First of all, thanks so much to all of you for your kind words. I got tons of messages saying how glad people are that I'm feeling better and wishes for better health. You guys are so awesome.
Charlie was dying to go fishing. It was looking like it was going to be a gorgeous day, and he kept fantasizing about hunkering down in his little boat with a six pack of beer and a radio to hear the game. But he felt that he couldn't in good conscience head off into solitary splendor when Bella had come all the way home just to visit him.
It was too late to head out on the river by the time Edward made his appearance at the front door, otherwise he would have figured out how to help Charlie overcome his familial obligations. He was, however, able to lay some groundwork for Sunday.
"You still wanted to go see your friend Jessica tomorrow, right?" he asked Bella casually as he watched her and Charlie eat homemade waffles. They looked like crispy slabs of mud pie and smelled worse – at least to Edward.
She looked up in surprise. "Huh? Oh, no, I can –" she broke off when Edward nudged her foot with his. Going red, she took a huge bite and swallowed it before amending, "You're right. She has to work all week, and tomorrow's her day off."
"Jessica, huh?" Charlie said. "You two made up after the Mike Newton prom debacle?"
"Yeah," Bella said, her cheeks still pink.
"And you promised to take me to the beach," Edward continued. "It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. It would be a shame to stay in town all day."
"Hey, no problem, Bells," Charlie jumped in. "I can entertain myself."
"You sure?" Bella said dubiously.
"Yeah," Charlie said, his mind happily fixated on leaping trout and salmon. "Go on and go sightseeing."
"Okay," she said, shrugging, and gave Edward a suspicious look before digging back into her waffles.
"It's too bad you can't eat these, Edward," Charlie sighed, spearing a fat strawberry and waffle on his fork. "Nobody cooks like Bella. I gain five pounds every time she visits."
"I'll have to learn to cook lactose and wheat free stuff," Bella said with a forced laugh. Edward smirked at her.
"You want some strawberries?" Charlie asked, trying to be polite.
"Uh, no, it's okay," Edward said. "I ate already. Plus strawberries give me a rash."
"Wow." Charlie didn't roll his eyes, but he wanted to. He was forming an opinion of Edward as a high-maintenance, clingy, metrosexual kind of a guy. Edward swallowed a snort. These days he felt more emo than metro.
They spent the morning helping Charlie in the yard – he asked Edward to give him a hand fixing the gutters while Bella mowed the lawn, and was disappointed when Edward didn't fumble at it. He was grateful for Alice's prediction that the clouds would break by eleven, so that he could hurry the job along and get back inside before he gave Chief Swan a really good reason to be suspicious.
He and Charlie watched the Mariners game while Bella curled up with her copy of Ender's Game.
It was boring as hell.
Eventually Edward faked getting a text from a "business associate" and apologetically made his excuses. Bella walked him to the door.
"You going far?" she murmured, kissing his cheek.
"Just out of sight. I'm going to see what's going on. Should I come back for dinner?"
"You don't have to," she said, smiling. "I saw the way you looked at my waffles."
"Okay." He squeezed her hand. "But I'll be back tonight."
Her breath caught and her heart tripped. Smiling, Edward left her to the Mariners and Orson Scott Card.
"Any news?"
"No," Kate said despondently, lounging in the tree. "I'm so fuckin' bored. Can we go hunt some wild dog?"
"Patience, grasshopper." Edward called Emmett this time, just to mix it up.
"Hey, Eduardo," his older-younger brother greeted him. "How's the family?"
"Just peachy," Edward said. "What's going on?"
"I was just going to call, actually. I can officially say that there is a whole lot of nothing happening around here."
Edward sighed. "That's what I thought. Heard from the others?"
"Rose and Tanya have been texting. They're poking around the river, looking for any signs or tracks. Not a thing."
"Okay. Kate's bored. I think she'd like to switch out with someone."
"I'll go see my girls and send a willing female back to your arms," Kate said with a wink.
"Nice." Emmett cackled. "Don't let Bella catch that shit."
"Fuck off. And thanks."
Bella could tell that Edward was frustrated when he climbed in her window that night.
