A/N: Unbeta'd, though I'm sure you get the idea by now. You all want Renee to play in traffic and take William with her, I see. I love you guys.
Prompt: zero
BPOV
He's in swim trunks again, white this time with a black v-neck t-shirt. It's completely casual but like everything I've seen him in, effortless. As if he's perfected the look without meaning to. We're walking toward each other and I don't miss the way his eyes drop from my face, all the way down to my feet and back up again. Hell, I just did the same thing to him. We stop across from one another and he surprises me by leaning forward and kissing me on the cheek. My eyes close when I feel the slight stubble of his cheek as he slowly pulls away.
"Hi."
I open my eyes at the sound of his voice and find him smiling down at me.
"Hi."
I barely hear my own voice over the sound of the water crashing on the shore. He's so close and I smell the smoky aroma of barbeque and something else. It's faint and masculine, like deodorant or cologne that's faded from the day. He nods his head in the direction he came from.
"You ready?"
I nod and he falls in beside me as we walk. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and I switch my wedges to my left hand so I don't whack him with them.
"I'm glad you made it tonight."
"I am, too."
"There aren't too many people there. Most everybody has to work tomorrow, so it's not too crazy. Just Lee and a few others."
"Sounds good."
I nod, sensing that he's trying to put me at ease and we continue down the beach for a few moments in silence. I get the sudden urge to feel the water and veer in its direction. The sand goes from dry and tepid to wet and cool beneath my feet. The water rushes cold over my toes...my feet...my ankles...all the way to my knees. I don't expect it to come so high so I grab the hem of my skirt and bunch it between my thighs as I squeal, running back to where the tide can't reach.
"Holy shit!"
Edward laughs at me as I hop in place trying to shake the chill from the water. When we begin walking again, he reaches out and barely grazes the side of my skirt with his index finger.
"You know there's no dress code for this thing, right?"
I bump his shoulder with my own and he laughs again.
"Shut up. I came straight from dinner with my mom."
"Ah. The Warden, huh?"
"One in the same."
"Is she really that bad?"
"You have no idea."
I run a hand through my hair and shake my head at him.
"Hey, if you're not up for tonight it's okay."
He says it thoughtfully and I have no doubt that if I bowed out he'd be understanding about it. He must have no idea how badly I want to be where I am right now.
"No, it's actually perfect. My mom..."
I trail off, unsure how to say this or if I should even say it at all.
"She and I want very different things. It means we bump heads. A lot."
He nods down at the sand before looking at me.
"Different things. Like Cornell?"
"Yeah, that's one of them."
"She wants it for you, but you don't."
"Bingo."
"Yet you do it anyway."
I shrug my shoulders.
"It's complicated."
He's quiet for a beat and just when I'm about to change the subject, he speaks.
"What do you want?"
He's so sincere in his curiosity. There's no expectation from him to say the 'right' thing or feel the 'right' way. It's relieving and overwhelming at the same time. A million tiny answers and a few really big ones come to mind, but I hold them back. It feels like too much to talk about. Too heavy. Instead of listing them off, I smile up at him in hopes that he'll take my bait.
"Right now, I just want to forget about it all."
He bites, bowing at the waist and gesturing to the worn sand fence in front of his house with a sweep of his arm.
"Right this way."
.
.
.
The only light outside his house is coming from the lit tiki torches stabbed into ground around the deck. There's no one out here but over the low music coming from the outdoor speakers, I can hear conversation and laughter from somewhere inside the house. I look around and take in more detail than I did the last time I was here. The tops of a few mismatched tables are dotted with several abandoned red plastic cups and beer bottles and a couple of brightly colored beach towels are thrown over the wooden rails of the deck to dry.
I nearly trip over something and reflexively grab onto the closest thing to me – which happens to be Edward's left bicep. His hand shoots out and cups my elbow.
"Whoa. Shit, are you okay?"
I should probably be kind of embarrassed that I almost busted my ass in front of him, but I'm too preoccupied with the way his bicep just flexed beneath my hand. And how to get him to do it again. With a strength I didn't know I had, I steady myself and let go of his arm.
"Yeah. I'm good, thanks."
He bends down to scoop up the offending object – a volleyball - with one hand before tossing it into one of the adirondack chairs behind him. He smiles sheepishly and motions to the open back door, which he opens for me to go through first.
"Sorry about that. I keep telling them not to leave it up here. Come on in."
Whatever conversation was taking place ceases when the screen door slaps shut behind us. Rosalie is sitting on a stool at the island. She's smiling and about to take a pull from her beer bottle when she looks up and sees me. Her smile dies and she rolls her eyes. She doesn't seem surprised, but dismissive. Edward's palm grazes my back lightly, pulling my attention from his moody roommate.
"Guys, this is Bella. Bella, you remember Rosalie." She smiles patronizingly and wiggles her fingers in a wave. I ignore her and listen as Edward introduces everyone else.
