"I know you're not actually asleep."
"Mmmm," I groaned and buried my head in my pillow. He laughed softly and didn't say anything else.
We were driving up to the cabin again today. It was already seven o'clock and I felt like sleeping for eighteen hours. Yesterday I had started to bug Edward about what he did to stay 'Army Strong,' physically that is. He soon gave in to my annoying nagging and promised me a real workout.
Real workout?
I was pretty sure my legs would never forgive me.
I had always thought of myself as being in pretty good shape. I lifted weights most of the year to keep my arms toned for golf and I ran to stay in shape for the soccer season. Turns out that wasn't much of a workout compared to Edward's.
Anyone who had ever pushed themselves to the point where if you took another step, there was no doubt in your mind that you would die. . .would know what I was talking about. Edward seemed concerned a few times, but under that was amusement and that damn smugness. So I told him to shut up and stop worrying about me.
This brings us back to the present. I let Edward drive without a fight and he was still amused by my soreness. I was currently stretched out in the back seat of the cab of my truck. I was cuddled up with a pillow and technically I was sorta buckled in. I'm not entirely sure, but I trusted Edward wouldn't hit a wild turkey and end up killing me.
"You know, if you couldn't handle that I really don't think you should be a soccer captain, much less on the team." Yeah. He was definitely enjoying my agony way too much.
Without opening my eyes I raised my arm and flipped him the bird. I wasn't even sure if he could see it. I was counting on the rearview mirror to relay the little gesture. Edward laughed again. Bastard.
I slept the rest of the way and Edward let me be in peace. Thank God.
Rosalie and Emmett were in Rose's mom's car behind us. We invited them to the lake because we all missed Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme included. I hadn't seen her much since Emmett arrived and now that Edward was here we really hadn't gotten to spend much of the summer together at all. And Emmett. I smiled and shook my head as I thought about him.
God I loved Emmett.
It would be fun to have him and Edward at the lake at the same time. Emmett grew up in Michigan; they had lakes there and he, from what I'd heard, had his fair share of water in his time. I was eager to challenge him to a battle of the strengths; tube style.
I was awake when Edward pulled in the cabin's driveway. I hopped out of the truck in sync with him and he grinned over at me as I stretched and yawned. He reached over and ruffled my already disheveled hair. "Cute," he smiled as I narrowed my eyes playfully at him.
"So what's the sleeping arrangement?" Edward asked as we grabbed our bags from the bed of the truck. Rosalie and Emmett pulled into place between us without killing either of us which was a miracle itself.
I got distracted by the way he had said the question. After Rosalie's little chat with me, I'll admit that my mind had been in the deepest gutter possible. I may have been imagining it, but it felt like Edward was being more suggestive too. Then again, that was probably me wanting that to be true, just so my sickness wasn't my entire fault.
"Sleeping with who?" I blinked and asked, trying to focus back on him as we headed in through the door.
Edward chuckled, "I don't know. You tell me."
"Uh, I can sleep with someone I guess," I muttered with an indifferent shrug. I ran the words back in my mind the same time Edward got a smirk on his face. He tried to hide it, failed miserably, but tried nevertheless.
"Good to know," Edward grinned crookedly. Okay. That was suggestive, was it not?
"Um, yeah," I said, because really, nothing else would have fit. "I guess you and Emmett can have the bedroom with the bunks and Rose and I can share the other one that has one bed."
Edward nodded and started walking to the far bedroom. I may have imagined it, hell I'm pretty sure I did, but I could have swore I heard a faint, "Lucky Rosalie," come out of his mouth.
I threw my bag on the bed in the bedroom I usually took and fell onto the mattress with it. Whew. Some dynamic had changed between the two of us in the past few days. I liked it, but it was making me a little nervous if I was being honest. Flirty Edward had come out to play. I just hoped I could keep up.
I knew Edward's shift in demeanor had something to do with the conversation that he had with Emmett a couple days ago. I couldn't help but think that Emmett had been saying the same thing Rosalie had been to me.
