Happy NYE!
22
Christmas morning is a dream.
And not just because my sexy boyfriend and I spend the morning in bed giving each other multiple orgasms.
Okay, I lied.
It's definitely because of that.
We're insatiable and deserve this time together. But I love that what we have is deeper than our sexual attraction, too.
"You're my favorite fucking person," Edward whispers against my skin, his head resting on my bare stomach after round three.
I thread my fingers in his slightly sweaty hair, feeling the weight of his words in my heart.
"What a coincidence. You're my favorite person," I confess.
He lifts his head to look up at me, mirth and affection dancing in his eyes. "After you open presents with your family, do you want to come with me to my folks for lunch?"
His invitation softens me. "Yeah, I do."
"Good. 'Cause I already told them you were going. Thanks for not making me look like a liar," he says, smirking. With a tender kiss on my stomach, he rudely puts on his boxers before sitting against the headboard.
My tank top is hanging from the lampshade after our quick undressing of each other earlier, and I grab it to slide the soft cotton over my head.
"Cocky much? Assuming I'd say yes to your invite," I tease.
"Not cocky," he disagrees, staying serious. "I just know you want to be around me as much as I want to be around you."
"I do. I'm not subtle at all, huh?" I sigh, tangling our legs together, a nonverbal cue that screams you're stuck with me.
"You're not subtle now, but you were before we acknowledged how we felt," he admits. "I was always way too fucking obvious."
"You weren't though! You were silent with your pining. I didn't catch on."
He bites back a grin and pulls me closer so I'm tucked against him, my arm resting over his hard stomach.
"You think my pining for you was silent, Swan? It was pretty loud if you ask me."
I tip my chin up to kiss him. "Will you come with me to my mom's later? I think she'll be okay sharing me if she knows I'll at least be there for presents and then dinner later tonight"
"Yeah, I'll go with you, but now I feel like an ass taking you away for part of Christmas. Like I'm just greedy for you."
"No lies detected," I quip, smiling. "But no, it's fine. Don't feel bad. You went to my mom's party last night, and we're going to The Moth later. She'll have plenty of quality time with us today."
"Okay." His fingers trail softly up and down my arm. "Are you excited for tonight?"
"For Christmas dinner? Yes, it's my favorite meal of the year."
He breathes out a laugh. "No. For The Moth."
"Oh. Yeah."
"Are you going to submit your name to potentially share a story?"
"Ha. No."
"Why not?" he asks.
"Because I haven't prepared anything. I've been preoccupied with other things. Like getting fired and taking Jane down and… you." I smile so he knows the last part is a good thing. "So I won't try this year, but that's fine. Just attending the event is good enough for me."
He nods, understanding. "Okay."
"What's that? Just your general acceptance? No pep talk or sexy fierce encouragement for me to do it?" I ask in feigned shock.
He chuckles. "I know I'm overbearing and overly passionate when it comes to you."
"But it stems from the best place. From loooove," I draw out the word, and he smirks.
"It does. But if you don't feel prepared to potentially go up on stage and share something, then… fine. If you'd said you weren't going to submit your name because you're scared or something along those lines then I'd hype you the fuck up. But I do want you to feel good and confident if you ever get the chance to get up there one day. If you're not ready, then you're not ready."
"You're a really supportive boyfriend, you know that?" I whisper, my fingers brushing his lips. "Do you have any flaws, other than when you slept in my bed wearing jeans that one night?"
He laughs like he's offended. "Hey, in my defense it was fucking cold in your room with no heat and what was I gonna do—wear your tiny-ass leggings? My junk couldn't fit in that."
I hum and slide my hand down his stomach to touch him over his boxers. "Again, no lies detected."
He groans a little in pleasure and it's the best sound.
"The show isn't until later tonight, so if you need some… inspiration," he says, kissing me, sliding his hand down the front of my underwear. "I'd be happy to help you out."
I moan at the touch of his fingers, then laugh a little. "You want to inspire me? It's a family-friendly show. What will getting me off achieve?"
"Nothing," he admits. "I told you, I'm just a greedy, greedy man when it comes to you, Bella Swan."
He slips his fingers inside of me, and I moan louder.
