Summary:
After going through a handful of unsuccessful figure skating partners, Bella Swan is on the verge of giving up her skating career. When her coach pairs her up with Edward Cullen, she decides to give her gold medal dreams one last shot.
A/N (Author's Note): ALL HUMAN.
Chapter 3: More to Life
Bella:
"What took so long? It's a quarter past four and it takes fifteen minutes to get to Starbucks from here! We've only got an hour to get you ready! Move it!" Alice panicked.
"First of all, I was stuck behind this really slow truck in a one lane road. And secondly, chill. An hour is plenty time to get me ready," I sighed.
Alice was acting as if I were meeting some famous celebrity instead of a guy that Tatiana had matched me with.
"You have to make a good first impression though!" Alice whined.
"Hey, do you think I get a coke or something from your fridge? I'm parched," I asked hopefully.
Alice shook her head and gave me a sly smile, "Tatiana called me up earlier and gave strict orders to keep you on milk, water, and diluted fruit juice."
I groaned, seriously, that crazy woman was always one step ahead of me.
She hurried me up the stairs into her huge closet. An outfit was laid out on her bed, color coordinated, complete with accessories and all.
"Wow, thanks Alice. This is great… But it's kind of dressy for just coffee, don't you think?"" I asked, surprised.
"It is not too dressy!" Alice shot back indignantly.
I put my palms up and giggled. "Overreact much?"
Alice grunted and rolled her eyes. "Put it on already, I still need to do your hair and makeup."
Taking my time, I stripped and started slipping on each article of clothing one at a time. I didn't want to give Alice too much time to torture my hair.
"Hurry up," Alice snapped. "I know that you're trying to shorten the time we have to do your hair and make up. Yup, I know all the tricks in your book, so don't think you can pull something over me."
It was silent for the next moment, which was a sure sign that Alice was up to something. When she wasn't talking she was plotting.
"Bella," Alice addressed me innocently. Her tone said it all—she was up to something.
"What?" I really wasn't in the mood for one of Alice's crazy schemes. Plus, I was having a hard time strapping on the heels she had set out for me.
"Have you ever thought about falling in love? Or at least getting a boyfriend?"
I was taken aback for a moment by her question. The last thing on my mind was 'falling on love'. I didn't have time for stuff like that. I had to focus on my skating career; love would just be a distraction that would ultimately keep me from the gold. I could not afford to fall in love at a time like this.
She took my frozen silence as a sign to continue.
"It's just that, all you do is eat, sleep, and skate. I'm worried that it can't be healthy. And you know what I have with Jasper? That's what I want for you," she told me truthfully. "You need something stable in your life that isn't skating."
"Alice, I would not trade anything for my Olympic gold medal, not love, not anything in the world, you know that," I laughed it off. Alice remained uncharacteristically grave though.
"Alright," she said, still uneasy.
I put my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Besides the fact that I'm partnerless, I'm perfectly happy with the way things are now."
Her expression softened, "If you're sure…" Suddenly she brightened, "Time for Bella Barbie!"
I groaned.
"You know you love it," Alice sang. Any traces of the seriousness from earlier were gone and replaced with the usual happy aura that seemed to surround her.
For the rest of Bella Barbie time Alice chattered mindlessly about the latest fashion trends. In the meantime, I tried convincing myself that skating was my life and that I was completely satisfied with it, but it was undeniable that the seed of doubt had been planted in my mind.
"Good luck, I have a good feeling about this one," Alice hugged me before I left her apartment.
I ended up getting to Starbucks five minutes early. There was no denying that I was nervous. And when I get nervous, I tend to speed (don't tell Charlie).
I was putting my skating fate in the hands of Edward Cullen, a stranger—someone that I'd never even met before. Hopefully he would live up and go beyond my expectations.
The large shop was packed with important looking businessmen and women having some company meetings, police officers chattering loudly on their break, and a bunch of high schoolers.
The bell on the door jingled whenever someone entered the store, and each time my heart would race and my head would shoot up anxiously. It was hard to keep track of who entered though since so many people were coming and going.
The clock struck five, then five ten, and there was still no sign of Edward.
At five fifteen I told myself that if I didn't find him in within ten minutes that I'd leave.
Suddenly, I felt someone's cool breath over my shoulder.
"Hello, could I have the honor of ordering a latte for this beautiful young lady?" a man asked huskily.
I turned around to find an attractive bronze haired man standing behind me in all his glory. He grinned sexily at me, and as hot as he was, I took an uncomfortable step away from him. This guy was in my personal bubble and everything about him screamed PLAYER.
I sucked in a breath. Calling him attractive was the understatement of the century—he was gorgeous. I couldn't get ahead of myself though; I was in no position to have a man play a part in my life besides being my skating partner.
"No thank you," I answered politely.
His face fell the teensiest bit, but he regained his cool composure. "No? Do you not like lattes? What kind of drink would you like? Frappucino? Mocha? Tea?"
My mouth started watering, all of those sounded great.
"I have strict orders to only drink water, diluted fruit juice, and milk," I answered honestly.
He laughed. "Aw c'mon babe, one drink couldn't hurt," he urged. I didn't appreciate the endearment.
"Please, tell my trainer that… I'm fine, really. Thank you though," I with a slight edge in my tone; I was starting to get annoyed.
"Alright, well could I at least have your number?" he pressed, snaking his arm around my waist. I shifted uncomfortably. "So we could, ya know—" he waggled his eyebrows—"hang out sometime." Clearly he was implying sex.
"Sorry, I'm actually waiting for someone," I explained, really irritated now. I hated guys like him that used their extreme hotness for sex. I'd been through high school once (which was more than enough), and had seen one to many girls cry for jerks like him.
His eyes lit up. "Well so am I."
A chill tingled up my spine. Could this one hell of a player possibly be the Edward Cullen Tatiana had set me up with? I thought back to how Alice had described the man in her visions… She said that he'd have bronze hair and green eyes. I looked up at Edwards face—bronze hair and greens eyes. Oh god, please don't let it be.
"Are you Isabella Swan?"
Oh my god. This cocky jerk was Edward Cullen.
"Um yes, I am," I averted my eyes from his. "Um listen, I think this was just a big misunderstanding. I really have to go."
I didn't want anything to do with someone like him.
"But we just met," he said confusedly. "Here, I have an idea. Why don't we get to know each other better back at my place," he offered.
I groaned, I couldn't believe it; was this guy's overly inflated ego so big that he couldn't take a hint? There was no way that I could train day and night with an arrogant ass like him.
"I just—listen, you're not exactly what I thought you were going to be," I said, wording myself carefully.
A spark of anger ignited in his eyes. "And what did you think I was going to be like?" he asked sharply.
I shrugged and bit my lip. "Just not… Like this," I said gesturing to him.
"What do you mean this," he said, mimicking my gesture. "Lots of girls think this is perfectly fine—more than fine actually," he added.
"A player!" I blurted out.
He sniffed. "Well, I enjoy playing the field… Hell, I'm young! It's what guys like me like to do."
"Well I for one can't deal with 'what guys like you' do," I shot back, making air quotations. "And therefore, I know that we will not work."
His frowned deepened, but for some reason it was quickly replaced by a victorious grin.
"I know how desperate you are to find someone," Edward taunted.
My jaw hit the floor in shock. Damn it. How did he know that? Tatiana. Tatiana had told him. Tatiana told him about my dreams and all the setbacks I've had. Damn it.
I hunched my shoulders in defeat. At this, his grin expanded, obviously pleased that he had found my one weakness.
"That's it! You are desperate!" he exclaimed, excited with his sudden epiphany. I gulped because he was right. "The Olympics are coming around in less than two years and you are still looking for a partner." His eyes flickered with pleasure. "And you know that I'm probably going to be your last hope. You and I can't mess this up," he finished off.
He smirked triumphantly knowing that he had one that battle.
"T-that's not true," I said shakily. He smirked again, seeing straight through my lie.
"It is true and you know it—" he paused. –"Which is why I'll see you in the arena at ten tomorrow morning for practice, with me."
With that, he spun around and made his way out the door, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. In Alice's terms, he had me so, so whipped right there.
Speaking of Alice, didn't she say that she had had a good feeling about me and Edward? What happened to that?
End Chapter
A/N:
A review would be greatly appreciated.
Also, some of yall requested for longer chapters, but the thing is that I can update more frequently when they're kept a little shorter. Nonetheless, I try to keep each chapter atleast 2000 words.
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