The sign out front read 'The Red Garter Bed and Bakery'. I was beyond confused.
"Come on Bella, let's go check-in." Rose said with a sly smile.
"Not before you explain that nonsense about a brothel." I demanded.
Edward and Emmett chuckled again before Edward took my hand and began to explain. "Bella, Rose heard about this place and made reservations for tonight. It's a bed and breakfast."
"Oh" I said, still frowning.
"It's also an old bordello." He grinned. "Downstairs where the bakery is now, used to be the saloon."
Rose interrupted. "Upstairs" She said suggestively "Was where they got down to business." Earning chuckles once again from the guys.
"So it's not a brothel now?" I asked, needing reassurance.
"Not any more. Come on, I've booked you and Edward in the best room. It has its own sitting room. I figured it was the least I could do because we took the room with the 'magic fingers' back in Missouri." She said with a laugh.
The innkeeper showed us to our rooms. Rose and Emmett were staying in the 'Madam's Room'. It was very nice, but didn't compare to ours.
"Here you are, this is the 'Best Girl's Room'." He announced as we trudged into the sitting room, adjacent to the bedroom.
I eyed the bed through the large archway skeptically. "Um, how old are the furnishings?" I asked, suddenly fearful of sleeping in a hooker's bed.
"Most of the furnishings are antiques." He answered.
"What about the bed?" I blurted. I needed to know.
Edward laughed loudly.
The innkeeper grinned. "The beds are antiques, but the bedding is new Miss, no more than two years old.
I breathed a sigh of relief at his words.
Edward and I barely had a chance to freshen up before Emmett and Rose were knocking on the door. "Wow this room is really nice guys." Rose announced as she and Emmett proceeded to make themselves at home.
I nodded. "Why do you think it's called the 'Best Girl's Room'?" I wondered aloud in my naiveté.
Rose snickered. "It was probably used by whichever girl was bringing in the most money at the time."
As it dawned on me exactly how the Best Girl was earning that money, I cringed. "Ew."
Emmett looked wistfully around the room "Oh if these walls could talk" He said quietly.
I nodded as I glanced around, this building was over a hundred years old, and had witnessed a lot of history during that time; world wars, the great depression, the dust bowl and the migration west on route 66, just to name a few.
I should have known that my brother's thoughts wouldn't travel down the same noble path as mine.
"Just think about it, we could hear all kinds of stories about cowboys getting their freak on!" He boomed.
We laughed.
At dinner that night, Rose, who'd done a bit of research on the subject, told us all about the town of Williams. It had been a typical 'Wild West' town. The Red Garter was one of many saloons/bordellos which had once lined the street along the railroad tracks.
"Prostitution was outlawed here in the early 1900's, but the law wasn't strictly enforced. From what I read, The Red Garter was a functioning bordello all the way up until the 1940's. Business kind of dried up when all the men were away fighting in the war." She snickered. "Oh!" She exclaimed "And a man was murdered on the staircase at about that same time."
I frowned. That fact was a little unsettling to say the least.
Thankfully he wasn't murdered in our room.
"Know what else Bells" Emmett began, enjoying my discomfort. "There's a ghost" He said as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Sure there is Emmett."
"Would I shit you Bells?" He said with a grin. "Her names' Eva and she may just come sit on your bed while you're in it, or visit your dreams as has been known to happen."
Oh dear Lord
Damn Emmett. He knows how skittish I am.
I glared at my brother as he continued to smile.
-V&V-
I was awoken by the feel of soft warm kisses on my neck and behind my ear. Without opening my eyes I began "You probably should go, I'm sure my fiancé will return at any moment. I felt Edward's lips curl into a smile against my neck.
"Is that so?"
I nodded, still not opening my eyes.
"I should have known that someone as beautiful as you would be spoken for. Are you certain I couldn't persuade you to give me a chance?"
I shook my head.
Edward sighed, playing along. "What's so great about this fiancé?" He asked.
"Hmm" I pretended to think. Edward chuckled lightly. "Well, he's rather easy on the eyes." I was grinning now. "And he's very smart, when he's not listening to my brother." Edward let out a quiet laugh against my neck. "He's the best part of every day and now that I have him, I don't know how I'd ever live without him." I said seriously as I opened my eyes. "I hope I never have to find out."
Edward moved until he was hovering over me, his beautiful green eyes looking at me intently. "No worries Miss Swan, I'm not going anywhere."
"Good to know." I whispered before pulling him down until his lips met mine in a soft and gentle kiss. Edward wrapped his arm around me, pulling me against him as his other hand moved slowly up my back until it was tangled in my hair. I moaned low into his mouth, praying my will power would hold.
Forty-four more days
-V&V—
"Feeling better today?" He asked as he watched me cross the room on my way to my suitcase.
"A lot better."
Who would have thought I'd have slept so well in a haunted brothel?
I snickered. "Although after all these days of eating out and sitting in a car, I'm afraid my butt may not fit into my wedding dress." I said with a laugh as I bent over to dig into my suitcase.
