Author's Notes: Yay for reaching 300 reviews! Thanks everyone! It's finally the weekend again, so hoorah for another update! This is the one you guys have ALL been waiting for, trust me. Or well, part of what you've been waiting for at least. This chapter's a long one, so enjoy!
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Hello, Stranger
Chapter Nine
With A Taste of Your Lips
Summary: AU, all human. A college class has everyone pairing up as married couples for 28 days. But how hard would it be to focus on passing the class when you're paired up with your worst enemy's girlfriend? How much worse when you actually started to fall for her? ExB
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Bella Swan
"I know it's not as great as your place," I dropped my keys on top of the kitchen counter and threw off the irritating wedding veil on my head. That thing had gotten me more weird looks and turned up noses than I'd ever gotten in my whole life! "But, this is home."
Edward put his boxes down on the floor and looked around my apartment. At the very beginning, we had decided to switch houses off every week. It was finally my turn to let Edward into my home and I had to admit, I was really skeptical about it. Not only was my apartment messier than his, but it was also smaller. "I like it."
I rolled my eyes and scanned through the mail I'd gotten from my box before we headed up. "You're such a gentleman," I teased, throwing the letters down on the counter as well. "you don't have to lie. It's all I could manage to afford."
"All you could manage to afford?" Edward seemed surprised. "You work at Java Monster. How are you able to afford this?"
"Well, all my money goes towards paying the rent. But I had money I had saved up and my parents help me out every so often."
"I see," he mused.
I nodded and put all of my mail onto the night stand by my bed, walking back out to the sad excuse of a living room where Edward still was. The calendar hanging on the wall caught my eye since Monday was circled a lot of times with, "PARTY AT BEN'S, DO NOT FORGET" scribbled in Angela's handwriting across it.
"What's today?" I asked Edward.
"Monday." he replied, laying back on the couch.
It took a while to process in my head, but I finally remembered. "Crap! It's Ben's surprise party." Angela had been talking about it for weeks since she had gone over the top with planning it all out. Since I was with Edward all of last week, it totally slipped my mind. I pulled out my cell phone to look at the time and saw that it was 6:43. I groaned loudly and slapped my forehead, scrambling around to look for a towel and an outfit I could wear. "Sorry, Edward, but I have to get ready. I completely forgot about this one party and if I don't show up, Angela will seriously kill me." I sprinted to the bathroom and turned the knobs, letting it run so the water would be warm. "You can stay here and watch TV if you want. Or you can catch up on some sleep? I shouldn't be back too late, maybe midnight at latest."
He stayed on the couch and watched me run in and out of my room in panic, chuckling softly. "Is this party strictly invitation only, or do you just not want me to come along?"
I blinked at him repeatedly, wondering if he actually wanted to go. "Umm. I don't think it'd be a problem at all because Angela has met you. Did you... want to come?"
Edward ran his fingers through his hair and sat up. "The cappuccino really did the trick. I'm not as tired anymore and I don't really want to sit here and do homework while you're out having fun."
I sighed in relief. I hadn't even thought of asking Edward to come along and since he brought it up, I was more than glad to know I'd at least have someone to talk to. I knew most of the people who were going to be there but not that well. And even though Angela and I were good friends, I knew she'd be busy entertaining guests or she'd be around Ben most of the time since it was his birthday after all. "Can you drive there?" I finally asked after thinking to myself for a while.
"Don't I always?" he pointed out, smirking a little. "Your ancient truck has yet to earn my trust."
"Hey! My truck is old enough to be your car's grandfather. Have some respect for your elders!"
Edward's laugh echoed throughout the room I walked out of as I smiled as well and jumped into the warm and welcoming shower.
We arrived at the party a little later than expected, which was my fault completely. I'd taken too long a shower and was being indecisive about what I wanted to wear. Edward, on the other hand, was showered and dressed with fresh breath before my hair even had a chance to dry. I would never understand how easy it was for guys to just throw on an outfit and be satisfied with it.
As soon as I walked in with Edward right behind me, Angela came and threw her arms around me, screaming ecstatically. "I'm so happy you remembered, Bella! Thank you so much for coming!"
I giggled at her exuberance and hugged her back. "It's my pleasure, Ang."
