I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. Perfect. Tonight was my sixth wedding anniversary. Ben had promised to take me to a nightclub. We’d leave the triplets with our neighbors, Michelle and Ronald Miller and their daughter, Shannon. I couldn’t wait. Ever since we moved from Forks to Seattle, I had wanted to go to a nightclub. We were originally going to go for our first anniversary; however, the triplets were only a month old, and I didn’t want to leave them.
Looking out the window, I smiled at all of the bright lights. At first, the lights, the crowds, and the sunlight had seemed strange and unusual, but now it was expected. I liked living in Seattle, and because of its proximity to Forks, Ben and I could visit our family and friends whenever we liked. Well, everyone except one. I hadn’t seen my best friend, Isabella Swan for ten years. Ever since she got married to Edward Cullen the summer after graduation, we lost all contact with each other. I really missed her.
“Ang!” Ben called. “Ang, sweetheart, are you ready to go yet?”
“Yeah!” I yelled back. “Be there in a minute!” I checked my appearance one last time before hurrying down the stairs, where Ben was waiting in a tux. Wow. He looked stunning.
Nathan, Nicole, and Natalie, the triplets, were waiting too, clutching toys and coloring books. “You look pretty, Mommy,” Nicole said.
“Thank you, honey,” I replied. “Now be good at the Millers’, okay? No fighting with Shannon.”
“Okay, Mommy,” they chorused. Little angels.
“Come on,” Ben said as he ushered them out the door.
As we walked up the Millers’ front steps, a black cat appeared out from the side of the house. “Hey, Devil,” I said fondly. “How are you?” The cat meowed in response.
The front door opened. “Mom! Why are you making me take out the garbage?! It’s the stinkiest job in the world! No one likes it! This is so unfair! I—”
“Hey, Shannon,” I said. “How are you?” She looked at me.
“Fine. But I’d be better if Mom didn’t make me take out the dumb garbage.”
Ben tried to hide a laugh, but I still saw it.
“Hi, Angela, Ben, Nicole, Nathan, Natalie,” Michelle Miller said. She had heard us.
“Hey, ‘Chelle,” I answered. “Where’s Ron?”
“He went to get the kids some pizza for dinner.”
“You didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”
“I know, but the whole point is that the kids enjoy themselves.” I nodded.
“We’ll be back by eleven-thirty. If there’s any trouble, don’t hesitate to call us,” I added.
“Have fun,” Michelle told us.
“I intend to,” Ben replied, with a mischievous grin. Michelle seemed to find that really funny. I shook my head at the two of them as I walked back to the car.
“Let’s go,” Ben said eagerly. As soon as I had my seat belt buckled, he reversed the car swiftly, and drove out into the street. When we reached the nightclub, we looked at it in dismay. It was packed.
“What should we do?” I asked Ben.
“ I have an idea,” he said mysteriously, and drove away. He went to another club, this one with a cheesy name, Nights ‘N’ Lights. It must be good though, because I could see many people inside, moving to the beat. “Come on,” Ben said eagerly, as he pulled me to the entrance.
“This is nice,” I said when we were inside. At that moment, the song changed. It was one of my favorites, Please Don’t Stop the Music by Rihanna.
It’s gettin’ late
I’m makin’ my way over to my favorite place
I gotta get my body movin’, shake the stress away
I wasn’t lookin’ for nobody when you looked my way, possible candidate, yeah
Who knew, that you’d be up in here lookin’ like you do
You’re makin’ stayin’ over here impossible
Baby I must say, your aura is incredible, if you don’t have to go, don’t
Ben and I moved onto the dance floor and started dancing.
When the song was over, I heard a sweet voice giggling. I was quite sure I had never heard such a perfect voice before, but I remembered something similar. A musical voice that I had heard over ten years ago, but I could never forget it. “Do you mind if I drive Bella home tonight?”The only time Edward Cullen had spoken to me directly. Even at his wedding, he had been too absorbed in Bella’s beauty to talk much. I turned and saw seven familiar faces. Edward, Emmett, Alice, Carlisle, and Esme Cullen, and Jasper and Rosalie Hale. Where was Bella? I looked at the brunette with Edward. That couldn’t be Bella. Bella had brown eyes, not golden ones. The other unfamiliar girl had brown eyes, but she couldn’t be Bella, because her hair was the same bronze color as Edward’s. However, there was something familiar about the tall Native American. He turned around and I got a glimpse of his face. It was Jacob Black, Edward’s competition for Bella’s hand in marriage. What was he doing here?
Just then, the whole group locked eyes with me and Ben, and they looked at us guiltily. Suddenly, Alice bounded forward and hugged me. “Angela! It’s been so long! How are you?”