Aw, thanks for the comments =] I was surprised to get so many for that last chapter, for some reason it seemed a little harder to write than the rest =/ lol
Anyway, enjoy =D!
Chapter 7:
7pm. Monday Evening.
"You're in the end cubicle dear; the two dresses your moms picked out are on the hangers ready for you to try". Bella's mouth opened a jar, almost ready to protest at the shop assistants inappropriate use of the term 'mom'. But she chose to let it go; residing to the fact that come early August the whole mom thing would be pretty much set in stone. Not that she'd ever consider going around calling Esme' 'mom,' although Charlie would certainly approve.
"Thanks" Bella smiled in return.
"No worries dear. Let us know if you need anything" the lady called back as Bella made her way down the changing room passageway; stepping inside the final cubicle and drawing the curtain across.
Slipping out of her clothes she stepped into the first floor length dress. She'd doubled up on the big lady pants today for extra protection, only hoping that it wouldn't cause a hindrance when she came to pull the zip up.
Success! And she stood at the full length mirror, analyzing her appearance in the reflection of the glass. She removed the tie in her hair, running her fingers through the strands to rest on her shoulders, trying to make an attempt at the look on the day of the Wedding, before slipping back through the curtain and down to an awaiting Esme'.
"Oh Bella," sighed Esme' who rose from her seat to walk towards her, sweeping up a brewing tear with her finger at the corner of her eye, as it threatened to spill over. "You look absolutely stunning. Like an angel" she briefly ran her hands up and down Bella's arms as she stood in front of her.
Bella offered a feeble smile in return. "Well, I'm not feeling my best today, but..." She went on to make excuses, but Esme' was having none of it.
"Nonsense! You look perfect!" exclaimed her soon to be stepmother, "In fact, I don't even think I need to see the other dress. That's definitely the one, hands down".
A blushing Bella gave a timid nod of response, running her hand over the silky material of the dress and smiling. She'd never owned a real dress before. Only cocktail dresses, and she had to admit, she felt a million dollars wearing this one. She mused to herself whilst Esme' and the dress makers checked her over, wondering how it must feel to step into that special white Wedding Gown for the first ever time, and to walk down the aisle wearing it towards the one you loved. She only hoped that maybe one day, she would also have that honour.
…………………………
"How'd it go then?" asked Edward, as Bella and Esme' joined him along with Charlie for evening dinner. They'd decided to eat out tonight, at a popular Italian Restaurant in the heart of the City. The late appointment at the dress makers meant they wouldn't arrive home until late, consequently pushing dinner even further back. So it just made sense to eat out.
"Oh it went wonderfully well! The dresses fit perfectly. Well," she put her hand up to halt herself, "a few minor adjustments are needed with mine, but nothing major. Bella looked beautiful though," gushed a proud Esme'.
"Please" scoffed Bella softly as she shook her head at her compliments, reaching over to grab the Restaurant Menu as everyone stared at her.
"Come on Bellz, you'd look good in a bin liner" added Charlie, "Its good genes is what it is. My genes, that is" he smiled, his eye winking at his daughter as he took a gulp of his coke.
"No ones denying that dad" Bella smiled back, noticing Edward grinning to himself at the corner of her eye, so she busied herself in looking at the Menu.
Stretching his arms out wide, Edward yawned, in doing so he spoke about how exhausted he'd been of late, putting it down to the fact that the lack of university meant his recent days consisted of virtually nothing, hence his tiredness. Within the heart of the conversation, Edward allowed his one arm to rest on the top of Bella's chair, just at the back of her neck. Their parents thought nothing of it of course, barely batting an eyelid; after all, it was quite a casual posture for a man to take, but at the feeling of his arm brushing the area beneath her ponytail at the base of her neck, Bella grew rigid, almost frozen in time at the subtle but meaningful contact. At that, she lost complete track of the conversation.
For a moment she contemplated leaning forward, and removing temptation completely, but in actual fact, she ended up doing the total opposite. Instead, she acknowledged his touch by shaking her head a little, her ponytail going with it, as she rubbed her neck with his arm for a split second.
Physical contact in front of their parents, no matter how tiny, was usually a no go zone, especially considering Edwards affect on her, but for some reason, at present, her usual common sense wasn't at the forefront of Bella's mind, so she let it go; quite enjoying the feeling of his arm touching her neck.
The moment was soon to end though, and they were promptly joined by their waiter for the evening; proving to be quite a welcome distraction for Bella…
"Bella Bella Bella, beautiful Bella," Marco, the waiter crooned, becoming fixated on the young fresh faced brunette whose cheeks now blazed a fluorescent pink, a proper Italian bachelor no doubt; making girls swoon was like their religion, or he was potentially a serial bigamist. Either one really.
Edward shifted uncomfortably in his seat. After an hour of having to put up with the Italians interest in Bella, it was gradually starting to grate on him. Charlie and Esme' on the other hand, simply laughed back in amusement, delighted by the Italians cheerfulness and over enthusiasm.
"How did you like your dessert?" The waiter questioned her with an accent clearly native to Romance.
"It was lovely, thank you," Bella's plump cheeks continued to glow.
"It was my pleasure. I am so glad you enjoyed it" he smiled, flashing those pearly whites, and Edward couldn't resist the urge to jab his knife into the table.
"Everything ok Sir?" enquired the waiter as he shovelled the plates and bowls into his arms.
"Yeah, everything's just great" spoke Edward through gritted teeth, forcing a smile of sarcasm the Italians way before rising to his feet. "I'm going to the toilet" he added, making a point to stare into Bellas eyes, and her head dipped in shame at that, before storming off into the opposite direction, leaving Esme' and Charlie completely bewildered, never having witnessed Edward become so irate for no apparent reason.
For Bella though, it was all plain and clear. He was jealous. Understandably though, considering the waiter had spent the entirety of their evening flirting with her. But Bella had never expected anything to this extent. Edwards jealously was so blatantly obvious, as he failed to even conceal it from their parents in the slightest. She only hoped Esme' and Charlie wouldn't be nearly as perceptive.
"Anything else my friends? Tea? Coffee?" Marco remained as professional as ever.
"Just the bill, thank you," Charlie smiled back politely and the waiter nodded his understanding.
"Well" spoke Charlie after a moment, "that was … weird", a frown appeared on his face.
"What was?" Bella opted for ignorance, hoping it would help the situation move along.
"Edward. Didn't you see how frustrated he was? Marco was only joking around".
She shrugged indecisively, "I'm sure it wasn't that. It's probably other stuff. Maybe, he has things on his mind". Esme' nodded to herself at Bella's suggestion.
"Or" he emphasised, "maybe he's just a little over protective of his little sister, huh? Seeing another man taking a shine to you like that, he obviously feels the need to step in," Charlie smiled with soft eyes, seemingly content with the conclusion he'd been drawn too.
It wasnt hard for Bella to see how much it all meant to him; family life. And her heart sunk at that; she couldn't help but sigh through her response...
"Probably" Bella smiled back weakly; powerless to avoid the inevitable, as it always followed her around…
"Hey Son, everything alright?" asked Charlie at Edwards return, and Bella's head unavoidably dipped, unable to find the strength to look into his eyes.
"Yeah, of course" answered Edward, who retook his seat beside Bella, and stretched his back out against the chair. "I think I ate too much".
Charlie laughed in response. "Yeah, you're not the only one" he agreed, taking Edward's comment at face value and asking no further questions. It definitely proved to lighten the atmosphere, which Bella for one was certainly grateful for, even if she did feel that knot inside of her twist that little bit more.
……………………………
The walk back to the car through the city's streets was a harsh reminder they weren't in the Italian Riviera… Not even close actually. Instead they walked the bland grey paths of Forks Washington as they headed for the multi-storey parking lot. Just thankful the weather was half decent tonight.
"Yo Cullen!" an unfamiliar voice to most of them, called out from the opposite side of the street, and all heads turned to face it.
There, up ahead, stood a tall pretty-faced female with long strawberry blonde curls. She wore a red dress with a three quarter length jacket, her handbag swung over her shoulder as she waved across to them with a grin from cheek to cheek. Bella's heart sunk into her chest at the sight of the other woman, an overwhelming feeling of unease washing over her. She could easily take a wild guess to who this was...
