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Fun fact, I'm terrified of worms.
Chapter 8
"You couldn't call the vessel I was about to step foot on a boat. A dingy. perhaps, with it's faded blue paint that now looked gray. The holes were patched up with odd bits of wood and rusty nails. If it floated, it would be a miracle," I began.
I was doing it. Standing in front of the crowd of a few friends and even more strangers, I was telling a little story of the pre-teen Bella Swan and her grizzly, papa Charles. My notebook containing that tale was clutched in my hands. The metal rings dug into my palms, but I didn't glance at the words I had scribbled into the book. They seemed like jumble mess of adjectives and verbs that couldn't coherently explain the world that made me into the woman I was today.
I saw Edward and Garrett's eyes on my shaking limbs. I could hear Garrett's whispered words of encouragement. I could feel the impression of Edward's lips seared onto mine.
Alice and Angela were already grinning. They knew this nautical adventure well. My memory had the story permanently etched into my mind. It was like I was watching a movie, not talking to the audience.
My father loved fish. He would cast his reel and sit for hours under the blazing sun to catch a shoe, an old sweater and once a flat tire. The water near Forks wasn't the cleanest, as I looked out into their murky depths. My dad held out a jar full of brown worms, interrupting my inspection of the algae. "These boys will be your best friends."
I looked at him like he was nuts. '"No worms, Dad.'"
"They don't bite, girl!"
You would imagine they wouldn't due to lack of teeth, but they were sneaky. It was important to remember that if you cut a worm in half they become two. Things that can do that trick should never be trusted.
More damaging to my psyche was that Seth Clearwater used to throw them at me when I was four and he was three. He wore large glasses on his tiny face and a Scooby Doo tee-shirt covered in jelly stains as he chased me around the playground yelling, "Snakes!"
I believed him.
The kid was a menace.
I carefully fled the wiggling, slimy tubes by getting into the death yacht. I told my father, "I brought American cheese."
"For a snack? I brought pretzels and those juices in the plastic barrels you like!"
I liked them when I was five.
"We use the cheese to catch some fish," I explained.
"That will never work," he disagreed, as we headed away from the the docks and further out into the brackish water. "I brought you out for a reason other than fishing, kiddo."
I looked up into the darkening skies. "I'm guessing to teach me how to learn to survive a sinking cruise ship using a barely floating canoe."
He snickered, as we cast our lines. His baited with the evil, earth eaters and mine with the finest cheese that came out of a plastic wrapper.
"Want some cheese, Daddy? It's yummy!"
"Smart ass," he muttered. In a louder voice he said with a nervous laugh, "We need to discuss boys."
I was all of twelve with knobby knees and pancake breasts. Boys weren't interested in me and I wasn't interested in them. I looked at my father with wide eyes. "No, Daddy!"
"See there's these bees and they pollinate birds." He looked at the water in confusion. "That doesn't make sense."
Not at all.
He tried again, "Bees pollinate the flowers."
"Am I bee?"
"I think you're a flower." He played with the line on his rod.
I thought about it for a second. Wasps with stingers, tweeting wrens or delicate flowers? "I'd rather be a bee. They're cooler. They cause maximum damage."
"That's true," my dad agreed. "You're a smart girl. Maybe Angie's mom can explain this stuff?"
She could indeed with a whopping help of Jesus on the side. My friend Angela had already gotten a talk that contained pearls of wisdom about keeping knees together and daily scripture reading. I had no clue what that had to do with bees and birds. I guessed I never would.
"I don't like boys, Daddy."
"A very smart girl. Let's keep it that way."
That's when I felt a pull. A tug. There was something at the end.
"You got something, Bells!" My dad exclaimed with a cheer.
My father helped me start pulling and it was indeed a big, old fish of unknown origin.
He was a tough, old sea dweller who fought us hard for his freedom, until—
Splash!
We ended in the freezing water and it started pouring rain.
