When I finally walked inside and up to Alice's closet, I saw Bella. She was leaning against the wall behind Alice, her hair in intricate curls, her silk blue dress clinging just right onto her extravagant body and her free foot in delicate high heels with lace wrapping around her lower ankle. I literally had to put my tongue back in my mouth. She was stunning, though her facial expression was clearly not in league with her appearance. She had a deep scowl on her face and there was a tiny pucker between her eyebrows.
"Get dressed!" Alice demanded, though she was still wearing pants.
Kissing Bella lightly on the forehead I shot upstairs to the third floor to quickly take a shower and put on my tuxedo.
"By the way, you're late!" Alice yelled up the stairs. I'll take Bella downstairs. I'm going to get dressed and Jasper and I will meet you there.
By the time I was done, Alice and Jasper were gone and Bella was sitting on the couch downstairs talking with Esme. Rushing towards her, I pulled her up into my arms and brushed my hands lightly through her intricate curls.
"This is for you," I showed her a white lily which Alice had left on my dresser.
Blood rushed up her face, coloring it a delicious pink. The scent was spectacular.
"Thanks," she whispered.
"Here," I said while pinning it into her hair. "Now you're perfect."
Her blush turned an even darker shade of pink.
"You're not so bad yourself," her lips twitched up into a smile.
Wrapping my arm around her waist we proceeded to the door.
"Are you going to tell me where we are going now?" She looked sideways at me, anticipation obvious in her eyes.
"Not a chance," I grinned.
Her lips turned down as I helped her into my car. Carefully, I made sure that she was secure, including her dress, before I shut the door. Alice would kill me if I got her dress dirty before we even arrived at the school.
"At what point exactly are you going to tell me what's going on?" She asked tersely.
Really? Had she seriously not figure it out yet? I threw her a derisive smile.
"I'm shocked that you haven't figured it out yet."
She took in a deep breath and held it for several seconds before she spoke.
"I did mention that you looked very nice, didn't I?" She double-checked.
"Yes." My smile deepened.
Her musical heart began to pick up in pace. In anticipation or nervousness, I wasn't sure. She looked down at her attire and frowned.
"I'm not coming over anymore if Alice is going to treat me like Guinea Pig Barbie when I do," she complained.
My phone vibrated lightly before it rang. If it's Alice, I'm not answering. I put my hand into my inside jacket pocket, pulled out my phone and looked at the number. It was Bella's number. It was easy to tell who was calling me since Bella was sitting next to me. Curious as to what he was calling for, I answered.
"Hello, Charlie."
"Charlie?" Bella's frown became more prominent on her face.
"Um. Yeah." Charlie paused, obviously unsure of how to continue. "Tyler is here to pick Bella up for prom." He said the words slowly, delicately.
I could feel my eyes widen in disbelief.
"He says that Bella told him 'yes' when he asked her to go to prom."
A grin slowly crept up my face. It was about time that Tyler get the point that Bella is taken. That she is mine!
I laughed. "You're kidding!"
"No...definitely not," I could hear Charlie's voice cracking. He was trying not to laugh.
"What is it?" Bella demanded at the same time Tyler asked, "Who are you talking to?"
This was like a dream come true. It was bad enough that I had to hear every guys fantasy at school. It was time for payback.
"Why don't you let me talk to him?" I offered.
"Um. Okay, if you think that's best."
Charlie handed the phone over to Tyler.
"Who is it?" Tyler asked curiously.
"Just answer the phone, Tyler," Charlie demanded.
"Er...Hello?"
"Hello, Tyler, this is Edward Cullen." I used my friendly voice, but it had an undercurrent of threat. "I'm sorry if there's been some kind of miscommunication, but Bella is unavailable tonight."
"But...prom," he spluttered.
The undercurrent in my voice became prominent as I continued. "To be perfectly honest, she'll be unavailable every night, as far as anyone besides myself is concerned. No offense. And I'm sorry about your evening."
"But..." he began, but I snapped my phone shut while I smiled widely at the thought of him standing there, dumbfounded.
When I took in a deep breath I caught a concentrated scent of Bella's blood and looked over at her immediately. Her face and neck were the same color as Rosalie's dress. Her eyes were beginning to water slightly in anger.
Oops, I hope I didn't upset her, that was not my intention. Of course, she would have handled it with more finesse than me. "Was that last part a bit too much? I didn't mean to offend you."
She gritted her teeth before staring at me in absolute and utter belligerence. "You're taking me to the prom!" She shouted.
She caught me completely off guard. So it wasn't because of my threatening voice towards Tyler, it was because of prom! Once I took in her angry expression I tried not to laugh at her vicious kitten-y face. My lips pressed together tightly and my eyes narrowed slightly in an effort not to show my humor.
"Don't be difficult, Bella."
She jerked her head to look out of the window as it sunk in.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Her voice acerbic.