Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer; no copyright infringement intended.
I'm so thankful to MauiGirl60 for her help, and if there are any errors, they are mine, because I faffed about with this after she sent it back! Thanks also to Cared, who pimps me like a pro! The response to the last chapter was phenomenal, so thank you all for reading, reviewing and rec'ing.
WARNING: This chapter contains underage drinking—in other words, pretty typical British teenage behaviour! In fact, like most British teenagers, Bella and her friends drink way too much, and in case I forget to post a warning on every chapter, assume that Bella will be drinking more than she should.
CHAPTER FOUR
Bella's ears were ringing and she could feel the thump of the drum & bass music vibrating in her chest as she moved to the thunderous beat. Trancelike, hands clasped high above her head, pulling her dress up to the point of indecency, her skin glowing under a sheen of sweat, Bella swayed in time to the pulsating rhythm, eyes closed, lips parted. Amongst the mass of humanity crowded into London's Ministry of Sound, Bella's hypnotically sensual dancing—along with flashes of her underwear—had not gone unnoticed, and a number of young men crowded around the three friends like vultures circling an abandoned new-born fawn, awaiting the moment when the girls would tip dangerously over into a state of intoxication which would render them easy game.
In fact, several men had inveigled their way into Bella's little group, imagining that their attempts to gradually dance closer and closer were both subtle and clever.
In truth, all three girls were feeling a buzz, having consumed a bottle of wine between them at dinner, followed by several cocktails before they had even arrived at the club, where they had shared a bottle of champagne upon first arriving. However, by this point, they had been dancing for a couple of hours and, driven by thirst, had subsequently drunk little more intoxicating than water; so, despite appearances, they were a good deal more aware of their surroundings than those around them might think.
The song morphed into another that none of the girls seemed to like so they all turned to leave the dance floor, deftly ignoring or avoiding the various hands and entreaties of the assembled males. Weaving through the crowd, they headed up to the VIP area, to which they had earlier gained entry courtesy of Lauren's cousin, Eric, who was one of the club's regular DJs. Upstairs, they found their table and dropped, exhausted, into the vacant seats, whereupon Bella grabbed her phone to check the time. Remembering that she had turned it off earlier when she saw the call from Edward, she decided to let sleeping dogs lie and slid the instrument back into her bag.
"What time is it?" she asked, interrupting Jessica and Lauren, who were discussing a particularly hot guy they had just spotted across the room.
Looking round, Lauren consulted her watch and gasped.
"Shit, it's gone half-past three. We should go, otherwise we haven't got a hope in hell of getting a cab."
Bella and Jessica nodded and they all quickly grabbed their bags and started across the room to the stairs.
"Hey, ladies, you're not leaving, are you?"
The three girls looked around to see the hot guy Jess and Lauren had just been ogling. He sauntered up to them, smiling widely as he let his eyes slide over each of them in turn.
Bella spoke up first, less entranced by his obvious perusal. "Um, no… we were just going to the loo—you know us ladies, always have to go together!" She gave a little giggle, looking up at him through her lashes. "Don't move, we'll be right back."
She turned to her friends, who were now looking at her as if she had just announced she was converting to Mormonism. "Come on, I'm busting," she exclaimed, surreptitiously prodding Lauren, who was standing closest to her, in the ribs.
"Ohh-kaay," she responded, giving Bella a quizzical look, but not arguing.
Bella led the way downstairs, and, firing a quick smile at the stranger, Lauren and Jess followed suit.
Joining the inevitable queue for the ladies', the two girls swung Bella round and gave her very pointed looks.
"What was that all about? Are we going back upstairs? I thought you wanted to get a cab," Jessica demanded.
"Whoa, who's calling dibs on the hot guy, anyway?" Lauren wanted to know.
Bella sighed. "Look, I just said that so he wouldn't start trying to talk us into staying. I just need to pee and go home before Edward decides to chain me to my bed."
"You should be so lucky, you dirty perv," giggled Lauren.
"Oh, harr-de-harr, you're so sharp, mind you don't cut yourself," Bella replied sardonically.
"Jeez, if I don't pee soon I'm gonna wish I'd worn incontinence pants," moaned Jessica, clamping her thighs together and wriggling her hips.
"Lord, after all the water I've drunk in the last couple of hours, I'd fill a pair of incontinence pants so full, when I sat down it'd be like sitting on my own mini water bed," Bella responded, mimicking Jess's desperate stance.
"Eww, that's gross. Better not come near me, then, cos if you cut yourself on my sharp wit, we'll all get washed away by your golden tsunami!" Lauren cried.
Several girls in front of and behind them gave them rather odd looks, causing the three girls to dissolve into fits of giggles.
"Oh, God… stop it… I'm gonna wet mah pants," Bella gasped, squirming as she tried to control her bladder through her laughter.
"Thank the Lord for a tight fanny, Bellend, or we'd be in need of welly boots right now," Jess giggled, setting them all off again.
At last, the line decreased and the friends were finally able to grab empty cubicles and save themselves from further embarrassment. Emerging from the bathroom, they headed straight for the exit and were relieved to find plenty of cabs, having got ahead of the rush that would appear at 4am.
From the club in Southwark, it only took about 15 minutes to get to Kensington and before they knew it, they were back at Edward's mews house.
Despite the fact that they had sobered up considerably since earlier in the evening, they were still a little tipsy; the great night they'd enjoyed together had left them with a happy buzz, which rendered them giggly and loud, as Bella struggled to unlock the front door amidst gales of laughter.
Suddenly, she felt herself falling as the door seemed to disappear, her downward trajectory only halted by a pair of muscular arms and a rock-hard chest. The laughter behind her cut off so fast she wondered if her friends had been atomised by the pair of moss green eyes which now glared down at her.
"Oops!" she exclaimed, unable to contain the snort of laughter which erupted from her nose, which again set off Jessica and Lauren, who giggled uncontrollably behind her. However, Edward's clenched jaw and furious scowl quickly caused the laughter to die in Bella's throat as she became aware that he was barely containing his wrath.
Behind her, she heard her friends shuffling nervously and realised that Edward still had his arms around her, holding her close to his chest. God, he smells good. She was aware that the errant thought was pretty inappropriate at this moment, and started to extricate herself from his grip. As if he was only now conscious of what he was doing, he suddenly dropped his arms, a slight look of confusion momentarily diluting the anger.
Moving back and opening the door wider, he indicated with a small jerk of his head that they should enter, and, somewhat sheepishly, the three girls ascended the stairs, following Bella as she tottered across the polished wooden floor. The clicking of their combined heels echoed loudly in the cavernous but quiet room and, as one, they started tip-toeing over to the sofas in the corner.
Behind them, Edward emerged at the top of the stairs, glancing quickly at where they had all collapsed onto the expensive leather furniture with exaggerated sighs.
"Don't make yourselves comfortable—and I'd appreciate it, ladies, if you did not walk on the wooden floors wearing stilettos," he barked.
Three tired faces, make-up smudged by the activities of the night, swivelled round to stare up at him, wide-eyed.
"Jessica, Lauren—I suggest you get yourselves a large glass of water each and go to bed. Upstairs, second door on the left, twin beds made up, bathroom opposite."
The three girls all stood up wearily, their buzz finally having worn off, leaving them all happy to just fall into bed. One after the other, they emerged from the sitting area.
"Shoes!" Edward yelled, his control starting to slip. "And you," he said, pointing at Bella, "sit the fuck down. I haven't finished with you yet."
Lauren and Jess gasped, looking round at Bella with horrified expressions on their faces.
"We'll stay—" Jessica started to say, but was cut off abruptly by Edward.
