Pen Name: Readingmama
Title: Window Seat
Summary: Bella sits in her window seat each night and shares a book with the man across the street. But one night when she needs him the most, will he be there?
Pairing: Carlisle/Bella
Rating:M
A/N: Thank you to my beta Acrosstheskynstars who betas for me even when I only write once a year. You rock!
This fic is just a short one that I entered in a contest. It is complete and will be posting over the next couple of days. Thanks for reading.
The kettle clicked off and Bella poured the hot water into her cup, letting the tea bag steep for a couple of minutes as she went to change out of her work clothes. A pair of leggings, a long tank, and an oversized cardigan was her usual uniform after a long day. She picked up her tea, tossing the bag into the garbage, grabbed her latest book, and headed to the window seat on her second floor. Draping a blanket over her legs, she rested back against the large pillow and took a sip of her drink.
Snow had just begun to fall and she watched as the white flakes fell silently through the sky. The light next door was on and she wondered who her new neighbor would be. The sold sign had been taken down two weeks ago but she hadn't seen any moving trucks, likely having been unloaded while she worked. Bella smiled softly and picked up her book, enjoying another night adventuring into different worlds.
Bella found her job both challenging and ridiculous. She knew she wasn't curing cancer or anything important, but it was fun taking an otherwise plain looking model and turning her into something otherworldly with her brushes. Her friends all wondered how she could put makeup on the most gorgeous women in the world and still have her quiet confidence, to which Bella always replied, "I wouldn't wish their life on anyone. Most of them can't find someone who wants them for anything more than their image. I'm happy being plain."
Her response would earn an eye-roll because Bella was not plain, she was very pretty. Dark brown hair that cascaded down her back, a dainty face, and a slim build, her five foot four stature was the only thing that stopped her from being in front of the cameras instead of behind. Well, that and her lack of desire for it.
"How is painting me like a peacock and gluing feathers to my ta-tas supposed to sell vanilla?" Irina asked.
Bella laughed. "Don't let Mike hear you, he'll be explaining his 'vision' for the rest of the day."
"His vision are your ta-tas," Kate replied as she sat in the chair next to Irina.
"You're next," Irina warned.
"And you're going to be a chicken," Bella said with a giggle, causing Kate to groan.
Bella had worked with the two models several times, and considered them almost friends. They didn't go out after work, but while at work they had a great time together. They were also very familiar with their photographer, Michael Newton. He was one of the better photographers to work with, not because his work was great, but because he was one of the few that didn't get handsy with the models—or Bella, for that matter.
A knock on the dressing room door caused Bella to look up and the other girls to look into the mirror to see the reflection of who was behind them.
"Hi, Bella," Mike said, smiling. "Can I get an ETA on the girls?"
"Irina is done, Kate is going to take about an hour still. The feathers are not setting with the quick-dry glue."
"Okay, I am going to finish setting up the lighting with the stand-ins and then grab a coffee, text me when you're ready."
"Will do," Bella replied. And Mike left, closing the door behind him.
"Alright, Kate, lose the top and let's get you yellow."
The original application was the most fun for Bella, transforming the women into art, but then she had to stay on set all day for touch-ups, and this shoot required a lot. By the time the day was over, Bella had hoped to never see another feather again in her life.
"Come out with us tonight," Kate said as she wiped the last of her makeup off her face.
"I can't, I have another shoot in the morning and I'm bagged," Bella said, somewhat surprised that she'd been asked.
"Damn, if I worked as much as you do," Irina said wistfully.
Bella just laughed and stuck her brushes in her makeup kit, then pulled out the handle to roll the case. "See you ladies next time," she said with a wink. "Have fun tonight."
"Bye," the girls called out in unison.
When Bella pulled up into the driveway she noticed the lights on next door again. After changing into some comfortable clothes, she took her tea and leftovers and sat in her window seat. Her book sat there waiting for her to finish her meal, and she looked at it forlornly, wishing she had three hands so she could hold her tea and eat and read at the same time.
She found herself looking over to the house next door. The lady who had lived there before had been nice but Alice had been over almost every night for months before she got the hint that Bella didn't want to be her new best friend. It wasn't that she didn't like Alice, it was just that her job put her in the middle of so much commotion all day that by the time she came home, all she wanted was to decompress with her books.
Bella couldn't help but wonder if this new neighbor would be like Alice. Or maybe it was a family. She wrinkled her nose. Hopefully if they had kids, they weren't the screaming-all-the-time type. But she supposed whoever lived there had been there for a couple of weeks and she hadn't heard a thing.
Looking over again, she was surprised to see a man sitting in the window across from her. His eyes were lowered, and after a moment, Bella could tell that he was reading. He looked about five years older than Bella, but it was hard to tell through two panes of glass. What wasn't hard to tell was how attractive he was. He had such a strong jawline and golden hair that fell down almost to his eyes; she found herself doing something she had trained herself never to do in her line of work, she was gawking.
As if sensing her gaze, the man looked up, and Bella looked away, putting her dinner on the floor and then grabbing her book. She would have thought he would have looked away but when she checked, he was still looking at her. He smiled and Bella found herself smiling back. He held up his book and she laughed, holding up her identical title. He chuckled and they held each other's gaze for a moment before looking back down and losing themselves in their books.