Imperfectpictures

6/13/2019

Episode Sixty-Two: Messy

Read Now

Episode Sixty-two: Messy

“Are you sure about this, Edward?” Irina asked as she came to drop off Ava at the beach house so that we could keep her for a few hours the following day. The baby practically dove into his arms, her chubby fingers gripping for him. He took her with one arm, grabbing her bag with the other while his sister was still talking.

“Seriously? I have babysat every one of my nieces. I have fed them, bathed them, changed their nappies.” He bounced his niece. “Yes, I’m sure. Oh, give me her car seat. Do you have her pram? We’re going to take her out a bit,” he told her as he walked into the house to throw the diaper bag on the couch.

“Hi, Jasper.” She smiled when she saw we weren’t alone.

“Hi, dove. Don’t worry, I’ll keep a good eye on her, too,” he promised. Jasper motioned for Edward to hand over the baby. He took her by the middle, standing her up on his lap. She smiled at him, resting her tiny hands on top of his.

“I don’t have her pram.” She gave Edward her car keys. “I didn’t realize you were going out. Where are you going?”

“We’re going to take this little doll shopping so I can buy her some cute clothes for pictures.” I leaned over the couch behind Jasper and rubbed her soft belly with one of my fingers.

“Are you going to be a model today?” Jasper asked as he lifted the baby in the air. She giggled loudly. “You’ll be a perfect one, won’t ya?” He wiggled her gently, earning more laughter.

“Don’t worry,” Edward assured his sister. “I think the three of us can handle her. Not that I’d need help, thank you,” he said with his chin in the air. “I’m good with babies.”

“I know,” Irina sighed softly. “But, it’s so hard to leave her alone.”

“We’ll send you updates every once in a while to make you feel better,” I promised her. “It’s not like Edward isn’t going to take a million selfies with her,” I smirked.

“I’m sorry, but we’re cute together.” He waved me off before heading to the door to get the car seat.

I reached over and took the baby from Jasper. He tickled her little chubby thighs as I did. “Aw, you two are cute together, too,” he commented in a baby voice.

"I know." I leaned my face against Ava's, and she grabbed for my thick curly hair. She tried to smush her mouth to my cheek, slobbering on it. "Oh, thank you. Yes, I needed kisses."

“So, what time should I pick her up?”

“Well, what do you have planned?” I asked her. I knew her husband was going to get off work soon and they were planning to have a date. Irina started to turn red, something that reminded me of Edward. “Ohhhh… Have fun,” I grinned, wiggling my eyebrows. She laughed, covering her mouth in embarrassment.

“We were just planning to have a quiet meal at home. He was going to pick up some dinner,” she said quickly, smiling.

“Sounds nice. How about this… When you can’t stand being away from her anymore, why don’t you call us? You have fun, relax. Get some… thing... to eat," I grinned at my teasing words. Jasper chuckled, and she swatted at him.

“Stuff it, you,” she mumbled at him, still grinning. “Are you sure?”

“Um, yes.” I squeezed the baby. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

I realized that Edward was leaning against the wall in the foyer, watching us with a little smile on his face. I smiled back, leaning my head on top of the sweet baby’s.

“Irina, trust me. She’ll be fine. You’ll get a million pictures out of it,” he called to his sister. She turned to him, sighing heavily. Obviously, she was a little distressed. “Come here. It’ll be fine,” he promised her, pulling her into a comforting hug.

“I know, Tony. Gosh, I miss you,” she whispered as she hugged him back.

“Me too.” He patted her back. “Now leave, so I can take my girls to lunch and shopping.”

“Okay. Have fun,” she sighed. I came over so she could give her daughter a goodbye kiss. “Be good for Uncle Tony and Aunt Bella.”

“Be terrible for Uncle Jasper?” He called from the couch with a smirk.

“Yes! Just the worst!” Irina joked. “Bye, sweetheart.”

“Bye, dove. Have fun!” He winked at her, making her blush a furious red.

“Where are we going to eat, Uncle Tony?” I asked, still bouncing the baby on my hip.

“I think I’m in the mood for some Italian. What do you think, loves?” He brushed his hand over Ava’s head as he glanced between Jasper and me.

“Yum,” I smiled at him.

