Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.
A/N: Back again! I'm really trying my best to do weekly updates with this story now that it's my only WIP. That being said, I'm on vacation this week with limited wifi, but the next chapter is already written so I just need to get it to my beta, myonlyheroin, who is absolutely amazing and I adore her like no other!
If you've reviewed any of the last chapters and have not gotten an outtake please please please let me know!
This chapter is rated M for adult situations and citrus.
Let's get to it!
You Can't Draw A Line In Water
Chapter 13
…(Edward)...
I woke up to the sound of rapid pounding coming from my locked bedroom door. After rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands, I stretched my arms and legs out in front of me and slowly got up from my bed then made my way across the room to see what the hell was so goddamn important.
When I opened the door, Tanya was standing there in the tiny silk Victoria Secret nightgown I'd bought for her last Christmas with her hands at her hips, and her eyes digging fiercely into my well guarded, 'don't fuck with me tonight', soul.
"There's someone here for you. He said it's important, and you weren't answering your phone."
Without saying a single word, I pushed past her barely clothed body and reached behind my back to close my door before walking down the hall to see who was here.
Who I found surprised me, "Emmett, what's up?" I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost eight after noticing the sun was actually starting to set behind him.
"Sorry to drop in on you like this, but I just hung up with Aro on my way into the office, and he noticed you'd logged in a couple of hours earlier but went silent. He's hoping you'll get in at least two more kinks in your belt before the days over. I wanted to give you a heads up, since Jasper mentioned you guys might go out again tonight."
I could feel Tanya watching us. This was not good. The last place she needed to be was in my business.
"Come in, let's talk in my room."
He nodded after looking over my shoulder, then followed me inside, "Thanks for getting E for me, gorgeous, and thanks for the perfect ten view while I waited."
My eyes nearly rolled into the back of my head as we passed by my ex who was now grinning ear to ear, while also undressing my friend and co-worker with her doe like eyes. She giggled and blushed over his scripted line, then asked if she could get him a beer. He politely declined and instead continued to move past her, which I was thankful for, but I already knew he'd have plenty more to say once we were alone.
As soon as we were in my room with the door shut, Emmett let out a loud whistle and collapsed backward into the chair beside my laptop, "Seriously, that is one fine piece of ass you used to fuck."
"Yup, too bad it was someone else who finally got to put it in that ass after three long years of me dealing with all of her games and only making half an inch of progress."
"That's some kind of bullshit buddy, but hey… bigger and better things these days, amiright?"
"Absolutely. I had to watch my girlfriend get pummeled from behind by someone else's dick, but then Bella moved in right next door two weeks later to substantially change my world. I'm pretty damn happy with that trade." I replied smirking, then received two thumbs up from Emmett in response. "Did you get my sister home okay?"
"Yeah, met your mom too. Nice lady. She even cooked me breakfast."
This caused me to pause. I hadn't seen, or spoken to my mom in over a month. To hear her be mentioned by someone else, someone I still barely even knew, it felt weird and I wasn't sure how to respond.
I honestly had one option here, and that was to change the subject.
"Look, I'll try to get in another hour, but I'm supposed to take Bella out tonight, and I still haven't showered. Tell Aro I'll clock ten hours easy tomorrow. I'll even try to stop in and say hi."
"Bro, you're hand is going to go numb."
"Bro, do you really think I jerk off with every call I take?" I laughed in disbelief, then found myself wondering if he did.
He snickered something under his breath, then leaned back further, and shook his head, "Nah, the newbs usually do, thinking they're showing off, but I should have known you wouldn't be a typical chump. Last night was fun by the way. Thanks for inviting me to come out."
"Anytime. It's too bad you've got to go in tonight, or I'd invite you to join us for the encore to close out Bella's birthday weekend."
Emmett shrugged indifferently and pulled out his phone to check its screen from his hand, "Gotta pay the bills. I should be off tomorrow night, let's do something if you're not too exhausted from sitting in front of your laptop all day making horny housewives moan."
"Gotta pay the bills." I quipped back after flopping down onto my air-mattress with an exhausted huff.
My co-worker let out a short laugh then caught me by surprise when he suddenly tossed his phone from his hand down into my lap. I looked up at him unsure of what I was supposed to do with it, "You're not about to show me naked photos of my sister, are you?"
"No, yah sick fuck! Those are for my eyes only."
That earned him a swift kick to his left shin from my foot. "Just look at it!" He laughed, after bending over to rub at his leg.
I reluctantly glanced down at the screen then felt my pussified smile take complete control of my now smug face. It was a photo of Bella and I from last night. She was looking up at me with the most awe-struck smile I'd ever seen while I'd been laughing over something the both of us had just shared.
"I like to take candid shots when I'm out amongst real live people. It's a hobby of mine. Girl wants your cock, bro... Bad."
I held my laugh in this time and shook my head, feeling my face begin to flush as if I were some pubescent teenager, "Can you send it to me?"
He nodded and gestured with his hand for me to return his phone over to him.
"Look, Mase, I'm showing this to you as a warning, because I've seen it before. Hell, I've lived through it myself. You need to stay focused on your job right now, or you're going to lose it, and I know you can't afford for that to happen. I get it. Bella is an awesome chick, and I'm sure she gives a phenomenal blow job with those pouty lips of hers, but she's never going to be the one to pay your bills. I really stuck my neck out for you with Aro, please don't let me down. He spent a lot of money getting you set up in here."
I thought over what he was saying then slowly nodded my head. "I can juggle it all, I just need to find a good rhythm between the two. Bella's family showed up this morning, so that threw off what I'd planned to get done. I promise I'll meet my quota, and then some before the week is out."
"Good. We already lost two people this month. We don't need to add a third."
"Two people? Really?"
"Yeah, a tool who thought he was worth more than his weight in gold, and some chick with a dick who broke rule number one on her first night by setting up an off-site, in person, meeting with a client behind Aro's back. Dumb shits."
For a second, I considered mentioning Jasper's name to fill in until they found someone more steady, but I thankfully paused long enough to change my mind before those words had actually left my mouth.
Emmett stood up from his chair and ran his hand anxiously through his hair from above me. "I'll give you a wake-up call tomorrow afternoon to get your ass online. Enjoy your night, but if you happen to find yourself not enjoying it, make me proud and come on home to fulfill some fantasies for faceless strangers."
I laughed and promised him I'd do just that, then stood up from the floor to open my bedroom door and walk him out. Tanya was sitting on the sofa watching TV, but she turned around to eye my buddy and gave him a seductive smile, "I hope to see more of you around, handsome!"
Emmett looked over at me with his eyes wide and shook his head in disapproval while also smirking in the process, "Seriously bro, if she was not your ex, I'd be all over that."
"I thought you were into my sister," I grumbled, then narrowed my stare so he'd know I wasn't joking around.
It didn't surprise me that Emmett would be a player, but I needed him to understand if he was going to go after Rose, I didn't need to know about every horny thought that entered his pervy mind when it came to getting his dick wet or we would eventually have a problem.
"I am, I am! I'm just saying, that girl is dangerous, and you're messing with fire by still sharing a roof with her."
He opened the front door and I followed him outside, then let out a strangled huff. "Tell me something I don't already know. Why do you think I need this job? I've got to get out of here before I do something stupid."
Emmett slapped the top of my shoulder with his hand and gave it a firm squeeze, "Then stay focused! You've got this. In a months time, and once you start doing video chats, you'll have more than enough to become my neighbor over on Ocean Drive."
Ocean Drive was the equivalent of the Upper East Side in New York City. It was also where I'd grown up with my family until I'd graduated high school and moved into this place with Tanya three years ago.
"Ha! It would be nice to go back to the old neighborhood."
Emmett smirked and released me from his hold, "Talk to you tomorrow, my friend. Stay out of trouble until then."
I nodded in response and watched him walk towards the elevator, then went back inside to get a little more work clocked in to keep Aro happy before I fell from his good graces.
From the sound of things, he was already having a bad couple of weeks, and I didn't need to add to it.
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At nine-twenty on the dot, my phone began to obnoxiously ring from my nightstand. I'd just wrapped up another chat with a frequent customer of mine, so I was feeling mighty accomplished, and also in need of a break.
I looked down at the time clock at on my screen and saw that I'd successfully locked in four solid hours and five minutes for Aro, then decided to go ahead and close down my laptop. I leaned over to grab my cell up before it vibrated off the nightstand and instantly found my easy smile.
It was, Bella.
"Hey beautiful, everything okay?"
We'd been sending texts back and forth almost every hour on the hour, except for when I'd passed out for a bit after I'd gotten a little work in earlier in the day when she'd been out at the mall with her family.
"They're finally gone. Can you come over?"
She'd barely even finished her second sentence, but I was already putting my sneakers on and jumping up from my bed. I almost ran right into Tanya when I'd bolted out of my room to lock the door behind me.
Without saying a word to her, which was my new goal in life- all day every day, I kept my phone to my ear and headed down the hall while she glared in my direction, throwing daggers into the back of my head.
"Are you sure it's safe?" I teased into my phone as I stepped outside and slammed the front door behind me.
"Just get your ass over here!" Bella laughed into her receiver. I knocked loudly three times and she giggled again just before the door swung open to throw herself into my arms.
"Too long." She sighed against me, holding onto me so tightly I could barely get my own arms around her without searching for a breath of air.
Christ does she smell good.
"Are your brothers not coming out with us? Why'd they leave?"
"They're taking my dad back to the hotel and changing. They'll meet us over there a little later." She casually informed me as she pulled me further inside her apartment.
I looked around and noticed there were no longer any boxes stacked around the place. They'd actually gotten quite a bit done in the last few days. I was impressed because her apartment was starting to look like a real lived in home with long-term plans.
"Is Alice here?"
Bella shook her head and continued to lead me into the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and offered one out towards me, but I declined since I had only one thing on my mind now.
"Nope. Not home. She's been with your bestie all day. They'll also be meeting us at Joe's."
I started to move closer towards her with my brow suggestively raised in newfound anticipation, then eyed her with purpose both up and down, and then side to side, "So, we've got the place all to ourselves?"
She grinned in my direction, bit down anxiously at her bottom lip and nodded her head again, taking a sip from the bottle of water she was still holding in her hand.
The moment she removed it from her lips and set it down, I rushed her back into my arms to lift her body up onto the countertop, and she wrapped her legs around my torso to pull me in even closer up against her.
Her hands grabbed at my hair at the back of my head as soon as our lips had collided, and I felt all of the blood that was pumping through my body instantly race to my thickening cock.
We were officially in serious trouble.
There was nothing to stop us except for ourselves, and I wasn't sure either one of us had that kind of willpower left.
She moaned against my mouth, and with the vibrations from her lips, I pulled her even further against me so she'd feel all of my excitement being pressed firmly between her legs.
Her hands began to grab at the bottom of my shirt, breaking our kiss for a moment to remove it from over the top of my head, and she tossed it behind her shoulders to latch onto the back of my neck before returning her tongue to mine.
My own fingers were making careful swipes down her chest from the top of her tank top towards her belly button, then dipped past the elastic band at the center of the tiny gym shorts she'd been wearing when she'd opened the door to me.
I grabbed at her hips to lift her up into the air again then pushed the fabric down past her perfect ass so my hands would be cupping her smooth skin in my needfully opened palms. My grasp shifted her center more deeply against me when she increased her hold around my waist, using her smooth legs to create even more friction over my ever growing hard-on.
All I could think about was getting us someplace where I'd be able to feel more of her on top of me without sending her into panic mode, and shutting down. Seconds later, my arms were carrying her away from the counter, but our mouths continued to move with fervent speed. I could feel her lust filled need for this, her longing for it to happen, but there was also an annoying little voice in the back of my head reminding me that this might be too much, too soon, and I needed to prepare myself for that.
Then again, we were both entirely sober here… so no real wrong choices could actually be made.
Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Cullen.
Whatever it takes to cross that line.
"My room." She breathlessly whispered beside my ear. I'd broken away from her lips to start biting at her neck after I'd pressed her back firmly against the wall beside her humming fridge.
She didn't have to tell me twice.
The only way I could have possibly walked us any faster through the open doorway of her bedroom would have been if I'd actually broken into an Olympic timed sprint. She was giggling by the time I'd tossed her down onto her bed, and I was mounting her seconds later to close the space between us and feel her warm breath against my skin again.
"We're going to be late," I warned when her mouth suddenly left mine to pace her breathing. Bella pushed me over onto my back with both of her hands, positioning herself on top of me with her legs spread over my lap while she continued to eye my shirtless body with ramped up hunger in her heated stare.
She began raining perfectly spaced kisses down my neck and across my collarbone before moving down to my nipple to take it between her teeth, causing my breathing to hitch with each motion her mouth made over my tingling skin.
I closed my eyes, wanting to feel every touch she brought to my body, and willed myself to calm my growing urge to strip her bare, and take her right then and there before she'd have a chance to change her mind.
"I... couldn't... care... less… about… going… anywhere… right… now." She murmured just above a whisper between each shift of her lips as she traveled further and further down the center of my chest with her hands now making purposeful swipes at my belt.
She was sending me all kinds of signals, and none of them involved me slowing her down.
I couldn't remember the last time my dick had felt this hard, but I was feeling more than grateful that I'd had several chances to spank out some of my frustrations earlier in the day, so I'd be able to last if we really did take this leap together right here, right now.
When she suddenly paused and remained quiet, I panicked and opened my eyes to look down at her.
Bella was hesitating, and it didn't take me long to realize what had triggered her hesitation.
We'd reached that line in the sand, and now that we were lying here right beside it, with my dick about to be in her mouth, she was having a difficult time deciding whether or not she was actually ready to cross it.
"Bella, we can stop," I whispered, reaching down to pull at her shoulders so I could bring her back up against my chest where she'd be lying on top of me. "If you're not ready, we don't have to do this."
She let out another rushed breath and crumbled into my chest covering her face, "Christ, that's twice today. You must hate me." I heard her mumble from below my chin. I laughed softly and shook my head from above her, then increased my grasp with my arms around her stilled body.
"I should have pulled the breaks in the kitchen. I don't ever want you to feel pressured. There's no rush for me. I mean that. If I've learned nothing else over these last two weeks, I've accepted that you're going to be worth the wait."
Although, it sure would be nice to cross that line at least once before the future lawyer manipulator boyfriend came back into town.
"That's the problem, Edward. You're not pressuring me at all, and I know I want you…Christ, do I want you… I just… I'm not there yet."
A part of me had to wonder if her not being 'there yet' had anything to do with her family being here to plant fresh seeds in her head, but I had to be okay with this, so it honestly didn't even matter what her reasoning might be.
"It's fine. Just give me your panties and two minutes in the bathroom, and then we can go." I teased, trying my best to keep a straight face. She smacked me with her hands before bringing her lips back down to kiss me softly three more times then ran her fingertips through my hair next to my ear.
"I promise to make it worth your while once I am… there."
"I don't doubt that at all, neighbor girl."
She grinned looking down into my eyes, and I sighed loudly when she slowly removed herself from my lap. I watched her walk over to her closet and pull out a change of clothes for tonight, then felt my cock start to lose its steady salute and my balls, subsequently, begin to ache.
"If you were serious about the panty thing, I won't judge." She casually called out from over her shoulder. I laughed and shook my head, then pushed myself off her bed to rush her back into my arms to hug her tightly against me and also kiss her neck.
"Maybe I'll take a pair to go for later tonight when you send me home."
She laughed and leaned herself into me, then let out her own frustrated huff that sent the hair up beside her face and out to the sides as if a gust of wind had just swirled around us, "Seriously… Thank you for being so understanding."
I shrugged and kissed her forehead, "I'm absolutely okay with treating you like a fine wine, Bella Swan. Just so long as you let me keep you on my shelf until you're ready to be opened and fully savored." I felt her giggling against me, thanks to my abundantly cheesy words, then smirked, feeling victorious in helping take some of the awkwardness away from her.
When I finally let go of her, she wasn't at all shy about getting undressed in front of me.
Nope.
Not shy at all.
My eyes scanned her barely clothed body as she slipped further out of her lounge clothes and into some tight skinny jeans. She pulled her tank top up and over her head to slide on a fresh new shirt, then tossed her hair out at her shoulders before straightening her stance to fully face me again, with my jaw still dangling open.
It was official; I was addicted, and I was absolutely okay with that.
"You will be so worth the wait, neighbor girl."
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When we got to the bar, Alice made it a point to take an exaggerated look down at her watch before shaking her finger at us in disapproval with a roll from her eyes.
"What have you done to my, Bella? She is never late for anything! I was about to send out a search party with Charlie Swan at the helm of it!"
Bella grinned and looked away, trying to avoid her best friends eyes, likely out of fear she'd be able to read it on her face, what it was that had made us so late in the first place, and Jasper was already pushing a beer into my hand before we'd even sat down.
He gave me a good once over then raised his brow, "How's your night been thus far, buddy? Clock in some good billable calls before coming out to play with us common folk?"
If he said anything else, I'd be applying some serious pressure to his foot from below the table to help shut him up. All it took was a quick glare, and he slowly leaned back against the booth then laughed to himself while shaking his head side to side before opening his mouth again, "Riley and Mike just started another round of pool, have you heard from your sister?"
I nodded and told him Rose would be here around eleven after she got done at work, then took several gulps from my beer as I looked around the room.
No sign of Kate or her typical clique.
This was good.
"So Bella, we've heard E's take. What say you? Has he won over any of the Swan boys with his irresistible charm, and ever clever wit?" Alice questioned just as Bella slid her hand over my knee to grasp at my upper thigh.
"He did good. Sam likes him. He doesn't want to, but he does. James will forever be-"
"James will forever be the brother who will never ever accept anyone but Jacob Black into the family circle. Yes, that does sound about right. Sorry E, you can't win them all." Alice finished for her, then took a sip from her own drink while smirking behind its rounded rim.
Bella scoffed at her words but said nothing to deny that her friend was right. Before anyone could say anything else though, the party in question walked through the door looking directly at the table where we were all sitting.
It was almost as if they'd known exactly where to find us, and this sent a slight chill down my spine.
I moved out of the booth to let Bella stand up, and watched silently while she met her brothers at the center of the room with Alice at her side, landing a kiss to both of their cheeks.
"So, did you at least get a hand job from someone besides yourself before you headed out tonight?"
"Shut up, Jazz," I grumbled through clenched teeth after I'd redirected my stare down towards the beer bottle I was still holding over the table in front of me. "We came close, but nothing has changed since this morning. Just some heavy petting, and blue ball inducing dry-humping, both in and out of water at this point."
He let out one short laugh and clinged his bottle to mine, "Girl has got you beating all kinds of personal records. Too bad it's none of the good ones. Two weeks stuck on barely second base in the real world. Sad, Cullen."
I kicked my best friend from under the table and looked back over towards Bella only to find my cousin now hugging her against him. She gave Riley a quick kiss to his cheek while his hand lingered at her lower back giving it soft sweeps with his extended thumb to keep her right there beside him, and I felt a fresh new wave of frustration rush over me.
"I see Riley has amped up his plays. I figured he'd back off after seeing you guys together on the boat."
Jasper had obviously taken notice to what had captured my attention, and he'd also decided to flame my annoyances over it.
My eyes watched on as Bella introduced her brothers to our other friends, and then they all walked over to the bar together after she'd stolen a glance my way to make sure I was still sitting down at the table where she'd left me.
"Which one likes you?"
"Sam. The taller one with dark hair."
"Alright, I'll take the smaller guy then, and distract him with my bro- like debonair. Alice said she'd be on Kate duty if she does show up. Speak of the devil, there's your girl now." I turned to look at where his gaze had gone and locked eyes with my former high school flame almost instantly. She gave me a soft wave from her hand up beside her shoulder, and I returned it with a nod from my head but didn't send her any other signals that might bring her over here towards us.
"We've got you covered, Eduardo. It's officially my goal to get you laid before the boyfriend comes to town to shake things up all over again."
I laughed at my best friend, and took another sip from my beer to finish it off, then grabbed all the other empty bottles so I'd have an excuse to head up to the bar myself to toss them into the garbage.
"Here we go. Let's see if I can really pull this off."
"You got this, just don't let them get into your head." Jasper encouraged giving my shoulder a quick pulse from his hand. "I mean, as long as you don't end up in a bathroom with Kate's head in your lap, like the good old days, you should be totally fine." I let out a low grumble and gave him a swift shove away from me, then dropped the glass bottles I'd been carrying into the bin beside the bar before purposely positioning myself between Bella and my cousin to bring her in under my arm.
She smiled up into my eyes and blew me a quick kiss from her lips, but went right back into the conversation she'd been sharing with Alice and James without missing a beat.
At least she seemed at ease.
That was good.
I could work with that.
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It was well after midnight, and I was feeling a nice little buzz after several beers mixed in with some competitive pool, darts and a shot of top-shelf liquor. Bella and Alice had gone back to take their place at our booth with Riley and Mike while the rest of us finished up our most recent round of drinks at the bartop talking about football, and then the newest gentleman's club that had just opened up downtown… where Kate was apparently moonlighting for the experience and not the money- as she'd explained.
When she'd excused herself to go to the bathroom about five minutes ago, I'd felt a huge weight lift itself from my shoulders.
While she'd been behaving, for the most part, I'd caught Sam eyeing her impulsive hands several times whenever she'd reach out to randomly steady herself against me throughout the evening. She'd also rarely left my side for longer than two minutes at a time, but I was determined to not let that bother me since it hadn't seemed to bother Bella.
As the night had worn on, James actually seemed more than just a little bit interested in my sister, which of course creeped me out, but if it earned me any points, I was going to find a way to force myself to be fine with it. Not to mention, it was rare for any man to not be interested in Rose, so the reaction was something I was more than used to at this point in our shared life.
Thankfully, she seemed to enjoy his attention, but she also seemed to be checking her phone quite a bit texting back and forth with someone else.
"So, do you to two like finish each other's sentences and shit?" Sam had just asked, bringing me back to the conversation we were all sharing.
"Sometimes. Not so much these days." Rose answered for me with a soft smile. She'd seemed extra melancholy when she'd first found us, but after three beers she'd started to lighten up, and that had in turn also helped me relax.
"Do you guys feel it when the other one gets hurt?" James followed up, looking back and forth between the two of us. He really had started to warm up to me, and I'd caught Bella beaming over that fact several times during the last hour or so when he and I would end up laughing about something ridiculous together.
"Nah, believe it or not, neither one of us has ever broken a bone, or received a single stitch to our body… so I guess it's possible… we just haven't had the proper opportunity to experience it yet." I informed him, then smirked at my sister.
That was when my phone began to vibrate from my pocket, causing me to pull it out with my hand to check the screen. Before looking down, I glanced over to where Bella was sitting and saw her laughing hard over something and also leaning into my cousin who was helping her stay upright in her seat beside him.
It was becoming abundantly obvious that I was going to have to have a no-bullshit conversation with Riley in order to make sure he understood where his limits were in terms of the girl who had taken over my every waking thought.
Sure, technically she was fair game because we were still only 'seeing' each other, and there were no set rules in regards to the relationship we were molding, but he was my cousin and some well-established rules between him and I were clearly going to be needed.
It seemed like any chance he'd get to have his hands on her, he'd take it, and then make it last uncomfortably long. At least for me, it was uncomfortable. Bella didn't seem to be too bothered by it.
I wasn't sure if that was what bothered me the most, about the connection they seemed to be making whenever I wasn't beside her, but I knew I didn't like any part of it.
My phone buzzed in my hand again and I looked down not recognizing the number that was calling me. I narrowed my stare and hit the answer button then brought it up to my ear, "Yeah?"
"Edward! Thank god!" Was all I heard, then what sounded like muffled jargon and static white noise penetrated my ear. Whoever it was, they sounded like they were in need of some help, but I couldn't hear anything except for the loud music that was blaring from the booming speakers above our heads in the bar.
"I'll be right back, it's too damn loud in here," I told Jasper, then pushed my finger into my other ear to try and make out the person on the other end of the phone. "Hello? Give me a sec, I'm going outside, so I can hear you better."
I headed down the hall past the bathrooms, then went out the back exit to go into the same alley where Bella and I had shared our talk almost a week ago and decided to throw down our gloves, just to see what might happen if we did.
Once silence finally surrounded me, I called out into my phone again, but no one was there. I pulled it away from my ear and noticed the call had been dropped, then let out an annoyed huff before I could stuff the damn thing into my pocket to turn around and go back inside.
I reached my arm out to open the door but then heard someone calling out my name from the darker side of the alley.
I squinted my eyes and tilted my head to the side trying to make out who it was.
Is that…
I walked forward and abruptly stopped once the person came further out from the shadows with a suggestive smirk on their face and their arms at their hips, "Kate? What are you doing out here? Why aren't you inside?"
"Don't worry. No one saw me sneak out." She boldly explained while her eyes studied my face for my reaction. "No one has to know we were alone together at all, E." I watched her take a few more short steps towards me until my back was pressed against the brick wall of the building, and sucked back a breath when her hands reached up to get lost in my hair after she'd closed the gap between us.
"Come on, let's go back inside. We've all been having a good time. Let's not ruin it." I mumbled, accidentally noticing the way her breasts moved up and down against me with each and every inhale and exhale she took.
"How about if you and I have a good time right here, with no one else watching?" She gave my hair a gentle tug so I'd look her directly in the eyes when she spoke again, and I felt the beat of my heart quicken in pace as my cock began to automatically react to her touch.
I was having a difficult time coordinating all of my thoughts, let alone my actual actions at the moment, and that action was involuntary.
She'd caught me completely off guard after a couple of beers and the shot of whiskey we'd downed at the bar twenty minutes ago... and now that I was here… and she was here… and I was still feeling horny as hell from where Bella had left me on the edge back at her place… it seemed as though my fight or flight response had been temporarily disarmed, and I was now frozen in place.
"Let's play. I won't tell if you won't tell, and I have a feeling you would never tell." She whispered beside my ear before biting down on its lobe with her teeth and then licking it with the tip of her tongue. "Come on. No one has to know, Edward."
Her lips began to move towards mine, and I watched her close her eyes as one of her hands grasped seductively at the back of my neck, and then other found its perfect path to the center of my pants.
When our mouths did meet for a few stolen kisses, she melted against me but continued to move her fingers with needful purpose between us while the warmth of her breath rushed across the nap of my neck before her teeth met my skin.
This wasn't what I wanted, but it still felt like something I needed.
It also felt familiar, and for whatever reason… harmless.
That, of course, had to be the alcohol talking, but at that moment, I didn't care.
She unfastened my belt and slid her hand into my boxers to grab hold of me, then right as she'd lowered herself down onto her knees to take me into her mouth something snapped, and I pushed her away so hard she almost fell backward onto her hands over the asphalt. "Jesus Christ, Edward! What the fuck?!"
"You need to stop." I barked at her, "This is not okay. I am not some conquest that you need to fulfill, just so you can shove it into Tanya's face the next day, Kate." She looked up at me with shock on her face, and tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "Don't! Don't you dare cry just because I won't let you suck me off!"
She pulled back a loud sob deep into her lungs, then covered her face with her hands and turned her body away from me so all I'd be able to see were her shoulders shaking with her unsteady tears.
"Please, Kate. Stop crying. You know I hate that." I pleaded after reaching out to rest my hands over her trembling shoulders. I turned her around and wiped her face with my index fingers, then cupped her cheeks with my palms so she'd look up at me. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't, but I also don't want to do this with you. I can't be that person. I'm trying my best here to do right by Bella."
"Bella is inside practically sitting in Riley's lap right now hanging on to his every word, and if you left her alone, I'm sure she'd end up asking him for a ride home tonight."
I narrowed my eyes and dropped my arms down to my sides, "No. She wouldn't," I growled.
Kate wiped the remaining tears from her face, smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Have it your way," she sniffled, "Sooner or later you'll see, I'm what's right for you. The real you."
I took a step back and crossed my arms in front of me. "It's always been about the chase with you. That's why we never worked out during any of the times when we gave us an honest try. We're done here. We've been done for a long time. Forget about what I said last night. There's no, 'further down the road', for us. We reached our dead end in high school, and you need to accept that." Without waiting for her to say anything else, I turned around, fixed my belt, then left her behind so I could go find Bella to make her my one and only priority again.
When I got inside I walked right up to the table where Bella was still sitting, then told Riley to get up and go grab us another round of beers for our last call.
"It's barely one, man. The night is young."
"Bella and I have somewhere else we need to be," I informed him, then looked over at the girl of my dreams only to find her with a crooked grin on her face looking in my direction. Alice looked beyond confused, but she was also slurring most of her words at this point, so that didn't surprise me too much.
Riley shrugged, then stood up from the booth to walk up to the bar. I watched him exchange a few words with Jasper and Bella's brothers, and in response to my cousins tattling, they began to make their way over to our table.
"Are you going to tell me where else we suddenly need to be?" Bella's soft voice questioned next to my ear after she'd placed her hand over mine to give it a tender squeeze.
"We need to be alone." I watched her eyes get even wider with anticipation over the thought of us making my words come true right as her brothers plopped down into the seat across from us, taking their spot beside a slumped over Alice.
"Riley says you guys are leaving?" James questioned looking at only Bella. She nodded silently, then glanced nervously in my direction.
"Yeah, um, I have to start my work day a little earlier than I'd hoped." I began to explain, then noticed Kate standing off to the side at the bar watching us with sadness in her eyes. I shook her stare from mine and swallowed down all of my guilt, then refocused my attention back onto the people I was currently sharing a table with, "I was going to go ahead and get Bella home since we're heading to the same place… and by place, I mean the same building. She will be going into her apartment, and I'll be going into mine." I managed to get out without actually stuttering.
"I-I can make sure she gets home okay… I mean... if she wants to stay longer." Riley spoke up, nearly stumbling all over his words after he'd slid us each another beer from his hands.
"It's okay, I'm actually really tired. It's been an insane forty-eight hours." Bella quickly told them, "Crazy birthday weekend and all! Plus, Alice is staying at Jasper's tonight anyway, so it makes sense for me to go with Edward."
Sam and James exchanged a few looks, then casually shrugged their shoulders, "Alright, well... get her home safe then, Cullen. We'll be by with dad in the morning to pick you up for breakfast, sis. Make sure you set your alarm."
James actually sounded okay about all of this.
I was shocked.
Perhaps some real progress had been made tonight, and maybe they would go back to their father and let him know I wasn't such a bad guy after all.
And maybe hell has also frozen over.
One good night is not going to give you automatic entry into their world with unwavering approval.
I gulped my beer down, then tossed a couple of paired twenties onto the table. "That should cover me and Bella's tab, plus a tip for Joe."
Jasper slapped his hand with mine and gave me a smug smile, letting me know he was on to the game I was attempting to play. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
I smirked but said nothing in response because there wasn't much in the world that Jasper wouldn't do, and he was well aware that I knew that.
As soon as I was standing upright, Bella was beside me, linking her arm through mine. She blew everyone several kisses from her hand, then leaned down, bringing me with her, to give Alice a quick hug goodbye. Once we were upright again, she began tugging me towards the entrance of the bar to take us outside away from all of our friends and her family to grant us the alone time I was now in desperate need of.
"You earned all kinds of points tonight, my friend." She shared, with an enthusiastic grin on her face, brilliantly highlighted from under the moonlight high above us.
My god she was was pretty.
With just her smile… that was all I'd ever need to be a happy man in this life.
Okay, that was a slight lie… I needed to experience all of her, but her smile was enough to keep me content until she was ready to experience all of me, and I could work with that.
It helped, of course, that she could carry a conversation, and at times even make me feel like the world's most ignorant person thanks to her vast knowledge when it came to random worldly facts and geography.
There was a reason she'd become my muse, and it wasn't just because of her pretty face.
No, she actually had a brain and it was sexy as hell.
"James actually said you weren't too bad, and that you remind him of someone back home, whom I happen to know he thinks the world of!" She was so happy, it was hard for me to not smile with her. I didn't say anything, though. Instead, I started walking us past all of the other storefronts and tall hotels in the opposite direction from where I'd parked my car earlier.
I'd made up my mind.
It was time to give her a soft nudge and see where she'd go with it when the mood was right, and her guard was down- thanks to me winning her brothers over… at least for the night.
"Sam was also impressed. My dad is going to be so pissed in the morning," She giggled, then let out a relieved sounding sigh and pressed her head into my shoulder until she'd realized where I'd been walking us towards. "Edward, you're car is the other way."
"I should not be driving us anywhere right now," I admitted with a nervous laugh, sneaking past my lips.
She smirked in response, then nodded her head, agreeing with me, "Yeah, you're probably right. The po-po around here don't seem to mess around with drunk drivers."
I was now matching her smirk, thanks to her randomly innocent statement, "Po-po?"
"What? Is that a Southern thing?"
"No, it's a west coast gangster thing, but it sounds adorable coming from your lips."
She let out another soft laugh over my pointed response, then took in a deep breath, causing her smile to grow even more. "Mmmm, I smell the ocean,"
"Yes, you do. I was thinking we could go sit and talk on the beach while I sober up a little. Don't worry, we're safe from the embarrassment of an early morning sunrise over the water for at least another couple of hours." I teased as I looked down into her slightly guarded eyes.
She nodded silently after processing my words, and I watched the thoughts in her head slowly begin to pile up.
"When you say talk-"
"Everything is fine. Your brothers have not scared me away with their tales of you wetting the bed until you were eleven. You're right, we actually got along really well tonight." I promised her once I'd realized what it was that had sent her into a slight panic."I think your dad might hate me even more … now that they kind of like me."
She stifled a laugh and I saw her face relax in the shadows. I increased my hold around her shoulders to keep her against me as we neared the seawall that would take us into the soft sand, then guided her up and down the high sand dune for some much-needed privacy beside the water.
Sunday nights around this section of the beach were usually pretty dead. Especially at this time of night. The whole reason why we frequented Joe's place was because of how much of an off the grid dive bar it actually was. It kept all the trendy fucks far away, and that was starting to get harder and harder to find around here these days.
We paused for a moment to take off our shoes, and I took Bella's from her hand to carry them with my own.
"Still having a good birthday weekend?" I gently questioned once the silence had lost itself to the sound of the low waves we were steadily approaching.
"Still the best birthday weekend ever." She easily replied back, increasing her grip around my waist as our feet carried us further through the sand.
"Probably feels like the longest, too," I laughed, but she didn't, and when I looked down at her, I was surprised by the serious expression I'd found on her face.
"Can I make things awkward for a minute?"
There was something about the urgency in her voice when she'd posed her question. I slowed down the steps we were taking and squeezed her shoulder with my hand. "Sure, what's on your mind?"
She took in a deep breath, avoiding my eyes, then slowly exhaled before beginning to speak again, "I saw you go out back with Kate just before we left… you were both gone for awhile and-"
Shit, she'd noticed that.
