Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Twilight or its original plot. No harm intended, I'm just having fun with these silly kids.
A/N: Here is day one of the misadventures of Edward and Bella.
Chapter Seven
Travel and Redemption
"Ugh," I huffed. "There are not enough words. I've used "enough" seven freaking times already!" The laptop let out a loud "thwack" sound as I slammed it shut. I was frustrated and starting to get angry at my inability to complete even the first few pages of my latest assignment for work. It really should not be this hard. Writing was always the one thing that came easily for me.
"Can't say I've never experienced frustration with the inadequacies of the English language myself," Edward said in a calm tone that belied the tension surrounding us in the confines of his car.
The sound of his voice startled me. I had been so absorbed in my own thoughts that I had almost forgotten he was even there, which was wholly absurd considering our situation. Not four hours ago he had half dragged me out of my home using the persuasive abilities of those amazing lips of his to make me forget that I had absolutely no intention of allowing him to accompany me on the trip I had planned in order to get away from him for a few days. We were just outside the Forks city limits before my senses had returned. By then, it was too late. Edward refused to stop the car or take me back home. So, I did what any other mature woman would have done in my place. I pouted like a petulant child. When he still refused to give in to my demands, I resorted to ignoring him completely.
Shortly after my latest outburst, we pulled into a drive thru and, since I still chose not to acknowledge him verbally, Edward ordered for both of us. When he handed me my food, I realized he had gotten me exactly what I would have gotten for myself back in my high school days of an overactive metabolism and no concern for my overall health. He could not have known the change in my dietary habits because we really did not know each other very well anymore – if we ever did. What was astounding though was that he knew what I would have ordered during a time when he had appeared to care nothing about my presence except as an opportunity to inflict torture mercilessly.
"Why did you get me this?" I focused my gaze on the burger and fries in front of me rather than looking up to gauge his response to my question.
"The first time I saw you eating this meal was also the first time I realized you truly were different from all the other girls, Little Swan." Without further explanation, he took a large bite of his own food, effectively ending the conversation for the time being.
A small smile spread involuntarily across my face. I recalled the day he referenced. Alice and I were craving some greasy goodness but her parents had taken her car away from her because they caught her sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, on a school night no less, to meet up with Jasper. In a rare act of kindness, Edward agreed to take us stating he was hungry and planning on going somewhere anyway. For some reason, he hated my beloved truck even way back then and refused to let his sister be seen in such an atrocity of machinery. His words, not mine. So, we had gone to our favorite fast food restaurant and it was the first time I ever saw Edward look at me with an expression other than total distaste since we had initially met. Ever since Alice had introduced us, my mouth kept vomiting ridiculousness whenever he was near causing him to hate me more and more with each occurrence. I was surprised he remembered what I had to eat that day though.
"What does that mean, exactly?" I asked once he had finished chewing and was taking a gulp of his bucket of soda.
Really, these large sized combo meals were insane. My entire daily allowance of choleric intake could be found in just one of the "value" sized cups. Then you add fries and a burger and you could subsist for a week without eating anything else. And we wondered why over 5o percent of Americans were obese. Okay, soapbox away, he's about to answer me. His brow furrowed together, almost to the point of making him look like he had a uni-brow, indicating that he was seriously considering his reply. I was glad he didn't just spout out some sarcastic remark like he typically did.
"You're not like any woman I've ever met, Bella. You are so real and you make no excuses for who you are or how you are. Shit, I can't explain this right. You are the most amazing, beautiful woman I have ever met and you enraptured me from the first moment I ever looked into those deep brown eyes of yours. I fought for so long to push you away, and sometimes you said the dumbest shit, but I've always longed for you, always will."
We were quiet for a long time after that. The only sounds in the car were the low sounds of the radio mixed with our intermittent chewing and gulping. Edward had just confessed that he had been interested in me for as long as I had been infatuated with him. I honestly did not know how to react to his revelation. Sometime later, the car came to a stop and Edward turned the key to shut off the engine. His motions caused me to finally glance out the window to see where we were. I had been so wrapped up in my musings that I had not even been paying attention to the sights around me, which were half the reason I picked the roads I had for my trip, well our trip now I guessed.
