Disclaimer: All things Twilight are the exclusive property of Stephenie Meyer.
To my readers and reviewers: Thank you so much for your kind words and interest in my story. I hope you like this longer chapter!
As with the prequel GIFTS, music will be an integral part of this story. Song inspiration for this chapter is A Tender Lie, written by Randy Sharp and recorded by the country music band Restless Heat. The song appears on their 1988 album Big Dreams In A Small Town.
Rated M for language and adult situations.
Chapter 5: The Reasons Why
LOS ANGELES
He cancelled all previous engagements and caught the first available flight out of LAX to Georgia. Without her, nothing mattered. Without her, what was he? He would find a way to straighten out this mess and bring his Bella home.
GEORGIA
She liked to putter around in the bar. She realized that she missed her old life sometimes. It felt good to be back in the real world, and not in the made up world of Hollywood. Of course, she had the comfort in knowing she had financial security, but it was relaxing to stop being on display, and feel like a normal, regular person again.
Sunday's were closed to customers, and Bella told her ex-boss she'd handle things for him so he could spend time with his family. She still remembered the Sunday routine of stocking the liquor behind the bar and in the back storeroom, placing their orders for the upcoming week with the various vendors, and general housekeeping and maintenance. She was alone and singing to herself in the backroom when Edward arrived.
Say you'll never stop loving me
Just as if it were true
How much more damage now, honestly
Could one tender lie do?
He stood on the sawdust floor, rooted to the spot, listening to her angelic voice as a sense of déjà vu washed over him. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and his knees almost buckled as he waited for her to come out of the back storage room. He hadn't seen her in a week, yet it felt like years. Since the day they had left Georgia together last year, they had not been apart. The past seven days without her had been like living in hell.
He remembered the first time he had seen her, so naturally beautiful, with long brunette hair, deep brown eyes, and those freckles sprinkled across her nose. She had been so innocent and guileless, had taken him without fear and hesitation into her heart and home...and her bed. One year later, she had matured into a gorgeous woman who left him breathless every time he saw her. She'd cut her hair slightly into a more modern style, still long yet fashionable, and she'd begun to experiment with clothing and makeup, as she'd grown more famous and confident. He was quite simply dazzled by her.
Her singing became louder as she left the backroom to return to the main bar area, her voice strong and clear.
Say you're going to come back to me
and I'll believe that its true
how much more damage now, honestly
could one tender lie do?
Bella knew he was there before she saw him. She would recognize the scent of his cologne anywhere. It could be on any other man's body, and it wouldn't smell the same as it did when it was on her man. Her voice caught in her throat as she stopped singing abruptly. She felt her eyes immediately fill with tears, which she blinked away rapidly. She was determined to remain under control. She loved him so and missed him more, and hoped fervently he had come to repair their broken relationship.
She walked into the main bar area and trembled at the sight of the only man she had ever loved, would ever love, standing on her sawdust dance floor. For several seconds, silence engulfed both of them, each unsure of what to do. His eyes drank in the sight of her, as beautiful in his eyes wearing jeans and a work tee shirt as if she had been in a designer dress for a Hollywood event.
She spoke first. "I guess you used your key to get in".
"Yeah".
"If I had known you were coming, I'd have cleaned myself up a bit", she said nervously, attempting lame small talk.
"If you had known I was coming, you would have taken off and ran again", he countered.
She heard the anger and pain in his voice and realized he was upset with her. She'd learned over the course of the past year that he was a complex man. Scratch the surface of Edward Cullen and all sorts of interesting things appeared. She walked to the bar and poured two healthy shots of tequila. She needed a drink and she assumed he did also.
Bella made herself comfortable in her favorite booth and took a healthy swallow of her drink and waited for Edward to join her. He sat across from her and downed his tequila in one large gulp. His inclination was to slam the glass onto the table, but he controlled his temper and placed it down gently instead. The liquor was hot in his belly, and beginning to work its magic already, relaxing him and calming him down.
"Baby, why did you leave? I think I know, but I want you to tell me yourself".
"I tried over and over to tell you, Edward, but you wouldn't listen", she said. "I'm so tired of being home alone while you go out partying".
He nodded his head. It was as he'd predicted when they fell in love. This would be the difficult part. He enjoyed the nightlife, and she was a homebody. How to merge the two?
"So you decided to take off without warning, scaring me half to death, and you couldn't pick up the phones when I called just to let me know you were okay?", he asked
"I'm sorry. I was mad at you and didn't want to talk to you", she said. "Do you forgive me?"
She finished her drink and put her glass down, reaching for Edward's hands across the table. He locked hands with hers, rubbing her palms with his thumbs, looking into her eyes, relieved that this whole episode seemed close to being resolved.
"I think I can come up with a way for you to properly ask for forgiveness", he suggested.
Her eyebrow arched so seductively he felt his groin tighten.
"Can you really? Do tell please", she flirted coyly.
"Well, for starters you can come sit here beside me in the booth", he told her and patted the bench next to him.
She waited for a few seconds, allowing the tension to build between them, and then slid out of her side of the booth. Slipping beside him onto the bench, she scooted close to him, grazing her hip and thigh against his as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He put his right arm around her shoulder, pulling her fiercely against him, hugging her protectively. She nuzzled her face into his neck, inhaling the scent of his skin and cologne, kissing and nibbling, and sending spasms of desire shooting through him. He kissed the top of her head whispering "I love you so much. You don't know how badly I've missed you, baby. Let's get out of here".
Wordlessly, she nodded. Her need for him was evident on her face, and in the reaction her body was expressing. "I just need to lock up", she said. "You'll be pleased with how the condo looks, Edward. They've done a great job keeping it up".
"Fuck the condo. I'll never make it there. We're going to your apartment here, sweetheart", he said before he kissed her deeply and passionately, taking her breath away with his need and desire.
Author Notes: Well that break-up was short-lived! What did they really solve though? Hmmmm...