Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Bella and Paul sat out front of Charlie's house on Sunday night deciding if they should go in. Charlie's truck was in the driveway and the cruiser was in its usual place directly in front of the house. The For Sale sign had a 'contract pending' sign on top of it letting Bella know that the house would soon be sold. Neither of them noticed the truck that pulled in behind hers. Jacob knocked on the driver's side window and Paul turned to look at him as if in a fog. He rolled down the window and Jacob rested his arms on the door.
"You two okay?"
"We're trying to decide the best way to break something to my dad."
"What's going on?" Billy asked, pushing his way up the walkway.
"They have some news for Charlie and they don't know how to break it to him," Jacob said over his shoulder.
"Well, there's safety in numbers. We can help. Come on you two."
Paul helped Jacob carry Billy's chair up the stairs and Jacob looked at Paul's hand which rested on the arm rest.
"You're married?" he asked in shock.
"Yes," Bella said as Billy knocked on the door.
"Congratulations, you two," Billy said with a warm smile.
"Thank you," Bella said.
"Thanks," Paul said looking down at Billy.
Billy nodded as Charlie opened the door. Jacob pushed Billy across the threshold in a daze. They had gotten married and hadn't even told Charlie. Did anyone know? Once inside Jacob headed towards the kitchen. Bella followed him carrying the bags that she had brought with her. She started unloading the groceries that she had bought and he pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
"Can I ask you something?" Jacob asked coming to stand next to her at the counter.
"What?"
"Don't you feel guilty that you didn't even tell your dad?"
"It was a spur of the moment decision," she said not looking up from the hamburger that she was frying.
"It isn't like you to not think things through."
"Can you honestly tell me that if Leah said 'let's get married' tomorrow that you wouldn't consider it?" she rationalized.
"I would at least tell my dad, and you."
"We didn't want it getting back to him before we had a chance to talk to him. You know how he feels about Paul. You're the main reason that he's so leery of him."
"I apologized for that," Jacob said with a sigh.
"I know you did, but that doesn't mean that my dad has changed his mind."
"How long have the two you been married?"
"We got married last night."
"Did you get married here in Washington?"
"No, we went to Vegas."
"Didn't you need witnesses?"
"Emmett and Alice went with us," she answered, her eyes not able to meet his.
"You couldn't ask me?" he asked sounding hurt.
"Like I said, we didn't want my dad to find out before we had the chance to talk to him."
Charlie came into the room and stood in between them with an arm draped over each of their shoulders.
"It's been a while since we did something like this," he said looking between them.
"You're right, it has. I'm going to go in the living room. Bella doesn't need me in here while she's cooking," Jacob said pulling away from Charlie.
"Is everything okay between the two of you?" he asked.
"Yeah, we were just catching up. I haven't seen him in a few days."
Charlie nodded before pulling her to him. He gave her a tight squeeze and she wrapped her arms around him. Paul stood in the hall, pointing to his hand. She pulled off her ring and clutched it in her fist giving him a thankful smile. He winked before going back into the living room. Right now wasn't the best time. They would wait until after dinner. Charlie let go of her and she turned back to the counter, inconspicuously putting her ring in the pocket of her jeans before grabbing a pot from the cabinet below the counter in front of her.
She started a pot of water and dropped the pasta into it. She was making spaghetti since it was her dad's favorite. She was hoping to soften him up. Once the sauce was simmering and the garlic bread was in the oven she came into the living room. The guys were watching the Mariners play the Dodgers and the Mariners were down by two. She stood behind the couch silently.
"Is dinner almost ready?" Charlie asked.
"It's going to be a few more minutes."
"Is there anything that I can do?" he asked.
"I've got it covered."
Paul reached over and intertwined his fingers with hers making her look at him. He gave her a reassuring look and she gave him a small smile. She wasn't sure how her dad would react and it was eating her up inside having to draw it out.
She pulled her hand from Paul's to check on dinner hearing him follow her. He leaned against the counter as she leaned down to pull the bread from the oven.
"I know what's bothering you," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry. I just don't like not knowing how he's going to react. I have a feeling tonight is going to be one of those nights when I wished that Jasper could be here."
"You'll have me," he said giving her a reassuring look.
"I know," she said giving him a smile.
"It's going to be fine."
"Do you think that maybe we should have gone home first? That way we could have worked out what we were going to say?"