"You have 10 seconds to get upstairs or I will be calling your parents and asking them to come pick you up first thing in the morning." He spoke evenly, but they could all hear the anger bubbling under the surface, and the two girls were aghast at his threat to wake their parents at four in the morning.
"It's okay, Jess, you go up, I'll be all right," Bella said quietly, looking at Edward, whose eyes had not left her since he came upstairs.
"But—"
"Ten… nine… times a-ticking, ladies," Edward intoned, his gaze still fixed on Bella.
"Okay, okay, we're going. But don't be too hard—"
"Eight…"
Quickly pulling off their shoes, the two girls finally started across the room, trotting to the kitchen to grab some water then heading up the stairs, pausing halfway up to give Bella one last look. Both she and Edward were still standing in place, eyes locked.
Neither of them noticed when Lauren and Jessica disappeared silently round the corner to their room.
After what seemed an interminable time, Bella dragged her eyes from Edward and turned to sit back down on one of the sofas, dropping her head back and closing her eyes, now overcome with exhaustion. Several minutes passed, but when she heard nothing, she opened her eyes and looked round at Edward, who was still standing in place. He was staring at her, his features impassive but his eyes practically burning a hole in her forehead.
"I don't know why you're so mad at us, Edward. We just went clubbing and now we're home," Bella said softly, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap.
Her words seemed to galvanise Edward into moving and he strode around the sofa, standing in front of Bella, just the coffee table between them, staring down at her. It didn't escape his attention that the dress she wore displayed a vast amount of thigh—and that it was likely a lot of hormonally charged men would have got more than an eyeful tonight. As if he needed more reasons to be angry with this infuriating girl.
"Mad, Isabella? You think I'm mad?" His voice was deceptively quiet, almost as if he was quizzing her about the weather. Assuming his question to be rhetorical, Bella remained silent, her gaze fixed on her lap.
"Oh, my dear child," he chuckled, but there was no humour in the sound. "No, no, I'm not mad, Isabella."
"I'm not a bloody child," she muttered under her breath as she stared at the floor.
Edward was looking down, his head slightly cocked to one side as if he was giving serious consideration to exactly which emotion he was feeling, and if he heard her he chose to ignore it.
"Oh, I am so far beyond mad, Isabella, you'd need to charter a fucking plane to get there," he growled.
He turned away from her then, throwing his arms up in the air as his control finally started to slip. "I am so fucking angry with you right now, I'm… Jesus Christ!" He started pacing in front of the coffee table. "After everything Mrs Banner said… after all the things we talked about this morning…" he glanced at his watch, "… or should I say, yesterday morning!" He stopped pacing and looked at her.
"What, in the name of holy fuck were you thinking? Huh? What is going on in that idiot brain of yours?" He stopped, his hands automatically raking through his hair and grabbing hold, his eyes a little wild as he regarded her.
Bella continued to look down at her hands, knowing whatever she said at this point was just going to irritate him further.
"Well? What have you got to say for yourself? You say you're not a child, but I see no evidence to support that statement. You were sent home from school as a punishment, Isabella. Do you understand what that means? Do you have any inkling what—so—ever?This is not supposed to be some kind of extended holiday. What it's supposed to be is a period for you to reflect on your attitude and your behaviour, away from any bad influences. You're supposed to buckle down and finish your coursework. You. Have. Been. Suspended, Isabella! Suspended, not sent on a fucking vacation.
"And what's the first thing you fucking do? You invite your fucking friends and go on a fucking alcoholic binge until all hours. Are you fucking crazy?" He stared at her, his fury a palpable, living entity.
Bella bit her lip and finally met his eyes. In truth, she was a little afraid of Edward at this precise moment, but there was no way she was going to let herself show it, reasoning that the best form of defence was a good offence.
"It's not the first thing I did—if you recall, the first thing I did was come up to SP to meet you for lunch," she snapped. "Yeah, that was a fun five minutes. I really enjoyed being sneered at by your snotty secretary and then basically told to run along and get out of your way."
