Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.
A/N: Happy Sunday! Many many thanks to my beta, myonlyheroin for getting this chapter done for me even while being sick AND having her kids home for Spring Break. She's awesome and I absolutely adore her! Any and all mistakes are my own thanks to my twitchy fingers right before hitting that upload button. Not much more to say here, so let's jump in.
Let the Games Begin
Chapter 8
.((.(Edward).)).
I'd heard from Bella Sunday afternoon, just like she'd promised, but it had been a short conversation, and she'd definitely seemed distant, as well as strategically guarded throughout most of the call.
Obviously, I knew her behavior was because of Jake and his random return into her new life, here in Miami.
This more than likely also meant that their reunion had gone rather well.
That, or she was feeling incredibly guilty and trying her best to keep her distance from me in order to prevent said guilt from festering and growing even further.
Whichever the case, both possibilities bothered me and because of that, sleep had become an abundantly absent part of my daily routine over these last four days while I'd waited for Bella to initiate reaching out to me again.
I had done my best to keep myself busy by working.
I'd even pulled a double shift on the sly yesterday.
Unfortunately, when Aro found out, he'd insisted I take tonight to 'rest' and return to reality, as he'd put it, for a full twenty-four hours before I came back in.
B hadn't called my line once during any of my shifts… not that I'd expected her to, but I'd silently hoped, and held out for it. Still, deep down, I knew better than to let myself actually believe it was ever a true possibility, but that also hadn't stopped me from wishing for a miracle.
When I'd let it slip that I had the night off, Jasper had insisted we go out with a couple of our other friends in order to further help take my mind off of things.
Things that started with the letter, B.
I'd ultimately agreed when he'd not so subtly mentioned Alice would probably be coming out too, and he knew I'd only agreed because it had given me a spark of hope that maybe Bella might shock us all and decide to join her best friend.
Jasper and I had just gotten to one of our favorite local dive bars, the one where tourists rarely made appearances, and everyone knew your name, when we spotted Riley and Mike sitting at our usual large booth in the back corner of the main room.
Alice was already sitting with them looking like she belonged on the cover of some fashion magazine. Unfortunately for me, aside from my cousin and his best friend, she was otherwise alone, and I felt my shoulders instantly drop over the realization that Bella had ultimately chosen to continue to hide from me.
"Hey, boys! Edward, so nice of you to come out and play tonight!"
I smiled and leaned in to receive her friendly kiss to my cheek, then nodded my head with a forced sigh, "Yeah, I've been working a lot, and when I haven't been working, I've been avoiding being at my apartment during daylight hours."
Jasper had already told me that Bella had been just as M.I.A. as I'd been, so I wasn't sure why Alice was choosing to give me a hard time about my own absence.
He'd also told me that Alice hadn't mentioned Bella's name much at all over the last couple of days when they'd been together, nor had he seen her much when he'd been over at their apartment.
That struck me as a little peculiar, so I'd already made up my mind that if Bella didn't make an appearance tonight, I would do my best to get something out of her best friend before the evening was over.
"Hey E, you'll never guess who we just ran into!" Mike suddenly boomed joining our conversation in a slightly obnoxious way.
I shrugged, not really caring since I already knew it hadn't been Bella.
"Kate Denali! She told us to tell you to find her when you got here."
Jasper was already landing two hard jabs to my shoulder from across the table, "Bro! She must have heard about you and Tanya! She's been waiting since our senior year for this moment."
I scoffed at my best friends words but felt my cheeks beginning to flush in betrayal and instantly hated him for it because I already knew what would be coming next.
"Who is this Kate Denali?" Alice softly questioned, sounding rather bored by the entire conversation we were all now sharing.
"Kate would be the one that got away, and then realized her mistake, but not until it was too late."
"Yeah, Edward would likely be a married man with two adorable blonde kids by now if Tanya hadn't come in all succubus like the summer after we'd graduated." Riley swiftly added, then clanged his beer bottle with Jasper's while they both laughed together over my misery.