It was 80's night again tonight. Meaning that one of the local radio stations played all 80's all night. And I mean like all the classics. Carlisle, Esme, and I had been belting them out for the whole lake to hear for years. Emmett fit right in. And I must say. . .he really stole the show with Journey's Don't Stop Believing. The other side of the lake must have been impressed with his unusual skills.
Rosalie adored the guy.
Plain and simple. Whenever he spoke her gorgeous eyes twinkled brightly and whenever he looked at her she would get a blush on her cheeks. It was crazy to me, really. She bitched about anything and everything, and from what Edward told me, so did Emmett. But like in math, two negatives equalled a positive. I hated math, but it seemed to have some merit.
Rosalie ended up taking one of the futons in the far living room area that night instead. Something about not wanting to cuddle with me. . .yeah; I was a little offended. I was very cuddle-able.
"Anyone want to go fishing tomorrow morning?" Carlisle asked to no one in particular after we had all moved inside from the fire to the cabin. Rosalie was off putting sheets on the flattened futon and laughed outright at the suggestion. The question wasn't for her at all. Rosalie was less of a morning person than I was which was saying a lot.
"Not with princess over there," Edward snorted and looked at me pointedly but still teasingly. I stuck my tongue out playfully.
"I'd like to get back into it," Emmett shrugged. He was planted in one of the chairs by the table, fighting sleep by the looks of it.
"I'll go too," Edward volunteered and Carlisle nodded with such satisfaction it was almost comical. Esme rolled her eyes at her husband and finished putting the marshmallows and chocolate away. She was just glad Carlisle wouldn't try to drag her out of bed; he had other people to entertain him now.
I woke up the next morning at a very satisfying time. It was no 11 in the morning, but I would take 9 over 5:30 any day. Esme, Rose and I had a late breakfast and went about our daily morning activities. I threw on a swimsuit under a brown tank top with some short shorts over it. By the time I had my hair tied on the top of my head with a pony tail, the boys were pulling in the boat.
I stole a glance out the window as I sharpened the knives for Carlisle to use to clean the fish. Edward had kept up his golden tan from the dessert and he looked. . .really good with the tan, his wind blown hair and the lazy smile on his face. I smiled and looked down again.
Apparently Emmett was excused from fish cleaning this morning. He out-fished Edward by seven and wasn't above rubbing that in. I decided I would get a laugh out of Carlisle teaching Edward how to get the meat out of the fish. Plus I hadn't seen him yet this morning, and I was a little curious to test out his newfound flirting.
I walked leisurely to the grass area in between the cabin and the garage where we had a picnic table that was generally used for cleaning purposes. Edward was standing at one end, looking clumsy but still totally knowing what he was doing with the knife in his hand. Carlisle looked frustrated already and when he saw me walking towards them he stood up with relief.
"Bella! Awesome! You remember how it took me three hours to teach you this?" He gestured to the table that had a bucket of partially alive fish, knives, newspaper and other buckets. I nodded. "Knowledge is power, and we like to spread power. So, spread some power with Edward over here while I go get a beer." I opened my mouth to protest, not entirely sure what I was going to say, but Carlisle was already jogging past me to the door.
Eh, what the hell?
I walked over to Edward who was smirking at the place where Carlisle was just sitting. I rolled my eyes and moved to stand next to him. I reached over and grabbed Carlisle's discarded knife and a poor, but really fat fish.
"You clean fish too?" I looked over at him and flashed a grin before concentrating on what I was doing. "Do you hunt with Carlisle too?" I wasn't sure if the question was meant to be sarcastic but I smirked confidently down at the dead fish.
"Shot a 12 point buck last fall," I told him with pride.
"That buck was at one point Bambi you know," Edward teased after chuckling.
"I never liked that movie. I thought Bambi was a girl until they made the sequel where he was king of the forest."
"Not anymore he's not. Because you shot him." I laughed and threw the meat of the fish into a bowl of water and the rest of its body into a plastic bag. Carlisle and I had raced last year; I could clean fish seven seconds faster than him.