Angela pulled away from our embrace and smiled at Edward politely. "I'm glad you could make it too, Edward. It's good to see you again." She turned back to me and gave me another hug. "There's food in the kitchen if you get hungry. I'd love to stay and talk but I have to go take care of a million other things."
I waved her off. "It's fine, don't even worry about it. I've got Edward to keep me company."
She smiled knowingly and straightened out the imaginary wrinkles on the knee-length skirt she was wearing. "If you see Ben, can you please wish him a happy birthday?"
"Of course." I replied, shooing her off since I knew she had other guests to greet.
I ran into a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while as Edward and I walked around the crowded house. I made sure to introduce him to everyone and surprisingly enough they were all friendly to him. A lot of Ben's friends were also friends with Jacob, and I couldn't help but be glad that they were all mature enough to not pick sides or ask for the full story of what happened between us.
"Bella!" I heard Ben call from across the room. He put his beer down and made his way over to me, scooping me in his arms for a big hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in so long!"
I laughed when he put me down on my feet. "I know, I'm sorry. I've been busy. But, happy birthday! How's it feel to be 22-years old?"
He grinned and shook his head. "Nothing different. You'll understand when it's your turn."
"Which isn't until September," I pointed out. "Oh, and by the way. Ben, this is Edward. Edward, this is Ben, Angela's boyfriend."
"Happy birthday, Ben." Edward said as they shook hands. "I get where you're coming from with the 22 thing. At least you get to drink legally when you turn 21, but 22 comes with no type of benefit, right?"
"Exactly!" Ben laughed and bumped fists with him. "I like him, Bella!"
After they had talked a little more, Ben returned to his beer and continued to say hello to everyone else who had decided to come. We decided to call it a night around 11 once we had eaten a bit and made more conversation with some of the other people there. We were on our way out before that deep voice I knew all too well stopped us.
"Bella!"
Although I should've expected to run into him, I was seriously just really sick of it. "Sorry, Jacob, we're kind of on our way out."
"You've been here and you didn't even say hi?" he asked, a little shocked.
My eyes traveled to see Leah standing a few feet behind him, laughing and conversing with one of her friends she had probably just ran into. "Hi, Jacob." I hoped that was good enough for him. "We were just leaving."
I felt Edward's hand on the small of my back, pushing me towards the door. I'm pretty sure he knew exactly how I was feeling. I could do without seeing Jacob's face for the rest of the night, or even for the rest of the week.
"Hey, wait up." Jacob called out, walking in front of the door so we couldn't leave. "How about a game of beer pong, Cullen?"
This annoyed me. Not only was Jacob underage, but he was asking Edward to play when he knew he was the designated driver. I don't know what he was trying to pull, but if all he was aiming for was to piss me off, it was working.
"No thanks." Edward replied sourly, his brows furrowing when Jacob wouldn't move.
"Okay, then how's about a game of Bullshit?" He asked, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.
"I have better things to do than sit around and watch you bluff over cards." Edward replied with a snort.
Jacob laughed and smiled at me, winking. "What's the matter, Cullen? You scared?"
That seemed to catch Edward's attention.
"I mean if you think you're going to lose, that's understandable. Your family never seemed to be one that could deal well with competition anyway."
My eyes widened and I suddenly wanted to slap Jacob across the face. It always came down to that damn family drama between them and I was getting sick of it. "Edward, you don't have to--"
"I'm in." he said automatically, joining Jacob and the other boys at the table.
"You can't be serious." I groaned. What was with boys and their unending needs to constantly prove they were better than the other? I would never understand they saw in competition. "You're not even old enough to drink legally, Jacob! What the hell is wrong with you?"
Jacob flashed a smile at me as someone poured alcohol into the shot glasses lined up on the table. "It's the same old game of BS everyone has played for years. Except we all take a shot every time all of us take a turn. The purpose of the alcohol is to mess up your ability to be coherent, so whoever wins, more power to you."
I looked at the guys sitting to see who was playing. Edward, Jacob, Ben, Mike Newton, and one of Jacob's long time friends, Embry Call were all around the table.
"You make the call, Cullen. How much are we all playing for?"
