Thanks so much for your reviews, messages, alerts, and faves. I have the most supportive and most intriguing readers-I have so much fun reading your messages and reviews. A pool party for all of you.
Rose and Em are going to run into problems in this chapter. For the first time ever, you might actually be angry at Em. *mama4dukes, runs and hides*
This story is AU/OOC.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only.
Jasper's POV
"Bella, we haven't been out of this bed in three days. We need to leave now if we're picking up a gift before going to Pete and Char's."
"It's not my fault that you look so damn sexy in that haircut Rose gave you." Bella pouted. She was sitting up naked and she was playing with her own tits. Fuck it all to hell. We have time for one more round, don't we?
An hour later, we were on our way to New Jersey discussing what we were going to pick up for Pete and Char's housewarming party. It dawned on us, then, that neither of us had any idea whatsoever what to bring to a housewarming party.
"In my day, mama used to send over a pie whenever someone new moved in." I stated.
"Hmm...I've never actually been to a housewarming party before." Bella said. "I would guess you'd bring wine if they were human and maybe a plant."
"Fuck it! We're stopping at the liquor store and grabbing a case each of Jack Daniels and Patron. That should be good enough." I made an executive decision.
"Oh! Good idea. We can stop at Macy's and pick up shot glasses and whiskey tumblers to go along with it." Bella suggested.
"I like that. It'll be our standard gift whenever anyone has a housewarming party." I agreed. The great thing about Bella is that she was really no nonsense about things like gifts and whatnot. I remember Alice being all concerned about frippery whereas Bella is more the get in, take care of business, and get out type.
We quickly made our purchases and headed to Pete and Char's house in Far Hills. "Fuck me, that's a huge house." Bella stated. "I think it's bigger than Esme's house."
"Yeah, Pete paid four million for it. I guess Char fell in love with it upon seeing it and he couldn't say no to her. You know how he is with her." I said. "You know, if you asked me for a house, I'd buy you one."
"I know. I just haven't seen one that I really like yet. Besides, I can live in a tent and be happy."
I rolled my eyes at her. I've been begging my wife to make a big purchase for years now. She came home all excited one day in Dubai and said that she finally purchased something big. I got all excited and asked her what it was. It turned out to be Scooby Doo floor mats for our Range Rover. Oh well, maybe someday she'll see something that excites her.
I grabbed the cases of liquor while Bella took the bag with our swimsuits in it plus the gifts from Macy's. Pete came out to greet us. We were the last ones to get there. He showed us to a room in their house where we could get changed.
"This is actually your room—in case you needed to get away from the big city we figured that you could always come here." Pete said, sheepishly.
Bella and I threw on our swimsuits and...uh, "No, fucking way are you going out there wearing that!"
"It's a bikini."
"Couldn't you wear a one piece?" I asked, aghast. It was red, stringy, and barely there.
"I don't own any, besides it's only family."
"Uh, here." I threw my shirt on her and buttoned it up all the way to the top. I even buttoned the sleeves up for good measure.
Bella crossed her arms in front of her and asked sarcastically, "Are you sure you covered me up enough? Perhaps you should go and see if you can rent a nun's habit for me."
It's not a bad idea, really. Bella took the shirt off. "Hey, what are you doing? I just got that perfect."
"It's mid July and it's a fucking pool party, Jasper. The people invited are all family. No one is going to ravish my body except for you." Bella pointed out.
"Fine." I groaned as we went to join the party. I put my arm around Bella and kept her by my side. Peter and Char's pool was humongous. It was at least three times the size of a standard residential swimming pool and it had three levels and a waterfall.
"What do you think of the pool?" Char asked.
"It's beautiful." Bella replied, nicely.
"Pete hired a pool architect to come in and design the perfect pool for us. Each tier graduates in temperature from warm to hot. The main pool at the bottom is warm, the second tier is warm/hot, and the top tier is hot." Char explained.
"Bells! Come on in for a dip!" Riley yelled from inside.
Bella dove in to join her brother.
"She's still mad at me, isn't she?" Char asked.
"She's not mad at you. She's just uncomfortable around you." I sighed.
"Doesn't she realize that I'm not a threat to her?" Char had venom tears in her eyes.
"Yeah, she knows. It's not about you being a threat. Listen, you're gonna have to talk to her yourself. You can talk to me all you want, but it's not gonna solve a thing."
"Oh, sure, if Rose would just leave Bella's side for thirty seconds, I might be able to do that." Char said, sarcastically.
"I told you before that she and Rose are especially close. You're not ever gonna get in between that relationship." I stated. I took a glance around and everyone was enjoying themselves. Mike was setting up a volleyball net inside the swimming pool.
"I want to be Bella's friend, Jasper. I really do. We were friends before, well before, you know—all the shit started with you, me, and Pete. Can't she just let bygones be bygones?"
"Charlotte, some things just take time. This is one of them. You can't push her." I warned.
"I know. Pete said the same thing. I fucked up so royally with Bella. I wish I hadn't. She was the first friend I ever had and, stupid me, had to go and get jealous." She sighed.
I gave Char a hug. "Just give it time. She'll come around."
I wasn't about to get in between Char and Bella and neither was Peter. I'd talked about it with him. Pete didn't blame Bella for feeling the way she did about Char. Char had been jealous of Bella because of her friendship with Pete, but mostly because of her being mated to me. When that was brought out in the open, Bella became pissed off—mainly because Char's jealousy was completely unfounded. From that point on, Bella and Char's friendship settled into a civil one. Pete surprised me the most, although he wanted that relationship to be repaired, he thought Char deserved to feel the consequences of her actions.