"It's better this way. If we had planned it out you would be more nervous than you are now."
She fell against him after setting the bread pan on the stove. He wrapped his arms around her as she tried to calm her breathing. She knew that he was right. It was better that they didn't talk about what they would say. She would have already told her dad without meaning to because she was so nervous.
"Is dinner ready?" Jacob asked from the archway separating the kitchen from the hall.
"Make you a plate," Bella said pulling away from Paul.
Billy wheeled himself in followed by Charlie. They were eating when Charlie turned his attention to Bella.
"Have you gotten settled in at Paul's yet?"
"Not yet. I haven't opened the first box," she said shaking her head.
"But things are good?"
"Things are great Dad," she said giving him a reassuring smile.
"Good."
"What did you two do this weekend?" Billy asked.
Bella eyes met his giving him a cautious look. He gave her a calming look and she sighed.
"We went out," Bella answered.
"What did the two of you do?" Charlie asked, giving her a pointed look.
"We got married," Paul answered for her.
She had been dragging it out like a coward and he had given her an out. She hadn't expected Billy to call them out the way he had and it had knocked her off balance. She looked at Charlie now, taking in his expression. He was giving her the raised eyebrow shocked expression that he always gave someone when they said something that he couldn't believe.
"Dad, are you okay?" she asked.
"You two are married?" Charlie asked evenly.
"Yes Sir," she said gathering all of her confidence for the argument to come.
"Bella, can I talk to you in the living room?" he asked as he stood.
"Excuse us," she said setting her napkin on the table.
In the living room he stood by the fireplace and she sat in his recliner a few feet away. She would have to choose her words carefully so that she didn't upset him farther.
"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
"We didn't decide anything until Friday," she said calmly.
"Does your mom know?"
"Not yet," she said quietly.
"You promised me that you wouldn't do anything reckless. What about school?"
"Dad it's my life and I still plan on going to school," she stated.
"Does he know that?"
"Yes, Paul knows that I plan on going to school."
"This isn't like you."
"Dad you have to trust me. Paul is a good person. He hasn't done anything wrong," she said in defense.
"I was hoping that you had been listening when I talked to you about getting into a serious relationship too young. It's not for everyone."
"Just because you and mom couldn't make it work that doesn't mean that Paul and I can't," she said with a sigh.
"I guess I could be nicer to him. I do like him better than Edward."
"Thanks Dad," she said with a smile.
She walked back into the kitchen to see Paul watching her. She sat next to him and put a hand on his over top of the table. She squeezed it gently before he turned his hand over beneath hers. Billy turned to talk to Charlie and Jacob watched Bella and Paul.
He hadn't expected Bella to get married so soon. He was glad that she was happy so he would be happy for her because that's what she would want. His grudge against Paul was starting to weaken more and more every day. He hadn't contemplated killing him in almost a month. They were civil now and Paul had even joked around with him the last time they were on patrol together. Maybe he wasn't the Spawn of Satan that Jacob thought he was.
XXXX
Bo met them in the yard when Paul pulled up to the house that night. Bo was on his hind legs as soon as Bella opened the door. She laughed as he licked her furiously.
"It's good to see you too," she said scratching behind his ears.
He yelped happily as she pushed him down. Bella walked around the front of the truck with Bo at her side. Paul shook his head with a smile before taking her hand. He put his key in the lock but stopped before turning it. He picked Bella up and she watched him with amused eyes.
"We're going to do this right," he said unlocking the door.
He carried her over the threshold and into their room. He set her down before throwing their bag in the corner. She put a hand on his shoulder to stop him as he leaned over her.
"Why doesn't the house stink?"
"What?" he asked with a laugh.
"I left dinner in the oven Friday night. The house should smell like something died."
"I called Emily and asked her to take care of it."
"You think of everything," she said pulling him to her.
He gave her the lopsided grin that he knew she loved before leaning down. Her lips were pliant under his and opened with little force. His tongue swept into her mouth deftly making her moan. He pulled away from the kiss with a sigh. He rolled off of her to lay on his back with a groan.
"You're probably as tired as I am," he said quietly.
"I am passed tired. I'm worn out."
"Do you work tomorrow?"
"Yes," she said with a groan.
"Go to sleep," he said rolling onto his side to face her.