“Sounds good,” Jasper agreed, hopping off the couch. He was wearing a very nice tight black shirt stretched over his hard chest and equally tight blue jeans. He was wearing a red baseball cap backward over his golden curls. He looked delicious. Edward looked more comfortable in khaki shorts and a t-shirt, his sunglasses resting on the top of his messy auburn hair.

“Get the bag,” I instructed Jasper. “We’ll need that.” Edward was smiling at me warmly when I looked back up at him. “What?”

“I’m just really happy. That’s all.” He grinned. “You two are really cute together.”

I looked him straight in the eyes and deadpanned, “if you put a baby in me before you put a ring on my finger I swear I will punch you in your stupid handsome face.” Then I turned and started for the door.

“I mean, it won’t be on purpose,” he defended himself just as he had before as he followed behind, laughter in his voice. “And, you won’t punch me in the face. You say it, but you won’t.”

I handed him the baby so that he could put her in the car, raising an eyebrow at him. "Are you so sure I won't punch you?"

“No. I know you’ll punch me,” he said with quiet laughter and a smirk. “But you won’t go for the face. Actually, I imagine your punch will be directed much lower.”

“Well, it’s probably easier for me to reach.” I smiled evilly. “Jasper, you can sit shotgun. I’ll sit in the back with the baby.”

“You just want to play with her some more,” Edward chuckled as he finished buckling her in.

“Duh.” I slipped into the backseat beside the car seat. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you,” I whispered when he pulled away, rubbing my fingers through his hair.

“Love you, too.” He kissed me once again before shutting the door for me.

At the fancy restaurant in the mall, we sat at a small four top. Ava had her own high chair, and she was seated in between Edward and me. He pulled out a couple of small toys for her play with and she was happily smashing her fists into the tray, making them rattle.

The waitress came over and began to coo over her. “Your daughter is so beautiful!”

“Niece,” Edward corrected with a smile. “Yes, she is,” he said in a baby voice to Ava, picking up a toy that she threw on the table. “What do you think, love? Want to share a bottle of wine?” Edward asked, looking to me and then Jasper.

“Sure. You have good taste in wine. You pick it out,” I told him.

“I’ll drink anything,” Jasper agreed.

Edward obviously decided to show off and order the most expensive bottle of wine that they had. Some Australian grown Shiraz. The three glasses almost used up the entire bottle. It was perfect for a leisurely lunch.

The waitress brought some soft white bread to the table. Edward tore some of it up for Ava. She squished it in her fingers before pushing it into her mouth, fist and all. I enjoyed watching her, as did her uncle who was cooing over her and giving her more bread on her squeaky demand.

I felt Jasper's hand gently lay in my lap, making me smile. It wasn't sexual. It was comfortable. I brought my hand under the table and held it, resting my other hand on my chin with a small grin.

Edward ordered manicotti and Jasper decided on mushroom ravioli. I picked chicken parmesan on a bed of fettuccine alfredo. When the food came Edward pulled his niece into his lap, and carefully began to feed her tiny bites of his food. She wanted it all greedily. I put some of my alfredo on a bread plate for her as well. He cut up in tiny pieces, and when he wasn't feeding her fast enough, she took matters into her own hands. None of it phased him. He was having a great time.

“May I try a bite of yours?” I asked Jasper sweetly. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he cut a piece with his fork and brought it to my lips. It was in a buttery sauce. It was delicious. I hummed in pleasure at the taste.

I heard Edward quietly take in a breath. I glanced over to see a faint blush on his cheeks. He liked watching me be fed. Jasper and I exchanged a little look, both of us smirking to ourselves. Our boyfriend cleared his throat, obviously a little flustered and embarrassed. It made it all that much cuter.

Edward got a vanilla custard for dessert just so he could share it with the greedy chubby baby. She had most of it. She kept ripping the spoon from his hand and shoving into her mouth with monstrously wide eyes. Ava was practically wiggling in place with excitement. It just made him laugh.

Our children were going to be ridiculously spoiled, I realized. I also realized that I wasn't ever going to be wanting for help from him. She adored him, and he treated her like the center of the universe. I couldn't wait to see him look at our kids like that. When I fully registered my line of thinking I actually flushed. I shook the thought away quickly as my heart thumped in my chest.

“What?” Jasper asked me quietly, his hand on my thigh under the table again.

I decided to give him the truth in a sarcastic way that I knew he would enjoy. I leaned over and whispered in his ear so Edward wouldn’t hear me, “I’m thinking about how much fun it would be to call him daddy.”

