Life's A Beach

Chapter 4

A/N – Thanks for your patience. I'm back, after eye surgery number 2, and anxious to get back to our beach friends. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, Keith Urban and the Beach Boys own their songs. I don't own any of it, and no copyright infringement is intended. Enjoy!

Bella's breath caught in her throat when Edward announced to the crowd that he was singing a song just for her. They'd only known each other for a day. Less than a day. And had only seen each other for less than an hour out of that day. But somehow, it felt right. Comfortable, like puzzle pieces that instantly fit together. Definitely worth exploring. It seemed, she thought, as though he felt the same. She glanced around and realized that people were looking at her, some smiling sweetly, some sighing, and a couple of female faces were giving her the evil eye. Too bad, she thought, allowing herself to just…feel. For once, she was the one someone had noticed, and she intended to enjoy every second of it. Something kept throwing the two of them together, and she thanked her lucky stars.

Her brown eyes met his green eyes and everyone watching could see the same sparkle in both pairs. Edward flashed her a sexy grin and started to play. Bella gasped when she recognized the opening notes of Keith Urban's "Kiss a Girl." Edward kept his eyes on her face as he began to sing.

To kiss and tell, it's just not my style

But the night is young and it's been a while

And she broke my heart, broke it right in two

And it took some time but I'm feelin' like

I'm finally ready to find, find somebody new

His smile was bright and his voice was warm as he hit the chorus.

I wanna kiss a girl, I wanna hold her tight

Maybe make a little magic in the moonlight

Bella felt herself just melt. By the end of the song, when the words he sang asked if she wanted the kiss, she all but jumped out of her chair to give him one. Instead, she sat back in shock and amazement as Edward was suddenly pelted by a dozen or so little balls of some kind. "What the hell?" she said to Jasper, who was laughing so hard he couldn't speak. Alice and Bella stared at each other, wondering what kind of crazy thing was going on around them.

Edward lowered his guitar and laughed. "Okay" he said. "I get it, I get it."

Jasper stood and addressed the crowd, some of whom were laughing right along with him, while others looked as confused as Alice and Bella. "We have a little rule here at Jasper's for our entertainers. You see this an island, and islands have beaches, and well, we have the best damn island, and the best beaches, and the best lifestyle here of anywhere in the whole world." The crowd cheered at that. "So our talent" he gestured to Edward, who stood and took a bow "has to abide by Jasper's rule number 2. All songs played must have something to do with the beach. At least until we're all too drunk to keep track."

Emmett yelled from the bar "And what happens when you break rule number 2?" A big crowd of obvious regulars yelled back "You get crabs!" Bella looked at Edward, puzzled, and he tossed her one of the little balls that had been thrown at him. It wasn't a ball, she realized, a little stuffed animal – a fuzzy little stuffed crab. She started to laugh when she realized that a small silver pail in the middle of the table was full of the soft toys.

"Now, we can all appreciate that Edward really would like to kiss the lovely Miss Bella" said Jasper, playing to his audience. "But he's gotta play by the rules. We'll give you a chance to redeem yourself by singing her a beach song."

"If he does" shouted Rosalie, a dangerous smirk on her face "does that mean Bella gets her kiss?" Alice jumped up from the table, ran to the bar, and gave Rosalie a giant high-five. Bella's mouth fell open as she stared at her friends.

"Absolutely" shouted Jasper, and it seemed everyone in the place cheered.

Edward watched as Bella's face flushed with color, and that just made him want her more than before. He motioned for the crowd to settle down. "Okay then, I have one more chance right? Well, I'm not gonna go into the details" he wiggled his eyebrows "but when I met Bella it was on the beach and she was….in the water. So here goes song number 2 for rule number 2."

He began to strum softly, and the baby boomers in the crowd looked at each other with a knowing smile. This was their music, but it belonged to beach lovers everywhere. His voice matched the music, all soft and slow.

Little surfer, little one

Make my heart come all undone

Do you love me, do you surfer girl…surfer girl my little surfer girl…

Bella melted all over again. She loved the Beach Boys and their music. Her mom listened to it all the time, and she had great memories of dancing around the living room to their songs and singing them together on the long drive to Hilton Head, car windows down, hair blowing in the breeze. As she listened to the familiar words, made so much more by the look of Edward's face, she thought to herself that yes, maybe she could love him. Maybe she already did.

