chapter twenty six

seattle, washington, 8:32 am

mixtape: i believe in a thing called love (cover) by branches

I wake up to a crashing sound coming from the kitchen, which shares a wall with my room, and it's followed by Alice's tinkling laugh. I glance at my phone—it's just after 8:30 and far too early to be awake, but Alice's bubbly voice never stops so I get out of bed with a slight headache and a scowl on my face and I make my way out into the hallway, pushing my hair out of my face. I can already tell it's a tangled mess.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask, entering the kitchen, squinting at the bright light coming in through the window.

Once my eyes adjust, I let out a short, embarrassing squeak because Edward is standing in Alice's tiny, white kitchen with a laugh poised on his lips and a coffee in his hand.

"Oh my god," I say and I rush right out of there and into the bathroom, letting their laughter follow behind me.

Edward is here, Edward is here! I don't know why I'm being hit with such humiliation over him seeing me like this—he's seen me like this a lot this last week. Maybe it's just the surprise of seeing him. I brush my teeth and put my hair up before going back out there—very aware that I'm in a tank top and no bra. I cross my arms over my chest as I rejoin them.

"Everything okay?" Alice asks jovially. Edward's eyes are bright; his smirk is dangerously close to turning into a full blown grin. I glare at her as I hear someone clear their throat from the table at the other end of the room. I whip around to find the biggest man I've ever seen sitting at Alice's little, white table, holding a powdered donut. When I say big, I mean body builder big. And tall. Very tall. He has tanned skin and dark brown hair, dimples on his cheeks.

"Bella," Edward says. "This is Emmett, my roommate from UW."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Bella," he booms, getting up and holding his hand out for me to shake. His voice is so loud but I can tell he isn't shouting-it's just how it is. "I've heard so much about you."

"Nice to meet you too," I say, my cheeks burning because I'm not wearing a bra. I grab his hand quickly and give it a short shake before covering myself again.

"Does she always turn this red?" Emmett laughs and I feel Edward come up behind me, his hand touching the small of my back briefly and my skin practically erupts in goosebumps.

"Go get changed," he laughs softly. "I'll get you some coffee."

So for the second time this morning I flee down the hallway, my heart hammering away because Edward is here (that phrase just keeps repeating over and over in my head like some obsessive mantra) and I shiver every time I remember the pressure of his hand on my back and his breath on my cheek. I get dressed as quickly as possible because I'm kind of desperate to see him, though I know I have to keep myself as neutral as possible. Alice is horrifically perceptive and I don't want to deal with her just yet. My relationship…friendship…whatever it is with Edward is so new, so fragile—I don't want her meddling like I know she would.

When I get back to the kitchen, they're all sitting around the table laughing and there's an open seat next to Emmett, so I sit down quickly. Edward's across from me and pushes a cup of coffee in my direction.

"Thanks," I say, my smile probably too big. He grins like he's just as happy to see me as I am to see him. It hasn't even been a day since he dropped me off. I feel Alice's eyes on us but I ignore her.

"Who got the donuts?" I ask, reaching for a chocolate glazed.

"That would be me," Emmett says.

"Well, thank you, Emmett," I say but Edward rolls his eyes.

"I gave him the money."

"If you're gonna get technical about it."

"I am."

"Anyways," Alice interjects and I'm giggling into my coffee. Edward's eyes move to mine and his smile grows wider. This does not escape Alice's notice.

"I really want to hear about the trip—no one will tell me anything," she pouts, making her gray eyes go big, the best puppy dog pout this side of the country. Emmett booms a laugh and I feel someone kick me under the table.

"Ow!"

Edward's eyes go wide and he mouths a sorry before Emmett grunts.

"Dude, don't fucking kick me."

"Why are you kicking everyone?" Alice demands.

"I'm not," Edward says, holding his hands up defensively. Alice glares at him and I just look on, incredibly amused at the way Emmett is laughing gleefully, his fingers still coated in powdered sugar.

"Did you guys fuck or something? Is that why you're both being complete nutcases right now?" Alice asks, her voice high. I spit my coffee out and Alice shrieks in surprise. Emmett just laughs harder, clapping me on the back.

"We did not…fuck," Edward says, his face red.

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing, apparently," Emmett chuckles, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. What had Edward told him?

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Nothing happened, we just…" I trail off.

"We talked about some stuff. We've kind of…made up," Edward finishes.

"Or we're at least trying to," I add.

Alice still looks skeptical and Emmett is still laughing.

"Start from the beginning," Alice says. And we do, though we leave out the sleeping in the same bed and crying in the cemetery and smiling at each other in Illinois and South Dakota. We leave out all of the parts that matter and we give the most basic summary we can. Alice eventually looks less suspicious but Emmett continues to glance at me like he knows more than what we're saying. But I like Emmett, he's funny and interjects in our story every so often with a snarky comment and Alice glares at him every single time he does it.

The whole time we're explaining the trip, Edward's leg is touching mine, his calf flush against my own and it's almost like he has to make himself move his eyes from mine. It's setting me on fire, electricity crackling in me veins. My cheeks are probably red and it's taking everything in my power to not jump across the table at him because in this moment, I just really want to kiss him. There's something about the small smile that finds its way onto his face as he talks about me making him go to Taco Bell that makes my stomach flutter and my hands itch to feel him.

His eyes are on me again and I think Alice is definitely starting to notice.

He licks his lips.

Oh, hell.

thank you for reading! i'd love to hear what you're thinking.

next chapter will be up soon

meg