I don't know how many times I slapped my forehead, but I did it again. It was bad enough that they were going to be taking shots of alcohol, and now they insisted on playing for money. Fucking great!
Without a word, Edward reached into his back pocket and threw down two twenty dollar bills. Everyone followed his lead and threw in their share. There were five guys, five shot glasses, bottles of alcohol and two hundred dollars laid out on the table.
"Alright, boys, you all know the rules." Mike started. "First player to get rid of all their cards wins the share. There's three jokers we threw in to make the deck even. If you end up having one in your deck, use it to your advantage. No complaining if you make the wrong call and no excuses on not taking the shot." He raised his shot glass and every guy sitting around the table did the same. "Cheers!"
Their glasses all hit against each other and before I could blink, every guy had downed the alcohol easily. There were no chasers, so this was bound to get bad and fast. I guess the role of the designated driver was me now.
"What's going on?" Angela came up from behind, arching a brow at the boys around the table.
"They're playing BS." I groaned as I heard their shot glasses hit against each other once more. "The alcoholic version."
Angela laughed lightly and patted my shoulder. "At least his car isn't stick shift, right?" She pulled on my shirt gently, motioning with her head to the pool table. "Come on, they won't be done for a while. I'll keep you company."
I looked back at the boys, inwardly grinning as I saw Edward call bullshit on Mike. Mike groaned and grabbed the cards that had piled up in the middle.
"Nice one!" Ben laughed, high-fiving Edward as they started up again.
"Edward's made friends with your boyfriend, so I think he'll manage on his own." I laughed and followed Angela into room where people were playing Rock Band and pool.
After about an hour, Angela and I went back to the boys to check up on them. Two of the bottles of alcohol were already empty, there was a huge pile of cards in the middle, and Edward and Jacob seemed to both be in the lead since they had the least amount of cards.
"Hmm," Jacob grabbed a card. "A ten."
"Two jacks." Embry tossed two cards into the pile.
"One queen," Ben followed.
"A king." Mike threw his card into the pile.
One of the spectators poured the drink into their shot glasses once again, and once they were all finished, it was Edward's turn.
He only had three cards left and after staring at them for a brief second, he threw them face down into the pile. His face remained unreadable as he spoke, "Three aces."
"Bullshit." Jacob called, slamming his fist down. "Bull. SHIT."
Edward's mouth curved into a grin as he grabbed the three cards he had put down, flashing them at Jacob's face. "Wrong, my friend." They were in fact, three aces, which meant Jacob had just lost the game. Everyone cheered and hollered as Edward grabbed the twenties, handing them back to the guys. "I can't take your money, I didn't play to win your cash."
I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it was finally over. Before I knew it, Jacob had his arm around my shoulder and was slurring, "Bells. He cheated. Didja see thaaaat?"
My brows furrowed and I tried to get him to balance against the wall. He was obviously drunk beyond his limits. "How did he cheat? You called him out on a bluff when he wasn't lying."
"Whatever, but did you know, I miss ya sooo much. Did I ever tell you that?"
His breath reeked of Jack Daniel's and Jose Cuervo. I hated how incoherent people became under the influence of alcohol. "Jacob, you're drunk. Go lie down."
He snorted and wobbled on his feet. "I'm not drunk, Bells. You're drunk."
"I haven't had anything to drink." I countered, steadying him against the same wall. "I'm going to head home now, alright?" Once I had him leaning against the wall for support, I walked off and tried to find Edward so I could finally get out of there.
"Bells!" Jacob came stumbling behind me and I almost tumbled over when he fell into my arms. "Gimme a kiss, before you leave, hm?"
I struggled to stay on my own feet since he seemed to be putting all his weight on me. "Jacob! Get off!" With all the strength I could muster, I shoved him off as he wobbled on his feet and collapsed into the arms of someone else.
"Leah!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
My eyes averted back to him and immediately I regretted it. Right there in front of my face for the second time in a few days, Jacob had pulled Leah's face in for an alcohol-influenced kiss. She must've smelled the liquor and tasted it on his lips since she pulled away and examined his face, wiping her hands across his forehead since his face was hot and a bit sweaty.
I exhaled through my nose and turned away into another room to find Edward. I needed to get out of there - and fast - before I had the chance to punch his teeth in again. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I heard the hoots and hollers of everyone and something that sounded like a table falling over. I ran back to where I'd just been and gasped in horror.
