Chapter 14: One Foot In The Door
XOXOXOXO
So many conversations made sense now.
Rose's voice rang out at me several times inside my head, "The two of you are obviously attracted to each other. Why not do something about it?"
"What about her? I mean, yeah, she's a bitch and a half, but she won't be a problem."
"She doesn't have anything to do with you and Edward."
Finally, two conversations with Emmett replayed as well, "Well, I'm pretty sure that he could fuck Tanya whenever he wanted, but that still doesn't change the fact that he wants you."
"Don't worry about it."
Shaking my head to clear the fog from my brain, I thought about the entire situation.
I'd only been in Edward's company a few times. But from those experiences I'd come to learn that he was polite and well-mannered, a gentleman. Why would I ever think him capable of cheating on his significant other?
I could've saved myself from all of the heartache I caused if only I'd just manned up and asked one fucking question.
One fucking leap of faith and I wouldn't have been berating myself for having feelings for him.
Jesus, I was such a coward.
Alice continued to shake my shoulders, trying to bring me out of my inner thoughts.
"Bella, snap out of it!" she screeched at me.
"I am such a ditz," I mumbled, bringing a hand up to my forehead.
"Why would you think that Edward and Tanya are engaged?" Rose questioned.
"Because I was told that they were," I moaned, closing my eyes to hide my shame and embarrassment.
"Who told you that?" Alice asked, calmly this time.
"Jessica," I sighed, getting ready to tell my story, "The first night I met Edward, before I really met him, I was in the ER. Jessica was friendly, as usual, and told me all about his family. Tanya was there, and she was all… handsy… with him. Jessica said she was his fiancé and I didn't have a reason not to believe her."
God, I was so foolish.
So trusting.
So gullible.
I raised my head from my hands, my eyes unconsciously searching for… something, someone. My gaze darted around the food court, searching for the tall mass of auburn locks that always seemed to ease my tension. Finally finding him at the coffee shop on the opposite end of the cafeteria, an epiphany hit me.
I needed to suck it up.
It happened, big deal! Get over it and do something. Stop moping about the past, take charge of your future, damn it!
My heart raced inside my chest, I suddenly felt jittery. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, my system in overdrive as my senses picked up my surroundings.
Edward started making his way towards our table, eyes locked on mine as soon as he found us.
The scene around me disappeared, the only thing registering in my brain was Edward's approaching figure.
Ten feet away.
Shakily, I stood up, my body turning to face him.
Five feet away.
I licked my lips unconsciously, heart thundering away in my ears.
Two feet away.
He stood before me, plastic cup of water clutched in his hands as I gazed into his wondrously green eyes.
He tilted his head to the side in question.
One foot closer to him.
Taking the water from him and setting it on the table next to me, I faced him fully.
His brow scrunched together adorably in confusion as my hands came back up to rest lightly against his chest.
Slowly, carefully as to give him a chance to pull away if I was too close for him, I ran my hands up from his chest to the base of his head. My fingers toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck sensuously.
His hands, unmoving since I took the water away from him, came to life in front of me and reached around my back, fingers splaying out across my delicate frame.
Being bold, I stepped forward until our chests were completely pressed together. Of their own accord, my hands pulled down on his neck until he got the idea of moving his head closer to mine.
Mere centimeters separated us, our breaths mingling together once again as I made my move.
Before I could chicken out, I closed my eyes and brought my lips up to his, my skin meeting his soft, plump, warm flesh.
My skin warmed, my fingers tightened in his hair. The silky, smooth soft heaven of hair caressed my digits.
His fingers pulled me closer to him, lifting me up onto my tip-toes as my elbows rested in front of his shoulders. Bringing my hands back around so that I could cup his cheeks, an action he'd done to me on more than one occasion, as our kiss grew in length.
The bubble burst as we heard Emmett wolf-whistle behind us. We broke apart, now only millimeters separating us, each of us panting. My eyes snapped open, embarrassment coloring my cheeks as I bit my lip self-consciously.
