First of all, a big shout out to my team of pre-readers and beta: NimNimBonjangles, bevey99, and Fran. Thank you so much for all the help with this story.
Secondly, a big 'THANK YOU' to all of you who're still here, ready for the sequel.
A little reminder that ONLY Emmett is aware of their relationship. I know most of you believe that Jake has caught on, but he hasn't. =)
Enjoy the adventures of their lives now that Edward is no longer her student.
PART ONE
[Bella]
"Don't you look peachy this morning," Jacob said, amused, joining me in the staff room.
I scowled into my coffee cup. "I'm lucky to not have any classes first thing in the morning this year," I commented, taking a careful sip of my still hot beverage.
"Lucky you. I have freshmen during the first period. Half of the time, they look ready to fall asleep, risking fatal injuries."
"I don't blame them. What did Jasper think to accept your suggestion to have PE at eight in the morning? What have these poor kids done wrong?"
"I see," he said slowly, pouring himself a glass of water. "You were one of those who hated PE."
"Obviously," I snorted, taking another sip from my cup. "Though, I better get ready to go to my class."
It was nearing nine o'clock, and I didn't feel any more awake than I had been at seven-thirty when I'd managed to roll out of bed.
"Sure. Just remember, lunch here."
"Yeah, yeah. I remember. Why, though?"
Jake shrugged. "Jasper wants to talk to us about something. Didn't you know?"
"No…" I narrowed my eyes, trying to find anything that might give him away.
If he, or anyone else was throwing me a surprise party in the staff room, I was going for the jugular. I didn't feel like celebrating my birthday.
Though, I wouldn't be the first faculty member to get a surprise party.
I'd been dreading this day for weeks now.
My mom had been the first to wish me a happy birthday. She'd managed to wake me up five minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off, which felt like a federal crime since I didn't want to hear her cheerful voice rejoicing at my twenty-ninth birthday.
I had yet to hear from Edward. Sadly, he knew about this terrible day after seeing my ID during our trip last summer.
In fact, I hadn't heard from him in a couple of days. The beginning of college was already kicking his ass.
He'd left about a month ago.
If I could help it, I preferred not to think of our tearful departure. He'd visited me the day before he left Forks. We'd spent all our time clinging to each other. He'd promised we'd talk every day and that he'd miss me terribly.
Of course, he'd broken his promise. It was virtually impossible to talk every day, especially at the beginning of school. We were both busy with our own classes.
After the bell rang, I chose to focus on my senior class. I had the advantage in that I already knew them.
This year, Jasper had found enough juniors interested in AP Biology to create a class, which effectively occupied all my day. I had four classes – two AP and two standard. I was thankful for the window on my first class of the day and the free class right after lunch.
The first two were standard biology classes, then came the AP juniors, and after the window break following lunch, I had the AP seniors. It was exhausting, especially since their heads weren't fully focused on studying. I wasn't one of the mean teachers by any means, but I wanted their attention in my class. I didn't want them thinking of their summer or whatever other problems they might have.
The juniors were new faces to me…except one. It took me an embarrassingly long time to place Thomas Conner's name with the face I'd seen last year. Our interaction had been brief at the time. Conner was the boy I'd admonished during that one long lunch period when Jake hadn't accompanied me before the last basketball game. Conner was the boy I'd mocked, which I still regretted, dropping to his level with my threats.
Thankfully, he seemed to have no hard feelings…or any feelings at all.
If I'd ever thought Edward was the bad boy of the school, Conner was giving him a run for the money. Edward felt like a walk in the park on a serene summer night. And I wasn't the only one to notice this. Conner had spurted up during the summer, and he was no longer five foot five inches tall. He'd grown five inches, which was insane.
At the beginning of this week, Jake had announced the new basketball team. Conner had been made captain, ensuring quarrels between Jake and the older members of the team.
I wasn't the only teacher he chose to hit on, which was more than inappropriate, but I shouldn't be one to judge such behavior. Tanya had complained several times about him staring blatantly at her breasts, and even Zafrina was amused that he'd complimented her appearance.
Today, I escaped his ogling because he didn't even grace me with his presence in class. Ironically, he'd taken Edward's former desk, probably fate giving me the middle finger.
