I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Cheryl and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
BPOV-age 15
Ch. 4
I picked up my phone and sent Edward a text letting him know I had arrived. I felt a little nervous since I hadn't seen him in almost two years. Last summer, his father surprised them with a trip to Ireland. Unfortunately, it was during my vacation here, and I had to leave for my mother's before he had arrived.
This past year at my mom's was a hard one. In fact, I even ended up leaving early and moving back with Charlie this past March. I didn't blame my mother for what happened. She was dating a complete creep. I always caught James staring at me or should I say my boobs. He walked in on me in the shower and he swore it was an accident, that he thought I was my mom. Mom believed him at first, but that same day locks were installed on the bathroom and my bedroom door. The second time he attempted it, my mom kicked him out. He kept showing up, unnerving us both. Dad found out because after I told Edward what had happened, he told his uncle, who in turn told my father. Dad flipped out and came to Arizona himself for me. Mom didn't even put up a fight about me leaving she had felt so guilty. A few weeks later, it was on the news that James got into a car accident, while he was high, and was dead on the scene.
I glanced at myself in the mirror. Ever since that experience, I went from loving that I finally had boobs to hating them. I grabbed my oversized sweatshirt to hide them and pulled it on just as Edward texted me back.
Come to the house. Do me a favor and play along when you get here. I'll owe you one and explain later.
"Dad, I'm heading off to see Edward," I yelled on my way out the door.
"Be safe," he called back, his catchphrase since I moved home.
I grabbed my gear and jogged up the well-beaten path to the Cullens. I came to an abrupt stop when I stepped out into the clearing. Most of them were outside, looking ready to hit the beach. A brunette, one I'd never met before, was wearing the tiniest bikini I had ever seen with stilettos, and her hand was on Edward's arm while the other touched his chest.
His very apparent muscular chest and arm. He had lost the baby fat around his face and was drop dead gorgeous. It was going to be very hard not to be crushing on my best friend.
Edward looked up and saw me, and a large grin spread across his face. "Bella, you're here."
Edward pulled away from the girl so fast she stumbled in her heels. He rushed toward me and picked me up, causing my gear to fall out of my hands. He swung me around, then kissed me hard, shocking me. The kiss softened, and I found myself returning it while wrapping my arms around his neck.
Holy crap. His kissing had improved.
He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. "Hi."
"Hi, wh—"
I was cut off by the new girl bouncing at our side. "Eddie…Eddie."
I saw Edward's left eye twitch before he forced a smile and turned to her. "Yes, Heidi?"
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Heidi asked, batting her eyelashes.
Edward placed one hand on the small of my back. "Heidi, this is my girlfriend Bella. Bella, this is Rosalie's friend Heidi."
"Nice to meet you, Heidi," I said pleasantly, catching on that this was how he wanted me to play along.
"Hi." She tilted her head from side to side. "Like girl space friend? Or like girlfriend no space?" She blinked owlishly at us.
"Definitely no space between Teddy and me," I told her.
"Teddy?" She looked confused.
"Yup. Cause he's like my own personal teddy bear." I hugged him tightly. If he wanted me to lie for him then I was going to play it up.
"Awww, that's so cute," she cooed. "But like, I don't get it."
"What don't you get?" Edward sounded irritated.
"Like, if you have her, why did like Rose tell me to seduce you?" she asked bluntly, yet she seem innocently clueless at the same time.
Heidi, bless her heart, was obviously a pawn. I glanced behind her at Rosalie, who was face palming herself. I snorted under my breath. I don't care Edward thought it was Emmett, I was pretty sure Rose was behind the fake lips from a few years back.
I lowered my voice. "Maybe you confused Edward for Emmett?"
"They both do like start with E." She nodded and wobbled away on the uneven ground.
I waited until she was out of earshot before I whispered to Edward. "Is she for real? I thought sitcoms only exaggerated people—" I stopped myself from saying stupid, trying not to be rude.
"Unfortunately, that is one hundred percent Heidi." Edward snickered. "Let's get out of here. My gear is on the boat, so we'll have to swing by to grab it."
I picked up my fallen items, and he surprised me when he took my rod from me so he could hold my hand. He gave me a wink as he swung them as we started to walk. I looked over my shoulder to see Rose speaking furiously with Heidi and Tanya.
"Thank you for the warning. You're lucky my rod isn't broken, or you'd owe me more than one," I joked.
"I'll let you drive my jet ski," he promised.
"That's nothing new, you always let me. I want The Avalanche from Coneheadz," I told him.
"Deal." He nodded his head.
"Thank you, Teddy." I grinned mischievously.
"Are you seriously going to start calling me that?" His nose wrinkled.
"Well, it was your idea to be a fake couple to scare off Heidi. And couples do have cutesy names for each other." I snickered.
"Fine, Belly." He rolled his eyes.
