Chapter 21 - Cars and Confessions

BPOV

I woke up the nest morning to Edward placing soft kisses all over my face. "Wake up love, we're going to Seattle today," he reminded me. I was immediately wide awake.

I jumped up, and Edward left so that he could come back and pick me up. I got ready and then made my way downstairs. "Good morning," I greeted Charlie as I entered the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with a plate full of bacon and eggs. I got my usual bowl of cereal and joined him.

"Morning," he mumbled through a mouthful, "Off to Seattle today?" he asked.

I nodded excitedly, "I can't wait."

He smiled at my enthusiasm. "By the way, I ran into Mrs Stanley the other day and she told me some interesting news."

I internally groaned, no doubt Jessica's mother loved gossip as much as her daughter did. "Really? What did she say?" I asked cautiously.

"That you and Edward Cullen are now seeing each other." His eyes sparkled with interest.

I sighed, I had known I was going to have to tell him soon anyway, "Yes we are Dad, we just started when I ran into him in Port Angeles on Wednesday while I was shopping with the girls." I explained.

"Ah," he said, "So that's why you were so happy when you came home." He chuckled as I blushed and nodded.

"He'll be the one picking me up this morning," I informed him, "So if you feel the need to interrogate him you can do it then." I wasn't particularly worried; Charlie seemed to like the Cullens, and he'd already said that if I was dating someone he'd prefer it to be Edward.

He nodded his head thoughtfully, "Maybe I'll get out one of my guns and clean it just in case." I rolled my eyes. Males and their dominance displays. He noticed my expression and chuckled a bit before turning solemn. "Seriously though Bells, it looks like he makes you happy, and he seems to be very sensible, so I'm glad you picked him."

I smiled, "Thanks dad." I got up and washed my bowl, before running upstairs to grab my purse. I had a feeling that my little black credit card that was linked to the Volturi bank accounts was going to be put to a lot of use today, although I was planning on buying a less conspicuous car- obviously nothing that would stand out too much when I drove it to school.

Santiago had sent me a list of cars that were still fast, but had a price tag that people wouldn't faint over, weeks ago, when I first told him about my truck, and I had a fair idea of what I wanted- I had even narrowed it down to four choices.

Edward arrived while I was mulling over the pros and cons of my list, weighing up what I knew about them up. I let Charlie answer the door, in case he really did want to interrogate him, while I stood in the background and watched.

"Come in Edward," Dad invited him, "I hear you're finally dating my daughter." His eyes took on a playful glint- he was enjoying this.

Edward was controlling his features so that he didn't give away anything, allowing Charlie to have his fun, "Yes sir, that's correct." He looked over at me, and the adoration in his eyes was recognisable to anyone.

Charlie seemed a little thrown by that, "Well that's good, I was wondering when you were finally going to get up the courage to ask her out," he declared. "When I saw Dr Cullen a few weeks ago we placed bets on it," he admitted.

"What?!" I roared. "You bet on us?" I looked accusingly at Charlie, who had an appropriately abased look on his face. Edward also looked surprised- obviously Carlisle hadn't told him either.

"Yes, and since you guys finally got together on Wednesday night, I won," he declared proudly, "Carlisle bet it would take you until after the spring dance."

I gritted my teeth, "Well if you're done gloating about your bet Dad, we'll be going." I said, trying to push Edward out the door.

"Okay," he replied cheerfully, "Take care of my baby girl Edward."

"I will sir," Edward replied, sincerity ringing in his voice.

With that done we were soon quickly heading to Edward's house to meet up with the others.

When we arrived, I was immediately greeted by Esme with a hug. "Bella it's good to see you again, we missed you coming over last weekend when it was sunny. If we'd known that you already knew we would have invited you over." She apologised.

"It's fine Esme," I assured he, "It was nice to spend a day by myself anyway. At least now you guys don't have to pretend to eat dinners in front of me when I'm over," I laughed. "I have to admit it was very funny watching you guys tell Esme how delicious her cooking was."

All six vampires in front of me chuckled in relief, and I soon realised that there was a seventh one that appeared to be missing. "Where's Emmett?" I asked suspiciously, suddenly on guard. "I wanted to thank him again for totalling my truck."

Edward frowned, "I don't know," he answered, "He's still in the house, but he's blocking me by singing rap songs," his nose scrunched up in disgust.

