A/N:

I have no idea what to say up here, actually xD

Title: The Perfect Partner Program

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: EdwardsFirstKiss

Pre-reader: brwneyedgrl01

Genre: Angst/Hurt&Comfort/Romance

Rating: NC-17

Summary: The summer of 2005 was the summer that changed Bella Swan's life forever. Sent to Ohio by her mother to attend a school for debutante girls not quite up to par, she meets Edward Masen, an apprentice. But is that really all he is? AH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Word Count: 2, 651

CHAPTER 5 CONVERSATION

Mr. Whitlock pat the neck of the tan mare and looked at me where I stood several feet away with my arms crossed. "Cash is very docile. I promise you won't have any trouble with her," he said, but I remained where I stood.

"I'd rather not," I replied stubbornly. "I'm sure she's a very kind horse, but I will never ride her. I'm sorry; Mr. Whitlock, but horses and I just don't mix well."

Mr. Whitlock sighed frustratingly. "And what will you do while the rest of us are riding?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "I'm fine with watching. Really."

"Alright, well, I can't tie onto the horse, so do what you want," Mr. Whitlock said and turned on his heel to lead Cash back inside the stable.

The other girls stood next to their horses and waited for Mr. Whitlock to return. I put my arms on top of the fence so that I could stand comfortably while watching the lesson.

I knew Renée would yell at me for not participating in the lesson, but I didn't care. I didn't understand why it was important for a debutante to know how to ride a horse. I knew that Renée had not stepped a foot inside a stable since she was my age, so she didn't have any good argument that would change my mind.

Once the lesson had started, I quickly became bored. I sighed and started to kick a lump of grass under my foot unnecessarily.

"Well, you look like you're having the time of your life."

I whirled around in shock at the proximity of the voice, and I tried to say something, but as soon as I met gorgeous, green eyes, my voice caught in my throat.

Edward blushed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

I quickly shook my head. "N-no, it's fine." I swallowed and clear my throat. "Um, what are you doing here?"

He used his thumb to point over his shoulder at a cart filled with bales of hay. "I'm helping Mr. Whitlock with a few chores around the stable. You know, helping where I'm needed."

"Yeah, totally," I said and nodded in understanding.

I didn't know what to say after that. I desperately wanted to start a conversation with him, preferably one that was intelligent and intriguing, but my head was completely empty.

"So, do you like horses?" I finally asked, but I wanted to roll my eyes at myself as soon as the words were out. It definitely wasn't the kind of question I wanted to ask him, and he was probably rethinking his compliment on my intelligence right then.

He smiled. "I don't have anything against them," he replied. "I wouldn't go so far and say that I have a genuine interest in them either, though."

"Right..." I said, trailing off, fully expecting him to come up with a lame excuse and make his escape, but to my surprise, he leaned against the fence next to me.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, and I was so relieved he didn't look at me when he asked because I knew I made the most unattractive grimace my face could muster as a reaction.

"W-why do you think that?" I asked and locked my eyes on the spotted pony Vanessa was riding.

"Well, for starters, you just asked me a question you quite obviously didn't mean to ask, and you seem so confident and outgoing with everyone except me."

I chuckled. "Have you been watching me? I usually expect at least one date before stalkerish behavior begins," I blurted out without thinking and then slapped my hand over my mouth in utter horror.

Edward blinked in shock and then burst out laughing. "Wow," he said, and I, with my face burning red, just had to ask why.

"What?"

"Nothing, really. I just didn't expect you to say that."

I looked down in embarrassment, my cheeks getting hotter with every second that passed as Edward continued to chuckle at my expense.

Eventually, he sighed contently and turned back to me. "You're not like the other girls around here, are you?"

I shrugged. "In what way do you mean?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I just don't get the same vibe from you. You feel more grounded somehow."

I glanced at him and he had turned fully to me, piercing me with those breathtaking eyes. "Is that a good bad thing?" I asked.

