Recap of Chapter 25:
The bet is on as the girls get to singing their performances for the Christmas Dance. After shocking the boys with their costumes, they give it their all and wow the crowd with their talent. But with a tense run-in with Joshua and James before being saved by the boys, the competition continues as the boys perform to try and win the crowd over. With the final song sung, the ladies manage to beat them out and thus win the bet. Now the ski lodge is upon the teens - just what will happen after they leave Forks behind for their trip?
A/N: We're finally past some filler and are onto some more exciting plots!
Let's begin, shall we?
Chapter Twenty-Six
~Bella~
"Bells! Your ride is here!" Charlie shouted up to me just as I was zipping up my bags that were stuffed with several days worth of clothing.
"Thanks dad! I'll be down in a minute!" I shouted back out my open bedroom door.
It was at least two days after Christmas, and about a week since the Christmas Dance that we had at the school. We all had went through our winter exams before being sent home just six days before the holiday. I had said goodbye to the girls at the school, hugging them tightly while we all promised each other that'd we be seeing each other for the ski lodge trip that we'd be going on together. I had my gifts ready to give to the girls (and Edward's gifts as well, since they were delivered to my dad's house in a discreet package) where they were all packed away in a big bag. As far as I knew we'd be having our own Christmas present exchange while we're up there. I could only hope that my friends didn't go overboard with the gifts. Nothing could be more truer of a wish when it comes to Edward. If it was anything to go off of from what Ben had said to us the day of the dance, should Edward got me more than three gifts I was sure to be spoiled more than I deserved by him.
When I returned home to my dad, it felt like I hadn't seen him in ages. Something about coming home and just spending time with your dad was refreshing after dealing with clashing egos and butting heads with annoying people. I felt instantly at ease with him while he caught me up on everything that he's been up to while I've been away at school. He talked so excitedly at the stories of him fishing with Billy and other friends down at the reservation (before all the lakes started to freeze over due to the weather getting colder), as well as just the smaller stories of the local teens trying to cause problems for the quiet town. I listened with rapt attention since it had been forever since we spent time together as just the two of us, and I enjoyed every minute of it. He told me he really missed me and just gave me many hugs and kisses on the forehead. It was a slight change from how he was before - normally my dad was never for one showing affection openly beyond hugs. But after being away for another month and as long as I have been attending FSA, I knew he really missed me. I had made myself a mental promise to try and text him more as well as call him when I could in my downtime. He told me he was looking forward to the singing competition next year because he wanted to hear me sing which I couldn't help but blush at.
The day before Christmas had rolled around, my mom came down from Seattle to spend it with us. She had brought many gifts for Charlie and I, seeing as she had saved up money from her work as a lawyer to try and spoil us. My dad had put up a small fuss since one, the two of them weren't married anymore and two, well because my dad was like me; he didn't care for excessive amounts of presents or fancy bells and whistles around the holidays. He was a simple man. My parents were amicable at least even though they had long divorced ages ago, but they still were slightly friendly towards one another - if not for the fact they still wanted to be friends, it was most likely for my sake. So my mom brushed off his complaints and said to just let it go and accept the generosity she wanted to give to us. She helped me wrap up the gifts I still needed to get ready for my ski trip, as well as the gifts I had for my dad, and from there we chatted with one another about what all we had been missing from our past chats.
She told me she was busy currently with a couple big cases so she's been drained every day practically. Renee informed me that unfortunately after Christmas she would have to return to Seattle and won't be able to spend New Years with us - I'd be returning from my ski trip on New Years Day basically to try and spend it with Charlie and the folks down at the Reservation. Charlie and I told her that we understood and that I promised her I'd at least give her a call on New Year's Eve to check in with her. Finally, the big day arrived and I woke up that morning with a quick text from Edward, as well as a group message from the girls, that wished me a Merry Christmas. I was smiling hugely at their messages and replied respectively to each one with a reciprocated Merry Christmas, and that I couldn't wait to see them all on the trip with hopes they'd enjoy the gifts I had gotten them. After that and being dressed still in my pajamas, I had raced down the stairs to see both of my parents were up sipping on coffee. I gave them both hugs and said Merry Christmas, before getting myself some coffee and sitting down with them in the living room. We finished our cups before we settled into giving presents which I took over as the one to pass out the gifts this year.
Once I had settled onto the floor, we first just went over the few presents that I had gotten my parents. My dad fell in love with the sports gifts that I had gotten him: a jersey of his favorite football team, a beer-cozy that said "Sorry I missed your call. I'm on the other line" with a silhouette of a fisher reeling in a fish, and of course the fishing gears and rod I had gotten him. He was in love with the fishing gear especially, wearing the hat I had gotten him while already attaching some of the new lures to his new rod while the rest sat in his new tacklebox. My mother loved the purse I had gotten her, as well as the other gifts which were some new cookbooks about Mediterranean, French and Italian cuisines, some new heels and a silly thermos mug that had the line "Boss-ass Mom" printed on it. I knew they'd at least laugh at the cheesy liners from those gifts, which they did indeed chuckle at once they read it out loud. They both gave me tight hugs and said they loved every single gift I had gotten them.
My dad encouraged my mom to give out her gifts next which she gladly took the opportunity to show off what she had gotten us. She let my dad go first in opening his gifts to him. She had gotten him some homemade fishing lures that she found in a one-off shop somewhere up north, a carving set that he could use to filet any fish he'd catch, and tickets to go up to Michigan when the weather permitted it; the tickets were for a men's fishing trip since years before I had been born, he went on a trip up there with his dad before he passed and loved the lake. My dad was moved by the tickets and with watery eyes, he thanked her quietly for them. As for me, my mom had gotten me at least a couple cute, handmade dresses that she also found up north (they were mostly dresses that were perfect for the spring or summer weather), some high quality leather bound journals and fancy pen sets that she paired with the journals, a scrapbook and brand new digital camera. I was floored by the camera to which she had said, "I still want to see some high school memories in that scrapbook young lady." I loved that she took care in giving us significant gifts that mattered to us, and rose to give her a warm hug and a thank you.