I felt Edward's low growl against my chest as he swopped in for another searing kiss. Caught off guard, I couldn't hold in the moan that escaped my throat.
Hot damn! When he growled, my panties went MIA.
Missing: white, boy-short panties. Last seen: scurrying away from its owner screaming "Help me, I'm drowning!"
His mouth opened to me, lips hungrily pressing against mine as he breathed into my mouth. His scent alone almost drove me wild.
Things would've gone from PG to XXX if we didn't stop kissing.
And soon.
The man was touching me, with his lips on my mouth only, and I was ready to lie down on the floor – or against the wall – and do a little clothes-less bump and grind in public.
Can we say jail-time?
I broke away suddenly, my heart still racing in my chest as I ducked my head under his chin, bringing my hands along with me so I could curl up against his chest.
At least I could bite my lip in secret there and not be accosted – wonderfully, I might add – in the middle of the food court.
His hands loosened their pin-points of doom against my shoulder blades as he wrapped his arms around me more tenderly, changing our tone from excited to calm.
"You're welcome," he said sweetly into my ear.
I pulled back to look at him in confusion.
"Well," he said, laughing lightly, "If this is the way you're going to thank me for bringing you water, I'd be happy to do it anytime."
I broke away from him, swatting him lightly on the shoulder as I turned back towards the table.
He grabbed my hand, twirling me back to him as he asked, "Where do you think you're going?"
Giggling like the hormone-addled woman that I was, I replied, "To get some water. All this kissing I'm doing lately has been making me dehydrated as hell."
Smirking, once again I turned from him and hastily grabbed my water from the table, keen to keep my gaze from everyone's faces. I could still feel the heat of my blush across my cheeks and knew it hadn't gone away yet.
Half of me wanted to jump up and down screaming, and the other half wanted to go hide in the nearest, deepest pit available.
Taking a healthy pull of water, I finally lifted my eyes to my tablemates. Each of them had their own grin plastered to their faces, various signs of the merriment evident in their expressions.
"So Bella, Alice and I were trying to decide where to go next. Does Victoria's Secret sound good to you?" Rose inquired, quirking a brow at me.
Before I had a chance to answer, Edward stepped forward, his warm chest coming flush against my back as he said eagerly, "We're in."
XOXOXOXO
Edward moved above me, coming to rest in the cradle of my legs as I tenderly stroked the hair from his forehead. His hardness pressed against my sensitive flesh and I ached to have him inside of me.
He dipped down to kiss me, my hand wrapped around the back of his head, threading my fingers through his glorious hair.
Our kiss grew in passion, tongues darting in and out of each other's mouths as our sweaty bodies pressed closely together. A pressure formed at my core; I was desperate for him to finally unite us.
Pulling back breathlessly, I looked up into his marble green eyes, dark with fiery need. "Please," I pleaded.
Nodding lightly, he aligned himself with my opening. My heart raced in my chest, my nerves and need meeting to create my over-eager excitement. Slowly, his hips moved forward.
I didn't feel anything.
Why didn't I feel anything?
I should feel something, damn it!
Stretching, completeness, pain?
No, I don't feel a fucking thing.
Now my fluttering heart turned to panic, what the hell was wrong with me?
Was I broken?
Down there?
I could feel his pelvis against mine, fully.
Looking down, I saw the trail of hair that led to his pubic area as well as the small tuft of dark hair that was my own.
What the fuck?
My pounding heart jolted me, I sat up quickly in bed, clutching a hand to my chest and panting as if I'd just run the LA Marathon for the first time.
It was a dream?
A fucking real as hell dream?
"Jesus," I whispered as I flopped back down onto my pillow. Steadily, my heart rate slowly began to journey its way back into normal beating rhythm as I contemplated my dream.
The pressure I'd had in my dream wasn't made up; my pussy was well-lubed and ready for the imaginary action it was supposed to be getting.
