A/N – I do not own.
Chapter 12
BPOV
This was getting ridiculous. First, he shows up out of the blue at my coffee shop, then in my bedroom, now my car. Was it too much to ask for him to call me first and set up a proper date?
I was fuming and he could tell.
"I'm sorry I startled you. I thought maybe we could drive to Seattle together, it will give us a chance to talk." He smiled sheepishly and looked apologetic. Who was I to be upset – wait! Focus, Bella.
"You have to stop doing that!" I swear he cringed back into the seat. "You could have called first and asked. Instead you chose to scare me, again I might add."
"I know. What can I say, I'm impulsive." Something in the way he said that, though, made me think he was actually the opposite.
"If I drive you to Seattle, how are you going to get home?"
"I can run back."
"Run? Hundreds of miles? Are you crazy?"
"I love to run. A few hundred miles is nothing for me." Of course not. He was a vampire.
This might not be such a bad idea. I had him trapped in the car with me for a couple of hours, I could ask all the questions I wanted…
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I could ask all the questions I wanted, but why did it seem like I was doing all the talking? I thought we had covered everything about me and my likes/dislikes on Saturday, but somehow he found more subjects to discuss.
"This isn't fair, you know."
"How do you mean?"
"I was supposed to be asking the questions. Last night you said you'd have answers for me, about, you know…" I stopped talking and looked straight ahead. I found that if I didn't look at him I had a better chance of staying in control of what I wanted to say.
"You're right. I'm sorry. Ask away." Now I didn't know where to start.
"How long have you been…this way?" For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to say the word.
"About 90 years or so. I was turned in 1918. I was only 17 at the time."
"Do you know who did it to you?"
"Yes, it was Carlisle. He was a doctor at a hospital in Chicago at the time. He had been alone for several hundred years. He was lonely and thinking about creating a companion. It was all in the timing. I was a patient, dying of the Spanish flu, my real parents were already dead and I had no other family. It was a split decision on his part."
"Did it hurt?"
"Yes, the pain was excruciating and it lasted almost three days. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." He whispered that last part and I could see out of the corner of my eye that his head was down.
"I'm sorry." It was all I could think of to say then.
"How is it that you can be outside, in the daylight?" This one really got me. In every legend out there, that was the most common trait, no sunlight.
"Myth."
"Myth?"
"Yes. I can be out in the day, but I need to stay away from humans when the sun is shining."
"Why?"
He paused, like he was thinking of his answer. "Maybe I'll show you some time. It's too complicated to describe with words."
I accepted that. "You will, though? Show me some time?" He nodded. "What about garlic and silver?"
"Myth, myth."
"Coffins?"
He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Myth. In fact, I don't sleep at all."
"Really? No sleep?" Huh, I didn't see that one coming.
"No, not at all. That leaves a lot of free time."
"Free time, for what, exactly?" Now I was just playing with him. It felt good.
"Reading, studying, hunting, running. But I miss sleeping. Probably the most. I miss being able to shut everything off. Now everything is just on all the time and it took awhile to get used to it." I could tell there was more to it than just being awake all the time.
I stayed quiet for a few minutes while I tried to process what he was telling me. It was certainly a different conversation from the one I had with Jacob last night. He tried to frighten me, warn me away from Edward and his family but I didn't feel frightened here with him, enclosed in the tiny space of my car.
Jacob…that reminded me…
"Why did you refer to Jacob as dog last night? And where were you that you could hear us talking, I couldn't see you."
"I was up in one of the trees, back behind your house. I needed to stay far enough away and up wind enough so that he couldn't smell me. We have enhanced hearing and eyesight. I could have been even further away if I needed to. I could have heard his thoughts miles away."
"What does that mean, 'hear his thoughts'?" I tried to look at him while keeping my eyes on the road. He had turned to look out the window and I couldn't see his expression but the silence was palpable.
Then, so softly that I almost didn't hear him, he said, "I can hear people's thoughts, I read minds."
I reacted almost mechanically, abruptly pulling the car over to the side of the highway and slamming the breaks, bringing her to a shuddering stop.
"What the hell was that?" He sounded panicked at my reaction.
"Excuse me? You can read minds?! How else am I supposed to react?" I could feel the blush igniting on my face, slowly creeping down my neck as my mind raced back over the last couple of days, all the things I thought, all the things he heard.
Just kill me now. If I wasn't so mortified beyond reason, I would have laughed at the irony of that request.
"I suppose I could have handled that better. The truth is, I can read everyone's mind, except yours. I don't know why and it's been pretty frustrating. It's something I rely heavily on when dealing with humans." He chuckled, like he was remembering a funny story that went along with that statement.
"You can't read my mind? Seriously? You're not just saying that?"
He looked at me curiously, "Why would I 'just say that'? Of course I'm serious. It's one of the first things I noticed about you in the bookstore. That and your scent."
"My scent? You can smell me?" Why did I get the feeling that everything he told me would lead to ten more things I would need to know?
"Yes, everything has a scent. Some scents are stronger, and more pleasurable, than others. Yours, for instance, is the strongest, most pleasurable scent I have ever encountered." His voice had gotten lower, deeper, and almost seductive to the point that I was reacting all over, but especially down there. At this point, I would be spending the rest of this ride in wet panties.
He smirked and said, "Everything, Bella. I can smell everything." And I groaned at the realization of what he meant. He could smell my arousal. What was this, payback for Saturday night?
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Time seemed to be racing by as we hit the outskirts of Seattle. There was so much more that I wanted to ask while I had his undivided attention. As mortified as I was by this latest turn in the conversation, I still wanted to know what he thought of our relationship and if he experienced the same pull as I did, but I didn't know how to bring it up.
"Is there somewhere I can drop you off? You know, to make it easier for you to run back? We're almost at my apartment."
His face fell, at least I thought it did. I didn't want him to go and hoped that maybe he felt the same.
"I'm not trying to get rid of you. You can come up if you'd like." I said, as I maneuvered my way into the parking lot and scoped out a spot.
"I would like that." He was out the door and opening my side before I could blink.
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I don't know what came over me, honestly. I opened the door to my apartment and walked in, with him behind me. When I heard the door shut, I attacked, jumping up and encircling his waist with my legs.
While my lips found his and attached accordingly, my hands made their way to his head and that maddeningly luscious, bronze hair that begged to be pulled. He groaned, I groaned. And then someone knocked at the door.
Still attached to him, I pulled my head back a little and a silent conversation took place. I didn't want to answer it but somehow he was telling me I should. And since we hadn't moved from where we entered there was a good chance that whoever it was could hear us.
There was another knock and then, "Bella, are you in there? It's Angela."
Damn.
"Yeah, Ang, give me a sec." I detached myself from Edward and straightened out my t-shirt. He, meanwhile, ran straight for the couch. I glanced back at him quickly before answering the door but that was a bad idea, because now all I wanted was to straddle him on the couch and continue what we started. Bloodsucking vampire be damned, I wanted him and I wanted him bad. What was happening to me?
"Hi Ang," I said as I pulled the door open slowly. I wanted to look casual and at ease, but I knew I looked nervous and guilty, with my flushed cheeks and swollen lips. She was smart, she'd see through any pretense thrown at her.
"Everything ok?" I looked back over my shoulder at Edward again. He looked like he was staring off into space, maybe he was reading Angela's mind? I would need to tell him not to do that with my friends. "I was just checking in on you. How did it go with your dad?"
I could tell she noticed me looking back. "Oh, it was fine. Really. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We got along great, in fact. All that worry for nothing." I tried to laugh and smile but feared it was coming off as shrill. I hadn't invited her in yet and it was painfully obvious to the both of us.
"That's good, I guess. Maybe next time I'll get to go with you. I'm going to have to go back eventually, my mom's been bugging me already and I've only been here a week."
"Hey, how's Ben doing?" At the very least I could show her that I remembered the near death experience her boyfriend just had.
"Much better now, thanks. But it will be awhile before he gets his car back." She looked like she wanted to ask me something but was either too afraid or too shy. I hoped she was reading my failure to invite her in correctly, as in 'you can't come in because there's a guy here' and not "you can't come in because there's a masked intruder here'.
"At least he lives on campus, and he has you and your hatchback," I smiled and hoped the joking would put her at ease. It seemed to.
"Well, I'm going to grab some dinner and watch some of that stupid reality show I got hooked on, you know the one with all the crazy brides? Bridezillas, I think." I shook my head, Renee didn't believe in cable so I didn't watch much television in Phoenix. "I'll see you later, Bella."
"Ok, Ang, I'll see you later." I noticed that she didn't mention breakfast at the diner tomorrow.
Maybe we were both thinking I'd get lucky tonight.
I shut the door and walked into the living room and stood in front of Edward. Did I want to continue talking? Did he? He was looking up at me, waiting for me to make the next move. The room was quiet and yet I still couldn't concentrate, there seemed to be too much at stake here and for some reason I wanted everything to happen at once.
I wanted answers to more unasked questions, rough kisses and cool touches. I wanted him to smile at me with that lop-sided grin that made my knees go weak and look at me with those golden eyes that pored over mine as if they sought some long lost treasure.
In the span of a long weekend, Edward had come to embody every lust-filled fantasy, every romantic notion and every soul wrenching desire I have had until now. A small part of me wondered, and even worried, that this was all part of that vampire charm Jacob warned me about. It seemed realer than that but was it?
"I'm hungry. Do you mind if made something quick to eat?" Renee always felt that, in the absence of something intelligent to say, you could always fall back on food. So I did just that.
"No, not at all. Do you want to go out? I would love to take you out." He stood which caused me to take a couple of steps back.
"Thanks, but I don't think that's necessary. I can just make some spaghetti."