"Hi," he said, coming to sit by her bedside. His eyes were dark and hooded.
"Hi," she said. "What's wrong?"
He sighed. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We've combed the area and found nothing but vague traces of Esme. And Jake is laying low. He hasn't phased since we've been there, though he must know we're around. We're not hiding our presence." He smiled at her ruefully. "My troops are going to mutiny if there isn't some action soon."
"Don't say that," Bella moaned, covering her eyes. "I don't want Forks to be ground zero for World War Three, please."
Edward tactfully changed the subject. "How was dinner?"
"Good. You missed my chicken enchiladas."
"Bummer."
"What was the whole Jessica thing about?"
"Your dad wants to go fishing tomorrow. I was creating an opportunity for him."
"But he can go fishing anytime. I'm only home for a week."
"I know you were as bored with that baseball game as I was."
Bella stuck out her tongue at him. "Charlie has decided you're a total pansy."
Edward laughed. "Yeah, I know."
"I told him that not everyone could be a man's man, and I didn't want to marry a cop and be widowed at thirty. He got real quiet after that." Bella bit her lip and glanced up at him mischievously.
Edward's eyes suddenly got very warm. "Was that a proposal, Miss Swan?" he asked huskily.
Bella felt a flush of mortification spread over her skin. "Oh, I didn't mean…I was just…I wanted to shut him up," she finally said lamely.
"You sure? I'm crushed." He leaned forward and kissed her neck.
"You look…okay…to me…"
Bella allowed Edward to lay her back and run his hands and tongue over every inch of skin that he could reach. When he was done with the front of her, he turned her over and explored her back, her ass, all the way down to her calves and feet. When they were both panting and Bella's heart was pounding to a techno beat, he finally turned her over and slipped his fingers between her legs, making her cry out before he covered her mouth gently with his hand.
"Shhh," he murmured, and she desperately fought to keep silent when he inserted a third long finger into her slick depths and pushed reason completely out of her mind. She bit his palm hard, hurting her teeth and jaw.
"Your dad heard you, but he thinks you're just dreaming again," he whispered into her hair as she lay, trembling and weak, beneath him. "He's obsessing about whether you're having erotic dreams or nightmares. He doesn't want to come in and find out."
Bella laughed weakly and pressed her forehead to his shoulder. She let him tuck her snugly under her covers and drifted off to sleep with him by her side, her dreams sure to be decidedly un-nightmarish.
Edward was dressed in a baseball cap and a long-sleeved windbreaker that hid his face and his neck. The day was sunny, but his suggestion to take a drive out to the coast pulled at Bella's heartstrings. It had been a long time since she'd sat out on the beach and watched the ocean.
"I can stay in the car," Edward said, escorting her to the Volvo with his hands shoved in his pockets. "As long as we stay out of the crowds, it should be okay."
"I know a few secluded spots," Bella said with a smile. "I'm sure we can fly beneath the radar."
They took the winding road over to the Quileute reservation and La Push beach much too quickly. Bella wondered what it would take for Edward to let her drive sometime.
"That's where we have bonfires," she pointed out. "That's how I found out about you. We were telling scary stories and one of Jake's friends pulled out an old 'legend' about the tribe." She sighed.
Edward asked her about her Quileute friends and her high school days while she directed him towards a small nook in the cliffs. They parked the car in the tall shadow of the rocks and got out, Edward's skin shielded from the direct rays of the sun.
"Aren't you nervous, being here?" Bella asked, leaning against the hood of the car and staring out at the waves. "You're kind of behind enemy lines, aren't you?"
"It does feel kinda weird," he admitted. "But this is a pretty private little alcove." He glanced at her sidelong. "Makeout spot?"
Bella blushed. "Maybe."
With a laugh, Edward pulled her close and kissed her. She melted against him willingly, smiling at the feel of his hands on her back and his body against hers.
"Nice," he murmured against her lips, his hands creeping down to cup her ass.