Grumbling, I thought back to the last time I'd seen Edward, what had happened after we'd left the food court on Saturday.
The trip to Victoria's Secret was, well, amusing, to say the least.
Emmett pranced around, squealing in joy at every thin piece of lace he found for Rosalie to buy, each one she'd examined and then threw back onto the racks from which they came. "It's like taking a kid into a candy store with this one," she muttered to me in passing.
My snorting attracted Alice, who pointed out that Jasper was doing the same thing, just not as boisterously as Emmett. Instead, he discretely slipped things into Alice's hand basket.
With each refusal, Emmett would sputter and spout some ridiculousness about her absolutely needing another pair of panties or bra. Her response was always limited, stating that he hadn't even seen what she had planned for their honeymoon.
I took my time, strolling through each rack disinterestedly. Truth was, I felt a little awkward with Edward trailing behind me. Seeing my opportunity to break away from the lingerie section, I headed into the beauty shop. Instantly my senses were ambushed by exotic scents and sparkling colors.
I picked up a bottle of one of their signature perfumes, Love Spell, batting off Edward's hands as I paid for it myself.
I could afford to pay nine dollars all by myself, thank you very much.
He stared at me grumpily while I raised an eyebrow at him in defiance, daring him to contradict me.
We spent a couple more hours in the mall, hitting the CD store, Target, and several others that caught our interest.
It struck me how comfortable I was with everyone. Hell, Edward and I walked through the mall holding hands, just like Emmett and Rose, and Jasper and Alice.
The days had blurred by since then.
I had to go back to work on Sunday. Thankfully Galen had the day off, otherwise I would've given him the ol' one-two. He had no right to treat my friends in the manner that he had.
Hell, he had no right to treat me like he had.
It was downright disrespectful and rude. I was embarrassed that I worked for such a prick.
Luckily for him, his week long vacation started on Monday. The more time I had away from him, the more my anger would fade away and the less likely I would be to break his face the next time I saw him.
Monday and Tuesday were perfectly normal days; nothing extraordinary happened at all to break up the easiness. But as Wednesday crept closer, I became more and more antsy.
Edward and I hadn't really had a chance to talk since I had kissed him, since we'd been affectionate at the mall. And I was nervous as fuck to finally be around him alone, without anyone surrounding us.
Being brought back to the present, I decided that I might as well bring my truck in to Emmett and Rose's shop. I did not like the ominous feeling of me not having my truck and the sooner they could get her up fixed up, the better.
I rolled over to look at the clock on the nightstand beside my bed, 10:30 AM. Not bad.
At least I had the time to be slow. Getting up from the bed and feeling the dampness from my crotch on the inside of my boxers, I decided that a shower was in order, if not to relieve myself, than to make damn well sure that I didn't smell like sex when I saw everyone. I didn't need that kind of torment today. Not having anything, or anyone, to help me remedy the situation was bad enough.
Shedding my clothes quickly, I realized how much of a coating of sweat I actually had on my body.
Okay, first order of business, clean thyself.
Second order of business, feed thy belly.
The monster inside of me gurgled at the mere thought.
I turned the water on and jumped in once it was warm enough, all the while contemplating what I was to have for breakfast.
Ten minutes later, thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned, I dressed in a pair of beige shorts and a dark blue tank top.
I tied my wet hair up into a messy bun as I made my way into the kitchen. Carbs were calling to me today. I grabbed a bagel from the fridge and sliced it in half quickly, paying close attention to the position of my fingers and where the knife was headed.
Success was had; I didn't knick myself at all!
Hey, I took the small victories whenever I could, okay?
I placed them into the toaster and cleaned the counter of the crumbs I'd created. Grabbing a plate from the cabinet, I set it carefully down on the counter and whirled around to get the cream cheese from the fridge.
The toaster popped up my bagel slices; I waited a second before reaching in to grab them and burning my fingers in the process.
I spread the cream cheese on each of the halves, and then settled down on the couch in the living room.