"Oh, grow up, Isabella. I'm trying to run a fucking business here—your business, if you recall. I can't keep dropping everything just to run around after you. I made a commitment to your father to make a success of SP, and I will not renege on that."
"You also made a commitment to take care of me, Edward… me! Paying my bloody school fees and getting your fucking secretary to buy me a birthday card once a year does not qualify as care. You're supposed to take care of me," Bella cried, as she leapt up from the sofa, the tears which had been threatening to escape for the last half hour finally spilling down her flushed cheeks.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Edward groaned, appalled at having to deal with a weepy teenage girl. He closed his eyes for a moment, realising that the gulf between them was a good deal wider than the coffee table. Sighing, he looked up at the ceiling and then back at Bella, who was standing across from him, staring at the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around her as silent tears dripped off her chin.
"It's late, Isabella," he said, his voice low, hoping to calm her. "This is getting us nowhere. Just go to bed."
Without a word, Bella turned and walked towards the stairs. Behind her, Edward watched her go, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He had no idea where they went from here. He knew there was some substance to what she said, he just didn't know how to be what she wanted him to be.
"Isabella," he called out to her as she began to climb.
She stopped, but didn't turn around. "What?"
"Just so we're clear, you're grounded until further notice and your friends are out of here as soon as they're conscious."
"Whatever," she responded in a monotone, before continuing up the stairs and to her room.
Once inside, she threw herself on the bed, buried her face into a pillow and wept. She had never felt so alone or unloved in her entire life, not even when her parents died, because, at least then, she thought that she had Edward. Now she knew that she did not, and never would, have him. As her tears soaked into the pillowcase, her body wracked with sobs. She barely noticed her door open quietly, but felt the bed dip on either side and two pairs of arms wrapped around her, as Jessica and Lauren lay down and enveloped her in a tight embrace.
It wasn't the same, and it would never be enough, but right at that moment the comfort offered by her two friends was exactly what she wanted and needed. She was desperately grateful that, at least for what remained of this night, she wasn't alone and she was loved. Bella revelled in it, finding sleep at last.
~o0o~
Saturday 26 March 2011
Wide, golden stripes of sunlight slid inexorably across the room, finally settling on the trio of sleeping women, demanding attention and pulling them reluctantly to wakefulness. Bella was the first to feel the stab of bright light against her eyelids, causing her to blink and squint like a new-born rabbit on first opening its eyes to a bright, new world. Unlike said new-born, however, Bella's first instinct was to roll away from the torture of so much light piercing her gritty, sleep-laden eyes, only to come up against another warm body. Jessica—for it was she—grunted in a most unladylike manner and mimicked Bella, rolling away from the offending sun, only to discover that this action effectively meant that she had run out of bed, and her consequent plummet to the floor was spectacular in its sheer inelegance.
"Owwww—motherfucking hell's bells and fuckity bollocking piss-shit!"
Jessica's expletive-strewn tirade caused Bella to prop herself up on one elbow and peer curiously over the edge of her bed, where Jess lay in a heap. Legs akimbo, her dress was rucked up round her waist, hair stuck to her face on one side and standing up on the other. Adding to the overall effect, her make-up was smudged so comprehensively it looked like she'd come off worst in the mother of all cat-fights.
The two girls stared appraisingly at one another for a moment, before Bella finally spoke.
"You look like you've just gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson," she said speculatively.
"Hmmph, well, your hair… looks like a piece of food," Jess responded indignantly, eyeing Bella's formerly resplendent bouffant, which did, indeed, now resemble an overcooked, slightly chewed chocolate meringue.
As they continued to survey the damage wrought on one another by the previous night's activities, a sudden explosive snore rang out behind Bella, followed swiftly by a long, drawn-out groan, as Lauren stirred into consciousness, apparently having woken herself up with the excessive violence and volume of her own snoring.
"Ohhhhh, fuuuuuck meeeeee," she croaked.
It was too much for Bella and Jess—with one look they both exploded with laughter, Bella rolling back on the bed and Jess collapsing flat out on the floor.
"Bella? Wha— Hey, where's Jess?"
At this Jessica suddenly stuck her head up beside the bed, causing Lauren to shriek in alarm. This, of course, just spurred her two friends into greater paroxysms of laughter, until both were holding their stomachs and gasping for breath.
Lauren gave them the stink-eye and rolled away, but this just placed her right back in the line of fire from the pernicious sun as it streamed in through the window.
"Ugh, someone make it stoooopppp," she whined, grabbing the pillow and pulling it over her head. She continued to mumble and moan, but it was impossible to understand her muffled words.
Bella reached over and grabbed the pillow, throwing it to the end of the bed. "What are you babbling about under there?" she asked the seemingly distraught Lauren.
"It's tooooo hoooootttttt," she cried.
"What's too hot?" Bella quizzed in confusion.
"Under the pillow—it's too hooootttt," was the nonsensical reply.
"You are such a pillock, Lobbie, honest to God," Bella huffed, sliding herself around her friend and off the bed.
"Takes one to know one, Bellend," Lauren retorted, sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
Ignoring her, Bella headed into her bathroom to pee.
"Ewww, you could at least shut the door, you minger," Lauren shouted, her face screwing up in disgust. "Jess, tell herrrrrrr," she whined, as Jessica finally pulled herself up from the floor and came round the bed to sit at Bella's dressing table.
Before she could respond to Lauren's entreaty, though, they were both surprised by a loud "Noooooo!" emanating from the bathroom. The two girls leapt up and rushed in, to find Bella leaning on the vanity unit, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
"What's wrong… what's happened?" Jessica gasped, concern lacing her words.
"Look at me… I'm a complete and utter wreck. Oh, holy scrotebags, please tell me I didn't look like this when we got home last night!" She turned away from the mirror, looking to her friends for confirmation.
As one, they intoned back to her, "You didn't look like that when we got home last night," before looking at one another and cracking up.
Bella frowned in irritation, turning back to her reflection. "Fuck off, mingers," she snapped, leaning closer to the mirror to examine the ravages of the previous night. Her make-up was completely smudged around her eyes, no doubt caused by both the copious perspiration engendered in the club and the massive crying jag she'd gone on after coming to bed—but that thought threatened to bring her right back down and she determinedly pushed it to the back of her mind. Most of her foundation had rubbed off, leaving her skin looking patchy and wan, and her lipstick had completely disappeared, leaving just a faint rim of lip liner surrounding cracked, dry lips. She imagined that, with the state Jess and Lauren were in, her bed linen was going to need changing, particularly as she realised she was still wearing her boots.
That thought made her look down and she jumped when she realised that her friends were still standing beside her and their eyes had followed hers down to her feet.
"Pigging hell, your feet are going to pong like a dead man's underpants," Lauren mused in her usual colourfully descriptive manner.
"Wanna find out?" Bella laughed, sitting down on the toilet seat and starting to unzip her left boot.
"Ugh, no, you are such a wrong 'un," Jess shouted, pulling Lauren out of the bathroom and slamming the door shut.
Bella chuckled to herself as she pulled the boot off and then unzipped and removed the other one, followed by her socks. Ewww, that is a bit whiffy, she thought to herself, wrinkling her nose. Barefoot, she stood and moved back to the vanity unit, grabbing some make-up remover wipes and scrubbing at her face. Once clean, she slapped on a generous amount of moisturiser, rubbing it well in. She pulled the clips out of her hair, brushed it vigorously to get out all the tangles, before putting it back up in a high ponytail. She then stripped out of her clothes and washed herself quickly at the sink, drying off and applying some deodorant.
Satisfied that she was as fresh as she was going to get until she could make the time to have a proper shower, she wrapped a towel around her and stepped back into her bedroom.
"Hey, Bell, can we nick something to wear?" Jessica asked, although she appeared to have already grabbed some clothes from Bella's walk-in dressing room.
"Sure, sweetie, help yourself," she replied, as she rummaged through her dresser looking for underwear. She held out some plain cotton mini-briefs to the girls, who grabbed them before taking it in turns to use the bathroom. Bella pulled on a thong and a pair of stretch denim capris, together with a baggy white, v-neck t-shirt which she bunched up at the side and pulled into a knot, leaving a wide swathe of flesh above her capris.
Once they had all freshened up and changed into clean clothes, they all felt a little better and, fortunately, their fairly substantial intake of water towards the end of the night meant that their hangovers were within tolerable levels.
As ever, the three girls, who had been friends since they had all started at Roedean when they were eleven years old, seemed to move in total sync with one another, seemingly anticipating one another's thoughts and actions as they finished getting ready and sat down together on the bed. They had once joked that they were a Borg hive and that resistance was futile. With her two girls, one on either side, Bella felt safe and supported, but she knew they were going to have to leave and that she would be on her own with Edward—and she didn't anticipate that his anger would have cooled appreciably.
Jess and Lauren reached over and each took one of her hands in theirs.
"Hey, dollface, are you gonna be okay?" Jessica asked, her voice tender and full of concern.
Bella gave her a slightly wobbly smile and squeezed her hand.
"Yeah, sweetie, I'll be fine. I mean, what's the worst he can do?"
"Well, technically, I suppose the worst he could do is stab you to death, hack up your body and bury you in the back garden," Lauren mused.
"Hmm, well, lucky for me there's no garden… well, except the one on the roof, and that's just not going to work as any kind of burial ground," Bella deadpanned.
Lauren grinned at her. "Okay then, looks like you're safe… just don't let him take you for any long country walks... and hide the knives."
They all chuckled, but there was an underlying sadness to it.
Jessica was the one who put it into words.
"He's grounding you for the hols, isn't he?" she asked quietly.
Bella's smile faded and she simply nodded.
"Will he let us visit at all, if we promise to be good and stay in, and not be a bad influence?" Lauren asked, a note of pleading in her voice.
"I don't know, Laurie, maybe. I guess I'll have to be good and not piss him off, and then I suppose he might let me have a few girly nights. I mean, otherwise, it's gonna drive him doolally having me moping around the house the whole time."
"What about the bitch-troll from hell, whatshername, Tampax, or whatever? Is she going to be visiting?" Lauren asked.
Bella laughed. "You mean Tanya. I've no idea, but maybe if she keeps him happy with blowjobs and hours of tantric sex, he might be in a better mood and let me out once in a while."
The friends started laughing again, but they stopped abruptly when there was a loud rap at the door. They all looked at each other and then Bella got up and walked over to open it.
On the other side stood Edward, his hair in disarray and a light sprinkling of stubble covering his chiselled jaw. He was dressed in a plain grey t-shirt and a well-worn pair of faded 501s, and despite the obvious tiredness around his eyes, he looked so incredibly gorgeous, Bella decided she would be quite happy to be grounded if it meant seeing him like this every day… and night.
Edward looked down at Bella, his eyes widening slightly as he took in what she was wearing, and, more importantly, what she wasn't wearing, as Bella's body reacted to the desire she was feeling and it became pretty obvious that a bra did not form part of her outfit.
Edward was once again horrified at his own body's reaction to Bella's sartorial omission, as he felt his independently-minded cock twitch in his jeans, a fact that caused him to scowl in disapproval.
Bella sighed and walked away from the door to lean against the opposite wall, next to the bed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Edward walked slowly into the room and looked around as if he'd never been in there before. Finally, his gaze fell upon the two girls sitting on the bed, both looking at him curiously and a little apprehensively.
Edward regarded them for a moment before speaking.
"Ladies, perhaps you'd like to gather your things and make your way downstairs. There's coffee in the kitchen and bread if you want to make toast, or cereal, if you prefer. My driver is outside and as soon as you're ready he'll take you to Victoria to get your train. I'd like a quick word with Isabella, if you don't mind." And with that he looked away, effectively dismissing them, as his eyes locked on Bella's.
They looked at Bella, who simply gave them a small nod, and they both got up. Grabbing their clothes from the night before, which Bella had put in a carrier bag for them, they headed out the door and down to the kitchen.
Edward broke his gaze and looked around the room again, spotting a wicker chair in the corner; he walked over to it and sat down, swinging his left leg up so that his ankle was resting on his right knee. He steepled his fingers under his chin and looked at Bella.
"Sit, please," he said, his voice deceptively quiet.
Bella stared at him, but when he cocked one eyebrow at her, she relented and came around to sit on the other side of the bed to face him.
"We have much to discuss, Isabella, not the least of which are the events of last night, and the vexed question of what's going to happen over the next few days and, indeed, the next couple of months.
"But first, we are going to go downstairs, you are going to have breakfast with your friends and then say goodbye to them. Whether you see them again before the start of the new semester is entirely dependent upon your behaviour going forward."
Bella looked up but couldn't bring herself to speak.
"When Jessica and Lauren have gone, you and I are going to have a long talk, at the end of which I hope to have elicited certain promises and assurances from you. In return, I will give you some promises of my own. However, any deviation, on your part, from what we agree will, of course, render my own commitments null and void." He dropped his hands down to rest on the leg propped on his knee.
"And what if you deviate from your promises? What then?" Bella demanded petulantly, affronted by the implication that it would be she who defaulted.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? This is neither the time nor the place for this discussion, so let's get you fed and the girls on their way before we talk further." Edward stood up, clearly indicating that, as far as he was concerned, this current conversation was over. He walked over to the door and held it open, looking back at her over his shoulder.
"Shall we?" he asked, holding his arm out as if to usher her through the door.
Bella slowly got up from the bed and walked past Edward, swivelling her hips to avoid touching him as she exited the bedroom and headed downstairs.
In the kitchen, Jess and Lauren were sitting at the breakfast bar, eating cereal.
"Cinnamon Grahams, yum—Edward has great taste in cereals," exclaimed Jessica, as he and Bella joined them.
"Ha, I bought those—Edward eats Bran Flakes, possibly the most boring cereal known to man," Bella responded with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Oh well, I suppose it keeps him regular," Lauren remarked, before gasping and slapping her hand over her mouth.
Bella and Jess chuckled, less at her remark than at her own horror that she had alluded to Edward's bowel activity in front of him.
"Indeed, Lauren. But Bran Flakes are far lower in salt and sugar and much better for you than that sugar-laden muck you're eating," Edward replied, frowning at the contents of the girls' bowls.
"Oh, puh-lease. It's just cereal, Edward, a yummy little treat to start the day with, not a fucking crack pipe," Bella retorted, her tone biting.
"Watch your language, Isabella… and your attitude," Edward snapped back icily.
Bella turned away with a huff and went to grab a bowl from the cupboard, treating Edward to a similar view to the one she'd given him the previous morning, with similar results.
"I'll be in my study. Don't take all day, Tyler's waiting outside in the car," he said tightly, turning away from everything which was currently annoying him… and driving him crazy. "Please come and find me when your friends have gone, Isabella. Jessica, Lauren, have a safe trip back to Sussex." And with that, he was gone.
"Holy hell, what crawled up his arse and fingered his prostate?" Lauren asked of no one in particular.
"Hmm, still fixated on the less attractive aspects of Edward's personality, eh, Lobbie?" Jessica said, looking askance at her friend.
"I was just saying," she huffed.
Bella returned to the other side of the counter, tipping some cereal into her bowl and adding milk. She wasn't particularly hungry, as her stomach was somewhat unsettled, not just by last night's alcohol consumption, but also by the prospect of what the day held when she was finally alone with Edward, but she knew she needed to eat.
For a few minutes they all ate in companionable silence, but eventually Jess and Lauren finished and turned to Bella, knowing they needed to leave before Edward came looking for her, which they suspected would only fan the flames of his ire.
"We better get going, Bell," Jess said softly.
Bella nodded, putting down her bowl and walking round the bar to join the two girls.
Opening her arms, Bella pulled them both into a tight embrace.
"You two, you're the best friends a girl could have. I love you so much, you know that, right?" Bella whispered, her voice cracking on the final word.
"Love you more," they responded together in what was obviously a well-practiced and oft repeated ritual.
"Not possible," Bella croaked, unable to hold back her tears.
"Hey, doll, you'll be fine, and he'll come round, I'm sure he will," Jess responded, close to tears as well.
"Offer him a blowjob, I'm sure that'll do the trick," Lauren suggested, sliding her arms round Bella's waist and kissing her cheek.
The three of them laughed, but it was strained, and finally Bella pulled away, not wanting to prolong the agony. She took a deep breath and forced a smile at her friends.
"Lord, you'd think we were never going to see each other again. Even if Edward decides to be a complete wanker and ground me right through Easter, I'll see you next term. Jizzy, Lobbie and Bellend, the Three Minge-keteers, will ride again!"
She held her arm out straight, palm up, and Jess slapped hers down on Bella's, palm-to-palm, followed by Lauren's on top of their two.
"Peen for all and all for peen!" they yelled together, their laughter this time genuine and joyous.
With one more group hug, Bella walked her friends downstairs, pulling open the door to see Edward's Bentley parked right outside, with Tyler at the wheel. On seeing the girls emerge from the house he got out of the car and opened the rear passenger door.
They all hugged again and promised to email and call, and then Bella watched as the girls clambered into the back seat of the limousine, Lauren giving Tyler what she imagined was a sexy pout as she passed him to get in the car.
Tyler shut the door and, tipping his cap at Bella, turned and got in behind the wheel. He started the car and, moments later, Bella was waving madly at her friends as they made faces through the rear window and waved back.
She stood in the middle of the Mews until the car turned at the end and disappeared from sight, and then she took another deep breath and went back in the house.
When she got to the top of the stairs, Edward was standing behind the breakfast bar, with his hand stuck in the pack of Cinnamon Grahams, presumably going for what must have been at least his second handful, as Bella could clearly hear him munching on a mouthful of the sweet cereal.
"Oh, Edward, those are sooo unhealthy."
Bella smirked, as Edward's head shot up to find her looking at him, and she was gratified to see a slight reddening of his cheeks.
He narrowed his eyes, slowly pulling his hand out of the packet. He pulled a kitchen towel off the roll at the end of the counter, wiping his hands, before meticulously closing and re-sealing the box and carrying it over to the cupboard, putting it away. He then turned and looked at Bella, who was still standing at the top of the stairs, her hands crossed over her chest as she leaned against the balustrade.
"My study, now," was all he said before turning away and walking down the passage to the back of the house.
Bella sighed and pushed herself away from the stairs, walking slowly across the large room and following Edward to his study.
END NOTES: For the Americans amongst you, the use of the word "fanny" is in the English sense, rather than the American term "pussy" (not my favourite word, anyway). "Welly boots" or "Wellingtons" are more commonly known to you as "galoshes".
Minger (rhymes with ringer) is a common term of abuse in England, used to describe an ugly girl/woman, or a woman who's a bit rough and has seen better days, mutton dressed as lamb, etc. Girlfriends frequently use it amongst themselves, as a friendly term of abuse, and cries of "Fuck off, mingah" are heard all over London (particularly in my local pub, strangely!) Cinnamon Grahams is the British name for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Minge (as in Minge-keteers) rhymes with 'hinge' and is common British slang for an English fanny (or American pussy!) Confusingly, this is not related to the word 'minger' (see above).
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