The characters? Not ours. Goofy sexual innuendo? All ours.
Chapter 6
-Τ- Let the Games Begin
I sat quietly letting them feel self-important. I shot coy smiles to Caius and winked at Aro. I was playing them. Marcus was different. He couldn't be flirted with. He was too smart, too logical, and my hope with him was to appeal to reason.
"So, I assume we all know why we're here." Aro stated authoritatively.
"Yes, they are interfering in my work," Caius announced, interrupting any further explanation Aro might have given.
"Oh Caius, I certainly have no idea what you mean. I'm simply doing my job," I added innocently.
"The Swan girl was supposed to die. It's been the plan for ages, but you dabbled by creating a connection where none existed, and now she's more rooted."
"Dear Caius, you know I can't really force a connection. It has to be there first. I can only influence."
"Still, you interfered with my plan."
"And that frustrates you?" I leaned in and rested my hands on my chin. I batted my eyelashes sweetly, acting almost as a therapist ready to listen to his emotional rant.
He glared at me. "You are not allowed. You have boundaries."
"We all have boundaries, gentlemen, and we've probably all overstepped them."
"Talking isn't going to solve anything," Garrett interjected.
"Why exactly are you here, Mars?" Aro asked. "We've noticed you are working with Love lately, and we're trying to understand why."
"Just helping an old friend."
"What do you propose we do, if not for talking?" Marcus, often the voice of reason among the three, questioned.
"You're asking me?" Garrett laughed. "I think you know the answer."
"Challenges?" I smiled at him.
"Like there is any other way to settle this."
Aro raised an eyebrow. "Stakes?"
"Hm, well, we set up a series of challenges for the young lovers. If they pass and are still together and in love at the end, she lives. They get to stay together. If they fail, you get her, Caius," Garrett suggested.
"Who determines these challenges?" Caius asked.
"We all do," I responded. "We could divide them up evenly. How many total?"
"I've always been fond of twelve." Garrett winked at me.
"Ah, of course, and doesn't this Edward remind you a little of Heracles? That works very well. So, six each?"
"No," Garret said. "Four each. I get to play too."
"But why would you want to?" Aro asked suspiciously. "What would you gain?"
"Oh you know me, Aro. I just like a good fight."
"Fine, I can agree to four each. But we should decide on categories so we don't have overlap. I will, of course, be dealing with love relationships," I stated.
"Certainly," Aro nodded. "It seems fair that our challenges would defer to Caius—meaning of course, there will be more threats to life."
My hands flew up, and I was just about to protest, but Garrett grabbed my arms and forced them down.
"Given that our couple has already faced one of Caius's challenges, does it not seem fair that you should be down to three?" he suggested.
Caius snorted, but Marcus calmly interjected. "Yes, that is, indeed, fair. If we're talking about fair though, Love also loses one."
I sat up straight. "Excuse me?"
"It occurs to me that Edward and Bella themselves are the greatest of your challenges are they not?" He paused while the others agreed. "I propose you must claim them as one; otherwise I fear you may replace them with a much simpler alternative."
"You have so little faith in me," I grumbled.
"Fair is fair," Garrett acknowledged giving me another 'don't' say a word' look.
Caius turned to Garrett. "Your challenges?"
"Well, we have love life and save a life, I think I'll just call mine 'get a life.' It's generic, but I'm going to push people to make life changes," Garrett asserted.
"Are we all in agreement then?" Aro asked. We all nodded. Caius less enthusiastically, of course. "Well then, ladies first?"
"Why thank you, Aro." I stood to leave. "Oh and Caius, what a lovely new toga. I still cannot understand why humans continue to refer to you as a trio of harpy women."
I flipped my hair and walked out.
Λ Ω Λ Ω Λ Ω Λ Ω Λ Ω Λ
-β- Open Mouth…
The weekend was supposed to be unseasonably hot. It hit 85 before noon with no relief in sight.
"Can you cut out a bit early today?" Edward pleaded. I cradled the phone against my shoulder as I flipped through my schedule. Last meeting wrapped up at three.
"Maybe, what do you have in mind?"
"Well, it's hot as hell outside, so I was thinking it would be a good day to go for a swim. I'll be done here in about an hour. I can meet you at my house?"
The idea of swimming sounded heavenly, but trying to behave around a shirtless, soaking wet Edward would be challenging enough. Factor in his stepmother watching from the kitchen window, and I immediately hesitated.