Finally, my dad went with his gifts to us. My mom went first and took into account the simple but sweet gifts he had given her; he got her a pretty necklace that had her birthstones on it, as well it was a key that had diamonds on it. He got earrings to match. He also got her new cookware - a pale coral pot set with matching measuring cups, ladles and spatulas. Finally, he had also gotten her a charm bracelet that had a few charms on it (this I had worked with him on getting): there was a charm that was like a teardrop with her birthstone set in the curved metal, a palm tree (to signify her desires to live in Florida because she had such a burning passion to move there at some point), and finally a little briefcase charm of which represented her work as a lawyer. She loved her job and it suited her perfectly. She was over the moon by every gift from him and had gotten up to hug him for awhile, kissing his burning cheek.
My dad then encouraged me to go about opening all my presents from him, his bushy mustache turning up due to his grinning. I started tearing into my presents, and felt each one had been picked with complete care in mind. He really decided to spoil me and picked out several varying gifts. First was an obvious one which I had given him a questioning side glance while I held the thin fishing rod in my hand that was silver and purple. He sheepishly had admitted to me that even though when I was younger and threw a fit over the very last fishing trip he had taken me on, he had high hopes that I'd entertain him with one fishing trip when the lakes thawed out. My dad was a wholehearted humble man and I knew he felt bad asking me to do something that I detested when I was younger. But I wanted to make him happy and told him I'd enjoy it with him, even if I knew that I'd be bored out of my mind - or worse I'm more likely to fall out of the boat. He laughed at my attempts of joking before telling me to continue opening my presents.
He also got me a charm bracelet much like my mom's where each charm fit me perfectly. There was a book charm, then a little microphone charm, before there was a heart charm that had "Daddy's Girl" written on it. I could feel my ears prick at the words but I thanked him over and over for it. To go with my fishing rod, he got me a simple fishers vest that was a grey color with some blue accents, and tall deep navy blue boots that were for standing in water; nothing horribly fancy nor overtly girly but it was going to do the job well when the times comes. The second to last gift that I had opened made the tears spill over once I had recognized it. Before my grandma had died, she showed me a beautiful hair piece that was a silver comb that you could use to pin your hair back. There were pretty Swarovski crystals embedded into the comb, along with blue rhinestones that sparkled perfectly while I twisted it around to look at it from different angles. But in the past it was aging with some crystals and rhinestones missing and the metal was starting to rust and looked dull with age. Now though in my hands, the missing crystals were replaced with new ones while the metal was clean and shiny. After I had looked up at my dad with tears sliding down my cheeks, he winked at me and told me that he and my mom had worked on getting it fixed up to give to me to hold onto. I could tell finally that he had high hopes I would use it for my future wedding. I cherished the thought behind the gift, and had gotten up to engulf my dad into a tight hug, kissing his cheek now. I did the same for my mom before I sat back down on the ground. However before I thought I was done with my presents, my dad had nodded his head to two more smaller boxes beside me silently telling me that I had those left. I opened them both and snorted at him, but knew the sentiments behind them. My mom looked at the both of us confused. The last two presents had been a small thing of pepper-spray, and a handheld taser. It might be overkill in giving me these but I knew my dad's best interest for me to have these, were sitting in the back of his mind. I gladly accepted them and knew I'd add them to my backpack for school should I ever need them.
The rest of Christmas had passed with little fanfare; both my mom and I didn't want to have a big Christmas dinner to prep so we stuck to ordering takeout from a local little Thai restaurant that was thankfully open that night. Besides, my dad and I would be heading over to the Reservation to have a huge dinner with the families down there as an extra mini-Christmas celebration. We didn't mind our small dinner that night, where we sat around in the living room and watched old Christmas Movies that were cheesy but perfect just for a cozy night in. The next day, my mom had said goodbye to my dad and I, where soon after we left for the Reservation late in the morning. We arrived to every family congregating outside and playing in the light piles of snow outside, children chasing each other and people throwing snowballs at their friends. We had greeted Billy and Jacob with hugs and warm wishes for a good holiday before we went about working on food for the day.
It was an overall warm and welcomed holiday well spent, where I got to spend quality time with my mom and dad and enjoyed their thoughtful gifts. But now, it was time for the ski trip that I'd be having with Edward's family and our friends that we thought to bring along. Alice and Edward had texted me the day before, basically at the same time, that they'd be picking me up early in the morning so that way we'd hopefully get to the Lodge by the early afternoon. I didn't know how the whole car arrangement would be, if their parents would be picking us up in the same car or if we'd be split up. But I took it in stride and decided I'd wait to see how it'd go.
Coming back to the present, I had lugged my last bag down the stairs and looked up to see Carlisle was chatting idly with my dad, laughing at a lighthearted joke that was said. Behind him, Alice and Edward were crowded in the doorway, dressed in heavy winter clothes with beanies on their heads. They were glaring at each other here and there just because they were both standing out there together. I have no doubts that Alice wanted to come greet me at the door, but Carlisle had ordered Edward to get my bags for me.
"Bella!" my pixie best friend squealed once she saw me standing at the bottom of my stairs. She rushed past her dad and gave me a nearly bone crushing hug that left me wincing.
"Alice please don't hurt Bella." her adoptive dad admonished her which caused her to immediately drop me and she pouted up at him.
"Hi, I'm these two knuckleheads' dad Carlisle Cullen. I don't believe we really got the chance to meet each other but I've seen you time to time while dropping them off at school." the blond haired father figure of my friend and my secret boyfriend paused in his chatter with my dad to extend a hand for me to shake. When Alice wasn't looking he winked at me. I had briefly texted both Esme and Carlisle yesterday to try and figure out at least two things - if for one the gift I had sent to them to act as if it was a gift from them to Edward had arrived safely, and if both of them could act like we've never before. I had of course met them when we were settling Edward getting his gun and it was a successful first meeting of his parents. But around everyone else, we had to pretend we've never fully been introduced to each other. On top of that when it came time to leading everyone to their rooms when we're up north, both Edward and I would have to act as if we were fully surprised and moderately upset by the arrangement but accept that there would be no other feasible option to take on such a short notice. They agreed to both cases that we'd have to play out, and had told me that Edward's gift had arrived safely - and that my boyfriend loved it to death.