"And that's Alice..." He motions to a slight looking brunette sitting on top of one of the kitchen counters. Her hair is cut into a long layered bob and she's wearing a neon green bikini top and cut off jean shorts. Her smile seems genuine, so I return it with my own. "...Jasper..." A guy with dirty blonde hair gathered in a knot at the back of his head is perched on a chair that's tilted back on two feet. The sleeves of his dark plaid collared shirt are rolled to his elbows and his jeans are wrinkled. He nods his head and gives me a tipsy salute with two fingers to his forehead. I smile at his silliness and say hello. "...and Jake." The last guy is tall and darker-skinned with broad shoulders and black hair. He's shirtless, barefoot and wearing what looks like a skirt or maybe a table cloth around his waist. It goes down to his knees and is bright red with tropical flowers all over it. His size and the large patterned tattoo sleeves that cover both arms might be intimidating if it weren't for the gigantic, friendly smile on his face. He waves, bounces his eyebrows up and down and gives Edward two thumbs up.
"Not bad, palangi, not bad."
Edward gives him the finger and everyone laughs, save for Rosalie. It seems good natured enough, so I don't feel offended. Alice hops down from the counter and walks over to me, offering her hand to shake.
"Ignore the boys. They're drunk and, well...stupid. Nice to meet you, Bella."
I take her hand, grateful for the welcome.
"Are they always like this?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Zero class, this bunch."
Glancing over her shoulder, I see Jasper with his head tilted back drunkenly trying to touch the tip of his finger to his nose. He pokes himself in the eye and laughs before falling backward out of the chair. Edward whispers a curse under his breath and brushes lightly past me to help his friend while Jake just points and laughs. Glass breaking cuts through the lightness of the moment as everyone turns in the direction of the sound. Rosalie is throwing empties into a garbage bag at her feet. She ties it in a knot and picks it up before heading out the backdoor without a word.
Jasper breaks the silence as he snickers.
"Ooooooooooooooh. Somebody's maaaaaaaaaad."
Alice rolls her eyes and sighs.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna scrape my husband off the floor and take him home. Hopefully we run into each other again, huh?"
She looks between Edward and I and winks at me. He's too busy helping Jasper up to see her and I shrug, not wanting to look as hopeful as I feel.
"Uh, maybe."
Alice grabs her bag and keys from the island and follows behind Jake and Edward, who each have one of Jasper's arms slung around their necks. Edward looks over to me and mouths that he'll be right back. I nod and Jake pauses to quickly lean in and whisper something to me as they pass. Confused, I smile and nod, making a note to ask Edward about it later.
I sit down on one of the stools and after a couple of minutes, I hear the sound of car doors slamming and engines starting. After a few more minutes pass and Edward still isn't back in, I start toward the backdoor but stop when I hear his and Rosalie's hushed whispers coming from the deck.
"Oh please. Like we don't all know why she's here."
"You don't know anything about her, Lee."
It's the most serious I've ever heard him.
"I know all I need to know. Look at how she's dressed, Edward."
I look down at myself and suddenly feel stupid for not going back and changing earlier.
"Since when does having money make someone a bad person?"
"She's trouble, Edward."
"Don't do this, Rosalie. I've always been there for you. Always. I know how hard it's been-"
"That doesn't have anything to do with this."
"It does and you know it, Lee."
They're quiet for a few seconds before Rosalie speaks.
"I don't like her."
"I do. Don't fuck it up for me."
Deciding that I've pushed my luck far enough, I slink quietly away and back to the stool. Obviously I could tell Rosalie doesn't care for me, but to actually overhear her part in that conversation pretty much sucks. I want to wish I'd never eavesdropped, but without her words I wouldn't have gotten his.
"I do."
The vulnerable, pleading way that he'd said them to her is what caught me off guard. And then I recall his words from yesterday.
"I think you're gonna drive me crazy, Bella Swan."
All his glances. All his smiles. Every purposeful flirtation and the time we've spent together so far. It all flashes through my mind at once and the fear that he wants only one thing from me begins to lose its power.
I look up when I hear the screen door. Rosalie walks through the kitchen and into the back of the house without so much as a glance at me. I hear a door slamming from the direction she stomped off to a few seconds later and turn around to see Edward standing just inside the backdoor.
"Shit. How much did you hear?"
He's running a hand through his hair and looks nervous. It's out of character for him and I can't bear to lie.
"Most of it."
His chin drops down to his chest and he walks over to the fridge and opens it. He pulls out two beers and holds one up in question. I nod and he kicks the door closed, carrying the bottles over and holding the screen door open.
"One last drink before you run screaming for the hills?"
It's meant to be funny, but I can hear the worry in his words. I slide down off of the stool and walk over to him slowly. He's fucking adorable and Rosalie has definitely misjudged me. And underestimated my tolerance. Being spawned by Renee Swan means I don't scare easily. Determination spikes inside me as I slide one of the bottles from his hand and stare up at him.
"Hills? I don't see any hills."
.
.
.
CATFIGHT! Someone get me some Vaseline and a baby pool. Sorry Waveward didn't come out to play yesterday. It was Mr Jada's birthday and I was busy being dutiful. Heh. And the prompt was used lamely. Again. Ugh.
Palangi refers to a white person in Samoan :)
New visuals are up on my profile!
See you tomorrow!
~jada~