Tell her the truth, or pay for it later, Cullen.
"She kissed me... I kissed her back for a few very brief seconds, but it didn't go much further than that before I came to my senses and shut her down."
Please, let that be enough.
I really didn't want to have to include the fact that Kate had gotten down onto her knees before I'd finally pushed her away from me.
Bella stopped us from walking, then took a slow step towards me to rest her arms over my shoulders and look me earnestly in the eyes, "I'm glad you chose to shut her down... even though you didn't have to." With her last word, she pressed her lips against mine, and I dropped our shoes into the sand to take her hips into my hands.
When we parted, she was still smiling again, but her eyes were closed and her stance was swaying against me as if she'd had music playing in her head that only she could hear.
"What are you listening to?" I teased, starting to sway side to side with her under the stars that were shining brightly above us.
"Portishead." She confessed, and with her confession I was attacking her lips all over again, pulling her against me with my opened palms pressed firmly at the curve of her backside.
The things I wanted to do to her… the things I needed to do to her… with every swipe of her tongue, she gained more and more control over me, but I'd already accepted that she was still going to require a light nudge from my hands if I'd want us to continue to move forward together.
When it was obvious we were both in need of some oxygen, I leaned back and took the side of her face against my palm, "Ready for another Miami first, beautiful?" I questioned, just above a whisper, looking her dead in the eyes to watch for her reaction.
She tilted her head to the side and grinned, "Does it involve us holding up a 7-11, or drag racing down the strip?"
"No," I laughed with a shake of my head, then began tugging on her arm to bring her closer towards the water. She looked behind me, then back up into my eyes and dug her heels into the sand before pulling me in the opposite direction once she'd figured out what I was suggesting.
"No! No way! I- I don't have a change of clothes."
"That's why you take the clothes you're wearing off before you get in, B."
"But- but what if someone sees us?"
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, "So what? There are no kids around this time of night, and there's a huge sand dune blocking the ocean from the road. Besides, it wouldn't be anything a grown ass adult's never seen before." I casually returned, then began unbuckling my belt to drop my jeans to my ankles. "Keep your underwear and bra on. You'll be fine. It's no different from wearing a bikini... when you're not trying to be modest in front of your dad." I promised her with a grin, after pulling my shirt up over my head and dropping it on top of my pants. "I mean you don't have to, but I know jumping into the water will sober me up a hell of a lot faster than just sitting on the beach will."
Words had failed her.
She just stood there with her mouth hanging open while I walked myself backward away from her frozen body, wearing nothing but my boxer shorts, and a devilish smirk on my face.
"What if someone takes our stuff?"
"No one will take our stuff. Look around, Bella. We're the only ones here. Remember, it's better to just dive in without hesitating. No second guessing." With my last word, I took off running and dove into the water, which was much calmer than it had been earlier in the day when we'd been out here with her family who'd kept an eagles eye on us at all times.
When I resurfaced, she was still standing at the edge of the water, but she'd stripped down to her bra and panties, and I was beaming in her direction while the low waves gently rocked me in the water anticipating her arrival. "Come on, B! It feels a lot warmer than it did this afternoon!"
"HA! Yeah right!" She hollered back, but I was actually being totally honest with her. The water did feel a hell of a lot warmer… or maybe that was just all of the adrenaline I now had coursing through my body.
"Don't overthink it, Bella. Just jump in! I promise to keep you safe." I instructed with a wide wave of my arm.
Three seconds later, her feet were rushing her forward and her body was in the water moving towards me while her nervous laughter filled my ears.
"Oh my god, if a shark eats me, I'm so going to kill you!"
"At least we'd die as a viral-worthy news story, baby." I teased, then pulled her up against me to taste the salty sea water on her lips. She wrapped her legs around my torso and moved her mouth with mine in perfect sync with the waves that were now rocking us back and forth in the warm water all around us.
After I'd leaned back to catch a breath for a bliss-filled second, my teeth quickly found her earlobe, then made their way down her neck towards the end of her shoulder. My hand cupped her breast into its opened palm, and I grabbed at her perfection while she shifted herself even further against my hips, seeking the same amount of friction I was.
"This is dangerous, Edward." She breathlessly whispered into the air while my other hand continued down her back to slid its way between her panties to grasp at her perfect ass, pressing her center even more firmly against the one single part of me that was now wanting to feel all of her the most right now.
"If you tell me to stop, I will," I whispered beside her ear as she panted heavily against my chest, but I prayed those words would not leave her lips.
She said nothing at first, and I began to panic, but then she tugged on my hair and leaned back to bring her forehead against mine and kissed my lips again for several perfect seconds before returning her mouth to my ear to give it a soft nibble with her bite.
"Keep going." She breathed out beside my ear, then licking it with the tip of her tongue.
With her request, I let out a hungry growl and brought my hands below the surface of the water to completely remove her panties from her hips then chucked them towards the shore where they landed in the sand not far from the rest of our clothes.
I moved us a little further out into the water, purposely keeping her against me, but positioned her so that her back would be towards the sand while a million different thoughts began to bombard my head.
This was really finally going to happen, and I'd never been more ready for anything in my entire goddamn adult life. The fact that our first time was going to happen in the ocean, that just seemed even more unbelievable, but also oddly perfect all at the same time.
"The only bad thing about the water is that I won't be able to feel just how wet you are." I shared beside her ear, then brought my mouth to the nape of her neck, causing a low moan to leave her partially opened lips after she'd tossed her head back in absolute ecstasy.
"I can assure you that I am very fucking aroused right now, neighbor boy." Her hand reached down between us and she finally grabbed at my erect cock from the opening of my boxers to give it several perfectly gripped tugs, "Christ I can't wait to have you in my mouth." She moaned again, and I smiled over her plans for our future, then shifted her more centered in front of me while I continued to thoroughly enjoy the motions of her hand against my thickness.