I smiled brightly up at him and shook his hand, trying to control my giggling when I said back in reply, "Hello, it's nice to meet you Mr. Cullen, I'm Bella Swan but you already knew that I'm betting probably all from Alice."
Alice giggled then and nodded her head excited up at her dad. Edward slipped inside the house then after Carlisle had turned and told him he got grab my bags and put them in the car. He lifted two at a time while Alice took my smaller bag, before following him outside. "Don't drop those bags you dingus or I'll be sure Bella kicks your ass." she threatened him; I wanted so badly to speak up and defend him that he didn't need to worry about dropping my bags in the snow, but I held my tongue. I can't defend him against her else I'd risk outing us of course. Carlisle sighed heavily at Alice's screeching, rolled his eyes to Charlie as if to say "Kids, am I right?" before he turned and followed after them.
I walked up to Charlie and he sighed heavily while looking down at me. "Be sure to be safe up there, Bells. And try to remember to text me to let me know when you arrived at the lodge. I'd hate to think something happened to you all on the road. The roads might be real slippery and icy." he rambled in a mutter, his eyes looking glassy. He was trying to hold back his emotions, just like he usually always have.
I smiled up at him and threw my arms around his neck to give him a hug. "Dad I promise to be safe and I'll call you when we arrive up there. I have no doubts that Mr. Cullen will be careful on the roads when he drives us up there." I reassured him, patting his upper back.
Charlie coughed and gave me a hug back, squeezing me tightly. I nearly lost my breath due to how tight it was. This was really different of him to be acting this emotional and affectionate; he was usually always way too awkward to be hugging me like this.
We stood there in the doorway just hugging. When I heard Alice call my name, I looked over to see that Carlisle was getting into his car - a really big black Mercedes SUV - to most likely start it up and get the heat going. Edward was sitting behind him, looking out the window. Alice had her car door opened (she was sitting up front with her dad) and calling out to me to hurry over. My dad finally released and looked down at me with a meaningful gaze. It was a look of familial love, care but also... worry or something that looked like this would be the last time he was seeing me. I was floored by the emotions that swirled around in his brown eyes. He seemed deep in thought while looking at me, a frown marring my face. Why was Charlie looking at me like this? Is something going on that he isn't telling me about?
"Dad? Everything okay? I promise I'll be back on New Year's Day - we can go down to the Rez and have some fun watching your game. It's not like I'm going up north and never returning." I told him, laughing awkwardly at him.
Charlie sighed and smiled sadly down at me. "I know sweetheart. Just know that I love you - I really, really do. You're my baby girl and I will always see you as that. It's hard for me to accept you've grown up so fast into such a beautiful, mature young lady. I'll see you again in a few days - but don't forget your old man while you're up there. Just imagine I'm being a worried hen while you're skiing or snowboarding, or whatever you're doing up there." I let out a loud laugh at his attempts of a joke, but nodded my head to him. He still was talking like he'd never see me again - for reasons as to why I didn't know. Maybe he was just really worried about me being even further from home was all. I decided I'd shake it off for now - maybe I was also just overthinking it.
Alice shouted my name again and I sighed. I had to really get going since I was holding them up. I gave one last tight hug to my dad, kissed his cheek before he let me hurry off to the SUV. I jumped in and closed the door behind me, buckling myself in while looking back at my dad. He was still standing in the doorway, waving goodbye to me with his mustache upturned into a small smile. I waved back at him, smiling. Then once I was settled in, Carlisle slowly pulled away from the curb of my house and drove off. I tried to keep looking back at my dad and my house for as long as I could until we had turned a corner and I could no longer see them. I was out of it while Alice began rambling from the front about what all was up at the lodge; I wasn't fully paying attention to what all she was saying while I was lost in my thoughts.
Suddenly I felt a buzzing in my pants pocket; my phone was going off. I dug around in my pocket to pull it out and saw I had a new message - from Edward. I quickly looked at him from the corner of my eye. He was still semi looking out the window, an earbud in his left ear and his iPod in his pockets. However in his right hand was his phone. He had sent a text to me covertly so he could try talking to me while his sister was in the car with us.
I opened the message.
You alright love?
I quickly typed my reply.
I'm alright, just kind of worried about my dad's reaction to me leaving. He seemed like he would never see me again.
I think that's just a normal dad reaction - more so for a dad having to watch his daughter go away for a few days after he only just had her come home when he doesn't get to spend as much time with her anymore. I don't think you should be too worried about it sweetheart.
I quietly sighed to myself. He had a fair point.
You're probably right - I just might be overthinking it again.
Maybe once we get up to the lodge you can call him and talk to him about it. But I don't think it's anything huge to fret over. For now, just focus on the fun that you're going to have up there. I'm going to be able to see you attempt skiing :P
I wanted to snicker so badly at his text; it threatened to slip out but I held it back with a quiet cough.
By attempt if you mean that I'm most likely going to be slipping and falling on my ass the whole time, then sure that's what you'll get to see haha.
You'll be fine - you'll probably get instructed by some hot guy with big muscles and fake tanned skin on how to do the "Pizza slice" and "French fry" while holding onto your waist. And I'll have to watch wanting nothing more than to sock him in the jaw for touching you.
Now I really had to cough back my giggles; I knew he was trying to get my mind off of my dad's worrying by joking around with the potential skiing lessons that I would be given when we get there. I wanted nothing more than to have Edward teach me what to do but unless the others separated from us, that ever happening was highly unlikely.
You're such a dork.
Maybe, but I'm your dork and you love me.
Got that right. Well, I have to ask now - did you enjoy your gift that I got you?
I knew it was you, no way could it have been my mom and dad that got me that guitar. You remembered the details I had told you about it and got the exact one I had described.
I had gotten Edward the latest model of an electric guitar from a top of the line guitar company. It was perfect for his size, where it was glossy electric green and black in color.
I'm glad you like it babe.
You're perfect, you know that?
I glanced up and over at him as secretively as I could, noticing that Alice was still mostly rambling on about nothing. When I looked over at Edward, he had his hand mostly over his mouth and chin while he still was staring out the window listening to his music. But his eyes slightly looked over at me and I could see behind his fingers he was letting one corner of his mouth turn up in to a half smile.
Perfect? No. Just thoughtful.
Oh shit, Alice asked you something. Better focus on her for a second.
"Sorry Alice, what did you ask? I was texting my mom asking her how she was doing on her new case." I quickly came up with a lie on the spot to make up for the fact I was looking down at my lap the whole time while she was trying to talk to me. Alice had turned in her seat to look at me with squinted eyes, looking at me with puzzlement as to why I didn't immediately respond to whatever she had asked.
"Oh fine, Bells. I was asking you what type of dress you wanted to wear?"
"Uh... what? What do you mean?"
"Bellaaaa!" I winced when she groaned out my name, ignoring Carlisle's side glare at how loud she sounded. "I mean what dress do you want to wear to prom? What type of hairstyle do you want? Do you want a clutch to carry with or a normal purse? Depending on the type of dress you get and whatever colors you go with, that'll influence your make up - smoky eyeshadow and subtle lip color, or a bold lip paired with only winged eyeliner. There's so many things to take into consideration and we're six months away from our first prom together! We have so little time to get everything perfect! We're could even try coordinating our colors together with the other girls since we're going as a group - can you believe the school is trying to encourage the girls having the ruling in our favor and try asking out the guys as our dates? It's as if the school's wanting to forget our feud; as if we'd ever ask out any guy at our school when all of them are pigs." she was talking a mile a minute to explain by what all she had meant. At the end of her explanation, she pointedly threw a glare at her adoptive brother beside me.
I balked at everything she had spewed out. Prom?! I honestly had put that out of my mind namely because it was another glorified dance and popular contest between the most popular students to win Prom Queen and King, or see who's got the most money to flaunt the best dresses or suits. I hated dances as is, where the Christmas Dance we had a few days ago had to be the first dance I ever attended ever since I've come to FSA. I never really went to dances back at my old school as is, just because I hated the people I was surrounded by except for my old friends. Not to mention the music they played was usually never something I'd listen to, and the fact so many teens would try to turn it into a dance club and grind on each other nonstop. There was way too much pressure behind the idea of dances; even more so there was a shit ton of pressure behind the very premise that is Prom.
"Uh... Alice I'm not too sure if it'd be wise for me to go to prom." I muttered; Edward's eyes flashed to me quickly. So quickly I thought I had imagined it, but it must've been even quicker for Alice to not notice before he was back to looking out the window. I know I'd have to ask him about that. Alice however loudly gasped at me, as if I had told her Prada and Chanel were so last season.
"Excuse me? I did not just hear you utter those words to me."
Edward snorted next to me, where Alice turned her fury on him for the briefest of seconds. Then she focused back on me.
"Isabella Marie Swan - this is our year at FSA that used to be an all boys school. I want you to know that prom is a rite of passage for every teenager. You are going to go with us, I am going to make you the most beautiful girl there and make you feel like so, where every single boy would die to have you on their arm but you will be going with us gals to make every single guy there regret ever pushing our buttons to drive our feud forward. Do not try to weasel your way out of this!" Alice demanded, staring at me with a steely grey gaze, as if I should even bother attempting to defy her.
"Alice, don't threaten Bella if she doesn't want to go." Carlisle cut in then to chastise his daughter. Alice flopped back in her seat to pout at him.
"But dad! It's such a huge night and I know she'll have so much fun. She just doesn't like dances but I know she'll really enjoy herself instead of thinking negatively about it!"
"Alice, look... I'll go but just know that I'm mostly going to make a fool of myself between tripping on my feet, and probably looking so plain next to you and Rosalie." I muttered to try and appease her; she squealed and clapped her hands excitedly.
"Nonsense Bella. I'll be making you look absolutely perfect that every guy is going to faint from you looking absolutely stunning! Besides, you have gained so much balance over the few months we've been involved in this competition thing with our music group - you'll never trip once I'll be sure of it!" she hastily said, smiling a killer watt smile at me that looked like she's split her face wide open from how big her grin was. She then rapidly went back to rambling about details between different types of dresses to what fabrics she thought would work best for us. I tuned her out again, knowing she was in her own world again.
Just then my phone buzzed again.
So, I guess there goes my plans of asking you to prom.
I bit my bottom lip. I knew there had to be a reason he looked at me the way he did when I had said I wasn't wanting to go.
Well you know me; it's like pulling teeth to honestly try and get me going to a dance. Alice literally had dragged me for the Christmas Dance for us to sing at - at least that wasn't as bad as I thought. Prom is an entirely different story - besides if what Alice said is true, you can't ask me. I'd have to ask you :P
I could hear him release a short stint of a chuckle under his breath; thankfully Alice was way to distracted in talking my ears off when I wasn't listening still, to even notice him.
Touché my dear. But still, I was kind of looking forward to it. I'd love to see you all dressed up... although if you and I were to sneak away from prom, we could have the evening to ourselves ;)
That's one positive way of looking at it. I honestly wouldn't mind if I could go with you and enjoy the night with my boyfriend - but I don't think the girls would appreciate that. I can honestly only hope that maybe by that point you and I don't have to hide our relationship anymore.
It's a nice thought, love. I guess we would have to see just if things play out to our favor. I'd love to walk in there and have you on my arm so every guy can realize and know that you're my girlfriend and no one else can have you. :)
I smiled at those words.
And the same could be said about how I'd feel about showing you off to every single girl in the school that you're mine.
From there, Edward and I had settled into an easy conversation through our text messages while we rode on towards the North. We long since left the city limits of Forks and were starting to head up into the mountains. The drive was long, where Edward and I tried to keep ourselves busy with some texting about mostly nothing or him trying to pull out information on the other gifts I had gotten him. I kept it a secret from him as much as he tried persuading me or bribing me to reveal what I got him. I told him if he promised me he'd behave and wait patiently it'd be well worth the wait for him when he finds out later. He said he wanted me to make sure I kept my promises, but he said he would behave and no longer push me about it. I couldn't wait until we would have a moment to ourselves.
Alice at one point finally had tired herself from talking too much and went about having a nap in the front seat. Carlisle was amused by it as was Edward, more so especially when the pixie had started to snore in her seat. I giggled to myself when I heard her before I settled into asking Carlisle what all was up at the lodge for us to do for entertainment purposes (I needed to know at least some idea of what we can do up here since I wasn't paying one bit of attention to Alice's advertising of the place). Carlisle explained to me that for the most part snow sports were usually the most common activities to do: snowboarding, skiing, sledding, but there was sometimes the chance to go ice skating if their makeshift pond they had out for this was fully frozen over. Elsewise, the other activities would include some tourist workshops to attract people to either take up some crafts or skills at the bare basics since workshops would only have a limited amount of time allotted for it. Or there would be s'more making parties, mostly all for the children. The simplest of fun we could have would be making snow-mans in the activity area where the snow sports would be happening, along with igloo making, snow angels or snowball fights - the a-typical stuff you can do when you play in the snow.
Finally after the hours had passed and we went up the mountain on winding roads, driving past tall pines and firs covered with layers of snow - and seeing some wildlife running among the tree line -, we finally pulled up to a huge four-story lodge. The building held such an Americana, rustic vibe due to the fake-wood log exterior on the front and the green roof. It was a grand lodge that in the front had many cars parked for every guest staying there. Off in the distance I could see the workings of a ski lift going down the mountain; I could only guess that was towards the main activity area. Carlisle pulled into a parking spot next to a big white van, while Edward and I shifted to get our stuff together. Alice woke from her nap, stretching and yawning while asking through it, "Are we there yet?"
"Yes Alice, we just pulled in." Edward told her, finally speaking up and to his sister ever since they had picked me up from my house. The pixie immediately sprung from her seat and hurried to get out of the car, pulling on her coat again.
Once we stepped out of the car, I was shivering and rushing to pull my coat tight over me while Alice proceeded to grab me by the arm and rushed me over to the van. There I saw the others getting out; Esme had been driving it and was ordering the boys to get the luggage out of the van carefully while the girls were huddled together to try and shield themselves from the cold.
"Tell me you two were just are bored as we were driving up." Rosalie had muttered to us once we joined in on their huddle, each of us shivering from the cold air.
"Honestly, I think Edward was more bored than we were since all he did was listen to music and look at his phone." Alice told her, snickering as she glanced over her shoulder to see Edward pulling out the bags from the SUV.
"Alright ladies, you can follow me and head inside the lodge so you aren't so cold out here! Boys, I'm going to get us signed into our rooms and will be back with some luggage carts and some employees who will help you bring this inside." Esme ordered, waving at the boys who continued to unload and shift things around in the cars so they'd be easy to transfer around. The five of us followed after Mrs. Cullen and scuttled to the lodge before us seeking the warmth that we desperately needed. We made our way past the main doors to the building, noting as other families were rushing inside. The main lobby that greeted us was absolutely cozy and inviting. The floors were a deep cherry wood with large rugs spread out across the room here and there. The walls were also a matching wood paneling that had paintings and photos, between landscape paintings of icy winter scenery or photos of the Lodge's history. There were two sitting areas of blue leather couches on both sides of us when we entered while a distance away from the door was the check in desk. It was a high desk with a black marble countertop, with several large potted plants sitting on top of it. A woman was standing behind it while she was on the landline phone talking to someone, and a younger one, a teen girl, looked like she was typing away on the computer that sat on the countertop.
The woman finished with her call and turned towards us. She had brown hair pulled back into a braid and she smiled at us, her grey eyes crinkling. "Hello, welcome to the Lodge. Are you checking in?"
"Yes, we're the Cullen party - I had called this morning to double check our check-in time that was at noon. There should be four bedrooms reserved for us." Esme breezily replied with a smile of her own. The girls and I behind her shifted around and loosened our huddle around one another while the woman ordered the young teen to type some stuff into the computer for her. After several moments of typing, she hummed and looked back at Esme with a nod.
"Ah yes, I see your name in here."
"Excellent. If also possible could we have some carts to go out front? My husband and our boys are carrying in all of our luggage and we may need some carts to lug everything up to our room."
"Certainly! Nadine," she called to the teen girl that sat next to her. "Go run and find Tony and Ezekiel and fetch some carts for our guests." the teen girl nodded and stood up before jogging off to find most likely the employees who will retrieve the carts.
Esme went about signing us in and thanked the woman behind the desk. The girls beside me were excitedly taking in everything, babbling about nothing. I looked around and drifted towards a wood carving of a grizzly bear. I lightly grazed my fingers over it with a smile, admiring the craftsmanship behind it.
"Nice, isn't it?" I nearly jumped out of my skin at hearing a voice murmur behind me and whirled around. My arms were flailing about in my panic and it came into contact with someone's stomach behind me, smacking it as the person release a gust of air in shock.
"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were standing so close behind me!" I hissed apologetically, wincing while the person behind me doubled over. I took a brief second to take in the sight of whoever was behind me and realized it was a guy - a teenage boy at that. He stood up and was chuckling down at me while a hand rested on his stomach. He was about as tall as Edward was to me, so I was definitely having to crane my neck up slightly at him to see him. He had pale skin much like we all did, where he had brown hair hidden underneath a red beanie, with tufts sticking out messily. He had a very boyish face that was wrinkled into amusement as he smirked down at me. He had hazel eyes that mirrored his smile, showing laughter. He wore a simple setup of winter clothing with a black sweater and matching pants, with combat boots on his feet.
"No, I'm sorry I snuck up on you. I've been teased by my family multiple times that I'm too quiet and just naturally scare people when they don't realize I'm behind them." the boy eased out, and I laughed in reply. He was very easy going to be perfectly honest when I talked to him. I didn't get any creepy or unsettling vibes, or at least none that was tell me he's a flirty jerk just wanting to get to know me for the fact I'm a chick. His nature came across as really warm and friendly; he almost reminded me of Jacob. "I'm Ian by the way; I'm a nephew of the owners of this Lodge and I work here to help out in running the family business."
"Oh that's real nice - I'm Bella. I'm visiting for the time being with my friends and their family." I introduced myself to him and shook his outstretched hand.
"That's great then. Guessing you guys are just this huge party that's walking in right now?" he asked, glancing over at our party. I spared a second to look over and wanted to laugh at the sight I saw. Esme and Carlisle were glaring at Emmett as he stood on a car and was pushing it back and forth using it as a toy instead of its intended purpose. Edward, Jasper, Mike and Ben had loaded up the remaining carts with our luggage but were laughing at Emmett even though the really needed the cart he was on. The girls were rolling their eyes at his antics.
"Unfortunately, yes. Trust me, I think my friend's parents think there's something wrong with big guy." I muttered to Ian, and we both laughed together at the joke. I glance back and saw Edward had looked over at me when he heard my laughing, and a short frown appeared on his face while his brows furrowed at the sight of a guy standing next to me and talking to me. Well I'm seeing him turn green with jealousy. I thought to myself, wanting to sigh as I knew he was going to question me as to why I was talking to a guy that wasn't him, let alone looking like I was having fun with him; I was going to have to set things straight the minute we were alone.
"Well, I have to get going. I think we're about ready to go up to our rooms and I honestly don't know what's in store for us today."
"No worries, glad I could meet you. I'd love to get to know you some more - without being hit that is." he paused to laugh in teasing while I groaned and buried my face in my hands, wrought with embarrassment. "I'm just teasing you but being serious about wanting to talk more. You seem like a really friendly gal, Bella. If you need any help with anything at the Lodge or at our activity area, don't hesitate to holler; I tend to work at the shop down there if you want to rent out a board or some skis." Ian continued, smiling. I nodded my head up at him then matching a small smile.
"Definitely. And it was nice meeting you two. More likely you'll see me, or our whole party, again sometime soon." I told him honestly, smirking. He nodded his head and then with a quick wave to me, he walked off heading towards the left side of the Lodge from the main lobby, dodging around the Cullens and our friends. I rejoined the girls, rolling my eyes at them snickering and winking at me. They had watched my quick chat with Ian and no doubt were suddenly starting to come up with theories of us flirting. That couldn't be further from the truth but I ignored them. They'll no doubt try grilling me about it later. I knew I already had enough on my hands with Edward assuming the worst of it but I couldn't comfort him just yet.
"Alright children, lets head up to our rooms now." Carlisle said then, and began leading us to the elevator. The employees helped in pushing the carts behind us and then had told Carlisle and Esme that they'll be up to join us on the second floor with our luggage since that seemed to be the first stop we'll be making for our rooms. Carlisle took the boys with him in one elevator while Esme took us girls with her in another since we could fit all twelve of us in one single elevator. Once the six of us were squished inside the elevator, Esme pressed for the second floor and the doors closed.
"Alright Bella, spill. Who was that hottie you were talking to?" Rosalie immediately blurted out once the doors closed. I blushed as the other girls jeered at me to fork over details.
"Guys come on. He wasn't that hot. Honestly it was just a pleasant conversation with a random guy. He's a nephew to the owners here but we weren't flirting with each other." I grumbled, sighing heavily.
"Bull Bella! I got some serious crushing vibes off of him when he looked at you!" Alice teased, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes at this and groaned. These two were impossible.
"Seriously, it was nothing but platonic when I talked to him. He reminded me of an old family friend and that was it - no flirting, no romance. I'm pretty sure I messed him up when I had thwacked him too." I muttered at them, giving the two of them the stink eye. Jessica and Angela snickered at me, though I knew that they knew the real truth that no other guy would be able to catch my attention like Edward has for me. But they couldn't tell either of them that was the case for me, though I knew they were also amused by these two just trying to make connections that wasn't really there.
The elevator doors dinged open and we filed out, where I was holding my hands over my ears as Rosalie and Alice continue to bombard me with questions about Ian. Angela and Jessica were behind us, trying to interject to tell them that they honestly didn't see anything going on between us but it was falling on deaf ears.
"Alright that's enough you two. Please stop bothering Bella about this - if she says it's nothing, it's nothing. Besides it's her business and her business alone if there was something going on. But if she says it wasn't anything then that's that." Esme finally cut in to reprimand the two of them, rolling her eyes at Alice's loud groan.
"Mom you don't understand!"
"I do understand and right now I'm putting my foot down on this and that you need to let it go. Leave Bella be, please." she ordered gently, raising a coppery eyebrow up at her. Just as she said this, the elevator next to the one we got off of dinged and the doors slid open. It was Carlisle and the boys and they filed out to join us in the hallway. We stood around waiting for the employees to show up with our luggage which thankfully didn't take long for us. They showed up and Carlisle had told them where the first two rooms would be before he led them there. We followed behind them before we stopped in front of the first room.
"This will be the first room - ladies, this is where you'll be saying." Carlisle said to them when we stopped at the door, with the number 43 being nailed to it. He took the keycard and pushed the door open. Rosalie, Alice, Angela and Jessica filed in and I took a peek inside. I could see that the carpet was that classic "hotel" carpet with paisley designs on it, while the walls were a creamy floral wallpaper. There were two dressers next to the door that sat in front of two queen beds that had a bed-side table sitting in between the beds. On top sat a landline phone and a simple lamp. And there was a door next to the main door of the room of which I had to guess was the bathroom.
"Boys, your room is two doors down." Carlisle then said, and led the boys after him. Edward willingly followed while I stuck around in the doorway to the girls' room with Esme. I knew we were coming to the point of our expected confrontation where I would be following after Esme, Carlisle and Edward to our room but we were trying to make it look like that we'd be sharing rooms still before we'd have to face the music. The girls took their time setting their luggage down after one of the employees (who had a tag on his shirt that said he was Ezekiel so I guess the one that followed the boys was Tony; there were two carts sitting behind Esme and I that held my bags, as well as theirs so we knew we'd be lugging those with us to our rooms.)
"This room is so cozy." Jessica gushed as she sat on the corner of the bed. The other three murmured their agreement to this assessment while they began taking out some heavy duty winter clothes.
"Bella, come on bring your stuff in here! You're sleeping with us two remember?"
"About that, my dear." Carlisle's voice said behind us, and I looked to see that he had rejoined his wife and I at the doorway, with Edward hovering by our carts. I guess he got the boys settled in faster than I had thought.
"Dad, isn't Bella staying with us?" Alice questioned him, her lips pursing while she looked utterly confused.
"Your father and I discussed this and we came to the conclusion that this room setup wouldn't work for the fifth person in each party - either one bed would be too overcrowded or someone would be taking the cold hard ground. And we weren't too pleased with either choice. So we sprung for the option to get a third bedroom for Bella... and Edward since he wouldn't fit with the boys." Esme explained gently, grimacing as Alice gasped at this.
"But why? Mom you can't let Edward be in the same room as Bella!"
Oooooh I so wanted to scream at her that that was the opposite and I was so eternally grateful that his parents were letting us share a room.
"Alice, your brother is not some devil spawn and he won't do anything to make Bella uncomfortable. Have some faith in him please - this was the best solution we could've come up with so neither of them would be put out to sleep on the floor or be squished in a bed. If I had thought that this would've been a bad idea, I would not have done this setup." Carlisle explained firmly, now raising up a blond eyebrow of his at her as if daring her to argue further on it. Edward and I had shuffled to our carts behind his adoptive parents, grimacing as she huffed in the room.
"Tony please follow us to our rooms." Esme quickly said to the employee, and we made a break for it to try and avoid further arguing from Alice. We went back to the elevators and went up a floor where Edward and I stood next to each other awkwardly while his parents stood in front of us holding hands; Tony again went in the employee elevator with our stuff. I looked up at Edward and noticed he wasn't looking at me. It seemed to me he was trying to avoid looked at me entirely; I knew he was still sore about me talking to Ian downstairs and was probably coming up with silly scenarios in that beautiful head of his.
We got off on the third floor and let Carlisle and Esme lead us down the hall to our room where Tony rolled the cart behind us. Finally we stopped in front of a door that read 102 on a metal placard much like the girls room had on the door, and Carlisle swiped the keycard in the lock for us before pushing it open. "This will be your room, you two." he said to us quietly with a smile and I stepped in. The carpet was still the same "hotel carpet" much like what the girls had in their room, the wallpaper was the same. There was a dresser to the left of us when we entered the room, and to our right was our bed - a simple queen bed with blankets on top of it. There was a window to the farthest wall from us when we entered, and to our immediate right was a door no doubt leading to our adjoining bathroom.
"Thank you again, by the way, for getting a room for us like this." I murmured my thanks to his parents with a blush while Edward and Tony began taking our bags to set them down in the room.
"It's not a problem dear." Esme said with a warm smile to me.
"Just please do be responsible adults in here; we tried getting you two as far from the others so you two could have your time together." Carlisle teased with a chuckle. I felt my face get hotter and I heard Edward groan behind me.
"Dad!" he yelled at him, and now Esme joined in with her husband's laughter.
Tony finished helping Edward and then the three of them left us alone where his dad shut the door behind him. I turned and saw Edward was fiddling with taking some shirts out of his bag to put in the dresser. I sighed. "Edward, I need to set something straight with you." I began, calling to him. He heaved a sigh of his own and turned to look at me. He kept his face blank.
"About what?"
"Seriously? You're overreacting. Just because some dude walked up to me as soon as we entered the Lodge and started talking to me, you're getting jealous?"
"You were smiling and laughing with him. I don't know what you were talking about but I could see how he was looking at you Bella." Edward grumbled, turning now finally to look at me with a heavy frown while his brows furrowed. I groaned at him and stomped over to him. I took a jabbing finger and jutted it into his chest.
"He wanted to introduce himself because I was look at that carving of the bear and I proceeded to thwack him on accident when turning to apologize. He's a nephew of the owners of this place, and wanted to briefly give me the spiel of what he does which is he works at the shop down in the activity area. But everything we said was platonic and nothing more." I growled, scowling up at him. Edward blushed a bit from my anger and reached up to scratch the back of his neck.
"Oh..."
"Yeah. Oh." I huffed, crossing my arms at him. "You're ridiculous sometimes but there's no need for you to be jealous. You know if I could do so, I'd be openly affectionate with you but I can't because of the girls. The girls were worse and grilling me as if I'm about to run off with Ian and be his step ford wife."
"First name basis now are we?" Edward grumbled and I let out a small shriek of rage.
"You silly jealous man! Come here!" I hissed and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He let out a quick yelp but it was silenced when I yanked him down to my level and planted my lips on his fiercely. He was shocked initially but let out a tiny moan and ensnared me in his strong arms to crush me to him. Edward responded just as strongly and kissed me back hard, letting out the anger and jealousy he felt about the fact I met another dude, talked to him and was friendly. I pulled him on top of me and we fell back onto our bed together, where our tongues battled with each other for dominance. We released breathy sighs and small groans as our built up sexual tension was threatening to burst. I wanted nothing more than to have him screw my brains out and for him to get it through his stubborn head that it was only him that I wanted and no one else. His hands ghosted over my torso playing here and there to tease me.
When we desperately needed air, we pulled away from each other with gasps before he looked down at me, his eyes dark. "Get it through your stubborn head and put that jealousy aside. There is no other man that I want. You're all I want." I whispered to him, brushing the hair away on his forehead. Edward took in several deep breaths before lowering his head to mine. Our noses were touching while he pressed his forehead to my own.
"I'm sorry. You're right, I was overreacting. I was jealous stupidly when I know you wouldn't get with some other guy while secretly dating me. I just... I couldn't help it, I'm sorry. I was so angry that some random guy could walk up to you, strike a conversation and make you laugh so openly when that's all I want to be able to do with you day in and day out. But I can't when our friends would reel into us and hate us if they ever find out at a time like this that we were together. I don't know how much longer I can take this secrecy before I'll explode and just not give a damn anymore. Even if we lose our friends in the process, I'd take it any day just to be able to hug you and kiss you without feeling like we're going to be caught." he muttered to me, looking up at me with a frown. "I'm really sorry for being so pissy about it Bella."
"Edward it's fine, I get your feelings but please. No man can hold a candle to you in my eyes. Yes, we introduced each other but we're not on 'first-name basis'; that's just his name and that is it. I'm not going to run off with him - he's just some guy who had the unfortunate chance of encountering the disaster that is klutzy Bella Swan." I joked, and he laughed with me.
"You're right. Now... that kiss we just had. Got to admit, that was incredibly hot." I snickered at him while Edward wiggled his eyebrows in such a cheesy manner, I smacked his arm lightly while he still lied on top of me.
"You dork."
