A/N: As always, thanks to my awesome beta HammondGirl (twilighted). Thanks to everyone who's reviewed this. I like to know your thoughts and oppinions and it makes my day when I see you in my inbox. Thanks for being so awesome. Sorry I don't really respond, I didn't even know I could until recently. lol, how lame am I? But I appreciate them all, so THANK YOU!!!
I don't have anything else real interesting to say, so let's just get to the point...
Complimentary Colors
~E~
Edward headed home from his first twenty-four hour shift at the station, exhausted. It was always tiring to learn the ropes of a new job.
After cleaning up the Swan shed fire, there hadn't been much official work to do, so George had given him a book of Washington State and Clallam County procedures to read over. He'd studied it until he felt cross-eyed, then he won a bet with Tyler over which of them could make the best French toast in the morning. His mother Esme's recipe couldn't be beat. Since the loser also had to make lunch, there hadn't been a lot for him to do in the afternoon. He'd had, in his opinion, way too much time to think - A problem he'd remedied with a long, intense, and mostly mindless work-out with the weight-set and treadmill at the station.
He hadn't been able to get what he'd learned about Bella out of his mind. Something about her story was haunting him. She'd been through something terrible, and yet she was able to put her life back together. When he'd seen her the morning before, she had been glowing - thriving in her store. People around her were happier. There was just something about her…
He shook his head at himself. This train of thought would only get him into trouble. He was worn out and not thinking straight. She wasn't special; she was just another girl. Another risk he wasn't ready for.
He pulled up to the house, looking forward to a quiet pizza, which was on the passenger seat next to him, and an early bed-time.
Alice yanked open the door before he'd even mounted the porch steps. "Where have you been?" she demanded, hands on hips, eyes glaring. They rested on the pizza box he was carrying and narrowed accusingly as she pointed, "And what is that?"
Edward rolled his eyes. "It's pizza? A new thing the Italians came up with. It's great! It's got a crust and cheese and tomato sauce…"
"Shut up." She glared at him. "And don't tell me you forgot."
He stared blankly at her for a long moment. Then he noted the smudge of flour on her check and the apron that was tied around her waist to protect her 'company clothes.' He groaned. "Oh no."
"Oh yes," she snapped. "Angela, her husband, and Bella Swan are going to be here in half an hour, and since I had to set the table myself, I'm running behind. Go upstairs and clean up so you can let them in." She moved out of the doorway as she spoke and headed back to the kitchen, shouting orders over her shoulder as she went. "Your green shirt and khaki slacks are on your bed. And if you come down here in those horrible navy socks you love, I'll kill you." She paused long enough to turn around and glare menacingly at the pizza box as if it were a dead rodent. "And get rid of that thing."
Ben was a happy, easy going guy. Edward liked him immediately. He worked for the local paper, and was also a correspondent for the Seattle Times. He was good at interviews and at making people comfortable in conversation. His mother had spent a few years in Chicago after her divorce from his father, so they soon found common ground in discussing Chicago's restaurants. It was a conversation which made Edward a little homesick, especially since he had recently discovered what Pacific Northwesterners accepted as 'pizza.'
Angela and Bella had disappeared into the kitchen to give Alice a hand, but not before Bella elbowed Ben in the ribs on the way in and whispered intensely, "We're not finished!"
Ben chuckled and Angela had shaken her head and muttered, "Oh please, you guys."
For a moment, Edward worried that there was a serious argument going on amongst them, but when Bella looked over her shoulder on the way by and winked at Ben, he knew, as his heart hit the floor, that it was some sort of joke.
He didn't have long to dwell on it though, because after a few minutes Alice announced that dinner was ready.
Bella bit her lower lip throughout the entire meal. It was driving Edward insane. She kept glancing up at Ben and shaking her head with a small smile on her face.
Edward was sure the three of them had arrived together. He could only see one car in the back driveway when he'd opened the door. He tried not to stare at Bella. He felt oddly self-conscious - as though somehow, just by looking at him, Bella would know that he knew all about her tragic past. He avoided eye-contact with her, choosing to watch Ben and Angela instead, which turned out to be a mistake as well.
