Disclaimer: I do not own, only play. These are Stephanie Meyer's characters.
The somehow exhausted, somehow upbeat brunette woke to find Bella near the closed window getting dressed. She slipped her evening dress back on while stuffing her wad of under garments into her sling-over bag.
She looked over her shoulder, zippering her dress, and gave Edward a faint smile.
"I have to go."
"I see that," Edward responded lazily, not completely favoring the idea of her leaving.
And in all honesty, Bella's apprehension to leave so quickly was not out of resentment for last night but rather out of embarrassment for this morning. She had woken up earlier than Edward had. She used the bathroom, got a glass of water, and may have hung around the living room of his apartment a little more than she'd like to admit. Running a dainty finger over all his photographs, which speaking for herself, she could say he must have not been much of a sentimental guy. There were only two picture frames.
One that looked like his family. And one of a younger Edward and what looked like a childhood pet dog.
Bella had also snooped a bit when looking through his fridge, which was generally stocked, and cabinets, which had more of a guy's touch. Everything was mismatched and nothing held a permanent pattern. Like each piece he bought came from a yard sale.
It was easy to figure that Edward was as normal as the next. However, she did not know this man. She did not claim to know him. And even though last night was nice—really nice—Bella felt more comfortable disappearing than drinking coffee with him at his kitchen counter.
She looked to him now and his broad shoulders and became flushed with a memory. Her hands fingered around in her purse for her dorm keys before looking back up to find Edward still watching her.
He eyed her carefully; noting simple things like her messy hair bun and her pert breasts poking through her dress. Her neglected bra's strap hanging outside her purse eyed right back at him. And in that moment, Edward found himself in a predicament of making excuses for her to stay.
"I'm meeting some friends at the library," Bella said in attempts to leave the room without it leaving the air dry.
Edward got out of his bed, and slipped on some boxers. He followed behind her and to his door where he was about to offer her a ride home when she mentioned something about the bus. Her school must have had its own card because Bella seemed to have used it a lot for public transportation. It was yet another thing Edward wasn't custom to seeing. Granted, none of his 'date's ever took the city bus back to their apartment.
Bella stood by the door way and looked up at the man she had spent her whole night with. Her smile was genuine as she went to leave it at the door.
All of his excuses died in theory when it came down to why he really wanted her to stay. And none of them seemed good enough. So he figured he would have to wait to see her again. Edward reached down and kissed her chastely on the mouth; her lipstick had rubbed off, leaving her natural lips pale but round and cute.
The girl said goodbye and left.
Back at the dorms, Rosalie lay curled up on her bed, with a permanent smile spread across her lips as she read the text messages from her phone.
They had been from Leah.
And all Rosalie wanted to do was to call up her best friend and tell her about it but Bella was nowhere to be found. After checking in her room, bothering a once-at-peace Alice, she came to the conclusion that Bella was still wherever Edward was.
It left a bit of a pungent taste in her mouth thinking about it, but she brushed it off and subsequently waited until Bella came back.
Meanwhile, Bella was riding out her 'walk of shame' on the city bus back to the dorms. She knew she looked a mess, down to her frizzy hair, smeared make up and wadded up pantyhose in her purse; the only thing more could have been the smell of men's cologne that was obviously not hers.
But she liked the smell of it. Even if the older lady next to her didn't.
Bella wasn't hiding her feelings by thinking it; she liked Edward Cullen. The finance columnist for Chicago's Sun-Time newspaper. It came to much of a surprise to her that he even found interest in her because as she knew it, she didn't look like regular girls.
Her unfamiliar need for more was biting at her and it made her cross her legs before her stop rolled around the corner. The more she thought about it, the more she figured that maybe he was different. Maybe guys like him really did like girls like her; and it seemed okay at the time to think so.
Bella got off the bus with her purse buzzing. Having high hopes for it to be the cause of the male species, she was slightly disappointed when it had only been Rose.
"Hey Rose, I'm walking up the stairs now," she said with the phone tucked in-between her cheek and shoulder. She headed up to Rose's room; a floor higher than Bella's and walked right in with her shoes in her hand.
"Good. You're here. How was last night?"
Dropping her heels to the ground, Bella nodded and climbed onto Rosalie's bed, plopping onto her pillow. She encased her arms around it and rested her head on the edge, looking back at Rosalie sitting next to her.
"Good."
"That's it?"
"No. He's really good at foreplay."
The blonde haired girl sat there for a moment, thinking it was a joke until she realized it wasn't. She had forgotten how blunt Bella was with personal details of her life.
Her friend's tired expression took over the mood of the room. Bella could tell Rose's questions were just a conversation starter for what she really wanted to ask. So in return, she peeled her face away from the pillow to give Rose a responsive glare.
"How's Leah?" Bella was fully aware of the texts the two girls had been exchanging back and forth. She watched Rose's face now change to something completely different. She bit her lip.
"Good."
"That's it?" Bella mocked her.
"No. She's really funny."
"Well, that's nice. Ask her out yet?"
Rose fingered the hole in her sweatshirts' sleeve.
"Yeah, I'm not sure that might be a good idea."
Bella looked confused. "Why?"
"I… I don't think she likes girls."
Bella shrugged her shoulders, closing her eyes. "Does she know you do?"
"Yeah, Bella, because that's how I introduce myself these days. 'Hey, how are you, I'm gay.'"
"Least of all with Emmett," Bella muttered casually.
"Hmm?"
"Edward told me that Emmett McCarthy's into you."
"What, you two are already sharing secrets now?"
"Well, it's not like it's a secret, Rose, he was practically licking your neck the other night."
That somehow pleased Rosalie and she smiled. "That's nice."
Then Bella sat up, proposing an idea. "Why don't you go out with him?"
"Lead him on even more? No. And what about Leah?"
Shrugging seemed to have been the new habit Bella picked up. She did it again and waivered the current options. "It's just a date."
Rosalie's roommate, Angela, walked in with her book bag in tow. She sat it on her desk chair and peeked up at the two girls on the bed, greeting them warmly.
"What's up, Ang?"
"Eh, nothing really. Hey, did you hear about that Cullen guy, the writer from last week's seminar; he donated a whole bunch of money to the university."
Bella's off-putting expression was only legible for a second because she disguised it with false interest. She said she didn't know and then she hopped down from the bed, claiming she had homework for the week to get caught up on.
Unhurriedly, her body moved on top of his, slowing the friction between them to a light spark. She sat up, digging her nails unintentionally into his chest, thrusting her weight into him.
His mind, although thoroughly aware of how he felt and how his body reacted, was oddly distracted by other things; and in between heavy breaths he tried asking her questions.
"Do you want to get coffee some time?"
Bella's response was noncommittal or at least nonexistent as she pretended not to hear him.
"Maybe like, lunch… or something." His breath hitched, her mouth hot on his neck.
She sloppily put her hand over his mouth until she was finished; gradually sliding her body off of his when her high had subsided. Edward's arm rested behind his head, staring up at the ceiling before turning his head to her. Bella was still panting.
"What?" She asked finally.
"Did you want to go out for lunch sometime?"
"Why are you asking now?"
He rolled over onto his side, facing her. "I don't know; I've been thinking about it a lot."
"A lot?" she seemed confused.
"Well, not a lot. But I've been thinking about it."
She swallowed uneasily and sat up in the bed, her hair falling off her shoulders and over her sweaty chest. "Okay…"
"Great." He smiled faintly at her.
She stirred her tea deliberately, watching the design of the fancy leaf in her milk foam disappear before taking a sip. Edward sat across from her, paying attention to his own cup of coffee that was simply done up; black.
Though his timing of asking was odd, the actual dining out wasn't too bad as they took his car to a local coffee shop in town. They sat by the window, drank their beverages and somehow maintained a lighthearted conversation.
But the air didn't stay light forever as it was the looks being shared amongst others, seeing the two sitting together, that had Edward on edge. The tall, older, handsome man and the young, lacy chick with odd colored hair. Though Bella didn't notice much, it was Edward's attention that was on everyone else.
He had had coffee with many other girls before; no one would had ever given them a second look. But Bella bore particular attention and it may have been normal to her, but stray eyes left an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Having the public's eye on him for reasons other than for his finance seminars was definitely unnerving to him.
However, Bella's question distracted him. "You donated money to my school?"
"I do to almost every location I do assemblies for." His reply was easy and nonchalant. He sipped at his coffee.
Her own eyes focused on his lapel and matching black jacket; casual wear but never jeans. He always wore some sort of slacks or dress pants, even when out for coffee. Bella leaned back in her chair.
"And do you find that a good way of investing your money?" She asked as a joke.
He chuckled lightly, setting his cup down. "When I have the money to do it, yes. I like being nice."
"That was very nice of you, Edward," she battered her overly mascaraed eye lashes at him.
His sour face spoke differently. "I don't need claps on the back for it. I did do it anonymously."
"Yet, everyone at my school knows it was you."
"Why does it matter?"
"It doesn't. Just making conversation."
His lips quivered, challenging her response before he dropped it. It wasn't until half of his coffee was finished did he bring up conversation again. His elbows draped the table, taking occupancy of the space.
"I like you. I like spending time with you."
Bella pursed her lips slightly, twitching a smile to one side of her mouth. "I like spending time with you too." Her wink was kinky and deliberate.
Edward laughed. "No, I like spending time with you," he said in a hushed voice, looking around for any observers, "But I also like spending time with you."
Her sudden note of his sincerity hit her differently than her mistake of thinking he was trying to be funny. When she acknowledged that he had really meant what he said, she found herself without words to say.
"Oh. I… like spending time with you too."
"Good."
Later on, as they walked the blocks in random search of something to do, or maybe nothing particular to do at all, Edward took notice of the looks he was given again and he felt the need to bring it up.
"Mind if I ask you something personal?"
"Think we're passed that barrier yet?" she said, along with thinking, You've seen me naked.
"Okay then. How do you handle the staring? Does it bother you?"
Bella knew immediately what he was referring to and her initial shrug wasn't really an answer for him. He waited until she said more.
"Not anymore. Whatever, I like how I look."
She looked up at him, catching his eye. "Does it bother you?"
"Believe it or not, I like how you look too."
"That's a load off my shoulders."
Edward cracked a smile as they walked back to his car.
Later that night, his father had emailed him to remind him about the dinner party his building was holding as the spring season was beginning. The importance of a plus one was once again written in at the end of the email, prompting Edward of a choice he had to make. The endless nagging from his father only conveyed Edward's next action of picking up his phone to ring the only girl he could tolerate as a 'plus one'.
"Hey Bella, are you busy two Saturdays from now?"
Thank you for all your reviews! And a special thanks to recommending this story to ADF!
This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest; next week's will be longer, as will the upcoming chapters.
Will be returning to college for my junior year on Thursday; but I will definitely make sure this story stays updated.
Thanks again and as always, I hope all is well (:
