Ch 2
Bella
"Next!" I barked to the long line of people standing in front of me in need of their morning caffeine fix. It was only 7:30 but it felt like we'd been here for hours. But it seemed never-ending and the line was still out the door. It didn't help that one of our best baristas didn't show this morning. Supposedly his replacement was on her way, but the traffic in this town is horrendous in the morning. Needless to say we were busting our asses trying to get this line down. I've never understood how people who see a long line continue to get in that line, why wouldn't you go somewhere else?
A lady stepped up to the counter and had a long list in her hand. Ugh, I hated these orders. You could never read their writing and neither could they so you ended up waiting while they placed a call to find out what it said. I was just about to take the list from her when Alice bumped into me and said, "Uh, I got this one Bells."
Well that was awful nice of her I thought to myself as she grabbed the list and started the first drink.
"Ok, next!" I shouted, not paying attention to the next person in line. If I had, I would have noticed why Alice took the order from hell for me.
"I'll take your best frilly drink with too many names," Edward answered with a smile and a chuckle.
"Oh, hey!" I said, as I let out a deep breath. I dished all the details of my beach friend this morning on our way to work, and this was Alice's way of giving me more time with him.
"You're swamped," he said, looking around the filled to capacity store.
"You're telling me. I feel like this is the first time I've stopped to breathe." I took a good look at him. He wore the baseball hat again, this time with jeans and a short sleeve button down. He left the two top buttons open revealing a patch of chest hair. I've never been a fan of chest hair, but that little bit sticking out just made my mind wander.
"What can I get you?" I asked as I tore my eyes away from his chest, my face immediately blushing as I realized he caught me staring.
He chuckled at my awkwardness and ordered an Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte, which just happened to be one of my favorites.
"I was going to ask when you get a break, but I have a feeling I have to be at work before this line dies down," he said quietly so only I could hear.
"Yeah, this is gonna take a while," I replied, while putting extra cinnamon sprinkles on top, just the way I liked it.
I pushed some buttons on the register to make it look like he was paying and handed him the cup.
"Enjoy" I said with a smile.
"Thanks, maybe I'll see ya later…" he mumbled as he grabbed his keys from the pocket of his jeans. If I wasn't paying so much attention to him I might not have heard him. I knew what he was hinting at and gave him confirmation as he started walking out of the shop.
"I hope so," I shouted. The whole restaurant got quiet and looked over at me. Great, just what I needed: more attention drawn to myself.
He stopped and turned back to the counter with a smirk on his face. He tipped his cup in a goodbye gesture and then he was gone.
Five long hours later I finally got to walk out of the store into the bright sunlight. I hopped on the bus that took me out to the Malibu coast and dug in my purse for my iPod. A half an hour later I was sitting on my favorite strip of beach. I would never get used to this weather; my hometown was Forks, Washington where it rained every day. The fact that I could sit outside and not get drenched was still new to me, even six months after moving here.
I sat down in my favorite spot on the beach looking out at the water. I found myself occasionally looking up and down the beach. I couldn't help it. I was dying to know if he was going to show today. What was I going to say? I don't want to scare him away like a star struck fan by drooling all over him, but in all honesty the man is completely drool worthy.
After a while of scouting the beach, I laid back and propped my head up on my purse. I decided to play it cool and if he brought it up then I'd admit I figured out who he was. Maybe he wouldn't be freaked out that I knew. In fact, I'd bet he already knew that I knew. After all, I was probably the last person on the face of the earth to find out who he was.
The sun felt great on my face and I turned my music down so I could hear the waves hitting the shore. I don't know how long I laid there before I heard it.
"Bella… Bella…" a warm voice called.
"Huh?" I quickly covered my eyes after opening them to the bright afternoon sun. I sat up and blinked a few times before seeing Edward sitting to my right.
"You were sleeping…" he chuckled, "… and dreaming."
I covered my face in my hands, immediately embarrassed. "Oh god… what did I say?"
My father used to tell me I talked in my sleep, but I never believed him until I moved in with Alice. She mocked me from day one, playfully of course.
"It wasn't words, more of sounds," he informed me.
"Oh God..."
"Yeah... it sounded kind of like that," he laughed.
"Well, I'm officially humiliated," I moaned as I turned away from him to try to regain some composure. I tried to will away the heat I could feel on my cheeks.
"Oh, it's not that bad, you should hear my brother Emmett. He holds entire conversations with himself. So, it could be worse."
I turned to face him; thankfully he didn't appear to be laughing at my expense.
"Anyway," I steered the conversation away from my embarrassing sleep talking, "How was your day?"
"Eh, same old same old," he replied evasively looking out at the water. I didn't want to pry, so I let his answer go. We sat there in silence for a few minutes just enjoying the view.
"You want hang out sometime?" He looked at me, unsure of himself. I almost snorted out loud. Mister Perfect seems unsure of himself? Is that even possible?
I wanted to hang out with him more; he seemed like a great guy. Then it hit me. Crap... I have to confess. Here comes the word vomit I'm so well known for back home. I rested my head in my hands and blurted out, "I know who you are," I lowered my voice to a whisper as if I didn't want anyone to hear my admission. I looked up at him and kept rambling, "I saw some magazine...The Star I think... Rose was reading it at the bar when I got there yesterday. I didn't know who you were so I had to ask her…" I finally had to stop to take a breath.
"Oh," he replied showing no emotion. He turned to look back out to the water ahead. Shit, I hope I hadn't offended him admitting to not knowing who he was. He turned back to me, suddenly set in a thought, "And how do you feel about that?"
Sitting upright, surprised he didn't already run for the hills, I answered, "I don't know really. I kinda thought you were cute before I found out who you were. And... I really like spending time with you." I blushed, knowing I sounded like a teenager.
This made him smile and a soft chuckle escaped his chest. "I kind of thought you were cute too. I mean I did kind of stalk you a little... I keep coming back here to spend time with you. I've started drinking coffee with ten words in the name just to spend some extra time with you." he admitted.
"Ha, well I guess we're even then," I laughed.
"So now that we have that settled, may I take you to dinner tonight?" he said winking.
"I might consider dinner, but only on one condition." I said, playing along with our banter.
Edward nodded is consent.
"I get to pick the restaurant."
"Oh," he looked down, his smile disappearing.
Seeing his face fall I quickly retracted my request. "I don't have to..."
"No, no... I'm just going to have to put some conditions on that demand. I can't just go anywhere. Unfortunately there are people out there," he pointed behind us towards L.A. "that follow me like a dog, and I don't want to get you caught up in that mess. It can get... scary sometimes."
Whew, at least it wasn't something horrible like he lived on a strict diet of sea kelp or something equally weird.
"I think I can handle that. The place I had in mind is a hole in the wall, nice and dark. I was actually worried you'd want to go to someplace fancy."
"Nah, I'm sick of fancy, let's go 'slumming'." he joked as he took my hand and helped me off the sand. He led me up to the street where his car was parked in the driveway of a new house.
"Do you normally park in strangers driveways?" I asked looking toward the black wrought iron gate blocking the entrance to the house.
He followed my gaze, "It's mine. Or it will be next week when they finally finish the kitchen."
I think my jaw hit the driveway. The house in front of me was monstrous, all new and shiny. If I wasn't aware of Edwards status before, this threw it in my face. "Oh." was all I could squeak out.
We got into the car and I stared at the gate and what I could see of the house behind it. "My brother Emmett is the architect, my mother is the interior designer and I basically said 'go to town'. They've been working on it for a year now, I just can't wait to finally see it finished."
I finally found my words: "It's beautiful." I turned to see him staring at me. I feel my cheeks redden at his intense gaze. We sat there and stared at each other for a minute, both lost in thought.
"Sorry," he stuttered and pulled out of the driveway. "So, where are we headed?"
"The Brass Rail. It's a small bar in Santa Monica." I gave him directions and we headed south on the PCH again. Before I knew it we were parking the car. Edward pulled his baseball hat out of the backseat and pulled it down on his head.
"Precautionary, it gives me a few seconds before people recognize me," he explained.
"Well, ya certainly fooled me!" I laughed.
Edward laughed along and climbed out of the car. Before I had a chance to get out he was there with my door open. "Thanks," I said, ducking my head. I've never had a guy open my door for me, unless it was my father. Edward really was a gentleman.
He followed me down the sidewalk, staying close but not close enough to attract attention. I walked into the restaurant first and asked for a table for two. Edward stood behind me with his eyes cast down. The hostess led us to a booth all the way in the back and left two menus on the table.
"You take this seat." Edward pointed to the one on the back wall facing the rest of the restaurant.
"Um... ok," I replied slightly confused as to why he wanted to face the wall.
We slid in the booth and he explained, "If they can't see my face, they don't know who I am. And that means we get to eat dinner in peace."
"Oh... I get it. You're good at this." Whew... and here I thought he was afraid to be seen with me.
"Yup, just another hazard of the job." He started looking at the menu and after a second looked up to see me staring at him. "Uh, aren't you going to take a look?"
"Nope, they've got the best cheese steaks in L.A." I answered with a smile.
"Cheese steak huh?"
"You betcha," I said taking his menu and putting it with mine. "Trust me."
Edward
We sat in that booth for hours, talking about everything from our families to our favorite books. It seemed like the list of things we had in common never ended.
The more time I spent with Bella, the more I liked her. She has this great smile, and her laugh is infectious. I even love the blush that creeps up her cheeks when she's embarrassed. It's so hard to tell what she's thinking; she always surprises me with the things that come out of her mouth.
The waitress kept making her presence known, to an annoying level. She kept staring at me, in a way that was more than just recognition; it was downright creepy. I made sure to keep my attention on Bella, so as not to give her any hope. She apparently didn't know how to take a hint. She even went so far as to put her name and phone number on the bottom of the receipt, with a heart drawn around it. I was quick to crumple up the receipt and leave it on the empty plates from our dinner. Did she really think I would accept her number when I was obviously there with someone else? I hate the way the tabloids portray me as a man-whore, and I hate even more that the general public believes that trash.
I made sure to keep Bella from seeing her pathetic attempts of acquiring a date. I'm used to women giving me their numbers, staring, even physically attacking me, but I had a feeling Bella would find it a little strange. Truth be told, I still find it strange, but I've come to realize it's part of my world and so- called fame. I've almost learned to deal with it.
"Looks like we're being kicked out," Bella said her eyes on the front of the restaurant behind me.
I looked around and saw the hostess turning around the 'closed' sign.
"I didn't realize it got that late," I said as we stood and headed toward the exit. I felt so comfortable with Bella I forgot to put my hat on, which doesn't seem like a big thing, but in my world it is.
I opened the door for Bella and we stepped out onto the sidewalk and were immediately met by blinding flashes of light. Here we go again.