We continued to take things slowly thanks to my self-imposed 'marathon' philosophy. It was frustrating as hell at times, but it helped me keep everything in perspective. Instead of rushing home and straight into bed, we actually talked and learned things about each other. Maybe I'd managed to learn from all my failed relationships in the past, and was establishing a real foundation to a relationship as opposed to going straight for sex.
Tempered with some vigorous training. Okay, screw the training euphemism; it was pretty damn hard to keep our hands off each other. It didn't matter if it was an innocent touch; it could set off a chain reaction that would leave us both winded. It made sticking to my take it slow mantra all that much harder.
And if I'd said that to Edward, he would have snorted a laugh and quipped 'That's what she said.'
"I don't know, Edward…"
"Come on, no one else is around. Irina had some fencing federation thing today, and she won't be back until late. My dad's at the hospital. No one is going to bug us."
While she'd told Edward she was done with him, Irina's curiosity seemed to have gotten the better of her. She'd begun to manufacture reasons to 'pop in' on us whenever possible. The whole thing was rather awkward. She was nice enough and always went out of her way to say hello, but it always seemed like she was looking to catch us in the middle of something. Perfect example, she was pulling in the drive one day as Edward was giving me a piggyback to my car. He'd cut over into the grass, spinning in circles, trying to get me to say "Edward Cullen has the best hands on the planet" when we'd fallen backwards onto the grass, laughing hysterically. That made it back to Edward's coach in about two seconds flat, and caused a whole big blow up over how he could have hurt himself. Ever since then, we'd spent most of our time together at my apartment, the one sure way to avoid her.
"Fine, I'll meet you at the house." I tried to sound blasé about it, but inside I was wound tighter than a spring. No shirt, swimming pool, ridiculously hot boyfriend. Danger, Bella Swan, danger.
"Itsy bitsy bikini?" Edward asked hopefully. "Or we could go the French route and…"
"Stop it," I chided. "I'll see you in a bit."
As soon as my last meeting was over, I flew home and changed clothes. Grabbing a stack of beach towels and sunscreen, I was back out the door and on the road in less than ten minutes.
Edward's parents' house was a lot closer than I had perceived it to be. I parked on the street behind Edward's car, and started up the drive. Just as I cleared the sidewalk, the front door opened, and a fair haired man in a dark grey suit, white shirt and red tie stepped out onto the front stoop.
"May I help you?" he called out to me.
"I'm just here to meet Edward." I pointed awkwardly at the back of the house.
"Oh, you must be Bella?" He smiled and started down the walk towards me. I noticed he was carrying his car keys. I hadn't registered the car parked in the drive. My gaze drifted back up to his face, and I had to keep from laughing. No wonder Edward looked like he did. Both his parents were gorgeous. Some people had all the luck.
Flustered, I fumbled for a response, "Ummm, yeah, that would be me."
"I'm Carlisle, Edward's dad." He was close enough now to extend a hand. "It's nice to meet you."
So much for no one being home. I extended my hand and gave his a quick shake. "It's nice to meet you too, sir."
"No sirs, it's too proper. We are a pretty laid back household. And no "Mr. Cullen,' just Carlisle." He smiled and slipped his hands in his pants pockets. "So how did you meet Edward
How did I meet Edward? How do I even explain? Somehow telling his dad that Edward's first words to me were 'you lost your cherry' seemed inappropriate. So I went for the simple answer.
"I'm a social worker, and he's giving fencing lessons to one of my kids."
He smiled and nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "So you found him through the Y?"
"No, actually the child's attorney is married to a friend of Edward's. That's how we connected. Plus the child's teacher recommended fencing at one of our conferences."
It was out before I even realized what I'd said.
"His teacher?" Carlisle hadn't missed it. His eyes narrowed as he waited for my response.
Edward hadn't gone into detail about his parents. I knew that Esme had a different last name, which could mean a lot of things. She'd gone back to her maiden name, remarried, or they'd never been married in the first place. Either way, I had no clue how their relationship was. I needed to tread cautiously.
"Yes. Ms. Platt told me that her son fenced, and it was good for building self confidence and control. By happenstance I had already made arrangements through Seth's attorney to review some classes her husband ran at the Y. It just happened that her husband was a friend of Edward's."
An awkward silence hung between us. Not knowing the history was between Edward's parents, I hoped I hadn't just stepped in something.
"That sounds like Esme. She always did care so much about others. Especially children." Carlisle paused, as if lost in his own thoughts. "It's always been hard on her to have such a big heart. But in this case, it sounds like it may have helped in more ways than one."
He smiled wistfully, and was about to say something more but broke off as Edward came down the drive.
"Hey, Dad. What are you doing home?"
"I have a foundation dinner to go to tonight, and I forgot my checkbook. They don't care if I show up, but no paper, well, that's a different story."
Carlisle returned his gaze to me and gave me a genuine smile. "It was nice to finally meet you, Bella. I've heard so much about you."
He clapped Edward on the shoulder, gave him a wink, and started for the car.
"Have a good time. It's a good day for a swim." He opened the car door, and looked back over his shoulder at me. "Next time you see her, please pass on my best."
He climbed in the car and pulled out of the drive without a glance back.
"What was that all about?" Edward asked as he led me around the back of the house.
"Hopefully nothing. Your dad asked me how we met, and I was so nervous I totally slipped up and mentioned that Seths' teacher encouraged me to look into fencing. He connected the dots and realized it was your mom." I dropped my bag on the table and pulled my t-shirt over my head. I was embarrassed at sticking my foot in my mouth; a running leap in a cold pool would do my mortification a world of good.
Pulling loose the drawstring on my shorts, I let them fall and stepped out. Without a glance around I walked to the edge of the pool and stepped off into the cold water.
-ε- Flaws and Perfections
My eyes went wide, but I wasn't reacting to my dad passing on a message to Esme. I knew they talked when I was still a teenager, so it wasn't like they'd never had contact all these years. I supposed they might still talk now, but I hadn't thought much about it. I'd spent so long keeping both Esme and Irina at a distance that neither was a particularly favorite topic of conversation with my dad.
It was awkward, but easily forgotten when Bella stepped out of her clothes.
She wore the bikini. It was midnight blue, and I didn't get to see enough of her in it before she jumped in the water.
Suddenly swimming was the best idea I'd had in a long time. And maybe the worst. How the hell was I going to keep my hands off her now?
She came up for air and flipped her hair back out of her face. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Aren't you coming in?"
"Yeah, just didn't want you to miss the show," I said right before I pulled my shirt over my head. My life might suck, but I knew damned well my body didn't. I took the 'use what you got' approach and stretched my arms over my head. She shook her head, and then she skimmed the water with her hand, building force to splash me.
"Don't you dare!" I mock threatened.
"Or what?"
"Try it and find out." She didn't hold back. Neither did I.
I dove in and swam directly toward her, never breaking the surface. I grabbed her feet and pulled her under with me. She was smiling until I planted my mouth on hers.
It was short. We both needed air, and we came up laughing.
"Did you like the show?"
"Jeez, need ego stroking much?" Her hand flew to her mouth when she realized how big a set up she'd just given me. She expected a joke, but I moved in close and whispered in her ear.
"Yes, Bella I want you to stroke me, but I can be patient."
She took a sharp breath.
"How long have you been planning this?"
"What?"
"Getting me in the pool."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Your little show up there. Trying to weaken my resolve?"
"No idea what you mean," I continued in an innocent tone.
"Can it, Edward. You know."
"You like my body, Bella?"
"Yes," She stammered.
"Good. I like yours too, but I don't think I saw enough of it. Want to get out and give me a show now?"
"Not a chance."
She splashed me again, and swam away.
"Please?" I pouted.
"No way."
"You forgot to put on sunscreen. You better go get it. I could even help you put it on."
"I applied some before I came over."
"You missed a spot."
"Would you stop?"
I could see she was getting flustered; it wasn't playful anymore.
"What's wrong? I took it too far, didn't I?"
"Sort of. Not really. It's just . . . I'm not generally self conscious. It's just that we aren't really in the same league you know?"
"What are you talking about? You're perfect."
"Edward, I'm fine. I have a decent shape. But I am not required to work out five hours a day, or to look like something carved out of marble. I'm okay with who I am, but I am not perfect."
I walked slowly toward her, my arms at my sides, dragging water with me as I went. I reached out and pulled her close when I got within reach.
"No one's perfect, Bella. I wouldn't expect you to be." I slowly let my hands roam down her arms. Then I moved to her back, and I took time to feel every inch of skin that wasn't covered. Her hips, her stomach, and her thighs. She was breathing heavily. "I love your body."
I continued to roam. I stopped short when I came across a rough patch of skin.
"Scar," she said. "See, not perfect."
"Is that from the accident?"