Alice looked annoyed, "He must be up to something, he hasn't made any decisions, like he's purposely keeping me from seeing what he'll be doing. The only time he does this is when he's planning on pulling a prank."

I was now completely on guard; well aware that Emmett's previous threats to get back at me had been serious.

Suddenly I felt a movement above me, just as Alice yelled, "No Emmett!" I reacted instinctively, realising that Emmett was attempting to pounce on me from the stairs. I turned, shielding myself, and brought my shield clad fist up hard into Emmett's jaw as he tried to grab me. My fist hit Emmett with a loud clap that sounded like thunder, and immediately after I pushed out my shield, throwing Emmett away from me.

As I calmed down, I suddenly realised that I had thrown Emmett straight though the large glass back wall. He sat on grass on the other side, his face shocked and disbelieving. "Oh no," I moaned. "I'm so sorry Esme, I'll pay to have your window fixed." I apologised, turning to see Rosalie, Esme, Carlisle and Jasper staring at me with expressions matching Emmett's, meanwhile Edward looked wickedly amused, and Alice was bouncing with excitement.

"That was so cool Bella," Alice enthused, "Emmett hasn't been thrown like that for over half a century."

That seemed to break them out of their trances. Emmett picked himself off the ground and came in through the hole I'd created, shaking off loose pieces of glass. "Damn Bella, what was that?" he asked, absentmindedly rubbing his jaw.

I turned and smirked at him, "I told you that if you tried to get back at me for the cake thing that I would hurt you- you just didn't believe that I could. I don't make empty threats Emmett."

He looked thoughtful, "Well how was I supposed to know that you could throw a vampire through a window?"

I grinned at him, "You weren't." I turned to the others, who had now gotten over the shock and were looking incredibly curious, "I guess I have some explaining to do," I addressed the five vampires who didn't already know. I headed over to the lounge and sat down. Edward and Alice joined me, the others soon following and arranging themselves on the other pieces of furniture.

Once they were all settled I started explaining what I'd told Edward yesterday about my shield. They were silent throughout my explanation, Carlisle asking me lots of questions, and seeming incredibly interested in my gift. Jasper remained quiet, but there was intrigue in his eyes.

I finished with a demonstration, picking up the couch that I was sharing with Edward and Alice, and hovering it about a foot off the ground. Emmett was the first to speak. "That is so cool little sis!" he yelled, "You're a freak just like us."

"Gee thanks Emmett," I said dryly, secretly revelling in the fact that he had called me his sister. The others chuckled, finally getting over their shock. I could see from the look on Emmett's face that he was figuring out just how much of an advantage my gift would give me in our little war.

Esme came over to give me another hug, "Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us," she said. The other's nodded in agreement. "Oh and don't worry about the window, I'll have it fixed before you kids get back from Seattle this afternoon," she promised, "Emmett breaks things all the time."

"Yeah Bella," Rose chimed in, "He broke the front door last week just by opening it too enthusiastically."

We all laughed at Emmett's expense and he pouted, "I just wanted to see if my new Playstation game had arrived." I relaxed after that, relieved that they had all reacted so well, although slightly remorseful that I had revealed it by throwing Emmett through a window.

We headed out after that, I paused at the door, "By the way Carlisle, I'm not sorry you lost the bet."

I winked at him and he laughed, "Me neither Bella."

Edward explained the bet to the others as we headed to the garage and got into our cars- they all got a good chuckle out of it, with Alice claiming that Carlisle should have asked her if wanted to win. I was driving my newly modified Maserati, with Edward in the passenger seat complaining- apparently he always drove. The others were being driven by Rose in her BMW.

Apparently Edward thought that because I was human there was no possible way that I would be as fast a driver as he was, having only seen my driving skills second hand through the others. He settled down for a slow ride. Rose knew better, and once we were on the highway and headed away from Forks she stepped on the accelerator. Much to Edward's surprise I followed suit, tailing Rose as she raced though the meagre traffic. Once we hit a clear stretch I accelerated even further, pulling up alongside Rose. I pulled out my phone and dialled her number- the speakerphone in my car allowing me to drive and talk to her. "How about a little race Rose?" I suggested, "I wanna see what my baby can do."

"You're on Bella!" I could hear the grin in her voice. We arranged that the finishing point would be the parking lot of the bookstore- the first place I wanted to go to before we went shopping.