"Hmm" Edward began "I wouldn't worry, your butt looks pretty good from here."
I tried to look indignant as I turned to face him, hands on my hips, but as soon as I saw his smile, I was lost. "Better than pretty good actually." He added as he wiggled his eyebrows.
My only response was to chuckle and shake my head as I turned back to my bag. "I could actually use a run, would you like to come with me?" He asked.
I nodded. "Yes, I think I would." Whereas Emmett and Edward seemed to find time for a run almost every morning, I hadn't done any real physical exercise, apart from walking or swimming for ages. I thought back and realized that I hadn't really exercised since my abduction. I lightly shuddered at that memory.
I hadn't heard Edward climb out of the bed and come up behind me. Suddenly his hands were on my shoulders. "What's the matter sweetheart?"
I shrugged. "Just trying to remember the last time I worked out. It was before, you know." My voice trailed off.
Suddenly the hands on my shoulders were gone and I felt both of Edward's arms wrap around me from behind pulling me against his hard chest. "Don't think about it Bella."
I smiled and turned to look up at his face. "I'm not worried. You're with me."
He nodded. "And I'll be damned if I ever let anyone hurt you again." He said in a low voice.
"Let's go for that run." I said by way of changing the subject.
We passed Emmett and Rose in the hallway, carrying coffee and tea to their room. Knowing that they didn't have a sitting room, I offered ours. "Edward and I are going for a run; you can use our room if you like."
"Thanks guys" Emmett muttered as he turned, headed toward our room. He looked terrible.
"Rough night Emmett?" Edward asked as he unlocked our door.
"Fuck yeah." He exclaimed. "She heard a noise." He said while shooting a quick glare at Rose.
I saw Rose struggle unsuccessfully to control her laughter. I bit my lip.
"Bells, I'm sorry for teasing you last night, because when I went to investigate the noise, I swear I saw that ghost." He paled when he said the last word.
"He ran back to our room like his ass was on fire." Rose blurted.
We were all laughing at poor Emmett's expense, as he proceeded to glare into his coffee.
"But that's not the best part." Rose started to laugh so hard then that she could barely speak. "The best part was the dream afterwards where he woke up yelling. I'm surprised you didn't hear him."
Emmett glared at her again. "Laugh it up Rosie. I'm glad my discomfort brings you so much amusement."
I pulled my lips into a hard line, trying to wipe away the smile.
Emmett blew out a big breath and looked down into his coffee again, grasping the mug with both hands. "It was horrible." He muttered. "And it's all your fault Rose, talking all that shit about the 'Wild West' last night." He made air quotes with two fingers before grasping the mug with both hands again.
"The dream started out pretty fucking cool because I was a cowboy. I was right outside this building when it was still a saloon. I made sure to look at my reflection in the window and I was like 'sweet, I look all rugged and shit.' Then I looked around. Everyone on the street had stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I did a quick check to make sure I had remembered to zip, if you know what I mean."
Edward and I snickered.
"It was then I realized I was the only man." He winced. "The women in the street started moving in my direction, and I'm talking running, not walking. One of them shouted, 'We haven't seen a man in so long…' At that moment, the saloon girls started pouring out of the Red Garter, and surrounded me. They started to grab me, but the hookers were the most eager. It was Night of the fucking Living Dead." He said with disgust.
Edward, Rose and I exploded into laughter.
Emmett continued, "I finally managed to break free of the crowd, and took off running. It took about two seconds to realize that I was naked, those crazy zombie bitches had ripped off all my clothes." He announced, appalled.
The three of us were literally in stitches.
"While I ran, I turned and saw them getting closer. They kept shouting that they didn't want to hurt me; they just wanted my man meat. And that's when I woke up screaming." He shuddered. "I felt so dirty." He muttered.
"Oh Emmett" Rose said through a snort of laughter "It was only a dream, and besides, all they did was rip off your clothes."
"Yes, but they wanted to do more." He said with a scowl.
We continued to laugh.
I realized that, after what I'd lived through, I probably shouldn't have found this situation funny, but it was Emmett after all, and his ridiculous subconscious. I couldn't help but laugh my ass off.
-V&V—
"Just think, if we were here for dinner instead of breakfast we could have the Shishka-Bobcats or the Chunk of Skunk." Emmett announced with a laugh.
We were sitting in the Roadkill Café in Seligman Arizona, perusing the menu while Edward and Emmett were reading the fake menu items. Obviously, because of the name of the restaurant, all those were variations on the same theme: Dishes made from road kill.
"I don't know Emmett; I think I'd prefer the late night choices: A Smear of Deer or Fender Tenders." Edward said with a grin.
I watched them with unbelieving eyes as they both laughed loudly.
Rose wasn't amused. "Hey, need I remind you that there's a pregnant woman right here?" She snapped, pointing to herself. "I spend most of my days vacillating between stuffing my face or feeling nauseated, so put a sock in it."
Our guys looked a little remorseful, but never lost their smiles.
