Chapter 15
It's like everything you say is a sweet revelation
All I wanna do is get into your head
Yeah we could stay alone, you and me, in this temptation
Sipping on your lips, hanging on by a thread, baby
~I Really Like You- Carly Rae Jepsen
"I don't understand." Jacob huffed, buttoning up his shirt. "If it's not a date, then why are you making me dress up?"
Bella adjusted her purple cocktail dress before turning to her husband. "Because it's a fancy restaurant. We're not going to look like hobos, Jacob."
Suddenly Jacob was behind his wife, running his hands across her body. "You look stunning in this dress. Maybe I'll sneak some feels at the restaurant." he half-joked.
"Jake…" she sighed as his touch left tingles on her skin. "I'm going to change into some pants." Bella murmured as she felt Jacob sliding his hand up her thigh. "Wouldn't want you to get carried away." She winked at her husband before ditching her dress for some skinny jeans and a form fitting blouse with puffy sleeves. "Look Jacob." Bella pointed to her hair that had been braided down the side. "I look like that girl from Hunger Games."
"Cute." Jacob kissed his wife quickly then the duo exited the room to find their daughter watching cartoons on the living room television. Midnight was resting at her feet and she seemed completely entranced by the show. "Ya know, I just realized something."
Bella sent her husband an inquisitive look. "What?"
"Her birthday is coming up." He smiled at his wife who also seemed surprised.
"You're right. I can't believe I forgot." Bella looked at her daughter who was giggling at the show. "She's going to be five. Kindergarten time..."
Jacob came up behind her and merely hugged her gently. "She's growing up so fast. Soon she'll be a teenager and we'll be old."
Bella scoffed and leaned her head back against his chest. "Don't you dare. We are young."
Jacob laughed lightly. "Well, I'm young. You're a year older than me. Grandma."
Bella growled lowly. "Don't forget, I know where you sleep at night."
Someone knocked at their door and Bella quickly opened it, knowing who would be on the other side. "Hey Bells." Charlie greeted before entering the clean apartment. "Hey Nessie!" He sent the child his biggest smile and she finally tore her eyes from the TV.
"Paw-paw!" She squealed in excitement. "Look, he's runnin' from the turtle!" She pointed at the TV once Charlie had joined her on the couch.
"We should be back around 11 or midnight, Charlie." Bella told her father after slipping into her raincoat.
"Alright Bells. Have fun you two."
After they had left, the pair stopped by Alice's apartment. The spiky haired woman answered the door in her underwear and looked in a state of panic. "What do I wear?" she gasped when Bella stared at the two outfits in her hand.
"I'm going to wait in the car." Jacob muttered after a moment of embarrassment.
As he left, Bella entered the apartment and closed the door quietly. "You always get so frantic before a first date."
Alice held up a skin tight black leather dress, and a mauve colored romper. "I want to look extra stunning. First impressions are everything."
Bella looked at the leather and shook her head. "That won't do." She looked at the romper with disdain. "Neither of these are really good enough."
Alice threw the clothes in a pile building on the living room floor, then raced to her bedroom. Bella followed behind at much more reasonable pace. By the time she made it into the room, Alice had three outfits laid out on her bed. "I need to look perfect."
"I have to say, I love when you're like this. You even take my fashion advice." Bella smiled inwardly when Alice scowled in her direction. "Even though I do recall you once said I was as fashionable as a squirrel." Bella walked over to the bed and pointed to the red strapless dress that cinched at the waist and fell in ruffles stopping about knee length. "I think that one is perfect."
"You're right." Alice put on the dress and adjusted her hair to maintain her spikes. "He said he's really tall so I'm going to wear my highest heels so I don't look like one of Snow White's dwarfs." Alice joked, but stuck her feet into some four inch black stilettos. "How do I look?"
"He is going to devour you." Bella complimented and gave her friend two thumbs up. "Now relax. Dates are fun."
After Alice felt satisfied with her outfit, they parted ways as they were going to meet at the restaurant. Bella and Jacob ended up arriving first and grabbed a table for four in a booth along the wall. The booth they were given allowed them to view the entire restaurant so no matter where Alice and her date were seated, they would be able to see them. Since Demetri and Max would be sharing the booth with them, Bella and Jacob sat on the same side.
"This is a nice place." Jacob commented while his eyes roved over the decor. "Must be pretty expensive."
Bella pointed to the menu and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, I saw some nice looking meals in here for under ten dollars."
"Oh thank goodness." Jacob sighed in relief and looked at his wife lovingly. "I love you." He bent to kiss her but was stopped when he heard a groan.
"I knew I was going to be the third wheel." Demetri grumbled as he slid into the booth and sat across from Bella.
"We'll be third wheels together, apparently." Max grunted, following Demetri into the booth. "We're watching you two."
Their waiter suddenly appeared and they ordered drinks. Bella was prepared to go for the free option of water, but Max decided to buy a bottle of wine for the table to share. "This is a nice place." Demetri spoke, fingering the soft tablecloth.