"Did you get all that?" I asked, knowing full well he hadn't. Edward looked down and noticed that the fish was no more.
"How about a step by step?" Edward asked sheepishly.
"Fine, I'll do it with you," I agreed. I leaned over the table, careful not to shove my ass in his face and grabbed the next unfortunate aquatic creature. I set it down on the cutting board and picked up the knife, expecting Edward to follow my suit.
I held in a gasp of surprise when Edward moved from my right side to behind me. His rock hard arms slipped past my sides and wove their way under my arms that were poised and ready with the knife. I stiffened as his chest pressed lightly, yet still firmly against my back.
Without wanting to make a big deal out of it – outwardly, inwardly I was freaking out a bit – I didn't glance up at him. Instead, his gentle fingers coaxed mine to softly release the knife. I let go of it and he took it firmly in between his fingers. I sat there for a second, feeling so much of his body caging mine in. Except I didn't feel constricted, I felt safe. It was a weird sensation to describe; the best comparison I could make was trying to write what a sunset looks like. It was impossible to describe. It just is what it is.
"Now what?" I breathed, downplaying my anxiety.
"Take my hands, show me what to do," Edward whispered into my ear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my chest fluttered at his proximity.
I place my hands lightly on top of his and moved them. Edward moved without any resistance, cutting exactly where I was telling him to, and cutting smoothly with ease. I fought the urge to let my head fall back against him.
We continued with this system for a few more fish. I wasn't even guiding his hands after the second one; he was working skillfully without my help. But he didn't move his arms or chest from me, and I didn't move out of them. I tentatively closed my eyes and felt his arms moving slowly around me, his muscles moving with every cut of the blade.
Without any warning I felt his lips on the base of my neck. My eyes flew open and I blinked rapidly, in sync with my pulsing heart. I didn't move, I stayed perfectly still as my body tingled and his lips lifted gently off of my skin. I turned slowly in his arms and looked up at him.
Edward locked eyes with me. I heard some shuffling and sliding behind me. I was curious what he was doing without looking but I wasn't going to break eye contact. He lightly urged me backward until I met the edge of the picnic table. Edward's startling eyes moved away from mine and looked behind me. I turned my neck to look behind. I saw that he had pushed away all the shit so that there was a square foot of clean table.
I used my hands to push myself onto the table as a chair. I was secure quickly and looked back up at Edward. He stared down at me with the hint of a smile. He moved his hands on each side of my thigh, so close that the edges of his fingers were brushing against my bare thigh.
"What now?" Edward asked with a hint of seduction in his desirable voice. I felt the corner of my mouth go up the tiniest bit.
I don't know where I found my voice, or how it didn't betray my racing heart, but somehow I managed to speak. "Is this the part where you kiss me?"
Edward ducked his head and smiled softly at me. He leaned in so that his breath tickled my skin over my shoulder. He leaned in farther and placed his lips on my bare shoulder, placing a chaste kiss and then removing his lips only to place them farther up a few inches towards my neck. His whisper made me shiver. "You tell me."
His lips roamed around the area of my neck, making my back arch when he started to suck lightly on the skin of my neck. Abruptly he removed his lips off of my skin and it felt cold without the contact. I looked at him, my hands weaving their way over his arms until they were nestled behind his neck. I looked at him. He looked at me. Then he started to lean in towards the final destination of my lips as my heart steadily pounded in my chest.
"I want some fillets! What's taking so long?" Emmett's voice rang from somewhere on the other side of the cabin. Edward closed his eyes and let his head hang down next to mine.
"I will kill him," he promised threateningly. I smiled, trying not to show my disappointment when he raised his head and looked back up to me.
"Seriously, when are you going to be– oh." Emmett had just rounded the corner that Carlisle had left and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us. Edward sighed, quiet enough just for me to hear and moved away from the compromising position we were currently in.
"Hi Emmett," I gave him a little half-hearted wave, trying not to blush. I looked down and crossed my legs because they were spread where Edward had been standing. Emmett pressed his mouth into a flat line, looking like he was fighting some amusement.