He followed me over to the small kitchen area and stood to the side as I prepared my dinner. We didn't speak but it wasn't uncomfortable. Just the opposite, in fact. It seemed right.
When the spaghetti was finished cooking, I brought the plate over to the couch and settled in to start eating. Edward sat next to me, perhaps a little too close as I was very aware that his eyes had settled on my mouth, chewing, and I was becoming self-conscious about eating.
Never one to be graceful in any situation, I was surprised to see him so captivated by what I could only think was a messy human slurping up her food. But then I remembered, the sauce was red. Did it look like blood to him?
I didn't sense any imminent danger. In fact, his staring was starting to make me feel a little warm inside, and a little wet down there. I hadn't changed my underwear since we got back so god only knows how I smelled now.
Between worrying about how I smelled and how I looked as I ate, it was a miracle I could move at all.
His eyes had wandered from my mouth to my throat, he was watching as I swallowed my food. I didn't know how he could find that worth watching but he seemed to be enjoying it. His mouth hung open a little and his breathing had grown heavy and labored. His tongue darted out a couple of times to lick his lower lip and I was overcome by the urge to suck on that tongue.
I needed to get the conversation going again. "So how is it that you live in Forks and were able to go to high school there?"
"Hm? Oh, well, Forks, like most of the Pacific Northwest, has so few sunny days so it is an optimal choice for us. We prefer to stay settled in one place for as long as we can. It makes us feel more…normal. Being in school, that helps us fit into the community, especially for Carlisle. He needs a plausible explanation since he is in a somewhat high profile position."
They were trying to be normal, maybe we had more in common than I thought.
"But you're hardly normal. I've only met Alice, so I can only imagine what the rest of your family is like. You guys must stand out?"
"Yes, to a point. But we keep to ourselves and stay out of trouble. We rarely make human friendships. Between my mind reading and Alice's ability to see the future, we're like an early warning-"
"Wait, wait, what did you just say about Alice? Her ability to see the future? She can see the future?" I didn't see how it was possible for this to get any more insane.
"She sees the future based on people's decisions. If your decision changes, that future changes. If you make up your mind and are determined, the future is most clear then. I admit, we rely very heavily on her. It 's not easy for those of us with these extra abilities."
"Does everyone in your family have extra abilities?"
"No, just me and Alice, and Alice's husband, Jasper. He's what you call empathic. He can read people's moods and emotions and project them on to others." I wasn't grasping this one and he must have sensed that. "Like if you were in a room full of happy people, he can make everyone in the room feel sad, even if they aren't."
"So, if you can't read my mind, do you think their abilities would work on me?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. The few conversations I've had with Alice since I met you centered on only me and my actions. And with Jasper, you need to be somewhat close to him for him read you and push anything out to you."
"Tell me more about your family. Now that I know what you are, everything you told me before is…well…let's just say there's a new perspective on it." I had finished eating at this point and turned sideways on the couch to face him.
The conversation flowed freely for the next couple of hours as we talked about our family. Edward told me about the rest of his family and how they all came in to this life. I described to him, in great detail, my life in Phoenix with Renee and my relationship with Charlie.
The Cullens were now in Africa, on a two month vacation and I found it odd that vampires lived mundane lives in places like Forks, Washington, and took family vacations. When I asked Edward why he didn't go with them, he said it was complicated and changed the subject.
This conversation was much more personal than our others and I could see something akin to relief in Edward's face, like he had been holding all of this in, waiting for the right person to tell.
Some time close to midnight the weekend, the stories, the roundtrip drive to Forks, started to wear on me and I yawned. But I didn't want it to end, I didn't want him to leave.
"You're tired. I should let you go to sleep."
Just as I was about to protest, another yawn overtook me. "I suppose. What are you going to do now since you don't sleep?"
"I'll probably run back to Forks and stop along the way to hunt." Ah, hunting, a topic I would have to put away for when we had more time. I know I wouldn't get more than the cliff notes version right now, especially if I yawned again. "There are some things I could probably take care of back at the house."
I giggled at that and he looked at me questioningly. "I'm sorry, it's just strange. Sometimes I can listen and absorb it like it was the most normal thing in the world. And then, sometimes, I just have to laugh. You're going to run back to Forks, some several hundred miles away, hunt a few animals and then do what? Laundry? Mow the lawn? Take out the garbage? You have to laugh."
And he did, and it was beautiful. Nothing sounded as beautiful as Edward laughing. It almost made me feel bold enough to ask him to stay here with me tonight. Almost. It would have made more sense if he were able to sleep, but he can't so what would he do here all night?
The third yawn did the trick. He got up and made his way to the door as I followed.
"Bella," he said, as his cool, sweet breath washed over my face, and his long fingers softly caressed my cheek. Our eyes locked and he leaned down to press a gentle kiss on my all too eager lips.
I was dazzled and unable to utter a single word as he smiled and opened the door. With another quick kiss on my cheek, he was gone. Leaving me here to wonder when I'll see him again.