I really wasn't sure how long I'd be able to sit here and put up with this shit. "Riley, seriously. Enough." I grumbled through clenched teeth, avoiding all of their eyes. The very last thing I needed was Alice hearing about any of this thinking anything shady had happened. "Kate and I broke up months before Tanya and I became a thing, and we've managed to remain good friends through it all. Nothing more. Just. Friends."
Desperate to have an excuse to get away from their adolescent taunting, I stood myself up and left the table behind to go get myself a beer at the bar.
I mean, I might have lied a little.
Kate clearly still had a thing for me, but neither of us had ever acted on it because that wasn't the type of game I liked to play.
Once I'd gotten away from my friends, It didn't take her long to find me. The bartender had just slid my first beer of the night over to my hand when Kate casually slid herself onto the barstool right beside mine to poke me in the arm with her index finger.
"Hey- hey Mr. Cullen! I heard I might see you here tonight. Long time, no see. I was starting to think you'd finally escaped Florida's suffocating embrace without saying goodbye."
My smile met hers and I shook my head, "Nah, I'm still stuck here until I graduate this winter. It's good to see you. What's been going on?" I was doing my best to keep my eyes set on her face, and not the massive amount of cleavage that was currently pouring out of her top.
Kate was a good girl. A great girl, actually. We'd dated off and on throughout most of high school, but my friends were wrong. Marriage had not been in our future.
"You know, same old. Work and school. Not fun, and then even less fun. I've missed seeing your face. You look good love!"
"Ha, thanks. I've barely had ten hours of total sleep this week, but somehow I'm still functioning at a decent pace. You'll get a kick out of this, I've actually been busy doing the whole work thing myself."
"No way! Edward Cullen got a job? Like a real job with an actual schedule, boss, and legitly taxed paycheck?" She quickly teased, smiling at me with her light blue eyes drawing me in.
I took another sip from my beer and nodded my head with a devious smirk, "What can I say? Everyone's gotta grow up eventually."
"Yeah, but not Edward Masen Cullen! That's like Peter Pan leaving Never Never Land and never returning!"
I almost spat my beer from my mouth after hearing my middle name leave her lips.
Thank God Alice hadn't been around to hear that, or you would have been royally screwed, Cullen!
"Yeah. I know, I know, hell hath frozen over." I finally got out, once I'd regained my composure and straightened my position over the barstool I was sitting on, "Lots of things have changed since the last time I saw you."
When she cleared her throat, I did my best to prepare myself for her fake honesty.
"I heard about you and Tanya. So sorry things didn't work out." The sarcasm was dripping from her tone. Because of that, I had to laugh. Kate hated Tanya and she'd always made that very clear to anyone who would listen. Tanya herself included. On several occasions. Very persistently.
It got so bad once, that Jasper and I had to step in between the two of them before they'd wound up on World Star after Tanya had 'accidentally' spilled her entire drink all over Kate at a club on South Beach last summer.
"The inevitable finally found its way to the surface. Better now than five years down the road." I eventually managed to get out, then finished off my beer and waved it in the air to get the bartender's attention so he'd serve me up another. "I guess I should have listened to you all those years ago."
"This is true! You should have. I never thought Tanya was good enough for you, but you knew that. Honestly, the fact that you two lasted as long as you did was like something against nature. It wasn't natural. You deserve someone… better." She rested her hand over my shoulder and gave it a tender squeeze then slowly traced her index finger down the length of my arm with her last word.
I had a pretty good idea who she thought would be better, for at least short term, but I wasn't looking for a repeat stroll down a road I'd already traveled with her.
At least not tonight.
Her not so subtle move did however cause me to casually scan the general area, but I didn't see anyone watching us.
Well, no one except for Alice.
Fuck me.
"Thanks," I mumbled, silently wishing she would read my cues and stop pushing me into this corner of awkwardness with her.
"Oh, stop it!" She reached out to again grab onto my arm, but this time she kept her hand there grasping onto my bicep with flagrant purpose. "You were always too good for her. Hell, you were always too good for me, that's why I set you free before you could break my heart."