After visiting the Route 66 shops in Seligman, we were back on the road. This time Edward drove. "Good God Bells, it looks like an entire family of homeless people has been living in the back seat." Rose announced as she slid into the car.
I gave her a sheepish look and shrugged. "We were stuck in here for a long time yesterday." I admitted as I grabbed an empty Pringles can and shoved it into a trash bag.
We stepped from the vehicle an hour later at the General Store in Hackberry Arizona. All four of us seemed to drift in different directions once we were inside. As I wandered around looking at the Route 66 memorabilia, I sensed my brother beside me. "Bells, can I talk to you about something?" He looked serious for once.
"Sure Emmett." I answered.
"Rose and I have been choosing the music for the special dances at the wedding reception." He cleared his throat. "Normally there would be a dance between the groom and his mother." He said in a whisper.
I knew about this because Edward had been planning the dance with his Mom for our wedding. Of course this wouldn't be an option for Emmett.
No wonder he seems sad. My poor brother.
"I've been thinking about it, and" He hesitated before looking into my eyes. "I don't want to skip it. I'd really like to have that dance with you, if it's okay." He swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving mine.
My sweet, crazy brother actually looked as if he'd been agonizing over this. I patted his hand reassuringly. "Of course Brother Bear, I'm really touched."
Emmett looked relieved. "What song did you choose?" I questioned, needing to lighten the conversation.
He grinned. "I was thinking I'd surprise you."
This made me slightly uneasy, and he must have read it on my face.
"Don't worry Sissy. I promise no Jay-Z."
"Yeah, and no Eminem, no Flo Rida, no 50 Cent, no.."
"I get it" He interrupted. "No rap, I promise." He wrapped his big arm around my shoulders, giving me a half hug. "Thanks Bella."
"Thank you for asking." I returned his smile.
-V&V—
Edward drove us across the desert, with a stop at the Baghdad Café, the diner made famous by the movie of the same name. None of us but Edward had seen the move, but he insisted we have dinner there.
As we got closer to L.A., the fact that we were drawing near to the end of our road trip began to sink in. For the next couple of hours, we went back over the highlights of the trip, beginning with the moment we boarded the train in Seattle.
It had been a whirlwind couple of weeks. None of us were prepared to repeat the trip any time soon, but we definitely wanted to do it again someday.
After battling the busy L.A. traffic, we'd finally reached the end of the road. Because of our stops and side-trips today, it was getting late when Edward parked the car, and we made our way to the Santa Monica Pier for our last Route 66 photo op. We'd taken several good shots before the crowd started to approach Edward and me wanting photos and autographs. Edward indulged them for a few minutes before we made a hasty departure.
The familiar camera flashes greeted us as we approached the car.
The paps.
Edward scowled. "Welcome back to L.A."
-V&V—
It was late evening by the time we made it to Edward's house. We were greeted by more paps waiting outside the gates, but Edward just drove past, ignoring them. Once inside, we were greeted by Sidney and Lou, who would be accompanying us on our Vegas excursion. We were due to meet up with Alice, Jasper and Chris the next day; but for tonight, we all preferred to relax.
"This is gorgeous Edward." Rose remarked as we lounged in Edward's pool. "If I had this view, I'd never leave the pool. They'd have to drag my pruney ass out of here." She laughed as she looked out over the lights of the city.
"I've always liked it." He answered with a smile, his eyes also drawn to the view.
"So what are y'all doing when we finally get back to Seattle." Rose asked. "Or are you staying here?" At that question, Emmett looked out at the lights, away from us.
"I think we'll do a little house-hunting. After the wedding, Bella and I want our home to be in Seattle." Edward said quietly as he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer in the pool. "We both know that I'll be travelling when I'm filming, but we'll make it work somehow."
Rose and Emmett both smiled happily. "We're going house-hunting as soon as we get back too. We don't want to live in the apartment with a baby." Rose announced. "Maybe we can find homes near each other?" She smiled widely.
I liked the idea, but I wasn't sure how Edward would feel about it.
-V&V—
You'd think after being together practically every minute for weeks that Edward and I would welcome a little time apart. That simply wasn't the case. We both must have looked dejected the next day as our departure for Las Vegas got near. My brother even noticed. "Would you two please cheer up? This weekend is supposed to be fun." He boomed.
He was right of course. Edward and I smiled sadly at each other. We spent the morning doing laundry, and the afternoon folding and packing. "Bella, I need to give you something." Edward said quietly as we stood in the bedroom repacking our suitcases.
He held out his hand to reveal a shiny black credit card. Upon closer inspection, I realized my name was printed on it. I looked up at him in confusion.
"It would really make me happy if you didn't argue with me about this Bella. I had your name added to all my accounts weeks ago." He began.
"Edward, I don't need your money."
"Maybe not, but it would give me peace of mind if you carried this with you. Suppose there's an emergency this weekend." He said.
"Rose and Alice will be with me." I offered.
He frowned. "Don't you see Bella? I want to be the one to take care of you, not Rose, not Alice, not your brother, not anyone else."
I sighed. "Edward, I do have my own money." Which was dwindling away to nothing since I'd stopped working.