"I know but you love me. I can't wait for us to get to our alone time. But I'm expecting any minute now that Alice will be up here to either kidnap you from me or for whatever other reason might try and drag you down to get some lunch." he grumbled then, and it was my turn to now sigh at him.
"Well let's try and take advantage of the time we have right now shall we?" I giggled but before we could get back to kissing, there was a knock on the door. Thankfully as per usual with doors especially in hotels and lodges, the doors automatically locks once you close it. Edward cursed under his breath and I did the same, glowering briefly at the door.
"Bella! Come on, open the door! Edward, you better not be trying anything in there to harass Bella or I'm going to kick you in the gonads so hard you'd wish you were a girl!" Alice practically screamed on the other side. The damn cock-blocking pixie strikes again. Edward had a murderous look in his eyes before he heaved himself up and pulled me up with him. He helped me fix my clothes before he went and stood over by the window to look outside while I went to the door and wretched it open. There stood Alice with her hands on her hips.
"Alright, you see I'm fine. What's up then Pixie?" I asked, smirking as she rolled her eyes.
"Well since mom and dad are adamant about this sleeping arrangement, there's no way I can try and kidnapping you to join us in our room just yet. But I came up here after bothering mom and dad for your room number, and we're all going to go down to get some lunch. So you and my jackass brother need your food and I'm the messenger to retrieve you two." Alice explained, nodding her head in an affirmative manner.
"The only jackass brother you have is Emmett." Edward countered behind us loudly and I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from laughing at his statement. Alice flipped him off even though he didn't see it and shook her head.
"Well thank you for the message Alice. I'll be down in a bit honestly - I was going to get some clothes ready for our trip up here and have them set aside, and probably will be using the bathroom before going down. I can meet up with you guys down there once I'm done." I told her; secretly I was hoping she would leave and let me have some extra time alone with Edward since I still wanted to get some kissing in before we go eat - but I should've known Alice wouldn't be easily swayed.
"No worries, I can wait here then."
"Alice, it's not a... quick bathroom trip if you get my hint here." I muttered, blushing for effect. Alice made a face of realization and sighed.
"Well okay but don't fall in the toilet. Fine, fuckface brother let's go." I grimaced at her harsh nickname for Edward before I heard him stomp over to stand behind me.
"Alice quit it with the bitchiness. I'm not here to defile your friend like you think I will. Just fuck off with your attitude and stop trying to ruin my mood about this trip. Besides I have to use the bathroom too so I will not be going just yet." Edward growled. I could feel the anger radiating off of him from where he stood behind me. I knew he wanted to fight his sister on this and was really getting upset by the harsh attitude she had for him. I know Alice was still acting protectively of me after what had been going on between Edward and I but if only she knew the truth that Edward was more than my first impressions I had of him that day. Alice proceeded to glare right back at him.
"Okay, Alice please. I promise I'll be fine with him up here - we're just going to use the bathroom. It was a long car ride up since we didn't take any stops. We will see you down there when we're done." I grumbled at her, but offered her a small smile to show I'd be fine. I needed to try and nip this arguing between the two of them in the bud, before things really escalate and get ugly.
Alice looked between the two of us, frowning. Finally she sighed and threw her hands up.
"Fine fine, I'll leave it and will see you two downstairs in a bit. I know you can defend yourself if Edward wants to be a prick, Bells." Alice muttered and then with a quick wave to me, she turned and walked down the hall. I closed the door after she left, where Edward walked away and thrusts his hands into his hair angrily. He was cursing the pixie under his breath.
"Baby, you know she's a good person and only is trying to look out for me. She's still got that misconstrued look of you after the first day we had with each other." I murmured to him. He groaned to himself and looked at me with a pained expression.
"I'm going to live and regret that stupid mistake until the day I die, Bella. Believe me when I say that I wish nothing more than to turn back time and stop myself from even remotely doin what I did. I was an asshat thinking that'd be funny to do. Instead I have to suffer and listen to my sister yell at me for it day in and day out." he complained, raking a hand his face in upset.
"Hey, listen to me." I began, striding over to where he stood and throwing my arms around his neck. "Trust me, I know you regret it and you've since apologized for it. Any normal girl - well, maybe mostly any normal girl - would've loved what you did. It'd be a huge turn on I'm sure. Honestly though with my background it was the opposite but you couldn't have known that back that. I've forgiven you and you need to forgive yourself about it. I know it's frustrating to hear her constantly reem you about this everytime you're near me but please don't listen to her. You're not some devil, looking to get between my loins every chance you get just to defile my body," I paused when he let out a harsh snort at the weak comparison I was doing. I smirked before continuing. "And as much as I want to defend you on it, you and I both know that we can't. I've been trying to calm her and the others down from using so many insults with you and it's a process. Please just don't take it so personally and know the truth that I love you."
"I know. It just gets to me especially since she's been doing it for so long." he muttered, frowning again.
"I know babe, I really do. How about I cheer you up and make it up to you? Would that take away your frustrations with her?" I asked coyly, smiling when he raised an eyebrow.
"Depends on what you'd want to do?"
"Well I did get you some special gifts for our alone time. How does that sound?"
His eyes darkened once more and he smiled down at me with a mischievous grin; it read as the age old cat eating the canary and getting away with it, grin. "Is that so my naughty girl?" he asked and then took to diving in and kissing my neck. I giggled girlishly and tried my best in pushing him away. He pouted heavily up at me. "Tease. Did you mean to make it up to me now or later because I don't know how long I can behave myself."
I laughed now. "Edward, you insatiable man. I promise I'll make it up to you tonight else we'll have the hounds barging down our door - and I don't exactly want them to find us in a compromising position that I know I won't be able to stop in the middle of. Besides, I actually do have to use the bathroom so..." I trailed off and he laughed now at me.
"Okay, fine. But I'm going to hold you to it my dear. You better go through with your promise to me tonight." Edward said in a serious tone, winking at me before he released me and I scuttled off to the bathroom.
I couldn't wait for tonight.
A/N: And there's the start to the Ski Trip! Sorry if it's a really short chapter again but I felt like it'd be best to cut it off there. I can assure y'all that we'll get to some more exciting bits now that we're at this point in the story.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
~Lady Eleanora~