Edward looked excited as it dawned on him that I was probably just as fast a driver as he was. He sat back and enjoyed the ride as Rose and I wove through the traffic, overtaking each other as often as possible. Both of us were determined to win, and in no time at all we were entering Seattle. Neck and neck we raced through the streets, drifting around the corners and speeding as much as possible. Alice assured us that we wouldn't get caught, so we didn't care about traffic regulations. I concentrated hard- determined to win, but not wanting to accidently injure any innocent bystanders.

We reached the bookstore parking lot at the same time, much to the disappointment of all. "Draw," Alice declared. Rose and I grumbled- both of us had wanted to win.

Eventually we stopped griping and went into the bookstore, Alice, Emmet and Rose looking bored while Edward, Jasper and I eagerly perused the shelves.

In no time at all I had my selection of books stacked up in Edward's arms and was happily leading him to the counter. Jasper was already there, having already purchased some new war history books, and the others were waiting impatiently nearby. As the shopkeeper scanned my books I noticed that Emmett had bought a book as well. I wondered over to have a look. "What book did you get Emmett?" I asked- Emmett didn't seem the type to get a novel, although it was the right size and shape for one.

He grinned at me, opening his bag and presenting it to me with a flourish. "One Hundred and One Advanced Practical Jokes." He declared proudly.

I burst out laughing, "You're going to need to be more inventive then that if you're planning on going up against me." I informed him. Felix and Demetri had worked their way through that book when I was ten.

His eyes narrowed, "Just because I didn't scare you this morning doesn't mean anything- one way or another, I will get you back for the cake." He threatened.

I smirked, "Whatever you say Emmett," I said before turning back around to go and pay for my stack of books. Of course, Edward had already beaten me there while I had been distracted by Emmett, and my books were now sitting in a bag hanging from his hand. He had a smug look on his face. "Edward, I was going to pay for them," I whined.

He smiled at me, unleashing the full force of his gaze to match his smile. "But I wanted to at least buy you something Love, and I know you won't let me pay for your new car."

His soft voice was the final straw. I tried to resist his deep golden eyes, but it was no use. He dazzled me senseless, "Okay," I breathed. I snapped out of my trance when I heard the others snickering behind me. Edward looked pleased with himself. Annoyed, I grabbed his hand and towed him out of the store.

After we stowed our purchases, we headed for the largest shopping centre in Seattle, where Rose, Alice and I put our credit cards through a workout-dragging the guys along as our personal bag holders. Jasper and Emmett were teasing Edward, who had apparently gotten out of carrying bags for years with the excuse of not having a partner. Now he was being subjected to it for the first time, and seemed shocked by how many bags I was making him carry. The girls and I happily flitted through the shops, buying anything that caught our eye before chucking the bags with our purchases at our men.

Eventually though we had to stop as I was getting hungry and it was time to go car shopping. I got a salad roll to go, and we headed back to our cars- barely managing to stuff all of our purchases in to the two cars. I sat in the passenger seat and ate my lunch as Edward took a turn at driving my car. He seemed to enjoy it, "This is very similar to driving my Aston Martin," he observed.

I grinned, "Yeah, but this is better." I said smugly.

"Absolutely not," he disagreed, looking affronted. We continued to argue over who had the better car until we arrived at the first dealer; Mitsubishi.

I had told Rose of my four choices, and she had agreed with me, which lead to us being at the Mitsubishi dealer looking at a Mitsubishi Eclipse. "Well it looks cool," Alice said.

I nodded, and allowed Rose to charm the dealer into letting us take it for a test drive. But as much as we enjoyed it, I knew it wasn't the one, and we soon left, heading towards the Audi dealer.

The Audi TT coupe we tried was awesome and it reminded me of my R8 back in Italy. I loved it. "This one's definitely staying on the list," I confirmed, and Rose nodded her agreement. Edward looked on fondly.

"It's cute," Alice said, "But the other one looked better." We all rolled our eyes at Alice.

We also tried a Subaru WRX, but it just wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, so I crossed that off the list as well.

Finally we made it to the last caryard; Nissan. Rose and I immediately headed for the 370z, staring at the shiny black car with appreciation. Of course the car dealer was a bit annoying- he didn't seem to think we could handle the power of this car. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. "Look, over there are the two cars we drove here in," I said pointing out my Maserati, and Rose's BMW, "They are just as powerful, if not more powerful, than this car."