Turning on the television, I flipped through a couple of channels.
"…released earlier last week, the college teen still hadn't regained much of her memory from the night she was attacked. Police in the area are still asking for any information about the situation, or if anyone has seen any suspicious activity, to please contact them as soon as possible. Gosh Bob, that's just horrible. I hope things get settled for that young woman soon," the middle-aged blonde anchorwoman said. The camera flashed to her co-host, a middle-aged man who had a salt-and-pepper colored porno mustache.
He reminded me vaguely of Charlie, though my father's 'stache was still dark-colored.
"It sure is, Beth. Now onto the sunnier side of life; are we looking at more sunshine for the next few days, Dave?"
"Most definitely, Bob. The radar shows-" I changed the channel before they could show Dave, the weatherman.
Hearing it on the news made it suddenly more real; when Emmett had been talking about it at the party the other night, it seemed like some horrible urban legend coming true.
Taking a bite of the bagel before me, I said a quick prayer to keep all of my new friends at the college safe.
Something about it all just didn't sit right with me.
I spent the next few minutes chewing my bagel and vegging out on the TV program in front of me. 'CSI: NY' always captured my attention, I'd been a fan of Gary Sinise since 'The Stand', and the man just got better looking with age.
Half an hour later, the episode ended and I made the conscience decision to turn off the TV, clean up my mess and head out to Emmett and Rose's shop.
Emmett had graciously given me directions to the store before we'd separated on Sunday, and Alice had been a stickler and wrote them down on a piece of paper which had been slipped under my door on Monday morning.
So with bits and pieces remembered from Emmett's talk, and Alice's fancy drawing as my guide, I grabbed the bag containing my volunteer clothes and wallet and headed towards the door. I slipped my Keds on and locked the door as I left.
XOXOXOXO
Sometimes I hated being the daughter of a police chief. Hardwired into the deepest recesses of my brain were the strict protocols I had been taught ever since I was able to reach the pedals of a car.
Each and every time I was unsure of my directions, I had to pull over onto the next street, or off onto the side of the road, to consult my map. It was beneficial so that I wasn't distracted from actually driving, but detrimental to my cause of wanting to get there as soon as possible.
Emmett had said that the garage was, at most, ten miles from the campus. And seeing as I was really close to the campus in the first place, it should only take me a little bit more time to get to the shop.
I pulled over a total of four times before I finally found the tall sign in the air that led me to McCarty's Auto Shop.
As I drove up to the large, white garage doors, I saw Emmett and Rose's silhouettes inside the main office. I parked in the front of it, my truck rattling slightly as I let the engine idle for a moment before turning it off.
At my truck's noise, Rose turned towards it and waved, recognizing me instantly.
I saw her slap Emmett on the shoulder once to get his attention, before gesturing towards the window and the direction to where I sat.
He turned around quickly, and seeing me behind the wheel, he waved like an eager child who hadn't gotten to see Santa Clause for Christmas.
Chuckling to myself quietly, I grabbed my things from the seat next to me and got out of the cab of the truck.
I walked inside the office, smiling at Rose and Emmett in the process. The goofball still hadn't stopped waving like the massively huge kid he was. I waved back excitedly.
"Hiya, Emmy Bear!" I said in a high pitched voice.
"Bellsy!" he boomed before sweeping towards me and giving me a hug the size of Texas.
I let out a small, breathless 'oof' before he set me down. The guy could squeeze the breath out of you without breaking a sweat. That, and crack your back.
Coming over to give me a more reasonable sized hug, Rose pushed Emmett out of the way.
"Em, move. You got to hug her first, now it's my turn," she said with a smirk.
Wrapping my arms around her, I finally addressed her, "Hi Rose, how are you?"
"I'm all right. Someone's got to make sure this galoot over here doesn't go all 'Hulk angry, Hulk smash' on the other workers," she answered, laughing and tilting her head in his direction.