Jasper laughed loudly, surprising even himself. He quickly brought his hand to his mouth. Then he leaned his face closer to my ear. “Glad I’m not the only one.”

It was my turn to laugh. I clicked my tongue, sitting back in my seat. Edward watched us with amusement.

“Not going to share with the class?” He said jokingly.

“No. Not in front of the baby,” I told him then winked.

Jasper curled his finger at me, beckoning me to come closer again. I leaned in again, and he pressed his lips close to my ear. His cheek was pressed against mine. "If you want, you can call me Daddy, and you can be my sweet little girl," he said in a deep voice, just a whisper against my skin. The hair on my arms actually stood up, my breath catching in my throat as I flushed a hot red.

“What the hell did you just say to her?” Edward asked in a low voice. I quickly shook my head. “Oh, you are going to have to tell me later though. Because you certainly liked it.”

Jasper chuckled proudly over his glass of wine as he finished the last sip. I wanted to sit on his lap and kiss him. I wanted to make him as horny as he just made me. Bastard.

When we left the restaurant and began to walk around the mall, Ava decided it was Jasper's turn to hold her. He held her with one arm, and she was gripping tightly onto the collar of his t-shirt. Edward carried the bright pink bag on one shoulder and held my hand.

He pulled me back a little and leaned over to whisper into my ear, “your nipples instantly got hard, Bella. You turned bright pink, too. What did he say to you?”

“I’ll tell you later,” I promised. “If I tell you it’s going to ruin my brain for the rest of the day.”

“That good?”

“Um... “ I drew out.

He started to laugh. “Oh, okay. I see. Very good. Interesting. I’m going to have to find out. Maybe I’ll just ask Jasper.”

“Wholesome. Today is supposed to be wholesome,” I sputtered out. “We have to babysit. Please.”

“Okay,” I chuckled. “I’ll stop teasing you… for now. But, I look forward to being told exactly what he said.”

We went into a few different stores. A couple of baby clothes stores and a shoe one. A video game shop and an adult clothing store, too. Ava needed her diaper changed after a while and probably a new outfit as well. A lot of her lunch was on her dress. I offered to take her, but Edward quickly waved me off. He left me alone with Jasper as we strolled to another store. It was a department store. I took his arm, walking very closely together.

“Do you wanna be my little girl?” He said teasingly in my ear again. His breath was delicious against my skin.

“Yes,” I said quietly. His eyes were raking over me warmly. “I’m not going to make it through today if you keep saying things like that to me,” I told him truthfully.

“Me either,” he smirked. I turned quickly and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Jasper chuckled, pulling me along towards the men’s clothing. We were looking through them for a few moments when he quietly cursed to himself. “Damn, that’s my boss over there.”

I glanced over to see a chubby middle-aged man with thick glasses walking over our way.

"You seem to be feeling better," he thundered as a way of greeting. I felt it was a little rude. It's not like they didn't have sick days for a reason. I decided to continue my role as his girlfriend.

"Yeah, thank goodness, too," I began with my thick accent. Jasper was trying to hide his smirk, but I knew him well enough already to see it twitching in his mouth and the way he held his lips. "I think it was just exhaustion. So, nothing a good day in bed can't fix. I know he hasn't really been able to slow down since I went into the hospital earlier this month."

The man was taken aback that I was actually talking to him for Jasper. I could see in his eyes as he connected the fact that I was the voice on the phone from the day before.

"Oh, you went into the hospital?" He asked in surprise, looking between my blonde boyfriend and me.

“Yes, the poor dove had a bad reaction to her medication,” Jasper replied. It wasn’t exactly untrue. He brushed a finger over my cheek before kissing my temple. “Gave us all a right fright, too.”

“He’s been so good about looking after me,” I informed his boss. He watched me curiously as I leaned into Jasper. My boyfriend put his arm around my waist comfortingly. “It’s been such a busy month. I can’t imagine how he’s been able to keep up with it all,” I laid it on thick.

“I see. I… I had no idea. Jasper is very quiet at work,” the man replied. “I’m John Jones, by the way. I’m his supervisor.”

“Bella,” I answered, knowing that’s what he wanted to know. I had a feeling that everyone was going to be talking about Jasper’s new girlfriend at work whether he liked it or not. Especially with how he was looking at me like I was something to eat.