My door opened, scaring me so much that I let out a little yelp. I hadn't even noticed he had gotten out of the vehicle. He laughed a little at my reaction before offering his hand to help me out of the car. I almost slapped his hand away but thought better of it when I felt how stiff my muscles had become from hours sitting rigidly in the seat of his car. He kept me steady until I was standing. When I stretched my arms above my head I caught Edward checking me out. His eyes were slightly glazed as they wandered to the skin exposed between my t-shirt and pants due to my current position. I may have stretched a little longer than necessary and enjoyed his obvious arousal. Knowing that Edward desired me gave me a large boast of confidence. He was perfection personified, after all, and if he was attracted to me that must mean something, right?
Edward was still staring intently in my direction but I refused to contemplate his reaction any further. Edward was not going to ruin my mission of having a great adventure. Now, I just had a chauffeur. I walked toward the office of the hotel. My plan involved staying in this quaint little town until tomorrow afternoon. There was no time allotted to ponder the mysteries of Edward Cullen. As I went to pay for a room for the night, an arm reached across my line of sight. The clerk took the credit card extended to him as I turned to give Edward the bitch-eye, as Alice had dubbed it. Instead of bowing to my mercy, he simply rolled his eyes in response and completed paying for the room. He accepted the keys, receipt and his card before turning to walk back toward his car. Oh, hell no.
"Wait, wait, wait!" I yelled as I ran to catch up to him as my mind finally caught up with the fact that we had only secured one room. "Please tell me you do not seriously think we are sharing a room." I tried to keep my voice even but it had a shrilling quality to it that gave away my emotions.
He simply smirked at me in return.
"Never mind, I'll just go back and get a room of my own," I spat at his retreating form.
There was no way he was getting away with this one. He could keep his big fat sexy lips and all his other voodoo to himself for one night. I'm pretty sure I could resist him now that I knew what he was capable of and how it affected me. Before I made it back to the office door, however, two strong hands grabbed my shoulders and turned me around rather forcefully. Those stupid, gorgeous, green eyes were glaring in my direction and swimming with emotion. He looked positively feral and I realized I did not yet know all of this man's tricks. This was going to be harder than I thought, but I was still very determined.
"Bella," he started before taking a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm himself down. "There are two beds in the room and it doesn't make any sense to spend the extra money to get another room for one night. I promise to behave." He finished his remark with a wink.
Well, at least we wouldn't be sharing a bed, hopefully. His ass looked amazing in the dark jeans he was wearing. And his dark grey shirt was just tight enough to showcase the definition of his just right muscles. He wasn't too muscular or too lean. He was just perfect. I wiped the little bit of drool off the edge of my mouth and shook my head to clear the images flooding it thanks to my highly overactive imagination. A nice, long shower would help rid me of these crazy delusional fantasies starring the very sexy, very unattainable man who seemed hell-bent on wearing down my defenses. So, I quickly snatched one of the cardkeys from his hand, grabbed my bag out of the now opened trunk of his car, and strutted away as model-like as I could, which wasn't very much like any of the people I ever saw walking down a runway. This day could not possibly get any more confusing. I headed straight into the bathroom and climbed into the shower as soon as the water was warm. As the heavenly heat soothed my aches, I began to question Edward's motives. Why was he suddenly so interested? He had never shown anything but distain toward me before my recent move back to Forks. Only one answer seemed logical. I was some type of conquest for him. Girls fell at his feet and he never had to work to get a girl to share his bed. I had practically thrown myself at him that summer after high school but I had worked diligently to shut him out of my life ever since. He probably just needed to prove to himself that he hadn't lost his touch or some sick shit like that.
I was sitting on the bed furthest from the door working on my column when Edward waltzed in carrying a multitude of shopping bags. Without a word, he began unpacking while I went back to writing. Of course, now I couldn't concentrate because his presence distracted me. I tried not to watch as he moved about the room. I really did try. But, I wasn't very successful.
"What are you typing over there?" He asked even though I hadn't pressed a button since he had walked into the room. Was he teasing me? Did he know I was focusing on him rather than on my laptop?
"Hmm, I'm just working on an assignment that has to be submitted by the end of next week. It's proving to be more difficult than I expected." I shrugged my shoulders in an attempt at nonchalance.
"What's the subject? Maybe I can help?" He offered and I could not stop the heat rising to the surface of my cheeks.
"I have to write about society's view of women and how that trickles down to everyday life."
"Oh."
