I want to start off today with a thank you to all my readers… you guys are truly amazing and the best in this entire fandom. I was humbled and blown away with the response you guys had to the prologue and now I'm even more excited to continue this ride along each and every one of you.
The only thing that I will give away is that not everything is as it seems…keep your eyes open and see beyond what is presented at all times.
Now to begin with my team…what can I say, that I haven't said before…my team is an amazing one and I feel incredibly blessed to have each of you in my life. To Steph, Rach, Cheryll…I love you all and couldn't ask for a better bunch of women to work with. Thank You for all the support and encouragement every time a new bunny explodes in my head.
Finally…Twilight aint mine!
Chapter 1
Bella's POV
Today was gonna be the day, but they'll never throw it back to you
By now, you should've somehow realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how
I said maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
I said maybe (I said maybe) you're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my wonderwall
Wonderwall by Oasis
Six years prior...
"You ready Twinkle Toes?" asked my always best friend/ex-boyfriend, Demmy.
Demetri and I met on the school yard at the age of six, when my parents decided to leave the rain and all around green ambiance of Forks. They were tired of the never ending cloudy days and pale complexions that came with it.
They wanted me to grow up someplace warm...with never ending days of sunshine and beaches. They decided on a smaller city right next to Orlando, Florida.
Kissimmee became our home within months and we've never looked back.
We're dead smack in the middle of the state, but only an hour away from multiple beach destinations. Daytona is beautiful and bike week is a blast...
That's the one thing me and daddy still do every year.
All theme parks are fifteen minutes from my house and we wouldn't have it any other way...well, the one thing we do try to escape is the shoobie's destination.
All except the theme parks, that is.
Certain shops and restaurants are nearly impossible to get into, with the amount of visitors we receive every year.
Okay now back to Demetri...
We met on the first day of school...Kissimmee Elementary was considered small compared to others we had seen. My mother loved the smaller classes, the one on one they promised and how attentive the staff was.
I noticed him the moment I walked in, but not for what you're all thinking.
He was being shoved around by two boys and a girl.
The boys looked to be a year older than him, but the girl was definitely younger.
He was your typical nerd...glasses, pocket protector, pants too small.
He looked afraid and for some reason that really bothered me.
My mother was still too busy speaking to the school nurse about my migraines and how to proceed if a severe one were to hit while I was here.
"Leave him the fuck alone," I spat and the two boys chuckled.
"Awww," the chunky one said, "Does Demmy have a girlfriend?"
I didn't appreciate the condescending tone and let him know, with my fist as I smashed in his nose.
"Wanna mess with me again Chuckles?" The boy glared at me while his accomplices laughed and pointed at him.
"Whoa there, Twinkle Toes," the boy I properly named 'shaggy' with the mop of blond curls said…little did I know that name would stick with me for the rest of our lives.
"We were just messing with our pal here...no need for the violence." He claimed while the little girl stood off to the side smirking, but not saying a word.
'Better not' I thought while giving them my best toothy and innocent smile.
"Well, quit beating on him or else...my daddy taught me how to hit the boys where it hurts." Both boys quickly held their hands over their nuts and I couldn't help but laugh.
Works every single time.
"What's your name?" the girl asked while twirling a long strand of blonde hair through her fingers.
"Bella...you?"
"Well…I'm Rosalie, but call me Rosie…okay?" I nodded in understanding and she turned to immediately point at her other two associates. "The one you called 'chuckles', which fits him by the way, is Emmett and 'shaggy' is Jasper."
"Well nice to meet ya, but stop being mean to him," I signaled with my head over to the boy who was still shocked and laying on the ground, looking up.
I couldn't believe he was still so amazed…jeez!
I offered him my hand to stand, which he quickly took...he smiled at me as he dusted himself off and that was it…that one genuine smile was all it took.
We became the best of friends that day...along with the other trio that was completely infatuated with the new girl who could kick ass, ninja style.
Best first day ever.
"Well, are ya?" Demmy poked my side, causing me to giggle.
"You know I am...this is our dream come true." His warm arms wrapped themselves around me.
"I know it is," he whispered into my hair. "We've worked our asses off to get to this point...and what makes it better is having the whole crew in on it."
So true...they all worked as hard as me and Demmy to own their art and purpose in the company. Years of apprenticeships, schooling, health classes...anything and everything we could think off to round all of our bases.
We might be the owners, but they are the glue that keeps us together.
Rosie, or Bratz as I call her, took business management classes with me, in order to help and step in if I became unavailable. Jasper is our computer genius and his web design course helps us with our blogs, website and all around promotions.
Chuckles is our meat head and resident contractor, along with being an artist. He took it upon himself to rebuild and take over all remodeling we needed. He was certified by the state as a general contractor and took care of any and all permits that we needed, now or in the future.
Because of his diligence we had everything up to code and even impressed the inspectors that came in to make sure we had everything right.
We all did tats while Rose specialized in piercings...we were a well oiled machine.
We only had one person outside of our inner circle working for us.
He was friends with Emmett and Jasper...they met him while attending a party and became fast friends. Everyone, including Demmy, spoke highly of him and how talented he was with a gun.
His black and whites were drool worthy and something I definitely wanted in my shop.
I hadn't met him as of yet, but he should be here for our meeting this afternoon.
This meeting was just to take a moment and breathe. Enjoy the moment so to speak.
We all know our shit and don't need to go over a thing...just celebrate what's about to happen.
A throat cleared behind us and Demmy pulled us around to meet the throat clearer. Problem was that what stood before me was causing me to choke and leaving me in need to clear my own throat.
"Edward, my man!" They did that man hugging thing and shook hands. I had not said a single word to the stranger as my eyes were too busy to let my mouth formulate words.
He was tall...probably about 6'3", broad shoulders, long and lean, but with definite muscle definition. His jaw was sharp and lickable...pouty lips adorned his face…lips I became desperate to nibble on, and the greenest pair of eyes I've ever seen hidden behind a pair of thick, black nerdy glasses.
He even wore an old pair of suspenders; hanging from his low slung jeans…I was fucked.
"...and this is Bella, my partner." He extended his hands towards me and the moment our hands touched my entire world flipped. Electricity flowed between us and I felt lightheaded.
Edward pulled his hand back as if he'd been burned, but never took his eyes off my face. I could tell he was searching for an explanation or a why. He felt that surge too...it was beyond anything I had ever experienced before.
The rest of the gang showed up and a celebratory shot was passed around.
The cool liquid burned going down...my muscles lost their tenseness and my mouth finally cooperated with me and let me speak to the hot nerd before me.
"Welcome to Tiger Tattoos, Edward..." today is the start of the rest of our lives, I added mentally.
Okay so now its time for a quick age recap…
Ages in the prologue:
Bella or Twinkle Toes is 30
Rose or Bratz is 30
Demetry or Demmy is 30
Jasper or Shaggy is 31
Emmett or Chuckles is 32
Edward is 32
Bella was 24 when they began this endeavor and met Edward. The gang has been together since elementary school. They are a tight knit group and don't take to kindly to any outsiders…except a certain few you will be meeting in the near future…okay that is all for now!
Come hang with the rest of my kooky fam on Face book…The groups name is Massy's Minions and my name is Reyes one-three nine. Also check out my blog Reyes139(dot)blogspot(dot)come for future teasers and pics…see you next update!