"Meh. Seems overpriced." Max grunted. "But I do like these candles." He pointed to the faux candles sitting in the middle of the table. "It's like we're on a double date." He teased, elbowing Demetri playfully.
"Yeah." Demetri turned away from Max so the man wouldn't notice that his face was starting to resemble that of a tomato.
Bella locked eye contact with Demetri and sent him a reassuring smile. "So, Max. How have your classes been?"
Max groaned in frustration and leaned back in his seat. "I have so many assignments to grade and tests to give out. These next couple of weeks are going to be tough."
"Ya know," Bella began, looking down at the empty booth. "Sometimes when I'm swamped with work, Alice helps me grade papers."
"Really?" Max asked surprised.
"Yes." Bella sent her coworker a smile and chanced a glance at Demetri. "Maybe you could find someone to help you too. Demetri?"
Max turned his attention to Demetri and asked the question that hung in the air. "Will you help me grade my crap?" Demetri nodded wordlessly just as the waiter arrived with their wine. He poured them each a glass and Max sipped it loudly. "Oh this is good. We might need another bottle."
The waiter nodded and wrote down something in his little notepad. "So is everyone ready to order?"
As they placed their order, Bella noticed a flash of red out of the corner of her eye. She held out a hand to push Jacob closer to his seat and smiled when she noticed Alice greeting her date. The man was over a foot taller than Alice with medium length, honey blonde hair. His body was lean but Bella could tell that he was muscular underneath from the way his shirt clung to his body. "Cute." She murmured, capturing the attention of everyone at the table.
"Who?" Jacob looked in the same direction as Bella and made a face. "Eh. I don't see it."
Demetri looked at Alice's date and made a grunt of appreciation while Max continued to drink his wine.
"Damn this stuff is good." He downed what was in his glass and quickly poured another. "Can you believe this is cheap wine? Only ten bucks a bottle." Max chuckled to himself. "We don't make enough to even enjoy expensive wine." He swirled what was in his glass languidly. "At least it's good."
"When I help you grade your papers," Demetri began, capturing Max's attention. "I can bring you a bottle from my wine collection. I have some really good years."
Max's brow raised in surprise. "Really?"
"Yes. I earned it for…" Demetri glanced up at Bella with an unreadable expression. "You have a daughter right?"
"I do." Bella pulled out her cell phone and flashed both Demetri and Max various pictures of her daughter.
"How old is she?" Max asked curiously.
"Four." Bella responded.
"But she'll be five next week." Jacob told him. "Five is a big birthday. Maybe we should throw her a party." Jacob looked at his wife, throwing out the idea for her to accept or decline.
Bella looked at her husband and nodded slowly. "That sounds like a good idea actually. We'll talk about it more when we get home."
Their food arrived and when Bella glanced at Alice, she noticed her friend laughing at something her date said, but seemed genuinely happy and not uncomfortable in the slightest.
"This is going to cost me a whole paycheck." Max muttered, looking down at his steak and lobster. "At least it's going to taste like heaven."
Bella could tell by the tone of his voice that he was starting to get tipsy. She chanced a glance at her husband and couldn't help sighing inwardly. It's like Jacob and Max were having a competition to see who could consume the most wine. As though Jacob could read Bella's mind, he held up his empty glass and angled it at Max. "Wanna see who can chug a full glass the fastest?"
"Dude, yes." Max quickly filled their glasses, emptying the bottle of wine. When the waiter happened to be walking by, Max held up the bottle. "One more please?" The waited nodded once in confirmation, before disappearing. "Alright, lets go!"
Bella watched her husband downing the wine and shared a look with Demetri. "Looks like I'll be the designated driver." Bella pushed aside her barely touched glass of wine.
"Me too." Demetri set his next to Bella's. "Which is fine since we carpooled." Demetri side-eyed Max as the man chugged the wine like a pro. "Can you believe these two?"
Bella watched them finish just as the waiter returned with another bottle. "Men." She grumbled. "So how's it been going Demetri?"
Demetri shrugged nonplussed. "Nothing new to report." He thought about it and half-scowled. "Well, my neighbor's dog gave birth a few weeks ago to some pups and the little things bark a lot at night."
"Aw that sucks." Bella didn't know what else to say to Demetri in words of comfort. She felt a nudge from Jacob and her attention returned to him and Max, still chugging wine like it was going out of style.
While the pair continued their antics, Bella made sure to check up on Alice. As she stared at her friend's table, she watched Alice's date walk away towards the bathroom. Alice took that time to hurry over to their booth and fill them in on her date. As she skirted through some tables, Bella noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes. "Hey guys. How's it going?" Alice asked, slightly out of breath from the speed of which she had hurried to the table.
"We're fine." Bella motioned to her husband and Max. "They're acting like frat boys but ignore them. How's your date going?"