Emmett had insisted on paying for the entire bachelorette weekend. It was a good thing, because I would have never been able to afford it.
"I'll be getting the advance for my book…" I offered.
He interrupted, "If it makes you feel better, you can add my name to your bank account." He said as he pressed the card into my hand and wrapped my fingers around it. "Bella, please." I looked up into his pleading eyes. "We'll be husband and wife in a few weeks. Please do this for me."
I took a deep breath. "Alright." This wasn't a subject worth fighting about. The truth was that most of the trappings of my soon-to-be new life were things I could never afford on my own, with or without the money from my writing. It was time I accepted that fact.
He let out a breath and pulled me close. "Thank you baby."
-V&V—
By afternoon, Alice, Jasper, and Christopher had arrived.
"Hello my lovelies." Chris sang as he hugged and kissed us. "Are we ready for Sin City?"
"Are you coming with us?" I asked, hopeful that Chris had decided to come with the girls rather than the guys.
He gave me a guilty smile. "I would like to, I really would but.."
"But he can't resist a weekend with those hunky football players." Alice blurted with a laugh.
Chris's smile grew larger. "She knows me well. I promise Bella dear that nothing will stop me from attending yours when the time comes. This will actually be the first time I've ever attended a bachelor party." He admitted.
I gave him a puzzled look. "You didn't attend Jasper's?"
"No, I couldn't. It was the same weekend as Alice's, and since I was her Man of Honor, and had planned the whole darn thing, I couldn't very well miss it." He answered.
I looked at him in surprise. "I didn't know you were her Man of Honor."
Alice smiled indulgently at Chris. "He's been my best friend for a long time."
Soon after that, Alec arrived. He'd planned a diversion which involved him disguised as Edward, and a large white limo. Amazingly enough, he managed to lure the paps away. A few minutes later two much less ostentatious limos arrived. One for the men and one for the women. Lou would ride with me and Sidney would go with Edward.
"Why is this so difficult?" I whispered to Edward as we said goodbye.
"I don't want to go either." He whispered back. "Maybe I'll be able to sneak away?" He said with a devious smile.
"Alice and Rose will probably kill us." I interjected, while secretly hopeful.
"It would be worth the risk." He said with a smirk.
"Hey, you two had better not be making plans." Alice exclaimed from her spot by the women's limo. "You are ours for the next two days Miss Swan. My brother can survive for that long."
Edward sighed and pulled me closer. "I love you baby."
"I love you too."
When we arrived in Vegas a little over four hours later, I understood why Alice and Rose insisted we arrive at night. The lights of the strip were beyond amazing. It felt a little like Christmas, except with strippers and gambling.
I laughed to myself at the thought.
The gambling I didn't mind, but the strippers were another matter. The best part about Charlie being in charge of Emmett's party was that I knew without a doubt that there would be no strippers.
When we arrived at the Bellagio, I was literally bowled over by its opulence. I caught myself more than once turning to say something to Edward when I would see something particularly beautiful or eye-catching, only to realize that he wasn't beside me. According to his latest text, he was across the street at Caesar's Palace.
This is going to be a long weekend.
By the time we arrived at the suite, the rest of our party was already there. For the first time since Rose and Emmett's engagement, all her bridesmaids were gathered in one place. Caitie and Tami, Rose's sorority sisters had flown in from Seattle. Harriett, Rose's cousin had flown in from Georgia with her two brothers, Bradley and Bo, who were attending Emmett's bachelor party. Marlene and Jennie, Rose's friends from high school, had flown in from New Orleans and Miami, respectively.
Even though we knew there was plenty to do our first night in Vegas, we all opted to stay in and relax. Tomorrow would be a busy spa and salon day for us, with dinner, and a party back in the suite that evening, so the most prudent decision seemed to be to rest up in preparation.
"You know your mother invited Tommy and Louise to the wedding." Harriett informed Rose as we relaxed that evening in the sitting room of our enormous suite.
"She did not!" Rose exclaimed.
"She most certainly did. And you know if Tommy attends, he'll bring that bitch girlfriend of his." Harriet continued.
"Motherfucker" Rose muttered.
Evidently Rose's cousins on her Dad's side had often been thrown together with cousins on her mother's side each time the Whitlocks had any kind of family function. Birthday parties, anniversary parties, weddings, etc. And the cousins on Colonel Whitlock's side had developed an extreme dislike for those on Mrs. Whitlock's side, similar to the way Jasper and Rose felt about them.
Tommy and his sister Louise were particularly disliked by Jasper and Rose.
"Samantha is attending." Rose said worriedly. "She told me she didn't want to be a bridesmaid because she'd be heavily pregnant." Rose huffed out a breath. "Wedding day or not, I swear I will kill Britni if she bothers her." Rose spat through gritted teeth.
"Who's Britni?" I asked.
"My cousin Tommy's bitch girlfriend" Rose answered. "For some reason she has always had a pick on my cousin Samantha. She's just jealous because Samantha is gorgeous and because even on her best day Britni still looks like a troll. A troll that dresses like a hooker."
We laughed.
Emmett and Rose's wedding day should be interesting.
-V&V—
It was late when I crawled into bed. Even though we'd spent the evening in the suite, we stayed up late talking. The girls were interested not only in Rose and Emmett's wedding, but in mine and Edward's. We also chatted about our Route 66 adventure.
I was sharing a bedroom with Alice. While she was in the shower, I checked my phone for messages, finding one from Edward.
B-
Did you go out? I miss you. Call me, no matter how late.
Love you
-E
I immediately dialed him. "Hey baby. Did you go out?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"No. We stayed in. I'm sorry; I left my phone in the bedroom while I spent time with the girls."
I could hear the smile in his voice. "That's okay. We went to the casino for a while, had a drink at the bar. This bunch is pretty rowdy. I don't know if Charlie's going to be able to control them." He said with a chuckle.
"Oh well, he can always use brute force. He is a cop after all." I chuckled.
"Jasper's cousins are a lot of fun, but Emmett's friend Gregory may just be insane."
I groaned, remembering Gregory from the few times I'd seen him in action. "He's so out of control sometimes Edward. I don't know what my brother sees in him. I thought for years that maybe he was trying to influence him to settle down. Doesn't seem to have worked."
Edward chuckled. "I have to agree with that assessment. He and Bo seem to have hit it off."
"Bo's nice." That's as much as I was going to say. I decided that Edward didn't need to know that Bo had tried to get to know me better a couple of years ago. He'd been a perfect gentleman but, needless to say, he realized pretty quickly that I wasn't exactly approachable.
Now that my life is an open book, I guess he understands.
I decided to change the subject. "At least it sounds like Sidney will have a far more interesting time than poor Lou will on this trip." I giggled. "He's got a room across the hall from our suite, so tonight wasn't bad for him, but tomorrow he gets to sit outside the spa for most of the day twiddling his thumbs."
"As long as he keeps you safe, that's all I care about Bella." Edward answered seriously.
"I know" I whispered, understanding that he had a hard time letting me leave his sight, and not just because he missed me. He worried.
I didn't have a chance to think too much about that before yawning loudly in Edward's ear. He laughed. "Get some sleep sweetheart; I'll talk to you tomorrow." He directed.
"Okay, love you." I mumbled.
"Love you too. Sweet dreams Bella."
-V&V—
"You know I love you like a sister Bella, but it's kind of squigging me out that you're spooning me right now." Alice's lilting voice invaded the lovely dream I was having in which I was seated behind Edward, clinging to him for dear life, as we rode a motorcycle along Route 66.
As soon as her words broke through the haze of sleep, I moved back a foot so that our bodies were no longer touching. She rolled over to face me. "Thanks" She mumbled.
It was then that I saw that she had on a zebra-stripe sleep mask. "Alice, what the hell are you wearing?" I whispered.
"I need it totally dark in order to sleep. Don't judge me." She smirked, looking a lot like her brother in the half-light.
I giggled before drifting off to sleep again.
-V&V—
"God Bella, if you're this shy around other women, I can't imagine how you're going to survive your wedding night. Are you going to let Edward see you naked at least?" Rose whispered. Thankfully no one but Alice heard her.
For the next two hours, our group had the entire spa reserved. Most of the treatments had a 'clothing optional' policy. I, of course, was wearing my swimsuit with the fuzzy hotel robe over it. "Why aren't you making fun of Alice? She's wearing her swimsuit too." I snapped at Rose.
"Because that's just Alice." She laughed.
"I save it all for Jasper." Alice chirped from the massage table. "He's the only one who gets to see the goods."
By the time we were on our second round of mimosas, Rose of course relegated once again to orange juice; I was feeling very relaxed. Although not relaxed enough to agree to a Brazilian wax.
"No Rose. A bikini wax is bad enough. Brazilian is out of the question." I was standing firm on this one.
Rose pursed her lips and nodded. "You're probably right. You should wait until you've been married a few months for that one. You can surprise him with it." She said with a wink.
"Yeah, you'd probably freak him out if you're bare the first time he sees you." Alice chimed in.
I can't believe we're having this conversation.
"That's your brother you're talking about." I hissed.
"And your point is?" Alice said with a smirk.
-V&V-
Edward and I had been communicating through text messages all day. I had given him details of each torture session, leaving out the bikini wax, and he'd been telling me about the crazy things they'd been doing.
I laughed for five whole minutes when I found out how Charlie had exacted revenge upon my brother for a long list of transgressions.
My father was a genius.
E-
On our way to dinner, wish I could see you. I miss you. I spooned Alice in my sleep last night.
-B
Less than a minute later my phone chimed with a message.
B-
Lucky Alice. I hope it was because you thought she was me.
Love you.
-E
I laughed out loud, earning curious looks from the girls and Lou as we rode along.
E-
Of course I was dreaming about you. You're the star of all my good dreams. Love you too. I'd better go, your sister's giving me the stink-eye.
-B
She was too, so I promptly stuck my tongue out at her about a second before my phone rang.
Edward
"Hi" I breathed, earning snickers from most of the girls.
"Hey. So you spooned my sister while dreaming of me?" He laughed lightly.
"Yep" I said in response. "And I'm not embarrassed by it either."
"I don't think you should be. You're sharing a room with Alice?"
"Yes. We're all sharing rooms. Rose is sharing with her cousin Harriet." I said. "How about you? Are you guys sharing?" I wanted to laugh, already knowing the answer.
"Ah no." Edward answered. "Guys don't share Bella. Or if they do sleep in the same room, someone sleeps on the floor."
I giggled.
"Although, that doesn't change the fact that Chris has offered to share with your Dad."
I gasped. "He didn't."
"He did. Twice." Edward said. I could tell he was holding back a laugh.
"Twice?" My voice raised an octave as I grinned.
"So far." Edward said as he finally released a laugh. "Your Dad blushed almost the same shade of red I've seen you turn on numerous occasions." He laughed again.
"Oh my God. Wait until I tell Rose." I laughed again as we pulled up in front of the restaurant. "We're going to dinner now. I suppose I'd better hang up." I said, reluctant as always to sever our connection.
"I'll see you soon beautiful."
"Love you Edward."
"Love you more." He whispered and ended the call before I could respond.
I sat back and sighed while staring at my phone, ignoring the giggles all around me.
-V&V—
After dinner at a top-notch French Restaurant, we decided to visit the Casino. Our group got a lot of stares, but I never presumed for one moment that it was because people recognized me. Rose and the other girls were stunning, dressed to the nines as they were, and if I was being honest, I didn't look half bad either.
Alice talked me into playing Roulette after she told me that she 'saw me' winning. She was right. My winnings came to a little over three hundred dollars. I was feeling pretty happy, considering I'd bet less than fifty; that was until I put the winnings in my clutch and glimpsed the shiny black credit card inside.
Gah. I bet I could charge a million dollars on that card and Edward wouldn't even blink.
And I'm excited about three hundred bucks?
Really Bella?
"Bella?" I heard a soft voice call to me as I walked through the casino with Alice and Lou on our way to collect the rest of our group.
I turned to see a beautiful smiling face that I hadn't laid eyes on in more than seven years; the face that belonged to my best friend from childhood. "Lianne?" I whispered. She gave me a slight nod, and that was all it took before I crossed the space between us and threw my arms around her neck. She hugged me back before we both pulled away slightly to look at each other.
"Bella, I can't believe it's you." Lianne began "I mean I've seen you on television, but of all the places to run into you."
"I know. It's so good to see you again." I added. "Do you live in Las Vegas?"
She laughed. "Oh no, I'm here on vacation. I start a job with a company in London in September, so I'm taking the summer off to spend time with family and friends."
I turned to Alice. "Alice, this is Lianne, my best friend from Phoenix. If not for her, I probably wouldn't be alive right now." I admitted quietly, remembering that Lianne was the one who alerted the police the day my mother was killed.
Lianne looked down at the floor uncomfortably. The next thing I knew, Alice had also thrown her arms around Lianne. "Not only my brother, but my entire family would be lost without Bella, so thank you Lianne. Thank you so very much."
Lianne just smiled in return.
We chatted for a few minutes and I tried to persuade her to come up to the suite with us, but she had plans with her friends.
"Lianne, it would mean the world to me if you would attend my wedding."
She smiled. "When is it?"
"August 14th. The ceremony is in Forks Washington. After that, we're transporting everyone to Seattle for the reception."
She nodded. "I'd love to come."
We exchanged phone numbers and promised to talk soon. Before I left, I hugged her one more time. "I'm so glad to have found you again."
"Me too Bella."
After our goodbyes, Alice and I found the group and ushered them up to the suite, knowing that by now the preparations for the party were complete. The concierge had arranged for a spread of food, and remembering how much Rose had enjoyed it, I'd arranged for all of us to receive a belly dancing lesson.
As soon as we arrived, I went to check on the food, and stopped dead in my tracks. "What the hell?" I asked as all the girls snickered from behind me. "Did the penis fairy visit this room while we were gone?" I barked.
"Bella, no offense, but I knew you were too sweet and innocent to decorate properly for this" Alice chirped. "I mean isn't it bad enough that Rosalie can't drink? She shouldn't have to give up the other fun parts of a bachelorette party."
I glanced around taking in the added 'decorations'. For the most part, they consisted of many and varied items all shaped like penises.
There were penis balloons of all shapes and sizes hanging all over the room, a 'pin the schlong on the dude' game taped to the refrigerator, two honeycombed pink penises serving as a centerpiece, penis confetti, a bowl full of 'pecker whistles' sitting beside the food, and penis straws, one of which adorned a tall drink that Jennie proceeded to place into my hand as I stood there frozen in my tracks.
I eyed the penis straw skeptically. After a moment's deliberation, I decided what the hell, and took a long pull of the mysterious concoction.
"Mmm. This is good." I hummed. I could taste coffee and Kahlua, along with the whipped cream topping, but it didn't quite taste like an Irish coffee. "What is this?" I asked.
"It's called a Fuzzy Dick" Jennie answered before laughing loudly.
Somehow, I don't think I'll share this experience with Edward. It just wouldn't sound right for me to say I was sucking on a Fuzzy Dick through a penis straw.
No.
I laughed softly and took another pull. Suddenly I heard a click and saw the flash of a camera. I looked up to see Alice smiling brightly as she looked at the screen of her phone. "Alice what are you doing?" I asked.
Please don't say you're sending that to Edward
"Well, if you must know, I've just taken a photo of your lips getting ready to wrap themselves around a penis straw, and am now sending it to Edward." She answered with a giggle.
Fuck
"Alice don't!" I urged as I grabbed for her phone. She pulled it out of my reach as she pushed the 'send' button.
"Too late" She exclaimed with another laugh.
Fuck my life. Fuck my life. Fuck. My. Life.
I stared at my phone, expecting a response from Edward, but none came. I convinced myself not to worry, knowing that he was with Sidney and my Dad, before downing the rest of my drink.
The belly dance instructor arrived just on time. We had the best time taking the lesson, although we did considerably more drinking than dancing. Afterwards, Alice took the floor again.
"Time to play Never Have I Ever" She exclaimed. My mind was already fuzzy, thanks to my Fuzzy Dicks, cue snort of laughter, so I knew it wouldn't take much for me to quit the game and crawl into bed.
"Now, since Rose is preggers and can't drink, she gets to choose the questions, rather than one of us." Alice exclaimed.
Jennie and Harriett made sure that everyone had full drinks before we began.
Rose held a stack of index cards in front of her. "A reminder of the rules ladies: Everyone holds up ten fingers. I read a statement starting with Never Have I Ever. If you have in fact never done the deed mentioned, you're safe and don't have to drink. If however you have done the deed, you put down one finger, and take a drink. The game is over as soon as someone has no fingers up. Let's hope we learn something new about each other before all of you get completely wasted. Just to be fair, I will play too, although I will be drinking juice." She ended with a grin.
Rose cleared her throat. "Never have I ever… done a striptease for my significant other."
Well shit. I was hoping I'd make it through this entire game without drinking.
I distinctly remember a drunken skype belly dance, followed by an unintentional striptease.
I took a swig of my drink, watching as Alice's eyebrows shot up when she saw me.
HA! I've definitely given her something to think about.
Granted, everyone else in the room also took a swig.
"Never have I ever… had sex on an airplane" Rose was the lone sipper after that particular statement. "What?" She said in answer to the stunned looks. "Shut up bitches, Emmett's convinced that Baby Swan was conceived on that plane."
Everyone in the room burst into laughter at that.
I found out a lot about the other bridesmaids during the next hour. Some things I could have survived quite happily without knowing, such as the fact that at least half of the girls had 'done it' while on their period.
At least three had worn a skirt without underwear at least once as an adult. Just the thought of that made me all sorts of uncomfortable.
Although I can see myself doing that with Edward… preferably after the wedding.
A lot of the things they talked about that I found slightly off-putting, didn't seem as bad when I thought of doing them with Edward.
"Never have I ever… had sex in a car."
"… had sex in an elevator."
"… had sex in a hot tub."
Rose was on a roll with the sex questions. Some of the girls didn't drink during some of these questions, but I was the only one who didn't take a sip during the entire series.
"… had sex outside."
"… had sex." Rose ended this particular series with a smirk at me.
Bitch
All eyes were on me as I set my glass down on the coffee table without taking a drink.
Everyone in our party who didn't know it before, was now aware of the fact that I was still a virgin. The room suddenly erupted into chatter.
I'd heard it all before. 'Oh my God Bella, but Edward's so yummy', 'I'd like to lick ice cream off of those abs', 'after riding him until he begs for mercy', 'before I tie him up and slap that gorgeous ass'. Girls, I discovered, are as obsessed with sex as the average male; and quite vocal about it once they'd gotten a couple of drinks in them. 'Mmm, he does have a gorgeous ass.' 'He has a gorgeous everything.' They giggled.
"Eww" Alice practically screeched. "That's my brother you're talking about!"
They laughed, but continued to rattle off an entire litany of the things they'd like to do with or to my fiancé. Even in my Fuzzy Dick induced stupor, I attempted to make mental notes of the items I wanted to try myself.
The music was playing, the girls drinking and chatting happily while playing a game of 'Pin the Schlong', when there was a loud knock at the door. I had a sudden pang of worry that it might be Lou, and that something was wrong with Edward.
My fears were put to rest when I opened the door to find a young guy standing there. He was dressed in a white button down shirt, black pants, and a bowtie. He looked like a waiter, but the most curious part of his ensemble was the silver drink shaker he held in his hand. "Good evening." He smiled. "My name's Guillermo. Someone called mentioning that you ladies were in need of my bartending services."
Huh?
