A/N: I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, nor do I ever claim to be. All characters and settings are hers.
"Alice!" I hissed as she had me by the hand and was literally dragging me into the next store on her agenda. I had reluctantly gone with her "shopping" for the day. She had promised a relaxing trip with the possibility of a visit to a salon at the end of the day for a pedicure and manicure, which I had started to enjoy despite myself. I should have known no shopping trip with Alice would ever be relaxing, especially when my wedding to her brother Edward was less than a week away.
"Alice Cullen, I am NOT going into that store with you." I hissed again as I jerked my hand to no avail. She might have been tiny but I knew she had strength beyond any I could hope to compare to, well at least for say the next several weeks. Hopefully that would change soon.
"Come on Bella! We don't have all day and this was the main reason I wanted to come to the mall." She pleaded. "Besides, you're making a scene. Don't make me restrain you."
"I'd like to see you try in this crowded shopping mall." I bit back.
"Bella……" she pleaded. "Please, I already know what to get, so you don't have to try on everything in the store."
I stopped mid-tug. "And how do you know that?"
She just smiled smugly and pointed to her head. I groaned in frustration. I lowered my voice and leaned forward reluctantly to whisper so only she could hear. "Please don't tell me you had a vision."
"Not technically, but, ummm I took a sneak peak at what I was going to pack for you, since I'm packing your suitcase since you can't because your destination is a secret. I promise, I didn't look any further. Trust, me I don't want all the details. Well not visually anyway. You are going to spill when you get home though."
I rolled my eyes at her. She just continued. "It's what sister's do. They gush, we'll go and get manicures and discuss your honeymoon."
"And how many times have you and Rosalie done this little ritual?" That stopped her short. "Besides. I'm not sure you want the details on your brother."
"Oh yeah, you're right." She responded.
I thought while I had her distracted I would try to make another escape, but of course she knew this ahead of time and tightened her grip on my arm. "If you give me bruises I'm going to let Edward have full reign at you when we get home. Besides, this close to the wedding they'll still be there."
Alice relaxed her grip but drug me into the offending store anyway. I immediately broke out into a cold sweat. Who knew there could be this many varieties of underwear. What happened to just your plain everyday bikini's and a decent bra. Why all the fuss with lace and satin and bows and strings. I mean, some of this stuff was seriously scary looking. I blushed as she dragged me by one stand. I hope that wasn't something she had seen packing for me.
Alice quickly scanned the racks and shelves quickly filling her free hand with items. Mostly in creams and blues, but I saw one item that was black with a bit of red. I felt my face turn the same shade.
"Alice, that's enough. One item, I don't have to try it on and let's go. Here how about this?"
I had picked up a satin pajama set, tank top with long pants. Edward had seen me in something similar before and commented he liked it, why go through all this mess?
"Bella, Bella, Bella. You will be a married woman, a young married woman and besides, we're not looking for sleepwear, we're looking for something more……romantic." She just grinned mischievously taking the pajama set and putting it back where I found it and skipped along. I stood still in place and looked at the items around me and began to get nervous again. I hope she had no intentions of me trying on any of this.
"Bella." She was back and had my hand once again as she headed off to the dressing rooms.
"No, we can take this home. Don't you know already what we're getting?"
"Yes, but there was more in the suitcase I didn't see. Of course there is also the stuff I ordered from France." Her voice trailed off at the end.
"What, what was that about stuff you ordered?"
"Nothing, come on, we don't have all day." She continued to pull me towards the back of the store.
I sighed as we reached the grinning sales lady who was holding a door open for me. I sunk my head in shame and slinked into the room. Alice took the bags I was holding and replaced them with the pile of lace and satin. "Hurry up," she commanded. "We don't have all afternoon. We have that spa appointment and then I have to have you home in time to go and meet with the minister for the final time before the wedding."
With that she was out of the room and I was staring at the pile in my hands and the bright lights above and the mirror in front of me.
"I can't hear you moving!"
"I'm going, I'm going. Just chill." I hissed back through the door.
"Remember Bella, happy place."
I gulped as I sat the items down on the bench against the wall. I didn't know how or when, but one day I was sooooooo going to make Alice pay for this. I was already embarrassed. I'm sure Japser and Emmett would hear of this and what she forced me to let her buy and they would have a good laugh about it later. I sincerely hoped Emmett wasn't at home when we arrived with pink and black striped shopping bags.
I sifted through the stack and found one item that had more cloth than the others. The item was a pale shade of ivory with delicate embroidery and a sheer panel in the back and spaghetti straps.
I stripped down and tried the item on. The front was lower cut then anything I had ever worn in my life, the length skimmed the top of my thighs and I gasped slightly when I noticed the slits on the sides that showed the sides of my hips. I blushed and quickly took the item off. It fit, that was enough. I looked at the size in the tag and quickly scanned the others. All the same, good, they would all fit that's all I needed to know. As I scanned tags I came across one of the black items Alice had included in the pile. It was sheer, the whole thing except for the padded cups at the top.
"Alice?" I called as I was quickly trying to make my way back into my clothes. I suddenly felt the need to be as covered as possible.
"Yes?"
"Umm, did you notice several of these things, well, they're kinda see through. Sheer."
I heard a high pitched light giggle. "That's the whole point Bella."
I sighed. Fine she could buy these items, but that didn't mean I had to wear them. I would just leave the tags on and who knows what I would do with them, hide them, return them, give them away. As long as I didn't decide anything definite she couldn't see.
"Bella, remember I'm packing your bag, I can remove the tags when I pack. And I can ask Edward if he received his wedding gift from me and he'll know what I mean." I sighed in frustration.
