Author's Note: Hello again! This is the third of the requested outtakes or future takes.
This is for hapakids and Hannah2204, who wanted to see Edward's reaction when Bella comes to see him in St. Louis.
Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Reminder! "Oh Brother" is currently nominated as one of the top fics completed in November 2012 over on twifanfictionrecs (click on the big VOTE button). If you enjoyed the story, I'd love it if you could vote for me! Voting ends January 1, so not much longer now! You can vote once every 24 hours. I know I can't win, but Top 10 would be awesome.
Friday, May 3, 2013
"How do you think you did?" I asked Tanya as our Cultures & Values professor dismissed class.
"Ok," she shrugged. "I'm glad for all those hours we put in studying yesterday. I suppose it's pointless to ask how you did," she added as we made our way out of the building for the very last time this semester.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're a genius, Cullen," she replied, bumping me with her shoulder.
"I… I feel ok about the test, I guess," I said quietly, feeling my face heat up. I knew I was smart, but I was still embarrassed when other people brought it up.
"So, Duffy's at six, right?" Tanya said as we reached the campus apartments just a couple of minutes later.
"I don't know… I was thinking of just staying in tonight."
"Edward, it's the end of finals celebration! You can't miss it. Be there or be square!"
"Really, Tanya? What decade are we in again?"
Tanya laughed loudly, shaking her head. "You will show up at the restaurant and not sit in your room watching porn and dreaming of Bella, do you hear me?"
"Ok, ok, I surrender. I'll see you there." Tanya hugged me goodbye before continuing down the path to the next building, where her apartment was located. With my head down, I was walking up the sidewalk toward my building, when suddenly I had this weird feeling that I was being watched.
I stopped and glanced up, looking straight at a woman sitting on the bench outside the door. My eyes had to be playing tricks on me. With her long brown hair, she looked very much like…
"Bella," I whispered.
She stood up quickly, making her way over to me. My God, it was really her, even more beautiful than I had remembered. I almost couldn't breathe.
With tears streaming down her face, she choked out a "hello." Something was wrong — those didn't seem like happy tears.
"Bella, why are you crying?" I asked, confused.
"You've moved on," she whispered. "You found someone else your own age."
"What?" What on earth was she talking about?
"That girl you were hugging. She's beautiful, Edward."
Oh crap, she thought something was going on between Tanya and me? "Yeah, I know she's beautiful, but we're not together," I told her quickly, hoping to set her mind at ease.
"You—you're not?"
I shook my head. "She'd much rather be with you than me."
"Huh?"
"She's a lesbian, Bella," I explained. "Tanya is my best friend."
"You — and her — you're not?"
"God no," I replied, taking a tentative step toward her. "You're the only one I want."
She rushed into my arms, hugging me tightly. Oh my God, she was really here — and she felt so, so good. Tanya hugged me sometimes, but it never felt like this. I wanted to hold on to her forever, but instead I pulled back, kissing her forehead lovingly.
"Should we go inside?" I asked, tipping my head toward the door. Bella nodded, and I led her into the building and up the stairs. Opening the door to my apartment, I motioned for her to go inside.
"Do — do you have a roommate?" she asked as she looked around my apartment.
"Yeah, for the next few days anyway. Riley's going home soon since the semester is over, but I'm staying on for the summer. I signed up for a couple classes, hoping to graduate early. Sit," I said, pointing toward the couch.
I fetched a couple bottles of water from the kitchen area and passed one to Bella as I took a seat on the couch beside her. I took a deep breath before asking my most pressing question.
"So… what are you doing here, Bella?"
"I quit my job."
I stared at her, wishing for probably the millionth time that I could read her mind. So she quit her job — what did that mean for me? For us? "You did?" I finally asked.
"Yeah, um, I received a huge blow about three months ago and it caused me to re-evaluate a lot of things. I wasn't really happy working at such a large company. And then my mom told me that she was getting divorced — again — and moving back to Phoenix, and I began to think about trying to repair our relationship. It just started to feel like it was time to move on," she finished with a shrug.