Edward and Jacob were on the floor taking hits at each other before Ben and Embry came to pull them off each other. Leah seemed just as horrified as I was and went to chase after them. My heart rate increased as I ran over to Ben and Edward. "Oh god, Ben, I'm so sorry!" I don't know what happened, but I really hoped this hadn't had ruined his birthday.
He chuckled softly and shook his head. "Don't even worry about it, Bella. I just need to clean this mess up a bit." The smell of alcohol was fresh in Ben's breath and I was stupefied at how well behaved he was, even while being drunk. I felt horrible.
"What happened?" I choked out as I watched Ben sit Edward down on the couch.
"Jacob was talking about Edward's family being conniving assholes, or something like that? Saying they'd never change, they'd always be the liars they've always been. Something along those lines, I couldn't understand him completely." Angela replied, rubbing my arms to try and calm me down.
My cheeks burned in anger after hearing that. Jacob seriously needed to fucking let it go. It years - hell, DECADES ago. As pissed off I was, Edward was my main concern and I wanted to make sure he was alright as soon as possible.
Angela and Ben helped me get Edward into his silver Volvo and once he was securely buckled in, I hugged them both. "I'm so sorry again guys."
She squeezed me tight and laughed. "If anything, he just got everyone more riled up. Everyone suddenly had the desire to play boxing on the Wii."
Ben was wobbling a little but Angela held him up steadily as he pulled me into his arms for a hug. "Don't worry about it at all. Nothing was damaged, so it's fine. Just make sure he's okay. Give me a call if you need any help alright?"
I nodded and waved at them as they walked back inside of the house. Or well, Angela was walking and Ben was stumbling all over the place. The door slammed shut and I grabbed the car key out of Edward's back pocket, not even caring about the awkwardness of it.
"Dammit," I grumbled as I turned the key in the ignition.
"My face hurts kinda." Edward muttered, rubbing at his cheek.
My face faltered at his complaint and if it were any other time, I would've thought it was cute. "Edward Cullen, how could you do something so stupid?!" I felt like a mother scolding their child, but I was mad. Really mad.
Edward sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, wincing at the tone of my voice. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
I threw open the door to my apartment and dragged Edward in, groaning in relief when I finally got him sprawled out on the couch. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to get you some ice." It was pointless for me to try and make conversation with him since he was drunk and probably couldn't comprehend what I was saying, but I did it anyways. As fast as I could, I ran to the freezer and grabbed the ice tray, slamming it against the inside of the sink until the cubes rattled out. I also grabbed two slices of bread and a glass of water, returning to the ice. Once I had them wrapped in a dish towel, I ran back to Edward and put it on his left cheekbone right under his eye.
He hissed and tried to turn away. "Cold."
"I know, but it's going to swell if you don't put this on it," I held the ice there for a few more seconds until he relaxed. "Are you okay?"
His headed moved up and down and I figured he was nodding. "So pretty,"
My heart skipped a beat and I couldn't help but laugh softly. He was drunk and didn't know what the hell he was saying and yet, he still knew how to make me blush. "You're pretty too, Edward."
"You're prettier." Even intoxicated he was still able to pull off that damned crooked grin of his. "Sorry, for hitting Jacob."
"He deserved it." I snorted and brushed the hair from his forehead. It was silky and soft, as I always thought it would be. "I just feel bad he hit you back."
Edward exhaled through his nose and closed his eyes. "I have a headache."
"I know," I sighed and ripped a piece of the bread. "Do me a favor and eat this."
He opened his mouth and I couldn't help but blush like a schoolgirl when I put the bread in. There was nothing to get all flushed over! I was feeding a drunk guy bread so he'd sober up, what was so romantic about that? Inwardly, I groaned and tried to put a hold on myself.
"How's your cheek?" I asked after he swallowed down a few more chunks of bread.
"Stings." he replied simply. I knew he was tired but I had to keep him awake at least until he sobered up a little.
"You shouldn't have even drank."
His green eyes softened and turned to me. "You're mad, aren't you?"