Char left to go hang out with Vicky. That friendship, so far, had withstood the test of time. They both shared the distinct displeasure of having been pets in Maria's army. Both women's bodies were marred with scars. Here, though, amongst family—no one ever judged. Pete and I were covered in bite marks too. Alice had always been embarrassed about my scars and asked me to cover them up. Bella had never mentioned them once. When we were in Dubai, I finally asked Bella why she didn't ever mention my scars.
Her answer was typical Bella. "They don't bother me, do they bother you?"
"No, I guess they don't." I told her.
"They're part of who you are, Jasper. You'd be less of a man without them." She concluded.
That was it. The subject of my scars was never brought up again. They didn't bother Bella one bit. She accepted them as a part of who I am.
I noticed Bella, Rose, and Em sitting in the top tier of the pool. I decided to join them. As I took my place in the pool, I noticed that Em had a frown on his face.
"What's up, bro?" I asked.
"Nothing." He said, between gritted teeth.
"Don't sound like nothing to me." I commented.
"You know the weekend that we're going to Philadelphia?" Emmett asked.
"Yeah."
"Our wives want to go to Montreal that weekend."
"Can't it be another weekend? Em and I really want to go to Philadelphia and to be honest, it wouldn't be fair to Rex and Garrett for us to cancel." I pointed out.
"No, it can't be another weekend and you and Em aren't invited. Bella and I want to do a weekend away—just the two of us." Rosalie said.
Oh, is that all. By now, I was used to Bella going off for a couple of days or even a week without me—and vice versa. As long as we gave each other prior notice, neither of us minded. Em clearly wasn't happy. If this wasn't a test for him, I didn't know what was.
"Have fun." I said. "Just make sure you call us when you get there so we know you arrived okay."
Emmett narrowed his eyes at me as if I were a traitor. "You're just gonna let them go—just like that? What if they get hurt? What if some rogue vampire attacks them?"
"Em! The same could be said for you and me in Philadelphia. We can't expect our wives to sit around and wait for us at home while we go and have fun." I said.
"I like Montreal. I don't understand why we can't go with you. Why can't you two just go on a different weekend?" Emmett pouted.
"Emmett, we need this." Rose said. "Bella and I are giving you enough warning so you're aware. You and Jasper are going to be away the same weekend anyway so what's the difference?"
"The difference is that you aren't going to be at home. You'll be away in unfamiliar territory without us to protect you." Emmett argued.
"Fine! Is that the way you want to play it, Emmett?" Rosalie yelled. "Then, Bella and I are going to Philadelphia with you because we don't trust your asses alone in unfamiliar territory!"
"What the hell do you mean by you don't trust us?" Emmett shouted.
I got out of the pool and held my hand out for Bella. This wasn't our argument. Emmett still was massively overprotective of Rose. He'd better get over it quick because this is exactly what caused Rose to run to Asia and I'll be damned if she brings Bella along with her the next time she runs.
Bella and I were walking around the pool when she reached up on her tippy-toes to kiss me.
"What was that for?" I asked.
"For being you." She smiled. "Okay, so when you go to Philadelphia, you have to send me a postcard from the post office at 316 Market Street."
"Why?"
"They cancel stamps using the postmark B. Free Franklin on it. Did you know that Ben Franklin was the very first postmaster general?" Bella gets so excited about history. It still turns me on each time she gets that look on her face.
"Okay, I'll send you a postcard and take a picture in front of the post office. I'll even pick up a Ben Franklin t-shirt for ya." I said.
"Cool!" Bella said, excitedly. "You're so lucky. I've always wanted to go to Philadelphia."
"We can go there anytime, Bella. It's only two hours away." I chuckled.
"I keep forgetting that we're not in Boston anymore." Bella said. "Oh! That reminds me. I was wondering if we can go on a little drive one weekend—just the two of us. There's a little artist's colony in Pennsylvania called New Hope that I want to go to. It's only about an hour away from Manhattan."
"Baby, you don't even have to ask. We'll make a weekend out of it. Let's look online to see what else there is to do around there." I suggested.
"Jay! Bells! Get in here and play volleyball with us!" Riley called out to us. We hopped in the pool and joined in the game. I gave Bella a kiss before moving to the other side—it was men versus women.
"Wasn't this a good idea?" Mike whispered. "This way we can watch their tits bounce up and down."
Figures. Wait a second. "Hey fucker, that's not really fair. Your wife has no tits." I told Mike.
"I know that. She has no ass either. Give a sad fucker like me a little break. You know what it's like to be married to her."
"Fine—keep your eyes off of my wife, though." I warned.
"Are you fucking with me? Let me show you how much fun it is to have Bella on the other team." Mike passed the volleyball to Bella.
Instead of trying to get it. She screamed and ducked underwater. Mike and I both chuckled. After that, everyone passed the ball to Bella. Each time, she'd either scream and duck or do a lame attempt at grabbing the ball which made her tits jiggle.
After a while, she gave up and left the game. "Gee whiz, Bella, you're the only vampire I know that can't play volleyball." Rex commented. "I'm enjoying the view, though."
Fucker. Rex thought Bella was hot and he was never shy about voicing his opinion.
"I'm not good at any sports that require hand-eye coordination. Hang on, that's not entirely true. I've always been good at beer pong and billiards." She said.
"Those are all sports that go hand in hand with copious doses of liquor, sis." Riley said.