“You’re American?”

“Yes. American by birth, Texan by the grace of God,” I joked in my sweetest voice. “Or, at least that’s the saying back home. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the egos.”

Jones grinned at me, not looking away from me as he spoke, “Jasper, where have you been hiding this charming little creature?”

“In America, obviously,” I smiled. “Darlin, Edward has been a while. Perhaps we should check on him and the baby.”

“Baby?” The man looked wide-eyed between Jasper and me.

"My niece," Jasper said quickly. That was not a rumor he wanted to start. "Well, my best friend's niece, but I'm old friends with the family, so all the kids call me uncle."

“And they adore you,” I said truthfully. “All those little girls look at him like he just hangs the moon. Though I can definitely understand why,” I told his boss before leaning my shoulder into my boyfriend’s. “It was lovely meeting you.”

“You, too,” he said, obviously charmed by me. I tugged on Jasper’s hand and pulled him along with me. “I’ll see you Tuesday, Hale.”

"Yes, sir," Jasper said quickly before we walked away. He took my hand and squeezed it tightly. When we were out of the store, he brought his face close to my ear. "What a smooth little liar you are."

“I didn’t lie that much. Besides, I did want to be an actress,” I smirked. I pressed a quick kiss on his lips, surprising him. It was chaste and gentle, only for a moment. “Good thing I only use my powers for good.”

“I can’t wait to roleplay with you,” he said suddenly, surprising me. I laughed loudly, blushing furiously. “We are going to have so much fun.”

“Yes, we are,” I agreed. “Come on. Let's head towards the bathroom and check on them. They really have been a while.”

We made our way towards the restrooms. I saw Edward’s back about a hundred yards away as he held the baby. He was board straight and talking to someone I couldn’t see. He was hard to miss though.

“Oh, shit. It’s Vicky.” Jasper stopped. “Nah, I’m good. I’ve had enough of running into people I don’t like at the mall today.”

“His ex?” I asked, trying to catch a peek of her from behind Edward. The woman he was talking to was tall, probably six foot in heels. She had long thin arms that she waved around while she spoke to him. I couldn’t see her expression, only her wildly curly red hair and equally wild patterned tight dress. I could have seen her coming from a mile away. “Hm…” I drew out.

“What?”

“Let me guess… She’s the kind of woman who would hate it if I didn’t know who she was, isn’t she?” Jasper looked at me curiously. “Wait… Victoria? Hm, I think he’s mentioned the name in passing. Oh, right. I remember. You’re the girl who burnt toast.” I playfully tapped my chin.

He laughed a little bit evilly. “Yeah, she’d hate that. She’s just as loud and messy as she looks from here.”

“Sounds like fun. I’m going to rescue him.”

“Well, good luck with that. I’m going to fetch some coffee. Please don’t start any cat fights. Want anything?”

“I won’t start them, darlin’. I’ll just finish them,” I grinned wickedly. “Can you get me an iced coffee with caramel?”

“Of course. She better not start anything with you. I’m not above hitting a woman who deserves it.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I’ll be back.”

I made my way quickly towards Edward. He was still board straight.

“Well, Vicky, I’m sorry, but does any of this matter anymore?” I heard him say almost desperately.

“Well, it matters to me,” she replied quickly. “And, to your mother apparently.”

Just mentioning his mother made me dislike her more.

I came up to Edward and ran a comforting hand over his stomach from behind, slipping underneath his arm. I didn’t even look at her, looking up into his eyes instead. I felt him relax a little when he realized it was me.

“Hey there. I was starting to get worried about you two,” I told him sweetly, playing with the baby’s foot for a minute. She had her face resting on his chest, her eyes barely open. She gave me a little smile before yawning. “Jasper went to go get some coffee. Would you like some?”

“Oh, sorry. Yeah, sure. That would be great.” He looked flustered, his cheeks red as he looked down into my face. I reached up and touched his for a second.

"Iced coffee with extra caramel? Large, of course?" I asked as I pulled out my phone to type to Jasper before he got to the coffee shop.

“Yeah. Thanks,” he breathed, putting a hand on my back.