I was, I really was. Edward was smarter than that and he let himself get sucked into Jacob's idiotic games because he wouldn't shut his trap about their family issues. "I'm frustrated that you let him get to you."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."
"But more than anything," I shook my head. "I was so worried when I saw you both on the floor. I don't know your strength, but I know Jacob's. I knew very well how much he was capable of hurting you and I was afraid that the alcohol made it even worse."
Edward's eyes opened again as he stared at me in wonder. It surprised me that he could even have a normal conversation at this point. "You were worried about me?"
"Of course!" I immediately regretted raising my voice since he had flinched a little at my tone. His head was probably still pounding and my yelling wouldn't help him any. "Of course I was worried about you. How could I not be?"
He gave me a crooked grin. "I'll admit, Jacob hit me pretty hard but I made mine count as well. Forgive me, I think I might have broken his nose and re-busted his lip."
I couldn't help but laugh and handed the cup of water to him so he could drink some of it down. "Well, you finally managed to rearrange his face like you promised."
"You're not upset?" he asked as he swallowed most of what was in his cup. I took it from him and went to go refill it. "I didn't want to resort to violence but I couldn't help it."
I took a seat next to him as he sat up and started drinking the water I'd brought over. "As much as I care about Jacob, his behavior lately has just been pissing me off." I shook my head and sighed, remembering his drunk make-out session with Leah that happened right in front of me. "I wish he'd just... make up his mind. He wants me one day, then he wants Leah the next. I can't even imagine how frustrating that must be for her."
"Do you still want Jacob?"
The question surprised me. I turned to face Edward, but he avoided my gaze and continued to nibble at the bread I'd given him earlier. "What makes you think that?"
He shrugged. "You guys have known each other for forever. And, you broke up very recently. It's... normal to still want to be with someone you've been with for a while, right?"
I smiled to myself at how caring he was. "Yes we've known each other for forever basically, but," I paused and Edward turned to me. "I don't think I've ever really loved Jacob in a more than friends way. I mean, yeah, I liked him as more than a friend but it was never more."
I felt his eyes on me and knew he was waiting for me to continue. "Jacob says he loves me, but I never felt the same way. I kept waiting and kept telling myself it'd only be a matter of time until my heart finally felt for him the way he did for me. I wanted to love him, but you can't force something like that to happen. He said he's always loved me, and it didn't matter if I didn't love him the same way yet, because he knew somewhere deep down, I loved him too and that it'd happen sooner or later. It's been maybe, three or four months that Jacob and I have been in an actual relationship and those feelings have yet to surface."
He set his cup down as I went on. "When I opened the door and saw Jacob and Leah kissing, I was so hurt. Not only because he was kissing someone else who wasn't me, but because it was seriously the last thing I was expecting. I felt like I never had to worry about something like that since we've been best friends since we were kids. He knows what hurts me, what makes me cry, what breaks me down. Even if I never found out, it still means he would've done it. He did it thinking I wouldn't find out. It makes me wonder how many times this has happened in the past.
"It felt like my whole world was crashing down around me because the person I trusted the most had betrayed me. I cried so much because I'd never felt that way before. He stabbed me both in the back and in the heart at the same time. I wasn't sure what to do - what I even could do with the situation. It's obvious Jacob's torn right now. He doesn't know what he wants or what he needs. But I'm through with crying and I'm done with being upset. I'm actually kind of glad this happened because if not, I'd be waiting for myself to feel something more for him.. It made me realize, that Billy maybe was right after all." I exhaled and felt my stomach turning at the idea of finally admitting it out loud. "I was being overemotional about it at first because I love Billy like a second father. That he preferred Leah over me, that just made me feel so..." I paused and tried to think of the word I was looking for. "I don't know, unwanted? Second best?"
"Bella," Edward started, but I didn't let him finish. I shook my head and continued on.
"But if Jacob can be happy with Leah, then that's all I want. I've been thinking about it for the past few days and a talk with my dad, surprisingly, helped me realize a lot. He told me that the relationship between Jacob and I and the friendship are two different things completely. I was afraid that because of this whole thing, I'd never be able to look at Jacob the same way. I'll admit, right now, it's really hard to look at him and not be upset because of what he did. I don't think I could ever go back to being his girlfriend, but I do hope someday, eventually, we can be friends again. I just need time away from him is all." I took a deep breath and felt so much better at being able to say it all out loud. "So to answer your question, no I don't want Jacob that way anymore."
Edward's face remained unreadable as he nodded. I wasn't even sure if he had been paying attention to anything I had said.
"Did I bore the living daylights out of you?" I giggled, embarrassed at how long I'd rambled on about my feelings towards the break-up situation.
"Not at all." Edward replied, running a hand through his messy hair. He didn't say anything after that and I didn't mind. I'm sure he didn't really have anything planned to say to that. All I needed was for him to listen and he did just that.
"How are you feeling?" I asked after the silence between us became too much to bear. I put my hands on his cheeks and sighed with relief. "You're not burning up anymore. That's good. I'm just going to get you some Tylenol for your headache," I pushed myself up off the sofa and before I could take another step further, Edward's hand gripped my wrist lightly as he stood up beside me. "What's wrong?" I asked.
He opened his mouth to say something but it looked like he was having an inner battle with what he was trying to tell me. "Bella, I want you to know something." His grip lightened on my wrist as he continued, "The whole family drama with the Black's... I want you to know I was never really involved in it. Alice, Emmett, and I have all tried to distance ourselves from it because we're not Carlisle and Esme's biological kids."
My eyes widened. I had completely forgotten that they were all adopted.
"But Carlisle and Esme don't mention it at all. They rarely ever do. It's just as unimportant to them as it is to us. We all know it's there, we just choose not to acknowledge it since we're all adults. I know you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this, but trust me, I have a point." He ran a hand through his hair again and focused back on me. "Today was the first time any of my family members have taken action upon one of the Black's, so I know I'll be getting a lecture from Carlisle sometime soon."
I wasn't exactly sure if he was drunk babbling because I had no clue where he was trying to go with this explanation. "What are you trying to tell me, Edward?"
He sighed heavily. "I want you to know that I didn't hit Jacob because of what he said about my family. It was when he said Leah was better than you after all, that I had to shut him up."
My mouth dropped open in shock and I quickly placed my hand over it so it didn't look like I was trying to catch flies. "Angela... didn't tell me that part."
Edward shook his head. "I wouldn't expect her to."
I sighed and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples in aggravation. Like I said before, I hated how incoherent alcohol made people sometimes. Then again, I also heard that the truth comes out when you're intoxicated, so maybe that's how Jacob felt all along and was only running back to me because he comfortable with me.
"Bella, I.. Look, I'm.. Ughh...!" He groaned quietly and ran his hand frustratingly through his hair. I was surprised he wasn't balding at how often he did that. His eyes were smoldering with something more he wanted to tell me, and I wished he would just spit it out already.
"Would you just tell me?" I huffed. "Whatever it is, just say it."
His hand ran down his face, placing it on the back of his neck after, sighing softly. "Bella, please don't think any differently of me after I tell you this." I gave him my word through our eye contact and he went on with another long sigh. "I know we've only known each other for what, a week and that you and Jacob just broke up, but, I can't help wanting... to be there for you."
He didn't give me a chance to say anything, not like I even could at the moment. "I kept trying to tell myself to stop because I know you're still upset over this. But when Jacob makes you cry, or when your eyes become so hauntingly depressed, I can't help but reach out to try and make you smile again. I'm not..." Edward paused and put his hand back around my wrist. "I'm not saying I want you to be with me, I just... I want it to be okay with you, me feeling this way. I needed to tell you."
If I had been in a romantic chick flick where the girl swoons and faints because of something sweet a guy had said, I think that would've been my moment.
"Say something." Edward groaned, pulling at his hair again anxiously. It didn't occur to me that I'd just been staring at him blankly. "Or did I just completely scare you off?"
I exhaled the breath I was holding and looked up at him, surprised to see his cheeks with a hint of pink on them. I never thought I'd see Edward Cullen look as flushed as he just did. "No. No, you didn't scare me off. I'm just... surprised." Surprised was an understatement. "And, it's... fine that you feel, that way. I'm flattered. And very glad that you told me."
He smiled at me and pulled my chin up so our eyes were locked. "There's, something I want to try. If it's okay with you, that is."
"Which is..?" I'm sure my voice must've sounded so pathetic.
"Can I kiss you?"
I was sure my face was the brightest shade of red it ever was in my life. It was obvious he was finally sobering up, but I wanted to be completely sure because if I was going to kiss him, I didn't want alcohol to be the reason. "You're drunk though, Edward."
"Not enough to not know what I'm doing. You took good care of me." He shook his head and his green eyes softened. "But if there's any part of you that would be uncomfortable with it, I won't. I want you to tell me if it would be okay or not."
My erratic heart wouldn't calm down as his hand brushed my cheek in a gentle caress. I couldn't even get myself to speak. I wanted to say yes, HELL yes, but the words refused to slip through my mouth as his thumb traced my lower lip. "Bella,"
Instead of embarrassing myself by trying to tell him just how much I wanted him to, I just nodded and closed my eyes, waiting for him to close the small distance between us.
Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. The warmth of his lips finally came against my own and I couldn't help but sigh softly. My hands crawled their way up his chest and my arms locked around his neck to pull him closer. I felt one of his hands on the small of my back and the other holding my face as he gently but passionately parted my lips with his, feeling his warm breath fill my lungs. My heart picked up another couple of beats as I moved my lips feverishly against his own, tangling my fingers in his disheveled hair.
I always wondered what it would be like to kiss him and now that I was, it almost seemed somewhat surreal. I was actually kissing my crush of five years ago! How often did that happen?
Eventually we broke away, much to my dismay. His eyes were shining and his lips had curved into the endearingly sexy grin I had liked so very much. "Wow," he chuckled while inhaling through his nose. "Really, wow."
"I know," I breathed, still running my fingers through his hair. "That was... wow." There were no other words to describe it, but I could honestly say it was absolutely, breathtaking. The fire was still coursing through my veins and my lips still ached to touched by his own. It was seriously like nothing I'd ever felt before. But then again, Jacob had been the only guy I'd ever kissed and it was nothing compared to that.
"Can I ask you something else?" Edward asked, as he continued to caress my face.
"Anything." I answered a little too quickly.
He chuckled. "I really hope I'm not pushing my limits of being forward, but go out on a date with me?"
It was my turn to smile, and shyly I asked, "The first official one?"
"Well, technically yes." he laughed and brushed my hair back gently. "I don't count the dinners we had together. But then again, if you're not okay with it, we won't."
I nodded and bit my lip, surprised at how jumpy my insides were. "I'm okay with it."
He grinned and placed his forehead against mine. "I never imagined I'd still feel this way after so many years. Or well, I'll admit, they faded into the back of my mind after so many years of never running into you, but this week has just reignited them all for me."
Again, I nodded and closed my eyes to enjoy the moment of being so close to him.
"I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered.
Before I could even ask what he meant by that, his lips came down on mine again as my eyes slowly fluttered closed. That's what he was apologizing for - kissing me again. Not like I minded. My hands found their way into his hair again as his came to my hips where they played with the fabric of my shirt. His lips were so soft, so welcoming. He parted my lips with his and I let out a shaky breath, tightening my grip in his hair. Before it heated up any further, there was a loud knock at the door that made both of us tear off each other.
"Ignore them?" he suggested playfully as he nuzzled his face against my hair. "Who would it be at nearly midnight anyway?"
I laughed and pushed his cup of water and unfinished slice of bread at him. "Even though you're pretty much sober, finish it. It will help you not have a hangover tomorrow."
Once he took them both, I walked over to the door and opened it, my mouth literally dropping at the sight of who was on the other side.
"Leah?"
She stood where she was with a drunk, bloody-nosed Jacob hanging on her shoulder.
.
.
.
.
End of Chapter Nine
Author's Notes: YAY THEY FINALLY KISSED! I was trying to debate on whether I wanted to wait it out a little longer, but I figured it was time. They're not together, they just kissed and agreed to go on a date. Don't flame me for moving too fast! I've still got a long ways to go with them! -Shields self from thrown objects- Oh, and about the alcoholic version of BS, it's something my brother plays a lot with his friends. It's more of a testosterone type thing, so I thought I'd try it for this chapter :) Oh yeah, Edward's POV next chapter!
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--Burrberry Bugsy