"I don't know," I sigh in ecstasy. "You seem pretty selfless to me."
XXX
After Edward and I spend part of the morning alone with our families, he picks me up from my mom's around noon.
"Tell me about your family," I say while we drive across town, a little nervous to meet everyone.
"They're loud."
I crack a smile. "In a good way?"
"Yeah. My mom will instantly love you since you both like murder podcasts. And my dad will talk your ear off about how the earth is flat if you let him, so… beware."
"Your dad is a flat-earther?" I ask in shock.
"No, that's the thing. He just loves conspiracy theories and the debates they spark."
"Ahh. So he's a shit-stirrer like his son," I realize.
Edward laughs. "I mean, I think technically I'm a shit-stirrer like him, but yeah."
"Who's all gonna be there today?"
"My mom, dad, Rosalie, her husband Emmett, and their three girls. Rian and Riley are twins, and Rowan is the youngest."
I whistle. "Three girls. Wow."
"It's a lot," he agrees. "But they're fun."
"Aww. Uncle Edward. I bet you're the best and they love you."
"Yeah, they're cool kids."
"Do twins run in your family?" I wonder.
He briefly glances over at me. "No, but they do in Emmett's."
"Oh, thank God," I mumble under my breath.
He grins, but his eyes are on the road. "What, you don't want twins?"
"It sounds uncomfortable. And how do you tell them apart when they're babies?"
"Emmett usually stuck signs on their backs," Edward says, amused.
"Hey, whatever works," I say breezily. "Speaking of babies, Garrett won't be there today, will he?"
Edward laughs. "Nah, we just do immediate family on Christmas Day. He's probably with his dad in Tacoma."
With a little more knowledge about his family, my nerves fade.
When we show up at his parents' house, his nieces immediately run outside to greet him while Rosalie stands in the doorway. With one niece on his back and the other two hanging onto his forearms, he carries all three to the front door.
They're all giggles and screams with him and fuck, my ovaries.
"Special delivery," he tells Rosalie, who just grins as we all walk inside.
"Wrong house!" she teases. "Maybe try the one next door."
"Mooommy!" one of the twins giggles.
His parents and who I assume is Emmett join us in the foyer. The girls attack their dad next as Edward introduces me as his girlfriend. No one seems surprised by the title and I love that he's already talked about me. Hugs are exchanged even though it's my first time meeting all of them, except for Rosalie, who I met briefly that night outside her restaurant.
After Edward's parents disappear to finish cooking and his nieces run off to play, we follow Rosalie and Emmett into the living room.
"So, you were right when you asked me if Edward talked about you a lot," Rosalie tells me. "He was always 'Bella this' and 'Bella that.' I had to set him up on a fake date to get him to admit he was into you."
"Wait. Becca was a fake date?" Edward asks, offended.
"Yes," Rosalie admits. "She's the sister of one of my staff and her name is actually Lauren. You didn't think it was weird her name was eerily close to Bella's?"
Edward turns to me. "And you think your family is overbearing…"
"Hey, I told her not to," Emmett defends. "Don't include me in her crazy."
Rosalie shrugs. "Edward needed the push."
"You owe me for that dinner," Edward says to her, but he's fighting a smile.
"No way! Your payment is the girlfriend of your dreams. If anything, you should be thanking me," she insists.
"Thank you," I say to her, and she shoots me a kind smile that lets me know her meddling was in good taste.
While we eat, Esme asks me about myself. And when my family comes up, I share what I can without getting too emotional. When I mention what Edward did for my family by decorating my childhood home in honor of my dad, his parents look equal parts proud and a little emotional.
Eventually, Edward brings up The Moth and how we're attending later tonight with my family. He lets me explain what it is, and by the time we're all done eating, his parents have already purchased tickets for all of them to join us, and Rosalie has secured Emmett's parents to watch the girls.
Knowing his family is attending makes me even more grateful that I'm not going to submit my name because anxiety.
After lunch, I help his dad clear the table and we all play a competitive game of Yahtzee in the dining room.
His family is rowdy like mine, talking over one another, and relentless with their teasing and competitiveness. But knowing it stems from love makes it fun.
I don't talk a lot, but not because I'm shy and not because they don't include me. I just love watching Edward interact with his family and soak it all up.
