"Bellaaaaa! Angieeeeee! Alliiiiiice! You made it!" a shrill voice yells somewhere over my left shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye I catch a sliver of brown hair, neon-pink, and legs. Jessica Stanely. I shoot an exasperated face at Angela, rolling my eyes in Edward's direction and back before turning around. Oh fuck me, she was wearing a mini skirt, a tight, pink, off-the-shoulder knit shirt and heels. Who the hell wears heels to walk all over a high school parking lot?
It's no secret Jessica holds a torch for Edward Cullen. She's asked him out on three dates, each time very publicly in the school cafeteria: a just-for-him personal tour of Forks and nearby La Push's First Beach shortly after he moved here; next, an evening bumming around Seattle's grunge scene hotspots; most recently, she offered him the extra ticket her "cousin Quinten" couldn't use to a Fall Out Boy concert.
Jessica forgot this was Forks and everyone knows cousin Quinten doesn't exist. Her embarrassment was my gain; Angela and I thoroughly enjoyed the concert in Jessica's place. Mine and Ang's leading theory centered on Jessica's assumption Edward wouldn't refuse her offer if she spent money ahead of the date.
"Hello, Jess," I said. "Fantastic Last Weekend, as always."
Jessica gives an elegant, casual shrug of her shoulder. "I've had great mentors. I mean, my aunt created the very first Last Weekend of Freedom! I followed her template."
"I'm sure you had great advice, Jess." Angela said. "Your Mom was on the prom committee too, right? And your cousins? Sarah and Rachel?" Jessica's eyes narrow at Angela. Based on the smile Alice furtively hides behind Batman's head, I know she caught Angela's glib tone as well.
"Edward!" Jessica deftly sidesteps Angela's questions. "Did you finish your paper for Mr. Ritter's class?"
"Yes, this morning," he replies.
"So, that's good. I mean, finishing is good. It wouldn't be great to start with an all-nighter the night before the first day of school." She gave an awkward laugh, eyes fluttering. "So, umm, study partners are assigned the first day for the entire year. If you wanted, Edward, we–"
Angela cuts her off by jumping into the truck bed. "I finished mine last night." Ang says to no one in particular. "What about you, Bella?"
"Umm, this morning. I'll look through it again tomorrow and make some last minute tweaks."
"You're taking AP Lit?" Edward asks, surprised.
"Uh, yeah." My reply is snotty. Even with the amalgamation of grades between the two schools I'm still second in line for valedictorian. Which is three spots ahead of Mr. Smarty Pants. Jessica opens her mouth to say something, probably reminding Edward that she's the current valedictorian and the best person to partner with to maintain his current place in the top ten academic spots.
"I mean…" he says. "I thought since...I didn't…" He tucks his thumbs into his front pockets. "I'm sorry. That was careless of me to question."
"Well, I finished mine on Thursday," Alice announces. "Jessica, Angela, what did you write about?" If I didn't know any better I'd swear Alice asked this question on purpose to leave Edward and I alone.
As I turn to face Edward he steps closer to dark brown henley he wears frames his upper torso. The three buttons on the collar draw my eye down to his toned pecs, and lower to his trim waist. His arms move with the fluidity of a runner; supportive without dominating his gait. The soft yellow light of the afternoon sun highlights the reddish tints in his mahogany hair, and deepens his eyes into a rich, dark emerald. His lips are apple red. A step more in his direction would bring us chest-to-chest.
For a moment I indulge in my most private of fantasies: kissing Edward Cullen. Only the barest outline of our silhouettes play across my mind. Fisting my hands in his shirt. Pulling him closer. Running my hands over the tops of his shoulders, sinking them into thick, silky hair. Tugging his lips closer to mine. Me kissing him. Him kissing me. Smooth, soft lips pulling and pushing together. Tongues sliding, tasting, playing. Hands gliding, smoothing, and cupping hips, breasts and butts.
My eyes flicker back to Edward and the corners of his mouth are turned up in a lopsided grin. I blush.
"Thank you for the apology." I'm desperate to change the subject. I look around the nearly filled parking lot. When in doubt fall back on the obvious. "Did you come last year?"
"Yeah." The edges of Edward's smile lift higher. "We moved too close to the start of sophomore year to know about it. The guys on the team filled me in on everything Alice didn't find out first."
"So, basically, a place to check out girls?" Edward looks sheepish. I take pity on him. "Quite a bit of Forks romances start at Last Weekend! My parents met here."
Edward opens his mouth to reply when I hear "Yo, Cullen!" Mike Newton emerges between my truck and the jeep. Holding his fist out, he and Edward perform a stack-stack-bump fist bump, the cross country team's special hand shake.
"Bella!" Mike exclaims when he notices I'm standing next to Edward. "You're here! You never come to school events." I frown at Mike's comment. It's true I didn't come to any school sanctioned events after I moved back to Forks. But freshman year I was usually first in line. High school house parties were officially off-limits to the daughter of Chief Swan, but school functions were the one place I could just be Bella.
I fought the urge to narrow my eyes at Mike. I felt oddly defensive of his comment. Plus, my goddamn truck is hard to miss. Mike walked right past it.
Beta'd by the wonderful WritingforOne and Brook M.
A huge thank you to my bestie Christina Mitchell, who lets me bounce ideas off her anytime. Probably in an attempt to avoid writing her own novels. (Pssss, Christina and some of her writing friends are publishing a collection of holiday novellas. "Tis the Damn Season." Go check it out!)
~oooo~ AuthorsNote ~oooo~
Yeah, I know, I switched tenses. I found I liked writing in the present tense better than past. I'll edit the earlier chapters to match soon.
My apologies for taking so long to get this next bit out to you. My work schedule changed to pre-pandemic hours. Which means I'm now working afternoons and evenings. The trickiest part is getting over the guilt that I'm spending time writing instead of focusing it on my family and their needs.
One of my betas had to step away from beta-ing due to life stuff. If there are any volunteers I'd really REALLY appreciate it.
~oooo~ ReadingList ~oooo~
Here's what I've been reading over the past couple of months:
WritingforOne:
-Betray Me Once
Anhanninen:
-Cravings
Jayhawkbb:
-Quarterback Sneak
-An Undefined Affair
Pattyrose:
-The Cullen Legacy (companion story: Nine Months)
-This Is Who I Am
-If We Ever Meet Again (companion story: What's At Stake).
-It Will Be As If I'd Never Existed
-Spin & Sway
LaMomo:
-Behind the Ivories
-Correct the Narrative
RobzBeanie:
-Grad Night
M7707:
-Major Misconduct
-Coincidental Major
Oxymoronic8:
-Innocent, Vigilant, Ordinary
2brown-eyes:
-Those Days Were Over
Bannerday:
-Indelible