Chapter 14 (She Was Thankful)

Chapter 14~(She Was Thankful)

BPOV

Best.Thanksgiving.Ever.

I had slept peacefully and dreamlessly all night, completely wrapped up in my sweet southern sugar.  We never went to sleep in the same position and definitely never stayed in the same position.  But we were snugglers throughout for sure. 

Thanksgiving morning as my eyes fluttered open for the first time, I felt something warm and wet making its way up my leg.  The feeling started at the top of my left foot and made a path that continued to my knee.  It was repeated on the right side.  A slow, lazy smile stretched across my face once consciousness caught up with me and I realized what was happening.  This is so much better than coffee.

Edward’s kisses alternated from one thigh to the next, covering every inch of skin until he reached the apex between them, making me gasp.  He looked up at me from between my legs with his crooked grin.  He obviously knew what he was doing to me.  His fingertips followed the same trail that his kisses had just left, teasing me mercilessly.  He continued his kisses along each hipbone and to my abdomen, stopping to dip his tongue into my belly button.  My moan turned into a giggle when he suddenly blew a raspberry there.

He continued his tongue torture to my cleavage.  He teased one nipple with his teeth while gently tugging on the other with his fingers.  He traced my collar bones up my neck to my bottom lip.  He never said a word while he worshiped every inch of my body and his silence just made his actions that much more intense.

He kissed behind my ear and down my neck and shoulder, while reaching down and intertwining our hands.  He placed soft kisses at every finger tip, never looking away from my eyes.

“I love you, Bella.  This is our first Thanksgiving together and I wanted to spend the first moments of it showing you just how thankful for you I am.” 

He rolled off of me to the side, pushing me over until I was lying on my stomach.  He started his worship of me again over the backside of my body.  He made circles on the backs of my knees, reminding me of our first kiss.  He wrote ‘I love you’ across my ass cheeks, making me giggle again.  He teased his fingertips along my sides as he kissed his way up my spine.  Between every kiss, he told me something that he loved about me.

“You are beautiful.  You are kind.  You are brave.  You are funny.  You are smart.  You are honest.  You are loyal.  You are loving and caring.  You are a wicked tease.  But best of all…you are mine.”

By the time he finished his journey up my spine and to my neck I didn’t know whether I needed to moan out of pleasure or cry out of awe and adoration for this precious man.

“I love you.  Every single part of you.  Inside and out.”  He moved my hair to the side, placing kisses behind my ear.  “You are the sunshine when I wake up, the laugh that gets me through the day, and the kiss that puts me to sleep at night.”

After nudging my legs farther apart with his knee, he reached down and pushed my leg up until it was bent at my side.  He gently stroked between my folds, finding me more than ready for him.  He pressed down, teasing me with his tip from behind. 

“You are my best friend, my love and my life.  You are the song in my heart and the melody of my soul.  Thank you for giving yourself to me,” he murmured.

As hot tears streamed down my face, he entered me fully in one thrust.  His arms were bent under mine, cupping around my shoulders.  I wanted to push back against him, but there wasn’t much I could do in this position but to take the love he was giving me.  He was hitting the sweetest spots, bringing me to my release quicker than I would have thought possible while he continued to pepper my shoulders with kisses.

My walls clenched around him, while I grasped the sheets and cried out his name.  He followed behind me in his climax, groaning and biting my shoulder.  He pulled out of me slowly, prolonging the feel good, and rested back on his side while we caught our breath.

I rolled over so that I could look into his bright green eyes.  I placed my hand on his cheek and smiled at him while he kissed my palm before leaning into it.

“No one has ever loved me like you do.  No one has shown me an ounce of the tenderness that you have.  No one has ever possessed my heart, mind, body and soul like you do.  There will never be anyone else.  I am more thankful for you than I am for anything or anyone else, ever.  I will always be yours and I can only pray that you’ll always be mine.”

We kissed slowly and tenderly, sometimes with tongues and other times only with lips until my alarm reminded me that I had to go to work.  It was painful to have to leave him in that bed.  So I offered him my hand so that he could shower with me.  After all, I needed to thank him properly for being so good to me.

-x-X-x-

I hated working on holidays.  That wasn’t always the case, but it definitely was now.  Growing up, my family didn’t do much to celebrate holidays.  I was an only child, born to only children.  While my grandparents were still living and before my parents divorced, we would go visit with them on Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.  After my parents split, the holidays just became like any other day, only differing at Christmas when there were a few small gifts and we baked cookies.