That's all he could think of as a response? Typical Edward would be all over me for something like this. I just handed him a prime opportunity to make some type of crude remark and he didn't take it. I wasn't yet accustomed to nice Edward. Being around him was too unnerving. I felt the bed shift and looked over to find Edward sitting on the edge of the bed with a strange look on his face. I so wasn't in the mood for another awkward moment like the ones we had been sharing these past few weeks. Instead of giving him the chance to continue his seduction mission, I opened my mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.
"So, you want to help? I'm sure your perspective on this would be very interesting. After all, you certainly have lots of experience dealing with women." Sarcasm practically oozed out with my words.
The glare he gave me almost made me regret my words. But he cleared his expression quickly and sat straighter before answering. I was a little afraid of what he was going to say. I had obviously struck a nerve. Part of me felt a little guilty. But, I didn't say anything that wasn't true.
"Women are an enigma. Every time I think I have them figured out, one throws me a curve ball. I may have a reputation as a lady's man, but I'm afraid the truth would disappoint you, Miss Swan." His tone was harsh yet soft at the same time. How did he do that?
"Edward, have you forgotten that I practically lived at your house our junior and senior years? I saw proof of your promiscuity on a regular basis." And that was putting it mildly.
"You really think I slept with all those girls? Wow, you really do have a piss poor impression of me then. Thanks for assuming the worst."
He was on the other side of the room in an instant and I was left wondering how I could end up feeling guilty when he was the one who had tortured me by flaunting his parade of girls any chance he got. Every time I spent the night with Alice, Edward made sure I knew when he had a girl with him. His argumentative reaction made absolutely no sense.
"You made it your priority to make sure I knew exactly what you and those girls were doing. If Alice and I weren't around, you sought us out to insure we were fully aware of who you were with and what you were planning on doing with her. So, don't you dare stand there and act all high and mighty. I didn't assume anything; you made the reality of what was going on behind your closed bedroom door all too perfectly clear." Tears were escaping by the end of my little tirade.
I turned my face away trying to hide my traitorous reaction. For once I wanted to be angry without turning into a blubbering mess. I really did not want him to know how much I was still affected by his actions from all those years ago. He did not need to become privy to his power over me. I heard him sigh from the other side of the room but I ignored him and continued to stare at the wall trying to stop the tears. Perhaps tomorrow I would look for a bus station and high tail it back to Forks. Of course, that would just be repeating exactly what I had done when I was eighteen. Running hadn't been the right answer then and it likely wasn't this time either. Hopefully, I would feel better in the morning.
"Bella, look at me please," Edward pleaded softly at my side. I hadn't even realized he was so close.
When I didn't acknowledge his request, his long fingers gently grabbed hold of my chin and turned my head until he could see my face. His expression was so sad. Then he noticed my tears and shock seemed to take up residence in his eyes.
"Shit, Bella, I didn't mean to make you cry. You just make me so crazy sometimes. Can I just apologize for what a total ass I was to you back then so that we can move forward?" He sounded so remorseful and sincere but I was still so unsure.
"Edward, it doesn't matter. You were just being a typical teenager trying to get your sister mad or whatever. I get it. I just don't know why you want to deny that your sex life is anything but dull." My shoulders slumped in defeat once I finished speaking. I was exhausted and hungry.
"Why don't we just order room service for dinner and call it a day? Tomorrow we will push ahead and try to put the past behind us. Deal?" He asked as he reached for my hand.
I wanted to so badly to believe in the words he spoke. I needed to be able to get over the hurt I felt, but I just wasn't sure it could be so easy. Maybe trying this his way was my only option. My head bobbed up and down in answer since I did not think my voice was up to the task. He smiled brightly and reached out to squeeze my hand in his.
"Do you remember what happened the other night at the club?" His question made all thought process freeze. Apparently, he knew what occurred during those hours I could not remember. Oh boy, this should be interesting.
"Everything after Rose and Alice yanked me off the dance floor is a blur. I vaguely recall being forced to drink a whole glass of water, but nothing is clear. I woke up in the guest room a little concerned about how I had gotten there and how I had managed to change into an ill-fitting t-shirt." Sheesh, why was I telling him all this?
He laughed heartily at me for a moment before clearing up part of the mystery. "That was my shirt and I helped you get into it."
I wanted to smack that smirk right off his face.
A/N: So...how do you think the rest of this little journey is going to pan out? I'm curious. These two would have a blast if they'd let themselves give into all the sexual tension swirling around them. Wonder when Edward will finally get into Bella's tight pants :-)