"Now that's just mean, you're saying I'm fat." I playfully huffed.
"Alright. Bella Boo. My boo." He chuckled.
"Naw." I shook my head.
"I don't think you get a say. It's my decision," he teased.
Days
The others had beat us to the beach, since they took the golf cart and we had paused to drop off my stuff. Edward reached out for my hand as we headed for the dock. Emmett was getting the boat ready to go out.
"Emmett, wait up. I want to get my things," Edward called out.
Heidi bounced up to my side. "You two are like very cute together."
"Thanks," I said to her.
"It wasn't Emmett either, like wrong E. I think Rose is like mad at me now." She frowned.
I felt guilty I put her in that position. I only meant to get back at Rosalie. "I'm sorry if I caused trouble."
She shrugged. "Are you like coming on the boat, too?"
Before I could answer her, Rosalie walked between us. She elbowed me hard, and I took a step back only to have my heel catch on something, causing me to fall backward into the water. I heard Heidi screaming just before I went under. I tried to push myself to resurface but my legs were tangled with the ropes of a boat's anchor. My sweatshirt was also weighing me down, making it hard to move.
My eyes stung as I opened them so I could try to see the ropes better. I felt movement in the water as I was joined by both Edward and Emmett. Edward wrapped his arms around me and tugged, but couldn't get me above surface. Emmett noticed the ropes and tried to untangle my legs, before diving deeper and grabbing the anchor. He strong armed it up and grabbed the excess rope. Together, they pulled me above surface.
I coughed and sputtered out water and gasped for air. My body felt too weak to swim and I couldn't tread with my legs still bound.
"I got you," Edward promised, keeping his arms around me tightly.
"Jasper, give me a hand with this shit," Emmett yelled.
Jasper leapt over the edge of the boat on to the pier. He helped Emmett get the rope and anchor on to the dock. Then, between the three of them, they got me out of the water. Edward positioned himself so I could lean against him as Emmett detangled my legs.
I coughed and spat out more water, still having a hard time catching my breath.
"Oh...Em…Gee. Maybe you should like do CPR," Heidi said frantically
"I'm fine," I croaked, praying I didn't throw up.
I struggled to remove the sweatshirt until Edward grabbed the hem and yanked it up. He tossed it next to me on the planks.
"Why were you even wearing this thing in this heat?" he asked. His eyes glanced down, then looked sharply away.
I realized my swimsuit top had shifted and was dangerously close to exposing me. I frantically pulled at it when a t-shirt was tossed at me.
"Here," Rose said.
"You could've killed her." Edward got to his feet, facing off with her.
"It was an accident," Rosalie snapped.
"Bullshit. I saw you purposely shove her," Edward said, his fists clenched as he took a step toward her.
Rosalie's eyes widened and she took a step back. "It was a joke. I knew she could swim. How was I to know she would get tangled?"
"Edward, calm down." Emmett got in between them while Jasper pulled his sister back toward the boat. "Bella is fine. Aren't you, Bella?"
I struggled to my feet and placed my hand on Edward's bicep. "He's right, I'm okay. Let's just let it go."
"Tanya, call your dad." He then looked down at me, and his anger melted away to concern. He brushed a strand of hair over my shoulder. "My uncle should check you out."
"I'm fine really. I only swallowed a small bit of the lake, but besides that I'm fine." I tried to find a bit of humor.
"Are you sure?" I heard Tanya ask.
I broke eye contact with Edward and glanced over to Tanya, who was still on the boat. She had her phone in her hand and shockingly was looking at me with concern.
"Yes," I told Tanya. I slid my hand down Edward's arm and laced our hands together. "Let's go fish."
"Fish…or fish?" Emmett waggled his eyebrows.
"Grow up, Shrek." I shot him a look.
Days
Edward grabbed his gear and we finally made our way to our spot. We sat side by side on the embankment. We had grown so much that our shoulders and legs brushed together so we could both fit. Edward still seemed on edge since the incident and hadn't been his talkative self.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked.
"Hmm—" He blinked a few times, apparently waking out of deep thought.
"Is Jasper mute or is it just around me? He never says anything."
"Jasper isn't mute. You've really never heard him talk?" Edward looked befuddled.
"Nope, only grunts," I answered.
He furrowed his brows. "I never noticed. He's always been on the quiet side though"
Edward went back to his brooding. I sighed and reeled in my line, not really into at the moment. I placed my rod to the side and leaned back, tilting my head to enjoy the soft breeze.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Edward asked in concern. "I would feel better if my uncle looked you over."
"For the last time, I'm fine. It was an accident. Can we please just forget about it?" I pleaded.
"It was deliberate," he harped.
I groaned and sat up. "Maybe, but I'm not blameless either. I did tell Heidi it was Emmett she should hit on, not you. That had to of set Rose off."
"Rose and Emmett aren't together," Edward told me.