We swam back to the shore as the rain slowly stopped. My sneakers made a squeaking noise as we hopped over puddles in the parking lot. The sun peeked out of the clouds and my father and I stood next to the truck our clothing dripping wet with grins on our faces.
"I'm proud of you, kiddo," Dad patted my shoulder awkwardly. "You caught a big one. You must take after your old man."
"Dad, you never caught a big one. Those worms are junk."
My father frowned. "The worms work just—"
"You should have gone with the cheese."
He rubbed my head and muttered, "Smart ass."
The image of that day faded and was replaced by a sea of faces. I finished my story nervously, "From that day on my father fishes with American cheese and he still hasn't caught a damn thing."
There was a small amount of applause from the crowd. The loudest coming from Alice and Angie which wasn't a surprise. They were always my biggest cheerleaders.
Edward and Garrett both stood and approached the microphone. We stood in a triangle staring at each other.
"You didn't use your notes." Garrett pointed to my hand that was still gripping the notebook so tightly it made muscles ache.
"I decided to wing it," I said with a smile that didn't reflect my insides that were screaming of embarrassment. I felt ridiculous.
Garrett gave me a hug. "You did great, sweetheart! Worms? That's what frightens you?"
Those slimy devils and handsome boys.
"Don't ever give me gummy worms as a gift. I'll scream," I admitted, moving away from Garrett's firm grip.
Edward came closer and took my chin in his fingers. His eyes stared into mine. "It worked."
"What worked?" I asked. His fingers felt like magnets on my skin. I was drawn to his touch.
That smile and the twinkle in his eye pulled me in like the fish in my story. "The good luck kiss."
His finger stroked my lips. Edward Cullen was a dangerous man.
I was spun around and found myself dipped backwards. Garrett stated boldly, "Here's a kiss of congratulations!"
Garrett's lips hit mine. That man was an amazing kisser that almost ranked up with Edward in kissing prowess. Close, but not quite.
I was put upright quickly, the action making me woozy. I gasped, "We're just friends!"
Garrett winked. "We'll see."
If Edward could make Garrett spontaneously combust with a glare he would. His fists were tight and ready for action. He was pretty strong, but I had a sneaky suspicion that Garrett's military background would make him the victor.
Luckily, the boys who inhabited the round table were a horny lot.
Liam stood on a chair to address his comrades. "Boys! We must give congratulatory smooches to our dear Guinevere! Next, we bestow them on the fair ladies, Angela and Alice. That way they will truly become members of our merry band!"
Laughter filled the room and Mike tripped almost tripped over his own feet to get to me. He tried to get to my lips, but I moved my head away and he fell into my ear. It was enough for Edward to let out a reluctant chuckle and the tension in the air dissipated.
It was a free for all and I was having random men press their mouth on me. Angela had a lip lock on Liam. Eric was kissing the men and claiming it was an accident. He exclaimed, "I thought you were Bella!"
It was such a joyful time in that bar and extremely loud. Garrett was carrying a tray of drinks to the table. In the commotion, Edward pulled me into a booth. His face light and happy. "I need to do one more thing as your friend."
I rolled my eyes. "Another kiss? I think my mouth is broken by the fools in this establishment. I better not get the flu, because I'm coming after all of you!"
"Damn it! I was going to give you a congratulations peck as the bookend for the earlier good luck kiss." He tapped my nose. "I can't get enough of this cute little thing."
"Fine. You get one more and then you are cut off, friend." He made me feel like a school girl with her first crush.
He kissed my nose.
I kissed his back. "We're even."
"Never," he disagreed. Edward pressed his forehead to mine.
That's when I heard a yell from an irate lawyer. "Alice, what are you doing?"
I peeked my head over the top of the booth and saw sweet Alice in Alec's arms. Her lips a deep red with use. Jasper looking livid with a shocked Ben and cackling Emmett behind him.
My sister brightly chirped, "Hi Jazz! Let me introduce you to my new friend, Alec!"
Edward's head was next to mine. "You ladies sure bring the drama."
I elbowed him in the side, but couldn't disagree.
We sort of did bring the drama. Oops.