"Something funny, McCarthy?" Edward asked coolly, crossing his arms defensively and widening his stance.
"Nope. Well just a little. . ." Edward saw where Emmett was going and raised a challenging eyebrow at him. Emmett quickly backtracked. "Nope. Nothing at all. I'm just going to go and find Rose, and do. . .stuff. Yeah, kay bye." And with that Emmett turned around and jogged back out of sight.
"So," Edward said as he moved his arms to hang at his side. He shoved his hands in his pockets. I shifted awkwardly, the mood from a minute ago totally gone.
"Well. Let's finish these fish I guess." Had we done anything else it would have been uncomfortable for each of us. Neither of us said anything while we made quick work of all the fish.
God I hated Emmett.
We waded in the water out in front of the cabin in the lake after lunch. Rosalie and I floated on blown up water beds while Edward and Emmett threw the football back and forth. Rosalie and I were trying to have a conversation about the upcoming soccer season. But holy shit, it was impossible with the two of them casually in the water without their shirts. There were abs everywhere you freaking looked!
"Justine Marcy!" Emmett said suddenly. He sounded pretty triumphant, like he had just remembered the name. Rosalie, Edward and I all stared at him as he grinned proudly.
"Huh?" Everyone was thinking it.
"She was my first. 11th grade, prom night." Edward and I continued to stare, but Rosalie nodded and shrugged, running her hand in the water. Emmett looked back and forth between us before sighing dramatically and explaining. "Rose was asking a few days ago and I couldn't remember her name, but now I got it!" He looked like he wanted a high five.
"Awesome!" I exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. Emmett narrowed his eyes at me, and Edward laughed.
I couldn't tell what Rosalie's actually reaction to the subject was because she had her Hollywood sunglasses on and was looking down at the water. I don't know why she would even ask him a question like that in the first place. But I had no idea what those two talked about, so I wasn't judging.
"Who was yours, Edward?" Rosalie asked curiously, looking from the water over to Edward. I looked curiously over to gauge his reaction. He blinked and then stared at her before putting both his hands behind his head uncomfortably.
"Who was yours, Rose?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." I rolled my eyes. I'm sure Rosalie would like to know.
Edward looked over at me, his eyes burning. "What about you, Bella?"
Great. This is totally the conversation I wanted to be having right now. You suck, Emmett.
"Not applicable."
Edward looked at me funny when I answered. I guess in any of the letters this conversation had never really come up. With good reason of course. His shoulders stiffened a little bit and his face became tense. It was almost like he was a little annoyed.
"What about yourself?" I didn't want to know the answer to the question. I mean really, who would? But I couldn't keep myself from asking regardless.
"Doesn't matter." I was taken aback by the cool dismissal in his tone. I blinked a few times and gave him a look. Okay, Mr. Touchy.
"Well why'd you ask me then?" I asked, quickly getting annoyed with the response I was getting from him.
"I don't know. Let's drop it." Edward threw the football back to Emmett with noticeably more aggression.
"I don't why you're getting worked up about some chick." This was the first time (not including the early morning fishing) that I was legitimately growing annoyed with him. It was weird.
"I don't know why you're still talking about it," Edward retorted. I squinted. Geez, what the hell's up his ass suddenly? I didn't like the tone he was using and I hated the tone I was using.
"I don't know why you're avoiding it."
"I don't know why you're so interested!" I backed off when his tone became more agitated. I was aware of the audience we had and I didn't even know why we were talking about this.
"I'm not," I argued.
"Good," Edward agreed. I turned away and sassed him. Rosalie, who had been watching the whole thing, lifted her sunglasses up and raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head and fell against the inflated plastic.
Edward was still grouchy when we got out of the water and went inside to get some snacks. I decided not to say anything, waiting for some sort of explanation on his part of why he was so touchy. That decision not to say anything dissolved when I realized he wasn't going to say anything.
