AN: Hello, based on the content, some chapters may be longer than the others. This one is a long one. So, enjoy!

Day Five:

Early morning of Wednesday, July 12th

Laguna Beach, California

Bella

The tequila still circulated through my blood, and I felt good. There was always a giggle on my lips, and our extreme happiness was bursting out of my chest. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this free. My boys were in great spirits, too. It was a welcomed change. We ate oysters and pasta and, of course, drank excessively, yet still managed to make it home safely. Our night was only beginning, though. Jasper visited the greenhouse an hour or so before we left for the restaurant and plucked a treat. He'd been growing a strand of chronic pain since December on the low end. He said it was a Frankenstein sort of creation and not quite ready for public distribution. I could tell by his eyes and smile that he was proud of this one. It excited me, and the second they carried me through the door, I hounded him to smoke.

So, we got tons of fluffy pillows and blankets and settled down on the patio outside our master bedroom. With J's Buddha statue and the open roof, it was our Nirvana and the perfect place to be. The weather was warm but had a cool breeze, and the night sky was so clear it took my breath away. Countless upon countless stars sparkled and dazzled from above, and I found myself getting lost and distracted by their brilliance.

"All right, are you ready?" Jasper asked. He packed Bongye West and had a bic lighter to the bowl. "This is the new stuff. You've never had anything like this before."

"Oh, man," I said, my fingers already tingling.

Jasper decided to go first. I watched as he inhaled and held it. If he coughed, the shit was beyond. Nothing made him choke anymore. The fucking vet that he was, but this one almost got him. He started to cough, barely managing to gain control as he leaned back and blew the smoke out.

The fucking ego. It made me laugh. "Such a boy."

Jasper handed the bong over. "It's good."

"Oh, I have no doubt," I said, and as I reached for it, Edward cut in, snatching it away.

"My turn," he said.

"Hey, what about ladies first and all that?" I pouted.

Edward shrugged and lit up. Taking in a deep pull, I scrutinized as he tried to blow it out, not allowing it to choke him up, and I covered his mouth.

"You're trying to cheat!" I accused him.

Edward strangled out a cough. He gave an appreciative nod. "Fuck. It's all right."

"What did I tell you?" Jasper said.

"Gimme that," I said, smacking his hand and taking Bongye from his grip, but as I put my lips to the mouthpiece, anxiety consumed me.

Even after nearly seven years of smoking on a daily basis and being considered a vet, I didn't want to be the one who coughed. I would never hear the end of it. However, the pressure was on as my boys stared at me. After saying a prayer, I lit the bowl and inhaled as long and deeply as possible. It tasted like burnt butterscotch, and the itch in my lungs started to contract, revolting against my whole body. It took everything in me not to hack, but I fucking did it. The admiration in their eyes as I blew out the smoke made me feel powerful but, most of all, sexy.

"Nice, Bean," Jasper said, taking it back from me and packing more bud into the bowl.

We took a few more hits until our eyes glazed over. The high came in waves. First we got the giggles. We laughed and teased each other. Then came reflection. We sat back on our pillows and gazed at the sky. It was peaceful and quiet. It didn't matter how long we sat there—it could have been two hours, it could have been sixty seconds—it didn't matter. The buzz from chronic was different based on the potency of THC, CBD, and the strand. That's why Jasper's weed was the most coveted. Anyone could grow marijuana. All you needed was a heat lamp, and voila, you had a plant. Even a jackass could dry out the leaves to make bud. But what Jasper did was pure artistry. He was like a mad scientist, taking different strands, mixing them, and creating and creating until a unique brand existed.

No one gave a shit like he did.

This one, though, was unlike anything I had ever smoked. Everything around me heightened in sounds and colors. The boys, one on each side of me, experienced the same euphoria. It soon escalated to something more, as the prickling started through my scalp and breasts.

I heard myself whisper, "What's this one called?"

"Spanish Fly."

Responding to the sound of Edward's rough, deep voice, I found his green eyes were already locked on me, seeing right into my soul. It was the hottest thing I've ever experienced.

"Hmmm," I murmured.

As I glanced down, his hand, once intertwined with mine, was now on the inside of my thigh, slowly inching upward. His gaze never left my face. My heart pounded faster in anticipation of him touching me where I ached the most. Leaning my body into him, I barely touched his lips as the energy between us intensified. Jasper brushed the hair away from my shoulder, and the chill on my skin was replaced with the warmth of his lips on my neck. My hand fell to his knee to brace myself. I closed my eyes as my boys surrounded me. They were everywhere, pulling and touching, and it made my head spin.

"Bean, baby," Jasper whispered to gain my attention.

Turning my head slightly, I found his lips, kissing him softly, then deeply.

Edward's hand slipped under my dress, his fingertips rolling over and adding pressure to my nub. I whimpered to Jasper. He moved, kissing me along my jaw, and I faced Edward again, finding his mouth. He was tender with me, nibbling on my lip as his fingers pulled my panties aside and entered me. I moaned, my hand flying down to his sizeable length. He continued to torture me. I couldn't handle the pleasure. It was too intense. My mind wandered to how it would feel to have them both inside me when I was this high.

Jasper's hand slid up my body, gripping my breast and gently pulling me back. I turned to him, lifting his shirt over his head. He kissed me roughly, taking my lip between his teeth. It drove me insane. He was pushing my legs apart and joining Edward. They're tugging me in all directions, and I would relent, allowing them to do whatever they wanted.

It was too hard to decide between gentle and rough.

I wanted them both.