I get way, way, way ahead of myself at one point. I'm slightly warm from the wine his mom keeps plying me with and tell him that I can't wait to have this forever. That I can just see our families getting along seamlessly and when we get married, we might not have to pick where we spend the majority of the day because there's a good possibility we could do a joint Christmas celebration.
The second the words are out of my mouth and I hear them and actually process the absurdity of them, I panic.
I'm grateful his family is playfully arguing with each other over the last Yahtzee roll and that his nieces are being loud because it means no one is paying attention to us or this embarrassing moment.
"It was nice knowing you," I tell Edward, standing from my chair. "I wonder how long it will take me to walk home."
He laughs. Seemingly not spooked by my insane words, he grabs my waist before I can get away and pulls me into his lap.
"Get back here, Swan. Not gonna let you get away that easily."
"I've been your girlfriend for twenty-four hours and I'm already planning forever," I mutter.
"Yes. Yes, you did just do that."
"Slap me."
"I didn't know you were into that," he jokes, low in my ear.
"Honestly, this is your fault," I accuse. "This is why your ex-girlfriend at the ripe age of 22 wanted to marry you. It's all you. We get sucked into your charm and charisma and love bubble."
His family is still arguing over whether or not the Yahtzee Emmett just rolled counts because one of the dice fell on the floor.
Edward moves his mouth to my ear again to whisper, "When the time comes, please let me be the one to propose. Your rambling is cute as hell but if you blurt out you want me to marry you, I won't be able to say no. And I want to be the one to ask. Also, no snooping for the ring. I know how you are."
I melt for this man.
"We're not there yet," I admit, knowing it's insanely soon.
"I know," he agrees.
"One day. I just… get excited. That's all."
"Me too," he smiles softly.
"Also… I don't ramble!" I defend. "Much."
He laughs. "Sure."
"And I don't snoop for gifts!" I add. "Anymore."
"Even so, keep everything I said in mind because those things are pretty important to me," he says seriously. "Do you agree to my terms, Swan?"
All I can say is a soft, simple, and intentional, "I do."
XXX
My mom is thrilled when I tell her over dinner that Edward's family is going to The Moth with us.
She's less thrilled when I tell her I didn't prepare anything to potentially share.
"Next year," I promise her and Alice, who also looks bummed. "And it's not like my name is guaranteed to get pulled, anyway. The chances are like… one in fifty."
"Yeah, the chances are low," Alice agrees. "You should've just lied to us and said you were gonna enter anyway."
"Okay. I'm gonna enter my name anyway," I lie, and Jasper and my mom laugh.
"It's fine, honey. Do whatever you feel comfortable with," my mom says supportively. "Like you said, there's always next year."
After we eat, we all drive together in my mom's car to the show. Edward's family is waiting outside the venue for us, and watching our families meet for the first time will forever be a core memory.
We all wait in a short line to get inside, then find seats together in the second row.
The ball-busters, Rosalie and Alice, hit it off just as Edward assumed they would. They go to the bar with Emmett and Jasper to get us all drinks.
"Things are going well," I whisper to Edward, and he squeezes my thigh.
"I think we just started a new tradition with our families," he says sweetly.
I know he's right. And even if it's bittersweet without my dad, the addition of the Cullens now makes this tradition special in a new way.
The lights flicker a few times to indicate the show will be starting soon.
Rosalie and crew make it over just in time for the lights to dim, passing down a beer for Edward and a plastic cup of wine for me.
The host takes the stage, and does a few minutes of her own storytelling, then explains the rules of the night.
Ten storytellers, picked at random.
Five minutes each to tell their stories.
No notes, and they have to follow the theme, which is magic.
Afterward, they'll immediately be scored by judges.
With logistics out of the way, she pulls the first name out of a bowl.
"It's kind of nice being here and not stressing over whether or not I'm about to go up," I whisper to Edward, who just kisses my cheek.
The first eight stories are a mixture of humor and heartwarming. I glance over now and then to make sure the Cullens are enjoying themselves and always find they're either laughing or enraptured by the storytellers.
With the night nearing an end, the host draws the second to last name.
And when she calls Bella Swan, my heart nearly stops.