He smiled widely. "I'd say it's a very good thing."

I scoffed in disbelief. "I don't think Mrs. Cullen would agree with you. Or a few selective people back home."

Edward was silent for a moment and then frowned. "You don't want to be here, do you?"

His question triggered my sarcastic side and there was nothing that could stop the comment that spewed out. "But of course I do. I couldn't think of anything I would rather do with my summer than live with socialite brats and go to classes to learn the Code of Conduct." The last part of my remark was strengthened with an exaggerated eye-roll.

"So why are you here?"

"You never run out of questions, do you?"

He just shrugged in response, and I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you well enough to tell you my life's story."

He nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's okay, you didn't," I reassured him. "It's just that my life back home is complicated, and I'd rather keep it private."

"I respect that."

We stood quietly next to each other and watched the riding lesson, and I realized with a start that I wasn't nervous or uncomfortable anymore. There was just something about Edward that put me at ease, but I couldn't pin down what that something was.

I chanced a glance at him again. He was resting his elbows on the top plank of the fence, and he wasn't exactly smiling, but the corners of his mouth were upturned as if he was very pleased with something.

I had already noticed that he was the complete opposite of George, but I realized I was still searching for something, anything, that would connect the two and give me a reason to avoid him, but I came up short.

George wouldn't leave his room without looking immaculate. He always wore expensive clothing brands and carefully styled his hair. He was one of the most popular guys at my school, and there wasn't any question that he was very attractive.

At least on the outside. Not so much on the inside, though.

I didn't know much about Edward, but from what I'd heard from him since we met, he appeared to be a genuinely nice guy, and while he was unbelievably attractive, his inner glow contributed to it even more so.

His eyes were light and playful, his hair was tousled, and his jeans had dirt on the knees and were worn and threadbare at the bottom where they'd been dragged on the ground. His sneakers were dirty and had both mud and hay sticking to them.

I had never been more attracted to a guy in my entire life.

In that moment, I mustered up courage and decided to just go for it. "You know," I started to break the silence and garner his attention. "If we're going to be friends, we should start to get to know each other," I said.

He looked at me and smiled with a nod. "Yes, that usually makes friendships easier."

I giggled, a sound I didn't usually make and turned around so that my back was leaning against the fence instead. "Alright, so tell me something about yourself. I know your name and that you're twenty-one, but that's pretty much it."

"I don't even know where to start," he said and gazed forward as he thought about it.

I tried to think of a question and decided to start safely. "Well, where are you from?"

"Chicago," he replied. "Born and raised."

"The Windy City, huh. Nice," I said, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, it can definitely live up to its name sometimes. And you were from … where was it, Seattle?"

I nodded. "Yes. The Cloudy City. I'm not used to all this sunshine. I'll probably get dehydrated," I joked, and it worked because Edward laughed again.

"Do you like it there?"

"I don't know anything else," I said and shrugged. "My family hasn't traveled much because of Dad's job. This is actually the first time I've been outside of Washington State."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so I guess you could say I like it. It's home."

"That's nice."

"What about you? Are you a traveler?" I asked, and I was getting seriously impressed with myself that I was talking to him like a normal person.

He nodded. "Yes, or I want to be. I would love to travel all over the world one day, hopefully on tour."

"Tour? You're a musician?" My heartbeat quickened. There was just something insanely attractive with a musician.

Once again, he nodded. "I'm not a singer or anything, but I like writing music. I mostly play piano and guitar."

"That's really cool," I said in complete awe. "I don't have any creative talents whatsoever."

"Don't say that. I believe everyone is creative in their own way," he said and winked, which almost made my heart stop. "It might not be what society calls art, but it doesn't have to be either."

I shrugged. "Maybe not, but I guess I'm more the athletic type. I get that from Dad."

"Do you play any sports?"

I scoffed. "Hah! I wish, but Renée has forbidden me from doing anything athletic except for dance. And it's not even hip-hop or street. I'm only allowed to dance ballroom."