I placed my hands firmly on the counter and looked over at him. "Okay, seriously, what's wrong? You freaked out about a simple little question."
"I didn't freak out. Why the fuck are we still talking about this?" I wanted to roll my eyes. I was already exasperated with him. And I was getting frustrated.
"I want to know why you are still worked up about the damn question," I persisted, irritated.
"Because it's none of your business! I don't need to tell you everything." I felt my face scrunch up in displeasure. That stung a little bit. And it pissed me off.
"I know that!"
"I really don't think you do!" Edward crossed his arms after shutting the fridge door with a violent shove. I mirrored his position. "Why the the hell do you want do know the first girl I did?"
I raised an eyebrow, daring him to piss me off further. "You asked me! Just because I didn't have an answer doesn't make the question any different!"
"Exactly!"
That made absolutely no sense. "What the fuck?"
"You know, screw this. This conversation is pointless and going nowhere." I narrowed my eyes at him. In the back of my mind I was wondering where Rosalie and Emmett had hidden.
"Of course you think that. . ." I trailed off angrily when he threw his hands up and started to walk hurriedly away from me to the door. I frowned and hesitated for a split second before catching right up to him.
Carlisle and Esme were under one of the trees sitting in lawn chairs, Carlisle with his laptop and Esme with some feminist trash. They both looked up when Edward and I strode out the doors. I watched as Edward, still keeping up his fast pace threw off his shirt and scooped down to grab a life jacket off the grass. He buckled it up in record time and waded into the shallow water.
Was he serious?
I continued to watch as he slid onto the seat of the slick jet-ski and put the key in the ignition. Before another word could be said or even a glance back at me, he grabbed the throttle roughly and jetted away across the water.
"What the hell was that?" Esme asked at the same time as Carlisle chuckled with a smirk. "Bummer," he said, nodding to Edward who was already halfway across the lake. I stared out at the lake and crossed my arms again.
"What am I supposed to do now?" I asked, not really hoping for Carlisle or Esme to answer. Then I decided exactly what I would do. I bent down, unbuttoned my shorts and unzipped them before pushing them down and kicking them away from my ankles.
"I'm not sure. But I don't think taking your pants off is really going to help. Well it probably would, but I'd rather we keep it clean." Why was he finding this so funny? Esme laughed softly.
"I'll be back in a little bit," I told them as I took off my tank top and grabbed a life jacket. That's right buddy, two can ride a jet-ski.
I laughed to myself as the wind whipped my hair violently away from my face due to the speed. I had gotten the faster jet-ski. And it took Edward about two minutes to figure out that I would win this one. I caught up with him and he waved a white flag of surrender and we had words.
I wasn't sure about much. Especially with the last couple of days spent with Edward. But I did know one thing; I had no clue what I was getting myself into.
And yet somehow, I loved every minute of it.
Wait, I'm wrong
Should've done better than this
Please, I'll be strong
I'm finding it hard to resist
Save me, I'm lost
Oh Lord I've been waiting for you
I'll pay any cost
Save me from being confused
Show me what I'm looking for
Don't let go
I've wanted this far too long
Mistakes become regrets
I've learned to love abuse
Please show me what I'm looking for
Show Me What I'm Looking For, Carolina Liar
-I have a little annoucement. Well really, it's a rant. If you don't like the pace of my story; fine. If you don't like the way I write my characters; whatever. I don't care. If you don't like how I'm explaining things? Or don't like the lack of smut as of now? BYE. I'll see you when I've finished posting this story. I'm not changing a thing I've wrote in the next 30 chapters because of your opinion.
-With that being said, I write for me. Not any of you. That's not to say that I'm not so fucking thankful for all of you have stuck with me. I couldn't imagine this story without you. I'm just not cateering to you. (Don't take that in a bitchy way.)
-Finally...Bella and Edward are fine. It was just a small fight. If they didn't have one; they'd be unrealistic. Next chapter, things will be peachy(: I just had to show their changing relationship.
-Sorry for the long ass authors note...(:
