Travel show host Bella Swan spends her days globetrotting and her nights, or at least quite a few of them, in cameraman Edward Cullen's bed. When the lines between lust and love, convenience and dependency are blurred, Bella just might have to admit that Edward might be more than a quick fix for a 'dry spell.' A bit of angst here or there, but mostly fluff. And lemons. Lots of lemons. AH, slightly OOC, canon couples, ExB, Rated M.
Hello! Before anything else, I'd like to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to all of you who read and reviewed Cabin Fever, my one-shot and first venture into fan-fic. I can't tell you how happy the reviews I got made me! I may not have received a lot, but to me, anything would have seemed like a lot! To those of you who asked for more, I'm not sure if there will be more of Cabin Fever, but I'm hoping you might like this new multi-chaptered fic. I'm expecting it to be pretty fluffy and pretty citrusy, but there's some potential for a little angst, so we'll see how that goes.
So, without further ado…
I do not own Twilight or its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. I do, however, own the plot of this derivative work and ask that this story not be reposted or reproduced without my permission. This story is rated M and not intended for readers under the age of 18.
Wanderlust
CHAPTER 1
Riiiiiing! Riiiiing!
The shrill tone of the telephone I had sitting on the desk in the corner of my room broke into my consciousness. My head hurt a little – I'd over done it last night – but all in all I was feeling surprising okay. The sun coming through my sheer curtains was blinding, that much I could tell before I even opened my eyes. I cracked them open just a bit, letting my pupils acclimate to the brightness. Whoever was calling me wasn't giving up and I rolled off my bed to answer, if only to make the high-pitched ringing stop.
"Hello?" I croaked into the receiver as I looked into the antique mirror above the desk. I had mascara smeared beneath my eyes and my hair, once waved and pinned perfectly into place, was a horrific mess. The dress I'd been wearing was folded neatly on the old trunk at the end of my bed, which I was thankful for but pretty sure I hadn't done myself.
"Hey, Blackbird. You don't sound so good." Edward's deep voice came over the line and I detected a bit of amusement in it.
"I just woke up. My head hurts a little."
"Not surprising. I didn't know someone so small could drink so much gin."
"Why didn't you stop me?"
"I was distracted. Why don't you let me in?"
"What? You're here?" I scurried into the bathroom and grabbed a makeup removing cloth from my vanity drawer.
"Yep. Just coming up the stairs. I've got some breakfast. Or maybe it's lunch by now."
I scrubbed the cloth over my face and checked myself in the mirror. Not great, but a little better. I could hear Edward's footsteps approaching my front door and just had time to throw an oversized sleep shirt on over my panties before he knocked.
I swung the door open to find Edward holding two coffees in one hand, his cell phone in the other and a bag dotted with a couple of grease spots under his arm. He wore a plain black t-shirt that I hadn't seen in the last couple of weeks so he probably didn't have it on the road with him but, judging by the wrinkles, had probably spent that time balled up in a pile of unfolded laundry on his bed. His jeans sat low on his slim hips and I was concerned he was going to trip on the overly long and barely tied laces of his soccer sneakers as he strode into my kitchen and deposited the coffees on the counter.
"So, how was your distraction last night?" I asked him as I popped the lid off of one of the Greek deli cups and proceeded to dump about seven pounds of sugar into it.
"I wouldn't know." Edward leaned back against the counter, crossing one ankle over the other as he took a big gulp from his coffee without adding anything to it.
"What? Weren't you hanging out with that blonde chick Alice introduced you to?" I reached around him to grab a knife from the drawer to cut each of the danishes I'd found in the bag in half.
"I was, but then someone drank too much and I was recruited by Alice to take them home." He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Are you saying I cock-blocked you?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." He smirked at me.
"Oh. Poor baby Edward didn't get any action last night? How will he survive?" I gave him an exaggerated pout.
"Are you serious with this, Swan? You would be pissed if I did this to you. Not only did you cock-block me, but I bring you breakfast the next morning and this is how you treat me? Some friend you are." He runs his long fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his face. He could probably use a haircut soon.
"I could make it up to you," I say in a sing-song voice and kick at his shoe with my bare foot until he uncrosses his legs enough for me to stand between them. "Do you want to touch my boobies?" I push them together with my hands and jiggle them around a bit. I can tell he's trying not to smile as he looks down his nose at me.
"A pity grope? I think not." He says and crosses his arms over his chest.
"Wait – do you mean a pity grope for me or a pity grope for you?" I take a step back. I'm not sure if I should be offended or not. I mean, I know I'm not the most attractive thing ever right now but I didn't think it was that bad.
His emerald gaze darkens a bit as he looks me up and down and the corner of his lip finally twitches up into his crooked grin. "Couch or counter?" he asks, raising his eyebrow again.
"Chair," I tell him, pushing him down into one of the dinette seats and pulling my nightshirt over my head in one swoop.
#WL#
"I'm almost there," I breathe as I bounce on Edward's lap and he lifts up to meet me, pushing himself as far into my body as our position will allow. "Just a little more."
My cell phone goes off for the second time in five minutes and it's Alice's ring again. Edward hesitates for a moment and glances between me and the cell phone.
"Don't you dare stop!" I practically yell at him, swiveling my hips in a quick succession of circles on his lap before I go back to riding him in my up and down motion.
The second my phone stops ringing his starts up and he growls, kicking his jeans (and therefore his phone) across the floor as he stands without leaving my body and lays me across the kitchen table. He pulls out nearly all the way, hooks his arms in the underside of my knees then leans over me.
"You want it harder?" He always asks, even though he knows the answer.
"Fuck me, Edward."
He slams his hips against the backs of my thighs and I scream as he sinks into me, his cock hitting right there and sending a shock of intense pleasure through my body. His thrusts are quick and rough and after a few more strokes of his pubic bone rubbing against my clit, I'm shaking and my pussy is gripping his cock for dear life.
There's nothing like a good orgasm to cure a headache.
#WL#
"Did you just get back from the gym or something? You sound like you're out of breath," Alice yells into the phone. Even for New York, the street noise around her is so loud that I'm surprised she can hear anything I'm saying let alone whether or not I'm out of breath.
"Uh…no." I glance at Edward, who is pulling his t-shirt back over his head and smoothing it down his chest. "My elevators broken, I had to use the stairs."
A smile spreads across Edward's face, the kind that make his eyes crinkle up at the sides, and he shakes his head while he listens to my conversation.
"Oh. That's shitty. Listen, can you come down to the office in an hour? Jasper just got some news and he says he doesn't want to wait for Monday to tell everyone."
"Can't he just call us and tell us?"
"You know how Jasper is, Bella. He likes the build-up. Just come down, it won't take long. And if you talk to Edward between now and then, let him know. I just tried to call him a few minutes ago, but he didn't answer."
"Yeah. I'll run by his place on my way over."
I disconnected the call with Alice and slid off the table.
"Alice says to tell you to meet at the office in an hour. Jasper's got some news," I tell Edward as he shoves the last Danish half into his mouth.
"Cool. I was going up there anyway to take a look at some of the footage we got last week."
"Alright. I'm going to take a shower and then I'll be over. Thanks for…everything. I'm feeling much better."
Edward barks out a laugh and gives me another of his full-blown smiles. "No problem, Blackbird. No problem." He leans down and kisses me on the cheek then steps out the door.
#WL#
It should probably be said that Edward and I don't exactly have a normal relationship. Well, it started out normal but has since evolved into something a little beyond d that. Edward is the cameraman for the show that I host on The Travel Network, but we've actually known each other for much longer than the time we've worked together. Edward and I grew up in the same small town in Washington State and while we were never close friends in school, we were friendly acquaintances. One day, when I was a senior at UW, I was walking through the quad and saw Edward sitting under one of the cherry trees, messing around with a camera.
"Edward? Edward Cullen?" I asked I approached him, even though I knew full well it was him. We may not have been close in high school, but I'd have known that mess of bronze hair anywhere.
He looked up, and I got a full view of his face as a look of recognition crossed his features. I don't think I'd ever really noticed before then how good looking Edward Cullen was, with his sharp, stubble-covered jaw and piercing emerald eyes that were surrounded by sweeping, dark lashes. He definitely looked older, but not so different that I wasn't left wondering why the hell I didn't go for that in high school.
