Chapter One
I was standing in my hotel room looking down at the open suitcase lying on the bed. Despite the fact that I had it crammed with all my favorite apparel, I felt like I had nothing to wear. I had never been to a frat party before, especially in San Diego, and had no idea what California girls wore to these types of social gatherings. I imagined that they wore tight and revealing shirts, something that would make them stand out. Standing out was not on my to-do list.. I thought of just calling Angela to see what style of outfit she was wearing, but since I was running late, she was already there. Besides, the party would probably be too loud for her to hear my phone call anyway.
Ah, just make a decision Bella!
After ten more minutes of deliberating, I decided that it did not matter whether I wore the right thing or not. I would just wear something comfortable and something me. I tugged at a pair of jeans that was tangled up with the rest of my clothes, struggling to pull them out of the mess. Irritated at my packing capabilities, I gave a hard tug on the pant leg and it broke free of its bind, nearly knocking me over, and pulling the rest of my clothes to the floor. Well, isn't that just perfect.
I hurriedly dug through the pile and finally found my favorite and most comfortable shirt. It was a plain white t-shirt with a panda on the front. I pulled it over my head and then nodded to myself in the mirror with satisfaction. To top it all off I slid on a black button up vest, but decided to leave it unbuttoned.
Luckily, I had done my hair before leaving Arizona, and since it survived the long drive, I did not have to waste much time styling it. I put on some light make-up, brushed my teeth, and strapped on my black Converse Chucks before taking a last look in the mirror. My brown hair was completely straight down to the middle of my back, yet it still had some volume and movement to it. I examined my outfit one last time and determined that I was pleased with my choice. I checked to make sure I had my rings on, grabbed my purse and headed downstairs to get a cab. I would have rather ridden with Angela, but I had left Arizona a couple hours later than I had planned. I guess I could drive my own car, except I had no idea where the house was. Moreover, if I decided to drink, I would rather not drive; and considering I was not going to know anyone, a few drinks were definitely a possibility.
As I got in the cab, I gave the driver the address that Angela had texted to me earlier. I asked him how long the drive would take and he informed me that I had twenty minutes of alone time before arriving at my destination. I groaned internally, realizing I was not in a partying mood. I liked parties; I just was not super excited about them when I was going to one where I did not know anybody. I took advantage of the cab ride to do some thinking.
I tried to ignore the drama that had delayed my trip by about two hours; the six-hour drive here had given me plenty of time for that. I would wait until I told Angie about it before I bothered myself with it again. Instead, I decided to think about the reasons I had come out to San Diego this weekend.
Angela was my best friend and she was transferring to UCSD. She had been telling me all summer that I should come check the school out and transfer with her. Her key point was that I really did not have much in Arizona to hold me there anymore. My parents had just moved to Montana, I had no boyfriend, I had just gotten my associates degree, and my brother, Tyler, lived here. She knew how much I missed him and that the idea of being able to see him on a regular basis appealed to me. My brother and I are only a year apart, and we had been close before he moved three years ago. Now, I was lucky if I saw him once a month. In her mind, it was the perfect time for me to move and the more I thought about it, the more I was starting to believe she was right. It would be no problem to transfer my credits and get my bachelors degree at UCSD with her. I had always enjoyed San Diego when I would visit Tyler, and a few years here actually sounded nice. Plus, deep down, I could feel that it was time for a change. It would be hard to leave all my other friends, but I would still be close enough that I could visit over a weekend if I wanted. Angela had just moved here and she had invited me out this weekend to check out the place and meet some of her new friends. If I decided I liked it, I would move in with her, which would be enjoyable. I was certainly entertaining the possibility of moving here, but I wanted to see how this weekend panned out; starting with tonight.
As I arrived at the house, I did a double take. Angela said the house would be big, but that was an understatement. The house was made of grey brick and was three stories tall. There looked to be two rooms on each side of the over-sized door. The place looked like it could have been in Beverly Hills. Clearly, this was not your regular drunk boy frat house. Just by a glance, you could tell that this house turned out the leaders of America and had a mountain of money behind it. No wonder they threw parties here, hundreds of people could easily fit inside.
Great.
I paid the driver and reluctantly got out of the cab. I had to stand there and stare at the house for a moment to be sure it was real; and that I was at the right place. Sure enough, there were drunken college kids wandering in and out. I could also hear and feel a loud heartbeat coming from inside. This was definitely the place.
All right Bella, tuck all signs of discomfort away and walk into the house like you belong here.
I opened the door and was instantly met with loud music, and more people than I thought there would be. I took a deep breath and realized that I was definitely going to need some beer to get through this. I shut the door behind me and scanned the crowd for Angie. I did not see her, but my eyes did not come away completely disappointed.
Across the room, I noticed a very attractive guy talking to some friends. He was tall, probably 6'2'', with short dark brown hair. I could tell he was in great shape, and he had that same dark tan that everyone here has. I subtly looked him over as I contemplated his appeal. He had a kind confidence about him that set him apart from those around him.
My daze was broken when a girl accidentally bumped into me. I was partially grateful, since I was pretty sure I had started ogling at him. As I looked down at my shoes that were now covered in beer, I heard her giggle, "Oops, sorry" and continue to walk away.
I glanced at the boy again and then turned to ask the nearest person where I could find the beer. A tall lanky kid with horrible acne told me a couple kegs were in the kitchen and pointed to the right. I turned and made my way in that direction, carefully weaving my way through the large crowd the whole time. I was relieved to find the kitchen less congested with partygoers. There was only one person at each keg and I grabbed a cup patiently waiting for them to fill theirs. As I waited, I observed my surroundings. The kitchen was large, with dark granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. There was a large island in the middle that was piled with cups and various alcoholic beverages. If you could envision it without all the party paraphernalia, it really was a beautiful kitchen.
I ignored the guy in front of me as he sloppily tried to leave the kitchen while muttering a drunken language at me. Rolling my eyes, I went to pour my own beer. I glanced around the room again and noticed the boy I had seen earlier was making his way toward me. Okay, maybe not toward me, he probably just wanted some beer.
"Hi," he greeted me right as I began to fill my cup.
"HI," I replied. I looked up at him and he was smiling at me. He was wearing khaki cargo shorts and a white and green striped button up shirt with the sleeves pushed up above his elbows. Being this close to him, I noticed his dark emerald green eyes. They were shockingly clear.
"How are you?" he inquired.
Something about him made me want to answer his question honestly. So instead of giving him the polite "I'm fine, how are you?" response, I told him the truth.
"Eh, I'm okay I guess. I'm not a big fan of crowds"
He looked at me for a second before saying anything. Uh, now I seem like the moody girl and he probably does not want to talk to me anymore. He is just thinking of a polite way to get his beer and walk away. To ease his discomfort I handed him the spout even though my cup was only half-full.
"I wonder why that is?" he asked as he took the device I offered him.
I was surprised by his question, so before I could stop myself I answered truthfully again.
"I'm sure it stems from my general dislike of most people." I said it as if I was telling him what my favorite color was. Damn, I could be so cynical sometimes. He probably did not even care. I bet he was just asking so I would not feel like an idiot.
"Do you dislike me?" He gave me a soft smile as he asked and his eyes had a playful look in them.
"No, actually, you seem fine." And he did. He was polite, confident rather than cocky; if he was hitting on me, it was extremely subtle. He definitely was not like most people.
"Good," he said as he gave a slight nod.
"I'm sorry," I replied "I probably seem like some anti-social cynic."
He laughed.
"I get It," he leaned in closely and his voice got quieter, "A lot of people are not very smart, plus they can be very rude." He pumped the keg a couple more times so he could finish filling his cup. He never took his eyes off me while he did this though. He gave me a smile that told me it was okay to admit how I felt about things. I just stood there and stared at him for a few seconds before I murmured "exactly." Then I remembered that we had not even introduced ourselves yet.
"I'm Bella," I said as I extended my hand to him.
"Edward," he replied as he took my hand. He shook it a couple times and then held on to it as he looked into my eyes.
"You're nice to them even though you don't like them." He let my hand go as he said this. It took me a second to realize he was back to our previous conversation. However, he was not asking me a question, he said it like it was some fact he knew about me; as if we were already friends and this was some facet of my personality he was familiar with.
"What?" was all I could stammer out, because he had been right in his assessment of my behavior.
He chuckled before he answered me.
"I'm a psychology major. Plus, I have to admit, I noticed you from across the room and I watched you walk over here. You were very polite as you made your way through the crowd. Most people would have just shoved their way through."
"I don't like it when people are rude, so I try not to be." He noticed me. He came over here to talk to me, not just to get beer. Ok Bella, do not freak out. He noticed you. So what? Keep calm. "So um, you were watching me?" The question came out quiet and shy and I could feel myself blush a little.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," he blushed as he apologized. "You just caught my attention when I saw you. Something about you made me want to talk to you." He looked down at his feet and I saw his confidence slip away for a second before he looked back up at me. Was he afraid that he had made me uncomfortable by telling me this?
"I could find that a bit creepy," I said lightly. "But instead I'm extremely flattered." I gave him a reassuring smile and once again, I was telling him the truth. The guy that I had noticed immediately had also noticed me.
"Ah, good," he sighed. "I was hoping for that reaction." His confidence was back and a second later we both laughed. Any discomfort either of us had been feeling entirely melted away.
"So if you don't like crowds, or parties, what brings you here?"
"I like parties," I said a bit too defensively. "I'm just not a big fan of them when I don't know anyone. And I'm here because my friend invited me. She just moved here and I am in town visiting her. Speaking of my friend, I should probably go find her."
"You probably should." His words said I should leave, but the look in his eyes suggested that he wished we could continue to talk. I wanted the same thing too, but I really should find Angie.
"Yeah." I had taken a few steps backwards when I called to him over the music, "Hope to see you around later."
He nodded as he hollered, "yeah, definitely." He looked excited at my desire to see him later.
I turned around and began to make my way through the party to look for Angela. I got about ten feet away when I glanced back to where Edward had been standing. He was still there, eyes intent, as he was watching me walk away. He smiled at me when he saw I was looking at him and I smiled back. I turned back around laughing to myself and continued my search for my friend.