Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
This is unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own.
MA: This story will eventually have explicit and lemony scenes. If boy x boy relations offend you please don't read any further.
-iwtfy-
I was tired. It was only the second week into the summer and my body was still adjusting to the change in my sleep schedule. Each morning my alarm sounded off at five a.m. and I had to drag myself to work by five forty-five. There were no days off when working with horses, and I've always been a night owl so the transition to early mornings was never an easy adjustment.
I hadn't seen much of my friends since classes ended, so even though I was running on empty I'd agreed tonight to go to the movies with a group of them. We had to drive to the next city because our town was too small to have a theatre. Ten minutes into the movie I found myself nodding off. My failure to stay awake wasn't any reflection of the film, I was just that exhausted. Embarrassingly, when I fell asleep my head tipped over and rested on the shoulder next to me.
Isabella, or Bella as she preferred to be called, was the newest girl to move to town. Her father was in the R.C.M.P. and they moved every three years. She seemed extremely nice and we'd become fast friends. She had a sharp sense of humour and could carry a conversation on a variety of topics that most high school students were ignorant of. She was pretty, with a creamy complexion, long brown hair and deep chocolate doe eyes. A lot of the guys at school had hit on her, and so far she'd shaken them all off.
I woke up three quarters of the way through the movie, mortified that I'd drooled all over her shoulder.
"Sorry Bella," I apologized.
I could see her smile at me even in the darkened theatre. "No problem Edward. You can go back to sleep if you want, I can see how tired you are."
"Thanks, I'll be okay," I whispered back, thankful that she was so understanding. If it had been Jessica she would have been screeching at me for ruining her shirt or, even worse, I might have woken up to find her caressing my thigh or something equally disturbing.
Garrett was on the other side of me and he snickered quietly as I tried to run my hands through my hair to fix it. We both knew there was no way I'd win this battle; my hair was always going to look fucked up.
I had driven alone to meet up with everyone because I knew I'd be on my last legs by the time the movie ended and I didn't want to get stuck staying out late when everyone else didn't want the night to end. I was seriously starting to feel like an old man and it was mildly depressing.
As I said good-bye to everyone, Bella asked if she could get a lift back to town. It turned out that her ride, Jacob Black, had become feverish while I was snoozing on Bella's shoulder. Apparently, his flu or whatever it was had come on so fast that he'd left in the middle of the movie to head home or maybe to go to the ER – no one knew for sure. I was happy to have the company and told her as much. It was probably good to have someone to talk to when I was so tired, at least then there'd be less risk of falling asleep at the wheel.
Bella and I walked through the parking lot alone while the rest of the group stood outside the theatre debating where they were going to go next. Knowing Garrett's ability to make a convincing argument for just about anything, I figured they were going to end up at the twenty-four hour go-carts. He would tell the guys it was because of 'his need for speed' but I knew it was because he liked Ian, the mouth-watering redhead who ran the place.
"Is this your dad's car?"
I owned a 2007 silver Volvo. It wasn't the coolest car, but it was in good condition and reliable. "No. This baby is all mine." I pretended to caress the hood and Bella giggled. She was sharp enough to know I wasn't serious.
As I drove down the dark highway Bella asked me lots of questions about growing up in the Niagara Region, my family, and finally about my job at the track. She was envious of my relationship with Emmett, commenting that she'd never liked being an only child. I think it was especially hard for her because of how often she'd moved. I started to feel more of an affinity for her when I found out she'd never been in a relationship either. Maybe I wasn't the only virgin left at our high school.
When I started talking about my job I probably sounded a little too passionate. Aside from the early morning hours and some of the people I had to put up with, I loved my job. I was outside all summer, the horses were magnificent, the amount of hours I worked was flexible, and there was a lot of opportunity to earn extra money. This summer I was strong enough to get hired for extra hours unloading bales of hay and straw from the delivery trucks on the afternoons of on the non-race days. It was like I was getting paid to have an extreme workout. If I kept it up I'll be sporting a nice set of abs and pecs by the end of the summer.
"It sounds like a wonderful way to spend the summer and make money," Bella sighed wistfully.
"Where are you working over the summer?" I asked her.
"I have a job babysitting a couple of kids, but it's really not my favourite thing to do."
"Where did you want to work?"
"Well, a book store or the library would be my first choices. I checked out the library and apparently they have a waiting list for their coveted page positions. Angela works there and she said if your brother or sister worked there previously you might have an in, otherwise forget it."
"It's good to know nepotism is alive and well at our local library," I joked.
Bella seemed to think my comment was funny and I found her laugh captivating. I suddenly wished I could be sitting with him and making him laugh this way. Jeez, I really need to at least find out his name.
"There are a couple of bookstores in Niagara Falls," I offered.
"I haven't got a vehicle to get me there. In fact, I want a job so I can buy a car. Kind of a catch-22."
"Well that kind of sucks for you," I commiserated. Once I'd slipped into thinking about my blonde god I found myself distracted with images of him sitting next to me as I drove. His hand on my knee. His hand running through my hair. His tongue running up the side of my ear. An involuntary shiver ran up my spine and I could feel my pants getting tighter.
"How did you get your job at the track?" Bella interrupted the fantasy that was starting to play out in my head. I blinked a few times trying to focus on what she'd asked.
"My brother Emmett. He worked there first and brought me in. He showed me how to handle a racehorse and I got my first job working in the same stable as him. He was head groom at the time and I was offered a job as a hotwalker."
"Could you maybe help me get a job with the horses?"
I nearly sputtered. Bella working at the racetrack? "I could... but the track isn't really a good place for a single teenage girl to work." It was a horrible idea and I immediately started thinking up a solid argument to convince her. "It's kind of rough and the men there aren't the best characters. In fact, there's a high number of ex-convicts, drug addicts and alcoholics working there. Enduring sexual harassment is a daily event for the few women who brave it." I was generalizing; there were a lot of nice, law-abiding citizens too. Yet, I wasn't exaggerating about there being a high number of low-life characters. We really did get the dredges of society working there.
I pulled into Bella's driveway and parked behind an older, dark blue Toyota Corolla. After putting my car into park I turned to look at her.
"Bella, I'd help you if I could, but the track really isn't the best place for someone like you."
She frowned and then glared up at me. "Someone like me? Do you think I'm some helpless chick who can't stand up for herself? My dad's a cop! I know self defence and I'm not frightened by a bunch of bullies."
"That's not what they are. I'm talking about guys that have no respect for women, don't give a shit for authority, and are pretty much unemployable. It's not that I don't think you can stand up for yourself, but you're too young and pretty to work there. Your long brown hair would be like waving a red flag in front of a herd of bulls."
"You think I'm pretty?" She tipped her head to the side as she waited for my response.
That's the part she's focusing on? I swear I'll never understand the way women think.
"Of course you're pretty. You'd have to be blind to think anything else."
She'd unclipped her seatbelt and before I could react she was right in front of me, so close that I could taste the buttered popcorn on her breath and what smelled like strawberry shampoo.
"Then why don't you kiss me?"
-iwtfy-
Author's note: I'm hoping to have one more chapter loaded on Sunday night. Because of my schedule I'll probably be doing all my posting on the weekends.
