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storyline - "Session"

prompt - varnish

not beta'd. see a mistake? pray tell.

So that was that.

I'd basically just blurted out what I'd been thinking nearly nonstop for the past few weeks.

Only, I lied. I'd said "I think I like you."

But I knew I did.

Wind reared up the rock face, howling through the crevices and over our bluff, shaking the trees like an angry thing. Waves crashed loudly below, creepy in their darkness, slick and white-capped.

And yet, the silence between Edward and I was deafening.

I waited for the voodoo varnish of his magic to disappear alongside his rejection of me. Silly Bella, you fell for Cullen's charms. It was such a cliché, having a crush on some guy who played guitar and made me swoon. I thought of Rose's not so playful accusations, of how I always went for musicians. It never seemed like that big of a deal.

At least, until now - because suddenly I really cared what this guy thought.

Why had I ever opened my stupid mouth; I should have just continued playing the game. It was tenuous but it was exciting and fun and so, so sexy…

"Do you," he replied eventually, not asking.

I drank the rest of my warm pissy beer and crushed the can between my hands, wanting to get up and escape the awkwardness but something held me in my spot.

"I don't know," I lied, pointlessly.

"It's weird," he began. "You're different."

Snorting, I rolled my eyes.

"I'm serious. You're not like other girls."

"Now I see what they mean."

"What?" I could hear the smile in his voice. "Who?"

"The guys. This is your thing, huh? Charm and seduce. Kiss the girls and make 'em cry…"

"I haven't kissed you."

"Figure of speech."

"Right."

"So is that how it is? Are you the snake charmer, taming wild groupies?" I asked, suddenly bold.

"I don't know; have you been tamed?" he asked, not missing a beat.

"I'm not wild. Or a groupie," I said, wondering secretly if I was, in fact, a groupie. It wasn't like I slept with all of these guys.

Edward stood up and brushed the seat of his pants. I could feel him watching me in the dark. "Good to know." He walked away, back to the warmth of the group.

My head hurt a little, which tended to happen when I tied my ponytail too tight. I loosened my hair and massaged my scalp, wondering how this night had taken such a crappy turn.

Back at the truck, the music had started up again but it was quieter now, mellower. A couple more cars had pulled up, and now there were several groups to choose from. I still felt aimless though. These people, as much as I'd hung out with them lately, weren't my close friends yet. I'd probably ruined that now, anyway, ruined the chance of getting closer. No one wanted to get involved with weird vibes like girls who went from guy to guy.

Right as I was really starting to feel sorry for myself Seth strode up, slinging his arm around me. "Hey Bella bo-bella. Why so emo?"

"I'm not being emo," I laughed, sliding my arm around his waist. "Just…"

"Just emo," he teased. "Come on." He started leading me over to the car but I pulled him to a stop when I saw Edward leaning up against it.

"Are we going or something?" I whispered.

"No… did you want to go?"

"No, I just thought… never mind."

He gave me a look. "Dude. No one cares. He doesn't even care."

At first I thought Seth was referring to Edward but then I followed his line of sight. Embry was sitting on the hood of a car, talking and getting close to some girl. It was sort of weird to know I'd been so replaceable, but I hadn't exactly given him any reason to think otherwise.

"Does that bother you?"

Edward's voice drifted over and I turned to him, moving closer.

"Sadly, no."

The moon came out from behind a cloud, letting me see his face a little better.

"I know how that goes," he chuckled.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, wondering if I should just get into Seth's ride and wait until it was time to go. But then Edward patted the spot beside him. Tentatively, I joined him.

"So." He elbowed me.

"So…" I elbowed back.

"Talk to me," he said. "Are you always this quiet?"

"Not always," I admitted.

He took my hand and led me even closer, standing me between his legs. My heart stuttered, startled at the sudden closeness.

"Stop being so shy." He took my other hand and swung gently.

"Stop being so… " Sexy.

"Charming?"

I laughed at his ridiculousness, loving it. "Yeah."

"But maybe that was my plan. Maybe I wanted you all for myself". Dropping my hands, he rested his hands on my hips instead, his fingertips grazing my behind as he pulled me closer. "Did it work?"

Staring at his mouth, I nodded slightly. Well, damn. If this was just a game he was really good at it.

I kissed him softly and felt every cell in my body react.

He tickled his thumbs against the skin above my jeans, letting me kiss him for a minute, and then he kissed me back, licking his tongue along the inside of my lip before sliding it inside. No one had ever done that; I didn't even know what it was but it was hot and made me tighten up inside.

Made me want.

His kisses were so slow, like we had all the time in the world. He pressed me tighter still, pulling me so that I was totally leaning against him, off balance in more ways than one.

Easing away, he ran his tongue across my ear before sucking the very edge into his mouth.

I shivered like I'd been electrocuted.

"Can you sing?" he whispered, so low and right in my ear.

"No," I breathed.

Flattening his hands on the bare skin of my back, he slipped his fingertips lower so that they grazed the elastic on my underwear. Again I heard the smile in his voice. "I bet I can make you."