The Transfer
A/N: As you know, I am not Stephenie Meyer. I'm just mesmerized with green-blue eyes and wildly dishevelled hair.
Okay, Bella, get ready for some physical contact of the Edward variety!
Chapter 12: Just Let Go
BPOV
Wednesday afternoon I had come back from my classes and I had lain down on my bed to do a little reading. I had fallen asleep with a book in my hand and slept for almost two hours. I awoke shortly before dinner, famished because I hadn't eaten lunch. I went to brush my hair and get ready and I happened to see Alice in the hall.
"Bella, tell me you'll come to dinner with us tonight." Her eyes were pleading.
I smiled at her hopeful face. It was hard to say no to Alice. "I'll come to dinner with you tonight."
"That was easy." She grinned at me.
"Actually, I had planned on it. I know I haven't been very good company lately."
"Hello! You've been non-existent company lately."
"Um, yeah, that too. Well, I'm ready to go to dinner whenever you are."
"I'm ready now, if you are. Do you mind if we swing by and pick up Jasper?"
"No, that's fine. Let's go."
"…and Edward?"
"Alice, that's fine too." I didn't bother to tell her I had spoken with Edward this morning and told him that I would see him this evening at dinner.
"And I usually try to coordinate with Emmett and Rosalie, too."
"Fine. To all of the above. The whole gang. Let's go get them." Alice looked relieved and happy.
"Well then, what the heck are we waiting for?"
We went to Jasper and Edward's room first. Jasper was there and joined us, but Edward had stepped out so Jasper left him a note. Then we went to Emmett's room. Alice knocked and after a few moments, Emmett answered the door, looking rather disheveled and out of breath. Alice peered past him and saw Rosalie, also somewhat disheveled, smoothing her hair and clothing.
"Well, that explains a lot." Alice said, smiling and retreating back into the hallway.
"Um, Rosie and I were just studying," Emmett tried sheepishly.
"Right. Each other!" Alice giggled as she took Jasper's hand and arched her brow at him suggestively. "Maybe you and I can get in a study session later, Jazz."
"School me, baby," Jasper purred at her, sliding his arm around her waist and we all laughed as he leaned in and mauled her neck, growling as he did so.
We had just seated ourselves in the dining room when Edward came in and joined us. He picked up his dinner and came and sat on the far end of the table, opposite me, between Jasper and Emmett. Everyone greeted him and he responded to them. Once he had settled in, and they were no longer paying much attention to him, his eyes flickered across to me and he gave me a very brief, crooked, little smile. He seemed glad, maybe even relieved, to see me there with the group. I was glad because I certainly didn't want him to think that I was avoiding him because I found him annoying.
About halfway through the meal, Alice picked up her spoon and began tapping it against her glass.
"Bella and I have an announcement to make."
"You've decided to tie the knot?" Emmett asked, his dimples forming.
"Emmett, you're just not that funny. And don't be thinking about the girl-on-girl thing, because I'm your sister and that'd be disgusting, even for you." Alice crossed her arms over her chest.
"Ewww, that's right." Emmett looked as though he hadn't thought that far ahead.
"You're wasting your breath, Alice," Rose told her. "It does absolutely no good telling him he's not funny. As long as he finds humor in the things he says, there's no corralling him. He's just going to blurt out whatever occurs to him, without thinking. He lives filter-free. So what's your news?"
"Bella and I get to make a room switch with Lauren and Victoria this weekend."
There was a communal 'hooray' followed by some congratulations and other positive comments.
"That's great!" Rosalie said. "Which room will you two be in? Are you taking Alice's or Bella's?"
"I think we're staying in mine," Alice told Rosalie. "And Lauren and Victoria will keep the Crystal Kingdom. I guess that makes sense, since Victoria and I have both lived in our respective rooms for two years. Why change now? Besides, mine has the better, corner view."
Jasper stood up and looked at all of us seated at the table. "If you would all just focus on me for a moment…ahem…I'd like to take most of the credit for this turn of events." He bowed grandly, waving his arms in a flourish as he did so.
Alice laughed, but nodded in agreement. "Yes, Jazz, it was all your idea and I think the lovely CDs you and Edward bought us did the trick. And to thank you both, we'd like to invite you to help us move Bella in this Saturday."
He sat back down, leaning towards her and resting his chin on his hand. "Now that doesn't sound like an appropriate way to thank me, Sugarlump, it just sounds like more work we have to do. What's in it for us, Pumpkin?" he asked her, waggling his eyebrows.
"Besides getting to enjoy the loveliness of our company all morning and afternoon, we'll take you out to dinner afterwards to help us celebrate. I know a great restaurant we can go to."
"I'm in, if Edward's in." Jasper turned to look at Edward. He raised his eyebrows in query and maybe even in a…dare?
Edward looked a little caught off guard, then he glanced around at the others as they waited for his response. He hesitated a split second longer and then just nodded and shrugged. "I'm in."
"We're in, Babydoll." Jasper nodded to Alice, his face serious.
Alice turned to Emmett and Rosalie. "You two are also invited to dinner on Saturday. You don't have to help us move Bella in, but we'd like you to join us for dinner."
"Why don't they have to help us?" Jasper asked.
"Because they have to study. If you know what I mean." Alice winked overmuch and laughed her silvery little bell-like laugh as the rest of us joined in.
Thursday passed by rather unremarkably. In the morning I overslept and managed to get up and out the door just barely in time to get to my first class. I got back hungry and ate an early lunch alone in the dining hall, reading a few chapters of a novel I had been assigned. In the evening I had dinner with Angela. Ben came and joined us. It seemed that there was a little dorm romance brewing. They were awfully cute and a little shy together.
On Friday I had another busy day. But by the time the evening rolled around things had slowed down and I was wondering what to do with myself. I realized I hadn't exercised, run, or worked out since the previous Saturday afternoon, before the barbecue. I checked to see if Angela or Jessica wanted to visit the fitness center with me, but they were both busy. I decided to head over to the fitness center on my own.
I had been there for probably only ten minutes when I saw Edward come in. I was in the corner, waiting my turn to get onto one of the elliptical machines. I knew Edward hadn't seen me and I did nothing to call attention to myself. I just watched him as I waited for my machine.
He seemed rather serious, quite insular, and perfectly beautiful. He ran on the treadmill for a while. I watched him as his body moved fluidly. I realized that his body, at rest or in motion, was as beautiful as his face. He was perfectly proportioned. He looked just like a Greek god. If you wanted to sculpt a statue of a mythological being, Edward was your man; he could have been the model for any classical sculpture.
I finally got on to the elliptical. I worked my legs and butt hard, while I continued to observe Edward. He got off the treadmill and went to a rowing machine. He'd been there for a while when two pretty, blond girls approached him and began talking to him. He slowed a bit initially, but after a while he began rowing as hard as he had been earlier. As they talked, I watched the muscles in his arms and back bunching and flexing smoothly beneath his t-shirt, I saw the muscles in his legs flexing as he moved forward and back. The conversation between Edward and the girls dwindled and stopped and the two girls wandered away. I wondered about them. I wondered who they were.
A short while later Edward was in the area with the free weights, lifting, when one of the girls sauntered back over to him. She positioned herself near him and began talking to him again as they worked out next to each other. I realized he looked a bit uncomfortable and maybe even a little annoyed, so when I was done on the elliptical I walked over to him, to see if my intuition was right.
"Hi, Edward." I smiled as I pressed my towel to the sweat at the back of my neck.
"Oh, hello, Bella! I didn't know you were here. When did you get here?" He smiled up at me, looking relieved, relaxed and happy.
"I've been here for a while, Edward. I didn't want to bother you while you were working out." I turned and looked pointedly at the girl. "Hello."
"Oh, Bella, this is…" He turned to the girl that was still standing there. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"
Yes, my intuition had been right. He didn't know her. She was hitting on him. Could I blame her? No, not really. Just look at him…no, don't!
"My name is Amber," the girl answered, looking at me rather haughtily, like I was ruining her plans.
"Oh right, Amber," Edward said. "Amber, this is Bella." He gestured from her to me, introducing us.
"Nice to meet you," I told her, then looked at her expectantly.
"You too," she mumbled. She looked at me like she didn't approve. I knew she was wondering what my connection to Edward was. He hadn't mentioned any, so she was trying to figure that one out.
"Well, I was just leaving," she said. "Oh, but I did want to give you this." She pressed a small piece of paper into Edward's hand. "Bye, Edward." She smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I hope I hear from you."
"Bye, Amber," Edward politely responded as she turned and walked away. He turned and looked at me. "Not likely," he sighed, rolling his eyes. He glanced at the slip of paper she had pressed into his palm and began shaking his head. I watched as he crumpled it up. When he looked back at me the distaste on his face had disappeared. He seemed happier again now.
"So, how long have you been here, Bella?"
"Long enough to watch that girl hit on you." I smiled.
"She was with a friend before," he said, shaking his head, his mouth twisting.
"Oh, I saw the two of them earlier. So that was a tag-team hit?" I asked, smirking at him now.
"Very funny." He scanned the room. "Who are you here with?"
"No one. I just came by myself."
He picked up his towel and slung it over his shoulder then he grabbed his bottle of water, uncapping it and taking a swig. He looked back at me. "Are you finished here?"
"Yeah, I just got off the elliptical and now I think I'm over the need to exercise. I'm going to head back to the dorm."
"Can I walk you back?"
"Oh, you don't have to. I'll be fine."
"I'd feel better if you didn't walk back alone. I'll keep you company if you don't mind. I'm done here anyway."
"Okay, Edward, but you don't have to feel obligated."
"I don't. It's just…" his voice broke off and he grimaced very slightly. And then he didn't say anything more.
"It's what, Edward?"
His face registered the fight within. He couldn't decide if he wanted to tell me what was on his mind. But he did. "This is probably going to sound stupid, but I…I feel very protective of you." I could read the embarrassment on his face. But then he quickly came to his own defense. "You don't know a lot of people here yet, and it's just not smart to be alone, walking so far at night. Seriously, Bella, if you come here at night, I would come with you. Or you could even call me and I'll just come to walk you back home when you're done, if you're alone." Then he seemed to have another thought and I watched as his face relaxed into a grin, adding, "You never know where Newton could be lurking, and he's not even the most dangerous thing out there."
I laughed as we headed out of the fitness center together. He passed by the trash can on his way to the door and dropped the crumpled paper into it.
"So, are you ready for the big day?" he asked, smiling as he pushed the door open for me.
"What big day?"
"Moving day. Don't you get to move in with Alice tomorrow?"
"Oh, right! Yes. I'm more than ready. I'm so sick of listening to Country-Western music every chance I get, just to annoy Victoria. Her all-Celtic-all-the-time music isn't nearly as bad as some of that Country-Western crap. Thanks for picking that out, Edward."
He laughed. "Sorry, we had to find the best worst-stuff we could. But I can see how you'd get sick of it. I have to warn you, though; I think Alice is actually getting rather attached to her bagpipe tunes."
"Oh, Lord no! You mean I might have to move in with Victoria and Lauren?"
"That might turn out to be the lesser of two evils." He chuckled again. "And I'll tell you a secret," he was leaning down toward my ear as we walked. I could feel his warm breath tickling my ear and a little chill ran down my spine.
"What secret?" I asked, looking up into his eyes. I knew I was blushing and I was glad for the cover of darkness as we walked back home. I'd prefer that he not be able to see my blush.
"Jasper is getting into the bagpipe thing, too. Wait until tomorrow—he's got something special cooked up for Alice. It's a surprise."
"What?"
"No, it's a surprise. That's all I'm saying for now."
"You have to tell me more than that," I begged.
"No, I've already said too much." His eyes danced and sparkled. Like they had at the dance last Saturday.
"Edward, you're just plain evil to leave me hanging like this."
"Bella, I'm a monster, I do evil things." His expression was devilish.
"Yeah, right. Okay, so I guess I just have to wait and see."
"You just have to wait and see," he agreed, nodding, obviously pleased with himself.
Before long we had arrived back at the dorm. For a brief moment I thought about the other night, when we had arrived at the back door of the dorm after the barbecue and dance and how it had seemed like he was about to kiss me. I found myself now wondering what that would feel like. It was suddenly hard to breathe. And then I pushed those thoughts out of my head as we walked inside.
"Thanks, Edward, for walking me home."
"Sure, Bella. Hey, I meant what I said before. I'll go with you if you work out at night and you won't have to walk home by yourself in the dark. Or you can call me and I'll come meet you."
"I appreciate that Edward; I just would hate to bother you."
"Honestly, Bella, it wouldn't be a bother. Besides it gives me a chance to get a little exercise either way."
"So, you'll protect me from strange men on the way home from the gym and I can protect you from strange women at the gym."
"Something like that," his lips curled into a smile. "Not a bad idea really. Did you see how fast that girl, Andrea, took off when you came over to me?"
"Her name was Amber," I corrected him.
"Who cares?" he laughed.
"Not you," I laughed with him.
"Not me. Goodnight, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow." His smile was warm.
"See you tomorrow, Edward." I walked upstairs smiling.
That was fun.
EPOV
Alice had our Saturday all arranged. She was the consummate organizer and planner. There would be no sleeping-in today for me or Jasper. She and Bella showed up to go with us to breakfast. Alice had a design scheme to discuss and a plan of attack to map out.
Apparently we weren't just moving Bella in, as Lauren moved out. Alice also had some crazy interior-decorating itch to scratch, and now we were going to be rearranging furniture, hanging curtains or drapes, or some such nonsense, and possibly even building risers for their beds so that they would be right near the loft window. Bella looked a little overwhelmed, but she was a good sport and let Alice have her fun. She was an easy-going girl with a great disposition.
Alice was telling us now how important it would be for us to get a good breakfast. I was tired just thinking about it. I knew how demanding Alice could be. She was small, but she could be a tyrant. Or a dictator. Or a despot. Or the best of all three wrapped in one. Sometimes I wondered how Jasper put up with her. Then again, sometimes I wondered how she put up with him. We'd see what she thought of his surprise today.
After breakfast Alice and Bella headed off to the store. Alice had a shopping list featuring matching bedding, curtains, curtain rods, pillows, floor cushions and a string of lights. I wondered if Bella was having second thoughts.
Jasper herded me to the Clown Car. He had to run an errand to his favorite thrift shop. I knew what he was shopping for, and I was a little embarrassed to be going along. But he wanted my opinion. It was things like this that made me wonder about his sanity. He was going to spring his surprise on Alice. Bella would undoubtedly get a kick out of it. I'd been tempted to tell her last night on the way back home from the fitness center, but it was much more fun to pique her curiosity and then aggravate her by not telling her.
A little over an hour later we were back at the dorm. Before Jasper and I headed up to the girls' suite, he had to change his clothes. He had made a special purchase for himself and needed to put it on. I let him lead the way up the stairs. He knocked at Alice's door and she opened it a moment later. She let out a little shriek of laughter when she saw him and then jumped into his arms, giggling. He was wearing a kilt. Well, it wasn't really a kilt. It was a woman's plaid, pleated skirt. On him, with his socks pulled up high, it did sort of look like a kilt. Not many guys I knew could pull off a woman's plaid, pleated skirt.
Alice pulled away from him, still laughing. Bella was in the room with Alice. Her eyes grew wide in disbelief as she saw him. She turned to me and mouthed the words 'the surprise?' as she pointed at him. I nodded and she laughed.
"Oh, Jasper,' Alice sighed dramatically, "You have got such great legs for a kilt."
"Thanks, my little Lassie. I tried to convince Edward to buy a pair of cowboy chaps to go with the Country Western music theme. But he was totally opposed and unwavering."
"Yes, Jasper, I was totally opposed because those were assless chaps. Actually, I wouldn't have let myself be caught dead in chaps, with or without ass coverage."
"Oh, Edward, you're such a downer all the time. You've got to relax and enjoy yourself. Besides, you've got a great ass." He winked lasciviously at me a few times.
I shook my head in dismay, pinching the bridge of my nose.
Alice and Bella both laughed. Bella was blushing. Probably the ass comment from Jasper.
Shortly after that Victoria and Lauren joined us, coming out of Victoria's room. That put an end to our levity. I knew Victoria would try to take charge, but that wasn't going to happen with Alice involved. Nobody takes the reins out of Alice's hands in a situation like this. Not when it comes to decorating or fashion.
It turned out that Alice had a lot more support on her side from the rest of us, and Victoria only had Lauren. So our team won the coin toss and we called the plays.
We decided that the easiest way to do this was to swap out the closet contents at the same time first. If we each grabbed a handful of clothing on hangers and swapped them at the same time, we would be saving ourselves some time and effort. Then we would take the drawers from the dresser in one room and swap them with the drawers from the dresser in the other, as long as they would fit okay. The furniture was all standard, so that turned out to be a piece of cake.
Not so much a piece of cake, however, was the fact that the drawer that I now pulled out, and was now transferring to Bella's new room, was the drawer filled with her underwear. Shit! I had to look at all that skimpy, lacey stuff and not break out in a sweat. I already had that dream image in my mind. Now I could clad it in sexy lingerie. Double shit!
I couldn't help staring at it. Some of the stuff in the drawer didn't even look worth the effort to put on. Then it dawned on me that the point in putting some of this stuff on, was so that it could also be taken off. For someone. For someone like Jake. I didn't know him, but he was really beginning to annoy the crap out of me.
Fucking piece-of-unknown-quantity shit!
I walked into Bella's new room and asked her where she wanted this drawer. I think I kind of shoved it in her face a little. She looked at the contents and blushed a bright red all the way up to her hairline. I have to admit, it was kind of worth it, just to see that reaction. And just to hear that stammer. I felt like it served her right. If this drawer full of fantasies was going to make me feel uncomfortable and awkward and pissed off, it might just as well make her life a tad bit miserable too.
BPOV
I could barely get the words out when Edward asked me where I wanted that dresser drawer. I looked down at it and was mortified that he was holding every bra and panty that I owned. Boy shorts, bikinis, thongs. Yikes! I couldn't even look him in the eye. And he was just right there; kind of up in my face. I tried to act nonchalant, but I knew my blush was giving me away. And he had just looked kind of pleased with himself; like he wanted me to be embarrassed. What was that all about? It irritated me a little bit because he seemed to be getting a rise out of this. Oh no!...tell me he's not getting an actual rise out of this!
I managed to point to the space in the dresser where that drawer was supposed to go. He slid it into place while I quickly exited the room. I needed to get away from him. I went back into my old room and began to fold the comforter from my bed. When he came into the room I just shoved my pillows and comforter into his arms just to give him something to do quickly so I wouldn't have to think about him.
"Here, lie on my bed."
His breath hitched. "What?"
What?...What had I just said? "I mean this. Lay this on my bed."
His mouth twisted tightly as he took the things from me quickly and abruptly spun around, leaving without a word. I left the room just after him and bolted for the bathroom. Once I had shut the door behind me looked at myself in the mirror and then I splashed some cold water on my face.
Bella! What the hell? What is wrong with you?
I could do this. There was no reason for this to be so difficult. I splashed a little more water onto my heated face, dried off, took a deep breath and headed to my room.
EPOV
How does she do it? How does she manage to just ruin me?
There I was, feeling all smug because I'd taken my embarrassing awkward moment and turned it around onto her. I had made her feel embarrassed about her skimpy lingerie. Then I walked into her room to get the next thing and she tells me 'lie on my bed'. It wasn't what she'd meant to say. Or was it?
Was it? Did she say it on purpose? Was she trying to mess with my mind? Was it a Freudian slip? What the hell is happening here?
I'd grabbed the pillows and comforter and done a quick about-face, heading back to the new room. My mind was racing, trying to figure out her last verbal slip, when the scent from her pillow hit me like a wrecking ball. It was her scent, intensified. Heavier on her pillow and bedding. Holy shit! I held the things up a little closer to my face and breathed in, closing my eyes. She smelled so fucking good. A part of me wanted to slink away with her things and find a secluded spot to wrap myself up in her scent and maybe just sleep for a while. And dream that dream.
Oh, I'm so fucked!
I paused outside the door to Alice's room, leaning against the wall in the hallway. Jasper was on his way back through.
"You okay, Edward?"
"Yeah," I told him, opening my eyes and adjusting the load I held in front of me. "I just felt dizzy. I think I stood up too quickly. I'll be okay. Give me a moment."
I just have to wait until the tent I'm pitching subsides, because I'm so fucked!
BPOV
I came back out of the bathroom and went into my old room. Alice and Jasper had moved the contents of my desk and bookshelf. There was only one thing left of me in the Celtic Crystal Kingdom. I unplugged my desk lamp. The one that matched Edward's. I carried it into my new room and set it on my desk, reaching down to plug it in.
"Where did Edward and Jasper go?" I asked Alice, looking around and noting their absence.
"They'll be back shortly. They went downstairs to get some unused risers from Emmett so we can raise our beds to just under the loft windows. We'll put one end of each of the beds on top of our closets for support on that end. The other end will need a few bunk extensions and I think it'll be level. We'll have to climb up using the bars on the extensions to get into bed at night, like getting into a high bunk bed, but it will give us all kinds of room below to make a lounge area."
"That sounds really cool yet dangerous, Alice. You'll be the one that has to call nine-one-one when I fall out of bed some night."
"What are friends for?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. "Bella, you'll be fine. When was the last time you fell out of bed?"
"I think I was about six."
"My point exactly. Plus, if we ever wanted to climb out onto the roof we could do that with our beds right there at the loft windows."
"Why would I want to climb out of the window?"
"It's good to be prepared for any eventuality, Bella."
Edward and Jasper returned with the bed frame extensions and Alice explained how she wanted enough of them attached together so they would form a ladder at one end of our bunks. These ladders would be at the foot end of each bed. Meanwhile the head end of the beds would rest on top of each of our closets for support at the opposite end. Our beds would be placed on the far end of our room, beneath the window. Alice's bed would go against the side wall; mine would be perpendicular to hers, just under the loft window.
It didn't take long for Edward and Jasper to put together the risers, lift the bed frame up and put it on top of the closet and attach the extended legs on the foot end. They managed to lift the mattresses up onto the bed frames once the beds were in place.
After that we began creating a sort of lounge below the beds, between the closets, framed with the sheer curtains hung on rods . The rods were attached to the bed frames, and the lounge was filled with throw pillows and cushions. The curtains and pillows gave the room a rather exotic, airy feel. Jasper was helping Alice to open and untangle the twinkle lights, so they could attach them to the underside of the bed frames.
The only thing we hadn't taken into consideration was how difficult it was now going to be to make our beds. I climbed up on top of my bed and began pulling and tucking the fitted sheet into place. Alice and I now had matching sheets and comforters. I scrambled around on my bed, attaching the corners, and then began tucking the flat sheet into place.
I had moved backward to turn around and work on the other end of the bed, when one of my legs suddenly slid off the edge. I gasped loudly as my other leg slipped from the momentum and I quickly grabbed onto the far side of the mattress to keep myself from falling off the bed and landing on my back on the floor below. I heard quick steps below me and suddenly I felt someone's hands on my body. Strong arms were supporting me. I heard Edward's voice behind and below me.
"Just let go, Bella. You'll be okay. I've got you now."
I released my grip and felt my body slowly and carefully pulled down, sliding against his warm, strong body until my feet were on the floor and he released me. I had been so frantic, and maybe that worked to my benefit, because I think I would have focused more on the feeling of being in Edward's arms as he helped me down. And I didn't want to focus on that. That wouldn't have been smart.
"Oh, God, that was close!" I exhaled, bending over to catch my breath and calm myself.
"Yeah, that was too close," Edward's voice was tight. I turned around to see him turn and head out the door.
EPOV
It scared me when Bella came flying off the edge of the bed. She had been up there trying to organize the sheets and comforter. I'd heard her gasp and I had managed to get to her quickly, while she was hanging there. I grabbed hold of her to support her so she wouldn't fall, in case she couldn't hold on, then I told her I had her, that she could let go.
She let go and I gently pulled her down and into me, letting the weight of her body slide down along the length of mine until her feet touched the floor. She was so warm and soft and so small and she just smelled so good. I found that when her feet hit the floor, I didn't really want to let go of her. My arms were bands of steel that I had to mentally pry off of her before she noticed my difficulty.
My reaction to having her in my arms was far more frightening than it had been seeing her nearly fly off the bed.
And so I had to get the hell out of there before I did or said something stupid.
Fuck! This is so fucking fucked up!
A/N: So the girls are now together and Edward is coming rapidly unglued.
