mess quickly and changed into my pajama pants and tank top. I was pulling my hair up into it's usual night-time messy bun as I heard my car pulling in.
I met him at the door with a huge grin and an even bigger kiss. I was a little tipsy myself, but I was so thankful for the way he treated my crazy drunk friends and me that I just couldn't help myself. I kissed him hungrily, pushing my body up against his as I ran my hands through his hair.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" He asked as he was kissing up and down my neck.
"I just want you to know how much I appreciate all your help tonight," I said with my mouth pressed up against his.
He picked me up and carried me over to the kitchen counter, placing me down gently. Spreading my legs with his body, he continued kissing up and down my neck. "Beautiful, surely you have realized by now, that I will do whatever you need for me to do." Kissing my mouth and pulling away, "especially if it means getting rid of people so that I can have you all to myself."
His hands were on my hips sliding slowly underneath my shirt. I felt myself arching my back so that my chest was closer to his mouth. Taking the hint, he pulled my shirt over my head and dug his face into my chest. He began rubbing my right breast as he alternated licking and sucking on my nipple. I groaned as my hands tightened in his hair. He continued working his magic on my breasts as his hands slid back down to my hips. He pulled me all the way to the edge of the counter and began rubbing me, through my pants with his hipbones. It was the most incredible sensation, and it didn't take long before I was pushing into his body with everything I had. I could feel the orgasm building even as I was wondering how it was even possible. Edward pulled me even closer into him as he held onto my back and let me just feel the friction of our movements. I felt my entire body react as I felt release. I held on to Edward with everything that I had in my and just let the sensations come.
It was a few minutes before I was able to move or speak. When I could, I looked at Edward with wonder in my eyes. I kissed him and jumped down off the counter. "come to bed... it's your turn." and with that, I walked quickly into my room.