Exhausted after my first three classes of the day, I went to the staff room, curious why Jasper hadn't told me about this meeting. He usually called or sent us an email if he wanted to meet with all of us.
I was probably the last to arrive since I had taken a detour to the restroom and checked my phone again.
It was unlike Edward to not say anything for three days in a row. If we couldn't talk on the phone, he sent me a text message or some funny picture he thought I'd like. There was nothing from him, which worried me as much as it upset me.
I stepped into the staff room and had the urge to run out the door as soon as I spotted the cake in the middle of the small table by the window.
"Happy birthday!" They shouted, clapping loudly.
I wanted to die of embarrassment.
Jake broke free from the group and hugged me tightly. "Thought we'd forgotten?"
"One could hope," I mumbled into his shoulder. "Thank you." I returned his hug, kissing his cheek.
Then, I moved to thank everyone else. Alice hugged me extra hard, and I knew she'd been the mastermind behind this surprise. I'd come to know her well, and she'd become my other best friend.
We ate my strawberry cake, which made enduring this surprise almost bearable. I hadn't had such a good cake in a long time. Some of my colleagues even had gifts for me, which came as a surprise.
By the time I returned to my laboratory, someone could easily fry an egg on my skin. I blamed Alice for my never-fading blush.
Her gift consisted of a red, satin negligee with see-through lace covering the breasts. Thankfully, she told me to open that in private.
As I prepared for the last class of the day, I kept my phone next to me, glaring at it. I refused to be the one to cave and call him at the first sign of him going MIA.
Edward was busy with his classes.
I tried not to imagine him being busy with another woman. We'd discussed that possibility for both of us, and we'd both promised no hard feelings. Clearly, I was the jealous type. And that discussion had taken place before we'd admitted our love for each other.
I didn't even care about my birthday, but he knew it was today. Why wasn't he saying something?
When the last bell of the day finally rang, I was a mass of nerves.
I promised myself to wait until I was home to call and see what he was up to. I grabbed all my presents and flowers from the staff room before making my way to my car.
I was trying to find a way to get my keys from the purse without dropping anything from my arms when Conner intercepted me at the front door.
"Need a hand, Ms. S?" He already pulled the many flower bouquets from my grasp. "Your birthday?"
"Yeah," I said, busy digging in my purse for the car keys.
"Well, in that case…happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Mr. Conner." I smiled his way as my fingers closed around the blasted key chain.
I froze with my thumb on the remote, my eyes trained on the car parked beside mine. Most especially, on its owner leaning against the trunk, arms crossed over his chest, sunglasses on his nose.
A sound I wasn't proud of left my throat, and I almost threw the contents in my arms to the ground, but I reminded myself that no one was supposed to know about us. I couldn't just throw myself at Edward.
I finally clicked the button to unlock my car.
"In the backseat, Mr. Conner," I said, barely hearing my voice.
"From your lips to God's ears," he joked, winking.
I rolled my eyes, placing my gift bags and purse next to the flowers. "Thank you," I said, hoping that dismissed him.
He left, saluting me as if I was his drill sergeant, then I looked up at Edward. He was still in the same place, but there was a frown between his brows.
I stopped in front of him, my fingers itching to take his hands in mine. "This is a surprise."
His lips twitched up. "Did you think I forgot?"
"No, but you…here…that's a surprise."
He traced one finger over the underside of my left breast, down my ribs, where he splayed his fingers, curling them into my flesh. Edward licked his lips, squeezing my waist.
"You wore this dress on the first day I met you."
I did? I looked at my navy-blue dress. I couldn't remember.
"I want to kiss you." He leaned closer, but I kept him away with a hand on his chest.
"Not here." I glanced around, and to my horror, our little reunion had grabbed several people's attention. One of them being Jacob, coming to his bike.
"When I thought we were finally rid of you," Jake grumbled, but he was smiling. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Ah, you know…visiting the torture chamber," Edward joked. "How are you, Coach?" He let go of my waist, turning his full attention to Jake.
"We've all come to an agreement that we regret ever saying you brought us to despair. We've discovered it can be worse."
Edward laughed. "Consider your time with me as a warm-up."
"You have no idea how bad it is," I moaned. "You were an angel compared to Conner."
