Chapter 10: Nicknames
BPOV
I couldn't help laughing to myself as Edward held the door open for me, he almost walked right through it but then stilled, stepped back and waited until I passed. He was really trying his hardest with this nice thing.
"What's so funny?" he asks, leaning against the lobby's narrow door frame. His arms are crossed against his chest, his leg propped up. I glance up at him shyly from under my lashes before sifting them elsewhere.
"You're really working hard on this generous thing, huh?" I mumble, walking further outside into the brisk New York air. The wind whips against my cheeks and my bangs fly all over the place, slapping my cheeks.
"Nope, this is easy as breathing." he says, smirking. I roll my eyes and post at lean against the solid brown wall behind me. He pulls his hood over his head and stands awkwardly beside me, staring at me in that intense way that only he can do. It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable and, dare I admit, a little inadequate. I may be wearing pretty clothes, but I'm sure that country old me, with the tomato face and bug eyes, can't be that inciting, especially to Edward, the modern Greek god. my cheeks heat, but my blush can be blamed on the wind.
"You lead the way," I shrug, jerking my chin awkwardly toward the left. Edward grunts and holds out his arm for me, as if I need to be escorted. I cock an eyebrow at him and he drops his arm.
"This way." he says. We're silent for a moment as we walk and I'm trying to rack my brain for a conversation starter as we push through the bushels of businessmen that obliviously push back. Their faces are stone cold, some fat, some boney, some handsome and some ugly. They're people with lives, but they're so stoic you wouldn't think they were the type to smile. They clutch their briefcases like army soldiers clutch rifles, as if that black luggage is their saving grace. And in this economy, it probably is.
"It's cold." I state, shuffling my feet to keep up with Edward. He has pretty long legs and he takes long confident strides that makes my awkward limp I call a walk look even more hideous than it is. Suddenly Edward starts laughing.
"What?" I ask, smiling a bit.
"You're talking about the weather?" he replies, looking down at me with his choppy eyebrows raised. I blush again and bite my lip, shrugging.
"Yeah, I guess I am." mumbling, I'm mumbling.
"Are you not used to cold weather?"
"I am, but it wasn't this cold in Virginia, that's for sure, at least not that I remember."
"Just wait until it starts snowing, you're going to love it here." he teases.
"You know, I never really experienced snow."
"It doesn't snow in V-town?" Edward asks.
"Uh, it does. I just never. . . got the chance." or rather, my mother never gave me the chance.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well, you're going to have a field day here. It's going to snow so much, you're gonna get sick of it." he huffs, as if he's recalling some memory.
"I hope not. I kind of really like it here." as soon as I say that some businessman bumps into Edward's shoulder really hard.
"Only kind of? New York not settling for Swan's high standards?" Edward snickers playfully. The only way I can honestly tell that he's kidding is because he looks at me and his eyes are soft as he says it.
"Quite the contrary, actually Cullen. And my standards are pretty low."
"Oh? They are?" He asks, his playful smirk still in place.
"Yep." I smirk . "Me hanging out with you is a prime example."
"Ohhh," Edward drawls out with a chuckle, covering his mouth with a fist. "Touche, Swan."
"Are you going to keep calling me that?"
"What, Swan? Nah, that's just temporary. I'll come up with something better. You're lucky Emmett's not here. He'd be calling you S-Dawg all day long."
"Emmett's funny." I muse, smiling to myself. He's pretty too.
"Yeah, that's my dawg." Edward says in a funny accent.
"Oh, god." I groan.
"Kidding. But expect that nickname soon, Swan."
"Sure thing, Mayo Mouth." Quick thinking Swan, Agnes comments.
"Mayo Mouth?" Edward repeats, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yep." I say, Agnes mentally thwacking me on the back. Agnes was right, it usually takes me forever to come up with comebacks. Edward's antics make it pretty easy though.
"Where'd you get that one, out of a cracker jack box?" he snickers, shoulder checking some other rude passerby.
"Okay first of all, Cracker Jacks don't give insults. They give jokes."
"Details," he huffs. I watch him roll his eyes from my peripherals.
"And second, I'm not going to tell you." I stick my nose up in the air and cross my arms, taking note of how playful me and Edward are at the moment. It's refreshing. It's nice. I love it.
"Why not?"
"Because it loses its appeal if I tell you." I nod.
"Oh yeah, because that's already the most interesting thing I've heard you say. God forbid you ruin it for me by explaining it."
"Right, God forbid."
"Any way, err, there's a coffee shop on the way, and we still have time to kill before we get to H&B. Do you maybe – you do drink coffee, right?"
"I can drink coffee," I confirm. Edward exhales at this.
"Okay good, great. Do you want to, you know, go? My treat." he offers with that crooked smile so how can I turn him down?
"Don't be ridiculous. Yeah, let's go."
"Can I ask you a question?" Edward asks.
"Depends on what it is." I smirk, copying his words from before. Is it lame that I remember every single thing he says to me? Yes, yes it is, Agnes nods.
"How can you drink coffee? I mean, doesn't it you know, have caffeine and stuff? How do you know if it's good for you?"
"Well, uh. . . yeah, see, I've never actually had coffee before." I mumble, ducking my head.
"Never?" He seems outraged at the thought.
"Not ever."
"So how do you know - "
"I don't." I shrug, pushing my way through the crowd. I'm not as good a navigator as Edward.
"Bella, I don't think - "
"Let me worry about that okay? It's just coffee, Edward. Not the end of the world." My stomach gets a little warm over his worry, even though it's unnecessary. He probably doesn't want you having a seizure by him in public.
"Hmph," he grunts. We lapse into silence for the rest of the way until we reach the shop. It's a brown building squished in between two others, with a sign saying "Irina's Drinks and Things" with an even smaller sign reading "and Green" that's taped to the inside of the window.
"What's 'and green'?" I ask Edward, curiously. He holds the door open for me again.
"Weed, Bella." he rolls his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And, it probably is to any normal twenty-three year old. But once again, this is me, Bella.
"Oh." is all I say, even though I'm brimming with questions. I thought weed was illegal in New York.
"Don't they have weed in Virginia?" he teases.
"I. . .uh, I guess. Yeah. I think so." I murmur to myself. The inside of the shop isn't as noisy as the streets, but it's fairly similar. Music is playing, and there's a lot of reclusive people docked of in stools, typing furiously on their laptops. Some of them even have berets.
"Hey Edward!" a chirpy voice calls from behind the counter. Edward cringes automatically, shoulders hunching forward as he slowly leads me to the front counter. And then I see her.
She's almost as gorgeous as Alice, but they have little to none in common. She has long straight blonde hair and light blue eyes, almost crystalline. She has a beauty mark the color of butterscotch toffee to the left of her lip and has a devilish smirk set across her lips, which are painted a dark red.
"Hey. . . Kate. How, um, how are you?" Edward asks, a strained smile on his lips. It's forced, and I take pleasure in that.
"Oh, how nice of you to ask! I'm great. You'd know that if you called me sometime. . ." Kate drawls, pushing out her lips and looking up at him from under her long blonde lashes.
"Yeah, hmm, I've been busy, you know. . . with work. I've been working." Edward mumbles, swallowing. He glances at me for a second then looks up to the menu board. "Uh, Bella, do you - "
"We used to have so much fun together. I've been missing your company. . ." she cuts him off, rolling her head and flicking her hair over her shoulder. Edward cringes which in turn makes me cringe, the implications are starting to click together.
"I've been so lonely lately. . ."
Oh, God.
"Maybe we could, oh, I don't know, have ourselves another play date?" Kate purrs. Why do I feel the urge to claw her eyes out? Oh, maybe its because she just tried to hook up with him right in front of my face. Hmm, probably. I maybe a little bit of a hermit, but I know flirting when I see it. This is way past flirting, it's . . . whoreing.
"Kate, I've told you – many, many times – I just don't think that - "
"No, no, no Edward!" she giggles, placing her hands on the counter and pushing up her chest. "That's your problem. You think too much. You should just go with your instincts. Hmm," she sighs and bats her eyelashes, tossing her hair again. It freaking bounces as she does it too. Like those Garnier Fructis commercials or something.
"Well, you always were. . . uptight. Pardon my Freudian slip, by the way." Kate giggles.
The. Nerve.
"Kate!" Edward exclaims, his jaw tense.
"What?" she asks innocently, shrugging. Someone groans from behind me and I turn, noticing that we have a line behind us. The woman standing behind me couldn't be more agitated with the slow pace. Her mouth is set and she taps her foot, glaring steadily at Kate like she's trying to burn her with her eyes.
"What the hell has gotten into you? Can't you - "
"Speaking of Freudian slips, Edward. Did you mean that as a rhetorical question, or did you actually want the answer? A diagram?" She snickers.
"Wha - " Edward's jaw is tensed so much I can practically hear him grinding his teeth. I, just like the lady behind me, glare at Kate.
"Mm, and who made me a woman Edward? Ask yourself that." She giggles, biting her lip.
Cut her, Agnes commands. And I just might. I blush hard and look down, suddenly embarrassed to be here, standing next to Edward. It's a sick feeling, really.
"Kate!" Edward shouts. The whole shop seems to quiet down for a moment and I feel myself melting into the silence as well, not quite dissolving but numbing instead. Once again, I am embarrassed. Edward leans in towards her, menacingly, and speaks in a low tone. I can only make out what he's saying because I'm beside him.
"I suggest you shut the fuck up right now, if you want to keep your fucking job. I know Irina personally, and I know she'd fire your tiny ass so fast if she knew how you were conducting yourself in the workplace. Doesn't matter if your customers are in your bed, or in here, you treat them with respect and discretion. You truly have no fucking shame. If you knew what the fuck was good for you, you'd shut your mouth and make our fucking coffee! Two Vinte Caramel Fraps, one a decaf. And you better make it real fucking snappy, before I call Irina. " I don't bother to look up and see Kate's face. I have a good guess as to what it looks like. I chew on my lip as Edward grunts and throws money on the counter, not objecting as he pays. His fist clenches at his side and I hear something crinkly being shoved into his pocket, a receipt maybe. Edward grabs me by the arm and pulls me rather firmly to the side of the counter.
I keep my head down and continue to gnaw on my lip, afraid to look up and see the eyes of the crowd around us. I'm still embarrassed, but the reasons are rather vague, to me at least.
Our coffee is finished rather quickly, an apology is exchanged from some employee in which Edward grunts and mumbles some expletives under his breath. He readjusts his messenger bag and takes the coffees, tearing off straws from their plastic cases and putting them in their drinks. He hands one to me and I take it silently.
Then we're outside, walking on the concrete jungle that seems way less crowded than what it was. The apes and monkeys must be afraid of the feral beast that trudges alongside me, one that, if I may admit mentally to myself, I am a bit afraid of too.
But I don't say anything, and neither does Edward until we reach a crosswalk.
"Sorry," he grumbles, in a much softer tone than I'm expecting. I nod.
"She's a whore." he blurts suddenly. I look up at him finally, and I can't help smiling a little. His green eyes are darker, tight around the edges, and his choppy eyebrows are narrowed in frustration.
"Takes one to know one," I shrug, turning and shifting my attention to the front. The sign says walk so I walk ahead with the crowd, steps in front of Edward.
When he bursts out in laughter behind me the tension in my tummy dissolves, thankfully, and I smile, a feeling of completeness taking over.
Then Edward is beside me laughing, bumping my shoulder lightly, smiling brilliantly, with a blush, that cannot be blamed on the cold, on his cheeks.
And, in that moment, I can tell that he's forgotten all about that altercation two minutes ago. And that makes me feel good.
AN: Edward and his hussies. . .