"What can I say? I'm a lush." Bella wagged her eyebrows as she sat at the edge of the swimming pool and watched us play. She eventually cracked open a bottle of Jack and started drinking from it.
Oh good, she'll be nice and horny for me by the time we get home. What the hell am I saying? I just spent seventy-two hours doing all sorts of kinky shit in bed to mate. Something has got to be wrong with me. Maybe I'm a sex addict.
I scratched my head and looked at Bella. She smiled and blew me a kiss. I went to join her at the edge of the pool and took a swig from her whiskey. We noticed that Emmett and Rose were still arguing. They were rehashing the same shit over and over again. In this case, I hated to say this, but Em has to loosen his hold a bit or he's gonna lose her. I mean, all she wants to do is go to Montreal with her sister for a weekend.
Eventually, the volleyball game broke up. Emmett and Rose left the party early. Char put on some music and everyone either lounged around or danced. I finally got to two-step with my Bella. Unbelievable! It took eight fucking years to get to this point. I had to laugh. She and I were gonna be just fine.
Monday Morning...
Rose's POV
I've had it! I've absolutely had it with that possessive, neanderthal brute that I'm married to. I'm leaving. I won't ask Bella to come with me. She and Jasper just got their shit back together. All I wanted to do was go to Montreal for one weekend. One fucking weekend and he won't even let me do that. I'm scared though. I don't have guts like Bella does. I don't know where to go.
I'll have to stay in the United States. Where, though? Forks. Forks is where I'll go. I've always felt safe and secure there. I have enough cash to buy a used car once I get there and the garage in the house is still set up so I can fix it up.
I'm leaving now. Em will think I'm at work so he won't suspect a thing. I'll call my sister once I get there to tell her I'm okay. Say goodbye to Mrs. Rosalie McCarty—welcome back Rosalie Hale!
Bella's POV
"Bells, it's Laurent."
"What's up?"
"Can you come in and help at the studio until two? Our morning receptionist has the flu."
"I'll be there as soon as I can." I replied as I ended the call. "Jasper! Where are you?"
"I'm downstairs." He called.
"Well, did you hear the phone call?"
"Yep, I'll come with ya. I want to go hang out in Garrett and Rex's war room."
"Okay. I'll be ready in five minutes."
Jasper dropped me off at the studio. It was so Laurent, I loved it. The entire studio was serene in a peaceful, Japanese style. The floors, the walls, everything was inlaid with bamboo. There was a weight room, a spinning room, two fitness studios, and a separate yoga studio. Katie was teaching a class called Body Pump where you worked out with weights to music. Apparently, Rex came in to teach a class called Boot Camp two evenings a week. The class sold out as soon as word got around about the instructor. Men couldn't get in even if they wanted to so they opened up a new class called Boot Camp for Men. That class sold out too. Most of the guys wanted whatever Rex had. Unfortunately being an incubus doesn't come to just anyone.
"Thanks for coming in, baby girl." Laurent said.
"No problem. I like keeping busy." I stated. "Oh, Jasper asked me to tell you that he wants to resume his karate lessons."
"Tell him Sunday nights at 7pm. All of the men plus Vicky and Irina are here then."
"I think I'll come, then, too." I decided.
"Good girl. I have to go teach a Mommy and Me yoga class now. These are the brochures. Have them fill out these forms if they want to register for classes. This is the list of filled classes. These are the waiting lists for boot camp and for my hatha yoga class. Bottled water is two dollars each. The prices are marked on everything else. Can you work a cash register?"
"Uh, yeah, since I was fourteen." I said.
"I forgot, little girl." Laurent patted me on the head. "Oh, here's the key for the spray tanning booth. Thirty dollars a session. Have them watch the instructional video before heading in. Family is free. I'm ordering you to go use it after I'm done teaching this class. You're as white as a ghost."
"I'm a vampire." I pouted.
"Yes, but do you have to be so obvious about it." With that statement, he left to go teach the class. Did he say Mommy and Me? I took a quick peek in the class and sure enough Laurent was pretending to be a cat along with a bunch of mom's and their preschoolers. He's good with kids though. He's extremely patient.
Laurent's business was hopping. I thought I would be able to just sit around and read for four hours. Nope. I was signing people up for classes, letting people into the spray tanning booth, and it was unbelievable the amount of parons who forgot their bottles of water.
Vicky came in for a spray tan around noon then sat with me for a bit after I ran into the tanning booth while she watched the front.
"Are you sure I look better?" I asked.
"You look more human then when you were human." She stated. What the fuck? First Laurent tells me that I look like a ghost, then Vicky tells me that I looked inhuman when I was human. What next?"
"You need to cut your hair, honey. Your ends are becoming all scraggly." Vicky ran her fingers through my hair.
I guess the hair was next. Do I look that bad? Vicky left a few minutes later to head to a jewelry supply store. She was taking a class for making a new style of bracelet. After that, she was going to the YWCA to take a quilting class. I gave her a big hug and sent her on her way. Then, I thought about the fact that we were probably going to be inundated with bracelets and quilts soon. Oh boy.
Around two pm, I left the studio and walked next door to Newton's. There were three shops in this mini strip mall: Newton's Olympic Outfitters, Laurent's Ab Lab, and Vamped. Carlisle purchased the vacant strip mall after Mike and Edward told him of their initial plans. After that, they worked on convincing Laurent, Amanda, and Tanya to move into the additional spaces.
As soon as I walked in, Edward threw a Newton's polo on me. He even had a nametag that read Isabella ready for me. "Uh, you already know what to do. I have to go install a cargo rack on this guy's SUV."
"You know, you used to want me to quit my part time job at Newton's when we were dating." I called after him, sarcastically. "Thanks for asking!"
He ran back, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Aren't you glad you didn't listen to me? I love you, sis."
"You, girl." A snippy, society mom walked up to me and handed me a list. She was dressed in designer duds from head to toe and wore dark sunglasses. "My twins are going on a camping trip with the boy scouts. They need everything on this list. I want top of the line everything. Their sizes are on the back. Have everything packed and ready to go to camp. My husband will be by to pay for everything in a couple of hours."
"Uh, ma'am. I can get you most of these things, but toothbrushes, toothpaste, some of the toiletries—you're gonna have to get across the street at the Walgreens."
The bitch huffed. "I don't have time for this crap, I have a hair appointment in the city in an hour." She reached into her purse. "Here's five hundred bucks. Go across the street, buy whatever it is they need, and keep the change." She walked out of the store after that. Okay, if that's the way she wants to play it, fine. Bitch. It's a wonder she even gave birth to children.
I gathered up everything her sons' needed and packed them up nicely. She wants top of the line, then the bitch gets top of the line. I threw in everything from high tech, sweat absorbing underwear to the best socks money can buy—at twenty bucks a pair, I refuse to even let Jasper purchase them. I don't care how much money we have. Titanium mess kit, check. Backpack, check. Hiking boots, size 8, check. Sleeping bags, check. Swim trunks, check. Towels? Uh-oh. Oh I know, I can throw in those high-tech camping towels—five each should do, check. Flashlight, check. Battery, check. Swiss Army Knife, check. Done. I tallied up her bill which amounted to roughly five thousand dollars. Now, if it were me. I would have splurged on the backpack and the hiking boots, but other than that, everything else would have been from Walmart. Who knew how these society bitches thought? I swear they have no appreciation for money whatsoever.
I ran across the street to Walgreens, picked up their toiletries and shoved it into the backpack for them. I pocketed the four hundred and seventy dollars remaining like she said. I didn't need to, of course, but I call it her penalty for being such a bitch and for making me do all of her shit for her.
About an hour later, her executive husband swung by to pick everything up.
"Well, hello, gorgeous." He said. "I think my wife might have stopped by earlier for my sons. She said you'd have a couple of packages ready for me."
"Yes, I do, sir. Here's your invoice." I handed Mr. Creeptacular the bill while he eyed me up and down, then read my nametag.
"I don't need to see that, Isabella. Such a pretty name. Just run my card through." He handed me a black credit card as if I should be impressed. I ran the card through and had him sign for everything.
"So, Isabella, are you single?"
"No." I held my left hand up for him to see my wedding band. He seemed a little taken aback by the size and quality of the diamond. That's right, fucker, it's a custom made Harry Winston.
"Does your husband treat you, okay? Obviously not, if he has you working. A pretty girl like you should be pampered." That shit was actually trying to pick me up. "How about I take you out for dinner on the town tonight?"
"No, thank you." I said, politely. I grabbed the two backpacks and carried them out to his Mercedes. I noticed that he only carried the sleeping bags. Some gentleman he is.
"Come on. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be working at a place like this." Mr. Creeptacular was relentless as he opened the trunk to his car up. The fucker actually grabbed my ass while I placed the two backpacks into the trunk of his car for him.
"Get your hands off of me!" I snapped, just as a Range Rover pulled up in the stall next to his.
"Take your fucking hands off of my wife if you know what's good for you." Jasper growled. I instantly smelled the stench of urine as Mr. Creeptacular peed his pants. He frantically dove into his car and sped off.
"Hey, baby, you ready to go?" Jasper asked.
"No, she's not. Here, put this on." Edward threw Jasper a Newton's shirt with a nametag that read Jasper on it. "Today's super busy and Mike's in Oregon so I need your help. I'm not paying you either."
"Okay, we'll stay." Jasper chuckled.
"Thanks, Bella knows how to work the registers and stuff."
We stayed until closing then headed home. Laurent dragged Jasper in for a spray tan before we left. I don't know what everyone's issue was about our skin. We're fucking vampire's for God's sake.
We were about halfway home when I felt an incredible jolt in my chest that had me doubled over in my seat. Jasper had a look of sheer shock on his face.
"Baby? What's wrong? Baby?" He asked.
We were stuck in the middle of traffic and he couldn't pull over. "Pain." I groaned. "Rose."
Just as my sister's name tumbled out of my mouth, Jasper's cell buzzed. As soon as Jasper answered the call, the voice on the other end cried, "She's gone! Pete said she called out of work—never showed up. Rose is gone!"
"Are you at home?" Jasper asked.
"Yes." Emmett sobbed.
"Stay there, don't move. We'll be right there." Jasper instructed before hanging up the phone and looking at me. "We have to get to Em. He's bound to do something stupid. How's your chest?"
"She's in pain. I don't think she's hurt physically, but she's in pain." I said. A couple of minutes later, my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller id, it was Rose.
"Rosie? Where are you?"
"I couldn't take it anymore, Bella. He's so stifling. All I wanted to do was go to Montreal with you and he was so bullheaded about it. Do you realize that last night, he actually had the nerve to lay down the law? He said that since I'm just a woman and he's the man, he's the head of the household, therefore, I should be listening to him. I need you, Bella."
"Where are you?" I asked.