She turned her head to look at him giving him a sleepy smile before taking his closest hand in hers. Their rings glistened in the moonlight making her smile widen. She was someone's wife. It still hadn't sunk in yet. She had been running on adrenaline all weekend and now that she was tired her mind refused shut down.
"Sleep," he said tiredly.
"I don't think I can," she said with a light laugh.
"I know what you mean, but you're going to have to calm down and make yourself go to sleep," he said draping an arm over her stomach.
His deep even breathing could be heard ten minutes later as she stared at the ceiling. Her mind was finally starting to slow down so she took a calming breath before closing her eyes. She heard Bo's nails click across the floor before he settled on the floor beneath her. Her last thoughts of were of Paul as she slipped into unconsciousness.
XXXX
Bella's phone rang at seven o' clock the next morning jarring her awake. Paul was already gone and she could smell fresh coffee from the kitchen. She reached for her phone blindly before it fell to the floor with a clatter. She groaned as she grappled for it beneath the bed. She finally wrapped her hand around it and nearly fell out of the bed when she tried to quickly pull her arm from beneath the bed. She threw her legs over the side of the bed kicking Bo in the process. He barked in protest before going back to sleep. Her phone was finally silent again so she set it back on the nightstand.
"Well at least someone is going to get to sleep in," she muttered as she walked through the front room in a fog.
She was pouring herself a cup of coffee when her phone rang again. She set the cup down on the counter before making her way back into the bedroom. She stepped over Bo once more to get to her phone. She sighed as she looked at the Caller ID.
"What Leah?" she asked with a sigh.
"You finally decided to wake up?" Leah asked sarcastically.
"It's seven o' clock Lee. Why are you calling me?"
"I am mad at you," she said darkly.
"What did I do?" Bella asked defensively.
"You got married, and I had to hear about it from Jake," Leah accused.
"Can you not lecture me right now? I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet."
"I wanted to call you at two when I found out. Lucky for you Jake was able to talk me out of it," she seethed.
"I'll thank him later," Bella said with a sigh.
"You and Paul are married?"
"Yes Leah, Paul and I are married," she confirmed.
"Well shit Baby Girl, I thought that Jake was pulling a prank on me. Congratulations."
"Nope, I am now Mrs. Paul Miller."
"Mrs. Paul Wesley Miller. Wow. I thought that I would never be able to say that. How did your parents take it?"
"My Dad was skeptic at first but he's adjusting very nicely. I haven't told my mom yet."
"I may not remember much about your mom, but even I know that isn't safe," Leah said with a shaky laugh.
"I'm going to tell her tonight after work."
"You're going to tell your mother over the phone that you are married?"
"It's not like I can tell her in person. She doesn't even know that Paul and I are serious yet," Bella reasoned.
"Why doesn't she?"
"She hasn't been able to talk a lot recently. She's working and on the road with Phil on the weekends. I usually only hear from her once a week."
"Well, then make some time and call her before your dad spills the beans," Leah cautioned.
"I hadn't thought of that."
"I heard Billy talking to Charlie earlier and Charlie was talking about calling her," she stated.
"Damn it," Bella groaned.
"You might want to do it now just in case."
"I guess I can do it now. I have a few hours before I need to go to work. Hopefully that will be long enough."
"Do you really think it will take that long?" Leah questioned,
"My mom is the woman of many questions. "
"Good luck," Leah said with a laugh.
Bella hung up the phone a few seconds later, staring at it unsurely. She took a long pull of coffee before picking the phone up again. She dialed her mom's number hoping that it wasn't too early. Renee picked on the first ring.
"It's about time that you called me," Renee asked expectantly.
"I didn't expect dad to call you so early," Bella said with a groan.
"Well, he did, I just got off the phone with him. What were you thinking getting married? Were you thinking at all?" she accused.
"Yes mom, I was. I wouldn't have gotten married if I had doubts," Bella stated.
"I don't even know what this guy looks like and now he's my son in law Bella!" Renee said exasperatedly.
"I know Mom, and I'm sorry for not telling you first. I didn't think that you would be this upset," Bella apologized.
"Well, I am. Honey, didn't your Dad's and my experience teach you anything? You're too young to understand what goes into a marriage. You're going to get hurt," she cautioned.
"Mom I am not going to get hurt. You've always told me that I am the strongest person you have ever met. I have learned what not to do because of what you and dad went through."
"Come and stay with me for a while," Renee pleaded.