"Who's Renée?" he asked with a confused frown.

I sighed. "Renée's … my mom."

"You call your mom by her first name?"

"As I said, my life back home is complicated."

"I guess your relationship isn't the best," he said with caution, obviously not wanting to overstep.

"That's an understatement."

"And I also guess that you don't want to talk about it."

"No … maybe another time, but not right now."

He nodded. "Sure. We can talk about something else, like, um … do you have a boyfriend waiting for you back home?"

Maybe I imagined it, and I thought I heard a hint of cautious hope, but I didn't dare to believe that Edward might be attracted to me too.

I shook my head. "No, I don't," I said and left it at that. It was the most liberating feeling to say it out loud and to not continue the sentence by telling him about George and our breakup. It was in my past now, and I didn't want it to taint my life anymore.

If there was one thing I would make sure of when I went back home, it would be that George and I never ever become a couple again.

"I have to say that I find that unbelievable," Edward said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I frowned but remained smiling. "How so?"

Suddenly, Edward blushed and looked down at the ground, and I wondered what he was embarrassed about. "Because you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen," he eventually said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

But I did, and my heartbeat once again accelerated. "You think so?"

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, and then he nodded, his cheeks burning brighter, and it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

"Wow," I said, unable to get anything better out. "Thank you."

We stood in silence for a moment, but it was thick with tension and a bit of anticipation, and neither of us knew what to say.

Edward eventually cleared his throat and straightened up. He drummed lightly on the fence with his hands before he pointed back toward the cart he had abandoned. "Um, I should probably, um … continue..."

"Right," I said and nodded. "Yeah, you should."

"I'll see you around." He hurriedly left, almost sprinted and when he had disappeared into the stable, I couldn't hold in my dreamy sigh.

"See ya."

{=A=}

"You sure seemed very cozy with that apprentice guy earlier today," Leah pointed out from my bed, where she had taken up residence since I had let her into my room after dinner. "What was his name again?"

"Edward," I replied with a smile. "And what do you mean?"

"When you ditched the riding lesson, I saw you two by the fence," she said as if that cleared everything up.

"Yeah, we had a conversation. You know, like what you and I are having right now," I said and continued to browse through my phone.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Right. As if it was that innocent." She sat up on her knees and fixed me with a stare. "C'mon, tell me. Is there something between you two?"

I put my phone down and met her eyes. "We've been here for two days. I had my second conversation with him today. I wouldn't say that qualifies as anything but innocent."

"You've talked to him more than any of the other girls," she continued to press.

"So?"

She sighed. "So … he obviously likes you."

"You don't know that."

Leah gave me one of those don't-give-me-that-bullshit-looks, and I laughed at the expression.

"Alright," I relented. "I don't know if there's anything between us, but it feels like it," I admitted.

The smile that stretched across her face was as pleased as a smile could get. "In what way?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, he called me beautiful today."

"He did?" she asked with a gaping mouth and her eyes wide in shock.

"You don't have to look so surprised," I teased her, and she instantly rolled her eyes before throwing a pillow at me.

"I'm not surprised he thinks you're beautiful. I'm surprised he actually had the guts to tell you to your face. Very few guys do."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. Edward's so different from every other guy I've ever met."

"Holy shit," Leah whispered out, and I looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

"You've already fallen for him."

I gave her a skeptical glance. "I don't think so."

She crossed her arms defiantly. "Oh, believe me. I know what that glossed over look means."

I threw the pillow back at her. "Stop. I have not fallen for him. I don't do that. I'm not the kind of girl who falls fast and hard."

Leah held up her hands in surrender. "Fine. Okay. If you're going to play like that, so be it, but remember, I said it first." She got off my bed and went to the door.

A/N:

That was a cute little conversation they had there! :) They're getting to know each other, but Leah says Bella has already fallen for Edward. What do you think?

If you want a teaser of Chapter 6, let me know in a review!

Kisses!