"Next time," I promised her with a playful wink leaving my eye. I pulled at her bra straps to bring them down from her shoulders, exposing her breasts under the moonlit sky above us. The sight sent a quickened pulse to my throbbing hard-on, which she was now in absolute control of, and she slowed her hand from below the water before lifting it up to reach behind her back.
I watched steadily as she unfastened the clasp to let her bra fall and then float away past her naked body. She surprised me further when she didn't shy away to hide behind her crossed arms or cover herself under the water.
She was everything, but she was so much more.
"Do you have any idea how absolutely beautiful you are?"
"I've heard it once or twice in my life," She teased back with a smirk, still not seeming at all nervous over the fact that she was now completely naked in the water up against me.
This was B showing up, and I was going to take full advantage now that I'd brought her out to play.
Without warning, I lifted her further out of the water to bring my teeth to her erect nipple, then cupped her other breast with my needful hand while she moaned with pleasure from above me. When I lowered her back down, it was with perfected guidance, and her eyes shut in front of me as the tip of my firmed cock met the soft opening between her widely spread legs.
"You're still good?" I lowly questioned, looking her deeply in the eyes again when she'd opened hers to press her forehead back against mine.
She nodded and pulled hard at her bottom lip with her teeth in lust filled hunger, letting me know she was ready to cross the line, and that she also wasn't going to overthink anything about us anymore.
"You are who I want." She whispered, then gently kissed my lips.
With those five words, I slowly slide myself deep inside of her and let out a rushed breath against her cheek. She reacted by loosening the wrap of her legs from around my body, then let out a soft whimper as she took all of me, and tugged fervently at my hair with her clenched hands. I began moving her up and down in front of my hips with my controlled grasp at her wet skin, holding her firmly at her waist, then brought my mouth to her parted lips to feel her tongue against mine while she rode herself over me with the water making rippled waves all around us.
"Slower." She growled, tugging at my hair again to bring herself even further down around me. "I want to feel everything."
I met her request and controlled my speed, my hands dipping lower into the water to help guide her ass up and down while my eyes watched absolute bliss take control of every part of her.
The moonlight against her bare breasts, and skin… the sound of her heavy breathing… it was pulling me closer and closer towards reaching my limit. I could tell she wasn't too far off herself, just by the way her pussy was clutching itself around my pulsing thickness.
I was touching her in places she didn't think possible, and she was enjoying every goddamned second of it. I brought my teeth back to her nipple and bit hard as I slowed our pace, not at all wanting this to end.
I think we both knew our first time wouldn't be a qualifying timed event. We'd been waiting too long for this to break any world records. Especially when you took into consideration what had happened before we'd even left her place tonight.
"I- I'm coming, Edward. Jesus Christ, don't stop!"
I followed her command and continued to move myself steadily between her thighs, gripping them with purpose in my hands, then felt her hold around me increase as I brought my mouth back to hers and we climaxed together, moaning incoherent words against one another's lips before finding a way to actually breathe again once we'd melted into the water still holding onto each other as if our lives depended on it.
"Happy birthday to me." She giggled against me, then kissed my neck one more time with her lips before biting at it with her teeth. "I can't believe I just had sex in the Atlantic ocean."
"I'm all about helping you experience those Miami firsts, neighbor girl." I teased, earning myself a splash of salty sea water to my smug face.
My heart still felt as though it were about to beat out of my chest because, I too, was having a hard time believing everything that had just happened- had actually happened. I was now certain that this woman had been placed in my world with the purpose to forever change my life, and vice versa.
I couldn't help but also believe she was slowly starting to accept me as her own future as well... based on the look that had spread across her gorgeous face as she gently grazed my jaw with her fingertips, looking me deeply in the eyes, taking our moment in.
"I think I'm falling hard for you, Edward Cullen."
"The feeling is abundantly mutual, Bella Swan." I kissed her lips and took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled feeling my body begin to relax as she removed herself from around me and lowered her feet down towards the sandy bottom of the ocean floor.
"Sobered up yet?" She quipped, with a rise in her right brow after she'd started to move her naked body with low the waves back towards the shoreline.
"I do believe I am… I'll just need one more make-out session in my car before I escort you up to your front door like a gentleman."
As much as I'd love to spend the night with her… it was important we go our separate ways to reflect on what had just happened so we'd be able to celebrate it even more, and then react to it in the morning with a clear head.
She laughed and splashed me again, then began bouncing herself in the water to run up the sand and quickly dress herself. I watched her from a distance, smiling to myself, feeling the absolute best I'd felt in months.
Everything negative that had been bearing down on me suddenly seemed like nothing more than a faint and distant memory I could forever forget.
Bella was becoming my antidote to everything that weighing me down. She was the muse that had made it all disappear back into darkness, and I'd never been more sure of anything in my life than I was right now.
She belonged with me.
Only me... And I had a week and a half to prove that to her, so she'd be able to tell that to Jake, in person- face to face, without there being any lingering questions left between the two of them.
I also needed to start looking for a new job, because I couldn't keep lying to her, but my opportunity to come clean about my employment, without there being any repercussions had dissipated the moment we'd crossed that line together in the ocean five minutes ago.
All I could do now was hope Aro would understand, and that Emmett wouldn't give me too hard of a time about it, so we'd be able to remain friends.
In reality, though, I already knew better than to believe me simply walking away would be that easy.
.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.
A/N: Lines have been crossed, now what toll will E have to pay?
I should be updating again a week from today since the next chapter is only in need of some cleanup and beta work. ;)
I'd love to hear from you! Quite a bit happened here, from Emmett's talk with Edward to Edward finally putting Kate in her place, but not before falling down the Rabbit Hole for a few knee jerk, impulsive seconds, and of course B and E christening the ocean for their first time.
**As thanks for leaving me your words in a review, I will share an outtake with you from Bella's POV, when she's in the bar talking with Riley and notices E go outside into the alley. It helps explain her thought process a little, and what it was that actually gave her the nudge she needed to finally cross that line with Edward.**