"Mom, I can't do that. I'm working and so is Paul."
"Just you, I'm sure your boss will give you some time off."
"Mom that isn't a good idea," Bella said, sounding leery.
"I miss you," Renee said quietly.
"I miss you too but I cannot drop everything to come and see you. I'll take some time off after everything has settled down and I'll talk to Paul about the two of us coming down to see you," she promised.
"Do you promise?"
"Yes, I promise," she vowed.
"I've never even talked to him."
"He has a name," Bella reminded her.
"Paul."
"Yes."
"I don't know your last name now or where to send a wedding gift," Renee said forlornly.
"My last name is Miller and I don't expect you to send me anything."
"Do not take away my motherly right of buying you a wedding gift young lady," she scolded.
"Okay," Bella said laughing lightly.
"Is Paul there now?"
"He's at work."
"Tell me about him."
"He's not like any guy I have ever met. He takes good care of me so you don't have to worry. I can be myself when I'm with him. He's spontaneous, and he has a knack for coming up with crazy ideas getting me to go along with them."
"Like getting married," Renee offered.
"That was the best decision I have ever made."
"That's what I told you when I married Phil, do you remember that?" she asked sentimentally.
"I do."
"Tell me more," she urged.
"He's loyal to his friends, and he's able to hold his own against Dad."
"Your dad approves of him? I didn't get that when I talked to him."
"He is starting to come to terms with the fact that Paul isn't going anywhere. Paul has never been anything but nice to Dad. He even helped do the work on the house."
"What else?"
"We balance each other out. He's a little crazy and sometimes a little off balance, but I keep him grounded. He keeps me from taking life too seriously," Bella explained.
"He sounds like a handful," Renee said discerningly.
"He is. Life with him is never boring. I am so thankful that he was put into my life."
"Well I guess he isn't the bad boy who's out to corrupt my baby that I thought he was," she said with a huff.
Bella laughed as her mom sighed dramatically.
"You said that you will bring him with you if you come down?" she asked.
"He will be with me," Bella promised again.
"And you'll send me a picture of him?"
"As soon as I get off the phone with you," she promised.
"Okay Baby, I love you."
"I love you too."
Bella looked through her phone to find a picture of Paul that she could send to her mom a few minutes later. She found one of him wearing a white muscle tee with khaki shorts. He was sitting on the beach and she was sitting in between his legs leaning against him. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his head was resting on top of hers. A small smile tugged at his lips as he looked into the camera. She'd had Leah take the picture almost a month ago. She sent it to her mom then looked through the refrigerator for something to eat.
Her phone vibrated while she was spreading cream cheese onto a bagel. She opened it, seeing that the text was from her mom.
Wow.
That's what I thought when I first saw him.
Just wow.
Bella laughed as she shut her phone again. Now that she had her mom's approval she felt better about not telling her about Paul before. She was sitting at the island when Paul came in ten minutes later. He toed off his shoes before walking over to her. He sat next to her before putting his head on the island.
"What are you doing home?"
"Sam sent me home," he said tiredly.
"How much sleep did you get last night?"
"Three hours."
"Baby, go back to sleep," she said putting a hand on his back.
"Come with me?"
"I wish I could, I have to be at work in an hour and a half."
"What time did you get up?"
"Seven. Leah called me to chew me out because I hadn't told her what was going on. Charlie called my mom and told her that we were married."
"Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. She thinks you're hot," she said digging a finger into his side playfully.
"That's disturbing," he said with a laugh.
"She wants me to bring you down there to meet her."
"She does?"
"Mm hmm," she said with a nod.
He stood from his stool and turned to open the refrigerator. He pulled the chocolate milk jug out and drank straight from the carton. Bella looked over her shoulder at him giving him a smile. He gave her a tired smile as she stood from her stool. He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She rested her head on his shoulder burying her face in his neck.
He pulled her to the room and onto the bed with him. She could at least lay with him until he fell asleep. There were so many things that they still needed to learn about each other. She had questions swirling around in her head that she wanted to ask him. They would have to be put on hold for now. His breath evened out after a few minutes and she was able to pull his arms from around her without waking him up.
She crossed the room to open a box that held her clothes when she saw the clothes that they had shed on their way to the bathroom a few nights before. Flashbacks of that night came back as she started the shower. She smiled as she stepped into the shower, thinking that the last few days have been the best three days of her life. She couldn't wait to see what the future held for them.