Alice's eyes lit up with elation. "He is fantastic. He's funny, he's hot and he has a job!" Alice clasped her hands together and did a cute little dance that had a few other restaurant patrons laughing quietly. "I definitely want to go on a second date."
"Wow!" Bella knew how Alice had high standards when it came to dating. If a man made it to the second date, that was practically marriage material. "Well, we don't want to keep you. But you sure he's safe?"
Alice nodded fervently. "He is. I don't think he could hurt a fly." Alice glanced back at the table then back to everyone else. "Thanks for this though. You really made me feel safe."
"It's no problem, Alice." Demetri smiled at the woman then pointed at her table. "Now go before he comes back and think you left."
Alice giggled then fixed her dress. "I had to take off my shoes halfway through, they were killing my feet." She looked down at her toes and wiggled them against the floor. "I'll definitely tell you about this later." Alice told Bella before hurrying back to her table.
"I'm so happy she is having a good time." Bella said once Alice had gone. "She deserves to find someone special." As she was talking Bella felt a hand resting on her thigh. She then looked at her husband who winked at her while drinking from his glass. Bella was suddenly reminded of the time Jacob had gotten drunk while they were on the double date with Emmett and Rosalie. He always became frisky when he was intoxicated. She normally didn't mind, especially since she hadn't been intimate with him much since before he went to South Carolina. But since they were at a restaurant with her colleagues from work, it wasn't the time or place. Bella inconspicuously removed Jacob's hand from her thigh and placed it back on his lap.
Max looked down at his empty plate and frowned. "Aw man, where did my food go?" his voice slurred and his head lolled to the side in search of his food.
"You ate it all Max." Demetri spoke as though he were talking to a child. "It's all gone now."
Max cursed loudly and a couple at a nearby table looked at him peculiarly.
"Let's try to keep our voices down." Demetri suggested while removing the wine bottle from Max's reach. "I think you've had enough of that."
Max pouted cutely at Demetri. "Why?" He whined. "It tastes so good." Max reached out to grab the bottle but Demetri swatted away his hand. "You suck." Max made tried to make a face of annoyance at Demetri, but in his drunken stupor, he just ended up looking constipated. Eventually Max found himself staring at Alice and her date. "I wish I could find love."
Demetri patted him on the back sadly. "You aren't the only one."
Max whipped around and locked eyes with Demetri. "What are you talking about? You must have no problem fighting off the ladies."
"What makes you say that?" Demetri asked with surprise.
"You're hot." Max stated bluntly. "C'mon. Everyone knows it." Max gestured to himself. "And then you have me. I look awful."
Demetri shook his head fiercely. "No you don't Max. You're hot too."
Max scowled at Demetri and reached over him for the wine again. "Don't lie to me. I know I'm attractive. I haven't had a proper date in years." Max lifted up his right hand. "This is my only lover at night." He chuckled drunkenly and flopped across Demetri's lap.
Demetri stared directly into Bella's eyes and turned a dark shade of scarlet. "Bella, I have a problem."
Bella removed her husband's hand for the fifth time from her lap. The last couple of times he had actually made his way into pants and were touching parts of her that were giving her conflicting feelings. "What's wrong?" Bella asked, concerned.
Max suddenly shifted off of Demetri's lap and looked confused. "Why do you have a flashlight in your pocket?"
Bella had to cover her mouth for multiple reasons. The situation unfolding between Demetri and Max was amusing and the placement of her husband's hand was lighting a fire within her body. "Check please!" Bella suddenly called as their waiter walked by.
It took them less than five minutes to pay for their meal and exit the restaurant. Bella half-waved to Alice on the way out and she smiled in return. Demetri had to help Max to his car and Bella did the same with her husband. "See ya Monday, Bella." Demetri called as he buckled Max into his car.
"Get home safely." Bella returned before helping Jacob into the passenger side of the car. She had parked on the edge of the lot as it was the only empty space she could find at the time. There was a burnt out streetlight above her car which made it hard to get the key into the door. But not impossible. Once she was in the car, Jacob attacked her with kisses. "Jacob." She sighed into his mouth, returning the kisses. "You're drunk." She told him, pushing him away gently.
"I'm not." He told her breathlessly. "Just extremely tipsy." Jacob trailed his finger across her pant-clad legs. The material was so thin she could feel it as though he were touching her directly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked softly.
Bella looked around them at the parking lot. Not a soul in sight and they were surrounded by many empty cars parked in the lot. She sighed reluctantly and removed her seatbelt. "Well it's not the weirdest place we've had sex." Bella quickly climbed into Jacob's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love being on top."
A/N: Jeez, I said I'd update in two weeks and it's been about month. Sorry about that. The beginning of the school year is always hectic for me. Regardless, updates are moving to Friday's and will be consistent at least for the next month. Thanks for any reviews, alerts/favs. It's much appreciated and I hope y'all are still enjoying the store. Much is in store, so stay tuned!