Disclaimer – I don't own Twilight or any of the characters from the books. I am just a mere puppeteer playing with Stephenie Meyer's puppets.
Chapter 8 – A Taste
BPOV
What a great week! I am definitely highlighting this week in my calendar and celebrating it every year for the rest of my life! I finally had real hot steamy sex with a real man and had not only one, but TWO earthshaking orgasms that I didn't even have to at least partially give myself! Mr. Cullen asked me to call him Edward!
Completely out of the blue, he came by the library on Wednesday for no other reason than to talk to me! We talked about books, the library's heating problems, and other general stuff. I was so happy that I think I danced through the rest of the day. On Thursday he came back again! This time we talked about things that were a little more personal, like our friends and families. At one point, he was standing in front of my desk with his hands in his pockets, just looking at me with one of his crooked smiles, and all I could think about was how I would love to be on my knees in front of him, making his smile even bigger.
On Friday, Edward stopped by to see me, but I was really busy. I tried to hurry and finish up with the kids, so I could talk to him. I know he only has a limited amount of time on his break. When I looked up, he was gone. I felt my heart sink in my chest. Paula came in a few minutes later to help out in the library. She is one of the most reliable of my parent volunteers. I told her that I needed to run some books to a teacher, which I did, but instead of heading straight back to the library, I headed to Edward's classroom.
He was sitting at his desk looking at some papers. I stood in the doorway and watched him for a minute. His eyebrows would furrow together then he would mark the paper with a red pen and continue reading. I could picture him sitting at a kitchen table grading papers and drinking coffee. I could picture myself bringing his breakfast to the table and kissing his cheek. Where on earth did that come from? All of your daydreams about this man have always included at least partial nudity and some form of sexual gratification! We were eating breakfast, weren't we? I probably wore him out the night before and needed to feed him so he could regain his strength. You keep telling yourself that, sister!
I knocked on the opened door. When he looked up, he gave me a big smile. He was happy to see me! We were only able to talk for a few minutes but it was a good conversation. When he admitted that he missed the breezes of Chicago, I couldn't help it. I had to invite him to come see my meadow. I knew we couldn't go any time soon, but he seemed pleased with the invitation.
On Saturday, Alice called to invite me over to her house for brunch. Since we were going to be traveling together, she thought it would be a good idea for us to get to know each other a little better. Jasper had told her all about me, but he failed to warn me that she was a tiny little ball of energy! I showed up at her house at 10:30 and she greeted me with a huge hug. You would think that we were long lost friends or something.
The house had a formal dining room that was filled with boxes. Some of them were opened, some of them were not. I recognized the tiny bottles of lube we use at Heidi's. I wondered if her and Jasper were members, but didn't exactly know how to ask. She noticed me looking at the bottles and explained that she owned Intrigue Lingerie Boutiques and the boxes were from some shipments that came in. She was checking to see which of her three locations needed the supplies and which didn't.
I was so surprised. I told her that Kate, the manager of the Port Angles location, was my best friend. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about Kate and Garrett. Alice was genuinely relieved that I wasn't uptight about the sex toys and kinky undergarments she had in her house. She was afraid that once I knew what she did for a living, I wouldn't want to ride with them to LA. She admitted that she planned the brunch at her house, knowing the stuff was there, so I would have a chance to make other travel arrangements if I felt uncomfortable.
I admitted that I was probably one of her biggest customers, so our conversation shifted to new products that were coming out. She told me that she made Jasper test everything before they started carrying it in the stores. I thought that was hilarious! I couldn't picture Jasper, the somewhat dorky Algebra teacher, wearing liquid latex! But, then again, who would expect the bookworm librarian to own a pair of nipple clamps!
We were sitting in the living room floor, taste testing flavored body paint, when Jasper walked through the door. I had taken off my heavy sweater and was wearing one of Jasper's undershirts that Alice let me borrow. Alice was wearing a turquoise tube top with a rhinestone star on the front.
We had the box of 50 sample flavors in front of us and a box of Popsicle sticks. We had each painted different flavored spots on each other's arms, that we washed thoroughly of course, and were tasting them to determine which ones actually tasted like their namesakes, which ones were nasty, and which ones she should stock in the stores. Believe me, there was nothing sexual going on. It was just taste testing. You can't taste the stuff until it dries. We originally tried to let it dry on the sticks, but it just ended up tasting like wood.
Jasper happened to walk in the living room when Alice tasted a raspberry spot on my left shoulder. "Honey, I'm home. Are you…." His mouth dropped open. "Um… Alice? Am I invited to this party or should I just sit quietly in the corner and watch?" He was pointing to a chair in the corner of the living room.
Alice rolled her eyes and said, "Don't be silly. It's not like that. Bella was just helping me test the body paints I got in this morning. Come here and taste the banana. Bella is not sure if it really tastes like a banana and I can't reach it to check for myself." She pointed to a yellow spot near her elbow.
He tried to discretely adjust himself as he came in and sat on the floor beside his wife and licked the yellow spot. "No, that definitely doesn't taste like a banana." He said making a face that indicated he didn't like it. "What is the best flavor you have come across so far?" He asked as he picked up the list of flavors.
"Bella likes the watermelon." She pointed to a place on her left forearm, "And I like the piña colada." She said pointing to my right wrist.
"How was the chocolate?" He asked, picking up the brown bottle.
I found the brown spot on my inner arm and said "I think it tastes chalky but Alice thinks it tastes ok. What do you think?" I offered him my arm so he could try it.
He looked at Alice and she nodded indicating that it was ok. He leaned over and lightly ran his tongue over the brown spot, thought about it, and then tasted it again. "It's ok, but I think it should be sweeter. It's more like cocoa powder than a chocolate bar." Alice agreed with him, so she made a note on her list.
We still had twenty-three more flavors to taste and were running out of arm space, so Alice made Jasper go take a quick shower. His arms were too hairy, so we used his smooth back. Alice made a grid and marked each box with the corresponding number on the list. We painted each square with a different flavor until the rest of the paints were used. While we were waiting for the paint to dry, we heard a knock on the front door. Alice was cleaning up our mess, so I got up to see who was at the door.
"Edward! What are you doing here?" I said when I opened the door. He looked absolutely gorgeous with his messy hair and bright green eyes. He was wearing dark grey sweatpants with the matching hoodie and a tight black UnderArmor shirt.
"Bella? Um… I needed to talk to Jasper. What are you doing here and what is that all over your arms?" He was looking at the multicolored spots covering me from shoulder to wrist.
"Alice and I had brunch. I was just helping her test flavored body paint. Jasper's in the living room. Come on in." I opened the door and stepped aside.
He seemed dazed as he walked through the foyer in to the living room. Jasper was lying on the floor with colored spots all over his back. Alice had just leaned over and said, "Bella, the Apricot is delicious! You should try it!"
Jasper looked up and said, "Hey Edward. What brings you here?"
Edward stood there looking at the three of us for a moment then shook his head like he was trying to clear his thoughts. "Umm… Jazz… Hell, I have no idea. I can't talk to you when you are laying there looking like a naughty game of twister!"
We all started laughing. Alice fell over in hysterics and said, "Shit, Edward, that's priceless. I don't think I have ever heard you say the word 'naughty'!"
Edward sat down on the couch and picked up one of the bottles of paint. "Why the hell would someone want to paint themselves black?"
Jasper piped in, "Hey, I would paint myself pink if it would get Alice to lick me more often!" She reached over and smacked him on the back of the head.
"There are artists in New York that use these to paint designs on people's bodies." Alice said, "They get paid quite a lot of money to paint on people. I have seen things as simple as a bra and panties and as complicated as the Mona Lisa. The person who gets painted goes home and lets their partner taste the creation. For someone who is really oral, this can be a very good thing."
Edward opened the bottle and smelled it, making a face. "This one stinks!"
I took the bottle from him and looked at it. "This is licorice. I don't like it either. Here try the butterscotch." I said pointing to the light orange spot on the back of my left hand. He looked a little unsure so I added, "Don't worry, Alice and I scrubbed down to make sure we were clean before we started. I am the only one that has tasted that flavor, and I am not sick or anything."
He took my hand and I suddenly felt warm all over. Keeping eye contact, he slowly lifted it up to his mouth. I felt my nipples get hard. His eyes drifted down my body. I could feel the heat of it move all the way down then back up settling on my hard nipples. I could feel his warm breath on my hand as his lips lightly touched my skin. I felt the tip of his tongue making soft circles on the back of my hand and then firmer flicks in the middle as he gently sucked. I felt the moisture pooling between my legs and I think my eyes may have rolled into the back of my head. Damn! That man has a magical tongue!
His lips moved up my arm to a tan spot as his eyes drifted further down my body settling between my legs. His tongue started giving this spot a similar treatment, starting with soft circles and firm flicking, but then he flattened his tongue and sucked gently as he ran the course part of his tongue over my skin. My breath hitched and I squirmed a little.
Jasper cleared his throat and said, "Um, guys, would you like to take that next door?"
Edwards dropped my hand quickly and looked away as he blushed. "Um… Sorry… Um… That one was good. What flavor was that?"
My body shivered and it took a second before my brain started functioning again. "That was caramel." I am definitely investing in some of that!
Edward looked around nervously and said, "Um… I guess I had better get to the gym. Jazz, I'll talk to you later." He got up and quickly headed for the door, trying his best to hide the bulge in the front of his sweatpants.
When he closed the door on his way out, Alice giggled, "I thought that boy was going to have himself some candy coated Bella for lunch! Look, he didn't just taste it, he licked you clean!"
I looked down and sure enough, the butterscotch and caramel paint were completely gone! My girly parts were saying, "Paint me in a lovely shade of caramel… Please!" I briefly debated if I should ask Alice how much this stuff would cost but decided I would just ask Kate later. I let Alice finish tasting the paints on Jasper, while I took notes for her. We put all the samples back in the box and washed off the paint. We sent Jasper off to the shower and then Alice and I headed to Port Angeles to shop for bathing suits.
As you can imagine, there aren't many bathing suits available in the stores at the end of February, when it's still snowing outside! We did find some other clothes, but no bathing suits. Alice told me that she was going to be in Seattle on Monday delivering some of the boxes to her stores there. She said she would look for bathing suits and let me know if she found any that looked decent. She said she would ask the store to hold them if she found anything in my size. That was really nice of her. I was really starting to like Alice.
When we got back from Port Angeles, Jasper had dinner ready. He had just pulled the ribs off of the barbeque pit and was separating them. He had also made homemade garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled corn on the cob.
"You are staying for dinner, aren't you Bella?" He asked as I helped Alice bring in her bags. "I made enough for all four of us."
Just then Edward stepped in from the back yard with another plate of ribs. "Ok, this is the last of them." When he looked up, his eyes locked with mine. "Oh. Hey Bella, I didn't hear you pull up. Would you like something to drink?"
He seemed much calmer than he was when he left earlier. We had a good evening. The food was delicious! Jasper was the man when it came to grilling. We drank beer, played a game of Pictionary, which Alice and I won, and had a great time. I didn't realize how late it was getting until Alice yawned. I looked up at the clock.
"Wow! It's almost midnight, already! I should be heading home. I had a great time. Thanks guys." I said as I grabbed my coat and purse.
"Good night, Bella!" Alice said giving me a hug. "I'll let you know what I find on Monday."
Jasper got up and gave me a hug. "See you on Monday, Bella."
Edward grabbed his jacket and walked with me to the door as he said his good nights. When we got outside, he said, "Good night, Bella. Be careful driving home."
I smiled at him, "I will. Good night, Edward."
I got in my car and watched him walk next door to his house. I started the car and sat there while it was warming up. I grabbed the ice scraper and cleaned my windows while I was waiting. I put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway, but when I went to shift it back into drive, it made a loud noise and died. I sat there in the middle of the road for a minute then I put the car back in park so I could try to start it again. Nothing happened. Damn car! Have I mentioned that old cars suck? Well, they do!
I gave it a few more minutes then tried it again… Nothing! I would have to call someone to come out and tow it to the shop. Just what I needed! I checked through the numbers in my phone to see if I still had the phone number to the shop my car was in a few weeks ago, but I couldn't find it. I shifted the car into neutral and tried to push it to the side of the road, but it was too heavy for me to move. I needed help.
I looked up at Jasper and Alice's house. It was dark. They had already gone to bed. Shit! I glanced over at Edward's house. There was one light still on. Thank god! I trudged over to his house and rang the doorbell. I was freezing! I didn't have a hat or gloves on. My nose was red, and I am sure my hair looked crazy since bits of it had been blown free of the bun I had it in.
The porch light clicked on and the door opened. "Bella? What are you…"
"Oh, Edward, thank god you're still up!" I said in relief. "My car broke down. I need to call a wrecker and I can't get it out of the road. Can you look up the number to the wrecker service for me, please?"
"Oh! Umm, sure… Let me grab my jacket and step into some shoes so I can help you move your car. Come on in and get out of the cold." He walked back into the house.
I stepped inside. It was the mirror image of Jasper and Alice's house. There were some differences. He had marble in the foyer, where Alice had ceramic tile. Alice had normal beige carpet but Edward had Berber Carpet in a deep rich tan with burgundy and black threads woven in. Their house looked very homey and lived in, where his looked elegant, but felt somewhat empty.
There were some paintings on the wall, but no family pictures. There was a giant flat screen TV on the wall, a nice surround sound system, a DVD player, and another piece of equipment that I didn't recognize at a glance, but no movies or CD's on the shelves around it. It looked like it was on display but never used.
He came back into the living room wearing some hiking boots. He grabbed his jacket, put on his gloves, and we headed outside to my car. He took my keys and tried to start it, but got no response. He put it in neutral and told me to sit inside to steer while he pushed. He tried and tried but couldn't get the damn thing to move either.
"It feels like your breaks are stuck or something. Is your emergency brake on?" He asked sticking his head inside to look for himself.
"No. I don't think I have ever used my emergency breaks in this car."
"What were you doing when it died?" He said coming around and getting in the passenger side so he could get out of the wind.
"I backed out of the driveway then put it in drive. It made a loud grinding noise and died. I haven't been able to do anything with it sense." I explained.
"Have you been having problems with your transmission?"
"This had better not be the transmission! I just had the stupid thing replaced a few weeks ago!" I was pissed.
"Well, we can't just leave it in the middle of the road like this. Let me look under the hood to see if I see anything." He said getting out and going around to the front. I popped the hood and got out to look for myself. As we leaned onto the car to look inside, the car moved!
"It looks like it may be stuck in reverse. That would explain why it won't start. It probably has to be in park to start. It also explains why we can't roll it forward." He said closing the hood.
"You could see that from looking at the motor?" I asked skeptically.
"No, the car moved when we leaned on it and I guessed about the rest." He said with a half smile. "Now, let's push it backwards to get it out of the road and then we will call a tow truck to come get it."
He pushed and I steered. We managed to get the car to the side of the road pretty quickly. We went back to his house to call the wrecker service. Unfortunately, the nearest wrecker was over an hour away. Edward told them the address to his house and gave them the description and license plate number to the car. He told them to stop by for the keys when they got here.
"They'll be here as soon as they can. They think it will be at least an hour." He said, as he took his jacket off and hung it in the coat closet. "Here, let me take your coat."
"No, that's ok. I wouldn't want to keep you up all night. I can wait in the car." I said.
"Bella, it's too cold outside to wait in a dead car. You can wait here. I'm no stranger to staying up late. Don't worry about it." He was right. I knew for a fact that he stayed up late at night sometimes. I handed the coat to him and thanked him for all the help. We stood there in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Then he asked if I would like something to drink. I followed him into the kitchen.
This room felt lived in. He had top of the line appliances, his own coffee grinder, a really nice coffee pot, and what looked like a commercial blender. You would have to take a three week course at NASA to learn to work his microwave. Even with the advanced cooking technology, I could tell that he used this room a lot. There were a couple cookbooks sitting on the counter that looked worn and had dog eared pages. The canisters on the shelf were half empty. He had a basket with some fresh fruit sitting on the bar. There were even a couple dishes in the sink.
"You have a nice house." I told him. "Have you lived here very long?"
"Thanks. I've been here for four years. I moved here right out of college." He said pulling a couple beers out of the refrigerator and handing me one. "Come on, I'll give you the tour, but there's not much to see." He pointed to the front door. "You have seen the foyer and the living room. This is the kitchen, of course. Over here is the formal dining room." He led me to a hallway off of the living room.
"Through here is the guest room, which is empty because I have never bought any furniture for it, a full bathroom, and another bedroom, which is also empty. There is a study through here." He opened the door to a small room that had a desk with a nice computer and printer on it, a bookcase full of books, a file cabinet, and another table with papers stacked on it. "In here is a half bath, and here is the game room. As you can see, I don't have anything in here either. If we go back out to the living room…" He led the way back down the hall to another small hall. "Through here is my room."
His room was very spacious with high ceilings and large windows. He had a king size bed with a dark cherry wood headboard and matching dresser, two nightstands, and a chest of drawers. There was another large flat screen TV mounted on the wall. Beside it was a narrow bookshelf that held his electronics, some DVD's, and some CD's. On the other side was another narrow bookshelf that contained a couple of video game systems, some games, controllers, and other accessories.
This was obviously where he spent most of his time. This is where he really lived. It was neat and tidy, but felt warm and lived in. "This is the master bathroom and through there is the closet." I stepped into the bathroom. It was bigger than my bedroom in my apartment. It had a whirlpool tub, an oversized shower, two sinks, and a built in vanity. The closet was also huge. It had built in shelves on one side for shoes and whatever else, there were multilevel bars for hanging clothes around the other three walls and some additional shelves in the center.
"Wow!! This is some closet!" I said turning in circles to take it all in.
"Yes. This is what sold me on the house in the first place and when Alice saw it, she had to buy the house next door so she could have one too." He laughed.
"It also has a two car garage with space for a worktable. The laundry room and storage pantry are in the basement, but I am not going to bother showing them to you." He walked over and turned on the TV. "Would you like to watch a movie or something while we wait?"
"Sure. That would be great, but will we hear the door from in here?"
"As long as we don't turn the volume up too loud, we should hear it just fine. Why don't you pick something to watch while I go change?" He disappeared into the closet and came out a few minutes later wearing a pair of blue and green plaid flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt. "Here, since it's going to be awhile, I thought you might like to get comfortable." He handed me a t-shirt and a pair of fleece shorts that had a drawstring waist. "This is the only thing I have that I thought might kind of fit you."
I finished the last of my beer and took the clothes to the bathroom so I could change, telling myself that I would just change back when the wrecker came. Why don't you just ask him to take you home and leave the keys in the car for the wrecker? Because that would mean less Edward time! Duh!
When I came out of the bathroom, Edward was sitting up in bed with his back propped up on a pillow against the headboard and the blankets across his legs. He looked over at me and smiled, pulling the blankets back and fluffing the pillow so I could climb in.
"I already forwarded the movie past the opening credits. Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?" He asked as he pressed a button on the remote that turned the bright light off and turned on the dim recess lighting that was hidden behind the crown molding. He must have noticed the curious look on my face because he said, "I saw this in a movie once and thought it was a great idea, so when I moved into the house, I had them install a remote control for the bedroom lighting. This way, I don't have to climb out of bed to turn the light off when I get tired."
I laughed at him, "I never took you for the lazy type. Or is it more of an Austin Powers thing to set the mood for the ladies?"
"Neither. It's actually more of a boogieman thing. This way I can be in my bed, with the blankets pulled up, before the lights go out." He teased.
He started the movie. It was one of my favorites. At one point, I was quoting the movie quietly and noticed that he was doing it too. We pointed to each other and laughed. After that, we each chose our favorite characters and spoke their lines along with the movie. It was fun.
At a slow part in the movie, I saw him yawn and that triggered me to do the same. We stopped quoting the movie after that. I notice his eyes were getting droopy and I'm sure mine were too. I'm not sure exactly how many minutes later, but I eventually fell asleep. His bed was much too comfortable to resist. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until I heard a bell that caused me to wake up.
I was lying with my head on Edward's shoulder. My right arm was stretched out across his stomach and my right leg was draped over his leg. He had his arm around my back, with his hand resting on my ribcage, holding onto me. I was laying there wondering if I was dreaming when I heard the bell again.
I felt Edward stir. He moved my arm and said, "I'll get it. Go back to sleep." He crawled off the bed and headed for the door. I was too tired to argue, so I rolled over and pulled the blankets up. As I tried to get comfortable, I felt the pins in my hair sticking me in my head. I pulled them out and sat them on the nightstand. I was almost asleep when I felt the bed move. Edward slipped back under the covers and slid up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled his face in the back of my hair. It felt so good to be in his arms that I was asleep in seconds.
By morning, we had switched back to our original position, with my head on his shoulder. He was already awake. I felt him running his fingers through the waves of my long thick hair. I could hear his heart beating. It was very relaxing. I would have thought that my mind would have been plotting ways to get him out of his pajamas, but much to my surprise, I wasn't. I was laying there thinking about how my feelings for Edward had changed over the last few weeks. He had gone from an object of lust, to being a good friend, and now I was pretty sure I was starting to have real feelings for him.
Not only was he hot as hell, but he was sweet and funny. He cared about the kids he taught and really tried to make them enjoy learning. He didn't spend his time in the teacher's lounge complaining about the kids that had bad attitudes; he was spending time with the students trying to help them see things from a new perspective.
I thought back to the other "men" in my life. I didn't even know them really. Shy Boy seemed considerate and sweet, but I didn't know how he was in the real world. Dante was a sex god, but I didn't know him as a person. The most I had ever heard him say when we weren't on stage was, "I told you I was bigger than that toy!" Wait! Hold on! What? My mind started racing and everything started connecting in my brain. Shy boy had commented about being bigger than my toy. Shy boy and Dante made the same sounds when they were about to cum. Heidi told me that Dante wasn't a complete stranger. Could Dante really be my client? Was Dante really Shy Boy? I have got to call Heidi and ask!
I was just about to get up to find my phone when I heard Edward's voice speaking softly, "Bella, are you up yet? You don't sound like you're sleeping anymore. Would you like something for breakfast?" As if on cue, my stomach growled. He chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, I make a great omelet."
He moved to get up, so I let him. I watched him walk across the room. Damn, he was sexy! When he reached the door, he stopped, looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. "Don't just lay there watching my ass! Get up!" Busted! He gave me a wink and walked out the door. I got up and went to the bathroom to calm myself before heading out into the kitchen.
I sat down at the table and pulled my brush out of my purse. I started trying to work the tangles out when Edward asked, "Bella, you have really pretty hair. Why do you always wear it up? It looks good down."
"My hair is naturally really wavy and thick. When I have it down, it always looks like a mess and it gets tangled up really easy." I looked at his messy hair. "I would imagine that your hair would look a lot like mine if you grew it out. I wear it down if I am going to go out on a date or something, but if I am just going to work or doing boring stuff like that, I wear it up to help keep it out of the way and under control."
"I like it down." He said under his breath as he turned his attention back to the stove.
I contemplated putting it up in a bun, like I usually do, but compromised and put it in a ponytail instead. When he turned back to bring me my breakfast he looked at my hair and smiled. I think I may have swooned.
"So Bella, what did you have planned for today?" He asked between bites.
"Well, I guess I need to call the garage and do something about my car. They put a rebuilt transmission in it not too long ago. It is still under warranty so they should be able to fix it for free. If they do, all I will have to pay for would be my rental car. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to fix the problem. Last time they worked on my transmission it took them four days and the rental car agency charged me a small fortune."
"You don't need to get a rental car. I can drive you to work."
"That's nice of you, but I have some other things I needed to get before the cruise, so I had better just go ahead and get the rental."
"I'm not afraid of shopping. I can take you." He said, taking my dishes into the kitchen. I followed him and started washing the dishes while he dried and put them away. "I know there's not much shopping around here. Would you like to go to Seattle?"
"I need to find a cocktail dress and I need a new bathing suit. Unfortunately I have no idea where to find either of these things. It may take stopping at a few stores. If you don't mind wasting your entire day stopping…"
"I don't mind it at all. Give me a minute to take a shower and get dressed. I will run you by your place so you can do the same, and then we can head straight there. Today is Sunday, so the stores will only be open until 6pm." He looked at the clock. "It's almost 9am now. It will take me less than ten minutes to get ready. If you take twenty minutes, we can be on the road by 9:30 or so. That would put us making it there around 1:30. We can grab a quick lunch and have four hours to shop before the stores close. We can grab something for dinner and be back on the road around 7pm which would put us home around 11pm."
Before I could agree or disagree, he scampered off into the bathroom for a quick shower. While he was in the shower, I changed out of the t-shirt and sleep shorts I had been wearing into the street clothes I wore yesterday. I pulled on my socks and shoes and sat on the edge of his bed. I was flipping through the TV stations when he opened the bathroom door. His hair was still a little wet, but he was almost ready to go. He threw on some socks and shoes, grabbed his jacket, and we were out the door.
We got to my apartment and I let him come upstairs to wait inside. "I would give you the tour," I teased, "But there's not much to see. This is the living room, kitchen, and dining area, all wrapped up in one space. My bedroom is in here." He followed me into the small room that contained my full size bed, a small dresser, a bookcase, and one nightstand. "This is the only bathroom, and here is my semi-walk in closet." I said pointing to the small closet.
"What is a semi-walk in closet?" He said with a laugh, peeking in the doorway.
"It's so small that when you put your clothes in there, you only have room to walk part of the way into the closet." I said as I grabbed some clean clothes and stepped in the bathroom. "You can turn on the TV in the living room if you want."
I stepped in the shower and washed everything quickly. I shaved all the necessary parts and was thankful that I didn't slice myself up. I pulled on my clothes, brushed my teeth, put on some deodorant, and ran a comb through my hair. When I opened the door to the bathroom, I found Edward sitting on my bed reading my book…. of erotica! Shit! His mouth was hanging open and his head was cocked slightly to the side. When he looked up at me, I blushed.
"I wondered what kind of book you would be reading that had a plain paper book cover." He said closing the book and putting it back on the nightstand. "I take it they don't carry this up at the school." He cleared his throat.
"No, they definitely don't carry anything like that." I said looking at the floor. I felt like a teenager who had just been caught with a dirty magazine.
He glanced back at the book. "Is that all one story?"
"No, it's a series of short stories." I said as I grabbed my shoes. I figured if he was going to try to act casual about it, so would I. I am a grown woman. I have nothing to be embarrassed about. My only problem was that he had seen me reading this book at work.
He tried to discreetly adjust the bulge in his pants as he blushed, "Let me know when you finish it. I might want to borrow that one." There was a tense pause then he took a deep breath and said, "So are you ready to go?"
On the way to Seattle, we talked a little about college. He asked me why I broke up with Mike. Before I knew it, I had confessed that Mike was a self centered egotistical ass that was a horrible kisser and even worse in bed. Edward thought this was hilarious. He told me about a few of the disastrous relationships he had attempted in college which made me feel good. Apparently I'm not the only one who stuck it out in a relationship for all the wrong reasons.
At that very moment, on the long road to Seattle, in the middle of nowhere, I realized that I was falling head over heels in love with Edward Cullen. He was giving me all the signals that he was interested in me too, but how would he feel if he found out about Heidi's? Would he think I was a slut? Would he never want to see me again? I couldn't risk that. Even though I could really use the money, I needed to walk away from Heidi's… for Edward… for myself.
A/N – Happy Tuesday everyone!!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Naughty Secrets! I know, it wasn't as smut filled as the other chapters, but I promise there is plenty of smut and some serious drama to come, so stay with me!
Status update – 425 people following the story & 178 reviews. Big thanks to all that submitted your reviews and are following the story diligently! You make my day! Tell all your pervy friends to read it too. That way you can snicker behind people's backs and talk about things that no one else knows about without really gossiping! (It's fun… trust me!) Oh, that leads me to something that is a little out of the ordinary for me…
Brace yourself for the "SOAP BOX MOMENT" (said in an announcer voice, of course)… I wanted to take a quick moment to talk about reviews. I know a lot of people read stories but don't leave reviews. I admit it – I used to be one of them. Now that I am a writer, I realize how important reviews are. We don't get paid to write these stories. The only reward we get for all of our hard work is the joy that comes from knowing that we did a good job. The only way we know that is if you post a review. So, as you read stories, post a review to let the author know they are doing a good job. It doesn't have to be complicated. Just a simple note will do. Often, writers stop writing a story because they stop receiving feedback (in the form of reviews). So, if you are following a story and you enjoy a chapter, let them know, so they are encouraged to keep writing the next chapter.
Some of the stories I love to read have stopped mid storyline because the author lost interest. When I email the authors, they all said that they didn't realize anyone was still reading the stories because they rarely got reviews.
**Clarification: I am not writing this because I am begging for reviews. I am simply writing it because I have seen some really great stories drop off because the author's didn't feel appreciated. So, show your appreciation. If you like what you read, leave a review.
This concludes your "SOAP BOX MOMENT"… we will now return to your previously scheduled local broadcast….
Whew!!! That was tough! OK, I want to send big hugs and bows of humble appreciation for Vicki (NoWayWithWords) for being my humble beta. She's the best!
See you next Tuesday!
Christine (A Little Distracted)
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