"Forks, but don't tell him, please."
"Tell her you'll be right there." Jasper said.
"Did you hear that?" I asked.
"Yes, thanks, Jasper." Rose said.
"I'm on the way to the airport now." I assured, before hanging up the phone. I looked up at my mate.
"I'll keep Emmett at bay. I won't say a word to him. Just try to get her to come home. I'll work on Em—he's stubborn as an ox and he obviously didn't learn the first time she ran. I don't want them to have to go through what we went through, babe."
"I love you, Jasper." I said.
"I love you, too, Bella." He replied. "Fuck, this traffic is worse than Boston."
"No, shit. I'm really missing Boston right now." I said.
I looked over at my mate and, for some reason, was completely turned on. I think it was the fact that he was being extra sensitive and understanding. I took my seatbelt off, leaned over, and undid his shorts. I had his whole length in my mouth before he could say one word to protest. Not that he ever did, but hey.
"Fuck, baby." He moaned.
"Mmm...we can do that too, if you want." I said.
Jasper was moaning as he fought with the traffic and his need to let go.
"Cum, Jasper, I know you want to." I said. He released his seed straight onto my tongue screaming my name at the top of his lungs. I packed him back up in his pants, sat up, and put my seatbelt back on.
"I want one of those as soon as you get home." Jasper ordered.
"Now that's getting greedy, don't you think?" I chuckled.
Jasper wagged his eyebrows at me. A few minutes later, he finally pulled into the airport.
"Don't bother waiting with me. I'll text you with the flight info. You need to get to Em." I said.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Jasper pulled me into his arms and gave me a deep, lingering kiss. "Be safe. I love you, Bella."
"I love you, too." I said. I watched my husband drive away, then rushed to the airport counter to get to my sister.
The next day...
As soon as the plane landed, I left the airport and headed for the house in Forks on foot. It was faster than renting a car and hailing a cab and it was still dark out so I could run undetected. I ran inside the house and found Rose balled up on the floor crying.
"Oh, Rose." I said, picking her up. I let her sob in my arms for a few hours.
"He was so cruel. I'd never, ever seen Emmett this way. I thought he was going to hit me." She said.
"Oh, I'm gonna rip the motherfucker apart. You tell me everything, Rosalie Lillian Hale. You tell me everything, now!" I yelled.
She told me everything. She told me how they had argued over and over again about her going to Montreal with me. Em finally flipped out yesterday morning and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her as he yelled at her that he was the man of the house and therefore the law. That was enough to scare the shit out of Rose so she drove to work, parked the car, and had a taxi come and pick her up and take her to the airport.
I was beyond pissed. For Em to scare Rose this way just went beyond the proper boundaries of marriage, mating, whatever.
I went outside and knocked down a few trees. I was so pissed off. My cell phone buzzed at that moment. It was Jasper. "I kicked the fucking shit out of him, Bella. I ripped his goddamned arms off. He told me he shook her. How dare he fucking lay his hands on a woman. I know he didn't hit her, but aaaagggghhhh! Oh, and I'm sorry about that time eight years ago when I ripped your clothes off because I was jealous of Peter. That was so wrong of me."
"Baby, you already apologized for that." I said. "How's Emmett doing?"
"Don't bring her home yet. Carlisle's talking to him and so is Pete. Riley's on his way. I had to get away because I was so pissed off. How's Rose?"
"Crying. Sad. Scared. Everything she should be." I said.
"Alright, he's coming outside so I'm hanging up now. I love you, baby. Be good."
"Love ya'." I managed to get in before he abruptly hung up.
I ran back into the house. "I want to do something crazy, Bella. Something ridiculous. Something impossible and outrageous! I thought he had changed after India, but I guess not." Rose said.
"You two didn't work on it." I stated. "You went back to the way things were instead of making sure you made changes. It took Jasper and me a good five years after India for things to really change. It takes a lot of hard work, Rose. You don't want to run away like I did. I'm not saying that I wasted those two years, but it hurts to be away from your mate for so long. It's really painful. Besides, when you're away from each other, you're not really working on your problems together. I'm not saying that you should go back now, he certainly deserves to be alone for a while for how he treated you. I'm just saying that you shouldn't let two years go by."
Rose was sobbing. I sighed as I held her to my chest. "What kind of fun do you want to have, Rose?" I asked.
"I've always wanted to drive across the United States in a convertible." She said.
"Isn't that kind of what they did in Thelma and Louise?" I asked.
"Yeah, but we're Rose and Bella. We're better. I have some money to buy a car." She said.
"Keep it. If we're doing this, we're doing this right. Between you and me, I've always wanted a bright red, convertible Ferrari." I admitted. "Jasper's been wanting me to spend some money for years—he won't mind."
"A Ferrari? Really? Oh, let's do it! Let's go to Las Vegas too. Maybe we can pretend we're celebrities or something. I want to be pampered, Bella. I only want to do the nomad thing in India, the food's good there." Yeah, those tiger's certainly are delicious.
"Okay, Vegas it is. There's a Ferrari dealership at the Wynn we can go to." I said. If being pampered and pretending to be celebrities is what Rose wants then that's what we'll do. I need to get her talking because, if anything, I learned that avoiding the topic can be more detrimental to your relationship than anything.
