Disclaimer: I still don't own, and missrebecca still rocks.
Chapter 7
Bella
Salty? Salty? I had actually said 'salty' after kissing Edward? What was wrong with me?
I stood inside the hotel suite, silently banging my head against the door, replaying the last hour in my mind, and for some reason I kept focusing on what I said after that first kiss.
Why would I say that? Yes, he did taste slightly salty, and I had been calling him that in my head, but why did it slip out? If he had heard it, at least he hadn't called me out on it.
Quite the contrary.
He had immediately pulled me back against his chest, cupped a hand against my cheek and molded his mouth to mine again. I wasn't about to complain; his kisses were amazing. The setting didn't hurt either. I mean, sunset on a mountain? Talk about picture perfect.
We had continued like that for a while, and when I had opened my eyes again, the sun had set and darkness had been upon us. The loss of daylight also meant it had become significantly cooler, and I had started shivering.
'Are you cold?' Edward had asked, resting his forehead against mine.
'A little,' I admitted.
He had pulled me impossibly closer and rubbed his hands over my arms in an attempt to warm me up. I had fisted my hands in his jacket and inhaled the scent of leather, his cologne and man, smiling at the comfort I was already finding in his embrace.
'Let's head back, okay?' he had suggested, and I had been both happy and sad to oblige.
Glad as I was to get back into the warmth of the indoors, I was also sad to leave our bubble up on that mountain. We had prolonged it during the gondola ride down, though, and he had walked me to the door of my suite, where we had shared another toe-curling kiss.
'B?' Alice's approach pulled me from my thoughts. 'Are you okay?'
I jumped. My Edward-induced haze had made me completely oblivious to my surroundings.
Get a hold on yourself! He's just a guy.
'I'm sorry, hon!' she exclaimed. 'Did I startle you?'
'Yes. No... It's okay, I was just… lost in thought.' I shrugged, not moving away from the door yet.
'Oh no. What happened?' She sounded alarmed.
I banged my head against the door once more.
'I said salty,' I groaned.
'What? When?'
'When I kissed Edward.'
The next second, I was covering my ears with my hands to muffle her insanely high-pitched squeal of excitement. I turned around and opened one eye, making sure it was safe to uncover my ears again, and found my best friend beaming at me. I lowered my hands and smiled back at her. Truth be told, it was hard not to smile with Edward's taste still lingering on my lips. Without consciously deciding to, my fingers moved to my lips, tracing his touch from earlier. Alice took my hands and guided me to the sitting area.
'Alright, tell me everything!'
o.O.o
The next afternoon, I found myself in a horse drawn carriage filled to the brim with Alice's and Victoria's sorority sisters, her sister, and a few cousins, on our way to the cabin where we would have the bachelorette party. I was officially off duty, but was also expected to help Alice with any odd errands that might come up. Other than that, we were guests at the party.
I was looking forward to the downtime, but also craving a good night's sleep. Since arriving in Aspen, we had been busy making last minute arrangements and checking up on things, and we generally didn't get to go to bed before midnight, only to wake up early in the morning. Then last night, Alice and I had spent hours discussing my impromptu date with Edward and his kissing qualities, which in turn caused me to lie awake most of the night replaying every little detail and wondering what would happen next. This morning, we had gotten up early again to set everything up for the party, before returning to the hotel to get ready and greet the guests.
Needless to say, I was pretty beat, but had decided to supply myself with copious amounts of coffee and energy drinks in order to stay alert. Also, this was the only night this week when I would be able to drink as much alcohol as I wanted without it being unprofessional, and I intended to take advantage of that fact.
Upon arrival at the cabin, Alice ushered us in and steered us into the living room. Moments later, a very cute, albeit overly groomed and polished waiter appeared, carrying a tray full of pink cocktails. With his sandy blonde hair, bright blue eyes and boyish features, he couldn't be over twenty-two.
'Ladies, this is Riley,' Alice introduced him. 'And he's going to take good care of us tonight.'
He gave us a shy smile, and I saw a couple of the girls lick their lips in appreciation. Alice had seen it, too.
'However, he is not a stripper, so please; do not treat him like a piece of meat.'
The girls in question looked appropriately chastised.
'We're here to have a fun girls' night with tons of stuff for all of us to do. Riley will make sure to supply you with drinks and snacks throughout the night. Now, let's get this party started!'