All through the meal Angela would elbow Ben in the ribs if he started to speak to Bella. "Not now," she would hiss, and then she'd glance apologetically at Alice.
If Alice noticed anything, she didn't let on. While she led Angela into a discussion about new curtains for the kitchen, Bella and Ben continued to exchange mocking smiles across the table. Ben would nod knowingly, and then Bella would roll her eyes and shake her head in reply. The silent argument was making Edward uncomfortable, and the never-ending décor conversation was making him feel left out. The meal, while Alice had made everything delicious, seemed to be never-ending. Also, since he'd hid in his room and ate a good half of the pizza before destroying the evidence, he wasn't all that hungry.
He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he wished Bella would look at him with that small, exasperated smile.
When they were finished eating, Ben praised the meal endlessly. "Those potatoes were amazing Alice!"
"Thanks." Alice laughed as she pushed back her chair and said, "The secret is lots and lots of butter. Not real healthy, but worth it."
"Totally worth it," Ben agreed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Do you mind if I step outside for a smoke?"
"I'll go with you." Bella jumped up and heading out the door before anyone else could speak.
Edward looked at Angela in surprise. "She smokes?"
"Let me help you with these Alice." Angela rose to her feet and rolled her eyes at Edward as she began stacking plates. "No, she doesn't. But they're… they're having this - discussion. It's an ongoing debate." She shook her head and laughed. "It's actually sort of embarrassing. They've been arguing about this stuff since junior high. I don't understand any of it. I'm going to have to separate them if they really get going, and then we won't get to stay and play that new game Ben brought. It's out in the car."
Alice watched Edward look longingly at the front door and smiled to herself. "Go outside with them and get that game. You're no help in here."
"Alright." Curious, Edward pushed back from the table and headed for the porch. Through the window he could see Ben laughing, and Bella, who was acting perfectly serious, waving her hands in the air to make a point.
The screen was closed, but the door was opened and Bella's voice carried to Edward as he paused in the foyer. "No Ben! I'm telling you you're wrong! It's fanon!"
Ben chuckled as he said, "It can't be. You're wrong. Everyone knows that Yoda was Qui-Gon's Jedi Master. Ev-er-y-one!"
She was shaking her head while he spoke. "That's what makes it fanon Ben. It's widely accepted by the fandom, but it's not expressly canon. That's the definition of fanon! They never say it's a fact in any of the movies. Not once. It's fanon."
"Ah ha!" Ben flicked his cigarette away, but continued to lean on the porch rail. "So you're operating under the belief that only the movies dictate what's canon and what's not –"
"No, I'm operating under the truth - that only the creations of George Lucas are canon."
Ben was shaking his head as he replied, "There's so much more to the Star Wars universe than what George created. He doesn't know the half of it, and apparently, neither do you."
Bella dropped her arms and leaned against the rail beside Ben, defeated. "I can't win with you."
"You could, if you were being reasonable. But you aren't."
"You're impossible. I don't know how Angela puts up with you," Bella stated with mock sadness, while Ben laughed.
Edward continued to stand in the doorway, unable to believe his ears. Star Wars? This girl with the devastating and mysterious past, who looked so small and delicate, who painted row-boats and mountains at sunrise, and who was the owner of a very impressive little business was getting into a flushed debate over Star Wars? Who was this Bella Swan?
He felt compelled to step through the screen-door and find out. "Ben." He pushed open the screen and stepped toward them, wracking his brain for an excuse. "Angela asked me to ask you to get some sort of game out of the car?"
"Oh right!" Ben quickly headed toward the porch steps. "Yeah, sure. I'll be just a minute. You guys are going to love this." Edward waited until he had disappeared behind the house before he looked at Bella.
She was clearly uncomfortable, but in the moonlight it was hard to tell if she was blushing. She was beautiful. The soft blue light of the evening was reflecting off of her face. Her eyes were wide and deep. Edward knew he was staring at her, but couldn't seem to help himself. He was remembering everything he'd learned about her in the last few days, and thinking about how incredible she was. With their eyes locked, he took a step toward her.
