Love at first sight

Disclaimer- I do not own Twilight – All the characters and most of the dialog belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 11

Charlie left then, with a goodbye wave, and I went upstairs to brush my teeth and gather my books. When I heard the cruiser pull away, I could only wait a few seconds before I had to peek out of my window. The silver car was already there, waiting in Charlie's spot on the driveway. I bounded down the stairs and out the front door, wondering how long this bizarre routine would continue. I never wanted it to end. I walked to the car, pausing shyly before opening the door and stepping in. He was smiling, relaxed — and, as usual, perfect and beautiful to an excruciating degree.

"Good morning." His voice was silky. "How are you today?" His eyes roamed over me, as if his question was something more than simple courtesy. He looked at my skirt and smiled. Yesterday he asked me to wear a skirt because he had a surprise planned. It seemed like a simple request, so I went along with it. After all, I was dating an eccentric vampire.

"Good, thank you." I was always good — much more than good — when I was near him.

His gaze returned to the circles under my eyes. "You look tired."

"I couldn't sleep," I confessed, automatically swinging my hair around my shoulder to provide some measure of cover.

"Neither could I," he teased as he started the engine.

I laughed. "I guess that's right. I suppose I slept just a little bit more than you did."

"I'd wager you did."

"So what did you do last night?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Not a chance. It's my day to ask questions."

I had already told him about my Mom and Phil and why I moved here. Why I never visited Folks since I grew up, why I moved in with Charlie. Now he started asking more personal questions.

He wanted to know about my few school friends — embarrassing me when he asked about boys I'd dated. I was relieved that I'd never really dated anyone, so that particular conversation couldn't last long. He seemed as surprised as Jessica and Angela by my lack of romantic history

"So you never met anyone you wanted?" he asked in a serious tone that made me wonder what he was thinking about.

I was grudgingly honest. "Not in Phoenix."

He seemed to deliberate for a moment. "I'm curious now, though," he said, his voice light again. "Have you ever…?"He trailed off suggestively.

"Of course not." I flushed. "I told you I've never felt like this about anyone before, not even close."

"I know. It's just that I know other people's thoughts. I know love and lust don't always keep the same company."

"They do for me. Now, anyway, that they exist for me at all," I sighed.

"That's nice. We have that one thing in common, at least." He sounded satisfied.

Mostly his questions were easy, only a very few triggering my easy blushes. But when I did flush, it brought on a whole new round of questions. Such as the time he asked my favorite gemstone, and I blurted out topaz before thinking. I was sure he would have continued down whatever mental list he was following, except for the blush. My face reddened because, until very recently, my favorite gemstone was garnet. It was impossible, while staring back into his topaz eyes, not to remember the reason for the switch. And, naturally, he wouldn't rest until I'd admitted why I was embarrassed.

"Tell me," he finally commanded after persuasion failed — failed only because I kept my eyes safely away from his face.

"It's the color of your eyes today," I sighed, surrendering, staring down at my hands as I fiddled with a piece of my hair. "I suppose if you asked me in two weeks I'd say onyx."

He continued like that all the way to school.

During lunch we were finalizing plans for the weekend. He became serious again. "Are you sure you don't want to tell Chief Swan that you'll be with me Saturday? He really should know I'm your boyfriend because from now on, I plan to be around your house a lot more."

"I was under the impression that you were something more, actually," I confessed, looking at the table.

"Well, I don't know if we need to give him all the details." He reached across the table to lift my chin with a cold, gentle finger.

"Will you be?" I asked.

"As long as you want me," he assured me.

"I'll always want you," I warned him. "Forever."

He touched his fingertips to my cheek. His expression was unfathomable.

He stared into my eyes for an immeasurable period of time. I wanted to lighten the mood again.

"Charlie was worried about me not going to the dance on Saturday. I think he was about to pay someone to take me." I joked. He scowled at me.

"I told him you were taking me on a date and that you'll be over tonight to meet him." I gathered my books as the bell rang. "It's a good thing you're bulletproof."

He looked surprised that I'd told Charlie the truth. Then he laughed and the mood abruptly lightened. He started his incessant questioning again as we walked to Biology.

We had to survive another hour of the stupid movie. I was not looking forward to it. Edward sat close to me again as Mr. Banner got the movie ready. As soon as the room was dark, the electric spark that's always between us intensified, I had the same restless craving to stretch my hand across the short space and touch his cold skin, as yesterday. He took my hand in his. He rubbed circles on the back of my hand and traced the lines in my palm. I never thought something so simple could be so pleasurable. He ran his fingers up my arm, brushing the back of his hand against my breast. My nipples became erect instantly. He made his way back down my arm, back to my palm. His touch was so soft; it felt almost like static electricity. I was tingling all over. He brushed his knee against mine, pushing his thigh firmly against me. Everywhere we touched, I felt a slow burn. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back gazing into his eyes. I could feel my breathing speed up. He looked away, releasing me from the intensity of his gaze. He seemed to be looking at the movie so I was surprised when I felt his hand on my knee, gently squeezing. I felt his fingers trailing up my thigh and my heart missed a beat. He leaned in to me and whispered in my ear.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No," I managed to choke out.

His fingers continued their slow crawl further up my leg, stopping at my crotch. I scooted forward in my seat, opening my legs to give his hand more room. Now I see why he wanted me to wear a skirt. I leaned my head on the desk, getting too excited to sit up straight. I peeked at him again. To the casual observer, he seemed to be engrossed in the movie. Only the two of us knew what was happening under the desk. He was rubbing the tips of his fingers and his finger nails up and down the crotch of my panties. The difference in pressure between his finger tips and the light brushing of his hard finger nails had me dripping. I know he could feel how wet he was making me. Worse, he could smell me. I had to stifle a groan. He stopped at my clit and started rubbing. I was squirming. Then he slipped a finger under the elastic and touched my lips, spreading my juices around. My hip jerked forward at his touch. He added another, curved them towards my g spot and started rubbing. Those long fingers were just perfect. He knows my body better than I do. He knows exactly what to do, where to touch and what to say to give me the greatest pleasure. I'm not going to last much longer. The sensations his long, cold fingers were eliciting combined with the excitement from this illicit act we were performing had me on the edge of my orgasm in no time. When I looked up, he was staring intently at me. His eyes were smoldering. I took a few deep breaths through my mouth.

He leaned over and said, "You smell so delectable, I can't wait to suck your juices off my fingers."

I felt my pussy muscles tighten and spasm. I bit into my lip hard. Perspiration broke out on my brow from the effort it took to keep quiet. I was spent. After my pussy stopped contracting, he removed his fingers but I couldn't look up. I couldn't move a muscle. I stayed in this position trying to regulate my breathing. I refused to look at him for the remainder of class. I tried to look at the movie, hoping it would help me calm down.

When the light came on signaling the end of class Edward and I stayed seated until all the kids left the room. He pulled me behind the door and kissed me passionately as he pushed his erection into my stomach. If I didn't know how he felt from the kiss, there is no mistaking that huge bulge pressing into me.

"I love the taste of your mouth but it's not as sweet as your juices. I wanted you to watch as I sucked my fingers after I took them from your pussy." He kissed me again.

I swear I had a mini orgasm. My legs were wobbly and I felt lightheaded again. I felt myself getting dizzy and then I collapsed.

"Bella?" His voice was alarmed as he caught me and held me up.

"You… made… me… faint," I accused him dizzily.

"What am I going to do with you?" he groaned in exasperation. "One minute I kiss you, and you attack me! Now you pass out on me!"

I laughed weakly, letting his arms support me while my head spun.

"So much for being good at everything," he sighed.

"That's the problem." I was still dizzy. "You're too good. Far, far too good."

"Do you feel sick?" he asked; he'd seen me like this before.

"No — that wasn't the same kind of fainting at all. I don't know what happened." I shook my head apologetically, "I think I forgot to breathe."

He made me sit with my head between my legs for a few minutes. I took deep breaths and I was able to raise my head. He wanted to know if he should get me out of gym but I assured him that I would be fine. I didn't plan to participate anyway.

He put his arm around me and walked me to gym again. He had that same anguished look on his face like yesterday as he trailed his fingers down my cheek and left me there. I wanted to slide to the floor like a puddle of goo.

The locker room was empty when I got to gym. I was grateful because I didn't think I could face anybody. Gym passed quickly as I watched Mike's one-man badminton show. I needed the extra time to regain my control. He didn't speak to me today, either in response to my vacant expression or because he was still angry about our squabble yesterday. Somewhere, in a corner of my mind, I felt bad about that. But I couldn't concentrate on him.

I hurried to change afterward, knowing the faster I moved, the sooner I would be with Edward. The pressure made me more clumsy than usual, but eventually I made it out the door, feeling the same release when I saw him standing there, a wide smile automatically spreading across my face.

We sat in front of Charlie's talking for hours. I asked about his life, his interests, what he does with his nights since he can't sleep. He joked and said his nights are much more interesting since he found me. I felt this insatiable desire to know more about him and his family.

Some he was a bit reluctant about answering like when I asked.

"Are you ever going to tell me how old you are?"

"Does it matter much?" He smiled.

"No, but I still wonder. There's nothing like an unsolved mystery to keep you up at night."

"I wonder if it will upset you."

"Try me," I finally said.

"I was born in Chicago in 1901. Carlisle found me in a hospital in the summer of 1918. I was seventeen and dying of the Spanish influenza." He told me he knew his parents had already died and that Carlisle did it out of loneliness because he had been by himself for a while and wanted companionship. He told me he remembered how painful it was. I asked my next question.

"How did he… save you?"

A few seconds passed before he answered. He seemed to choose his words carefully.

"It was difficult. Not many of us have the restraint necessary to accomplish it. But Carlisle has always been the most humane, the most compassionate of us… I don't think you could find his equal throughout all of history." He paused.

Carlisle found Esme soon afterwards. She'd jumped off a cliff and they thought she was dead so they brought her straight to the hospital morgue. Carlisle realized her heart was still beating so he changed her. He was in love with her. Apparently he met her before and loved her since.

I don't think he wanted to give me details but I was on a mission. There were many things I needed to think through on this particular issue, things that were only beginning to occur to me. No doubt his quick mind had already comprehended every aspect that eluded me.

"So you must be dying, then, to become like you."

"No, that's just Carlisle. He would never do that to someone who had another choice." The respect in his voice was profound whenever he spoke of his father figure.

"And Emmett and Rosalie?"

He told me Carlisle found Rosalie dying one night and decided to change her. Hoping she would be a companion for Edward. A few years later Rosalie found Emmett. He was almost killed by a bear. She must have fallen in love with him immediately because she walked hundreds of miles with him, taking him to their home so Carlisle could change him. When Emmett woke up, he fell in love with her and they were together ever since.

"Of course Rosalie is beautiful in her way, but even if she wasn't like a sister to me, even if Emmett didn't belong with her, she could never have one tenth, no, one hundredth of the attraction you hold for me." He continued.

He pushed my hair from my face, tracing my cheek bones, trailing his fingers down to my chin, tracing my lips before bringing his lips to mine again. I thought my heart would burst from all the joy this elicit.

"You're resurrecting the human in me and everything feels stronger because it's fresh." He laughed his quiet, musical laugh.

Then he continued his musing. "I guess, it's the glory of first love, and all that. It's incredible, isn't it, the difference between reading about something, seeing it in the pictures, and experiencing it?"

"Very different," I agreed. "More forceful than I'd imagined."

Then he made a joke about going to another one of their weddings soon. I made a mental note of that. I was still gathering information so I forced myself to ask another question.

"Alice and Jasper?"

He told me Alice doesn't remember who changed her. When she woke up, she had a vision where she saw Carlisle and Jasper. She knew Jasper was her mate and waited for him to come to her. Jasper was from the south. He was not happy with the vampires he was living with so he left and wondered off by himself. Eventually he met Alice. She told him she was waiting for him, told him about Carlisle and the way his family lived off animal blood and together they made their way to the Cullens. They've all live like a family ever since.

He was serious now, thoughtful. "For almost ninety years I've walked among my kind and yours… all the time thinking I was complete in myself, not realizing what I was seeking. And not finding anything, because you weren't alive yet."

"It hardly seems fair," I whispered, "I haven't had to wait at all. Why should I get off so easily?"

"You're right," he agreed with amusement. "I should make this harder for you, definitely." "You only have to risk your life every second you spend with me, that's surely not much. You only have to turn your back on nature, on humanity… what's that worth?"

"Very little — I don't feel deprived of anything."

"Not yet." And his voice was abruptly full of ancient grief.

"You know, your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash." I sighed. One minute he's joking like he doesn't have a care in the world. One minute he can't keep his hands off me. Then at other times he acts all morose. He sat there looking at me. I moved to the edge of my seat and leaned my head on his shoulder. I wanted him to know I was alright. Naturally, he shifted to the edge of his seat also. We leaned on each other in companionable silence for a few minutes. I welcomed the silence.

Something kept nagging at me from what he told me about his family. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I thought about them, repeating their names in my mind. Thinking about their stories. Carlisle & Esme. Rosalie & Emmett. Alice & Jasper. Suddenly, I realized that there was one common theme. All the couples fell in love at first sight, or at least one person from each pair did, just like Edward & I.

Carlisle fell in love with Esme when he first treated her. After her change, he won her love.

Rosalie fell in love with Emmett when she found him after the bear attack and he returned her feelings when he woke up after his change.

Alice fell in love with Jasper from her vision. She didn't even meet him yet. He must have felt the same way to trust her and go off with her to find Carlisle.

Edward and I both fell in love with each other that first day of school. Is there something inside a vampire that let them know when they find the one they are meant to be with? I was elated. I was about to ask Edward this when he spoke.

"Your father will be home soon." he said.

"Charlie!" I suddenly recalled his existence and sighed. I looked out at the sky, but it gave nothing away. "How late is it?" I wondered out loud as I glanced at the clock. I was surprised by the time — Charlie would be driving home now. I had become lost in our little bubble again.

"It's twilight," Edward murmured, and sighed.

I looked out at the darkened sky, but it gave nothing away.

"It's the safest time of day for us," he said, answering the unspoken question in my eyes. "The easiest time but also the saddest, in a way. The end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?" He smiled wistfully.

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." I frowned. "Not that you see them here much."

He got out of the car and came around to help me out. He trapped me against the door and as always, his touch sent my heart into frenzied palpitations. He was bending to kiss me when he froze. A car turned into the drive, the headlight illuminating us as it pulled up in front of the house.

"Not good," he muttered.

"What is it?" I was surprised to see that his jaw was clenched, his eyes disturbed.

He glanced at me for a brief se cond. "Another complication," he said glumly, staring at the other vehicle.

Jacob's father, Billy Black. I knew him immediately, though in the more than five years since I'd seen him last I'd managed to forget his name when Charlie had spoken of him my first day here. He was staring at me, scrutinizing my face so I smiled tentatively at him. His eyes were wide, as if in shock or fear, his nostrils flared. My smile faded. Another complication, Edward had said.

Billy still stared at me with intense, anxious eyes. I groaned internally. Had Billy recognized Edward so easily? Could he really believe the impossible legends his son had scoffed at? The answer was clear in Billy's eyes. Yes. Yes, he could. Jacob helped Billy into his wheelchair and pushed him over to the porch.

"Get them inside," he instructed, "I'll leave."

"You don't have to leave," I said wistfully.

He smiled at my glum expression. "Actually, I do, I'll see you later." He smiled the crooked smile that I loved. His eyes flickered to the porch and then he leaned in to swiftly kiss me just under the edge of my jaw. My heart lurched frantically, and I, too, glanced toward the porch. Billy's face was no longer impassive. Edward got back in his car as I walked over to the porch.

"Hey, Billy. Hi, Jacob." I greeted them as cheerfully as I could manage.