Rose locked up the house in Forks. I visited Daddy at his grave and introduced him to Rose before we left. Rose actually embraced his tombstone and said that she would have loved to have had him for a father. She broke down and went on a long diatribe about how her human father never allowed her any freedom and raised her to obey men and marry rich. She even told Daddy about Royce and his friends and what they did to her. She, then, spoke about our adventures in Japan and India and how she and I are connected by our souls. After that, she sat and sobbed. I held her for a little while until Rose said she was ready to leave. We told Daddy that we'd see him later and left.
We decided to run to Las Vegas and hunt along the way. We shared a grizzly bear that Rose literally ran into. Whenever she and I shared a feed, it cemented our bond together. I always knew when she was in distress because I felt tightness in my chest. It was different from a mating pull. That pain was beyond horrific, but the jolt I felt in the car was nothing like I'd felt before. It was just as strong.
We got to Las Vegas and ran to the Forum Shops. "How much cash do you have Rose?" I asked.
"About eighty thousand." She said.
"Good, give me five." I said. "I only have four hundred and seventy dollars with me. I got tipped today by the ultimate bitch mother while I was working at Newton's. I have to go to the bank tomorrow. I know for a fact that there's a branch here that I can go to."
"She tipped you four hundred and seventy dollars?" Rose asked. I explained what happened and had Rose cracking up. "So, you're saying that she gave you five hundred bucks to pick up toiletries for her kids to go camping with?"
"Yep and she told me to keep the change, then her creepy husband tried to pick me up. The fucker grabbed my ass. Jasper scared the fuck out of him." I stated.
"Bella, I just realized something. If all you have is four hundred and seventy bucks, weren't you carrying any of your own cash?" Rose asked.
I shook my head no. "Bella, you're the only billionaire I know that walks around with no cash. You should at least carry cab fare with you in case of emergency." She looked at me disapprovingly as she handed me the cash.
I walked with Rose to the concierge desk and spotted the person I was looking for—Claude.
"Hello, Claude." I said.
"Mrs. Whitlock." He said, instantly recognizing me. "You still look, young and beautiful. How may I assist you today?"
Oh, shit, I forgot about the aging thing. "Claude, I'm so happy you noticed. I have an excellent plastic surgeon." I said, covering for my faux pas. "I was wondering if you could book a suite for my sister and me. Only the best. Not the Hugh Hefner Skyline Villa though. That's only for when Mr. Whitlock is with me. We also need the services of a personal sho..."
I paused as I saw Rose shaking her head at me. "Okay, scratch the personal shopper. We'll do that ourselves. We want two cases of Jack Daniels waiting for us at our hotel room and the name of a place where we can play billiards. Tomorrow morning we'll need you to find us room at a full service spa and beauty salon. And, anything else, Rose?"
"We want to see strippers, really, hot male strippers." Rose added.
Claude chuckled. "Easy enough. I'll send you where I go."
I handed Claude the five grand. "For your services while we're here." I said.
"This is too much, Mrs. Whitlock." Claude tried to return the cash.
"Not really, I plan on utilizing your services often, Claude."
"Mrs. Whitlock, I'm your man. I'm here for your disposal during your visit."
"Good. We're going to do some shopping now and we'll stop by to get the name of the hotel before we leave."
Rose and I ran around the Forum Shops and picked up a couple of days worth of clothes. "Why did you say no to the personal shopper, Rose? I thought you wanted to be pampered."
"Do you like shopping with Alice?" Rose asked.
"Good point." I said.
"Bella, are you sure this is okay? You've been paying for everything." Rose seemed worried.
"Are you kidding. Jasper will be ecstatic. He's always bitching and moaning about how I don't spend any money."
We went back to Claude. "Mrs. Whitlock, I have two suites prepared for you. I wasn't sure which was more to your taste. One is more on the refined, luxurious side. It's at the Venetian Hotel where your spa date is scheduled to begin at 10 am tomorrow. The other is actually an offer from the manager of the Palms Hotel. When I mentioned you were in town, he offered one of any of his suites, including his fantasy suites, for you and your sister. If it were me, I'd take advantage of it. Free is always good." Claude winked.
"I agree." Rose said.
"Okay, the Palms Hotel it is." I said.
"Excellent, I have a vehicle waiting for you outside. Let me get your bags for you." Claude said. He gave me his card, thanked me again, and asked me to call tomorrow.
"Claude, can you have two suitcases delivered to our hotel so Rose and I have something to put our purchases in?" I asked, as we were heading out.
"Absolutely, I'll work on that as soon as I return to my station." Claude waved us off as the limo pulled out.
The manager of the Palms was there to greet us as the limo pulled up in front of the lobby. I let Rose pick the suite. She chose the fucking Barbie Suite. I was going to be living in a room modeled after Barbie's fucking Malibu Dream House. I was in a hot pink hell. Sad because I love hot pink. Oh well, at least there's a jacuzzi in here.
Rose did something to my scraggly hair and made it look fabulous. All the while telling me that I really needed to get it cut. No shit, it's been a while. I did, however, have all of my body hair threaded off while I was in Dubai so at least I'm doing okay in that department. My sister dolled me up, then herself, and we headed out for a night out on the town.
We started off with the casino downstairs. "I have no idea how to gamble, do you? The last time I came here I kept losing and Jasper kept winning. I feel lucky though. Let's try something easy like blackjack." I suggested.
"Oh my God, I forgot my purse upstairs. I'll be right back." Rose ran up to the room.
My cell started ringing. It was Jasper. Excellent timing. "Babe, how are you holding up?"
"Fine, you got my text, right?"
"Yes, how is ol' Claude doing?"
"Efficient, same as always. How are things at home?"
"I had to knock Em out because he's hysterical without Rose. I haven't given him his arms back yet. I will, once he calms down. How's Rose?"
"She's avoiding the topic and trying to forget. She wants to be pampered so I'm letting her have her way for now." I stated. "My plan is to get her home within ten days. Any longer and I don't know how I'll hold out without you."
"Don't worry, if it takes longer than ten days, I'm coming to join you girls."
"While I have you on the phone, how much do I gamble initially with blackjack?" I asked.
"Why don't you start small—like a thousand dollars." Jasper suggested.
"A thousand dollars? That seems like a lot."
"Really? I started with a ten thousand dollar bet the last time we were there."
"Okay, stop. I'll figure it out myself. I don't want to lose the lucky mojo I'm feeling." I said.
"Alright, baby. Now listen, knowing you, you probably don't have any cash with you. If you go to any casino cashier, you can pull out as much as you want using the credit card. It's much safer than carrying around wads of cash. We pay it off every month anyway so we won't be charged any interest."
"Got it. Use credit card at casino cashier." I repeated. "Oh, the manager of the Palms gave us the room for free. He remembered you from the last time."
"Okay, then try and gamble at least a hundred thousand in his casino, okay? He's trying to recoup his losses from the last time."
"Uh, sure." I gulped. How the fuck am I supposed to do that? I've never wasted a hundred thousand dollars just for kicks.
"Baby, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"I can't wait. I love you." I said.
"Remember, Bella, you have to spend to win." Jasper instructed before he hung up.
Rose came downstairs a couple of minutes later with her purse. My phone buzzed with a text.
From: P Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
Roulette for Rose—she needs to feel confident. No blackjack for you. Go to high stakes slots only. Trust me.
"That was from Pete. He said that you need to go to the roulette tables and I have to go to the high stakes slot machines." I stated.
"Well, I'm not betting against him." Rose said.
"Neither am I. I wonder if we just go and place our bets now."
Another text came in.
From: J Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
Geez, Bella, are you that clueless? Go to the casino cashier first and pull out two hundred thousand dollars in casino credits using your credit card. Split the credits between you and Rose. Get cash for whatever credits you have left before leaving Vegas.
I did exactly as Jasper instructed and gave Rose a hundred thousand dollars in credits. We split up and she headed for the roulette tables. I made my way into the high stakes slot machines area. I looked up at the machines and realized that the minimum bets went from five hundred dollars to five thousand dollars a pull. Fuck me. I figured a high stakes bet was like twenty dollars.
My phone buzzed again with a text.
From: P Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
$5000. Don't be afraid, baby girl. Keep going til you win.
I put my head up high and walked up to the casino attendant. I handed her my credit slip. She stamped it and set me up at the slot machine of my choice. I picked the one with the picture of Elvis on it cause I felt good about it.
First pull. Nope, nothing.
Second pull, nothing again.
Third pull, oh God, I'm down fifteen thousand dollars.
Fourth pull, stop thinking about it Bella.
Fifth pull, this is hell.
Sixth pull, what the fuck?
Seventh pull, isn't seven supposed to be a fucking lucky number?
Eighth pull, damn it—the Chinese say that the number eight symbolizes prosperity. Maybe that only works in China.
Ninth pull, aaaagggghhhh!
Tenth pull, this machine is defective, I know it.
Eleventh pull, Jasper won a fucking truck with one pull.
Twelfth pull, I'm going to cry.
Thirteenth pull—Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Holy fuck, I think I just won. What the fuck did I win?
A balding man suddenly approached me. "Ma'am, how are you this evening? If you could come with me please?"
"What did I do? Did I break the machine? I'm sure my husband can pay for it." I said, worriedly.
"No ma'am." He chuckled. "You just won the largest payout on a slot machine in the history of this casino. The payout for that particular machine was 2400:1 and your chances of winning was, well, pretty much once in a lifetime. It won't happen again, I can assure you."
"Oh." I opened and shut my mouth as I followed the man. 2400 times 5000. 2400 times 5000. Oh, I hate math. I really do. I can't figure this shit out for the life of me. A text came in.
From: P Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
Twelve million, you dunderhead. There is no way that you inherited my brains if you can't calculate something that simple.
Well, that was mean of Peter. Some great-grandfather he is.
From: I Whitlock
To: P Whitlock
Oh, yeah, Gramps, well I bet you can't understand Shakespeare and you'll never best me at pool.
Another text already.
From: P Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
Touche and tell him, "No, thank you."
No, thank you, for what. I was so engrossed in the texts that I had no idea that we were already at the casino cashier. I heard the last part of the sentence that the balding man said to me, "...so, may we process the full twelve million in casino credits?"
"No, thank you." I replied.
The man's face fell. "Well, then, Mrs. Whitlock, how shall we process this for you?"
"A cashier's check in my name will be acceptable." I stated.
From: J Whitlock
To: I Whitlock
Good girl.
What the heck were Jasper and Peter doing? Having a play by play discussion about me.
A few minutes later, with my check securely placed in my purse, I decided to go hunt for Rose. She was at a roulette table surrounded by male worshippers. Is that one guy actually begging on his knees? Yes, I believe he is. As soon as she caught sight of me, Rose left the table.
"Did you win?" I asked.
"Nope, absolutely nothing. I just lost a hundred thousand dollars, but these men are doing wonders for my confidence!" She giggled. I looked behind us and there was a trail of men following Rose. Well, no wonder she feels good. That has to be a huge boost for her confidence.
"What do you want to do now?" I asked.