She nodded.
"Can I see it?"
"You just want to look at my ass," she tried to joke.
I shook my head, and she must have seen the intensity of my eyes. She walked toward the steps, and climbed up a couple until her lower back was exposed, and I could where the skin was more pinkish, a stark contrast to her fair coloring.
"It must have really hurt."
"Only when I sat down," she answered, turning around to face me. "Or showered, or put on clothes."
She'd tried to laugh it off, but I couldn't see that reminder and not find myself on edge.
"I was so scared when I saw that SUV headed toward you. I've never been that scared my whole life," I admitted.
"You know, I wasn't even planning to call you that day, but Seth was so excited to meet you. Now I can't imagine what would have happened if you weren't there."
I let my hand find the rough patch again, and I traced her scar lightly.
"The first day I met you, I promised I would never let you get hurt again."
"Really? You didn't know me."
I nodded.
"Do you ever think about all the coincidences?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Bumping into each other in the ice cream shop. Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, all of it. Does it seem like we were destined to meet?"
I kind of chuckled. "I don't know, Bella. I don't really believe in fate."
"I didn't think I did either. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe some things really do happen for a reason."
"I'm not so sure. I guess maybe there are forces that lead people to each other, but it doesn't always work does it? I mean, look at my parents. I bet they thought they belonged together, and they've been apart for a lot longer than they were ever together."
We were both treading water.
"Do you know what happened?"
"I don't know everything. I was too young, but they lost a baby."
Her hand went to her mouth in shock, and her face contorted as she took in the emotions of the event.
"Yeah, he was six months old. Esme laid him down to sleep, and he just didn't wake up. My dad blamed himself because he was a doctor; my mom blamed herself because she was a mom. I don't know what else happened. One day my mom was just gone. I was pretty little. I didn't understand things like divorce. And then Irina was there, sort of out of the blue. I didn't hear from Esme much for a long time."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Well it's not, but anyway, it's kind of made me leery of believing in fate. People only talk about things like fate when good stuff happens, what about the bad shit? Who do we get to blame for that?"
"Have you ever been in love, Edward?"
Her question took me off guard. I wasn't sure where she was coming from or where she was headed, but I was okay with changing the subject. "No. You?"
"Once. I was young. It didn't last, but what I'm sort of figuring out is that there might be different kinds of love. I It might not always last, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. There are people who come and go. I imagine not every relationship could survive loss or poverty or any of those awful things. Believe me, in my job I see it. Sometimes, though, it feels different. Feels like nothing could keep you away from that person." She paused. I dipped my face lower in the water, letting the coolness temper my uncertainty about how to respond. I wanted to believe she was referencing me, but I didn't know where we really were yet. "Anyway, I just started thinking about that recently. I'm still trying to figure it out."
I reached over and grabbed one of her hands. I took a gamble. She'd opened up, so would I.
"This feels different to me."
She smiled. "Me too."
-β- Honest Question, Honest Answer
I pulled away and swam to the wall, propping my elbows up on the edge. It felt like we were at a tipping point, or at least I was, and I needed to stop and catch my breath.
"Is it hard being so perfect?" I asked, trying to take the conversation in a different direction.
Edward cocked an eyebrow at me. "Hard?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter. It was a serious question." I shot back, flustered. Our exchange had me thrown completely off balance, and I'd disclosed a lot more than I'd intended to.
"Perfect is relative. Yeah, I look good without my shirt on. And I could kick the ass of 99 percent of the population. But that doesn't make me perfect."
Edward slowly moved towards me, his hands fanning out in the water in front of him.
"If you think of it in the grand scheme of things, I'm a waste of space. I am everything that is wrong with society. I'm a pretty package that makes this country look pretty damn good every four years. I perpetuate the myth that youth, strength and good looks are the best things in the world. But what does it get me? I won't be like this forever, and I refuse to use that as a way to differentiate myself. I could probably make a lot more money if I gave in, but I refuse."
The cynicism in his view caught me off guard, and instinctively I reached out and grabbed his hand so that I could pull him toward me.
"I don't see you that way."
He frowned slightly, as if not believing me. "Then what do you see?"
"You. I see you."
"That's a cop out." It came out almost as a growl.
"It's not a cop out. I see the person." I paused, trying to figure out how to best articulate it. "I mean, I get who you are, and it's kind of hard to forget when you pull a stunt like you did before getting in the pool. But there's more to you than the medals and washboard abs. I guess…I mean I can't discount it, because it helped form who you are, but it just doesn't matter to me, you know?"