No, this year was definitely different and to tell you the truth, I was bored out of my mind.  Most of our usual patients had rescheduled their treatments for different days, and the hospital census was low, ensuring that we probably wouldn’t have anyone new to worry about.  We were running a bare bones staff which only included Lauren, Bree and I working the shift.  We busied ourselves by cleaning up the supply closet, restocking the rooms and playing round after round of Bullshit.  It’s a good thing we didn’t have any patients after a while.   Who knew playing cards could get so rowdy?

I was pouting over losing the last round when the sexiest voice to ever have been created spoke softly against my ear, “You’d better quit pokin’ out that lip or somebody might come along and bite it.”

I jumped, not having heard him walk into the unit.  It really never mattered what he said.  If he was anywhere near my ear, I was going to shiver.  Damn traitorous body.

I spun around in my chair to face him.  Edward had both hands on the desk on either side of me, caging me in.  He had a huge smile on his face and a mischievous look in his green eyes.

“You scared me!  Your stalking abilities are almost at ninja level.  What are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be having lunch with your family?”  Gah, it is really hard not to attack him with his gorgeous green eyes and pouty lips being so close.  And after everything he did and said this morning.

“Actually we will be havin’ lunch with my family.  We’ll be havin’ it here,” he said, standing up and pulling me along with him.  He drew me into a tight hug and placed a kiss on top of my head.

I looked up at him with complete confusion written all over my face.  “Sugar, I don’t understand.  Why aren’t you guys at your parents’ house?  It’s a holiday.”

“Well, every year on Thanksgiving my family, along with those of a few of the other doctors pitch in and host a Thanksgiving meal here at the hospital.  We do it for the families of the patients who are here.  The way we see it, you never want to be in the hospital at all, much less on a holiday, and their loved ones hate to leave them here alone.  So, we bring Thanksgiving to them.  Everything is catered, so it gives the cafeteria staff a break because they don’t have to cook, only help us serve.”

I was in awe of this man and his family once again.  During what can be a difficult time for our patients and their families, they give them unconditional love, charity and compassion.

“I love you.  And I love your family.  I can’t believe that you not only give up your own holiday, but you go to an extreme to bring such joy to others who wouldn’t otherwise have it.  It’s awesome, Edward.”

He sat down in my chair and pulled me down across his lap, immediately twirling the ends of my pony tail.  “Look,” he said in a quieter voice.  “We know that we have been blessed beyond what others have been.  We know the hardships that the families go through to have to miss out on traditions.  If bringing them lunch for one day lifts their spirits and takes their minds off of the stressors that are keepin’ them here even for a little bit, then it’s all worth it.”

At that moment, I didn’t exactly care that I was at my place of employment.  I didn’t care that kissing my man while at work was completely inappropriate.  What I did care about was the fact that he was genuine and caring and completely mine.

“Can’t y’all knock that mess off for like two seconds?  Ed, we have about twenty turkeys to carve.  Get your lips off of your woman and get your ass back downstairs,” Emmett said after he came bursting through the doors.

Edward looked up at me sheepishly.  “I’m supposed to be workin’, but I needed to come and see you,” he whispered.

“I’m glad you did.  Now go.  I’d hate for Emmett to have to physically remove you.  That caveman stuff is only sexy when you do it to me.”

“I’ll remember that, baby girl,” he said, giving me a peck on the cheek.  “Alright, Em.  Let’s go slice and dice.”  With that, Emmett put Edward in a head lock and gave him a noogie as they walked out of the unit and back towards the elevators. 

-x-X-x-

Lauren and Bree knew that I wanted to spend a little time with the Cullen’s before having lunch, so they offered to let me go down to the cafeteria first.  The food was set up buffet style, just as you would have it at home.  I couldn’t tell who was a doctor or who was a family member.  People were scattered everywhere; some sitting at tables eating, some fixing plates to go, presumably back to their loved ones who were sick.  Others were merely standing around talking and laughing.  The feelings in the room were palpable.  There was love, joy, peace, appreciation and the very one that the day was all about…thankfulness.

I spotted a mass of wild hair across the room and snuck up on the man that I was dying to see.  I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, giving him a gentle squeeze.  I didn’t mean to interrupt his conversation, but when he looked under his arm to see who was hugging him, he excused himself from the other gentleman.

“Well, hello Sunflower!  I wasn’t sure I was gonna get to see you until tonight.  How did you manage to sneak off down here?”  Pops held both of my hands in his, drawing them to his mouth to kiss the backs of each of them.

“I did no such thing.  They have to feed the help if they want us to keep working.  What about you?  When did you get here?”

“This mornin’.  I had some business to tend to first, though.  Besides, you know I like to make everybody else do all the work if I can get away with it,” he said, giving me a wink.  So wicked.  I have a feeling Edward is going to be just like him when he’s that age.

I studied him for a moment trying to figure out what he had been up to.  “It’s too cold to fish I would think…,” I trailed off, tapping my chin with my finger.

“Very good, Sunflower.  Huntin’ season just came in and this happens to be my favorite time to go.  No deer stands.  I’m too old to be climbin’ trees.  Right now you have to stalk the deer or use a dog.  As it was, I happened along a beautiful red bloodhound who was more than happy to help out an old man.”

“You kidnapped Roscoe?” I asked him, completely amused.

“Borrowed.  Kidnapping makes it sound like he wasn’t a willin’ participant.  I assure you, he was.  Saw our first buck of the year, too.”

“Did you…shoot it?” I asked.  I had never been around hunters and I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the subject.

“Shoot it?  Hell no!  How would a seventy five year old man and a lazy dog have gotten that thing out of the woods?” he laughed.  The man had me clutching my stomach in stitches.

“Come on around here with me.  I believe a young man in a hair net would like to see you.”  He led me to the carving stations where Emmett and Edward were hard at work so that I could begin fixing my lunch plate and get back to work.

“Hey, Little Bell!  You ready for some turkey?  They were fried this mornin’,” Emmett said while waving his carving utensils in the air.

“Fried turkey?  How does that work with the stuffing?”

Emmett dropped his fork and knife with a clatter, shaking his head.  Edward and Pops were laughing, but I wasn’t completely sure what about.

“Baby girl…I need to give you a little lesson.  Down here, we don’t do ‘stuffing’.  We have ‘dressin’.  The only thing we eat that comes out of a bird’s ass is an egg.  Dressin’ is somethin’ that you make so much of, it will only fit in a roastin’ pan.  It’s just as much the star of the table as the birds are.”

“Well, what about the giblet gravy?” I asked.

“Have mercy!  Edward…are you sure about this girl?  I mean, she just…,”

“Emmett, let me handle this.  She doesn’t know any better.  You keep workin’.  The next rush of employees will be comin’ in just a few minutes.  Now,” he said, turning to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder, “I can’t have my baby girl lookin’ like a tourist in the buffet line.  Let me help you out a little.”

I wasn’t sure, but I think I was a little mad at him.  I didn’t exactly appreciate his tone.  “I’m not stupid, Edward.  You don’t have to hold my hand and treat me like I’m three.”

“Mmm, feisty.  I like that.  But I didn’t say you were stupid, lovin’.  You ought to know better than anyone that we just do things differently around here, even the food.  But trust me when I tell you that it’s all good.  I just want to be there in case you have any questions.  Like dumplins for instance; they taste a whole hell of a lot better than they look.  And we typically do sweet potato pie instead of pumpkin pie.”

I rolled my eyes and shrugged his arm off of my shoulder.  Where was Rose when I needed someone to be smacked in the back of the head?  “Thanks.  I’ve got it from here.  Besides, I see your mom and I want to say hi before I go back to work.”  I walked ahead of him, continuing to load up my plate, still feeling a little ticked.

“Baby girl…are you really mad at me?” he asked, trying to give me his best pout.  Evil.

I sighed.  I wasn’t mad at him, but I really hated being reminded that I wasn’t from ‘around here’.  It just made me feel like I wasn’t really a part of things.

“No.  I’m not mad.  We’ll talk about it later, sugar.  I’ll see you tonight,” I mumbled.  I walked away from him in search of Esme.  She was in conversation with one of the other doctor’s wives that I recognized from going to church with us.

“Hi, Esme.”  She turned around to greet me, but her smile never reached her eyes once she saw the look on my face.

“What’s that face about, Sweets?  Do I need to go pick a switch for my son?”

She knew exactly how to make me laugh.  “That obvious, huh?  No, he was joking around earlier and I took it the wrong way I think.”

She led me out of the cafeteria doors and into a small alcove so that we could talk.

“What exactly did he say?” she asked me, furrowing her brows.

“Nothing mean.  Like I said, it was a joke that I just let get to me.  He and Emmett were teasing me about how things were done differently down here, even when it came to food.  I don’t know…for some reason it just reminded me that I’m not from here, like I’m a visitor…like I don’t belong.  He didn’t mean anything by it.  I was just being sensitive.”

“Well first of all, you most certainly DO belong.  You belong right here with us.  I better never hear you say otherwise again.  Secondly, I’ve never known you to be overly sensitive.  Are you sure it’s nothing else?”  Damn mind reader.  The whole lot of them.

“I think it’s just another one of those times that I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.  You know I don’t really have any family left.  I mean, my mom is alive, but we aren’t close at all; just an occasional call here or there.  We were never big on holidays or celebrating anything for that matter.  And since the moment I woke up this morning, this whole day has been about love and giving and togetherness and sometimes I’m still not sure how to process all of it.  Does that make any sense?”

“Sure it does, Sweets.  But sometimes overwhelming love is the best kind of love.  It’s all consuming, swallowin’ you right up.  But it’s the kind that sticks around for life or longer.  I don’t pretend to understand how you are feelin’ because this is all I have ever known.  But maybe you should talk to Edward about it.  I know you two love each other.  It’s plain as day and written all over you.  If I had to bet, I’m sure he’s in there right now with his super pout on.  But I know he’ll understand.”

She had given me a lot to think about.  I’m pretty sure that’s why I wanted to see her.  I needed a mother’s love and understanding and she definitely gave me that.  She gave me a hug and a kiss, sending me back to the unit for a few more hours of work.

-x-X-x-

I arrived to the Cullen’s house that evening for the family’s Thanksgiving dinner.  I had been heartbroken all afternoon just thinking about how Edward must have felt.  I knew that he had been teasing me all in good fun and had no idea what my reaction was about.  I had sent him a text as soon as I got back to work to reassure him that everything was fine and that I loved him.  I also knew that before we sat down for dinner that I needed to apologize and explain.  I’ve seen the terrible effects of miscommunication and worse yet, non-communication.  I wouldn’t let that happen with Edward and me.

I should have known he would be waiting on the front porch for me when I drove up.  He was absolutely beautiful, reclined on the steps.  He had on a charcoal grey sweater and black cargo pants.  His hair was illuminated by the porch light and in a riotous mess.  I’m sure his hand had made a trip or two through those gorgeous locks today.  He gave me a tentative smile as I got out of my Tahoe and started walking towards the front door.  That was a smile I never wanted to see again.  I missed the one that was sure and mischievous.  He stood when I reached him, drawing me into a crushing hug.  I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him with everything I had in me.

“Hi,” I said, looking up at him sadly.

“Hey.”

“Can we go sit out back for a few minutes?  I want to tell you what that was about today.”

“Sure.  Um…can I get a kiss first?”  He was so unsure of us right now and that was something I really needed to fix.

“You never have to ask to kiss me, sugar.”  He bent his head slowly to mine, first nuzzling my nose with his.  I leaned in and he brushed his lips against mine twice.  He licked his lips when he opened his eyes to look at me.  I reached my hands around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair so that I could bring him closer.  He needed to know how much I loved him and shy kisses weren’t going to do that.  I crushed my lips against his, kissing him like he had been gone for two weeks, not like I hadn’t talked to him in a few hours.  I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth and that’s when I felt the shift along with his moan.   I knew that he finally believed that everything was ok.

I nudged his lips open with my tongue, needing to taste him more than I needed my next breath.  I clung to him while our tongues explored and twirled and our teeth nipped and pulled.  I never wanted it to end, but I needed to reassure him.  I needed to tell him how I felt.  Our lips reluctantly pulled apart, but he continued hugging me, my ear over his heart and his chin on my head.

“Come on.  This won’t take long,” I said, pulling him by the hand down the steps towards the back yard.

We sat on the same swing that we had the first time I came to the Cullen’s for lunch.  That seemed like so long ago now.  We danced around each other that afternoon with flirting and innuendo.  Today however, I needed to be open and honest; no more holding back.  This was the last wall that needed to come down.

We faced each other, his arm immediately resting along the back of the swing and his hand weaving through my tangled hair.  He needed the connection and to be honest, so did I.

“Edward, I’m sorry.  My reaction didn’t really have anything to do with you.  I know you were just teasing me about not being from around here.  But for some reason, it really hit me today.  It reminded me that for a lot of years, I haven’t had anywhere that I belonged.  I’ve been wandering aimlessly it would seem, never taking the time to find my roots.  For the first time, I want to do that.  I want to belong somewhere, to someone.  I want to have a ready answer when someone asks where I’m from.”

I looked away from my twisting hands and into his piercing green eyes.  They were so full of love and understanding.  He removed his hand from my hair to cup my cheek.

“You do have somewhere to belong.  You belong here…with me,” he said tenderly.

“I know I do, but it can be so freaking overwhelming.  I haven’t talked to you about it before because I was afraid that if I did, you would take it the wrong way and back off which is not what I need you to do at all.  It’s just that I have never experienced anything like this.  Not just you or your family, whom I adore, but this whole town.  It’s like I got here and was immediately engulfed into a hug that no one sees any need of letting me out of.  There is so much love and kindness and acceptance that I sometimes don’t know how to handle everything that my heart is feeling.  I have lived so long without it that when I’m faced with such a rush of it, like I was today, it can almost be crushing.  It took talking to your mom to realize that it isn’t a bad thing, that all consuming love.  That it’s actually what matters most.  If love isn’t compelling, what’s the point?”

He was tracing the features of my face, down my neck and over my collarbones.  I loved it when he touched me this way just as much as I loved his touches from this morning.  After a few moments of silence, he finally looked into my eyes.

“I’m sorry my words, that were meant to be a joke, wound up hurting you.  I need you to know that I always want you here with me.  I want you to feel like this is your home, Bella; like I am your home.  I stand behind my words when I said that things are different down here.  But I think they are a good kind of different.  All of the things that you explained… it’s just who we are.  It’s all we know.  I understand that it can be overwhelming for you at times, but it all comes from a good place with good intentions.  I hope that instead of runnin’ from it, you’ll embrace it, and that you’ll tell me when you’re feelin’ a little swamped by it all.”

“I will, I promise.  I’m so sorry sugar.  I hope you’ll forgive the way I acted.”  He pulled me across his lap and wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling my ear with his nose.

“There’s nothin’ to forgive, baby girl.  Nothin’ at all.  I love you.  You know that, right?”  He pulled his face back from mine so that he could look me in the eyes.  “I mean, I would like to think that I did a pretty damn good job of showin’ you this mornin’,” he smirked.  Cocky ass…who had every right to be.

“You sure did, sugar.  And I love you.  How about I show you when we get home?”

He leaned in and nuzzled my nose.  “Hell to the yeah, baby girl.”

I think your family may have started eating without us,” I giggled as I looked inside the back windows.

“That’s alright.  I’m really more interested in dessert anyway.”  Satan.

-x-X-x-

For the second morning in a row I was not happy about having to get up to go to work.  The reason for my feeling that way was lying on my chest snuggled between my boobs.  It seemed that Edward had no intention of letting me leave any time soon since he also had one of his legs slung over mine and an arm wrapped around my waist in a vice grip.  I had no idea how we got that way or even how I had actually managed to sleep.

I had woken up early even though I had been thoroughly exhausted in the best way.  It seemed like Edward and I apologized and accepted each other’s apologies for hours.  Actually, I’m pretty sure there was no inch of his body that I left unattended.  He looked preciously pleasured and thoroughly worn out when we finally made it to sleep.  I looked over at my alarm clock and realized that I only had five minutes left until it was supposed to go off.  I reached over and turned it off so that it wouldn’t wake Edward.

It took every one of those five minutes to pry him off of me so that I could get into the shower and start getting ready for work.  The reason I was glad to be working was because it was Black Friday and all of the Cullen women were supposed to go shopping that day.  Alice told me it was a tradition and to appreciate having to work this year because I wasn’t going to be able to get out of going with them next year.  Next year…just the thought of still being here then brought butterflies to my stomach.

After I dried off, I walked over to my closet to find some scrubs to wear to work but was immediately stopped in my tracks.  There hanging on the door was a brand new pair of Alabama scrubs and a houndstooth covered badge reel with a note clipped to it.

Dear Bella,

I bought these for you a few weeks ago, but have been holding on to them

so that you would have them to wear on the big day.  I’ll never

forget how you looked or what you were wearing, or rather what you weren’t, when you finally

said such sweet words to me...”Roll Tide, Sugar”.  They have been

some of my favorite other than I love you.  I hope you have a good day.

I’ll miss you something fierce.  Don’t forget that you and the girls have

a football game to lose this afternoon against us boys.

I love you, baby girl!

~Your Sugar

He had to be the sweetest and silliest man that I knew.  Who else would tell you that Roll Tide could sound just as good as I love you?  I won’t forget the day that I accidentally wore orange on a Saturday.  It was early in the football season and I wasn’t yet accustomed to wearing  team colors on game day.  I had a few errands to take care of that morning, so I was going to meet Edward over at Jasper and Alice’s house to watch the game. 

As soon as I walked in the door, Alice grabbed me by the arm and started shoving me upstairs.  “No, no, no!  You can’t show up at my house lookin’ like that!  Lord Almighty!  This is an SEC game for cryin’ outloud!” 

I had no idea what she was talking about.  I thought I looked pretty cute dressed in my fall colors.  “What’s wrong with this?” I asked her as she pushed me down on her bed.

She sighed and closed her eyes while she shook her head at me.  Apparently I was stressing her out.  “Bella, please listen so that I only have to say this once.  WE.DON’T .WEAR.ORANGE!  EVER!”  Needless to say, she gave me one of her cute retro looking Alabama shirts.

I didn’t make that mistake twice.  I should have known Angela wouldn’t lie to me.  These people are serious about their football!  That was the same night that I debuted my team choice for Edward.  He was very enthusiastic in his appreciation, especially since we won that game.  Roll Tide, indeed!

-x-X-x-

Work was busy, but there was excitement crackling in the air, especially amongst our male patients.  Alabama was playing Auburn and I learned very quickly to reference it as The Iron Bowl.  Everyone was dressed in their colors and it even got a little rowdy as game time approached and finally got underway.  No one was paying any attention to their treatments that day; all eyes were on their little televisions.

When my shift was over, I drove over to Doc and Esme’s house.  They host a family Iron Bowl party every year where they all gather at their house to watch the game together, cook lots of food and play a game of touch football out in the front yard during half time.  I was certain that it was going to get a little wild.  As I drove up I could see everyone out in front of the house tossing the football and goofing around with the kids.

Everyone was dressed in what Edward would call ‘play clothes’; their sweats and warm up suits.  The guys didn’t know it, but the girls had already met and started talking strategy.  In typical Cullen fashion, there was a bet riding on this game, so cheating was sure to ensue and we had it in good confidence that the referee was on our side.

After greeting everyone and receiving one of my favorite twirling hugs and kisses from my man, Alice and Rose whisked me upstairs so that we could change into our Sultan Sassy approved touch football attire.  Touch being the operative word.  She had picked out tight fitting Alabama jerseys that barely made it past our belly buttons and tight grey yoga pants.  We weren’t afraid to play a little dirty if we had to.  If I were one of those betting Cullen’s, I would dare to say that it might get a lot dirty after the boys saw us.

“Come on girls.  We’ve got a game to win,” Alice said, grinning evilly as she began to descend the stairs.

We all walked outside and got into our huddle, effectively beginning our own game by sticking out our asses in our tight pants.  “Mark my words.  One of them will be over here within five seconds.  You know the plan and Pops is in on it, so don’t worry about…,” were the last words I heard from Rosalie.

I was being pulled from the huddle by an amused looking Edward.  He wrapped his arms around my waist, locking his fingers behind me.  He raked his eyes over my jersey very carefully before leaning down to whisper in my ear.  “What in the hell are you wearing?”

“My uniform.  You don’t like it?” I asked too innocently for my own good and giving him my best doe eyes.

He rubbed his hardness against my belly.  “I think you can figure out the answer to that baby girl.  Now who’s the one not playing fair?” he growled.

“We just wanted to look cute, that’s all.”  I pulled him even tighter to me.  “You might have a hard time playing with that…situation you have going on down there.  You might want to take care of that.”

“Oh, you just wait until after the game.  I’ll be sure it gets taken care of…more than once.”

“You’ll have to catch me first, and I’m pretty fast.”

“Trust me.  You won’t be runnin’ far and when I get my hands on you, it definitely won’t be fast.  You might want to think long and hard about that during the game, lovin’.”

Lord have mercy.  The trash talking has begun and that man is a pro.

Since they had already played with the kids before I got there, this game was strictly men versus women; three on three.  The adorable and not so honorable Pops was our referee.  The bet was that if the women lost, we had to be their slaves for an entire day.  That really wasn’t so bad of a deal if you asked me because I could only imagine the things my Master would ask me to do.  Shit, Bella!  Focus!  If the men lost, since they were all required to be in the annual Christmas parade anyway, we would make them wear full on elf attire while walking the parade route.  I was dying to see Emmett in tights.

The coin was flipped, giving the girls the ball first.  Our first play was going to be just a simple pass.  We knew they would cheat in some way, so we were waiting on them to make their first move.  Needless to say, it didn’t take long.

Alice was our quarterback and as she reached her arm back to throw the ball to Rosalie, Emmett barreled through, picking her up and running her in the opposite direction for a touchdown.  The boys were so busy high-fiving each other, they didn’t realize that Pops had thrown a flag on the play.

“A flag?  What is that for?”

“For holdin’ of course!” Pops explained to him.

“Holdin’?  That wasn’t holdin’.  That was an interception!”

“Fifteen yard penalty.  Automatic first down.”  The boys stalked off to their huddle grumbling about how Pops was losing it, giving out penalties in touch football.

I walked back to Alice and Rose, sneaking a wink at Pops.  They were going down!  They kept their shenanigans to themselves for the most part over the next few plays.  They did, however, turn it up a few notches with the touching.  I swear one time I was nowhere near the ball and Edward grabbed my ass with both hands.

“Hey!  Personal foul!” I yelled at him.  Pops threw the flag and gave him a penalty.  We scored on the next play.

They got the ball next and when Jasper threw it to Edward, I was all over him and even managed to jump on him, riding his back all the way to their end zone.

“Hey now Pops, that was holdin’.  Aren’t you gonna give them some kind of penalty?” Edward asked.

“Why would I?  You scored didn’t you?  Big baby.”

Edward turned around and glared at me.  “What have you done to my Pops?”

I skipped away back to the girls.  “I’d watch it if I were you.  You don’t want him to call unsportsmanlike conduct on you, now do you?” I giggled.

We went back and forth in a mix of playing and groping until the game was tied with two touchdowns each.  We were back in our huddle, the boys having the ball.

“Okay.  This is the last play.  You know what to do, right?  Full coverage as soon as the ball is snapped, got it?”

“Got it!”

We all lined up, ready to take on our own man.  Jasper stepped back, looking to throw the ball to Edward while trying to avoid Alice who was running towards him.  Rosalie and Emmett were blocking each other- or rather he was trying to chase her- while I had the hardest job of trying to catch Edward.  Just as soon as I got to him I heard Alice yell, “Now!” and I quickly darted around behind his back…and pantsed him.  The other girls had both done the same thing to their guys, effectively stunning them all.  Jasper was so in shock, he fumbled the ball and Alice picked it up and ran it for a touchdown.

We beat their pants off…so to speak!  Pops gave us high fives before going inside, saying something about not needing to witness the forms of illegal celebration he was sure his grandchildren had in mind. 

Jasper pulled his pants up and chased Alice into the house.  Emmett, who can’t really be shamed, tackled Rosalie to the ground while his pants were still around his ankles and began kissing her into a giggling fit.

Edward bent forward to grab his pants, but never broke eye contact with me.  He smirked, pulling them up slowly as he began stalking towards me, like he was a lion and I was the gimpy gazelle that he was about to devour.  The intense look in his green eyes alone was enough to make me whimper.  I started walking backward towards the house, knowing that any minute he was going to pounce.

“You’re going to look really cute in your striped tights for the Christmas parade,” I said, grinning at him and trying not to laugh.

“You, my baby girl, are one sneaky little cheat.”  I stopped once I reached the steps to the porch, allowing him to catch up with me.  “I have a feelin’ you’ll make an excellent Cullen one day,” he murmured against my lips.

I gasped at his words, which he took as an invitation to deepen our kiss.  The only thought I was capable of while he was kissing the breath out of me was that I really liked the thought of being Bella Cullen.

Like I said…Best Thanksgiving ever!