The crowd broke into applause as he finished the song. Edward stood, took a bow, and announced "Now, I think I've earned my break. And my kiss?" He looked at Bella, and she nodded. He handed Jasper his guitar, took Bella's hand, and pulled her out the front door to cheers from the crowd and cries of "You go girl" from Alice and Rose. When they were outside, he smiled at their joined hands. "This OK?"

Bella smiled. "It's more than OK. But I think you owe me a kiss."

"Well, I didn't want to just rush into it" he replied, drawing her over to a bench that sat along the water. "You need the right setting, the right timing…"

"And what else" she breathed as they sat.

"The right girl" he whispered. Turning her so they faced each other, Edward ran one hand up her arm and used the fingers of his other hand to gently brush her cheek. Then he took her face in both hands and tipped it up to meet his. He pressed his lips against hers, gently at first, then more firmly when she didn't resist. Her lips were soft and sweet, and he could taste the fruity cocktail she'd been drinking. They moved together, and when he broke the kiss he rested his forehead against hers.

"I'm no more of an expert than anyone else, but that was a pretty awesome first kiss" he said.

"If you do say so yourself" Bella added with a chuckle. "Yes, on the scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best first kiss ever, this was a fifteen. That's a pretty big deal. Do you think we should try it again, just to be sure?"

"That's some big chance we'd be taking" Edward said, pushing her long chestnut hair behind her ears. "I mean, we've already got the record." He smirked. "But I always say, go big or go home." With that he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. "Mmmmm" he said. "We might have set a new record."

"Definitely" Bella answered, running her fingers through his messy hair.

A voice from the pub entrance caught their attention. "Edward!" Jasper yelled. "I hate to interrupt, but you're back on, buddy."

"Nice timing, Jas" scowled Edward. "But I suppose I should finish my set. Just promise me you won't listen to any stories he tells you about me."

"Have you known each other a long time?" Bella stood and smiled when Edward took her hand again.

"My whole life" said Edward. "We're cousins, but we were raised more like brothers. I spent every summer down here with my aunt and uncle, and Jas and I…well, you can imagine the kind of trouble we got into. When we were teenagers, Emmett moved here and fit right in." He looked down. "I don't get to see them as much anymore, so I really love the time I get to spend here."

"Where's home?" she asked.

"Chicago" he answered. "How about you?"

"New Jersey" she replied. "Don't get me wrong, I love the Jersey shore, but there's just something about this place."

He nodded in agreement. "How do you know Alice and Rosalie?"

"We've been friends since we were little. Inseparable, really. When it was time to go to college, we all went together and got an apartment." Bella smiled, a sad little smile. "I used to come here all the time with my mom and dad, but we lost my mom a while ago, and dad just couldn't bring himself to visit. But it's the opposite with me. This is my happy place."

"Well, you certainly made it my happy place tonight" said Edward, placing a gentle kiss on her neck just below her ear. He smirked when he felt her shiver. "Will you hang around until I'm done tonight?" They reached the doorway of the bar, and Bella could see her two best friends draped around Jasper and Emmett.

"I don't think I've got much choice" she said. "But yes, I'll hang around. As long as you want me to."

Edward placed one final kiss on her slightly swollen lips before leading her back in the door. "That could be a really long time" he whispered. They entered the bar hand in hand to loud applause and cheers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our entertainment has returned" announced Jasper. Edward took his guitar and sat up front.

"I don't know, folks, I'm going to try to sing but to be honest, my brain is a little scrambled right now and I may have trouble remembering the words to any of the songs" Edward said with mock sadness. "Y'all might have to sing along with me." This was clearly a popular idea, as everyone cheered. Bella took her seat, with Alice and Rose joining her at the table as Edward led the crowd in an upbeat Beach Boys song.

As he sang, he only hoped he'd get to have enough time with Bella to convince her he was worth the effort. After all, he only had two days left before he headed back to all the decisions he left behind.