A/N: So, I've been away from this story for a bit. My muse wasn't feeling too muse-y, but I think she's willing to give it a go again. I hope you guys enjoy it. :)
Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me. All mistakes are mine.
Chapter 9 - Tantrum
"Ready to go?" I asked, leaning close to Bella's shoulder but managing self-restraint by resisting the urge to rest my chin on the hint of skin exposed between her neck and collarbone. It'd been…a while since that sort of temptation had hit me, almost as long since the last time I'd even noticed, really noticed, a woman.
Bella turned her head to the side to offer me a smile, an action that brought her face close enough to see the sparkle in her dark eyes. They were like looking into a dark abyss littered with stars.
"Are you still dropping me off at the pub?"
Ahh, my small victory. The drop-off.
Blinking away my musings, I raised my brows. "Unless I can convince you to blow off work and hang out with Trist and me tonight?"
She had a unique way of laughing – tilting her head upward as if the heavens lent her mirth momentum. When her humor would come to its natural end, her head straightened.
"While that sounds tempting," she smiled softly now, "I do have to work. See, even a town as small as Forks requires one to pay their bills."
Teasing; that was yet something else she somehow managed uniquely, calling me out on my tendency to arrogance without actually calling me out.
"Ahh," I grinned. "Bills. Yeah, we have those in New York too."
"I'm sure you do. Besides, if it's a good day," she murmured, "we're going to the beach Saturday, aren't we?"
It was that 'if' killed me. Good days versus bad days. I'd gotten a hint of them, of what they meant for Bella, and I could only hope her apparent streak of good days would continue because regardless of my bend toward arrogance, I knew better than to ask for more.
"I guess our…date will have to wait after all."
"We can't all be on summer-long vacations, City Boy."
If I'd hoped that pronouncing the word 'date' more like a question would induce Bella to give it some clarification, I would've been disappointed. However, somewhere along the way, being called 'City Boy' by her became thrilling, and any disappointment evaporated.
"In my defense, Lumberella-"
"There we go with the names and the defenses."
"In my defense," I continued with a broad grin, "this is my first vacation in a long time."
Bella, Tristan, and I were enjoying a backyard dinner with her family this late afternoon, close to the end of the first week of summer camp. As if she understood what I'd left unspoken regarding my first vacation in years, Bella reached under the table and squeezed my hand. Our eyes met, and I found myself vaguely contemplating how, when you really…really liked a woman, her warmth and steady gaze had the converse power to cause shivers and lightheadedness.
"I'm glad your first vacation brought you to Forks."
"Me too. And we can thank an anonymous writer for The Seattle Times, touting the magnificence of Forks as a summer haven."
"Is that what brought you here?" She sounded startled.
"Yeah," I smiled. "Why?"
"I'm just…surprised that something so abstract would've influenced such a big decision for you…and for Tristan."
I shrugged, having no clearer explanation myself, plus I was fighting the urge to close the space between her face and mine…
But, although I may have been out of practice when it came to women, I knew we weren't there yet.
It'd been less than a week since Bella and I had reached some…mutual agreement, one which hadn't exactly been defined. What's more, we were surrounded by Bella's godparents and her godsister, who not only were unaware of our agreement but, although currently entertained and distracted by Tristan's antics, would likely notice if I suddenly crushed my mouth to hers.
"Edward, are you sure you should drop me off?" Bella asked, once again snapping me out of my thoughts while her gaze snapped over to Tristan. "Tristan has had a long, few days of camp. Maybe you should get him home?"
Her constant and genuine concern for my son; in an always growing mental list of all the wonderfully unique things about Bella, the distinct way she had with my son… and his extraordinary response to her were possibly at the top.
Either way, I wasn't giving up my small victory of 'the drop-off.'
"Bella, Tristan will be fine if we delay his bedtime routine for a few minutes."
"All right, then. You know best," she said softly, though she didn't sound too convinced. When she released my hand from under the table and stood, I eagerly followed, offering my thanks for the night.
"Sue, once again, thanks so much for the invite for Tristan and me. I'll help clean up."
"Oh, don't worry about it, Edward. It's an open invitation. Don't forget. And thank you for bringing some more of those wings. They're delicious, and as you can see, Leah…"
As much as I appreciated the woman and all she'd done for Tristan and me since our arrival to Forks, I couldn't be sure what else she said. My gaze was on Bella, who was speaking softly to Tristan in his high chair.
She'd showered and changed since arriving home from her part-time job as a summer camp counselor a few hours earlier. Despite the busy morning she'd spent with a dozen or so three-to-five-year-olds, Bella looked freshly energetic and ready to take on the world – or Emily's Pub. And if she performed that job with half the zeal with which she seemed to do everything else, I envied those pub patrons.