Hold on — Bella quit her job to move to Phoenix? What the hell was she doing here then? Just making a detour for sex? "So you thought you'd stop by for a booty call on your way to Phoenix?" I asked angrily. I couldn't let Bella use me for sex again, no matter how much my body craved hers. My heart couldn't take that anymore.
"What? No, no — that isn't what I meant."
"So what did you mean?" I asked, trying to get myself to calm down and hear her out.
"Please don't get upset, but… I tried dating someone, back in March." And my heart twisted painfully in my chest. How could I not be upset?
"Mike was a nice guy," she continued, oblivious to my pain. "We had a lot in common, but… when I tried to kiss him, there was just no chemistry at all, no spark. He didn't make me feel even one tenth — one one-hundredth of what you do."
Wait, what?
Bella stared into my eyes for a moment. "I'm still scared," she went on. "I worry about the backlash we're going to get from people who think you're too young for me, but I miss you, Edward. Not just the sex — you. I know I treated you like shit, and I probably don't deserve you — but I'm ready to give us a real chance… unless you've changed your mind."
I was moving before Bella even finished speaking. She wasn't telling me she was in love with me, but she was saying every other thing that I'd longed to hear. When I claimed her lips for the first time in almost eight months, every second without her evaporated. Bella was here, she wanted to be with me, and I would never, ever let her go.
Still kissing her, I carefully pushed Bella onto her back, climbing on top of her. When I needed air, I moved to kissing along her jaw.
"Wait," she panted. "Wait a minute. There's something you need to know. Can you sit up?"
The tiny part of my brain not consumed by lust heard Bella's plea and sat us both up, where I gently took her face in my hands. "What is it, Bella?"
"The news I got three months ago… Jasper came by to see me."
Fuck, fuck, fuck… of course it would be Jasper that had something to do with her coming here.
"Oh," I replied sourly. "Yeah, I know he's getting married again. He sent me a letter telling me that he forgave me for going after you."
"Did he tell you why he was proposing?"
"I assume because he loves her," I replied with a shrug.
"He didn't tell you," she whispered.
"Tell me what?"
"His girlfriend is pregnant."
I stared at her for a moment, attempting to understand what Bella was trying to tell me. And then it clicked. "So — so that means…?"
She nodded. "Yeah, it means our fertility problems were all my fault — officially. Do you — do you still want me if we can't ever have kids?" she asked.
She looked terrified of my answer. How could she possibly think that anything could make me stop wanting her? Especially something fixable like that.
"Bella, medicine can do amazing things. Maybe you won't be able to get pregnant naturally, but there are other ways we could explore when the time is right."
"But those other ways are so expensive…"
"I have money, Bella. Between my dad's life insurance and my parents' estate, I have plenty of money. Spending some of it so that you can be happy holding a baby — our baby — in your arms would make me very, very happy."
"Now," I began, standing up and reaching for her hand, "I want to show you my room."
As I winked at Bella, she placed her hand in mine, rising to her feet and letting me lead her to my bedroom.
"I want you naked, now," I growled, pulling up on her top as we made our way to the bed. "God, I've missed you." Once she was lying on her back, I unzipped her jeans, yanking them and her panties down her legs. I couldn't wait another second to taste her again.
"Oh God," she screamed, as my tongue went to work between her legs. She tasted so, so good, just like I remembered. She was squirming and writhing so I placed my forearms on her hips to hold her still.
"Don't stop… don't stop…" she begged while I continued to work her over with my tongue.
"God… Edward…" she moaned as she came. Yep, I still loved it when Bella said my name as she reached her orgasm. I released her hips, lifting my head and grinning at her as she lay there panting.
"What the hell are you doing still fully dressed?" she asked after a couple of minutes.
I shrugged. "I'm supposed to meet Tanya and a bunch of other people for dinner to celebrate."
"Celebrate?"
"Yeah, it was the last day of classes."
"So you don't want to…"
Silly, silly girl.
