The wait for this chapter was entirely my own fault…I did, though, finish my other fic Family Ties and Guarding Hearts. Now that that it is complete, I'll be updating this much, much more often.
Gracious thanks again to my lovely betas: ginginlee & sparklingtwilight! And, of course, to my wonderful pre-reader and friend: lizzylillyrose
Okay…back to the young years….
1987
"Okay, first things first," Edward instructed as he saddled up a dark brown horse named Betty, "you can't scare the poor thing. She has to like you."
We had finished up our chores in the stables, and with Uncle Charlie's firm instructions, Edward was teaching me how to ride on my own. It was just past mid day, and a combination of exhaustion and excitement filled my senses.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm a very likable person," I quipped as I retied my hair that had fallen.
He laughed and walked us out into the fenced-in green field. "Horses are different than young men, Bella. You can't woo them with your luscious long hair and witty remarks."
"You like my witty remarks?" I joked with a laugh.
"They're the most charming thing about you," he retorted while rolling his eyes. I smacked his sweaty, bare arm but smiled at him, anyway.
"Okay, so if my wicked sense of humor won't suffice, how am I supposed to get this horse to like me?"
"Well," he began as he walked in front of the animal, still keeping the reigns in one of his hands, "you have to be gentle." He lifted his other hand and lightly ran his long fingers up the horse's nose and through its mane. "You need to speak kindly, yet firm," he demonstrated.
"Kindly and firm, got it."
"You need to let Betty, here, know who is in charge," he spoke with authority, but his voice had suddenly dropped. "But she needs to know that you'll take care of her, too. You need to tell her that she's important, and that she's beautiful, that she means something to you. Tell her that as long as you're with her, it's just you and her." He said these things with intensity as he looked at the horse, but his words trailed off into what seemed like an entirely different meaning. My stomach was in sudden knots and my head in a fog.
"You say this to every horse you ride?" I asked with a nervous chuckle.
"I'm sorry, what?" He shook his head as if coming out of a daze. Both of our words had seemed to register, and he stammered, "Uh, yeah, just let the horse know that you're in charge but that you'll take care of her, and you should be set."
"Okay…" I stepped up to where he was and ran my small hand along the same trail his had on the horse. She nudged her nose into me and neighed, scaring me and causing me to back into Edwards strong, tall body.
He laughed. "Don't be scared, that means she likes you…keep going." He took my shaking hand in his and together we stroked the horse.
I tried to concentrate on the thousand pound animal that stood just inches away, but all my body could register was Edward's lean, fit frame pressed against me. My chest rose as the same time his did, and I could feel his soft breath on the base of my bare neck. Despite the raging temperatures outside, chills had suddenly lined my skin.
I only prayed that he had felt it, too.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly with his body still contoured against mine.
"Uh, for what?" My voice shook with the syllables. My nerves had gotten the best of me due to his proximity.
"To ride?"
The heat seared my skin, and I turned around to face him. "Ride…the horse. This horse, not your horse. I mean…yes…to this horse, because that's what Charlie said. Not that I don't want to ride you…because I do…no," I paused, shaking my head, "Charlie would kill you. Really, I've seen his shotgun. He pulled it on me yesterday. Not that he shot me or anything. He didn't. I'm still fine. You, however…" The words kept coming out, no matter how hard the rational side of my brain tried to stop them.
"Bella?" he asked while laughing.
Oh, no, I thought. Had I really said all of that? The look on his face had confirmed it…yup, my filter, along with my pride, had officially left the building.
"I think the heat has gotten to you. Why don't you go inside and get some water before we start." A wicked grin was stuck on his face as I turned around to head into the house.
Really, Bella! I berated myself. Ride his horse? What, was this some 1940 Western porno?
I had lost myself in my own self-loathing thoughts as I entered the house that I hadn't even noticed Uncle Charlie. "You having fun out there, baby?" he asked from his seat at the kitchen table, causing me to jump back.
"Um…" I stammered, trying to regain my composure. "Yeah, why wouldn't we be having fun?" He had to have seen how red I was. "Nothing happened. Just going over the basics of how to ride. How to ride a horse…nothing else. What else is there to ride?" I asked with my voice a pitch too high.
He looked at me sternly while I, on the other hand, avoided eye contact at all cost. I quickly filled a glass with water from the sink and started chugging.
He sighed heavily and finally removed his piercing gaze from my direction and focused back on the newspaper in front of him.
"What?" I asked stupidly.
"Oh, nothing," he stated, and I breathed a sigh of relief. However, right before I walked back outside, I heard him mutter, "Edward knows I shoot to kill."
A chill swept through my spine.
"Felling better?" Edward asked with a chuckle once I approached him back in the field.
"Much," I replied sassily. "So are you going to teach me a thing or two about riding, or what?" I tried to keep my voice strong, part of my 'save face' strategy.
He shook his head momentarily before speaking, "Yup, just come on and let's get it on. I mean, get you off. Get you on…the horse, I mean."
It was my turn to laugh. "Let's just do this thing."
"Wait, seriously?" A glimmer of hope ran through his features.
"The riding lesson, Edward," I corrected. "Besides, I want to learn how to be better at it than you," I added with a wink.
After he finally gained his composure, he laughed. "Sorry to burst your bubble, sweet thing, but that will never happen. I'm the racing king around here."
"Okay, Mr. Confidence, we'll see after a few lessons. I'm a very quick learner."
He breathed in deeply again. "I'm sure you are."
I was happy that our playful banter was back, and the awkwardness had seemed to dissipate. I finally looked at him smugly. "So where do we go from here? I'm pretty sure Betty has a thing for me, so nothing to worry about there. What is step two?"
"Step two is to just hop on. Come on." He took my hand and led me right next to the saddle. "Just put your foot in this slot," he instructed, "and throw your other leg over."
I gripped his hand for dear life as I followed what he said. I had suddenly felt a whole lot less confident as soon as I realized how far off the ground I was. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," I panicked. "I can't do this. Get me down!" I didn't care that I sounded like a baby; all respect that Edward had for me went out the window with the riding his horse comment, anyway.
"No, Bella; calm down. You've got this," he tried to sooth while running his hand along my thigh.
"Nope, I'm pretty sure the horse wants to kill me."
He chuckled. "Betty hasn't even moved, yet, Bella. Just relax. You'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
"Edward, please." My voice shook with fright.
He sighed heavily before telling me to scoot up on the saddle to move my foot. I was confused but listened anyway, and before I knew it, Edward was up on the horse with me, sitting right behind me. His arm came around my waist and held my torso tightly.
"Is this better?" he asked in my ear.
"We're not too heavy for the horse, right?" I asked while petting the poor thing.
"Of course not, Bella." He laughed.
"Okay, then yes, this is better."
"Alright, just hold on to the saddle, okay? We're just going to trot around the field."
I nodded and held on tight, but I kept my eyes closed.
"Ahhh!" I yelled once we started moving.
"Relax," he said again. "Just enjoy it."
I slowly squinted, opening my eyes just the smallest bit. When everything seemed safe, I opened up my eyes entirely, and I couldn't help but laugh at the feeling. It was enthralling.
"We're moving!" I exclaimed. "Like, really moving."
I twisted back so I could see his face, and he smiled back at me. "I told you it wasn't so bad."
"It's kind of nice," I noted while looking back ahead.
He held me just a little bit tighter. "Yes, it is."
O.o
The day passed by too quickly after that, and before I knew it, I was all showered and sitting alone in my bedroom, listening to the chorus of the nighttime crickets again.
I walked over to my desk and pulled out a pen and some notebook paper, sitting down at the old wooden chair. My mom had made me promise that I would write to her this summer; granted I couldn't send them anywhere, but she wanted to be able to read about my experiences when she got back this fall.
I wanted to tell her about Edward, but knowing my mother, I didn't want to indulge into any graphic details about how he made my heart race, or how whenever he was around my skin tingled with excitement.
After I finished writing her about all the details, excluding the cute boy, I pulled out my journal and told it instead.
If there was one thing I wanted from this summer, it was to remember…everything.
o.O
"Good morning, Uncle Charlie!" I greeted as I walked into the kitchen a few days later. It was just past nine in the morning, and I found my uncle perched in his favorite chair at the table.
"Have you eaten yet? I was thinking about making a big breakfast," I asked cheerfully.
He looked up from his trusted paper and looked at me skeptically but smiled regardless. "You're up early. I thought you were going to sleep in today since I wasn't forcing you to do hard labor out back."
"I would hardly call it hard labor," I replied with a laugh. "Besides, I have plans to go down to the river today."
"Uh huh," he spoke slowly. "And who are you going down to the river with?"
I busied myself by pulling out a skillet and some mixing bowls. "Um, you know, Edward," I murmured softly. We had confirmed plans before he left the other day.
He took a deep breath, and I knew it couldn't have been good. "Bella, I think it's great that you're hanging out with the Masen boy, but I think you need to make some other friends, too. Preferably some that you don't have an interest in riding."
I turned beat red. So he did catch that….
"Uncle Charlie, don't worry," I said quickly, ignoring the ride comment. "It's not just Edward and I…a ton of his friends are going. There's a whole group of us."
"Don't break my trust…" he warned.
I stopped gathering supplies and turned to look at him. "Please don't worry. We're just friends. I have no interest in a summer fling, anyway. They never last…definitely not worth the heartbreak." I tried to sound as convincing as I could…for my benefit, as well.
I hadn't seen Edward since the horse extravaganza, and I'd had many long hours to think about things. I had barely spent any time with him, and already my head was a mess. I was getting in too deep…and for what? Just to leave him at the end of the summer? Could I really expect anything to happen when we lived so far away? I had been delusional. So I had decided to take a step back and really just enjoy his friendship.
It was what was best for both of us. Love at seventeen could never amount to anything, anyway.
Right?
O.o
Charlie had to drive into Raleigh shortly after breakfast to do some business, so I was left to fend for myself until Edward picked me up. He wasn't due to the house until after noon, so I tried to keep busy as best I could.
I cleaned, showered, and changed my clothes…three times. After I finally settled on my yellow bikini, jean skirt, black tank, and flip-flops, I settled down on the couch and just waited. I brought the book that I had tried to read the other day with me, and I got comfortable.
Things were just getting interesting with my characters when I heard a knock at the door. I jumped up, probably too quickly for my whole 'just-friends' mentality. But when I opened the wooden frame, it wasn't who I had expected.
"Riley," I greeted in surprise.
"Hey, Bella, you ready?" He stood at the top step of the porch in nothing but sandals, board shorts, and a thin, white t-shirt. His blond hair that normally hung down in his eyes was pushed back by a pair of aviator sunglasses. "Edward's waiting in his truck," he added after I didn't say anything for a moment.
I tried to conceal the look of relief that passed through my features.
"Yeah, just let me lock up." I quickly walked back into the house and grabbed my own sunglasses, along with the key that Charlie left for me on the kitchen counter.
Edward's hand was tapping against his steering wheel to the beat of whatever song he had playing on the stereo when I climbed in. Because there wasn't a backseat, the three of us had to squeeze up front. It was a very tight fit between the two of them, and both my legs were pressed against either one of theirs, our shoulders also touching.
I quickly went through my checklist of that morning to make sure I had put on deodorant…I think we're in the clear. I had hoped so, at least.
I tugged at my jean skirt as it rode up my thighs as much as I could, trying to be modest and all, but I saw Edward's eyes flash down to my bare legs.
"I think you're fighting a losing battle there, Bella," he joked as he tore his eyes back to the road.
I nudged his side with my elbow, but I didn't say anything in response.
He chuckled, but then continued to sing along with the song.
"How far of a drive is it?" I asked, trying to gauge how much time I would need to control my traitorous body in these tight quarters.
"To the spot we're going to, it's about an hour."
I sighed heavily. Oh, hell…
"At least it's nice out," Riley noted, looking out the rolled down window. "I heard it was supposed to storm."
"Nah," Edward countered. "It's not gonna get bad 'til later tonight. Sucks, too, because Rachel was plannin' on having a bonfire."
"Aren't her parents out of town?"
"Yeah, they went down to Wilmington for the weekend. Beats the hell out of me why they left Rachel of all people alone with the house for an entire weekend, but, whatever; more fun for us."
Riley laughed while I sat there confused. I had no idea who Rachel was or anything about this bonfire.
"You want to come, Bella…if the rain holds off, that is?"
I turned my head to the right to look at Riley as he asked me, but I couldn't help but feel Edward go stiff besides me.
"No, it's okay," I answered sweetly. I didn't want either of them to feel like I expected to be their tag along all summer. I knew they had their own group of friends, and I didn't want to intrude; I was already going to the river with them today, and I had stolen Edward from the fair last week.
"You sure?" he asked again.
"Oh, yeah. I have summer reading I have to do, anyway," I excused with a wave of my hand.
Edward chuckled. "You and your books."
"Hey!" I exclaimed in mock hurt. "I happen to like my books, thank you very much."
"You want to be an English teacher or some shit?" Riley inquired.
"God, no. Being in high school for four years is enough for me, thanks. I could never go back and teach. I actually want to write my own book one day."
"Oh yeah?" Edward asked. "I didn't know that. That's really cool," he commented, sounding sincere. "What do you want to write about?"
"Um," I mumbled, thinking about it. "I don't really know yet. I'm not sure I have enough life experience to have any interesting ideas at the moment. I guess I'll just have to see where life takes me."
"I think you should write about me," he answered smugly, causing Riley to laugh.
"Oh yeah? Why is that?"
"Because I'm just awesome," he answered as if it were obvious. "And, besides, I'm teaching you to ride a horse, and I won you that panda bear…I'll provide you a whole bunch of life experiences to write about."
"Wow, man," Riley mocked. "Just…wow."
"Don't be mean," I chided, looking right at him. "I would like to see you provide some monumental life experiences that are worthy of a story!"
He chuckled before turning to look me in the eye. "That seems like a challenge, northern girl."
I shrugged my shoulders, egging him on.
"Okay, Ohio," Riley agreed, "challenge accepted."
He and I shook hands while Edward exaggeratedly rolled his eyes.
Riley reached over me and slapped Edward's thigh. "Don't be jealous, Edward…you can play, too," he mocked.
"What? I'm not jealous."
I laughed and settled back into a comfortable position in my seat. It was already looking like a very long ride.
O.o
By the time we made it to our spot, my body was dripping in sweat from the ridiculous temperatures. I was not used to this heat at all, and it bothered me that it didn't even seem to trouble the boys in the slightest.
When Edward climbed out of the truck, I really noticed his attire. His dark blue swim trunks hung low on his waist, and he quickly removed his gray tank top, leaving his tan chest visible for the whole world to see. After the initial few seconds of gawking, I whipped my eyes away and refused to focus on the sight again.
I then continued to berate myself that the first time I saw Edward after my friends-only resolution had to be where he would be half naked. Lovely idea, Bella.
"You okay?" Edward asked, his feet the only thing blocking my vision of the gravel parking lot.
"Peachy, just really hot. The weather is hot," I clarified. "Nothing else is hot."
"I'm so glad were friends."
I looked up at him at his strange comment. "Okay…?"
He smirked and responded, "I'm just really looking forward to being a first hand witness to all of your ridiculously funny word vomit all summer."
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "I should start charging for my entertainment. Might as well make some money from my embarrassment."
"Aw, don't be embarrassed; it's charming," he joked.
"What are you guys waiting for? Let's go," Riley walked over from the other side of the truck to join us. "You going like that, Bella?" he asked, motioning to my covered body.
"Um, yes?" I took notice how he was only in his shorts now, too.
"You might want to take your clothes off here…we have to swim to the place were going to."
"Say what?" I questioned seriously.
Edward laughed but kicked off his shoes and threw them in the bed of his truck. "It's a bit of a hike, but not too bad. And then we swim across the river, hike a little bit more, and then we reach our secret spot." He smiled at me wickedly, and I seriously regretted not wearing a more modest bathing suit. I really didn't want to hike any trails in just this flimsy material.
"No one ever clued me in to the whole hiking part of this trip. Why can't we just stay by the shore of the river?"
Riley sighed exasperatedly. "We have a special spot, Ohio. Don't be difficult."
I rolled my eyes at him. "You guys aren't taking me to some private location to kill me and dump my remains in the river, are you?"
"You are so weird," Riley stated.
"We're not going to hurt you, Bella," Edward said at the same time. Right as he finished speaking, a car horn sounded behind us, causing us all to turn around.
A red sedan swerved quickly into a spot, and a whole group of people piled out of it.
"Oh, damn. Witnesses. Now we really can't kill her," Riley said in a serious tone.
Edward laughed, but I ignored him. A really tall girl with reddish-blonde hair came bouncing in our direction. She had apparently already slipped off her clothes, and she was dressed only in her tiny black bikini and sunglasses.
"Hey, y'all," she greeted in a deep southern accent.
"Hey, Rachel," they said in unison. So, this was Rachel.
"Rach, this is Bella," Riley introduced. I reached out my hand to shake hers, but she simply pulled me into a hug instead. Okay…this is new.
"Nice to meet you, Bella. What a pretty name!"
"Uh, thanks," I stammered. "Nice to meet you, too."
"How do y'all know each other?" she asked, looking between the three of us.
"Bella is Charlie Swan's niece," Edward answered. "She's staying here for the summer."
His response must have been enough to placate her, and she smiled brightly at me in return. "Mr. Swan is such a treat. He's good friends with my parents. Very nice man."
It was either me, or the heat must have really gotten to these people over the years. The niceness was just…borderline sickening.
"Yeah, he's great," I agreed, my tone not nearly as cheery as hers.
By the time our exchange ended, the rest of the group had caught up with us. There were two other girls, one I recognized from the fair, but the other I didn't know. Three other guys were with them, all dressed in only their suits. Suddenly feeling overdressed, I quickly stripped down into just my yellow bikini, leaving my shoes, skirt, and shirt with Edward's clothes in the back of his truck.
"Y'all ready?" he asked, but his eyes were on me when I turned back around.
Everyone nodded and began to walk towards the direction of the path.
"Come on, Bella." I looked up and Edward had his hand outstretched to take mine. "Just, so, you know, you don't fall, or anything."
I smiled at him and placed my small hand in his large one, and all too soon it felt like I could quite literally see my friends-only plan evaporate away with the summer heat.
End Notes:
Next update – soon.
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