I gathered up the pile of offending items. Well, the first wasn't too bad, but still. I pulled the door back and there stood my soon to be sister-in-law grinning.
"Oh come on Bella. Aren't you the one who made the whole condition of wanting a proper honeymoon, well, I'm just trying to help you along. Trust me."
"I feel like a slut Alice in some of that stuff."
"Trust me, I would have gotten you worse, all this stuff is tasteful, even the sheer stuff isn't too bad. Besides you're not wearing that stuff for anyone other than your husband. You'll be begging me to buy you more. Well, if you don't, I'm sure Edward would. Did you even try on everything?"
I felt myself turn red as I shoved the items back at her to take to the cash register and I gathered my bags back again. "Didn't need to, they're all the same size. Besides, you obviously know my size very well as much as you shop, why make me have to try stuff on?"
Alice just grinned as we walked.
"Fine. I'll take them. I might even wear a few, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it now."
Alice grinned. "Nope, but you will later."
I tried to relax at the spa, but I was just too wound up now. I was jumpy and nervous. I hoped that Emmett wasn't at home when we got back because he would pick at me unmercifully, Jasper would feel my shame and well, I didn't want Edward to know just yet what Alice had made me buy, but I did want to go and bury myself in his arms as soon as we got home. Wait, nope, no could do, we had more "meetings" and wedding stuff as soon as we get back to Forks. I sighed and sunk down lower in the chair as I was having my nails polished.
"Bella what's wrong?"
Alice obviously could feel my discomfort as she pulled her Porsche into the garage at the Cullen house.
"Who all is home? Can you tell?" I was nearly whispering by this point.
A look of concentration came over her face but before she could even respond my question was answered with my worst fears. Jasper was standing at Alice's door holding it open for her and Emmett had followed behind him. I sunk down in my seat and wished to be swallowed whole.
"Why so nervous Bella?" Jasper was helping Alice from the car and had questioned the feeling he was getting from me after he had greeted her with a kiss.
"Not nervous." I muttered.
"So, I'm here to help unload what I'm sure is a carload full of bags. Open the trunk, Alice!" Emmett was standing at the back of the car with a big grin on his face.
"No!" I almost shouted. Alice gave me a stern look. "We can unload all of this later. Edward and I need to be leaving. We have a meeting right?" I pointedly looked at Alice.
"Yeah, but you two will probably take the Volvo." With that Alice opened the trunk and I hid my face in my hands. The next thing I heard was a booming laugh from Emmett as I let out a groan and then a set of cool hands gently wrapped themselves around my wrist and tugged.
I let me hands be pulled from my face but I kept my eyes shut. Jasper was now chuckling along with Emmett. "Bella?" I sighed, it was my angel. Edward.
"Hey bro, she's a bit red there. I wonder if there is anything in one of these bags to match that shade on her face just now." I heard a loud smack.
"Aww Alice, I was just kidding. You didn't have to hit me."
"Mind your manners Emmett Cullen." Alice snapped back.
I slowly opened my eyes to see Edward squatting down next to me with the car door open. He was grinning my favorite crooked grin.
"You knew, you know don't you. You saw in Alice's mind!"
His face quickly sobered up a bit. "No, actually Alice kept me out of her head all morning and I still don't know what's in those bags, but well, it's just funny watching Emmett tote in a bunch of Victoria's Secrets bags. And you know me, I love it when you blush." I immediately felt the heat rush to my face once again.
"Hey Edward, I'm just going to go and leave all these in your room bro, since well, I guess technically they are for you!" Emmett skipped out of the reach of Alice's short arm as he dodged into the house followed by Alice and Jasper.
"So, what did you buy today?" he asked as innocently as he could.
"Nothing, I bought absolutely nothing. But your sister tortured me."
"You'll thank me later!" I heard Alice's ringing voice from somewhere inside the house.
I sighed as I pushed on Edward's should to get him to back up. We needed to leave, I needed to get away from Alice and Emmett for a little while before I turned a permanent shade of red. "Come on we need to get going."
Edward helped me out of the Porsche and opened my door to the Volvo. I quickly climbed in and got settled, staring out the window. As we raced down the driveway I felt Edward gently take my hand and pull it up to his lips and kiss the back of it before settling our hands next to my leg.
"Are you really mad at Alice?"
"I'm embarrassed."
"Why?"
"Because it's all Emmett and possibly Jasper and I'm sure Alice and Rosalie will talk about while we're gone. It's embarrassing. Why does everyone have to have fun about our currently non-existent sex life?"
I could tell Edward was grinning, but I could feel his tension. He didn't like to think about the possibility of us together with me still human, but I had fought a hard battle and was going to get my way, at least once before I was turned so I could spend eternity with him.
"I promise, they won't be talking behind our backs while we're gone, especially Jasper, Alice and Rosalie. I'll rein Emmett in on his comments."
"Sure, sure, he lives to make me blush as much as possible."
"Well, in that case, I might let him run on for a little while. I love that color on you." Edward's voice had dropped a bit and sounded like rough velvet by the time he had finished his statement.
I turned to look at Edward and as usual his eyes were not on the road, but on me and I could once again see the dark fire in them. The same fire I felt deep in the pit of my stomach every time he kissed me.
I sighed, we couldn't have this conversation now and we couldn't exactly pull over and well….besides, he had the control of a stone statue.
"We have a meeting with the minister. I think we need to get our minds out of the gutter for moment Edward."
He laughed lightly and returned to watching the road. "You're right."