Cheers erupted and glasses were raised in a toast to Victoria and a call for the good times to commence.
o.O.o
The party was a success. Alice had organized a bunch of silly games and provided a selection of chick flicks for us to watch. After we had enjoyed a light dinner consisting of tapas and sushi, Rosalie had given a humorous speech, highlighting some of the antics she and the bride-to-be had gotten into during their college days. Next, it was time to open some presents. There was the mandatory lingerie and cheeky novelties, making the room erupt into laughter and causing Riley to blush ten shades of crimson at our outlandish behavior.
Every once in a while I would surreptitiously check my phone and sneak in a text to Edward, who was at James' bachelor party. He had been very flirtatious all day and I was looking forward to seeing him again. However, I didn't want to divert the attention away from Victoria, since it was her party, so I tried to be subtle about it. Edward proved to be making that difficult, though.
Whatcha doin' now? – E
Watching Bridesmaids and getting my drink on while ogling our private waiter ;) You? – B
Stuffing singles in a sparkly g-string –E
My my, you boys are pulling out all the clichés, aren't you? – B
They'd wish. We're watching Californication, drinking beer and shooting some pool – E
'Texting your boyfriend?' one of the girls, I think her name was Gianna, asked, just when I was about to type a reply.
'I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Bella?' Rosalie asked.
'I don't,' I hurried to say.
'Then who are you texting?' she challenged, a knowing smirk on her face.
'Just… this guy I met a while ago.'
'Oh, don't mind Bella. She's just licking some salt off her screen,' Alice winked at me.
'Salt?' Jane, another one of the sorority girls asked. 'I don't get it.'
'It's sort of an inside joke Bella and I have. We've been calling him Mr. Salty Goodness since they met,' Alice quickly explained.
'Because he's hot, right?'
'No, because he smells of old sweat,' I couldn't help but respond.
What can I say? Sometimes my snark can't be contained.
I smiled at the girl, 'Yes, because he's hot.'
She breathed a sigh of relief.
'Oh, okay. Well, I won't keep you from your text then.'
I smiled at her again and returned to my phone.
Did the sexy waiter distract you? :p – E
Nah, he's just a boy. – B
You don't like boys? – E
I prefer men :) – B
Good to know. – E
'Vicky!' the bride's younger sister Maggie called out. 'Tell us again how James proposed!'
'Yes, tell us!' the other girls agreed.
Alice and I had already heard the story, as had Rosalie, no doubt, but we all sat up nonetheless to listen to her regale it once more.
What are you doing now? – E
Victoria's telling us how James popped the question. You? – B
Watching Emmett beat everyone at arm wrestling. It's funny, because he still gets excited over every win. – E
'Well…' Victoria started, a dreamy smile gracing her lips. 'We were staying here for Christmas with the family. One night, a couple of days before New Year's, he took me to the hotel where the wedding's going to be. He said he wanted me to himself for a night, since there was zero privacy here with all the people staying.'
That caused us all to giggle.
Tell me a joke to distract me from the mushiness, please? – B
'So, we get to the room,' she continued. 'And we opened a bottle of champagne. After the first glass, he said he wanted to go look at the Christmas lights in the hotel garden. I didn't understand why he wanted to do that, because, you know, there are lights like that all over town, but we went down anyway and out into this little courtyard all lit up with twinkle lights. He guided me to a bench and then he got down one knee in the snow and said: I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to have my children. Will you marry me?'
The room had grown silent during her story.
Okay. Marry me? – E
'I was stunned,' she finished. 'I didn't see it coming at all.'
What? – B
'So, did you say yes?' one of the girls asked eagerly.
Everyone erupted into laughter at that.
'No, Bree, I turned him down,' Victoria said sarcastically. 'That's why we're all here tonight.'
Just kidding. – E
I should hope so... – B
Managed to distract you, didn't I? – E
I smiled.
Yes. Thank you. – B
Around me, the party continued as Riley brought out a new round of drinks and Alice popped in the next DVD.
Gotta applaud the guy for the effort he took, though, right? – E
True. But it's a little over the top for me. – B
Really? What would you prefer then? – E
Nothing fancy. Just a sweet moment and a whispered question. – B
Good to know. – E
Wait. What?