Edward moved closer, his hands coming to rest on either side of my elbows.
"I don't know who I am if I'm not competing. Doesn't that matter to you?"
"You know who you are. It doesn't mean you are comfortable with it, but you know."
"Do I?" We were just inches apart now. "I am at an elite level in a sport I picked up to piss off my stepmother when I was eight. My relationship with Esme is shit. I am watching my dad's marriage go down the drain because he can't get over Esme. And I can't blame him for that, but I can't help but wonder if he ever tried. If they can't make it, can't figure it out, what does it mean for someone like me? Any success I've gained has come out of spite."
"Somehow, I doubt that, Edward. You may have started fencing to piss off someone, but you kept with it because you were good at it or you liked it. It's okay to admit that."
We were in the deep end of the pool, Edward holding onto the edge looking up at me.
"Is it okay to admit that I like you?" he asked quietly.
"That's kind of a given at this point, isn't it?"
"Not for me." He'd closed the remaining space between us, and I could feel the heat coming off his body, at odds with the colder water enveloping us. "I wasn't joking when I said I wasn't good at this relationship thing. I never really thought about anything beyond sex, and that was always easy to get. Why make an effort if I'm not sure I can win?"
"And now?" I couldn't pull my gaze away.
"Now things are different. Now what you want is important." He leaned in to kiss my shoulder. "And that scares the shit out of me. Although if I do it right, you getting what you want means that I win."
I didn't know what to say. The automatic response would have been that I understood, but that didn't seem to be enough.
"What do you want, Bella? Don't give me an 'I don't know' or dodge. What do you want?"
We'd danced around each other for weeks. Laughter, a few serious conversations, lots of innuendo. The closer we got, the more charged things became.
"Don't be afraid to answer. I just want to know where I stand with you. We said no one else, but that still leaves a lot of room for interpretation."
"You aren't really standing right now. Hanging off a wall is more like it," I teased, trying to buy time.
"Quit dodging the question, Bella," Edward insisted. "You did it before, and I'm not going to let you this time. What do you want from me?"
"I don't know how to answer." My response was honest. He deserved that. "It's all jumbled up and confused. We'll be clipping along at a pace that I am comfortable with, and then you throw everything off balance."
"How so?"
"By being you. By looking the way you do and acting the way you do and getting me all turned around." I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, causing me to look away. "That day that you gave me the fencing lesson, all I could focus on was how attracted I was to you. And I am trying to be smart about this, because I don't want to screw up what could be a really great thing. But at the same time, I have never been so sexually frustrated in my entire life. And it really sucks."
I wasn't sure how he would respond to my admission. Would he be mad? Call me a tease? Kiss me?
Instead, Edward laughed. Full on, belly laughs.
"What?" I asked, confused. "Did I say something funny?"
I waited while he continued to laugh, pausing to wipe a tear away. When he was finally at a point where he could talk, he took a deep breath and let out one last chuckle.
"I never had to take a cold shower until I met you."
-ε- Small Steps Forward
"My fingers are starting crinkle. Want to dry off?" she suggested.
"Sure. You go first."
"Are you trying to look at my ass again?" She rolled her eyes at me.
"Yes," I answered unabashedly.
She did the last thing I expected. She headed to the ladder at the edge of the pool. She slowly pulled herself out. She leaned slightly forward, giving me a spectacular view of her backside. She walked with a little sway over to the chair where her towel had fallen. She grabbed one, bent over, and began drying off her feet. No one starts at the toes; it was just an excuse to bend over.
She dragged the towel ridiculously slowly up her legs. Then she turned to face me. She took the towel up to her hair causing her chest to jut forward. She started drying her hair, moving her hands quickly. It caused her body to sort of jiggle.
When she was done, she tossed the towel toward the char and threw her arms out to the side. "Tada!"
"Bravo, now that was a show."
"Aren't you getting out?"
I had a problem, and it definitely wasn't little.
"Um, I need a minute."
"For what?"
"Your show may have worked a little too well." I wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed. I couldn't help the reaction, but it didn't make me feel like the grown up I was trying to be.
"Oh. Oops." She looked down at her feet, slightly embarrassed." Anything I can do?"
"I'd say 'cover up' but I like what I see too much. Why don't you distract me instead?"
"Don't be a coward. Just get out and grab a towel. I won't look."
"Liar."
