Thank you to readers, new and old! I hope you enjoy the story.
Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. Anything I didn't borrow from her belongs to me.
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Chapter Sixteen
Developments
Bella POVAlice and I were setting up laptops and chargers in production. We had been on calls with the label and then with Esme to work out some requests for specific shots. We hadn't stepped off the bus until well after three, and we were way behind schedule.
Alice decided to vent her frustration at the lackluster day by wearing her strawberry covered 'bite me' tee.
"Afternoon," Jasper grunted as he headed to the coffee pot. I nodded to him and continued to work on the snake nest that used to be my power cords muttering a constant stream of curse words that would have impressed even Sam.
"Heya, Jasper. Did you just get your lazy ass out of bed?!" Alice accused as she crawled out from under the table.
He turned to her and froze then strode quickly out of the room. "Bite me… boots…trying to kill me..." was all that I could make out of his muttering.
"What?" she turned to me, looking completely baffled. "What did I say?"
I shrugged. "Maybe he didn't like your shirt?"
"Boys," we said together and shrugged.
After triumphantly finishing with my cords and setting up my laptop, I headed to see if there was any food left. Luckily, there was some chicken and something that may have once been called a salad. I settled for the chicken and vowed to buy a multivitamin next time I managed to get to a store.
I went outside to scout out an eating location. Edward was parked on some old crates behind the venue with his own plate of food, so I decided to join him.
"This is becoming a regular habit," I laughed as I perched beside him and dug into my meal.
"I know, this is what, the third time you've joined me for an elegant gourmet dinner," he said, waving a greasy drumstick vaguely.
"You better be careful, you're setting the bar pretty high, how do you follow up on the fried chicken date?"
"Don't worry, I've been holding out on you. There's still a whole world of Asian takeout we have yet to explore. I've been keeping it as my ace in the hole." He smiled, but it quickly turned to a frown. "I didn't know you were considering these as dates, though. Traditionally, the third date is the sex date, and I'm completely unprepared. I suppose I could just take you against the wall here. They'd certainly appreciate the show." He nodded toward the small group of female fans that were obviously debating about coming over to talk to Edward while he was eating dinner.
Blood rushed to my cheeks, but I tried to play it down and responded with theatrical sadness. "I'm not much for audiences." I gave myself a mental pat on the back for managing to speak without choking on my food. My heart was another story. There was no hope of keeping that under control as it tried to beat its way out of my chest. Beautiful visions of Edward grinding me into a wall filled my mind, and I felt the blush deepen.
"I'll keep that in mind." He nodded, and we both broke out into laughter. This seemed to encourage the small throng of fans, and they started to wander over casually.
"Bella, just so you know. This isn't a date, but you did agree to go out with me, and I will be taking you up on that very shortly. Oh, and I'm perfectly sober at the moment too."
I blinked like an owl a few times before the fans joined us, and Edward started talking animatedly with them as he signed autographs. He shot me a smile as I left him to it, and I wandered off to eat the rest of my meal in silence.
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Alice POVBella was barely out the door before my evil grin broke out. I knew precisely what Jasper's problem was, but I wasn't going to back off now. I was just starting to have fun. True, I had let him off the hook before, but the game was on again.
I sighed and frowned as my mind turned back to a less enjoyable task than making Jasper insane with lust. I still had to find out what James had been doing over the last few years. I'd been putting it off, but I had the office to myself. Now was as good a time as any.
Weighing my options for a final time, I went through the list of Charlie's friends and co-workers in my head. I needed this information, but I definitely didn't want Charlie and Renee to know that James was sniffing around again. They would be sick with worry. I would tell them, of course, but not until after we had an idea of what he was up to.
I went with my instinct to call Mark. He had been Charlie's deputy before he'd moved a few towns over to become a sheriff. I was reasonably sure he wouldn't tell Charlie if I asked him not to. As long as I explained that no one was in danger and that I was just checking up on James to see where he'd been for the past four years. If Bella needed to get another restraining order, the whole thing would come out regardless. I brought up an online directory and found the number for Mark's office.
Mark picked up the line, and I smiled and remember how much I loved how down to earth small towns were. "Hey, Mark, it's Alice. Alice Brandon."
"Alice! How are you?"
I exchanged updates with Mark about our families and jobs, but he cut through the small talk quickly. "It's nice to hear from you, kiddo, but you're not calling me from out of state to chat. What's up?"
"Yeah, I do actually need something."
"Why aren't you asking Charlie?" he asked shrewdly.
"It's about James. I don't want to worry them if I don't have to."
I heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line and then some keyboard strokes. "Just promise me if there's any danger Alice, you'll tell your father."
"I will, Mark. I promise."
"Alright, let's see what he's been up to then." He muttered to himself for a moment, and I could hear him typing sporadically. "Hmm, James has been busy."
I took a deep breath to prepare myself. "Let me have it."
"Well, about 6 months after your confrontation with him, he faced some drug charges. Nothing major, he got some community service, it went downhill from there. He has an assault charge. It looks like it was a bar fight, but it got nasty. He attacked a guy with a broken bottle, did a fair bit of damage. He got a year for that, but his sentence was extended for some fighting while he was locked up.
"After he got out, he was arrested on another assault. Someone in a hotel called in to report sounds of fighting in the next room. When the cops got there, they caught him with a prostitute. He'd beat her up pretty badly."
James had definitely upped his game since his time with Bella. I sighed, "Sounds like his temper hasn't improved."
"Nope, not at all. He had a chance at a sentence reduction if he agreed to therapy, but he refused. Not that this guy was ever good news, but he's definitely worse than he was. Don't take any chances with him, Alice. I meant what I said about telling your father."
"Thanks Mark, I appreciate it."
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Edward POV
Remembering Bella's face when I'd offered a little quality time between me and a wall, I smiled broadly. Of course, I was teasing, but I still had to keep my mind from wandering so that my thoughts wouldn't have a visible effect. I stepped outside while trying to convince myself that I wasn't just walking around, hoping to run into Bella.
I heard her voice around the corner and stopped. Something about it didn't sound right. It was strained like she was forcing herself to be calm. I listened more carefully as the other voice made its way to me.
"Come now, Isabelle, you can't be too busy to talk to your husband, what does that say about you exactly?"
"Really, James, I have a lot to do. And you're not my husband anymore; you're my ex-husband."
"That wasn't my decision, and I never agreed to it. I thought your word meant more to you than that. It used to. You gave you word to honor and obey me until your death."
"I would have come back to you sooner to sort this all out like I knew you'd want to, but it was out of my control. You must want to work this out with me, Isabelle, any decent person would."
I took a deep breath and willed myself to remain calm. No question as to why Bella was stressed, or who this was. No one but James would talk to Bella like that. I hadn't even been here two minutes, and he was already trying to make her question herself. I stepped around the corner and forced myself to smile widely at Bella. She looked down, unmistakably ashamed, and the desire to hurt this man washed over me again.
"Hey, Bella, everything okay?"
"Yes, it's fine Edward. I think Carlisle was looking for you earlier, he's just coming out of the bus with Jasper now." She blushed deeply, and I knew she was trying to get me to leave. Not bloody likely. I opened my mouth to speak again when James cut across me.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Isabelle," James emphasized her name and looked at me with a smile before training his eyes on her again. "Your manners haven't improved any I see." His tone was light and joking, but it was another dig at her.
I felt my fists clench and looked away from James at Jasper. His eyebrows rose, and a shocked looked crossed his face as he took in my expression and the fury there. He walked over to our small group quickly.
"Hi guys," he said to Bella and I. Her eyes closed tightly shrunk into herself a little more as she stared at her feet. She looked positively mortified. "Jasper, Edward, this is James," she said, pointing to each of us in turn. Her eyes never met ours. Everything about her body language had changed from the Bella I knew. "James, Edward is the guitarist, and Jasper is the singer and bassist of the band I'm working for now."
Jasper turned to me, and I could see all the pieces locking into place as he realized the reason for my anger and why Bella was acting so strangely.
"I came to visit my wife. She's been hard to find."
"Ex-wife, James," Bella whispered. Her voice may have been soft, but it was definitely icy. Suddenly it dawned on me that while Bella was very uncomfortable around James, Having us here made it worse; she was terrified of what James might do or say to us. Alice had told me repeatedly that she was worried about how we would react to him, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.
James ignored Bella's correction. "I was surprised when I found out what she was doing. You guys must have your hands full, what with all the music stuff, then having to keep an eye on Bella too. I always found that she did her best work when I supervised her closely. She never could get a project off the ground on her own; she got in over her head too easily. When we worked together, the results were spectacular. She's not untalented, of course, but she does need a lot of guidance."
It was taking all of my self-control not to strangle him in front of the watching fans. "Really? Maybe it was the leadership she was under. The work she's done for us has been above and beyond expectations. She and Alice provide professional results, unlike anything we've seen before. Perhaps she just needed the space to spread her wings and be free… to discover her strengths, I mean."
Bella shot me an appreciative look, but I didn't like her body language. Just by having him here, she seemed… smaller.
I turned back to James again. "So how is it that you came to find out that she was working with us?"
"oh, I have friends everywhere; important information has a way of just finding me. Isabelle knows that." He put his arm around her shoulders, and I saw a shudder run through her body.
I stepped forward, ready to rip his arm from the socket, but Jasper was faster. He moved to Bella's side and pulled her gently away from James. Even though I could tell that he wasn't any happier than I was, he stayed calm and diffused the situation.
"You'll have to excuse us, James," Jasper said coolly. "I need Bella and Edward inside for a meeting. We're about to have a conference call."
"That's fine, I'll step in and wait, I'd like to chat with Isabelle some more." I realized then why he refused to call her by the name she preferred. Every time he said Isabelle, she shuddered almost imperceptibly. For reasons I didn't want to think about, it was a trigger for her. My body coiled tighter. This man was making me realize levels of anger I hadn't thought myself capable of before.
"That isn't possible, security issues and all that. Plus, after the call, we have some other logistics to go through. Bella's busy for the rest of the day." Without giving James time to argue, Jasper put a hand on my back and pushed me toward the venue. He shielded Bella by putting his arm around her and walked with her inside the building.
The doors closed behind him, and he brought Bella to me. "I should go and find Alice. Bella, are you alright?"
She still looked embarrassed and blushed slightly again. "I'm fine, Jasper, really, I can tell Alice later that he's here. Don't trouble yourself."
"Nah, I need to catch up with her anyway, something tells me that she wants me to read her shirt as much as possible today." With that cryptic remark, he smiled warmly at Bella and strode off.
She nodded and watched him go. I noticed how she still shrunk into herself, so guarded and uncertain. This wasn't the confident, playful Bella that was slowly coming out of her shell.
"I wasn't even there for the whole thing, and he insulted you at least three times," I said quietly.
"Yeah, that's James. If you can believe it, he thinks he's subtle," she laughed weakly. "Honestly, Edward, I'm fine. I'm sorry you had to see all that. I'll try to keep him out of your hair from now on." She turned and walked quickly from the room and pretended not to hear me when I called after her.
I was torn between chasing her down and giving her the space she seemed to want. I decided on finding Alice for her take on this. I decided on the latter and strode off in the direction Jasper had disappeared in. I found them talking on the bus. Alice looked up questioningly as I came up the stairs.
"She wouldn't talk to me. She apologized for us having to see that and ran off the dressing room. She's thrown herself into some work now," I answered her unspoken question bitterly.
"It's not about you, you know that right?" she asked softly.
"Yes, I know, and I'm not sure if that's not just as upsetting."
Alice shook her head sadly. She started to relay Bella's story from a few days ago when she first met James again. I cut her off and told her Bella had already filled me in.
Alice looked pleased with that. "She told you? That's a good sign. The more she talks about it, the better it is. She's so caught up in thinking this is her fault and something she needs to hide from her friends."
"She doesn't honestly think he could make us fire her?" I spat. I knew there was an intricate weave of manipulation and emotion going on here, but the idea just seemed so ridiculous.
"No, I doubt it. It's more that she's dreading what he might try and how many more people will have to get involved. She doesn't want anything to do with him ever again. Bella sees everything that happened with clarity now, but at the same time, she feels like James is her own personal disease. She doesn't want to inflict him on anyone else."
I ran a hand through my hair, trying not to let my frustration consume me. Alice then filled us in on what she'd found out about James' criminal record in the years after Bella left him.
"So he's not just a manipulative asshole, he's a dangerous, manipulative asshole," I said, and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"All you can do is be there for her, Edward. I know it's hard when she shuts you out, believe me." Alice scowled bitterly. "I've learned that with Bella, you can only push so hard. She's close to a breakthrough on this one believe it or not, and you're instrumental to that."
I looked up at her with surprise.
"She cares for you, she really does, but James made her question herself on every level. She closed her heart off completely after him until she met you." She stood up, reached for Jasper's hand, and gave it a light squeeze of thanks. She walked past me and put her hand on my arm. "Give her time, please don't give up on her."
"Not bloody likely," I laughed.
She smiled warmly. "Now I think I need to go find her. I don't like to let her get lost in her head at times like this." She started to descend the steps but stopped and turned back to me. "Edward, if you do accidentally run into James, don't do anything stupid. The last thing Bella would want is for you to rack up assault charges…or worse."
"If I did something to him, it would definitely be worse than assault," I grumbled as she walked away.
I turned back to Jasper, who was watching me with an appraising gaze. "I'm going for a walk."
It was a beautiful day. The bright blue sky was artfully dotted with fluffy clouds, and the sun's warmth was perfected by the light breeze that stirred the air just the right amount. All of it seemed to exist only to mock my dark mood.
Every time Bella and I started to make progress, he showed up and undid it. That made me sound horribly selfish, but it was more than just my relationship with her. I knew that I was good for her. In the past weeks, she had become more open and relaxed. Even her confidence was growing. Alice had noticed it and mentioned it to me more than once.
I just hoped that my positive reinforcement was more powerful than the doubt he fed her. Unfortunately, he had the advantage of being ingrained in her memory and probably her nightmares too. Rounding the corner of the venue, I saw red. James was still here, laughing and carrying on with some of the fans that had lined up early.
I stopped and took a deep breath, forcing my body to be still when every nerve ending wanted to propel me to his side and turn his face into a bloody pulp.
I stiffly crossed the space between us. He noticed my approach, and a disgusted look crossed his face. He changed it to a welcoming smile, but not fast enough for it to escape my notice.
My eyes locked with James' the moment he saw me, neither of us was willing to look break eye contact. I nodded at the fans in line without seeing them.
"I need a word in private." It wasn't a request, so I didn't bother phrasing it as one.
He sneered and moved away, finally breaking the eye contact and turning his back to me, flaunting the fact that he knew I was powerless. There was nothing I could do in front of a crowd.
He moved out of hearing range of the group and smiled again. I felt the need to take a shower, just being this close to him.
"Hello again, um Edwin, was it?"
"Edward," I said, somewhat surprised he was going to resort to childish games like this.
"Oh right, Edward, of course. What did you want to speak with me about, Edward?"
This guy was definitely trying to push my buttons. The fact that I refused to let him get the better of me was the only thing keeping me in control right now.
"You're not welcome here, James. Stay the hell away from us and anywhere we are. Most of all, stay the fuck away from Bella."
I watched as all pretense fell from his face. Apparently, he hadn't expected me to be quite so direct.
"I don't see what business it is of yours what happens between my wife and I. Bella—" he said her name correctly, but with a sneer of contempt "—is mine and you need to understand that. You shouldn't put your nose where it doesn't belong, or you're going to get hurt."
Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed him and shoved him against the bus. "She's not yours, asshole. She is not a pet or a piece of property. She's not even your wife anymore. Even with all you did to control her, she still left you."
I was the one pushing buttons now, and I was better at it. His face was starting to turn red as his anger boiled over. Things might have gotten ugly between us if Jasper hadn't decided to follow me and make sure I stayed clear of trouble.
"Ok, ok, that's enough," Jasper said in his best calming voice as he pulled my hands off James. He bent down and picked up the jacket I'd apparently had knocked from James' arm and shoved it at him roughly. "As I'm sure Edward has already explained, we don't want you here. Please leave quietly before things get worse than they have to be"
James wasn't going without the last word, though.
"Listen, you fucking pretty boy, she's mine, and she always will be. She's coming back to me, so you keep your god damned hands off her, or she'll be sorry."
The threat against Bella sobered me, unlike anything else he had said. It made me realize that, regardless of who was responsible for the action, James would blame Bella for any perceived transgressions. I shook my head at the pathetic threat and decided not to provoke him more than I already had.
"Are you enjoying your walk?" Jasper's voice was full of condescension. "You know, getting him worked up doesn't help anyone, least of all, Bella."
I nodded and sighed. "I didn't come looking for him. Once I saw him, though, I couldn't help myself."
"You'll have to in the future. If you two start fighting over Bella, she stands to get hurt worse than either of you. Which would mean that you're doing it for yourself, not to protect her. You don't need to get into a pissing contest with him. Everyone, including Bella, knows exactly what he is. Besides, do you want to be on the same side of anything as James? Especially when that side is against Bella's wishes?" Jasper stooped down again to pick something up. I watched, and he unfolded the piece of paper, and the blood drained from his face.
"What is it?"
"It's Lauren."
I groaned. "That's the last thing I need today. Where are they?"
"No, how James found Bella. It was Lauren. This must have fallen from James' pocket."
The paper was a printed copy of a series of emails. Once the blind rage had passed, read the conversation a second time to make sure I hadn't missed any of it.
From: Lauren M
To: James Laurent
Subject: Re: Re: An Old Flame My father does business with the same attorney that represented you. He said you would probably be interested in knowing that all restraining orders that were taken out against you have lapsed. He thought that you might want to see Bella again. She's currently on tour with Midnight Sun. She does photographs and website stuff with her sister, but there are a lot of people who think that there may be some other things in their job description. Rumors have her getting pretty close with the band, all of the band, if you know what I mean. It's not very professional if you ask me. Maybe if someone she trusted told her how bad things looked from the outside, she'd listen to them. You should show up early to one of their shows someday.
L.
-Original Message-
From: James Laurent Who are you? How did you get this address? If you know where Isabelle is tell me.
To: Lauren M
Subject: RE: An Old Flame
From: Lauren M Do you know Isabella Swan? I've been told you might be interested in her current whereabouts. L.
To: James Laurent
Subject: An Old Flame
The second page was a print out with a number of our tour dates circled. If he'd been to all these shows, then he'd been watching Bella long before he'd made his presence known to her.
I had been stewing in varying levels of anger for a good portion of the afternoon. Now, something else washed over me, and it felt like it could do even more damage than the fires of rage. A calm, cold fury at Lauren and her games extinguished every lick of flame that the anger had filled me with.
Lauren and possibly Jessica's petty jealousy had put Bella in genuine danger. They had to know by now that they never had any real chance with us. They were persistent, uncomfortable even, but I hadn't thought they were delusional or really dangerous.
Perhaps, as long as they didn't see any competition, they had been content to keep trying. When Bella came into the picture and Lauren had to face reality, she must have started to scheme. I didn't know how much she knew about James and Bella, but she had known enough to use him as a weapon, and she'd pointed him at Bella like a loaded gun.
I turned toward Jasper and saw him watching the crowd intently. Following his gaze, I saw Lauren and Jessica smiling and waving at us excitedly.
"Come on, Jasper. We need to deal with them, and I don't want to do it out here."
Jasper nodded and followed me back inside.
Emmett and Carlisle were already in the dressing room when we arrived. It was quickly decided that Esme should be a part of this meeting, and Carlisle promptly got her on speakerphone. After discussing the situation and deciding on a plan, Carlisle went outside to retrieve the two women.
Typically, the band members wouldn't become directly involved in a situation such as this. It might even be misinterpreted as a reward, as strange as that sounded in my mind. Everyone talked it over and agreed that this was important enough that the three of use should be part of the meeting. We felt the message would be even stronger coming from us than an impersonal letter from management or our lawyers. Already familiar with the way they worked, Carlisle decided the meeting would be recorded and filed away for future use if needed.
As far as we were concerned, someone had intentionally put one of us in danger. It didn't matter if it was a member of the band or the crew, we considered each other family, and there was no way this was going to slide.
The two girls were beaming as they entered the room. As far as I could remember, neither had been backstage or in our dressing room before. They looked like they had just won the lottery. I saw two female security guards step in silently behind them.
"Oh my god! Hi guys. It's been like forever since we've seen you!"
Lauren started to cross the room, presumably to hug me or hang off me like she usually did. I held up a hand, and she stopped immediately. Something in my face must have clued her in that this was not a social call because her smile fell, and a look of confusion replaced it. "What's wrong?"
"This." I handed the copy of the paper James had dropped.
"How did—"
"Does it matter?"
Jessica stepped up behind her and looked at the paper. Her reaction would tell us if Jessica knew about Lauren's plan. Jessica's face immediately looked ashamed.
Lauren surveyed the faces in the room, clearly doing some quick thinking. Her face took on a defiant look. "What's the big deal? A few people wanted to know more about the people who brought us all fantastic stuff online, so Jessica and I did some research. I'm very resourceful. We just thought Bella would be happy to see an old friend."
Emmett scoffed. "That's that best you can come up with? You obviously pride yourself on your ability to manipulate people. If that's all you can do in a tight spot, you're not even as good as me, and I suck at it."
Despite the unwelcome advances, we had always tried to be polite when fending off these two. This was the first time one of us had said something unkind to them, and it had been Emmett who she'd probably thought was incapable of it. It rattled Lauren, and she seemed at a loss for what to say next.
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter what your excuse is."
Jasper took over, knowing that if I was allowed to continue, unkind would be the least of their worries. "Jessica, Lauren, you know Carlisle, of course, and Esme from our management company is also on the phone." Esme's brisk hello came from the black phone on the table.
"You're here because we need to make something clear to you. This email shows that you've done some research into Bella's past. That you found James and knew it would be disruptive if he was reintroduced into her life.
"I cannot put into words how disgusted we are that you would take information like that and use it against anyone, let alone someone that we care for. I have to admit that I didn't think you were capable of it. Even though we've never been close, I didn't think you would ever want to hurt us."
"But we didn't do anything to you. We'd never hurt you guys!" Lauren looked horrified at the thought, and Jasper shook his head in frustration.
"Bella and Alice have become part of our road family. You went out of your way to put Bella in danger and cause her trouble. More than anything else, it shows how selfish and petty you are. That might make this challenging to understand, but by attacking Bella, you have attacked everyone in this room.
"Alice has already told you that you are no longer welcome at our shows. You haven't taken her seriously considering that you're here. We've decided that telling you ourselves should leave nothing open to interpretation. That is the only reason we have allowed this final meeting.
"We do not want to see you again. Esme and Carlisle will be taking steps with security at all future shows to make it known that you should not be let in. What you have done here is unforgivable. We want nothing more to do with either of you. These security guards will escort you from the premises."
I watched as Lauren's chin wobbled, then tears burst from her eyes. She managed one shout of "No!" before the security guard took her arm and walked her out. Jessica looked like she was in shock as she turned and followed her friend.
I couldn't take any satisfaction from the outcome, no matter what we did in retaliation, the damage had been done, and James had re-entered Bella's life. The day finally caught up with me, and I was drained. I tried to focus on conversation in the room but ended up staring at the wall in a daze.
"Edward? Edward!" Emmett's meaty hand waved in front of my eyes. I blinked and turned toward him.
"It's alive!" He laughed and slapped me on the back. "You look like shit, man. Go take a break on the bus. Get some sleep or something. We still have to do a show tonight, remember?"
I nodded and rubbed my face before dragging myself upright and walking to the bus like a zombie. All I wanted at that moment was to be in Bella's presence. I didn't need to touch her or speak with her; I just wanted to know she was ok and to be there if she needed me.
I made sure the bus door was locked behind me. The last thing I wanted right now was to have to deal with something else. I stretched out on the couch and tried to relax, but no matter how exhausted my body was, my mind refused to cooperate.
The sight of James speaking down to Bella and her cringing away kept replaying, only to be replaced by his threats and Lauren's malice toward her. Bella didn't deserve these things, and no matter how hard I tried, there was nothing I could do to protect her from them.
A soft knock on the door pulled me from my musing. I debated about ignoring it but finally decided to see who it was. I looked through the gap in the curtain to see Bella standing at the door, and she looked like a woman on a mission. My fatigue was forgotten the moment I saw her, and I sprang lightly down the steps to unlock the door. Bella motioned for me to step down, and my brow creased with curiosity.
Without a word, Bella reached her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her. Suddenly her lips were on mine. There was no hesitancy in this kiss, it was a statement. I didn't realize that I was frozen with shock until I felt one of her hands reach down to mine and pull it around her waist.
That was all the encouragement I needed. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me tightly as I returned her motions greedily. I felt the corner of her lips pull up and took the opportunity to deepen our kiss. Her lips parted for me, and our tongues met as the intensity between us rose. Her hands tightened in my hair, and my control wavered a little more.
I spun us around so that I could press her against the bus. Bella's hands started to roam over my back, and things were just starting to get really enjoyable when we were brought back to reality by a wolf whistle from behind us.
I felt Bella freeze, and I turned toward the crowd that was gathered outside of the venue. A few of the girls were fanning themselves dramatically. More than one person had a cell phone out to record the entire scene. As Bella peeked out from behind me, stilted clapping started, and it quickly grew into full-blown applause. James was still in the back of the crowd, and he looked livid.
I looked back at Bella, who was beet red by now. "Maybe we should go inside and talk?"
"You could have suggested that before the PDA."
"I was going to, but someone jumped me before I could speak." I kissed her lightly on the forehead and opened the door for her. She giggled and sprang up the steps. If I didn't know that there still a half dozen cameras on me, I would have done a fist pump before joining her.
Bella was sitting on the couch, looking rather pleased with herself. I certainly wasn't upset at this development, but the sudden change in attitude took me by surprise. I was expecting to have to coax her out of her shell again. She smiled up at me and patted the couch beside her.
"Not that I'm complaining," I said as I sat down and pulled her to my side, "but what brought that on?"
"Alice."
"I always knew I liked her for a reason."
She laughed and smacked at me. "Alice has a way of making things very clear. She pointed out that I was still letting James control my life. When I got angry and disagreed, she asked me what I would be doing right now if he hadn't shown up. Then she left with that smug, know it all smile that she has before I could answer.
"I thought about it for a couple of seconds before everything suddenly made sense. Needless to say, Alice was right as usual. So I came out here to find you and do what I should have done a long, long time ago. I kind of forgot about the audience when I saw you, though. Sorry about that."
I laughed and kissed the top of her head. "You can go cavewoman on me any time you like. I do have one request, though."
"What's that?"
"The next time you kiss me like that, I don't want it to be in response to James. I want it to because I'm so irresistible that you can't keep your lips off of me."
She smiled devilishly, and a shiver of anticipation shot down my spine. I liked this new side of Bella.
"That's not going to be a problem," she said and leaned toward me.
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