XXXX
She was stocking the display case when Mike came around the counter. She hadn't seen him in a few weeks since he had been prepping for the upcoming basketball season. He hadn't been shy about telling everyone that he had gotten a basketball scholarship to the University of Washington. She was happy for him and had been one of the first people to congratulate him.
"Are you gonna miss me when I'm gone?"
"I am going to miss you terribly. Who's going to take my mind off of things when it gets boring in here?" she said rolling her eyes dramatically.
"I'm sure you'll manage," he said with a laugh.
"I'm sure I will."
"What did you do this weekend?"
"A lot, I moved in with Paul and then we went to Vegas and got married."
"Very funny," he said laughing.
She held her hand and gave him a sheepish smile.
"You were serious. Wow. I'm sorry, congratulations," he said quickly.
"Thank you."
"He's a lucky guy," Mike said before turning to walk away.
Mike had taken it well. For a while she thought that he still had feelings for her. Paul came in every once in a while and after the third time Mike had finally stopped trying so hard and went back to being just her friend. He was a good guy; he just wasn't the guy for her.
Bella went back to work and half an hour later the bell over the door rang. Two shadows came to a stop behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Angela and Jessica.
"Did Mike call the two of you?"
"He texted me, I hope that's okay," Jessica said.
"It's fine."
"Congratulations by the way," Angela said joining the conversation.
"Thank you," Bella said with a smile.
"How did your parents take it?"
"My dad is still adjusting and my mom took it better than I thought she would. She's always tried to prevent this kind of thing from happening since she and my dad were my age when they got married."
"We came to invite you to come out with us tonight. Kind of like a belated bachelorette party."
"I don't know," Bella said sounding unsure.
"We wouldn't do anything too crazy. We could just go to the movies."
"Let me call Paul," she said picking her phone up from off the counter.
"Hey," he said answering his phone.
"Hey. Did you get any sleep?"
"I got some. I was very unhappy that you weren't here when I woke up. I thought that you would have called in today," he said teasing her.
"I'm off tomorrow."
"And I'm not. It's all right; we'll make up for it tonight."
"About that, a couple of my friends invited me out tonight. They were upset that they didn't get to do something for me before we got married."
"I have to give up my Bella time?"
"Just for a few hours," she reasoned.
"We'll bring her back in one piece," Jessica called.
"No strippers," he warned.
"There might be," she said with a light laugh.
"If you can promise me that there won't be a stripper I'll give a private strip tease when you get home," he offered suggestively.
"That is tempting. No strippers you two," she said quickly.
"Darn!" Jessica said with a laugh.
Bella was off the phone a few minutes later and Jessica said that they would come back when she got off. She was glad that she would get to spend time with them before they left for school. Her phone vibrated and she picked it up. Alice had texted her.
See you tonight!
Angela had mentioned that she was going to invite Alice and Rosalie but she hadn't thought that they would accept. She felt better about the situation now that they were coming. She couldn't imagine spending the night with anyone else, except for Paul.
XXXX
Paul got woken up to the sound of someone on the front porch. Bo's loud barking started within seconds. He threw his legs over the side of the bed when the person knocked on the door.
"Knock it off," he warned as he pulled Bo away from the door.
He opened the door to let Sam in all the while holding Bo back. Once he saw Sam his tail thumped against the floor. Sam patted his head before walking into the house. Paul let go and Bo immediately went back to the bedroom to lie down. The excitement was over and he had worn himself out.
"What are you doing here?"
"You and I need to talk," Sam said.
"About what?" he asked gruffly.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were thinking of asking Bella to marry you?"
"It was a spur of the moment thing. I didn't realize that I had to talk it over with you. You didn't ask for my opinion when you decided to ask Emily to marry you."
"I didn't say that I had a problem with it, but I thought that you and I would get to something together while we were both still single."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know. It's so spur of the moment, I hadn't come up with anything," Sam said with a shrug.
Paul shook his head with a light laugh. Not many people knew about Sam's sarcastic sense of humor. They had been best friends since they were kids. Sam's family had there for him for as long as he could remember.
Sam sat at the island watching Paul while he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He grabbed one for Sam before closing the refrigerator.
"How did her dad take it?"
"He still doesn't like me," Paul said with a forced smile.
"You can change that."
