Here you go, lovelies. Another (shorter) chapter for you.
My pre-reader purpleC305 and Ninkita, my beta are 'responsible" for that.
Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
IPOV
"Hey, guys! What about that dinner?"
Wow, great timing, Alice, I think to myself. As if he's heard my thoughts, Eward gives me an apologetic smile. I sigh and I'm frustrated because I didn't get to hear what he was about to say. I decide I'll ask him another time. When we're not surrounded by friends and family.
Our conversation earlier went great. A bit embarrassing in the beginning, but Edward made up for it by steering the topic off my atypical behaviour of the previous night in another direction. He was genuinely interested in what I told him, and by asking all the questions he made me feel… important. Until I mentioned the Bilić brothers. That's when he started to act kind of weird. The coziness I felt just minutes ago went up in a puff of smoke, leaving me confused.
"The dinner still stands," Emmett, who has emerged from whatever world he was in with Roza, distracts me from my musings.
"What dinner?" I ask, since it's my first time hearing about it. Exactly at that moment my stomach decides to make its presence known and growls loudly. "Sorry," I apologize and keep a hand on my tummy as if it could stop it from growling again.
"I bet you forgot to eat again," Roza guesses. I nod and she looks at me disapprovingly.
"Good thing we're having a barbecue at our house then," Alice pipes in and winks at me. Her gaze falls on my and Edward's intertwined fingers. She looks up at me and I expect her to give me a stink eye or some other disapproving sign that tells me she's not ok with this. Not that I need Alice's blessing or something. Her brother and I are adults, but it's still good to know she's not against whatever is developing between Edward and I. Instead she smiles a knowing smile and turns around to link her arm with a tall blonde guy I've only just now noticed standing there.
"Izi, this is my fiancé, Jasper. I think you guys haven't met yet."
"Nice to meet you, Jasper." I offer my hand and he accepts it immediately.
"Nice to meet you too. Finally," he says and grins at Edward who is rolling his eyes in annoyance.
I don't even try to understand what is going on here. I stand up and grab my bag, ready to leave so they can go and have dinner.
"Where are you going?" Edward is on his feet immediately, confusion clearly written on his face.
"Home?" Isn't that obvious?
"But why? I thought you were coming too?"
"Oh," is my intelligent answer. "I didn't know you guys had that planned."
"That's because you were sleeping, spavalice (sleepyhead)," Roza jokes behind me.
"Ma nemoj, (you don't say)" I counter sarcastically. Roza grins unaffected and turns her attention back to Emmett.
"Please don't go," Edward pleads, taking my hands in his. "I'd love for you to join us and, uh, I… ." Edward says, bashfully and rubbing his neck.
"You what?" I ask softly while everyone around us is starting to pack up their stuff.
"I had a great time talking to you, Izi, and I really enjoyed it. I'm not ready to let you go yet, I guess. Unless you don't feel that way, then I'd understand that you want to leave." He's looking at our hands while the words of wanting to spend more time with me leave his inviting mouth. I'm elated at his confession because I had hoped he'd ask me.
"I had a great time too, Edward." He looks up at me but his expression is neutral. I realize he's waiting for a concrete answer, like my confession of solely having a good time is not enough for him. I squeeze his hands and smile. "I don't want to go. I'm not ready to call it a day yet either."
The smile I've been waiting for - the one that makes me weak in the knees - finally forms on his handsome face. "Yeah?" he asks hopefully.
"Yeah," I assure him with a firm nod. He surprises me when he pulls me into a hug. I am startled at first but I come around quickly and put my arms around his waist. "Thank you," he whispers and I'm pretty sure he's just kissed the side of my head. I don't care though and revel in the feeling of his arms around me and his soft hair that is brushing my cheek.
Until Emmett opens his mouth.
"Hey, you two lovebirds," he booms, making us pull apart. Edward stares at his brother who isn't bothered by it at all. "Grab your things and let's go."
"You got everything?" Edward asks me while he puts on his t-shirt.
"Yep."
"Ok, let's go."
ooo
The house they've rented is beautiful. It's a big modern two story building. I've passed this house a few times and I always wondered what it looked like from the inside. I know it belongs to a couple that lives in Germany and rents it out during the summers. Seeing as most of the villagers make a living from tourism, there are many beautiful vacation homes but this one is definitely high class. Light gray porcelain tiles covering the floor area, a grand modern kitchen and pristine white furniture give off the vibe of being in one of Hollywood's homes and not in this teeny tiny village I grew up in.
Large sliding doors lead to a huge backyard. There's a brick oven grill and an inviting pool.
"Do you want to take your things upstairs?" Edward asks from behind me. I turn around and I'm immediately lost in his gaze. Christ, he's a fine specimen but more important he's nice and caring. I've never judged anyone by their looks. It's always been someone's character that draws me in. But meeting someone who has both beauty and depth, that's rare. I nod, still in a daze and Edward - who's grinning at me like he knows what's going through my mind - takes my hand and leads me upstairs.
There are four bedrooms. Edward opens one of the two rooms with a view to the sea and lets me enter first. I put my bag on the bed and take a look around. The room's a great size. French doors lead to a spacious balcony, a dresser and a decent size closet make the room look less empty.
There's an en-suite bathroom with a glass shower stall that lets my imagination, involving Edward and I under the spray, run wild. I shudder pleasantly at the thought but shake it off immediately. Too soon for this, Izi. Too soon.
"This is all so beautiful, Edward," I admit when I reenter the bedroom. Edward's sitting on the bed with his forearms on his knees and hands clasped in front of him. He gets up when I come back from admiring the bathroom and stands in front of me, cupping my cheek.
"God, you're gorgeous," he whispers, his eyes intently on mine. I'm surprised at his unexpected words. I know I'm not bad to look at but hearing him say that, makes me feel beautiful.
He moves the hand to the back of my head, the other one finds its way on my waist and his eyes never leave mine. I tremble slightly, not out of fear but of the anticipation of the kiss I'm sure is going to happen.
His eyes roam my face, searching for something only he's able to recognize until they land on my lips. He's mouthing something I can't decipher and his chest is heaving faster than normal. Because anticipation and nervousness have taken over my body, I lick my now dry lips which causes his eyes to snap to mine and back to my mouth again. "Shit," Edward whispers and his hands tighten around my head and waist. Knowing he likes it, I repeat the action and add a little lip biting at the end. I smirk when his eyes go wide. "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?" His voice sounds almost pained and his eyes are clouded with lust.
I shrug, feigning nonchalance. "Maybe?" Definitely.
I need to finally touch him so I put my hands on his chest; his fine and very defined chest. It's been a while since I touched a guy like this - purposefully - and my body is vibrating from the prospect of exploring more of him. I run one hand along his chest and down to his stomach. Edward hisses and his abs constrict at my touch. I do a little happy dance in my head, proud of having this effect on him. My other hand finds its way into Edward's soft hair. I look up at him but I'm denied access to his eyes. They're closed and Edward is breathing my name. I smirk, delighted at how responsive he is to my skin on his. The hand on his stomach disappears under his shirt and Edward hisses again when I run it up and down, scraping my nails down his abdomen. His hand suddenly stops mine and my eyes snap up to his. "You have to stop or I'll do something we both aren't ready for yet," he warns, his voice deep and hoarse.
"And that's bad because?" I ask, pouting. Edward chuckles at my expression and takes my head between his hands.
"You're killing me, love." My breath hitches at his nickname for me. "It's bad because I haven't even kissed you yet. I don't go backwards. I'm not that easy." He winks and I shake my head at his joke.
"Kiss me then and let's get over with it," I suggest, which makes Edward laugh.
"You're something else, do you know that?" he tells me and caresses my cheeks with his thumbs. "But you're right, let's get it over with." His head dips down slowly until his lips are only a few millimeters from mine.
They barely touch when Emmett's voice calling our name makes us jump apart. Again.
Edward looks up at the ceiling and groans. "I swear I'll fucking kill him!"
I hope you guys won't kill me though ;) They are getting there, I swear.
See you soon and thank you for reading.
Voli vas
LunaBev
PS: if you want to join me, to chat or talk fic or anything else really, I'm on FB with the same name.