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The bar was called Push, and it was already filling up when we got there. I scanned the room. A group of girly-girls wearing not much at all were already eyeing up the dance floor, some tanned, dark guys were at the bar with a couple of girls, and Rosalie and Emmett had already disappeared into a corner somewhere.
Edward was looking as hot as ever in jeans, a grey tee and a suit jacket. My leg brushed his as I sat down and I bit my lip. Easy, Bella. I was feeling wired from the alcohol and the car ride, where I'd been sitting next to Edward with our knees practically touching. It was awesome.
Yes, I heard that in my head, and I realise that getting excited about your knee almost touching the guy you like's knee is sad. But you haven't met Edward.
"Bella. Drinks?" Alice gestured to the bar. Squeezing into a space by the bar I tried to catch the eye of the barman- a pierced guy with a blonde ponytail. "No- not that barman Bella- go for the girl instead- dammit" Alice hissed in my ear as the blonde guy caught my eye and a slow smile spread across his face.
"Well hello there, tiny" he drawled at Alice. "Who's your friend?"
"Bella. New in town. Fresh meat. Two gin and tonics and two tequila shots."
"Bella. That's cute. Hi Bella, I'm James. Where have you moved from?"
"Oh leave her alone, perv-man." Rosalie appeared at my side. "And a glass of pinot noir, hurry the fuck up."
James winked at me and started getting our drinks.
"Don't mind him Bella. He's actually harmless, Alice just hates him cos he's so unfazed by her scary looks" Rosalie said quietly.
Alice glowered.
"Hi ladies" Emmett said, jostling through the crowd towards us. "We're going up to the roof terrace. Join us when you get your drinks".
The roof terrace was actually quite appealing. Various pot plants were scattered around as well as some garden furniture. A few groups of people were scattered around smoking, and we could still hear the thrum of music beneath us.
"Ok ladies and gents- it's truth or dare time" Jasper announced, eliciting a groan from most of the group. It seemed that truth or dare on the roof was a tradition, because everyone assembled into a circle and Jasper downed the remains of his beer and set the bottle on the ground, spinning it.
"Alice. Truth or dare?"
"Go on then, dare"
"Dare you to kiss a guy in this circle" Jasper said, smirking. Alice rolled her eyes.
"Well obviously Edward's out of the question, and I don't want death by Rosalie if I kiss Em. Coming at ya, Jasper." She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Oh man, that barely counts as a kiss" Emmett complained, but Alice shot him down with a look and spun the bottle.
"Rosalie"
"Dare"
"Umm.. you have to do a handstand" Alice said with a gleam in her eye.
"What the fuck?" Rosalie demanded, and then resignedly got up and after swearing at us for laughing actually did a perfect handstand there on the terrace, displaying to everyone some pretty raunchy red lace underwear.
Credit to Rosalie that she didn't blush, and unfazedly spun the bottle. I was starting to feel nervous. Truth or dare was fun until it was your turn.
"Jasper. Truth or dare?" asked Rosalie
"Truth" Jasper said warily.
"How long have you been into Alice?"
Alice practically spat her drink out, spluttering in a very un-Alice-like way. Edward froze, staring from Jasper to Alice, and Emmett roared with laughter. Jasper looked dumbfounded.
"Since spring" Jasper finally admitted, glancing apologetically at Edward and avoiding Alice's eye.
Of course. I had been so wrapped up in being obsessed with Edward that I'd completely missed all the signs. Because from Alice's total lack of composure, it was obvious- she liked Jasper too. I was the crappiest friend ever.
Emmett slapped Jasper on the back and Jasper hurriedly spun the bottle, trying to draw attention away from himself.
"Rosalie. Revenge time" Jasper said, giving an evil laugh.
"Dammit Jazz. Truth, I guess."
"How many guys have you screwed?"
Rose smacked him over the head then admitted "ten".
"That's ok babe" Emmett said, giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "They've made you the sex panther you are"
I glanced at the others, who were looking unfazed. I wondered if any of them were still virgins or if it was just me. I wondered how many girls Edward had slept with, and I blushed. I wasn't ashamed, exactly, of my virginal status- I had never felt in a rush to lose it, but I wasn't treasuring it like a precious flower or anything. It just had never really happened. But suddenly I felt like the greenest, most inexperienced girl in Forks. Which I supposed explained what I did next.
"Bella" Rosalie said wickedly. "Your turn"
The bottle was pointing at me. Great. Knowing that dares were out of the question- these guys were brutal- I reluctantly said "truth".
"Hmm. When was the last time you had sex?"
Shit. I could feel myself go red as the others cackled.
"Babe, you can't ask Bella that, she's too sweet" laughed Emmett.
"Rules of the game Bella, you have to answer" said Rose smugly, obviously still feeling sore from her last truth.
I glanced around, and caught Edward's eye, who was looking at me with what might be curiosity. And then I lied. Well, sort of.
"Urgh. Well, um, put it this way, I haven't been getting any in Forks."
It wasn't really a lie. I hadn't been getting any in Forks. Or, for like, the last seventeen years.
"So... three months. Jeez Bells, I would go crazy. Better find you a fella quick" Rosalie said, shaking her head, and I smiled, biting my lip, and spun the bottle.
"So you're a sexpert then Bells?" Alice said to me later that night, when we were in the girls room touching up our make-up. From the way she said it I knew she was gently letting me know that she saw right through me.
"Don't tell the others. Please?"
"Course not. And guess what? Me and Jasper soo have a date!" I grabbed her arm and we both shrieked in a very irritating way.
"That's amazing Alice! I can't believe you didn't tell me how into him you are. I can't believe I didn't figure it out myself to be honest."
She shrugged, smiling mischievously.
It was one in the morning when we finally clambered into Emmett's car, and I was feeling sleepy as hell. All the energy I'd spent being aware of Edward had drained me, and I drifted off in the car. As we stopped outside mine and the Cullens' houses I jolted awake, before realising that I'd dozed off on Edward's shoulder.
"Oh... sorry" I mumbled, pushing my hair out of my face, and Edward smiled a crooked smile.
"No worries. You totally snored though."
I looked at Alice, mortified, and she shook her head to let me know he was teasing me.
I let myself into my house, waving a goodnight to the others.
"And what time do you call this?"
Dammit. I'd told Charlie I'd be back by midnight and it was almost two. He was sitting in the living room trying to look stern. I was unconvinced.
"Oh.. hey. I guess things ran a little late. Sorry Charlie- Dad, I mean. I wish you hadn't waited up."
"I didn't. I just got up for a glass of water and noticed you weren't back."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry. I guess in Phoenix I got used to not having a curfew or anything."
Charlie sighed and got up, heading upstairs. "That's ok Bells. Just let me know where you are next time."
Wow. Got off pretty lightly there considering he was the chief of police- I guess I'd expected him to be a major disciplinarian or something. I had a feeling that he was reluctant to play the bad guy when I'd only just moved to Forks, especially considering how lax Renee was.
Entering my room, I pulled off my shoes, wincing as I realised how tender my feet were. Scraping my hair up into a messy bun, I hobbled to my bedside table which housed my secret emergency tobacco stash, grabbed a blanket and rolled a cigarette as I stealthily snuck downstairs and out onto the porch barefoot for a bedtime cigarette.
I'd already lit up, taken a much savoured drag and curled up on the porch steps with my blanket when Edward decided to alert me of his presence.
"So much for quitting, huh?"
I flinched, dropping my cigarette and burning a hole in my blanket. Edward was also sitting on his porch steps. Also smoking a cigarette. Weird.
"Jeez, Edward, that was creepy. Thanks. And, yknow, emergency stash."
"Ditto" he said, gesturing to his cigarette. He lazily got up, and sauntered over to sit next to me. "I've officially quit since February but sometimes Forks just gets the better of me. Especially trying to sleep"
Hmm. That was interesting. Two insights into Edward in one sentence- that Forks sometimes 'gets the better' of him, and that he has trouble sleeping.
Pfft, Bella. Hardly a revelation.
"So how you finding Forks?" he asked after a minute.
"It's ok. I mean, it's kind of green, and wet, and it's weird living with Charlie again. But Alice is great, and Rose and Jasper and everyone. And there are perks to being far from the city too."
"Yeah? Like what?" Edward seemed sceptical.
"Just stupid stuff. Like the forest, and the sea. And how you can see the stars at night, and so many of them. It's crazy, I don't think I'd seen a proper night sky before I moved here." I took a drag of my cigarette and narrowed my eyes at the stars.
My gaze was tilted upwards at the sky, and I was frowning, trying to remember what the Plough looked like, which is why I didn't see that Edward had moved really close to me until he gently touched my chin, tilting it so I was face to face with him. My nose brushed his, and I gasped, my heart officially going on hiatus for a few seconds.
"I just want to try something" Edward murmured, and I could feel his breath on my lips. "Stay very still."
Easily done- I had frozen on the spot when Edward touched me.
He moved forward very slightly, touching his forehead to mine, and our noses brushed again.
"Breathe, Bella" he said softly, laughingly, and realising I'd been holding it, I let out a sigh of breath.
And Edward kissed me on the lips. Almost tentatively at first- although I would never usually think of Edward as the tentative type with girls- and then with more conviction, gently nudging my mouth open with his lips so he could deepen the kiss. And just as I began to respond, moving my lips in response to his, a light went on in the front window of my house, and just like that Edward was gone, moving swiftly across the grass and almost silently slipping in through his front door.
I sat on the step for another minute, dazed, until I realised the sky was lightening with streaks of pink and that my cigarette had gone out