"Let's go back up to our rooms and chill out. I don't feel like male strippers tonight." Rose suggested.
Oh, thank God. Maybe I can get her talking. We pushed the elevator button and waited. "Rose this is creepy. Those men are standing behind us waiting to take the elevator up with us."
Rose looked back and flashed them a brilliant smile. Just as the elevator door opened, she yanked me inside, pushed the button to our floor, and kissed me square on the lips. The men stopped abruptly just before the door, causing a pile up in front of the elevator. As the door closed, I heard one of the men saying, "I knew they were lesbians!"
I rolled my eyes as Rose smiled smugly at me. We got to our room and decided to unwind and get cleaned up. Rose wanted to take a bath so I decided on a shower. The bath and shower were housed in separate rooms. I turned on the lights and my jaw dropped. There was a fucking stripper pole in the middle of the shower. Did they ever make a Stripper Barbie? No, no I don't think so. I looked around the room and saw that there was a sound system where we can stream music in from. There were alternating disco lights, lighting up the luxurious steam shower too.
I don't know what made me do it, but I turned on some music, set up my phone on record and filmed myself dancing naked around the stripper pole in the shower. I shook my ass, played with my tits, and even flashed my snatch. I planned on sending it to Jasper later tonight. After my shower, I dried off, threw a robe on and went to sit with my sister.
"Bella?" Rose said. I looked up to acknowledge that I heard her. "Why do you think Emmett is so protective of me? Why can't he just allow me a little personal freedom?"
"I think a lot of it has to do with his own personal insecurities." I stated. "What do you know about Emmett? I mean, really know about him. When I first ran to London, I found that while I knew Jasper—his little quirks, his habits, what he liked, and disliked; I didn't really know him on a truly personal level and vice versa. To be honest with you, I don't think most people get to know their spouses intimately. My parents certainly didn't know each other and in our family, I would say that maybe Garrett and Katie are the only other couple that really know each other."
"How did you and Jasper get over your issues? I mean, you two seem so much closer now that you're back from Dubai." Rose noted.
"It wasn't easy to get to where we are today, Rose. That first year in Dubai, we bared our souls to each other. There's absolutely nothing that Jasper doesn't know about me. It's kind of like you and me in India. There's nothing that you don't know about me and vice versa." I explained. To this day, Rose, Jasper, and Peter were the only ones that knew about my slip-up in England. "That first year, there were days when we were on top of the world, other days when we wanted to kill each other and just get it all over with, but in the end we were a stronger couple and we knew that as long as we had each other nothing would ever bring us down again."
Rose broke down and started sobbing again. At some point, she took off to her room to be alone for a while. I decided to take the opportunity to go to my room and send the little video I made to Jasper. A few minutes later, my cell buzzed.
"What the fuck are you trying to do to me, baby?" Jasper asked.
"I just thought I'd send you a little something to remember me by." I said, nonchalantly. "The shower in this Barbie Suite was very interesting to say the least."
"My dick can slice through diamonds right now. You owe me a dance as soon as you get back, my mate."
"Can't wait." I said and hung up the phone.
By four pm the next day, Rose and I had gone to the spa and had every treatment under the sun done to us. We even had our hair cut. We both had highlights added to our hair for the summer for fun. We got back to our room and plopped onto the sofa.
"Bella, I want to go home." Rose said. "I think you're right. Nothing is getting solved with us being here."
"Okay, let's pack our stuff and hit the airport." I suggested.
"What about your Ferrari?" Rose asked.
"I don't really need one. I can always rent one if I wanted to drive one. Once you own your dream car, it's no longer a dream car." I stated. "Oh, and don't you dare tell Jasper about the Ferrari thing—he'll go out and buy one as soon as you tell him."
"Okay, sis. You sure have a funny way of looking at things." Rose said with a perplexed expression on her face.
I smiled at her. After gathering up our belongings and cashing in my remaining casino credits, Rose and I left immediately for the airport. We arrived in New York City at 5:30 am the next morning. Jasper was at the airport to pick us up. He drove us to Emmett and Rose's house where an extremely repentant Emmett was waiting for Rosalie.
Jasper and I didn't stay. We headed straight for home. As soon as he parked, Jasper threw me over his shoulder and ran me into the bedroom.
"I believe you owe me something, Bella." He said, his smoldering black eyes coercing me to do his every bidding. Damn it. Why does he have to be so damn sexy? I noticed a brand new addition to our bedroom—there was a fucking stripper pole in the middle of it.
"Dance, Bella." Jasper ordered. Why does he have to be so good at being in charge? Oh, yeah, he's the Major—and he's all mine.
Rose and Em certainly have issues to work out. Thank God, Bella was able to convince Rose to go and work her problems out face to face with Emmett. Speaking of Bella, she and Char have issues to contend with too. I felt kind of bad for Jasper and Bella, they finally get back to the States and they're being forced to help out the family with their businesses. If I were them, I'd stay as far away as possible from that strip mall. Hmm...now that I mentioned stripping, Bella can certainly be naughty. Oh, and that Barbie Suite with the stripper pole really exists at the Palm Hotel. I'd love to hear what's on your mind. I promise, as always, to respond.
In other news, I've posted a new fic called You'll Find What You're Looking For At Walmart. It features a loveable Peter and a Bella with a backbone that doesn't brood as much as in this fic. You'll find some familiar characters playing very different roles, but they'll all band together against an evil force. I hope you'll give it a read and let me know what you think. I'll write back to ya-that's a promise. XOXO