Soon, my dress was off me, and Jasper's mouth was on my nipple, sucking and biting as Edward moved down below. Their tongues worked me into a frenzy. It was amazing, and I cried and whimpered out their names.

Everything with us happened effortlessly. We could read each other's thoughts and anticipate the other's actions—our movements were in sync. When I would focus on Jasper, Edward would focus on me. If they focused on each other, I would focus on them. It was passionate and wild, yet lovely and tame. I came several times by their fingers and tongues, but mostly by them being inside me.

A few hours later, we lay on our bed, naked and satiated. In the background, I had put on Bob Marley. The smoothness of his voice behind the reggae beat was supposed to uplift me, but after coming several times and sobering up, the reality of our situation dawned on me. What I tried so hard to avoid and pretend wasn't happening was becoming incredibly hard to avoid. Things weren't good, and our lives were in danger, despite the way my boys denied it and lied to me. The questions I hesitated to ask were all I could think about now.

"When we get to Indonesia, I mean, if things heat up and they find you, then what happens?" I asked.

I felt them tense.

Edward was lying normally in the bed with his back against the headboard while I had my head on his stomach, and Jasper was sideways at the end of the bed with his head resting on my legs. Two minutes ago, we were a bunch of tangled limbs, but after we came, we ended up staying where we landed.

They didn't answer, and that made me scared on what they would say, but I had to know.

So I pressed them. "Would you guys have to go? Would I go home to Charlie?" The idea of living without them brought back those horrible three months we spent apart. My voice turned desperate. "I don't want to lose you guys. I love you. You're my only family."

Edward brushed the hair away from my face and smiled gently. "I've got three months tops in Indonesia."

"Oh, no," I said. If we were running, I doubt three months would be long enough for the cartel to forget.

"I can't lock down there," he said, and I understood him completely. Jasper might be able to travel the world and be fine, but Edward and I were homebodies.

All the comforts I had there looked like something I would have to give up. "Living in a jungle sounds great, but where's the toilet paper?" I joked.

Edward and Jasper laughed.

"That is, by far, the least of your worries," Jasper said.

"I know." I took his hand and tugged him closer to me. "Come here. Let's not go to Indonesia."

"What?" Jasper's eyes widened.

"I agree with you, Bean," Edward said.

"The cartel..." Jasper argued.

But I wouldn't hear of it. "Let's just stay here forever. Right here. We can just hide in this room. They won't find us."

"I cannot die in fucking Laguna." Jasper groaned. "That is not how I want to go out."

"No, not in Laguna," I said, begging them to let me have this moment one last time. "It could be the Bahamas. It doesn't matter. We're wherever we want to be right now."

Jasper, seeing the pain in my eyes, changed his tone. "I mean, I'll miss this place, sure. I love this place. But I can say goodbye and just move on."

"Why is it so easy for you?" Edward asked in irritation. This was his home, and giving it up was a sacrifice. He didn't get that same feeling from Jasper, and it pissed him off.

"Because there are better things," Jasper said. "There are better things than what's here."

Well, that was his opinion, and probably nothing personal, but it still hurt.

The following day, I sat on the second-story balcony with my boys facing the front patio and sidewalk. It was around ten when some of Edward's ex-SEAL buddies came over to do something. Maybe I should have asked, but I didn't care. In a few hours, we would be gone from this place and the only home I'd ever known. I didn't know when I would see Charlie or Rose again and that terrified me. The reality was starting to sink in, and outwardly, I was doing my best to hide it.

"That was pretty intense last night," Jasper said, smiling at me and putting his hand on my knee. He was freshly out of the shower, his hair still wet and hanging in front of his face. The only thing protecting his eyes were the dark shades he wore. "Maybe we ought to stop making that strand."

"Or make a lot more of it," Edward replied with a laugh.

I was zoning out and not paying attention, and my silence was deafening.

They noticed.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jasper asked, concerned.

"Good," I said. They saw right through me, and I quickly changed the subject. "I got to make my final pilgrimage to the mall."

It was a way to get out and mourn without making them feel bad. It wasn't their fault. I knew that. It just broke my heart.

"Okay," Jasper said. "Are you sure you're all right, though?"

Standing up from my chair, I put on a brave smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Just tired." I turned to head back inside when Edward caught my hand.

"Hey, I'm sending Frankie with you, okay?" he said, and that second caught Frankie's eye as he and a few other ex-SEALS exited the front door.

"If he can keep up," I said as a joke, as if I needed the extra protection, but I didn't argue because it allowed Edward to relax long enough to let me leave his sight.

Besides, Frankie was a sweet guy and would die before letting anything bad happen to me.

"6 pm curfew. Our plane leaves at midnight," Edward reminded me.

"Yes, Daddy," I said, rolling my eyes.

He ignored my obstinance. "Please don't forget your passport."

"I won't," I say, ensuring him and Jasper. My smile this time was genuine as I looked at my men. "I love you guys." As I kissed them briefly, I put their handsome faces into my memory. It was odd, to feel that dread, but I ignored it.

Going inside, I dressed and met Frankie at the front door about five minutes later.

"Bella," he greeted.

He appeared intimating, standing at 6'2" and 250 lbs, but I playfully punched his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

"After you," he said.

"Sorry you have to do this, but you know how he is," I said, referring to Edward-the-Warden.

Frankie laughed and went to his car.

Tossing my purse in the passenger seat, I entered my Mini Cooper. "I mean, it's the mall. What's the worst that could happen?"

AN: Not really a lemon, but I couldn't do the scene in the movie justice. Sometimes words just can't describe. Hopefully, you're not too disappointed.

Thanks for reading! See you soon.