I found myself doing a whole lot of envying lately. The sight of Bella and I moving around made Tristan attempt to jump out of his high chair, only to be thwarted by the safety harness.
"Bella, I help clean-up!"
"Hah, little man!" Leah grinned, then blew him a kiss to soften the blow.
"Leah, don't tease him," Bella said.
"No fair!" Tristan scowled, tugging on the straps. "I go with Bella!"
"Sweet pea, I have to go to work."
"No!"
"Why don't you stay with me, Trist?" Leah offered.
"Or with me, sweetheart," Sue also volunteered. "Would you like to stay with me for a little bit?"
"No! I goes with Bella!"
"Trist, Bella has to go to work," I said. "We're taking the drive to drop her off, all right, buddy? If you're tired, you can nap in the car for a bit."
Unappeased, Tristan's scowl deepened.
"I. goes. work. with. BELLA!"
"Tristan." There was a quiet warning in my tone, tempered by the knowledge that, yes, he was tired after a long day of camp.
"Uh-oh, here comes the infamous toddler tantrum," Leah noted. "I've seen these all week at camp, although it's Tristan's first."
"Lee, stop," Bella hissed. She crouched and met Tristan's gaze, her tone morphing into one I'd noticed she reserved solely for him. "Trist, we'll see each other at camp tomorrow, okay? Just one sleep, and we'll be together again for an entire morning."
Tristan rubbed his eyes. "One sleep?"
"One sleep," she confirmed, brushing her lips against his forehead, to which my son replied with a long-suffering sigh followed up with a yawn.
Bella looked over her shoulder at me, and I couldn't help chuckling at the soft expression on her face.
"He'll be fine, I promise you."
During this exchange, yet another example of Bella's magic touch on both my son and me, the Chief interrupted.
"Ed, did you say you're driving Bella down to the pub for her shift?"
I met the Chief's questioning gaze. "Yes, sir."
"Oh. Well, that's not necessary, son. Little Tristan does look tired. Get him home. Leah, finish up your dinner so you can drop off Bella."
"What?" Leah bit out.
"I'd drop Bella off myself, but I've got to go in for a few hours overnight, and I want to catch some shuteye first," the Chief said. "And your mom's gotta review those plans tonight."
Don't get me wrong. It wasn't as if I didn't appreciate the Chief as much as I appreciated his wife. They'd both offered my son and me more than just basic friendship since the day we arrived in this rainy town for a summer retreat. It was just that, at that moment, like the straps holding Tristan down, the Chief was thwarting me.
Over the past week, since summer camp began, all that Bella and I had managed to share were quick conversations during camp pick-up and drop-off supplemented by texts in between. Tonight's supper was the longest stretch of uninterrupted conversation we'd managed since meeting.
She was busy; of course, I understood. After all, as she'd said, I was on vacation. She wasn't. Keeping a group of three-to-five-year-olds properly occupied from eight in the morning until noon couldn't be easy. Just one kid from that age group taught me how trying that could be. Once camp ended for the day, Bella would stay behind at the rec center for a couple of hours to clean up and iron out any issues. In the late afternoons, she worked at Emily's pub. She had a full schedule, and as she'd mentioned more than once, she aimed to keep to that schedule as much as possible on her good days.
As for Tristan, being enthralled wasn't an exaggeration, and I couldn't fault him. He spent his mornings exploring the world through the microcosm of the Forks Recreation Center, and based on the descriptions he spent hours and his limited vocabulary providing me, Bella infused her vitality into her time as a camp counselor as well. Yet, somehow, she managed to make her attention feel personal to him.
Neither was I less thrilled by how easily Tristan had taken to camp and a few hours of daily separation from me without any of the anxiety I'd been anxious about. Those few daily hours gave me time to focus on my things-to-do, whether it be office work or errands or chores or…Emmett, for example, who'd stopped by the day before – in uniform – and we'd bullshitted without kids underfoot for the better part of an hour.
In the early afternoons, I'd pick up Tristan, and we'd head either to the beach or to town for lunch or a simple walk. Since beginning camp, Tristan tended to knock out for the night just after sunset, and I'd spend the remainder of my waking hours wondering when Bella and I would find time to…to do anything together.
So it wasn't that I resented the Chief's concern for my son's health, or resented Bella's busy days, or resented her and Tristan's time together. In the rainy town of Forks, Bella had undeniably become Tristan's sunshine, and I would never begrudge my son her warmth.
What I envied was the straightforward manner in which all those mentioned above revolved around her, while a quick drop-off was being denied me.
"Honestly, Chief, I'm fine with dropping off Bella."
"That's kind of you, Edward, but we've got it covered," the Chief reiterated, his tone indicating an end to the discussion.
Beside me, I felt Bella bristle. But, before either she or I could say anything further, Leah set down her chicken wing.
"Dad, those aren't the plans I overheard being made this afternoon! And Edward, why would you bring these wings if I was going to have to rush through them? Wings are meant to be savored, and their meat licked thoroughly before being meticulously torn off each bone. That's not something you can rush through."
"I agree, Leah," I nodded, "which is why there's no need for you to rush."
She offered me a thumbs-up before returning her attention to her meal.
Yet, the Chief continued insisting.
"No need for you to bother, Ed."
"It's not a bother, sir."
"Leah, chop, chop; your godsister's waiting."
"Chief, it's no bother at all. In fact-"
"Godpop, even if Edward and I hadn't already made these arrangements, I could easily walk to the pub if needed. Leah doesn't need to drive me."
With a smug grin on her face, Leah shifted around in her seat, getting comfortable, it seemed, while she tore off another chunk of chicken meat.
"All right, watch this, everyone. Bella, assert yourself, girl."
"Leah, keep quiet," the Chief ordered. "Bella, that's a half-hour walk we're talking about."
"And?" Bella scoffed. "I'm in the midst of my good days! You know very well that when I have good days, I like remaining as active as possible."
"It's when you're in your good days that you should take it easy," he retorted. "Build your strength for the not-so-good days." I didn't miss how Charlie's eyes slanted briskly toward me. "Leah, hurry it up."
"Are you kidding me?" Bella said, a sort of quiet fury now building. "Why are you're being such a-"
Gathering up the water pitcher and glasses, Sue intervened calmly. "Charlie, Edward just said he's taking Bella to work tonight, and Bella has agreed to those plans. That's that."
Silence.
"All I'm saying is it makes no sense for him to take the drive with his little boy all tired, when Leah here can-"
"Oh, my God!" Leah moaned, rolling her eyes and setting down her wing's cadaver. "Dad, they're dating!"
"Who's dating?" Charlie frowned.
Leah threw up her hands. "JLo and Affleck, who do you think, Dad? Come on! I mean, it's a bizarre sort of dating, I'll give you that. They both seem rusty as all hell."
"Leah!" Bella hissed.
"And I'm pretty sure they haven't kissed-"
"Leah!"
"Kisses, kisses, kisses!" Tristan exclaimed with a sudden burst of energy.
"But did you miss all the overt flirting going on around this table? The googly eyes? The beach plans?"
"I wouldn't call it overt," Bella said. "Were we overt?"
"I…I…" I stumbled unsurely until I caught her eye and saw the smile she was fighting despite her obvious, continued annoyance with her godfather. "Well," I murmured close to her, "I may have been a bit overt. Sorry."
"You were both pretty overt, darlings," Sue grinned.
"What's ovuh and goo-goh-ley mean?" my son wondered.
"Overt means something easy to see, Trist," I said, unbuckling his harness. "And googly," I grinned, hefting him up, "means your eyes go like this."
Unaware of any tension, my son chuckled heartily, but I was anxious to get going by this point. For reasons unknown, the Chief was uncomfortable with the idea of Bella and I dating, even in our admittedly slow manner, as Leah had just hinted. And while Bella and I were both adults who needed neither approval nor permission…it stung a bit. I couldn't help wondering why he was opposed. See, I thought the Chief and I had managed a sort of a friendship.
Leah, however, didn't appear done with her wings or her teasing.
"You should see them at camp when Ed drops off and picks up the little man here."
"Leah, keep that mouth busy with your wings, or I'll take 'em away from you again like I did the other night," Bella threatened.
Leah wrapped her arms around her plate and kept right ongoing.
"They've only got about five minutes coming and going, but man, do they make those count. The sweet talk," she groaned, rolling her eyes and biting into another wing. "Seriously, I can't believe you missed that, Dad, police chief and all," she snickered. "But seriously, can it even be considered dating when you haven't been on a date yet?"
"And on that note…" Bella said. She kissed Tristan's crown and took my hand, and despite the current discomfort with her godfather, I couldn't deny how…right it felt for the three of us to be linked together. "And Leah, since we all have places to be, guess who has to finish cleaning up tonight?"
Leah sucked her teeth and threw down her wing again. "That's not fair!"
"Hah!" Bella laughed, and as she turned us toward the backyard's exit, the Chief called out,
"Ed, don't forget our fishing plans Sunday morning."
Until just a short while earlier, those plans had sounded great. Now, they were a means for answers.
"Yes, sir. See you then."
A/N: Thoughts?
Facebook: Stories by PattyRose
Twitter: PattyRosa817
"See" you soon.