"Huh…they're not? You could have fooled me." I thought about how the two interacted.
"Even if they are, that's still not the point. You could've been seriously hurt. That makes twice this past year—" His jaw clenched, and his pole was tossed to the side.
I was touched by his concern and protectiveness, but also worried about his reaction. I shifted to my knees and wrapped my arms around his shoulders then pressed my forehead to the side of his head.
"I'm safe and unhurt. And I have both times to thank you for that. You're the best friend a girl could have."
He snorted and turned his head, so we were nose to nose. "And what if I didn't want to be your friend."
"What?" I felt my heart sink, and my arms loosened their hold.
"What if I wanted more?" he confessed.
"But you said it could only lead to disaster," I reminded him.
"I know. I'll admit I didn't know how much I really liked you until I tried dating other girls. But it always felt like I was cheating on you. When you had the problem with James, and I was the only one you trusted, I realized it was much more than a crush. I don't want to be your pretend boyfriend. I want to be your real boyfriend. But I don't want to lose you as a best friend either. But if—"
My heart started to flutter and before he could finish his sentence I leaned in and kissed him. He cupped my cheek and deepened the kiss, gently sliding his tongue between my lips. He ended it with a peck and pulled back.
"Does this mean you'll be my real girl no space friend?" he asked with a silly grin.
"Absolutely, Teddy." I gave him a cheesy smile.
He laughed and kissed me lightly on the lips. "So can I take you on a date tonight?"
"Well, you do owe me The Avalanche," I said.
Days
I covered my mouth with my hand to keep myself from laughing out loud as Edward's ball hit the windmill's blade for a second time and bounced back, rolling to his feet. Edward muttered a curse under his breath. A giggle escaped, and he glanced at me through the hair that had fallen into his eyes.
"I'm glad you find this amusing." He gave me a crooked grin.
"Use the line on the head of the club to help you aim," I suggested.
"I am," he muttered. "I'm telling you the green grass…mat…whatever they use is warped and the whole course is messed up, ruining my shot."
"Excuses…excuses," I teased.
He wasn't wrong, though. The course had seen better days. The runways were torn and mildewed in areas. A few of the structures looked broken. We also seemed to be the only ones here. But despite it all, I was still enjoying myself with Edward.
"I'm going to get it this time. Watch." He positioned the club behind the ball.
"I'm watching." I laughed.
He swung and clipped the ball, it soared for the windmill but hit the blade just right that it launched, heading directly at me. I yelped and caught the ball right before it smacked me in the face.
"Shit, Bella, I'm so sorry." He stepped toward me.
"You are so bad at this." I snickered, tossing the ball back to him.
"Yeah…yeah. I think we should quit while we're ahead," he said.
"Awww, but I'm having so much fun." I pouted playfully.
"Laughing at me." His eyes looked amused, so I knew he wasn't really upset.
"Please. You'd be laughing at me if the roles were reversed. You still haven't let me live it down when I accidentally sent a flaming marshmallow flying and setting a pile of leaves on fire," I reminded him.
"Touché. How about we go get your ice cream," he suggested.
"Sounds good to me," I agreed.
We walked hand in hand to return the clubs. The man in the little shack was sleeping in his chair, with his head tilted back and snoring. Edward shook his head and sighed before leading me to his uncle's car.
"Hey, cheer up, you're not going to pout about losing, are you?" I squeezed his hand.
He shook his head. "I'm not upset about that. I wish I could've given you a better first date."
"What are you talking about? I'm having a great first date, besides it's not over yet." I leaned against the car door.
"I wanted to take you to a fancy restaurant and maybe a mini-golf course that doesn't smell like cheese." He ran his hand through his hair.
"Well…I could do without the smell. But you don't need to spend a ton of money for us to have a good time, Teddy. The burgers and fries were good and as bad as the course was, it'll be something we can laugh about one day," I told him.
"You're right. I guess I was thinking what my cousins would like," he stated.
"No offense, but your cousins are snobs. I'm a small town girl with simple tastes. Except when it comes to ice cream— then I go big," I joked.
Edward stepped forward and placed his hands on my hips. He dipped his head down to kiss me. We were soon interrupted by a loud annoying sound. Edward broke the kiss to give the speakers attached to the light post an irritated glance.
"Is that what I think it is?" he asked incredulously, as the loud snore filled the air.
I started to laugh so hard I actually snorted a little, which caused Edward to start snickering. The guy in the shed must have somehow turned on the intercom system.
"See, there's no way we'll be able to forget this night." My words were garbled due to the fact I couldn't stop giggling.
A/N: A lot went on in this chapter. I'm interested in what you think. I already know no one is in Tanya or Rose's fan club, and I can't say I blame you.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
My friend Cece (Ceceprincess1217) published her first book, it's based off her FF The Bachelor Duke. You can find it on Amazon The Bachelor Duke by Cecilia Rene.