"Oh, I do, but I plan to spend hours worshipping your body. We don't have time right now for me to have you the way I want. I just needed an appetizer," I finished with a grin.
I thought Bella looked fine once she got re-dressed, but she still spent fifteen minutes in the bathroom fixing her hair. Once she came out, I just couldn't resist kissing her again and fondling her tits. I'd been so eager to get to the promised land that I'd neglected her perfect breasts — and I had to remedy that.
"I just got myself presentable," she laughed, removing my hands from her chest. But I would not be deterred from my mission. Instead of giving up, I held her hands up above her head and continued kissing her incredible lips.
"Edward," she sighed, once I moved on to her neck, "I'm going to throw you on the bed and have my way with you if you don't stop."
That plan sounded pretty good actually, but I forced myself to pull away. "We'll eat fast, yeah?" I couldn't stop the probable cheesy grin from taking over my face.
"I don't even know why we have to go," she pouted adorably.
"Because Tanya will give me so much shit if she finds out why I'm not there. And I need some food so I have more energy for tonight," I added with a wink. Oh fuck, maybe Bella didn't want to go out with a bunch of college kids. "You — you want to go, right? I mean, I'd like you to meet my friends, but if you aren't comfortable…"
"I want to meet your friends," she agreed, kissing me again, far too chastely.
I led Bella out the door and to my Volvo, eager to get this part of our night over with.
"So where are we going?" she asked.
"A sports bar, it's not too far."
When we arrived at the restaurant five minutes later, I parked the car and led her inside, my hand on the small of her back. I didn't want to stop touching her for even a minute. We made our way through the tightly packed tables to the back room, which had been reserved for our group. We both easily spotted Tanya sitting across the room, with one seat open next to her.
"I'll find another chair for you," I whispered in her ear.
As we sat down together next to Tanya, most of the conversations around the table stopped. Nearly all of my classmates were staring at Bella, but no one would break the tense silence.
Finally, Tanya spoke. "Who's this, Edward?" she asked, nodding at Bella.
I knew that Tanya knew exactly who she was, of course, but I took the opportunity to introduce Bella to everyone. "This is my girlfriend, Bella," I replied proudly, laying my arm across her shoulders.
"Your girlfriend?" Eric asked. "I thought you and Tanya were together."
"Oh please, like I'd date him," Tanya responded with a wink.
"Um, can I get whatever you have on tap," Bella ordered, when a waitress came to our table. She looked nervously over at me for my reaction as the waitress nodded, moving on to the next person without asking to see Bella's ID.
"It's ok if you drink even though I can't," I told her quietly, rubbing my thumb reassuringly on her shoulder. I never wanted Bella to feel like she was being held back by my age. She nodded… and blushed a delicious shade of pink. Fuck, I had to work way too hard to control my reaction to that blush.
"So how long are you in town for, Bella?" Tanya asked.
"Um…"
"She's here for as long as I am," I replied. Just saying those words made me happier than I had been in months, and I had to work really hard to keep the shit-eating grin off my face.
"You're moving here?" Tanya asked.
"Yeah, I quit my job in Chicago."
Tanya's eyebrows rose nearly all the way to her hairline, and I knew she was going to be after me to tell her everything as soon as I got the opportunity.
I introduced the other students at the table to Bella, hoping she'd be more comfortable interacting with them if she knew their names.
"Hey, where's Jared?" one of the girls asked.
"Hotshots, playing pool with some of the upperclassmen who are 21 or have fake IDs," Tanya answered.
Once our meals were delivered, I dug in to my bacon cheeseburger. I was pretty much hanging on by a thread. I needed to be inside Bella within the next hour or I felt like I'd go mad. I really hoped that going down on her earlier was enough foreplay for her.
As we ate, I barely paid attention to the chatter around the table of finals and three months of goofing off. I planned to spend my summer making Bella fall in love with me.
As soon as we reasonably could, Bella and I stood up to leave. Tanya stood as well, putting her arm around my shoulder.