Kate had apparently been here, at the bar, for quite a while and she'd also been served more than a few drinks before I myself had gotten here.
I already knew I could skip all of this and bluntly suggest we take off and go back to her place.
Once there, she would no doubt give me the best fuck I'd had in a very long damn time, but that wasn't what I was looking for tonight.
Not from her anyways.
Even if Alice had insisted it was something I needed to get out of my system… an emotionless rebound hook up with another ex of mine wasn't something I wanted to check off of my bucket list at this point in time in my freshly twisted reality.
"Hey E, why don't you guys bring your party over here to our party? We love us some Kate, too!" Jasper's voice suddenly hollered from the large booth where they were all sitting together with their drinks in hand.
After waving my beer in their direction, I turned my body around on the stool and began to stand myself up. "Would you like to join us, Kate?"
I swear I saw her whole body quiver right there in front of me when I'd said her name.
The thirst was real.
"Yeah, I can sit with you guys for a while. I'm here with some girls from my sorority, but they won't miss me when they see who I'm sitting next to."
And she was laying it on extra thick now.
For a fraction of a second, I actually considered just taking her behind the building and giving her what she wanted so she'd leave me alone for the rest of the night, but I quickly sorted that into the 'very bad idea' column in my head and instead offered her my arm to walk us to the corner of the room where everyone was sitting together still watching us.
"I see you found your boy, Kate. We've got the old crew back together, just like old times! All that's missing is Ben or we'd have the complete triangle again."
My cousin Riley would bring up Ben.
Ben and Kate had also dated on and off throughout high school.
Let's just say we were a fucked up bunch, full of teen angst and drama between our junior and senior years and there were bountiful memories that I would love to forget.
Kate laughed nervously, but then quickly changed the subject after her eyes had set on Alice who was sitting on the other side of me. "I don't think we've met."
"Hi sweetie, I'm Alice, and you're Kate. I just got the low down while you were over there attempting to molest Edward."
My eyes went wide, and Jasper instantly let out a loud laugh. Riley and Mike looked nervous as hell… and Kate… well, she looked a bit blindsided, but she regained her composure pretty quickly to laugh it off and tilt her head onto my shoulder.
"Edward and I have known each other for a very long time. We have a very special kind of bond."
I closed my eyes wishing all of this would just go away.
"Yes, I can see that. Special indeed."
Awkward silence took control of the table after that. I already knew Kate was busy trying to figure out who Alice really was and what she meant to me, so I gave Jasper a suggestive glare silently cueing him to somehow make it known that the newest member of our tribe was someone he'd already claimed and established as his own.
"Don't worry, Kate. Alice is my fuckbuddy. Not E's."
Subtleness was clearly not a strength for my best friend.
"Ohhhhh, okay! I guess we can be friends then," Kate replied with a nervous laugh before finally lifting her head from where she'd positioned it over my shoulder.
Alice did not laugh. No, she'd instead chosen to force her fakest smirk and then brought her drink up to her lips to prevent any other words from impulsively leaving them.
I couldn't help but look away to hide my own smile.
The more I got to know Alice, the more I found myself appreciating her presence. I only hoped things would last between her and Jasper, because she was definitely someone fun to have around.
When my cousin caught my eye, I knew what would be coming next, but before I could look away, he quickly pounced to back me into a corner, "Hey cuz, come with me up to the bar, we'll get the next round for everyone." Riley suggested with a nod of his head.
I could already tell by the look on his face that he wanted to do more than just bring back a couple of beers for everyone. He still wanted to talk about how fucked our dads were, and I'd purposely avoided calling him, like I'd promised, because I didn't.
Talking about our dysfunctional family would not have helped the mood I'd already been in over the last few days. I stood myself up though, and rounded the booth to follow him back up to the bar, even though my own beer was still mostly full.