"Hey!" Edwards face beamed at the sight of his friend, and ensuring there were no cars approaching, he made his way across the road; family in toe. "You know, don't get standing there for too long, you might give people the wrong idea" he smirked at where she stood, alone and on the corner of the street.
"Oh Edward!" his mother scolded him, shaking her head.
"What!? She knows I'm only kidding" he smiled back at his mother. "Tanya you remember my mom. And this is Charlie and Bella".
"Nice to meet you," Tanya's warm personality shone through as her intrigued eyes landed on each family member one by one. While Bella did her utter most to plaster on a friendly smile; it seemed to take an awful lot of effort though.
"Family night out huh?"
"Something like that" smiled Charlie.
"We had a dress fitting for the wedding so we thought we'd hang back and grab some food" Esme' added. "You will come to the wedding, wont you?"
"Of course. I'd be honoured," Tanya's eyes radiated with happiness.
"You look lovely, are you off somewhere nice?" Esme' went on, inspecting her son's best friends appearance.
"Actually yeah. I have a date", she told Esme' with not a stray of anxiousness or embarrassment, unlike Bella, who would no doubt be blushing a mile off if she was ever asked that question, before Tanya turned to face Edward, her eyes opening wide. "Remember that guy I mentioned?"
"Oh yeah, the magician with the big head?" he answered matter of factly, he nodded almost robotically.
"It's not that big" her head tilted as she sighed.
"Yeah you're right, I guess it does depend on the angle" he replied smartly and she chuckled back rolling her eyes.
"You know one of these days I'm actually going to settle down with the guy of my dreams, and you will be shocked Edward Cullen, shocked!" she playfully poked him in the chest.
"Oh Tan, you never fail to shock me" he smirked back.
Standing on the side lines meanwhile, Bella's heart shattered into a thousand pieces, stomped and trodden on by Tanya's high stiletto heels, as she observed their friendly interaction.
To an oblivious onlooker you'd assume these two individuals were a little more than just friends, Bella thought to herself quietly. Tanya was confident, charming, funny and attractive, a complete mirror image of Edward, who equally shared those traits. And as realisation hit her hard, Bella suddenly felt awfully inadequate, watching their exchange with longing eyes.
Bella had always been quite content with the woman she'd become, never overly concerned with trying to be someone she's not. But now she faced her opponent for the first ever time, this young beautiful woman, who was clearly adored by everyone that knew her, she was starting to feel a surge of nausea hit her insides rather than much self-satisfaction.
"Well I should probably head off anyway. Cant leave him waiting for too long," Tanya's voice teased at the prospect of her date waiting for her, and Bella proceeded to hate her all the more.
"Yeah, he'll be floating the cutlery by the time you get there" Edward teased. She whacked his arm as he mocked her, before she stepped forward hugging him tight. "I'll call you when I get chance alright," she said as she pulled away and he nodded in response.
"It was really nice meeting you all" Tanya grinned as she stepped away, "And I guess, I'll see you at the wedding" she practically cheered, walking away and giving another wave as she went.
"Yeah, definitely! Have a good night!" Charlie called back. "Aw, what a sweet girl" he turned to Bella who simply nodded back, but remained tight lipped.
The walk and drive home for Bella was a nightmare after that, with the topic of discussion on Tanya, and how great she was. With Edward telling his parents stories of university life, and how much fun they'd had together. And Esme' even questioning Edward why he'd never even considered asking her out. "You'd be so perfect for each other Edward," she'd said with so much hopefulness.
At that, Bella could no longer stand it; drawing herself further and further away from the conversation, and eventually choosing to shut her mind off completely, by stuffing her ear buds into her ears as far as they could go, and cranking her I-Pod up loud. She then blasted her mind with the only thing that did make sense to her right now, forget love songs, this called for hard rock and nothing less, before closing her eyes...
O oh, it seems Bella's made her mind up about this Tanya. But is Bella right to worry? Could another 3 days wait have Edward running off to Tanya to relieve his sexual frustration? Or has she got their relationship completely wrong? Stay tuned to find out ;)
Sooo, I'm wondering if you could get me up to 80 reviews =P I'll love you all even more if you do xD
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