Bella.
"Bella! Come on! We are all taking this picture and you're going to ruin graduation if you're not in it," Alice chuckled, grasping my wrist and pulled me alongside of her. Usually, I protest against this sort of thing. The whole-let's take a photo- and- have it plastered all over face book -for- everyone to- comment -on scenario. I rolled my eyes and sighed, placing my hands on my kneecaps and leaned forward into the camera and gave my best smile.
"Alice, you always spoil everything. You really are a devil," I chuckled lightly, giving her my best one-armed hug. She rolled her green eyes and squeezed the returned hug.
"Listen, two o'clock is the party. You're going to come and be fashionably spectacular!" She chimed and trotted off to meet Rosalie and Jessica. I sighed.
I pulled a strand of hair behind my ear that fell from my ponytail and sighed deeper as I packed a shit load of cake onto two plates for Renee and Charlie back in Seattle. Dad loved chocolate. Mom loved marble. It's funny how they always seemed to be ironically connected. I chuckled at my own thoughts and shook my head slowly before two pairs of cold-clammy hands rested in front of my eyes. "Emmett, I told you I hate guessing this stupid game," I grumbled under my breath.
A booming voice chuckled loudly and a pair of strong arms wrapped around me. "Bells, it's not Emmett. Its Jasper," he laughed, spinning me around until I squealed to let me go. "Damn, Bells. You sure are a sour puss." His lower lip turned into a pout and I couldn't help but let the corner of my lips turn into a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. I get that enough from Alice, I don't need it from you," I giggled, slapping his arm. I placed the plates into a few sheets of tin foil and stacked them, placing them under my arm.
"Who the hell are those for? Emmett?" Jasper mumbled, obviously chewing the last few lingering pieces of the cake, licking the remincence off his fingers.
I glanced down at the foil and shook my head, placing a hand on my hip. "Actually, for my mom and dad. I'm taking the train down this weekend to see them," I explained, my smile growing wider at even mentioning my parents. I was closer to my mother then I was to my dad.
"Bella, are you heading over tomorrow, for the party?" he asked me, still licking his fingers.
I nodded several times, slipping under Mike's arm and scooted out the door before Alice could reel me in for another picture. I twirled my keys around my index finger, humming Train's "Drops of Jupiter" quietly to myself.
Setting the foil down, I revved the engine and pulled out of the parking lot; driving towards the main street near my apartment complex. I lived in the northern side of Manhattan, New York always was the one place I wanted to be when I was a little girl living in Forks, Washington. And now, I made the rent at the nick of time and spent my weekends either out with the girls or scrolling through the computer while eating noodles. Yeah, that was the fantastic life of Isabella Swan.
Pulling the keys out of the ignition, I snatched my cake and the large box in the back of my truck and shuffled up the winding stairs to the third floor, marked 2B. The first week was hard with those stairs, having them wind into a circle until you'd reach your floor and be so consumed with loss of breath, you'd be using an inhaler just to stay alive during the night. I sighed and closed the door behind me, kicking off my shoes and smiled softly when Rex rubbed his tail along the wall; purring just as loud as he always did. He was the only person that slept in bed with me, or would give me affection whenever I wanted it. Joy.
I took a shower, brushed my hair and my teeth before nesting into bed. Pulling the covers up to my chest, I thought about seeing my mother again. The last time I had seen her was when I was eighteen, a senior in high school. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes and tried to sleep. Tried. A light breeze brushed against my hair, and I turned my head to the side. Two large windows were brightened with the glow from the moon, branches swaying in the wind and light owls called into the night. It was calm, unusually for me. I hated the dark.
I closed my eyes, enjoying just how light that breeze did feel on my skin. And after 2 hours I had finally fallen asleep.
Edward.
I counted off the mental checklist in my head. And every one of it was work. I hated work, yet I was the CEO of the fucking shithole. A feral growl escaped through my chest and I glanced over as Emmett raised his eyebrow knowingly and chuckled. I sighed, turning up the volume on my ipod strapped to my bicep.
"Something you got to spill, dipshit?" I asked, sharply.
Emmett's laughter echoed through my ears and I shook my head, smirking softly at the corner of my lips. He and I have been friends for over six years, one of the best men I know and a great business associate I might add. My legs were now burning, running over a quarter mile and my lungs were so outstretched, I felt I was never gaining enough air. Grasping the bottled water near my bag, I took a long sip and pressed the little red button on the treadmill to stop myself from tripping.
"I was wondering who you're bringing to Alice's shindig tonight," Emmett said.
I pushed my eyebrows together, placing one hand on my hip and the other wiping sweat off my forehead. I shrugged my shoulders. "Nobody."
He gave me one of those one-take shots. "You're taking nobody? Seriously? You've got like every woman under the fucking Tuscan sun in your bed and you have nobody?" he raised his eyebrow, emphasizing the "nobody".
"Yeah, fucker. I am not taking anyone," I retorted.
I sighed deeper, taking a few hits on the punching bag to relieve some stress. But, the lost puppy seemed to have followed shortly behind and brought his protests with him.
"Dude, all I'm saying is-"
I cut him off.
"You aren't saying anything because this shit is none of your fucking bee's wax. Alright? I'm not taking anyone, I'm going for Jas and that's about it. You know I fucking hate her parties."
He nodded several times, doing a few twists with the jump rope in his hand.
I shook my head slowly, giving the punching bag a few hard hits; Emmett's hand hitting my arm to attract my attention. "What the fuck do you want now?" I growled, glancing up at exactly where his finger was pointing.
Isabella Swan.
I was taken aback at just how beautiful she was. Her hair pulled up tightly into a ponytail, a grey tank top and yoga pants. God, if I would have thought the manufacturer for yoga pants could be so god damn intelligent, then I'd be making him a CEO at my company.
"Good, god," Emmett mumbled, his hands placed on his hips and he had the biggest smirk on his face. "That is one hell of a fucking woman, Ed."
I rolled my eyes and sacked a few right hooks on the bag, grunting. I grabbed bottled water from my bag and took a longer sip, closing my eyes briefly before glancing at Isabella. I cleared my throat and glanced over at Emmett who was lifting his toes every time his feet would land on the mat again after using that jump rope, only to get a better look on her. I sighed and swung the strap of my bag over my left shoulder, taking a long sip from the bottled water.
I cleared my throat to let her know I was here and she glanced up at me, her eyes widened with surprise and wonder. I pulled the best genuine smile I could possibly give and nodded slightly. "Remember me? I'm Edward Cullen. We met the day before you started college, I'm a good friend of Jaspers," I explained, extending my hand.
She smiled softly and extended her hand over her left arm as she stretched.
"Yes, of course I remember. You work for a company of some sort... CEO, I think?" She chewed the corner of her lip and her left brow pushed down.
God, I swear I would have loved to have those lips wrapped around my cock in the near future. I laughed softly and let her hand slide back onto her shoe. She rose from her feet and bent over to continue with her stretches. Now, when I say a woman should never bend over in front of a man in yoga pants... I meant that.
I bit my lip to catch the groan that had wanted to so badly escape from inside my chest, my eyes wandered ever single curve on that woman's body. The last time I saw Isabella, she was nineteen, just out from high school and wanting to be a school teacher. She talked about having children, being married and moving in down near Seattle where the rest of her family was. I smiled softly on that soft memory, surprised I had even remembered it myself. Isabella's mind is what I thought was intriguing. Even though her body had just made my cock hard as a fucking rock. I closed my eyes and took a long sigh and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Yep, that's me. And... .. You uh... still want to be a school teacher or whatever it was you wanted to do?" I mumbled, taking a seat on the bench press in front of her and chewed the corner of my lip as if I was a hungry lion stalking his night's meal.
Her face was soft, she had big brown eyes and her lips were a light shade of pink, supple and perfect. I bit my lip even harder and felt my cock grow like an iron rod. I stood up quickly and she glanced up at me as I had almost knocked over her water. "Um, sorry... "I laughed softly.
She gave a soft smile and shook her head, continuing her stretching before she rose and stepped onto the tread mill, pushing ear buds into her head and glanced over at me with a soft smirk. I took another long sip from my water, my eyes wandering that woman who had taken possession of the treadmill. I smirked smugly, placing one hand on my hip and watched her breasts bounce in ever motion of her feet. She had the perfect tits, none of that silicon shit. I leaned against the machine beside the bench press and shook my head several times, before being interrupted by Emmett's arm slapping my pecks.
"Lover boy, let's get going. Alice's party starts in two hours," he chuckled, shaking his head and stepped outside into the parking lot. I sighed, taking one last glance at Isabella Swan.
Bella.
"Shit," I mumbled to myself. I had managed to trip over a towel, get soap in my eyes and all but landed on the wooden floorboards of my bedroom. My hand found the corner of the footboard and pulled myself up, pulling a strand of hair out of my face. I glanced at the clock that read, 11:35 am. Alice's party was in three hours and I still hadn't managed to wrap her gift.
Slipping on a tank top and yoga pants, I sat down on the bed to slip on my running shoes before heading out to the gym. I calculated exactly what I was going to get my mother once I saw her this weekend. Maybe some flowers or some small earrings. That would have to wait until another time. Focusing on the light traffic, my fingers absentmindly tapped the steering wheel while I chewed my bottom lip, so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed the car in front of me already pass through the light.
Arriving at the gym, I placed my keys into the side pocket of my bag and thanked the woman who held the door out for me. The smell of sweat and rubber brushed against my nose, sending me to cringe slightly. I always hated the smell of this gym. Beginning my stretches, I heard faint footsteps behind me and a throat cleared. To my surprise, a tall and yet chiseled figure stood above me. I furrowed my brows at the faint familiarity about him.
"Remember me? I'm Edward Cullen. We met the day before you started college, I'm a good friend of Jaspers," he had said.
The faint memories of so long ago passed into my mind. The lunch in, Alice and Jasper's relationship had just started increasing. I was getting ready to start college, proceed to move back home to be with my family. Edward Cullen was also at that lunch in.
"Yes, of course I remember. You work for a company of some sort... CEO, I think?" I responded.
He offered a warm smile, his long fingers stretched out to reach mine and I returned the favor. His hand was soft, and he allowed his fingers to curl around mine to give a firm shake. I didn't really take the time to notice how handsome he actually was. Hair stuck out in all directions, followed by a long and angled jaw. His chin held a light five o'clock shadow and his lips were full, light shade of pink. God, why hadn't I noticed him all those years ago? You can be a really idiotic tard, Bella. I shook my head in an effort to clear the shouting in my head, mentally insulting myself. Never a good thing.
He moved in front of me, obviously wanting to continue our small conversation. I continued with my stretches, fighting with myself to not glance anywhere I knew would be inappropriate. It had been long since I got affection from anything other then my cat. I sighed. He leaned over slightly, watching me with a set of fixed eyes. It had only taken me a split second to notice my breasts seemed to be doing me justice. Damn bitches.
He took a seat on the bench press, mumbling something to himself but I couldn't make out what he had said. I knew I had to start moving around the gym before he would say something else. In my peripheral vision, I could see him leaning against a weight machine with an odd look on his face. This cannot be good. After a few more glances, our eyes meeting a few times... he left.
"Thank god," I mumbled under my breath, focusing on the plasma television screen in front of me.
After a long half mile run on the treadmill, I took a long sip from my water and pulled out my cell to give Alice the R.S.V.P.
I'll be at your place around 2:30.
Just was at the gym.
Xoxo
-B.
I ran my finger over the send button and shoved the phone back into the pocket of my bag before unlocking the door to my truck. I arrived back at my apartment around 2:45. Just enough time to take another shower and wrap Alice's gift.
Unlocking the door, Rex greeted me as usual and I swiped past him to head into the bathroom. My clothes stuck to my body when I tried to remove them, discarding to the floor along with my running shoes and a new pair of panties. Waiting for the water to warm up seemed like ages; Edward Cullen could not leave my mind. Why had he wanted to talk to me? Of all people in the gym, why me?
The queries continued to multiply as I walked under the warm spray, I sighed when the soft memory of my mother appeared. I would be seeing her this weekend; she would be so ecstatic to see her daughter after she left so abruptly years ago. That memory made me sigh deeper.
It was an hour later that I had Alice's gift wrapped, freshly showered and slipping on my heels before sprinting out the door. What seemed like forever, I finally made it to Alice's and had her gift in hand. She greeted me at the door with the expression of a worried mother about to bark at her daughter for being late.
"I'm only a few minutes late, chill ax," I chuckled, giving her a hug.
"Mhmmm. If you weren't my best friend, I'd be shutting the door in your face," she joked.
Alice's house was large, with a brick finishing around the foot. She inherited a rather excessive amount of money after her parents passed ten years ago. With that, she had found her other best friend: Riches. I waved to Jessica when her head appeared from the group of other girls beside the fireplace. Jess and I weren't close, but still exchanged phone calls now and then.
"So, the boys will be here soon. I thought you were going to be fashionably spectacular?" She raised her eyebrow, her eyes wandering to my dress.
"I love this dress, Alice. You know that," I frowned, running my hands over my abdomen to straighten out any creases.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. But you should have called me before picking out your wardrobe," She giggled, placing two wine glasses in front of me.
I watched her fill red wine till the rim of the glasses, watching me curiously. "What's wrong, Bella?"
My head snapped up. "Oh…. Uh…. Nothing. Just ran into Edward Cullen today," I mumbled, running my finger along the corner of the wooden table.
I heard her chuckle softly, twirling the glass between her fingers.
"And that's a bad thing?"
"I hardly even know him, Alice. The last time we spoke was almost four years ago."
"Yeah… but I'm sure it can't be that bad. He's coming to the party tonight."
My stomach dropped, followed by a soft gasp. "Wh…what?"
She turned on her heels, glancing at me over her shoulder with a perked brow. Alice always was good at seeing past my protective wall, into my soul and brought out the best of me. She sighed and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "Bella, it's going to be fine. Trust me," She smiled.
I wanted to believe her, I really did.