"How am I supposed to do that? Not only am I the guy who tried to attack his daughter but I'm also the guy she married without talking to him first. He thinks that I'm going to stop her from going to college."
"Are you?"
"No," Paul said giving him a hard look.
"You need to talk to him without her around. Make him see that you won't hurt her and that you make her happy. Remind him that except for the first time that you met her you have treated her right. Everyone makes mistakes. He can't hold the one time you lashed out over your head. It could have been a lot worse."
"Em's dad still doesn't like the idea of you being together does he?"
"No," he said quietly.
"I can talk to him until I'm blue in the face and he still won't understand."
"Maybe it's time you told him why you are the way you are. He might understand where you are coming from then."
"No way," he said shaking his head slowly.
"You don't know how he's going to react."
"Yes, I do. He's going to think that I'm more mentally unhinged than he already does," Paul reasoned.
"You are not mentally unhinged. You had a bad childhood. You're trying to make something of yourself. What happened to you does not define who you are."
"Yes it does."
"No, it doesn't. Do you know how lucky you are? Most people who have dealt with abuse become abusers themselves. You could be an alcoholic like your mom. You have turned something bad into something positive."
"I never looked at it that way."
"Do you honestly think that Bella would be with you if she thought that you were a bad person? Imprint or not, I don't think that she would be with you if she didn't want to be," Sam said pointedly.
"Thanks," Paul said appreciatively.
Sam stood from the stool and moved around him to open drawers. Paul turned to watch him go through drawers until he found what he was looking for. He held up a deck of cards triumphantly.
"How much money do you have on you?"
"Maybe a hundred," Paul said with a shrug.
"I'm gonna call Jared and Jake, you call Embry and Quil. I know what we can do."
The five friends gathered at the island and Paul's mind was taken off Bella, even if only for a few hours.
XXXX
Bella was locking up the store when someone pulled up behind her. She heard the cars window being rolled down before turning to look over her shoulder. Alice beamed at her from the back seat.
"I told Jessica that we would meet her at the restaurant. Get in."
"What about my truck?"
Emmett got out of the car on the other side and walked around the back of the car.
"Keys please," he said holding out his hand.
She smiled at him before dropping her keys into his hand. She walked around the car and they pulled away at the same time Emmett did. Esme turned around in her seat to smile at Bella. Bella returned the smile as Rosalie pointed the car towards Port Angeles.
"What exactly are we doing?"
"We're going out to dinner, and then we're going to play it by ear," Alice said.
"We're meeting Jessica and Angela at a restaurant in Port Angeles?"
"Leah and Emily too," Rosalie said.
"We thought that you might want them there," Esme said still watching Bella.
"I meant to ask if they could come."
"We're already on top of it," Alice said patting her leg.
"I appreciate all of you doing this."
"It's our pleasure. You deserve to have some fun after everything that you've been through," Esme said with a smile.
"I saw how your dad handled the news. I can tell you that he will have a change of heart. It came to me out of the blue. I have a feeling that Paul is going to do something to change his mind," Alice said sympathetically.
Bella nodded wishing that she knew what would happen herself. She would just have to wait and find out at the same time everyone else did. The ride to Port Angeles was filled with talk about what Bella had missed out on in the Cullen's lives. She hadn't seen or talked to any of them except Alice since the battle. She was glad that everything had been put behind them and that they didn't hold a grudge against her for choosing not to be with Edward.
At the restaurant Jessica and Angela had reserved a private room. There were candles and flowers lining the table that ran the length of the room.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" Bella asked.
"No," Jessica said shaking her head.
"You guys didn't have to do all of this. It's too much."
"You only get married once; we wanted it to be special," Emily said draping an arm over her shoulders.
Leah came to stand in front of them and took Bella's left hand in hers. She inspected Bella's ring in scrutiny before her eyes met Bella's. The ring was a simple thin gold band, they hadn't wanted anything complicated. She let Bella's hand slip from hers, giving her a stern look.
"Are you still mad at me?"
"A little," Leah said, her lips forming a hard line.
"I'm sorry for not telling you."
"I found out that Emily knew before it happened."
"That wasn't my doing, Paul called her. That is not my fault," Bella said in defense.
"That's what she said."
"Come on, how long are you going to stay mad at me?"
"Until you promise to name your first child after me," she said with a teasing smile.
"Bitch," Bella said shoving Leah's shoulder playfully.
"Congratulations," Leah said pulling her in for a hug.
Leah held her tightly as Alice introduced herself to Emily then introduced Emily to everyone else.
"You are warped, you know that right?" Bella asked with a laugh.
"I've got to keep Jake on his toes somehow," Leah said once she had let go of her.
The two of them sat on either side of Emily as a waiter came to take their drink orders. One conversation flowed into the next during dinner and soon Esme was asking for the check.
"I thought that this was your and Angela's idea," Bella said looking at Jessica.
"Nope, Alice called me Friday night to tell me what had happened. This was all the Cullen's idea."
"She was a decoy so you would say yes," Rosalie said.
"I thought Mike had told you."
"I haven't talked to him all summer," Jessica said rolling her eyes.
"The night is still young ladies. We do have somewhere else to be," Esme said getting their attention.
"The next place was my and Jessica's idea," Angela said coming to stand next to Bella.
The car ride took less than ten minutes and Bella took in the building with scrutiny. They had driven around to the back of the building which confused her. Alice opened her door for her and she heard the sound of pulsing music. They wouldn't have taken her to a strip club after she had asked them not to would they?
She followed behind everyone else slowly, wondering what was going on. When they got around front she saw the line of people waiting underneath a neon sign waiting to get in. They were at the bar that she had seen the vision of Edward for the first time. What where they doing there? She wrapped a hand around Jessica's arm making her stop.
"What are we doing here?"
"There's supposed to be a good band playing tonight. We figured since we couldn't take you to a strip club we would do the next best thing."
"Who said she couldn't go to a strip club?" Leah asked.
"Paul," Angela said with a smile.
"Why?" Rosalie asked.
"Why go a strip club when you have a perfectly good husband at home?" Alice asked before Bella could answer.
"Thank you."
"That is one image of Paul that I didn't need," Emily said with a light laugh.
"Seen it, it's forever burned into my brain," Leah said.
"How did that happen?" Jessica asked with wide eyes.
"It's amazing what he will do when someone dares him to do it," Leah said with a shameful shake of her head.
Leah looked over her shoulder and gave Bella a sly smile. Bella laughed lightly as she pulled out her wallet to grab her ID. Angela paid the ten dollar cover charge for her then the guy stamped her with a stamp that said that she was under twenty one. The band was setting up when they sat in the back. Esme and Jessica went to get all of them something to drink and Bella took in the dark room. It was smaller than it looked from outside. There was only one pool table in the corner. All four TV's were tuned to a baseball game and were turned down low. Almost all of the patrons were crowded around the biggest TV which sat along the back wall at the other end.
She didn't know what she was going to tell Paul. He hadn't been shy about voicing his distaste for bars and alcohol in general. She understood where he was coming from and she thought that since she wasn't drinking that he wouldn't have a problem with it. It wasn't like she was ever going to come back here again after tonight anyway.
By the end of the night three guys had asked for her number compared to the ten who had asked for Rosalie's. The look of defeat that all of them had when walking away when she told them that she was married almost made Bella want to laugh. It hadn't stopped Leah from laughing though. She had been asked for her fair share of dances but no one had asked for her number. She let a few of them take her onto the dance floor but by the fourth time she started telling them no.
Rosalie pulled up to the house at a little before midnight. The house was dark except for the light above the stove when she walked in. All was quiet as she walked through the front room to the bedroom. She undressed quickly before climbing into bed in her bra and underwear. Paul turned to face her with a sigh. He draped an arm over her stomach, burying his face in her neck. He kissed her pulse point before pulling away.
"Why does your hair smell like smoke?"
"Jessica and Angela took me to hear a band at this bar in Port Angeles. Nothing happened and I am never going back again," she added the last sentence when she heard his deep sigh.
"Did you have fun?"
"I did. What did you do tonight?"
"I played poker. I can't complain; I took everybody's money."
"Good for you," she said kissing him lightly.
"So, did you go to a strip club?"
"No."
"You'll get your reward tomorrow night then," he said before pulling her closer.
She sighed before closing her eyes. He wasn't as mad as she thought he would have been about her going to a bar. She knew that if she had kept it from him and he had found out from someone else he would have been mad, so being upfront and honest was the best thing to do. His deep even breathing and the sound of his heart beating steadily against hers lulled her to sleep a few minutes later.