"God, you are such a tease," she admonished him, but allowed him to pull her up onto the hood of the car and settle her between his thighs. She curled up in his arms, feeling warm despite his cool body against her back and the light ocean breeze. Edward's lips explored her neck and her ear while his long, sensitive fingers searched over her body. She squirmed and arched, giggling at first, and then sinking against him, practically purring as one of his hands cupped her breast gently and the other slipped between her legs to press into her flesh.
"Edward," she moaned. "How much longer do you expect me to wait?"
"Soon, bellissima," he breathed, slipping his tongue into her ear. "Soon."
"Get your fucking hands off of her."
Bella shrieked and tried to sit up, but Edward held her firmly. Standing twenty feet away, shaking with rage, stood Jacob.
Edward sighed.
"Jake! I…I…" Bella felt like she'd been caught shoplifting by a nun. Jacob's fists were clenched and his teeth were bared. He was, however, half naked, wearing only a pair of cutoff jeans and no shoes. Bella swallowed, eyeing his massive pecs and biceps.
"Don't you own any clothes?" Edward asked.
Jacob just snarled.
"Right. I guess they don't just evaporate when you change, huh?" Edward slowly removed his hand from between her thighs, but he didn't let her go. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer.
"Listen, Jake, let's not have a confrontation here," Bella said nervously, wishing she didn't feel and sound so defensive. "We'll just go, and leave you to…whatever."
"Will we?" Edward asked, sounding surprised. Bella elbowed him, but of course it hurt her elbow more than him.
"Take...your...hands...off...of...Bella," Jacob said slowly, stepping forward.
"Why should I? She seems very comfortable here."
"Edward," Bella hissed. She felt panic rising in her throat. Both men were poised and ready to strike. She could feel the violence radiating off of Edward, even though she couldn't see him and he sounded perfectly relaxed and calm.
"Because I'm going to kill you," Jacob said. "And I don't think she wants to watch."
"Jacob, just leave it," Bella pleaded. "I'm sorry we came here. I wasn't thinking –"
"I was hoping we'd run across you, Jacob," Edward interrupted her. "I wanted to let you know that we're in town. Make sure you knew that if you hurt Esme, we'll tear you apart. Understood?"
"The only thing I understand is that there's a bloodsucking leech on my land, and it's my job to get rid of it. Now let Bella go so that I can get started." Jacob reached out towards Bella, making to grasp her arm. She instinctively shrank against Edward, even though she knew that Jacob meant her no harm.
"Guys, stop –"
"Bella, come on –"
"Touch her and you die." Edward's voice was soft.
"There's no need to –" Bella looked down at Jacob's hand curling around hers and groaned.
"Get your hand off of my mate."
The words were quiet, but they went all the way through Bella like a bolt of lightning. Blinking, she turned to look at Edward's face.
"Your mate? Are you kidding me right now? Are you going to piss on her leg, or what?"
"Of the two of us, I think you're the one who's not housebroken."
"Stop!" Bella shook off Jacob's hand and pushed out of Edward's arms. He resisted for a moment, then let her slide off the hood of the car. "This has devolved into total lunacy, guys. I am not a bone for two animals to fight over. And you!" She turned to Edward. "What do you mean, mate?"
He just glanced at her, then resumed glaring at Jacob.
"We're going now," Bella said. "If you two start fighting I will pull you apart with my bare hands, and neither of you will like it one bit. Got it? Now let's go, Edward."
"You tell that blond-haired bloodsucker to stay away from the village," Jacob growled, but he stood motionlessly as Edward and Bella got into the car.
"I don't tell them what to do," Edward replied shortly. "And neither do you."
So, I found a cool new series to read: Fallen by Lauren Kate. For all you helpless romantics out there, this is for you. There are three books in the series, with a fourth (curses!) due out next spring. Young girl falls in love with angel, gets embroiled in a cosmic battle for control of the universe. I think I've figured out what the surprise ending of the series is going to be, but I won't tell you my theories unless you ask - I don't want to ruin it. Also, there are only about a hundred fanfics for this story on FF, which I find surprising because these books were bestsellers and Disney has bought the rights to make some movies. So, I need some recs for good Fallen fanfics, and all you guys get out there and start writing some more, kay?