"I've been by your place three times and called you more times than that! I was starting to think I'd have to find out where you're working these days to stalk you in the damn parking lot, ya dick! What gives?"
"Sorry. Can you really blame me though? Talking about how our fathers potentially screwed hundreds of people out of their entire life-savings, and how they'll soon be going to prison for a very long time because of it… well, that's not at the top of my list when it comes to things I want to do during my leisure time, Ry."
He ran his hand through his hair and let out a bitch of a frustrated sigh, then shook his head, "I get it. I do, but your sister said she's been trying to get a hold of you too and you're still not returning her calls either."
"Rose just wants there to be peace before the trial starts and she wants to be the one that gets it done because being the 'golden child' in our dad's eyes matters more to her than having any actual morals in terms of the rest of the goddamned world. Trust me, it's better we not talk right now."
"So you really haven't talked to any of them? Not even your mom?"
"No, why?" I could tell by the change in his tone that something new actually had happened and he was about to drop a massive amount of fresh bullshit all over me.
Riley restlessly shifted his weight side to side, and then slowly crossed his arms, "I'm not trying to fuck up your night, I've been trying to tell you this for the last week almost, but your dad… he… he took a plea deal to avoid trial and risk getting a longer sentence."
This news forced me to take a seat on the nearest bar stool while I stared through my cousin processing his words.
The son of a bitch didn't even have the balls to face a jury of his peers.
How very typical of him.
"Well, isn't that something." I finally managed to get out a few long seconds later.
"You okay?"
I nodded and yelled at the bartender to serve me up a shot of their best Rum.
"Make that two, Tony!" Riley quickly added, "My dad's trial will start just before Christmas."
"And a Happy Holidays to us." I snickered under my breath, still in slight disbelief that it was all really starting to happen, just like my dad's lawyer had warned us. "How's my mom been?"
"She's holding up. They're moving into a new apartment in two weeks. Some two-bedroom place in Doral. I'm supposed to help out."
I took in a deep breath and began shaking my head to myself just as Tony placed the shot glasses in front of us. "I'll send her a text soon. Let Rose know I'm fine. Don't tell her I got a job though. If she finds out I'm actually working, she really will start to worry about me." I joked, hoping to ease some of the tension we were still sharing between us.
Riley laughed and nodded his head, "I just still can't believe they really did what they're saying they did. They just never seemed worried, or even stressed about it. Life was good."
"Unfortunately, life is almost always about disappointments. Especially when everything seems, good."
"If that isn't the goddamned truth, I don't know what is. I just wanted you to know what was going on before it would be too late to see him."
I understood what he was saying, I'd just wished it hadn't needed to be said. "Let's get back to everyone else so we can continue this night and I can attempt to drown all of this in booze. If I play my cards right and pace myself, I might actually get some good drunken sleep in tonight."
"Not if Kate has anything to do with that." Riley snickered under his breath. I made an attempt to give him a swat upside the back of his head, but he'd already seen it coming and sidestepped out of the way with two beers in each of his hands. I took the other two from the counter and began following him to our table while doing my best to push everything he'd just shared with me to the very back of my thoughts.
Typically, I wasn't a big drinker. I didn't like the way my filter would fly off once I'd surpassed that line in the sand, but it now looked like tonight would have to be the exception.
At least an hour had passed since we'd arrived at the bar, and for the last twenty minutes or so, Kate's hand had been resting comfortably over my knee from under the table. Initially, I hadn't really reacted to it, but now that her hand was officially testing my willpower every couple of seconds by bringing its fingers further and further up my inner thigh, let's just say I was starting to get a little… bothered.
Thankfully, I was still thinking clearly and keeping my alcohol intake in check after choosing to stop at three beers and one shot of Rum. As insurance, I'd also sent Jasper a quick text requesting that he do whatever it took to prevent me from leaving the bar with Kate tonight. Which he'd ultimately agreed to, but not until after he'd sent me three returned texts fucking with me over the entire situation I was currently in just by having her sit next to me, heavily supervised.
Then it happened.
