Chapter 6 – Casual
With the success of Bella's bookstore event, she was seeing a drastic increase in sales, therefore a gradual reduction in her stress. Things were certainly looking up for her, and after a request to her father to keep better tabs on her at the station, she managed to keep Rosalie at bay for the time being, so I had the pleasure of getting to know Bella herself.
"Are you trying to make me fat?" she asked with a smirk as I walked through the store doors with a big bag of fast-food in my hands.
"Eh, no harm in a few extra pounds," I replied while plopping the food on the counter.
"Aren't doctors supposed to encourage healthy eating?" she questioned with a laugh.
"Nah, you should see the shit my dad eats. Besides, I'm not a doctor yet. Who knows, I may flunk out and be forced to work for you for the rest of my life."
"Except I wouldn't hire you," she deadpanned.
"What? Why the hell not?" I asked in mock offense. "I'm capable of stocking shelves."
"You are far too distracting. I've hardly gotten anything done today," she pointed out.
"Hey, I behave anytime customers are in here. And, without me, you could be eating spit right now. Did you know that twenty five percent of delivery people admit to sampling or contaminating the food they bring people?"
"True, and I appreciate your food protection services, but I still couldn't handle you here fulltime. Saturdays and week-day lunches are just about the max of allotted Edward time I can allow myself during regular business hours."
"I hear ya'; I'm getting in between you and Jane Austen," I teased her. "My sincere regrets."
"Hey, Jane is the most loyal friend I've ever had," she retorted jokingly, but with a serious undertone.
"Maybe that was true until you met me," I countered.
She became quiet for a moment and looked a little uncomfortable. Rather than question her on whatever her issue was, like I probably should have, I decided to just skate over it. "But at least admit I'm a good distraction."
She tried to fight it off, but she smiled widely. "Yes, you're a good distraction."
…
For the past week I had been spending all my lunch breaks with Bella at her store, and we would get together after work as well. Since I had Saturdays off, but she still needed to work, I had hung at the store with her all day. I tried to help out around the store wherever I could, but mostly I just spent that time lost in my growing fascination with her, which I suppose I could see how it would be a bit distracting for her.
Bella was intelligent and engaging, and I found myself wanting to spend every free minute I had with her. We just clicked right from the beginning. Even when we weren't doing anything at all, my perpetual boredom had completely disappeared simply from being in her presence. I could do nothing but watch her work all day-every day and sincerely never see myself losing interest. The very fact that I was in such deep like with a girl that I just met was absolutely shocking to me. I didn't even think it was possible to enjoy someone's company as much as I did Bella's.
When Sunday rolled around, it wasn't even a question that we would spend the day together. It was the only day of the week she closed her store, so we were going to make good use of our time.
We laughed our way through a hike and realized we both could probably use a regular exercise regimen, which of course, I suggested we should do together. I even accompanied her to the weekly grocery shopping trip she did to restock her father's house. It really was an amazing day, and after such an amazing week, I almost forgot she had anything wrong with her at all.
Occasionally, I'd catch Bella staring blankly ahead of her, but it never lasted long, and she would quickly snap out of it, assuring me she was still herself. If any of her alters ever gained control in my presence, I never noticed, and she didn't seem to lose track of any time or act off in any way. Things with Bella were just…normal – except far more amazing than my previous version of normal before meeting her.
…
Our second week had begun much like the first – lunch together daily, and usually dinner as well. But on that particular Wednesday, something seemed slightly off.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked, while nudging her playfully. She was hardly touching the big greasy burger I brought her, which I knew her well enough already to know that wasn't like her.
She sighed. "Nothing, but…" her words trailed off.
"Nothing, but what?" I pressed.
"Edward, how long until you go back to school?"
School? Until she mentioned it, I hadn't even given Seattle two thoughts since we started hanging out.
"Uh, a few more weeks, I guess. But my mom always nags me to come home more on weekends. So I'll still be around, bugging the crap out of you, I'm sure."
She bit her bottom lip as she appeared to be mulling over something.
"But you have a lot of friends at school, right?" she questioned strangely.
"Yeah, I have good group. They're all lazy punks though," I joked with a laugh.
"What do you guys do together?" she then asked seriously.
I thought it was an odd question, but answered her regardless. "I don't know, stupid shit. Why, what's up?"
"Hey, let's get out of here," she suggested, seemingly out of the blue.
I raised a brow at her suspiciously. Her alters hadn't made an appearance in a while, but I wasn't naïve enough to think they never would again.
"Uh, who are you?" I asked carefully knowing it wasn't like Bella to want to close the store early, especially mid-week.
She sighed. "Still me, but business is slow today, and we are running out of summer. Let's take the rest of the day off and go somewhere. Can you get someone to cover for you at the hospital for the afternoon?"
"I doubt that will be a problem," I replied, all too eager to ditch my unpaid parental-forced internship for the day.
Bella wanted to see the newest blockbuster at the movie theaters, so after we did that, we headed out to the beach to make use of the remaining daylight hours. I just happened to look up at the cliff adjacent to where we were sitting and saw a group of teens goofing around and jumping off the edge into the freezing ocean.
"Holy shit that's crazy!" I said, pointing them out to Bella.
"Kids do that all the time there," she replied, unimpressed. "I have no idea how they do it without breaking their necks."
"I'm sure my father has seen a few unsuccessful jumpers in his hospital since he started there," I figured.
"No doubt," she agreed.
As the sun was beginning to set, and the blueness of the sky exploded into array of oranges and pinks, we decided to stroll along the shore and just enjoy the twilight. I had a strong urge to grab her hand as we walked, but I knew that would be a line we both needed to stay behind. Bella didn't date, and I was leaving soon. Even still, the romance of that evening was hard to ignore, and I certainly wasn't the only one who noticed it.
"It's moments like this that I really wish I was normal," Bella murmured into the ocean breeze as it washed over her face and blew through her hair.
We had made our way back to where I had parked the car, but neither of us were quite ready to leave the serenity we had stumbled upon. The waves crashing beneath the sunset was breathtaking, but paled in comparison to the beauty that was Bella. She just radiated brilliance in every sense of the word, and the sudden tightness in my chest told me that everything in my life was about to shift.
With every logical cell in my brain, I knew that Bella didn't want to be kissed… but what if she did?
The feeling was so strong that it clouded my senses, and who the hell needed logic anyway. Before I could recall the reasons why I should refrain, my mouth was on hers, and the feeling of it was actually shocking. Literally. It truly felt like one of those cliché jolts of electricity between lovers that I always assumed only existed in cheesy chick flicks.
I had kissed her lips before, but never had I kissed Bella, and for those brief few moments, I wondered how would ever kiss anyone else again. It was the closest feeling I had encountered to the definition of "coming home", and I didn't want it to end. It just felt right, like there was something so much bigger in the works that had brought us to that exact time and place in the universe.
I didn't want it to end, but of course, everything had to end…
"Uh, wow," I said awkwardly after she pulled away.
All my senses abruptly returned to me like wrecking ball to the wall of cheese I had just built up in my mind. What the fuck was wrong with me? There was no such thing as electric kisses and abstract homey feelings – it was absolutely absurd, and I was in no way looking for deep emotions of any kind. Bella was a friend; a summer buddy to pass the time. Nothing more, and I knew she felt the same way, except…
"Do you want to go somewhere?" she asked me unexpectedly.
"Somewhere?" I questioned, knowing how I would usually take a request like that from a pretty girl, but unsure exactly of her meaning behind it.
"Yeah," she replied with her cheeks turning a soft red. When I continued to stare at her blankly, she became slightly frustrated. "You know what I'm talking about. Are you going to make me spell it out for you?"
And then I was the one feeling the heat to my face, which was odd, since I couldn't remember the last time I blushed over anything.
"You sure?" I asked her, thinking it was out of character, which given her condition, neither of us were surprised that I had my suspicions.
"I'm still me, and I'm sure I want to do this. It's been a long time since anything's felt this good and I'm tired of always feeling shitty. You're leaving soon; you have an entire life away from here, so I don't have to worry about one of my alters hurting you. It can just be… what it is, which is nothing more than friends doing something that feels good. No strings attached, no broken hearts when it's over."
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to Bella so it was definitely an enticing proposition, however I knew I should turn her down. I liked Bella, more than in a casual fling sort of way, and I wasn't sure how cleanly I'd be able to severe that feeling when it inevitably came to an end, but despite my trepidation, I couldn't seem to turn her down.
Without even consciously deciding to do so, my head bobbled subtly, thus giving Bella my still undecided answer before I was really prepared to.
"Where can we go?" she asked with more enthusiasm than I was expecting. "I live with my dad, so my place isn't an option. You're staying with your parents too, so where do you usually go for this sort of thing? Where did you take Alice?"
"Uh…" I scratched the back of my head as I considered it. Of course I knew exactly where I had spent the night with Alice, but I was still grappling with the idea of actually sleeping with Bella. They shared a body, but they were nothing alike. Alice was wild and crazy, and even though I was initially entranced by her, now I wouldn't even think twice about forgetting her outside of the bedroom. Bella was different. Bella was…Bella. In a very short amount of time she had become one of the closest friends I have ever had, and I honestly didn't want to fuck that up. Sure I was leaving soon, but I fully planned on visiting her when I was in town.
Would sex ruin it?
I didn't have an answer for that, but when she started kissing me again, and moved her lips to my neck, I gave up worrying about all the what ifs. I wanted her more than I ever wanted anyone before, and we could figure out the rest later.
I drove us to my parents' house, and for the first time, I was truly grateful for my parents' wealth. Their home was so big that they would never notice me escorting a hookup through the premises, but lucky for me, I didn't even have to. I was currently staying in the little apartment above the garage, which had outside access and complete privacy. Admittedly, I had it pretty good, even despite all the added pressure to measure up to my father's prestigious career.
My daddy issues aside, I was on cloud-nine as I led Bella up to my room. We kept stopping to make-out along the way, but I couldn't get her there fast enough. We had only known each other for a couple weeks, but it felt like a long time coming – as if that intense desire had been building up inside us for a long time.
When we finally made it to my room, I asked her again if she was sure, and her desire never faltered. Our clothes puddled on the floor, and as I kissed her body, I was struck by just how new the experience was. Same skin, same curves, but an entirely new experience. Even the sweet noises she made were so dissimilar than Alice's had been. It was almost disorienting to think I knew what to expect but having it be so drastically different.
I pushed into her slowly, watching her face for any cue she wanted me to stop, but she never gave one. Her face only expressed desire, and as she began to move with me, her body urged mine to go stronger.
When the feeling escalated, I let my thoughts go and just enjoyed the sensation. There was no Alice, no Rosalie, no any of them. There was no before, and no worries of what would come after. It was just Bella and me as we figured out how to make the most of the moment.
I climaxed quickly – a little too quickly, but thankfully I could feel her body tremble around me, so I knew she came too. We were both left panting for air, but neither of us were fully satisfied.
"Are you okay?" I asked her as I tried to catch my breath.
"Oh yeah, that was nice," she said with an obvious smile in her words.
"Nice, huh? We can do better than nice."
She giggled. "I was hoping you would say that."
We made love until our bodies failed us, and then she fell asleep in my arms and I couldn't help but just watch her for a while. My friend Bella was so much more important to me than any friend should be, but I couldn't admit it – not to her, not even to myself. Neither of us were in a place in our lives where we needed nor wanted a romantic relationship. For now, and perhaps for always, we needed to keep it casual, even if I felt anything but.
She spent the entire night with me, but when I woke up alone the next morning, I wish I could say I was surprised. Bella had to work, and I knew that, I just hoped that was her only reason for disappearing…