"Hey, I'm the boss-man. Sometimes I've got to get all 'Hulk smash' on their asses," Emmett responded, flexing his muscles during Rosalie's quote, and pointing a finger at us.
"Anyway, since you're here to get your truck looked at, why don't you pull it into the garage and we'll situate the damage," Rose side-stepped.
I saluted her briefly, turning from them and hopping back into the truck.
After I pulled it onto the rails, I got out of the cab and pocketed the keys as Emmett and Rose appeared next to me.
Rosalie was just pulling her mechanics jumpsuit on as Emmett pulled me away from the truck.
"Rose is the best with alignment issues. We're going to raise your truck with the lifts and then she'll crawl under to see if we need to get entirely new parts or to just reposition a few things. Edward said it only pulled a little bit to the left, so it shouldn't be anything too big," Emmett explained to me.
I watched in fascination as Emmett pushed a button behind us and my truck started to lift up into the air.
I really don't think I'd be able to get under a car that was being lifted into the air, machines or not.
Rose deftly slipped into the pit below the truck once the tires were at my waist.
"Babe! You know you're supposed to wait until I've let go of the button before you do that! You're a damn insurance liability in heels," Emmett snapped.
"Bite me, Em," she responded, flipping him the bird before politely asking him for a flashlight with a bright, white smile.
I chuckled as Emmett growled under his breath.
I shivered, remembering the last time I heard someone growl. Not nearly as sexy as when Edward does it.
"Where's everyone else? You two can't be the only ones that work here," I asked suddenly, recalling that I hadn't seen another single person since I arrived.
"You got here just at lunchtime. The rest of the crew should be back soon," Rose said from underneath my truck.
"Oh, I'm breaking into your lunch, I'm so sorry guys." Why hadn't I thought that they'd been here since early this morning? Not everyone can sleep in like you can, Bella.
"No, you're fine. We actually wanted to head out kind of early anyways. Em wants to try and find a caterer today," Rose muffled from below us.
He turned to me, eyes alight. "There's this really good place I heard about that's not too far from here, and I got us an appointment with the head chef."
"Way to go, Emmy Bear. I hope he's good and flexible about pricing. I know that the food is one of the biggest problems for a reception."
"Mostly, it'll be easy stuff to make. Since the wedding's taking place at a look-out, we were thinking of making the reception one big picnic. We still have to go up there a few more times to see if everything we're thinking of will fit, but it should all work out.
"Aww, a picnic? That is so fantastic, guys! Really sweet and romantic," I gushed.
Jeeze, who knew I had it in me?
"All right, Bells. You've got a major kink in your alignment. The guys will be able to fix it, but it'll have to stay over night. Our main worker who's the best at reshaping metal had to go home early for some family thing. You'll have your truck back tomorrow by 5 PM," Rose concluded from beneath the truck.
I nodded. "Okay Rose, thanks." Defeated, I turned from the both of them to walk to the opening of the garage.
Tall, evergreen trees stood in clumps off to my left; the sun shined brightly above me making me squint my eyes; off on my right, buildings lined the opposite side of the street.
I did not like the idea of not having any transportation, even if Edward would be taking me home tonight. Being stuck without a car- SHIT! How would I get back here tomorrow to pick UP my truck?
"So what time did you want me to take you over to the hospital?" Emmett called out to me as he walked over slowly.
"Em, how am I going to get back here to pick up my truck tomorrow? Which bus line runs near here?" I asked, turning to face him.
Yeah, having a truck that drove straight was peachy and all, but completely pointless if I couldn't get to the damned thing in the first place.
"Chill out, Chiquita Banana," he responded, holding his hands out in defense. "One question at a time, okay?" he added.
I nodded at him.
"Let's tackle these in order, all right? Firstly, what time do you want me to take you to the hospital?" he asked slowly.
"Er, what time is your appointment with the caterer?" I responded.
"Three."
"Then 2:30, unless that's cutting it close for you guys, I don't want to make you late," I replied shyly.