"Holy shit, holy shit! Look who just walked through the damn door! Is that what you've been busy doing on your phone, Alice?" Jasper taunted, his eyes still set on something happening over my shoulder.
I immediately put my hand over Kate's and gently pushed it back into her own lap, tapped it gently two times with my fingertips, and slowly turned my head around to see the one girl in the world who could easily make everything, and everyone else disappear.
When our eyes finally met, she bit down on her bottom lip and offered me a small wave from the side of her hip.
"Did you know she was coming?" I instantly questioned Alice, my eyes slightly narrowed in her direction.
"I might have given her the push she needed, with a casual mention or two, via a few text messages, over the last hour or so. She didn't tell me she was coming though, so I'm just as surprised as you guys are to see her here." Alice replied, trying her best to sound innocent.
You could tell she was feeling victorious, though, and also more than a little bit proud of her manipulative ways.
"Hey, guys. Got room for one more?"
Bella was absolutely avoiding my eyes now, but still looking adorably anxious in her tight blue jeans and a plain black tank top. Alice stood herself up from where she'd been sitting beside me and then gestured for her best friend to slide in and take her seat. I'd also caught the sly wink she'd sent Bella's way, but I'd thankfully managed to keep myself from smirking in reaction to that.
"I'll get you a drink, B. The usual?"
"Yeah. That be great. Thanks, Alice."
"So, what finally dragged you out? We've missed you, Betty, but don't you worry! Alice and I have been very busy planning your birthday this weekend."
I swiftly narrowed my eyes again, realizing I had not been kept in the loop with these so-called birthday plans.
Even though I'd been the one to call dibs days ago when I'd learned Bella's birthday was coming up.
Bella laughed lightly and shifted her weight beside me, but kept a good two inches between us, "Oh, yeah? Should I be scared? I feel like I should be scared."
"Only if you're afraid of strip clubs and very buff midgets!"
The entire table began laughing, but I softly promised Bella there would be no strip clubs or naked little people included in her twenty-first birthday celebration. She smiled into my eyes, and then slowly mouthed the words 'thank you', and I felt myself relax even further over the look she'd just sent my way with our mostly silent exchange of words.
I gave her a quick wink from my eye, paired with a firm nod from my head, then realized Kate's foot had found its way to my ankle.
"Aren't you going to introduce your other new friend to me, Edward?"
This was officially awkward.
Painfully awkward.
"Um, yeah, sure… Bella- this is Kate. We went to school together most of our lives."
"Ah, okay. I wasn't sure if it was Bella, or Betty."
Jasper, Alice, Bella and myself were all laughing together almost instantly. This of course only caused Kate to look even more confused, and also a little annoyed.
"It's an inside joke, sweetie. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." Alice eventually got out between her giggles, earning herself another nice glare from our female friend.
"Where exactly did you all meet? Class?"
"Ha no! Structured learning isn't my thing. Alice and I just moved here from the good'ol northern south."
"Yeah, they moved into the apartment right next door to mine." I quickly added, keeping my eyes purposely set on the beer bottles lined up in front of me.
Kate appeared to be surprised by this news, "Really? Wow! Lucky girls landing this guy as a neighbor! Well... welcome to Miami."
Bella offered her friendliest smile, but I could tell it was uncomfortably forced.
I couldn't help but wonder if she'd come here tonight already having been given the heads up that someone from my past named Kate had been hanging around.
Alice might have actually thrown you a bone. Who'd'a'thought, Cullen?
This possibility was both welcomed, and very much appreciated. Because of that, I already knew I'd have to find a way to thank Alice at a later time.
I was only a little bit annoyed that she'd waited until I was good three beers in, on top of a shot of booze, on an empty stomach, and barely any sleep, to get Bella's ass here- but I also wasn't going to complain.
Honestly, I was suddenly feeling much more alert and sober than I had been five minutes ago and I knew that had everything to do with the girl I was now sitting next to.
"So Edward, where exactly are you working?"
Jasper was already grinning like a mother fucker and propping his chin over his fist where his elbow had positioned itself on the table top directly in front of me. I sent him a quick jab from my shoe under the table and he jumped in reaction but quickly regained his composure in anticipation of my impending response.
"It's a um, tech support gig. I usually work the overnight shifts at a call center downtown."
"Interesting! When did you go and get all into computers? I thought you hated technology."
Kate was now officially digging where she didn't belong.
"Yeah, well, when you get desperate you take whatever job you can find, and fake it the best you can."
"Ah, yes. Edward here has to do a lot of faking it there. You should hear all of the stories he's told me about having to fake it!"
And Jasper was clearly determined to go home with bruised shins tonight.
I could feel Bella's eyes stealing quick glances my way every couple of seconds. I'd also noticed she'd casually moved herself a little closer towards me.
This was progress.
I liked progress.
Progress was good.
Kate's needful fingertips had unfortunately found their way back up my thigh though, so I was well past my comfort zone again and in desperate need of an out without making it too obvious, which I knew would only hurt her feelings.
"Um, I have to use the bathroom." I tapped B's shoulder to signal she needed to let me out from the booth, then mouthed the word "phone" after I'd turned my back towards everyone else to walk past her.
I could only hope she'd caught on.
The moment I got into the restroom, I pulled my cell from my pocket to send her a text, asking her to sneak out the back exit so that we could talk privately outside. She'd replied within seconds with a simple, 'Okay' paired with a smiley face emoji.
After splashing my face with some water, and then drying it with a paper towel, I pushed the door open and walked further down the dimmed hallway towards the emergency exit sign that hung over the back door. I'd actually noticed it swing closed just as I'd exited the bathroom and with it, I'd felt my heart rate begin to accelerate with every step that brought me closer to her.
Once outside, I scanned the alleyway and spotted Bella sitting on a crate not too far from where I was standing. When our eyes met, she gave me her best crooked smile and I felt new life take control of me all over again. After everything Riley had dropped on me just over an hour ago, I needed this tonight.
I'd needed to see her.
I hadn't realized it before, but she was the only person in the world who would truly be able to help me forget about all of the other bullshit, for at least a couple of hours. Which was truthfully all I would need.
"It's nice to see you're still breathing, neighbor girl. I was beginning to worry Alice was keeping you locked away in your bedroom, under Jake's strict orders."
"Ha! Jake could never order Alice to do anything. Nor could any man for that matter, so please fill Jasper in on that little fact before it's too late, and she owns his heart and soul, would you? I've had to invest in a new sound machine thanks to their nonstop night time sexcapades."
I laughed at her description and nodded my head, then kneeled down beside her so we could be at eye level with one another since she'd chosen to remain seated on top of the plastic crate.
"Seriously though, have you been okay? I didn't want to bother you…"
"I'm good." She instantly interrupted, "I just needed some time to really adjust to things and explore all of my new surroundings- on my own. I think you'd be impressed by some of my local discoveries."
I was smiling again, and it felt good. She looked up into my eyes, and I swear I saw the same relieved expression plastered all over her own beautiful face.
"Hopefully you'll take me along on some of your adventuring one day soon."
Bella smirked and nodded her head in slow agreement, then redirected her stare back down towards my hands where I'd balled them up in front of me over my knees.
"Kate seems nice."
"Yeah. She's fun. So… is Kate what brought you out tonight?" I slyly questioned, my brow now raised in playful suspicion. She reached out and gave my shoulder a fairly firm jab, causing me to dramatically fall over to my side. "Been eating your Wheaties huh, B?"
"Funny guy, you are. To be totally honest… I'd planned on coming when Alice told me you'd be here tonight… but then I chickened out at the last minute."
She'd finally said it.
She had been avoiding me.
It wasn't just me being pathetically paranoid.
"Why? I can control myself. I can behave. You don't need to hide from me, Bella. Hide and seek has never been a game I'm good at." I instantly replied, sounding like a complete chump, but she'd liked it, because she was still smiling, and she was also reaching out her arms bringing them towards me again.
This time to offer me her hands in order to help pull me up from the cement.
Once I was seated upright again, she slowly brought her opened palm to the side of my face and gently brushed my cheek with her fingers, then looked deeply into my eyes before releasing a soft sigh from between her red painted lips. "Jake and I are still together. We had a long talk and- he really wants to give the long distance thing a real try. I feel like I owe that to him… after everything we've been through together. Even after what he did… as twisted as that seems."
And I felt like she'd just sucker punched me right in the gut, but I did my best to not visually show that honest reaction on my face.
"There's just so much you'd never be able to understand. He-"
I really didn't want to sit here and listen to her explain why she was still refusing to cut the douche bag out of her life, so I quickly cut her off in hopes of fast forwarding through all of the, 'he's really not a bad guy', BS.
'"It's okay, Bella. You don't need to explain your history to me. I can respect it without all of the details."
"Can you, Edward?"
I narrowed my eyes and stood myself up in front of her, "If that's what you tell me you want- then yeah, I can."
She was smirking below me, in the darkness that was surrounding us.
She was smirking, and I was now officially beyond fucking confused by the smug look on her perfectly gorgeous face.
I watched her open her mouth to start to say something, but nothing came out.
"Spill it, neighbor girl. What exactly are you grinning about down there?"
She laughed lightly, then slowly reached her arms upward to take my hands into hers to pull me back down in front of her, "That being said, Edward… I um… I still want to get to know you… and hopefully… eventually, I'd like to really get to know you... every part of you, but the guilt I've felt over that realization… it's honestly been tearing me apart, so I'm still trying to work myself through it all." She took in another deep breath, squeezing my hands between hers, then forcefully exhaled before continuing, "Bottom line, I have to be true to myself. I can't act like there isn't something happening here, between… us. I'm just not at a place right now where I'm ready for anymore impulsive- out of character for me- changes."
I felt like she'd just breathed life back into me with her carefully chosen words.
"So if you... If we can just keep hanging out, but not cross that line... yet… that is something I want, and it's pretty much all I've been able to think about since last weekend… seeing you again, being next to you again, holding your hand again." She'd whispered her last couple of words, and she'd also retreated from making actual eye contact with me, but I knew this was her being honest, and I knew she'd meant everything she'd just said.
"Bella, I… you… we-" I stuttered, trying my damnedest to find the right words for all the thoughts that were now spinning around in my head, "I mean what are you asking of me exactly? What are you saying? I need to know what the rules are, and where that line is set with you. Did you tell Jake about me at all?"
She shifted her weight nervously, then slowly nodded her head two times, "Well, kind of. He knows I'd been hanging out with someone, and that I was out with someone that night he showed up. He's not stupid, but he didn't question or press me for any details. Communication has never been a strength of ours."
"Clearly," I grumbled, seriously wishing we could just fast forward through all of the bullshit that involved him being involved in her life.
"Let me finish, though. Jake and I, we," She paused again to take in a short shallow breath, then quickly exhaled, and with that exhale, I felt as though my heart had stopped until she'd begun to speak again. "We decided to stay together, but we also decided it would be okay to see other people. Now, I'll absolutely understand if that's something you don't want to get involved in."
I couldn't even believe what I was hearing.
She'd been sitting on this information for the last four days… four days she'd spent hiding from me… sitting on this… all this time wasted!
"I guess that's the real reason why I've been avoiding you. It was out of fear that you'd brush me off and wash your hands clean of me once I explained everything, and how complicated it could all potentially be."
It was like she was in my goddamn head, and I didn't even care.
Of course part of me wanted to run, but I would have been lying if I'd tried to make myself believe I wouldn't eventually find my way back to her again.
Especially, if she continued to call me at work late at night.
Shit. Work.
I really had to find a way to come completely clean, if we were actually going to do this. I couldn't keep pushing it off, or it would all be for nothing.
