11

Knowing Edward was naked on the other side of the wall had Bella feeling anxious as she riffled through her closet, trying her hardest to find something to wear. These Luaus were a tradition when it came to the PV Tournament. It was mostly just an excuse for the athletes to let loose, get drunk, and sneak away to have sex. Once upon a time, Bella would have been one of the girls who crashed said luau and found her a guy to hook up with. Of course, that was before her world shattered. Before her father got sick, before her life was stolen from her.

"Got any shampoo that doesn't smell like flowers or fruit?"

Bella turned toward the doorway of her bedroom, but felt her mouth open in awe. Edward was standing just outside her bedroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. A very small, thin towel that hid nothing. Especially the semi he was sporting. His chest was smooth, yet hard, and she fought the urge to lick him.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "I can drop the towel if you want."

"What?" she mumbled, clearing her throat as she turned away. "Sorry, no, that's the only shampoo we have. Maybe you should have brought your own."

"Next time, I will."

Bella gasped. "There won't be a next time."

Edward laughed and gave the towel a tug before swinging it over his shoulder. Bella caught sight of his cock before he turned and walked away. "Keep telling yourself that, Swan."

"Son-of-a-bitch," she muttered under her breath. "He may be an ass but, damn, he's sexy as fuck."

"Heard that!" Edward yelled from the bathroom.

Bella groaned. "Shut the fucking door, asshole!"

Edward's laughter was drowned out by the sound of the bathroom door closing. Blowing out a breath of air, Bella tried to keep her hands from shaking as she grabbed a sexy little blue, strapless dress that she hadn't worn in over a wear. She tossed it onto the bed before rifling through her drawers for her favorite blue silk panties. Though, why she felt the need to wear her sexy panties wasn't something she was sure she understood. Something inside her told her to take a chance, yet it also told her to run as far away from Edward as she could.

"You're losing your fucking mind," she muttered to herself, before closing and locking her bedroom door.

She tried to focus on drying and fixing her hair, choosing once again to wear it in a side braid. She didn't bother with make-up. She never cared for it, always feeling like cake on her face. Once she was dressed, she slipped her feet into a pair of silver sandals and went to wait for Edward in the living room, however, he was already waiting for her. Much like the night he spilled his beer on her in JJ's Bar, he was wearing a pair of snug black dress pants, but instead of the white dress shirt, he had an emerald green tank top under a flowery, short sleeve button up. Most guys would look like a silly tourist, but it looked good on him.

He smiled and raised one of his eyebrows as he tilted his head toward her. "Looking good, Swan."

"Thanks," she murmured. "You look okay."

"I'm sexy as fuck."

"Seriously, your ego is huge!"

Edward winked at her. "I know."

She shook her head as she walked into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of water. She lined up her pill bottles on the counter and started adding one of each to the palm of her hand. It wasn't until she'd grabbed the water that she realized Edward was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her. She turned toward him as she popped the pills into her mouth, chasing them with half the water in the bottle.

"They taste like shit," she said. "The aftertaste, I mean. Like rotten eggs, or bad cabbage."

"Do they help?" he asked.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? I mean, until the last few days, I hadn't had as much as tingle anywhere, but then I have days like I've had this week, and I don't know if they help or if I'm wasting time."

Edward's eyes widened, though he didn't call her out.

"Just forget I said anything," she mumbled before placing her water bottle back into the fridge. "We should go. Traffic will be a bitch tonight."

"Yeah, all right," he said, reaching for her.

Though Bella wanted to push him away, she found herself wrapping her fingers around his and letting him lead her out of the house and out to her jeep. She knew Esme wouldn't want them taking her car to the party. Too many drunks. Since Edward had admitted that he wasn't skilled in driving a stick, Bella climbed behind the wheel and off they went.

As Bella drove toward Kaimana Beach, she felt Edward watching her as she drove. She felt self-conscience yet liked that he watched her. What was wrong with her? She didn't want a relationship, did she? Or need someone else worrying about her. It's not like he was going to stay after the tournament. He would leave in two weeks and she'd be left alone.

"Tell me what it's like to surf," Edward said as Bella slowed to stop at a red light. They were only a few blocks from the beach and she could already hear the music blaring.

"Um, I don't know that I can really explain it." Pausing, she thought back to the first time she stood on a foam board by herself. "It's freeing, I guess. I mean, you're literally gliding on top of water. My heart races and for those few moments, I feel like I can do anything."

"Who taught you how to surf?" he asked.

"My dad," Bella murmured as the light turned green. She eased through the intersection, noting that many of the parking lots were already starting to fill. "He used to say that from the time I could stand on my own, I begged to be in the water. Just after my fourth birthday, he took me out on his board. He put me on his shoulders, and damn, I was hooked. I loved it. Knew that's what I wanted to do with my life."

"So, if surfing was your life, how'd you get into photography?"

Bella didn't answer as she pulled into an empty parking space a block and a half away from the beach. "We're gonna have to walk the rest of the way."

"Okay." Edward climbed out and rushed around to herself, waiting as she slipped out of the jeep. He slipped his arm around her as they started the short trip. She knew he was only doing it to support her, because of how weak she was, but she didn't hate the feeling of his arm around her.

"I've always loved photography. My dad gave me a cheap Polaroid for my fifth birthday and I annoyed everyone by snapping pictures. But surfing was my one true love. I was going to go pro and see the world," she said with a laugh.

"Why didn't you?"

Bella frowned. "Blew out my knee during the Reef Hawaiian Pro. I'd been having problems for a while, but ignored the pain. Surgery fixed everything, but I'll never compete again. So, I turned to photography."

"You miss it, though, don't you?"

"Everyday."

As they approached the Luau, Bella felt herself tensing. Once upon a time, she'd enjoy the hell of a party like this, but now, all she could think about was having another seizure. There was a large bonfire blazing. A disc jockey was blaring the latest pop song, and nearly two hundred people were grinding to the ridiculous beat, most of them with plastic cups of beer in their hands. Edward slipped his arm from around her, but immediately took hold of her hand as he led the way through the throng of party goers, many of whom greeted him with a wave or pat on the back. Several women, wearing only bikinis, squealed when they saw him, pushing out their boobs in hope of gaining his attention, but he didn't seem to notice. Or if he did, he was very good at hiding it.

"Swan?"

Bella cringed when she heard James calling out from behind them. Turning, she released Edward's hand. No point adding fuel to the interrogation she knew would happen sooner or later. James was pushing his way through the crowd with a tall, dark haired man tailing behind him. Bella recognized him as Laurent Masters, the son of Marcus Master, the head of the PV Organization.

James stopped a few feet away from her and Edward, his smile growing as he looked from her to him and back to her. "Damn, Swan, after the other night, I figured you'd cut his cock off the next time you saw him."

"Thought about it," she said, ignoring the way Edward groaned and shifted his body away from her. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, as one of the sponsors of PV, I was invited."

"You've been sponsoring PV for ten years, yet I've never seen you at one of these events," Bella pointed out, folding her arms in front of her. "What's changed?"

James grinned widely as he gestured to Laurent. "This sexy ass man is what changed," he laughed. "Laurent Masters, this is Bella Swan, and . . . I don't think I've met your boy toy, Swan."

"He's not my boy toy," Bella growled as Edward thrust his hand forward and said, "Cullen. Edward Cullen."

"It's nice to meet you," Laurent said, reaching around James to shake Edward's hand before shifting his eyes to Bella. "Both of you. I remember watching your father play when I was a kid. Man had some real power in his serve."

Bella nodded, feeling Edward's attention shift to her. "He did."

"I was sorry to hear about his passing," he added.

"Thank you," Bella murmured before reaching out for Edward, who immediately took his hand. "Peanut's waiting for us, so we'll see you later."

And before they could say anything else, Bella was pulling Edward away, needing a moment to collect herself.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked as she stopped by the water's edge.

"He gave it up, you know?" She looked at him. "He met my mom while doing a tournament in Washington. She followed him to Hawaii after she found out she was pregnant with my sister, and he said family came first. So, he quit. Mom stayed long enough for me to be born, but island life wasn't for her, I guess."

"Where is she now?"

Bella shrugged. "Never bothered to find out."

"So, he gave up everything to raise you and your sister."

She nodded. "He said he never regretted it, but I always wondered. He gave up everything for us."

"He was a dad. That's what they're supposed to do, isn't it?"

"Suppose," she murmured, shaking her head and looking over at him. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I barely know you, yet you know more about me than people I've known my whole life."

"It's because you trust me," he said with a smirk.

"Trust?" she laughed. "I don't trust anyone."

"Not true," he argued. "You trust your sister and Carlisle and Alice. And you trust me. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here with me right now."

"We should get back to the party," she said, turning to walk away, but stopping when Edward's fingers wrapped around her arm. "Don't."

"Don't what?" he asked, and she felt his body pressed against hers. "Don't touch you? Don't care?"

"Both," she said, gently tugging her arm from his grip, but instead of heading back to the parry, she turned and faced him. "Once upon a time, Edward, I would have been up for playing this game with you. Hell, I might have already slept with you, but now . . . I'm just not the kind of woman you should want to play around with."

"Play?" he asked, bringing his hands up to her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. She could feel her body trembling, something she knew had nothing to do with the disease trying to kill her and everything to do with the way he held her. "Does this feel like I'm playing?"

And for the second time, Edward kissed her.

Thank you for the reviews. I'm sorry about the lack of updates, but at the same time, I'm not. I fully intended on spending the summer writing, but I decided that I needed to work on my health instead. For those of you on my FB, you know what I've been doing, and for those who aren't, feel free to friend me at Lisa Bilbrey. I can't promise quick updates as I know better than to make a promise I can't keep, but I will do my best.