"You won't, 2:30 it is. Next, Edward's taking you home, maybe he can bring you back? I'm not entirely sure what his class schedule is on Thursdays, but I'd be willing to bet that he'd bring you back here, free of charge. There's also Alice, and Jasper," he reasoned.
Again, I nodded. I hated relying on people, it made me feel helpless and like I was a burden.
"Four-twelve," he said suddenly.
I looked at him in confusion.
"It's the four-twelve line that runs closest to here, in case Edward's got something going on tomorrow and you can't get a hold of anyone else," he clarified.
I smiled at him; he made me feel better about the situation.
Yes, relying on people didn't make me feel the best, but it also meant that I had friends. Anything I would do for them, they would do for me, almost like family.
XOXOXOXO
The rest of the crew showed up about a half an hour after I'd gotten there. I stuck around the office, helping Emmett with paperwork and watching Rose talk smack along with the other mechanics in the garage.
"You know, Bellsy, you've got some awesome organizing skills. Ever think about being someone's secretary, or receptionist?" Emmett asked as I took a sip of the soda I'd gotten from the vending machine.
"Oh please, Em," I responded, rolling my eyes at him.
"I'm being serious. I bet it pays a lot better than what you're currently getting," he said in a persuasive voice.
"As much as it sounds like a dream come true, I highly doubt anyone's looking for someone like that at the moment. Plus, I think some of it requires schooling or something," I argued.
"We could use a person who strictly does bookkeeping and organizing stuff around here. It'd give me time to actually help with the turn-around time for repairs," he reasoned.
"Emmy, are you serious?" I asked, turning to face him.
"How much do you make over at the mall now?" he asked seriously.
"Minimum wage," I said slowly, ashamedly.
"So that's what, like… $8.50 an hour?" Emmett guessed.
I nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."
"I'll hire you, starting wage of $10 an hour," he offered.
"Bear, don't toy with me," I said with a menacing tone in my voice.
Really, if he was offering the money, he'd better be serious as hell about backing up his claim.
"At least come work here until you find a better job! Bella, just think about it, you're miserable at that fucking store, admit it. It's not where you really belong and deep down you know it. Not to mention the fact that your boss is an über prick. You'll get benefits too, paid holidays and all of that other kind of corporate shit. Please Bella, just sleep on it, okay? Don't toss it out the window just yet," he pleaded.
I looked at him carefully. Why did he care so much that I was unhappy at my job?
The sincerity in his eyes sent me crumbling to me knees, metaphorically speaking of course.
I sighed heavily. "Okay Emmy Bear, I'll think about it. But only because you're a giant love muffin," I lamented lamely.
He smiled a huge, grateful smile at me before swooping down and crushing me against his chest for another hug. The boy seriously needed to go into his own back-cracking profession; he'd make millions in no time.
I slowly patted his back in return; the whole Cullen/McCarty family was turning me into a large pile of marshmallow goo. I didn't stand a chance around any single one of them.
Oh Lord, and now I've got to go and spend the next several hours around Edward, the most goo-worthy person I've ever met.
As Emmett let me go, I straightened out my clothes, taking a chance to look down at my crotch once again. Panties, if you go missing when we're finally around Edward later, I will not be held liable for what goes on down there as a result, capiché?
A resulting twinge of my lady-bits was all the affirmation I needed.
Jesus, you understand what I'm saying, don't you?
Another twinge graced my nether region.
You're praying that my panties go missing, aren't you?
My body was still as a stone. I imagined my private parts had eyes and a mouth, looking away and whistling as to not attract any attention to itself.
You know what this means, don't you? It means that I should've bought some underwear at Victoria's Secret while I had the chance. That way, when my panties run amuck, I would be able to offer a much higher reward. Those fuckers are made of gold.
XOXOXOXO
A/N: Thanks to Ellie and Amelia for being fantastic betas. Also, thanks to my mom for all of her support.
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