“I’m so sorry about interrupting.” I finally looked over to the obviously annoyed woman. She looked down at me with quite a bit of contempt. I ignored her. I didn’t have an obvious problem with her yet. “Do you want to come to Aunt Bella? Uncle Tony’s arms must be so tired,” I offered, holding my hands out for the baby once I was done with the phone. Ava saw and leaned into me happily. “So, friend or fan?” I asked him with an innocent smile.

“Thank you, love,” Edward said with a small smile before clearing his throat quickly, adjusting Ava’s new clean dress “This is Vicky,” he barely breathed out to me.

"Oh," I said lightly. "Nice to meet you!" I was pure sunshine. She obviously already hated me. She reminded me of his mother with her lemon-sucking expression. I was going to chat her up just as I had Courtney. "I'm Bella… Edward's- What was the term we decided on the other morning in bed?" I looked up at him lovingly, smiling innocently still.

"Pre-fiance," he said, instantly knowing what I was doing. I saw the smile tug at one corner of his mouth while a blush crawled up his neck.

I glanced back at her. “I think it’s a good name for that stage in between moving in together and getting engaged,” I laughed lightly, looking up at him lovingly again. His smile was brilliant. I was gently bouncing Ava as she began to fall asleep on my shoulder. She had a fistful of my hair and was holding it close to her face as she pressed it into my neck.

“Really?” Victoria asked him. She hissed it out between her perfect bright red lips with her fists balled up at her sides.

"What?" He asked her, genuinely offended by her response.

“How long have you been with her?” She demanded loudly. Edward laughed once and shook his head.

“Vicky… You can’t-“ He laughed humorlessly. “You can’t be mad that I moved on. Seriously. What the fuck? It’s been a year. You moved on. A lot sooner than me, I might add. I was fucking fine with that and didn’t give you a hard time.”

“We were together for years, Anthony, and you’re already living with her!” She nearly shouted. Oh yeah, she reminded me of his mother.

“You’re the one that said I was too immature. I wanted to live with you sooner. You know that. You didn’t. You wanted to get engaged and married first. That’s fine. I’m an adult. I can handle that. We didn’t work out. But, you wouldn’t get a second chance, even if I were single. You burned bridges, baby. I don’t want you. I’m not attracted to you anymore. I don’t enjoy spending time with you. You belittled me constantly at the end. You belittled my best friend. So, thanks for the offer, but I’m not so stupid not to think you’re not just interested in the money now. I guess you should have waited a few months, huh?” He said in a calm and even voice. I could only imagine what her offer was. He shook his head. “What is it with women with bad manners in malls?” He mumbled to himself, basically turning me in the opposite direction of the fuming person in front of us.

It seemed I was saving him from a very interesting and embarrassing conversation he didn’t want to be a part of anymore.

Victoria huffed and stomped her foot. “Anthony!”

He didn't turn around, but I did. "Oh, Vicky... Could you do something for me? Could you tell James to lose Tony's number? I don't think he'll be needing it anymore," I said pleasantly before turning in his arms and walking away. I could see Jasper at the far end of the mall, holding a cup holder and heading back towards us.

Edward began to laugh a little anxiously once we were several stores away from her as he squeezed my waist so that I was wholly pressed into his side. "Okay. So… You can pick out any piece of jewelry in this place for that. I owe you so many diamonds right now."

I laughed too, “I don’t want your jewelry. But maybe you can pick me out some new lipstick and Jasper can pick me something out from there.” I pointed to the lingerie store we walked past. I wanted him to forget all about her.

"Seriously, the biggest, most expensive one here," he teased and pressed a kiss to my mouth. He was cautious of the sleeping Ava. Tenderly he rested his hand on the back of her head, lovingly kissing me.

“Why don’t I keep the baby and you two and go pick me something out? You know my size. You can surprise me,” I whispered when he pulled away.

“I will buy you the whole damn jewelry store,” he teased thickly. I giggled evilly, smiling up at him as he held my face in his hands and lightly pecked my lips. He glanced back to where his ex had been standing. I didn’t notice if she was still there or not. He did though. “She still watching.”

“Then you definitely should put your hand on my ass as we walk away,” I said.

"Honey, I can't afford a diamond mine yet. Stop. I can only be so in love with you," he jokingly told me, placing his hand on my ass as he ushered towards Jasper. He offered me my coffee, and I took it with a satisfied smile.

“So, it went well then?” Jasper asked me with a wink.

Back: Episode 61

Next: Episode 63