There were plenty of women in the world, I was well aware of that, and I also wasn't one to believe in soulmates, but something told me Bella might be worth an attempt to challenge that belief, just to risk everything and see what might happen.
"So, what are your limits exactly? What's allowed and what's not allowed? Is this okay?" I questioned looking down at our hands that were still interlocked between us.
She nodded silently, then caught me completely off guard by suddenly launching her entire body into mine, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her chest against my own in fervent need. "This is okay, too." She whispered beside my ear, where she'd pressed her chin over the top of my shoulder so I'd be able to feel her warm breath on the nape of my neck.
"Well," I laughed softly, "I think I can live with this for now. I mean, we're basically talking like… fifth-grade boyfriend-girlfriend stuff here, amiright? Working our way towards the middle school years with some heavy petting after our first pop kiss?" I was teasing her, but I knew she wouldn't miss that fact. I could also sense her smiling from behind my shoulder now, so I increased my own embrace around her tiny frame then took in a deep breath before eventually releasing her from my grasp again. "Honestly though... you should know, I'm going into this with the intent of eventually making you mine and only mine. I refuse to go all the way back to kindergarten with the forever halfsies sharing bullshit on the school playground."
She smiled and cupped the sides of my face between her hands, then looked deeply into my eyes, "It shouldn't take me too long to figure out the beginning of the next chapter of my life. Especially now that Jake and I will have all of these miles between us. I'm just not ready to be finished with my most current chapter. I am, however, very much ready to write you into it."
I nodded, partially understanding what she meant. She was right, I didn't know everything she and Jake had been through together. All I knew about was the bad. The negatives. The ugly parts that strangers weren't supposed to know about.
No one stays with someone for years, though, when all there is are negatives and ugly. Even Tanya and I had some epically good times together. I needed to be understanding. Even more so if I truly believed Bella was someone worth putting all of myself out there for.
"Then you won't be cheating? With me, I mean. We can be as open as we want about what's going on between us? That we're dating. No hiding or sneaking around?"
I needed to hear her say it.
I needed to hear her say it out loud.
"No hiding, no sneaking around. When Jake is in town, things will obviously have to be a little different, but other than that, we can just keep moving forward… together... and see what happens... Naturally."
I was smiling.
She was smiling.
We were good.
We were so, so, so very good.
She was also grinning again, and it was taking everything in me to not attack her lips with my own.
"What do we do now?"
Her question had a hundred different possible answers, but I knew only one would work tonight.
"We go inside and have a fun night together with our friends."
It was the least pressure filled thing to do after the monumental conversation we'd just shared, where new rules and regulations had been laid out, and an actual plan had been agreed upon.
"Is it okay if I hold onto your hand a little while longer? If I have to watch Kate travel her fingertips up your thigh any higher tonight, I might actually end up with her bleached blonde hair in my fist before the evening is over."
I laughed at Bella's blunt honesty, then brought her back up against me for another purposeful hug that I never wanted to release her from. "You're not allowed to leave my side for the rest of the evening, how's that?" I toyed with her, then felt her nod her head against my chest.
"Deal, neighbor boy."
"Let's get this new sub-chapter of ours officially started," And with that, I took Bella's hand back into mine and we headed towards the door to go find our friends and let the wide-eyed questionable stares begin.
A/N: Progress! Now we just need E to come clean about his employment. *wink*
I know some of you will be annoyed that Bella couldn't just break up with Jake completely, but there's a pretty valid reason for her hesitation and it will be brought to light within the next couple of chapters.
**Some of you expressed that you were looking forward to reading Jake and Bella's actual talk as it went down, but I don't have any plans to include that into an actual chapter… I will, however, send it as an outtake, as thanks, if you leave me your thoughts through words as a review for this chapter. There will be quite a few clues, during their exchange, as to why B can't just let him go so easily, and why he has such an incredible hold on her.**
We got a little more insight into the drama going on with Edward's family, any thoughts on his cousin and Edward's preference to keep some distance between himself and them?
Until next time!