Bella watched his eyes on her, and felt the intensity in his gaze. It was the first time she had looked - really looked - at his face. It was beautiful; the moon cast a glow in the green eyes that were watching her so carefully. The sober grimace that she'd seen on his face both times they'd met was gone. The lines between his eyes were smooth, making them seem bigger, more intense. The silence was ringing in her ears. She couldn't seem to pull in enough air to breathe.
"You really have to stop doing that," he said quietly, as he stopped right in front of her.
"Doing what?" She didn't like how her voice was shaking, how her thoughts were tangled in knots.
"Biting your lip like that," he replied softly, and let one hand reach forward to touch the ends of her hair. Her mind went blank.
"Why?" she asked; it was barely a whisper.
"Because," he said as he leaned forward and searched her face, "it makes me want to do this."
His lips rested on hers for one still moment, taking what was left of her breath away. They were unexpectedly soft and warm. The hand that had stroked her hair now came up to cup her face, while his other pressed firmly into the small of her back, so that even if she'd wanted to step away, she couldn't.
His scent clouded her thoughts and made her head spin. She instinctively grasped his arms to keep from losing her balance. His hand moved from her face to the back of her neck, and she felt her skin erupt into flames and goose-bumps.
She sighed against his mouth, and the sound shot straight to his gut. It took all of his self control not to deepen the kiss, but to pull himself back. There was electricity in the air - between them, all around them. They both sucked in deep breaths before he finally summoned the courage to look at her face.
She was visibly trembling, and her lip was caught in her teeth again. Her eyes were downcast, and she was playing with a bracelet on her wrist, afraid to look up at him. She couldn't figure out what had just happened, or why.
Edward needed to see her eyes, so he reached for her chin and forced her eyes up to meet his.
There wasn't the anger he expected, or the regret he feared in her expression. Those emotions, he concluded, were what he felt against himself. He shouldn't have acted purely on instinct. Curiosity and attraction were not enough of an excuse for his behavior. He'd kissed her; out of the blue, completely on a whim, without permission... She didn't know him, or anything about him. He'd barely spoken ten words to her in the three days that they'd known each other; if you could even call it, "known." He'd been brief, even rude, to her the two times they'd met. For all he knew, she was afraid of him. And then, on their third meeting, he'd kissed her without warning and she merely looked bewildered. The deep chocolate eyes that were looking up at him were wide and confused. He hated himself.
He wanted to kiss her again.
"It's called Settler's of Catan." Ben's voice travelled to them from around the corner of the house. The sound of his feet approaching on the gravel shook them from their separate and confusing thoughts. "It's technically a four person game, but I bought an extension set online, so we can all play…" His voice trailed off as he came up the steps and actually looked at them.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Edward didn't know what to say.
"No Ben, I was just telling, uh, Edward that I'm going to have to call it an evening," Bella said, forcing a smile. "I have a lot of new inventory to price tonight, before opening tomorrow, and… um, Renee sent me an e-mail I should answer soon. You know how she is..."
"Right." Ben spoke slowly. "Well, okay then. Um, 'night Bella."
"'Night." She hurried down the steps toward Ben's truck. "Thank your sister for me." Edward noticed that she didn't look directly at him.
"Sure," Edward replied, and then looked at Ben in confusion. "Doesn't she need a ride or something?"
Ben shook his head as an engine roared to life. It wasn't Ben's truck; it was something smaller, concealed from view behind it. "She followed us here on her bike," Ben called over the roar of the engine. "She'll be fine. Let's get this game started." Ben opened the screen and went inside.
Edward couldn't move his feet. Even after the small figure in a black leather jacket, riding a machine that was twice her size, peeled on the gravel and sped out of sight, he stood there.
He didn't know what he felt, but it was big. It was centered somewhere in his chest, and it was weighing him down.
A/N: Okay, that was my first kiss scene. I know you're thinking it was, like, nothing, and you're right. But there will be more and bigger kissing scenes to write in this fic in the future and I just need to know if this was a failure or success. Thoughts? Anyone?