Edward stepped up then. Reading the man's mind, he had a better idea of how to reassure the man. "Here's my credit card sir, you are welcome to keep it while we take the car for a test drive, and if there's any problems with the car when we come back I will happily pay for the whole car," he said smoothly.

The man looked at the clack card he'd been handed, then back at our cars. "Okay," he sighed, and gave us the keys.

As the engine purred to life I grinned over at Rose, who was riding shotgun. I put it in gear and tore out of the car lot; relying on Jasper and Edward to calm down the poor salesman.

We ripped through the city, enjoying the thrilling speed. I loved it, and I could tell from Rose's expression that she did too. "This is the one," I decided.

"Good choice," Rosalie approved.

I stopped, and we exchanged places for Rose to drive us back. We sped off again, admiring the acceleration of the car, when all of a sudden police lights flashed behind us. Rose groaned, "Where's Alice or Edward when you need them," she grumbled. I chuckled anxiously as she pulled over and wound down her window.

The officer slowly lumbered up to us. He appeared to be a man in his forties, who, judging by his beer gut and unshaven face, didn't really care for his appearance. He did a double take when he reached the window and spotted Rose. "Hello Officer," she cooed. "How are you?"

He blinked a few times and looked dazed, "Um, I'm just fine ma'm." He stuttered, before seeming to recollect why he was there. "Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" he asked her.

She battered her eyes at him artfully. "No, I'm sorry officer, but I'm running late for a photo shoot, and if I don't get there in the next ten minutes they'll use another model." Her eyes turned sad, "I really wanted to be in this photo shoot," she explained, her voice soft and alluring.

"Um, well," he seemed to be weighing up his options, "Perhaps, if you promise to never do this again and give me your phone number, I could let you off this time," he said.

I held in my shudder of disgust, as Rose smiled radiantly at him, "Certainly Officer," she agreed, pulling paper and a pen out of her bag and writing out a number. I took a quick peek and nearly burst out laughing at the name she had put; Sue Narmi, but I held it in. She handed it to him. "I look forward to your call," she winked at him before closing her window and smoothly driving off. I looked back to see him still standing in the middle of the road a bewildered look on his face.

As soon as we were out of range Rose sped up and we burst out laughing. "Did you give him a real number?" I asked, still chortling in amusement.

"Of course," she replied winking at me, "But it's not mine, it's the number for drag queen meetings."

I looked at her in astonishment, "How do you even know the number for that?" I asked, laughing harder.

"Emmett lost a bet last year, and his punishment was to attend a meeting." She snickered.

We laughed at that all the way back, and when we got there we pulled in to find the others laughing too. "Did you have fun dazzling the poor officer?" Alice asked, evidently she'd seen it and informed the others.

We grinned, "Absolutely."

When everyone calmed down, I announced, "This is the one."

"Are you sure?" Edward asked.

I nodded enthusiastically, pulling out my card and handing it to the salesman who had approached us while we were laughing. "I'll take it." I informed him. He grinned happily as he led us inside to sign the paperwork.

Soon enough I was happily speeding back to Forks in my new black, Nissan 370Z, Edward beside me, grinning at my excitement. Alice and Jasper were in my Maserati, driving it back for me so that I could enjoy my new car.

By the time we got back it was getting dark. We showed Carlisle and Esme my new car before Alice, Rose and I had our men bring out shopping up to our rooms so that we could unpack it. All too soon it was time for me to head home, so I kissed Edward goodbye, noting the fixed window on my way out, and headed back home in my new car, eager to show Charlie.

Predictably, Charlie was impressed. Luckily, he had didn't know how much it was worth. "Wow Bells, that's a nice car," he commented.

I grinned, "I know," I said smugly.

"It's a little fast don't you think?" He asked concerned.

I sighed, "Yeah, but it's got the latest in safety features," I assured him.

He looked at me for a second, to gauge my sincerity and I kept my face open and honest.

He finally sighed in resignation, "Well that's good I guess." I hugged him enthusiastically and he looked shocked for a second before he returned the hug. "You really like the car huh?" he chuckled

"Yep," I answered.

I spent the rest of the evening content with my purchase, and happily fell asleep using Edward as my pillow that night.