"Go get 'em, Tiger," she whispered in my ear. "You look like you're about to explode," she added with a smirk, patting me on the back. I rolled my eyes as I told her goodbye.
As soon as we were out the door, I pulled Bella close to me, my hands grasping and squeezing her ass as I kissed her. That counted as foreplay, right?
"Don't get us arrested now," she cautioned as I grinned. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd be ripping her clothes off right there in the parking lot — but it wasn't exactly private.
We held hands across the console for the five-minute ride back to the apartments. I had to repeatedly tell Little Edward to stand down and be patient.
"Where's all your stuff, Bella?" I asked once I'd parked my car.
"There are some suitcases in my car, but the rest is in storage in Chicago. Angela is going to send it to me when I find a place."
Bella and I grabbed as many bags and boxes as we could, carrying them inside. Once I opened the door, I was shocked to see that my roommate, Riley, was home — sprawled across the couch watching television. Fuck, really? Riley was hardly ever home! Why wasn't he at a party or something? Surely one of the jocks was having a party tonight. I almost felt like the universe was conspiring against me.
"Hey, man," he called, his eyes darting between Bella and me.
"Riley, this is my girlfriend, Bella," I introduced her. "She just moved to town. Is it ok if we store her suitcases and stuff in here so she doesn't have to leave them in the car?"
"Yeah, sure — I'll be out of here on Monday anyway," he shrugged.
After one more trip, we had all of Bella's things inside. But now I needed to figure out a solution to our not-so-little roommate problem.
I pulled Bella into my bedroom, closing the door. "Do you want to get a hotel?" I asked quietly. "I plan to make you scream my name more than a few times and I doubt you want Riley to overhear."
She laughed. "Promise?"
I grinned in response. Oh yeah, it was a promise, all right.
"Sure," she agreed. "Let me just grab the stuff I'll need for overnight?"
After I packed an overnight bag as well, we emerged from the bedroom. Riley looked up at us, grinning at the bags in our hands.
"Uh, I'll see you tomorrow, Ri," I said. I'm sure I was blushing, knowing that Riley knew exactly why we wanted privacy. He was pretty fond of teasing me that I'd never get laid if I didn't go to any parties.
"Sure, man," Riley replied, snickering.
"Are you going to have another roommate for the summer?" Bella asked as we made our way to the parking lot.
"Nah… the apartments aren't full in the summer. They're mostly rented to students from other schools who are doing internships in St. Louis.
"Is it ok if I drive again?" I asked. "There's a Marriott real close, but it's kinda confusing to get to, so it's probably easier for me to do it."
Just a few minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot for the hotel. I took Bella's hand after we got out of the car, not wanting to be disconnected from her ever again.
"We'd like a room for the night," I said once we made it to the front desk.
"Do you have ID?"
I pulled my driver's license out of my wallet, handing it to the man behind the desk.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but we can't rent a room to someone under 21. It's against our policy."
Fuck, fuck, fuck… why didn't I think of that before I suggested a hotel? I knew how much trouble I'd had finding a room each night on the drive to St. Louis from Forks last summer. Brilliant planning, Cullen.
I looked on mortified as Bella pulled her wallet out of her purse, handing her license to the man. I could see her blush as he looked over the license. Why did this have to happen now? I just didn't need any reason for Bella to doubt that the two of us were meant to be.
"That'll work," he finally said, punching several keys on the computer. "Credit card?"
"I don't have a credit card," I whispered in her ear, again feeling totally embarrassed at my failure at being an adult. Bella was already reaching into her wallet, so she must've expected that I wouldn't have a credit card yet. I needed to get right on that — surely I had enough money to qualify.
After the front desk clerk handed her an envelope with two room keys, he pointed out the elevators. Bella thanked him as we hurried across the lobby. Once inside, she pressed the button for the fifth floor and I attacked her — I couldn't wait any longer to get our night started.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the last outtake! Next up are future takes. I'll be on vacation with no laptop January 3-11 so it'll be a few weeks.