"Hey! Bella! How are you?" He stood, towering over me by more than a foot (I could have sworn he wasn't this tall before) and we gave each other an awkward hug.
"Fine. I mean, good. How about you?"
"Good. I was just messing around with my camera. It's kind of cliché, but I wanted to get a picture of the trees while they're blooming. Might be my last chance, this being my senior year and all."
I nodded. "Just because it's cliché doesn't mean it's not still beautiful," I told him, then immediately blushed at my own cheesy observation.
"I totally agree," Edward smiled, "I'm just not so sure my professor does."
Edward and I chatted for awhile longer and I realized I had only minutes until my next class and had to run to make it, but not before I invited Edward to the party my roommates and I had planned for that weekend.
Edward came to that party, and several after that, and eventually began hanging out with our group on a regular basis. In the weeks leading up to graduation, I saw Edward practically every day. We'd become fast friends and I regretted the fact that I didn't look him up sooner. He was there to proofread the final draft of my communications honors paper and there to save me from making out with Mike Newton when I got shit-faced at the party I threw to celebrate completion of said honors paper. He was there when I accidently dyed my hair black while trying to give myself a new shade of chocolate brown, nicknaming me Blackbird without missing a beat. I'd scowled at him when he first called me the name. "I think it looks great," he'd said, "and Blackbird is definitely my new name for you. It's perfect considering your last name and all. Plus, blackbirds are crazy smart and have you ever really looked at one up close? They're really beautiful." It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me and I've been dying my hair black ever since.
I cried the day Edward came by my new apartment to say goodbye. He'd been offered an internship in Los Angeles working for a film studio in the photography department. He leaned down and kissed my cheek before he crushed me against him in a tight hug, pressing my face against his chest.
"Don't cry, Blackbird," he told me. "I'll visit. I'll see you soon. And who knows? Maybe you'll end up in L.A., huh? I'm sure they can always use a few more reporters."
Edward did visit once or twice, but his internship kept him busy and he ended up getting hired as a full employee and was going on set for relatively long stretches of time.
Meanwhile, I was working for the Seattle Times, scraping by with an online column that I had my doubts anyone actually read. I was beginning to think I would have to find a job doing something else, anything else, to make ends meet when I got a call from Alice. Her fiancé, Jasper, who she'd met in New York while she attended graduate school, was producing a television show and he needed a host. She thought I'd be just what he was looking for and begged me to come to New York for a screen test. She didn't have to beg very hard. Lucky for me, Jasper agreed with her that I'd be the right woman for the part.
The first few months of shooting were a little rocky. The show was a sort of travel journal and the first few episodes took place in the U.S. since the show's budget wouldn't be very big unless it was picked up by a network. I was trying to get the hang of the whole hosting thing, which really wasn't that hard, but I wasn't really a natural in front of the camera either and I had to put a good amount of effort into it. The small crew wasn't getting along too well, a problem which seemed to stem from the cameraman, James. James wasn't the most positive guy ever and he was pretty argumentative about his vision for the show and what Jasper actually wanted. If you asked me, James wasn't even that good. I thought his dailies looked like some kind of low-budget public access special. You didn't have to be a master cinematographer to know we weren't getting picked up by a national network with what James was turning out.
Jasper wasn't an idiot and he knew as well as I did that James wasn't going to work out. I wasn't there when Jasper told James that they should part ways, but I heard it wasn't pretty. Apparently, there were lots of threats that Jasper would be sorry for doing it and that the show would never make it without James. Jasper did look pretty defeated when I went into his office that afternoon. I don't think he regretted letting James go, but I do think he was concerned about who would replace him. Lucky for Jasper, I knew just who to call.
I fully believe that Edward is the reason our show was not only on the air, but a big success. Barely a month after he agreed to sign on as our new cameraman and director of photography in general, we were picked up by the Travel Network. He was gifted at what he did and it seemed that no matter where we went or what we shot, it looked beautiful through Edward's point of view.
All in all, my life was coming together nicely. I had a great job – a fun job – making more than a decent amount of money. I rented an apartment downtown that I loved, even if I didn't get to see it too often. I was very rarely homesick since all the time I was travelling, all of my best friends were right there with me. I was seeing the sights and going to glamorous parties and generally doing things that I never would have believed in a million years I'd have the chance to do if you'd had asked me where I thought I'd be after college. There was just one thing that was missing and I know you think I'm going to say a boyfriend, but you're wrong. I've never been the type of girl who needs to have a boyfriend to be happy, but I've also never been timid when it comes to sex and my belief that you don't need to be in a long term relationship to have it. Maybe that's not a very ladylike philosophy, but it is what it is and it wasn't like I was stone-cold slut. I did date the guys I slept with and I was safe about it, asked all the right questions and used all the right protection. I didn't date them enough to consider them boyfriends, but there weren't a ton of them either, probably not more than one every few months or so, but that number had dwindled to zero after I signed on for the show.
"Do I have a stamp on my head that says 'I'm Bad in Bed'?" I asked the group one night after a few drinks when we were all gathered at a bar back in New York following a particularly long shoot. "Because there is a serious dry spell going on and I never used to have this much trouble."
"How long of a dry spell are we talking, here?" Jasper asked.
"Long. Over a year." I told him, tipping back the rest of my gin and tonic. "Guys just don't approach me anymore and I don't really feel comfortable approaching them. I mean, come on, I'm the girl, I'm not supposed to have to do all the work."
"You're intimidating. That's why they don't talk to you," Rosalie, show's editor piped up from across the table.
"I'm five foot two, Rose. I don't think I'm intimidating them."
"It's not your size, Bella. I don't mean that you're physically intimidating. It's just the energy you give off. You have this confidence about you that's great, but it can make you hard to approach. Sometimes you gotta play helpless, you know? Make them feel like you need their help with something. Make them feel useful. Men love that kind of shit."
"Is that true?" I raised my eyebrows and looked to Edward.
"Don't look at me, Blackbird." He shook his head and grinned. "I kind of like you the way you are. I'd hit that." He jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow.
"Aw. See? This is why we're friends. Now, if you could be a proper wingman and convince that guy at the bar over there to hit it, that would be awesome."
"Hmm. I don't know. That girl next to him looks like she's going in for the kill. I'd have to distract her first and she's not really my type."
"When has that ever stopped you?" I asked. He glanced back at me as his crooked grin crept onto his face.
"You're right. Let's go."
Half an hour later, Edward and I were sharing a cab headed downtown after discovering that the man at the bar was married and Irina (at least we think that's what her name was) barely spoke a word of English. The cab driver was beat boxing up a storm as we wove through traffic in the East Village and when it started sprinkling, I was glad I wasn't one of the people standing on the street waiting to get into a club.
"I meant what I said, you know." Edward's deep voice was barely above a whisper.
"What?" I turned to look at him in the dimly lit cab.
"That I'd sleep with you."
I just stared at him.
"I mean, I wouldn't want to ruin what we have or make things weird, but…I think it could work. For the dry spells, as you put it. I trust you enough to tell me if it doesn't work. If you trust me, I think it could be sort of…beneficial."
I laughed out loud. "Are you suggesting we be friends with benefits, Edward? I haven't heard of anyone doing that since high school!" I continued laughing and the corners of Edward's lips twitched upward a bit, but he didn't join in.
"Yeah. I guess I am."
"Here's your stop lady," the cab driver called, jerking to an abrupt stop at the curb.
"Edward, are you drunk?" I asked him, studying his face for any indication that he hadn't meant what he'd just proposed or wasn't in his right mind when he suggested it. I saw none.
"No. Not particularly. Why? Are you?"
I shook my head.
"Come on, lady. The clock's tickin'," the driver tapped his finger on the seat impatiently. "Where to mister?"
"Nowhere," I answered for Edward, "He's getting out here."
I threw a twenty at the driver, grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him toward my front door.
A/N:
Well – I hope you like what you've seen so far! I'm hoping to update about once a week but the first few chapters might be a little quicker than that – I could have had this first one go on for quite some time but my goal for this story is to stay somewhere in the 3.5-6K words for each chapter. Review if you like and I'll try to respond – it will definitely keep me smiling during my work day!