I must have looked confused as he smiled and brushed past me into the suite. The hoots and hollers which greeted our new friend left little room for doubt; someone in our group of cackling hens had hired a stripper.
Once back in the sitting room, I frowned at the scene before me. These girls were really drunk, well so was I, but I wasn't pulling dollar bills out of my purse in order to be ready to shove them into Guillermo's G-string.
I shook my head and decided to spend the rest of the evening in my room.
I'll phone Edward. He's probably just as miserable as I am.
Alice shot across the room as fast as lightning and grabbed my arm. "Where are you going Bella?" She slurred.
"Alice, you're drunk, I'm drunk, everyone's drunk. Well except for Rose, but she doesn't need alcohol to act inappropriately. I have no desire to watch Guillermo's little performance."
"You do know that he's not going to be completely naked. He'll keep his thingy covered." She said with a drunken smile.
I laughed at her juvenile term. "I didn't know that, but I'm glad you told me. I still don't want to be in the same room as that." I pointed over to where Guillermo was standing on our coffee table, swaying his hips as he started to remove his shirt.
Edward is so much hotter than that guy.
"I just hope no one tries to pull something like this at my bachelorette party. It will make me uncomfortable." I added.
Alice smiled and leaned in to whisper. "Honey, I'm not comfortable either. I'm just very good at 'going with the flow'. You do realize that Rose arranged for the stripper herself. Her only goal is to have her photo taken with Guillermo so that she can taunt Emmett. They have such a weird relationship sometimes." She laughed loudly before her expression abruptly changed into a frown. "I want nothing more than to go over to Caesar's Palace right now and crawl into bed with my Jazzy." She said with a hiccup. "But I can't do that. I'm here for the duration."
With those words she turned back toward the party and I retreated to the bedroom. I lay on the bed, intending to hide in there until the stripper was gone. I thought back to the crazy day and silently cringed as I thought about the housekeeping staff being greeted the next morning by the 'peen' display in the sitting room. I knew I didn't have the energy to pull down all those balloons beforehand, so exhaustion won out over embarrassment.
When I couldn't hear Guillermo's music playing any more, I assumed the party was winding down. I pulled out my phone to call Edward.
"Bells?" I heard the gruff voice of my father answer.
I looked at the screen, making sure that I hadn't drunk-dialed Charlie by accident.
"Dad? Why are you answering Edward's phone?"
"Uh, long story. I'm sort of glad you called. Is Rosie around?"
"She's in the other room." I started to panic. "Dad, is something wrong with Edward?"
"No, he's fine as far as I know."
"As far as you know!" I practically screamed. "Dad where's Edward?"
"Bells now calm down. I'm pretty sure you'll see him soon. Sidney's with him so don't freak the hell out. I really need to speak with Rose." He pronounced each word slowly and deliberately.
Yeah, he knows I've had too much to drink.
"Bella honey, please give the phone to Rose now."
"Okay" I muttered as I made my way to sitting room to find Rose ushering the girls to their bedrooms. I held out my phone to her.
"Dad needs to speak with you."
She looked puzzled as she put it to her ear. "Charlie what's wrong?"
She listened for a moment before frowning deeply. "Charlie you're making me nervous, what's going on?"
She listened again, still frowning.
"Where's Sidney?"
Another pause.
"Emmett and Jasper?"
She listened.
"Ew" She said with a grimace.
Rose then started to laugh, and after listening again, laughed even harder.
"Oh God" She gasped through her laughter.
She listened again while nodding her head. "My poor monkey man. Alice and I will be right there. Thanks Charlie." She said quietly, still smiling.
"Bye."
"What's happened Rose?" I asked.
She looked at me while calling over her shoulder. "Alice come on, we've got to go."
Alice was beside us in a flash. "Go where?" She asked, still slightly slurring her words.
"Emmett's gotten sick from overindulging, and Jasper, also very drunk, keeps trying to leave the suite to find you." Rose answered.
Alice smiled. "Aww. That's so sweet. My Jazzy misses me." She sighed happily. "Why don't they just bring Jazzy to me?" She asked.
Rose smirked. "Because he's naked. He keeps trying to leave, but won't put on any clothes." We all three laughed at that. "Charlie's had his hands full with the two of them, not to mention Edward."
"Edward? What's wrong with Edward?" I asked, losing my smile immediately.
"Nothing's wrong with Edward, aside from the fact that he too is drunk." She smirked.
"I'm coming with you." I announced.
"No Bells. Edward's on his way here. You need to stay put."
"Oh. Okay." I muttered.
As soon as Rose and Alice left, I went back to my room to lie down, making sure to leave the bedroom door open so that I would hear Edward when he arrived.
About five minutes later, I heard one of the girls answer the door.
A moment later a voice squealed excitedly from the sitting room, "Thank you God! I am in peen heaven. This is my happy place!"
Christopher?
******A/N*****
A/N More photos will be posted on Facebook of places visited.
Here's a little treat for you: The full phone conversation between Charlie and Rose is posted on the V&V Facebook under Notes.
Anything else I have to say will be on Facebook. Laters baby.
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