"The guy who helped with your flowers?" He stood up straighter, searching the lot for him. I knew he'd found his target when he tensed up. "I see what you mean."
I looked that way and spotted Conner rolling himself a cigarette while keeping an arm around his flavor of the week's shoulders.
"You visiting your folks for the weekend?" Jacob asked, grabbing Edward's attention. Jake had given up trying to give Conner detention for breaking the rules because he never showed up.
"Yeah. I left some important things behind and came to get them," he answered, sounding so honest even I believed him.
"I have to run. It was nice seeing you again, Cullen." Jake glanced at me, grimacing. "Happy birthday again, Bella!"
"Thanks. And, hang in there. It will be over soon," I encouraged him. Vanessa had been driving him crazy with the last few weeks of the pregnancy hormones running rampant; combined with her teenager hormones, she was lethal.
"That's one way to look at it," he mumbled, straddling his bike, and strapping his helmet on his head.
"What's going on?" Edward asked, confused.
"I'll tell you later. Follow me home?" I whispered.
"Race you." He went to get behind his wheel.
I wasn't going to race him. I liked to believe I was more mature than that.
But when we were on the main road, Edward overtook me. I could see him laughing. I loved a good challenge, so I allowed him to believe he'd won. When he slowed down close to my apartment building, I overtook him, sliding easily into my designated spot.
I barely had the door open when Edward was there, crowding me. "That was cheating."
"I won fair and square. You're a sore loser." My words got stuck in my throat as I noticed his eyes. The reason he'd kept the sunglasses on his nose hadn't been a disguise. "When's the last time you slept?"
"It's been a while," he admitted, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes.
"You look ready to drop, Edward. What's going on?"
"College, you know…"
I grabbed my flowers and gifts with his help, heading inside the building. Once inside my apartment, I directed him to the couch while I placed the flowers in a large vase.
"Shit." He sprung up. "I'll be right back. I left your present in the car," he explained when I stared at him, confused.
It felt like he'd just left when there was a knock on the front door. Edward had the key, and the idea of someone else dropping by worried me.
I opened the door, dreading the sight of my unwanted guest.
But I shouldn't have worried.
Edward was grinning, his lips curled around a long stem rose held between his teeth. He had tied a big red bow around his neck.
I grabbed his jacket, pulling him inside, carefully taking the rose from his mouth before kissing him passionately. "You're crazy; you know that?"
His fingers curled into my hair. I heard the door closing, and then my back met the hallway wall. "Fuck. I've missed you so much," he groaned.
"Let me unwrap my present." I slowly pushed the jacket off his shoulders. It fell as my hands moved to lift his shirt, enjoying the feeling of his toned stomach under my fingertips.
He shuddered, gripping my sides. "I can't wait," he gasped, pushing the evidence of his desire for me into my stomach. He lifted the skirt of my dress, but it was too tight on my body to be bundled up like he'd done in the past.
"In the back. The zipper," I directed him, trying to reach for it myself.
Edward batted my fingers out of the way, pulling down the zipper. The dress pooled at my ankles. I barely managed to step out of it before he lifted me, toying with the elastic band of my lacy underwear.
I had no idea why I'd worn nice panties and a bra, but it was probably my way to enjoy my birthday. I didn't regret that decision now.
"Edward!" I cried out when he tugged harshly at the material. It ripped immediately.
"I'll buy you a new pair." The heated look in his eyes made me forget about being upset with him for ruining one of my best pairs of panties.
I helped him out of his T-shirt as he stepped out of his jeans and sneakers. And then, he pushed his boxer-clad erection into my pulsing sex. I groaned, throwing my head back and hitting it against the wall.
"Fuck. You okay?" he asked, cupping the back of my head.
"Maybe we should move to the bedroom."
"Too far away," he grunted, taking me to the couch.
I undid my bra as he stepped out of his underwear and socks. He stood above me for a moment, just looking at me, before bending to dig into his jeans for his wallet.
When he returned, he was already rolling the condom on his dick. It was a sight for sore eyes – a gloriously naked Edward, wearing just the red bow around his neck. Despite my initial worries, he was all mine, and we were still going strong.
"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious when Edward stopped above me, staring at my body.
A smile stretched on his lips as our eyes met. "I was wondering when I got so lucky."
I reached out to touch his muscular thigh, bringing him closer. "Ditto."
Still smiling, he knelt between my parted legs. Two of his fingers brushed over my wetness, making me inhale sharply. I'd missed his touch so much. The coil in my stomach tightened.
"How are you so fucking wet all the time?" He covered my body with his, guiding his erection into me.
"I'm always wet around you," I answered honestly. "Oh." I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of him filling me up so completely.
"Happy birthday, Ms. Swan," he said cheekily, catching my bottom lip between his teeth.
"Oh, God!" He knew exactly what that phrase did to me. I'd never tire of him calling me "Ms. Swan."
Edward wrapped his arms around me, moving slowly, his face pressed into my shoulder. I anchored myself tighter with my legs around his hips, ready to flip us over so I could take the lead.
Sadly, it wasn't as easy as I'd envisioned the movement.
"Fuck," Edward cursed into my hair when I managed to squeeze my inner muscles. "What are you doing?" he pulled away a little when I squirmed.
Still keeping my legs locked around his waist so he wouldn't slip out of me, I pushed against his shoulder.
We tumbled onto the floor, between the couch and the coffee table.
Of course, it hadn't been my brightest idea to keep him inside during the fall. I winced at the sudden pain.
"Christ, Bella." He wrapped his hands around my shoulders. "Did I hurt you?"
"No," I gasped out, slowly lifting off his lap before sinking back. "You were going too slow."
He snorted. "Silly Bella." He sat up, catching my lips in a deep kiss, effectively changing the angle. "You want hard and fast? Anything for the birthday girl."
I whimpered when he pulled out, but then Edward bent me over, and I yelled into the back of the couch when he started pounding into me.
"Fast enough for you, Ms. Swan?"
"Oh, God. Oh, yes."
"Good." He gripped my shoulders, pistoning his hips into my ass at a punishing rhythm.
When his movements became jerky, I knew he was approaching his release, so I chose to rub my clit, to get there with him. One of his hands grabbed my hips as the one on my shoulder moved to clutch at my bicep. Then he flipped me over.
"I have to see," he gasped, his eyes trained on my fingers rubbing myself.
I tried looking at him, but the heat took over my body at the first tell-tale signs of my release – tingles in my toes, a volcano ready to erupt in my lower stomach. I kept stroking my engorged, wet clit as Edward kept fucking me hard; the sounds of our sweaty bodies triggered my release. Edward's fingers joined mine, and my back arched off the couch, one of my legs lifting in the air for no apparent reason, as I came with a strangled moan.
Edward moved harder, still rubbing my clit, his eyes holding mine.
"Oh, fuck!" I felt myself clench around him again. His eyes widened for a fraction as we tumbled over the edge together.
He collapsed on top of me. "Holy fuck. That was hot."
I laughed uneasily, running my fingers through his hair.
"Oh, hello. I've neglected you," he mumbled.
I was about to point out that he'd given me two mind-blowing orgasms when his tongue curled around my left nipple. My whole body jerked at his touch. Edward chuckled but started sucking.
"Stoppp," I begged, feeling a gush of wetness between my legs.
"Can you come just by me sucking your tits?"
"I don't know. Maybe?"
The wicked grin that formed on his lips was the last thing I saw before he set to work like a determined student to succeed at a complicated project.
I pounded my fists on the couch, bucking my hips into his stomach, cried out his name repeatedly, as he brought me to the brink of madness, but his lips, tongue, and fingers on my nipples didn't seem like enough to make me come. That is until his teeth came into play, and I shouted for the whole town to hear. Two of his fingers dove into my sopping wet pussy, helping me ride out my intense release.
Reviews are love. I'm curious what you think of the introduction to the sequel story.
For anyone interested, I started posting a new story: Undisclosed Desires (When Bella, an experienced Domme, agrees to meet a wounded Sub, she doesn't know how much he'll change her life.)
Don't forget to check out the facebook groups where I share teasers for my stories
- addict_writer fanfiction (my group) www dot facebook dot com/groups/274198112656668
- It All Started with Twilight (Fran's amazing group) www dot facebook dot com/groups/896806390388220
PS: please check out/join the Song to Story challenge - a contest by our dear Frannie. details here: www dot facebook dot / groups/834673544138327