ARLTY-Chapter 37

The next three weeks were slow in spots and fast as hell in others. Bella relayed the talk she had with the girls the night after the misunderstanding. I agreed with all of them. We needed to work hard to not only be individuals and couples, but friends as well. Each day that the girls worked we had our boy time to go and surf, play pool, or just hang around the house. Then we made sure we cooked for the girls so that when they got home we all could spend time together listening to how their days went. We sort of melted into this large hodge podge family unit. We complained a lot but you could certainly tell that each and every one of us enjoyed it to the fullest.

When Emmet found out how much we made modeling with Bella and Alice, he agreed to contact Rose's Uncle with us. The girls thought we were joking but I could see how much Bella's bank account grew with each job she did. So there was no way I would turn down an opportunity to take advantage of that kind of payday myself! Soon all six of us were scheduled for jobs, sometimes together, sometimes alone. Uncle Aro helped provide transportation on those days when we all went in separate directions.

Each night we met back at the house, had our dinner, then the bon fire time with our group of friends, then we would all separate to give each couple some alone time. I loved the alone time, it allowed Bella and I to talk about our future. We discussed what we wanted out of life, our dreams and goals for the future. It made me happy to see that both of us wanted the same basic things out of life. As the time went on, I could even see how our ideas bended and molded to match each other's a little more each day.

Once every couple of weeks we made a Saturday date, we spent the whole day together, without any interruptions from either of the other couples. The idea caught on and soon all three couples were using the Saturday date system. I was okay with that.

Bella and I talked about the shoot she was on the previous day. I heard her talk about the photographer's directions to her, the shoot director's words as well. She seemed to be out of her shell, she was the strong confident woman I always knew she could be. She just needed unconditional love to make her see that she could be that as well. I was proud to say that I helped her become that person; she loved me enough to allow her inner self to come out. I was humbled by her gift.

I pulled her close and kissed her temple. I tried to hide the tears that flowed but she saw them. No words were spoken; she wiped the tears away and then kissed the spots where they marched across my face. She didn't need to explain. We understood each other very well. She felt what I felt, we were in this together.