"I am not. I'll turn around and close my eyes if it makes you feel better."
And she did turn around; I'm pretty sure she didn't close her eyes though. The towel wasn't entirely successful, but it helped, and the fact that she did, in fact, cover up was also diminishing the problem so to speak.
It opened up another opportunity to discuss something I'd been wondering about. "So, I'm curious. And this is in no way meant to put pressure on you, but what are we waiting for?"
"What do you mean?"
"The whole 'frustration' thing. We both want each other. That's pretty obvious." She inadvertently looked at my crotch. I rolled my eyes.
"Sorry," she said shrugging.
"You said something about wanting to do things right, and since I'm not familiar with relationships that work, I don't know what that means. How do you know when it's right? Maybe that's what I keep trying to get at when I ask you what you want."
"It's a good question. I'm not sure."
"Like do you have some magic number? So many dates or so many months? I'm trying to get a sense of how long the wait will be."
"Anxious?"
"I wouldn't call it anxious; it's more like anticipation, but you already know that. And I said I'm not pushing. I mean that. I'm enjoying just being with you. I'm just trying to figure it out. Do you usually wait a long time? Wait, I guess I don't even know. Have you even had sex?"
She snorted. "Oh god. Um. Yes. I have. Everything works just fine too, thank you very much. In fact, that's one area I might be able to hold my own against you." She took a breath, pausing to think. "I'm sorry if it seems like I'm leading you on and pulling back. I imagine that if our 'training sessions' are doing to you what they are to me, you're all turned around too. I wish I had a magic number. You just said you didn't want to push me. I respect that, and what I'm about to say is meant in the same vein. No pressure. But I don't think I'm waiting for a number, but a feeling."
"You mean love?"
She nodded. "I think so. Does that spook you?"
I shook my head, but I didn't know what to say in response. I wasn't even sure that was possible for me.
"Hey, talk to me. I don't want to push you away. I told you no pressure," she continued.
"No, it's not that." I nodded in my direction asking her to come closer. I pulled her to sit on my lap. I kissed her neck lightly. "I think I want that too. I'm just afraid I'll screw it up."
"It doesn't have to be scary."
"It's more that I'm afraid I'll miss it or take it for granted. How do you know what it is if you've never felt it?"
"I think it's probably a lot like what you do in a match, Edward. You just have to trust yourself; follow your instincts."
"I don't know how long it will take."
"I can be patient too, you know. Besides, the strenuous training has been fun, right?"
Of course it had been. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want to push things, but it would be a lot easier, if I could just snap my fingers and make us fall in love.
I smiled, and leaned back in the chair, forcing her to fall into me more.
We sat there for a long time without saying anything. So much had already been said. We were kind of between a rock and a hard place. It was all laid out in front of us. Not that it solved the problem.
All this talk about love had me turned around and twisted.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly while her fingers did a figure eight on my forearm.
"My parents, actually."
"Do you really think your dad still has a thing for your mom?"
"I'm not sure. A lot of things make sense if I add that layer in. I never really got his relationship with Irina. He never had the passion for her that he does for other things in life. I know he loves her, but just not the in the way I would expect. If you saw him with patients or how he supported me, you'd understand."
"That's pretty messy."
"It is. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Esme asked me to get together with her. She said there were things I needed to know. I haven't had the guts to email her back with a time to do that, but maybe I should."
She stood up and held out her hand. "Come on. No time like the present. "
It was exactly the push I needed.
E/N: Thanks as always to Legna, the wonder beta.
We're happy to have you all reading and reviewing this story. Stick with the mythology; we weave things in, but it's still mostly about e/b and how their lives interact.
So, Edward asked, and now we're wondering . . . what is the appropriate time to wait before doing the deed for the first time?
Heracles (the Romanized version is Hercules) – Considered one of the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity. He was an extremely passionate and emotional individual, capable of doing great deeds for his friends.
The 12 Labors of Hercules: In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Hercules slew his wife, Megara, and their three children. The fit then receded. Realizing what he had done, he isolated himself, going into the wilderness and living alone. He was found (by his cousin Theseus) and convinced to visit the Oracle at Delphi to regain his honour. The Oracle told him that as a penance he would have to perform a series of ten tasks, or labors, set by King Eurystheus, the man who had taken Hercules' birthright and the man he hated the most. King Eurystheus tricked Hercules into doing twelve labors, but originally it was supposed to be ten.
http://en (dot) wikipedia (dot)org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules