Usual disclaimer: Nothing Twilight belongs to me. Just having fun.
Author's Note: Sorry! Does anyone still remember this story? More from me at the end of this chapter.
Chapter 5
How did I end up here? Who is this girl?
I tugged at the hem of my white boy shorts, trying but failing to cover my pale thighs. The deep V-neck of my purple Husky jersey was unflattering to my chest, and I regretted not wearing a bra with better support. Worst of all were the heeled tennis shoes—supposedly the latest campus fashion trend—but a nightmare to me. I was struggling to balance three inches above the ground; how on earth was I going to stay upright while carrying a tray full of food? Why, oh why had I accepted this job at Artie's?
The blame for my current predicament lay squarely on my best friend, Jacob.
"Bells, I've got a brilliant idea." He called me on Sunday, his voice brimming with excitement.
"Aren't you like, at work?" We'd both applied for jobs at the student gym our second week at UW. While I didn't even get a call back, the manager took one look at Jacob and offered him a position as a weight room trainer, far more lucrative than the maintenance job he initially wanted. Life just wasn't fair.
"Yeah, but I bumped into Emmett, and guess what? He's looking for new wait staff—smart, sexy and sporting. Bella, that's you!"
Huh? I almost dropped my phone in shock.
"Hello?"
"Very funny, Jake." It took me a while to recover my voice. "You and I know that my athletic quotient is like, minus fifty. The gym rejected me, remember?"
Artie's was popular with the student athlete crowd for good reason: it wasn't simply the ambience, the carb-heavy servings, or the attractive wait staff everyone knew as 'the Artie girls'. Emmet had a good eye, and an Artie girl was blond bombshell plus sport enthusiast combined. All the girls he chose could hold their own with any athlete whether discussing fitness regimes, turnovers, or RBIs. Did that sound like me?
"That's 'cos the manager's an idiot—"
"Jake!" I hushed him. "You're at work!"
"It's all right, there's—"
"Jake?" A high-pitched voice called. "Can you help me adjust this please."
"Sorry, just give me a sec ... ." The same voice cooed again.
"Jake, it's fine. Go back to work."
"All right." He sighed. "Call you later then." The weight room was crowded with lady cougars and gym queens, both of whom liked to hit on Jacob. He laughed it off, but some of the girls could be downright scary. We were barely a month into college, and already there were girls stalking him at work. The attention was a little unreal for a freshman recruit who hadn't even played a game yet.
To be honest, I was starting to feel a little abandoned. Jacob was tied up with either practice or his job every night, while Leah was dawdling between her old love, track, and her new love, crew. I tried my hand at theater, the campus daily, and even a capella. But none of them stuck. Compared to my two besties, I was completely unadjusted to college life. Making things worse was my rejection from the gym, though, come to think of it, perhaps it was better the lady cougars stayed out of my way.
I was grateful to Jacob for his thoughtfulness, but working at Artie's? That just wasn't me. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to disagree. Leah thought it would be good for me to get out and socialise more, and besides, she often hung out there with her teammates. Alice, my roommate, was even more enthusiastic.
"Bella, you should totally do it!" She reached into her pocket. "I'm going to call Emmett."
"Wait!" I grabbed her wrist and her phone hit the floor with a soft thud. "Seriously, can you imagine me working there? I'd get eaten alive! I can't even name a single Husky player besides Jake."
"Ugh, Bella, that's my latest Iphone!" She knelt and picked up her phone examining it for any damage.
I crossed my arms and gave her a wide smile. "Edward can always get you a new one." Alice was spoilt shamelessly by her older brother, in lieu of their absentee parents.
Alice gave me an irritated look. "See, that's why you need to get out and work, then you'll have something to do instead of pining every night, waiting for football practice to end."
"Alice!" My mouth hung open, unable to come up with a good retort. She loved to tease me about Jacob, despite my insistent denials.
I'd always been the kind of girl to go with the flow, so despite my strong inner resistance, I went to meet with Emmett at Artie's the next day.
"When can you start?" he asked, completely throwing me off guard.
"Uh, actually, I can only really do Friday nights and weekends."
"That's fine." He reached in his desk drawer and took out a sheaf of papers. "Your hours are six to eleven, Fridays to Sundays. Ten bucks an hour. You keep the tips, but ten percent goes to the bar and busboys."
Holy Macaroni. That was even more than the gym would have paid me.
There was a sharp screech as Emmett stood, his chair dragging along the hardwood floor. He looked me up and down as he stepped towards a closet beside his desk.
"You should be what, a size two?" I nodded. He pulled out a set of clothes wrapped in plastic. "Here's your uniform. Can you start this Friday?" With that, I got the job.
"Bella, you ready yet?" There was a loud knock on the door. "Emmett's waiting!" Alice's voice jolted me out of my stupor.
Before I could reply, her head appeared in the door. "Nice legs!" She let out a wolf whistle as she stepped inside the staff locker room, shutting the door behind her.
"This so isn't me." I scrunched my nose at my reflection.
"Bella, you're hot. Get used to it." She darted to my side and placed her make-up case on the dresser.
"Don't move." She stood on tip-toes and peered at my face. "You need some color on your cheeks." With a few quick strokes, she added definition to my eyes, highlighted my cheekbones, and plumped my lips. "There." She set down her brush and turned me to face the mirror, admiring her handiwork. "You'll have the entire football team eating from your hand.
"Now get out there." She started pushing me towards the door before I had a chance to assess her makeover. "Emmett's waiting. Come find me after our set."
Fridays at Artie's was Music Jam night, when indie musicians from all over the Sound gathered and scouts lingered in the crowd. Alice and the Altar Boys were headlining the event. It was barely six-thirty, and the place was filling up except for my section, which for some reason remained relatively quiet. Maybe the hostess was being kind to the newbie.
A loud beep made me jump. I clamped my hand on the back pocket of my shorts, hoping no one heard the sound.
Hanging in there? We're on the way. It was Jacob. I texted back a scowl.
The empty tables suddenly made sense. Emmett had put me in charge of the football team's section!
"Hey, sexy." Out of the blue, someone wrapped an arm around my hip and spun me around. I looked up to an unfamiliar face smiling malevolently. Behind him, Jacob and his teammates entered the restaurant.
"Paul fucking Meraz, keep your hands to yourself," Jacob called out as he approached.
Paul laughed and stepped aside. "No harm, no foul, Black."
"Hey, Bells." Jacob leapt over the steps leading to my section. He threw his arms around me, pressing a light kiss to the side of my head. Freshly showered, he smelled amazing.
"Yeah! Black." One of his teammates let out a catcall, throwing me back to reality. I squirmed out of his embrace and adjusted my jersey. There was the faintest trace of a smirk on Jacob's lips as he settled down on a bench in front of me.
"Good evening everyone," I addressed a table full of curious eyes. "What can I get you to drink?"
Thankfully, the rest of the evening went by without a hitch as I filled orders, cleared trays, and made idle chatter. Jacob's teammates gave me a wide berth, laughing it off when I missed an order and spilled one of their drinks.
"Bells!" Jacob called me from his booth. It was almost the end of my shift, and half his team had left, or rather, they were hanging out with Rosalie and the cheerleaders at the bar. "What time do you get off?"
"Eleven." I kept my voice low.
"Good. So you can join us now." He reached for my hand. "Leah's on her way too."
"Jake! I'm still on the clock." I rolled my eyes as his lower lip curled up in a pout.
The moment the clock struck eleven, I signed the time out sheet and headed towards the dressing room. My feet hurt, and the back edges of my tennis heels were cutting into my ankles.
The staff locker room was located behind the stage near the restrooms and performers' changing room. I inched down the narrow corridor, which was cluttered with guitar cases, amp boxes, and all manner of music instruments. Standing in front of the locker room, I halted in my tracks. There was an electric piano barricading the doorway.
"What the... ." I cursed under my breath and took a step back, trying to figure out how to move the damned thing. Uh-uh, I shook my head. It was too heavy for me to push by myself. Guess I just had to wait for a good Samaritan to help.
Out of sheer curiosity, I lifted the cover and turned on the power switch. It looked like one sleek music machine with the funky knobs and dials. I ran my fingers along the glistening keys. Raising my hands dramatically, I imagined myself as a concert pianist and slammed my fingers on the keys, Rachmaninoff playing in my head.
Silence.
"It's not plugged in." A mellow voice spoke from the shadows, giving me a fright.
"Do you play?" Edward Cullen stepped out of the men's restroom. He casually stepped around to my side and glanced down at the keyboard.
"Um." I quickly withdrew my hands from the keys. "I, uh…the changing room!"
"Oh!" Edward seemed genuinely startled. "I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to get in your way." He crouched and reached underneath the keyboard.
"No, I mean ... ."
"Don't worry about it." There was a loud snap as he quickly dismantled the electric piano. "My fault for leaving it here."
"Oh—" My mouth fell open as he hoisted the instrument onto his shoulders. "I didn't know you could do that."
"Yeah, these portables are great." He continued talking to me with the thing resting on his shoulder, as if it weighed less than a sack of potatoes. "So, you play?"
"Well, uh ... ." Why was I stammering? "I … I took some lessons years ago, but that's about it." My eyes were on my feet, but I could sense his gaze on me.
"You looked pretty professional just now." Was he making fun of me? His expression seemed sincere, but there was still a worm of self-doubt suspecting his intentions.
"Well, I'd better get out of your way." With his free hand, he lifted the stand, its foot scratching my leg as he made his way past me. "Let me know if you'd like some lessons." He flashed a smile at me before turning towards the back door.
Flustered, I darted into the locker room and started undressing. Was he … flirting with me? Of the four band members, Edward was the most elusive. He would sit alone, eyes shut, tapping on the table as he listened to whoever was on stage. Occasionally he would have a visitor, always finely dressed like himself, and they would sit in a corner deep in conversation, oblivious to everything else.
Was it because he missed whatever world it was that he came from? Did he miss being a lawyer? Why had he left? He had an aura of mystery, and despite Jacob and Leah's negative impression, I didn't think he meant any harm. He was, after all, my roommate's brother, and, from all accounts, he treated her well.
It was cold out in the back of the restaurant, so I quickly pulled on my spotted print leggings and new vintage dress tee. Back home, I never paid much attention to clothes. But at UW there was so much choice, and a whole diverse spectrum of dressing styles. I started frequenting the vintage and second-hand clothing stores on University Way. Although my checking account suffered, it gave me great satisfaction that I was finally developing my own sense of style.
Slipping into my ballet flats, I splashed some water on my face at the nearby sink, rubbed off some of Alice's smudged mascara, and headed back outside.
Jacob was nowhere to be found, and there were only a few players I didn't know lingering in my section.
"Bella! Over here!" I turned to the front of the restaurant and spotted Jacob and Leah at a booth near the stage with Paul and another two girls I didn't recognize.
"Bella, I was about to send out a search and rescue team," Jacob called out as I approached.
"Yeah, no kidding, man." Paul laughed as he stood up to let me in. "Jake figured you fell into the toilet bowl."
"Thanks, Jake." I rolled my eyes. "I met a friend."
"Oh, yeah?" He raised an eyebrow, not moving from his seat.
"Scoot over." I poked his shoulder, but instead of moving aside, he pushed my hands against my side, gently sliding me across his lap.
"Bella, ugh, did you put on weight?" My butt brushed against his thighs, sending the most awkward feeling through my veins. Flushed, I trained my eyes on a spot on the table.
"So, who'd you meet?"
I almost blurted out Edward's name, but remembered Leah and Jacob's reaction the last time they met him.
"Just a classmate. No one you know." I kept my voice nonchalant. Jacob was leaning a little too close to me, and his breath reeked of alcohol. His left hand was wrapped around an empty tall glass. "Jake, what are you drinking?" I was curious.
"Nothing much. Just some Coke." He noticed my eyes on his hand and let go of the glass.
"Yeah, right." Leah snorted.
"Holly was getting friendly with him." One of the girls sitting next to Leah volunteered.
"Holly?" I raised an eyebrow. Jacob still refused to look at me.
"Holly Hadley. Hadley, as in Coach Hadley," Leah said in a deliberately loud voice.
"Someone called?" A sweet voice floated over to our table. I looked up and saw my co-worker, a sophomore named Holly. She was the model Artie's girl—tall, blond, and a former state volleyball player. I hadn't realized she was also the daughter of Jacob's coach. Talk about pedigree.
"Hey, Bella." She smiled sweetly. "Jake"—she leaned over the table, reached for his glass, and gave him what I was sure was a pretty good view—"you like how I mix'em?" Sheesh, I really needed to invest in a proper bra.
"Fuckin' awful," Jacob said a little too loudly while banging his fist. "Just kidding, Holly. It was awesome. Gimme another one!" He looked up at her and grinned.
"Count me in too." Paul downed his glass and handed it over to Holly.
"I'll be right back." She turned away, but not before sending Jacob an air kiss. He had a look of complete bliss on his face. Guys. I shook my head. Leah let out another snort.
"Aw, give us a break, girls. It's Friday."
"Yeah buddy!" Jacob reached over me to bump fists with Paul.
"Can't blame Jake," Paul said. "None of you girls giving us any love tonight, right Bella?"
"Yeah, Bells, when you gonna show me some lurrveee?" Jacob leaned back in his seat and slung his arm around my shoulders.
Whatever Holly mixed in their drinks, it must have been pretty strong. Jacob usually held his alcohol, but he looked buzzed. Or was he just putting on an act, joining Paul in mutual boorishness? What was Paul doing to my best friend?
"Geez, Jake." I tried to shake his arm off but he was too heavy. "You're drunk."
"Naw. I'm sober as a cat." He sat up straight but shifted even closer.
"Right, and what kind of cat would that be?" Leah chuckled, sending the girl beside her into peals of laughter.
"Did he just have one drink?" I asked Leah. Jacob nodded away, trying his best to keep a straight face. "Jake, that's not going to work."
"Babe." He tilted his head towards my shoulder and buried his face in the crook of my neck. Leah arched an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. Jacob never called me that, and somehow, I found that a little demeaning.
"What works on you then?" His voice was so low I don't think anyone else could hear him. "Tell me, and I'll do it." Something in his expression knocked me off-kilter. Was he serious, drunk, or sober but teasing me? God, what was wrong with him?
"Here you go." Holly appeared again. "Coke for the two gentlemen." She placed the same two tall glasses in front of Paul and Jacob. It did look like Coke. "And the ladies here have a special treat"—she set four Martini glasses in the center of the table—"compliments of the tall, dashing young man over there." She cocked an eyebrow in the direction of the stage.
"Hang on," Leah called after her retreating figure. "Who?"
"He says one of you will know." She smiled and walked away.
"What the fuck?" Paul grunted. Every single pair of eyes in our booth was scrutinizing the tables near the stage, where the musicians sat. I pretended to look too, hoping no one would notice my guilty face.
"Hang on, Bells." Jacob grabbed my hand which had reached for one of the Martini glasses. "Don't drink that."
"And why shouldn't I?" I tried to loosen my fingers from his grip, but he held on even tighter.
"You don't know what's in it."
"Double standards, Jake." Leah spoke up on my behalf. "Do you know what Holly served you?"
"Fuck, Leah. You know she can't take alcohol."
A ball of anger rose in my throat. "Of course I can." With my other hand, I grabbed the stem of the glass. Before Jacob could do anything, I raised it to my mouth and started gulping down the drink.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there, girl." Paul tried to take the glass away but I dodged. "Martinis are meant to be sipped, not chugged down like beer."
I finished every drop and set the glass back down, feeling somewhat satisfied by Jacob's annoyed glare. Everyone stared at me agape.
"Bella, are you all right?" Leah half-stood and reached toward me.
"I'm absolutely"—and then I let out a loud burp—"fine." My heart suddenly started thumping in my chest. I felt flushed, and there was a burning sensation in my stomach.
"See what I told you." While Jacob and Leah bickered, I leaned back against the seat and shut my eyes, hoping it would slow the blood rushing to my head.
"Cut it out, guys. I'm fine." Almost as soon as I sat up a wave of nausea overwhelmed me.
"Maybe we should head back," Leah said. "It's getting late."
"Babe"—Jacob called me that again—"you okay to get up?"
"Yeah." I tried to stand, but instead tasted bile rising up my throat. "I ... I need to throw up."
Five minutes later, I was kneeling over a toilet bowl, half the contents of my dinner inside. Leah stroked my back, holding back my hair with her other hand.
"She all right?" Jacob sounded like he was about to storm the ladies' restroom.
"Yeah." Leah's voice boomed around the tiled bathroom. "Down the toilet bowl, like you said."
"Good. Get it all out, Bella."The sudden realization that the staff locker room was right next door made my head swirl, and I hurled again.
"Don't ever do something as dumb as this again, Bella." Leah huffed. "What were you thinking?"
"Bella, you okay?" Jacob's voice was far too loud for comfort. The whole restaurant could probably hear him.
"Yeah, she just threw up again." The door creaked as it swung open, and a set of light footsteps crept towards us.
"What's up, Holly?" Leah moved away from me, her shadow elongating as she stood.
"Oh, Bella, what happened? Are you okay?" Holly cooed. Oh my god. I felt like sinking my head into the toilet bowl.
"We're fine, thanks." Leah's tone was curt. Holly lingered for a few moments, but finally stepped away and into the cubicle next door. The thought of her peeing a few feet away was enough to push me to my feet.
"Yikes." Leah held up a fistful of my hair. "I don't know how you're going to get this off." She helped me to the sink outside.
"Wash your face," she instructed. "I'll try to scrub this gunk out." She returned with some wet paper towels, cleaning my hair while I splashed water on my face and rinsed my mouth. "Feel better now?" I nodded.
The toilet flushed, and Holly joined us at the sink. I was in absolutely no mood or condition to make casual talk with her.
"Let's go." Leah's arm reached out for me as I swayed precariously.
"Jake, give us a hand over here." Leah called for back up. Within seconds, I was in Jacob's arms.
"Bella, you need some first aid?" Holly continued to fuss as Jacob carried me out of the bathroom. "Thanks, Holly. We've got it," Jacob replied over his shoulder.
"Yeah, don't you have to get back to work?" Leah came to the rescue, as always. I heard the faintest huff from Holly, her heels thumping on the vinyl flooring as she returned outside.
"Let me down, Jake. I can walk." I flailed my arms and legs, hoping to show that I was fine. The burning sensation in my stomach had eased and my head felt lighter. One Holly was enough. There was no way I wanted anyone in the restaurant to see Jacob carrying me out of the restroom on my first day at work.
Jacob peered at me, a quizzical look in his eyes, as if assessing my soberness. He didn't look convinced.
"I'm fine, Jake." I kept my voice steady. "Let me down."
"All right." He kept his arm around me as he set my feet on the floor.
"See, I'm fine."
"Bella, whoa, what happened?" A small figure appeared at the entrance to hallway. In my haze, I couldn't make out the face, but the voice belonged to Alice. I raised my head in the direction of the sound and smiled weakly.
"She's fine. But I'm going to pummel the fucking asshole who ordered those drinks." Jacob cursed under his breath.
"Bella, are you all right?" Someone who was not Alice stepped towards me as we reached the doorway. Long, cool fingers wrapped around my elbow, and Jacob's grip around my hip tightened.
"Oh dear, Bella, what happened?" I finally recognized Edward's voice. He released me and reached towards my face, tucking my hair behind my ear.
"Don't touch her." Jacob's voice turned into a snarl.
"Jake, it's all right." His fingers were digging into my skin.
"Sorry, I didn't know—" Edward started to speak again.
"Oh!" Leah suddenly lunged. "So it was you."
Jacob suddenly released me, and I fell forward. Before I could recover my footing, I heard a loud cracking noise and a thud.
"Jake!" I yelled, but it was too late. Edward swayed from the force of Jacob's blow and crumpled to the floor, clutching his jaw. Jacob advanced towards the wall. Not pausing to think, I threw myself against him. "Stop, Jake!" I held his hands down as Alice rushed towards her brother. "Alice, I'm so sorry." Edward's chin was discolored, and there was blood on his lips.
"What the fuck, Bella?" Jacob's chest heaved. "This fucker just tried to—"
"All right, guys, what's going on here?" Emmett's voice boomed across the hall. He froze as he caught sight of Edward's prostate form. "What the fuck, Ed?"
"Kid here has a temper problem." Edward leaned against the wall and pushed himself back onto his feet. "Maybe you should have a word with his coach.
Oh no ... . Disciplinary infractions were a strict no-no when it came to college athletics. I didn't want Jacob's football career to end before it even started.
"Oh, yeah?" Jacob pushed my hands away easily and stalked towards Edward. "Wanna call the cops?"
"That's enough, Jake." Emmett stepped in between the two of them and laid a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Take this outside of here if you want, but no fighting in my restaurant. Jake, Coach Hadley's not going to look kindly on your behavior tonight. I suggest you apologize, and Edward won't say anything."
"Yes, Emmett, we're so sorry." Jacob glared at me. "Edward, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I've had worse." He gave me a crooked smile. Jacob snorted rudely, and stalked off towards the back door. Leah followed behind him.
"I'm sorry. Jacob has a hot temper, but really, he's a good guy." I was doing my best to salvage the situation. "Please don't report him."
"Edward was just kidding, right?" Alice prodded her brother. "Let's go to the changing room and take a look at this."
The back door opened and Leah's head appeared. "Bella!"
"I ... I gotta run. Alice, you okay?" She nodded and gave me a wink as she coaxed Edward toward the room across the hall.
"Bella!" Leah was getting impatient. Casting another apologetic look at Edward, I ran back out to join my two friends.
We missed the last campus shuttle, so Paul accompanied Leah and her friends to their dorms on West Campus, leaving Jacob to walk me home.
The night was still, the air cool and crisp as our feet crunched autumn leaves on quiet sidewalks. Jacob remained sullen and silent as we crossed University Way and entered the school grounds.
"What were you thinking?" I stopped and turned towards Jacob as my dorm building came into sight.
"Bells, are you fucking kidding me?" He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and brushed past me. "That asshole tried to dope you."
"Come on, Jake, it was just a drink!" Jacob's accusation just didn't make sense to me. Whatever Edward's intentions, there was no reason for him to want me unconscious, not when I was with so many friends. "Like you aren't guilty of the same thing."
"Yeah, well the difference is I know my limits," he replied coolly.
"Well, then why'd you sock him?" I tugged at his bomber jacket and he finally stopped, turning to face me. "If anything, it was my fault."
"Bells, do you seriously believe that?" He grabbed my arm a little too forcefully. "You're so naive."
We were standing opposite my dorm and he made to cross the street. My feet remained rooted to the asphalt, unable to move. I was astounded by his statement and at a loss for words. Jacob's shadow grew shorter as he moved towards me.
"Bells." His voice turned gentle, and he caressed my shoulder. "I ... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"No ... it's okay." My voice came out all jerky. I focused on the flashing traffic light across from me and took a deep breath. "I mean, I'm eighteen Jake. I can take care of myself."
"But ..." he hesitated, "but I want to, Bells." His voice cracked, and something in me stirred. He held my gaze; his eyes glistening with a strange light.
"Bella, you do understand, don't you?" He reached out for my hand, pulling me closer. "Fuck, that's not how I meant to say it."
He took a step towards me, so close now his coat buttons brushed against my chest. I couldn't help but lean into his warmth. Before I could react, his hand cupped the back of my neck, tilting my face towards him. The faintest trace of alcohol lingered in the air. Was that me or Holly? And then his lips closed around mine, far softer than I ever imagined. Every single cell in my body shut down as he kissed me slowly, languidly. "Stop thinking." He pulled me gently into a tight embrace.
I closed my eyes, relaxing into his touch as he continued teasing my lips. So this was what it felt like to kiss someone ... what? I was kissing Jake? My best friend? I pulled away and clamped my mouth in horror.
"I ... " My voice left me. "I ... we ... ."
"Bells." Jacob ran his thumb down the side of my jaw, slowly threading his fingers into mine and praying my hand from my face.
"Jake." I pulled away. "You're drunk."
"Bella, I'm not." He locked his arms around me in a loose embrace, preventing me from moving any further. "I, fuck, I shouldn't have done it this way. Sorry. I mean, sorry, I'm not sorry for kissing you, fuck no." His face contorted, the flashing red light from across the street casting strange shadows.
"What's wrong, Jake?" I was totally confused and suddenly felt like giving him a hug. Maybe my best friend would reappear then.
And then he said the words which threw me off course and tilted my center of gravity. "Bells, you know what I'm saying, don't you?" His eyes burned into mine, as if willing me to understand. His voice was husky as he finally spoke again. "Bella, don't you know how I feel about you?"
Author's Note: It's been so long, it took me half an hour to figure out how to post again! Sorry, real life happened and I kinda forgot about this story till Micah's Moonbeam sent me an e-mail a few months ago. You have her and Leelator to thank for this update: they prodded, cajoled, and held my hand while I rediscovered how to write again.
Everyone knows Leelator's amazing writing skills from How to Seduce a Werewolf but did you know she's also a fantastic Beta? She whipped my ass into shape and tells me off when I need it :) Many thanks also to Micah's Moonbeam for pre-reading and helping me to believe in myself as a writer again.
If you actually do remember this story, please send me a shout-out! I'm hoping a few of you are still with me...anyone? :)
Lastly, Leelator tells me Theair_thesun has a new drabble contest. I can't figure out how to post the link but go look for it and check it out!