Chapter 3: Introductions
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight.
Renee parked the car and she and Bella got out. Derek ran into the front yard. "Hey, Ms. Dwyer. I'm here just like you told me. Do you need help with the luggage?" Looking about, he tried to spot her daughter.
"Yeah, we could use some help. Phil's not here right now, so we could certainly stand to borrow your muscles."
Derek's face broke into a smile, and what a smile it was. "Always willing to help a lady in need of my assistance." He hoped it wasn't too obvious how eager he was to meet the new girl in the neighborhood, but Ms. Dwyer did tell him to meet them there.
Looking over the roof of her Honda Accord, Renee motioned to the shy girl. "Come over here, Bella. I want you to meet Derek."
Bella faced away from the boy in question for a moment, and blew out a puff of air from her cheeks. She inhaled once, pasted a pleased to meet you expression on her face and ambled over to the other side of the car.
In spite of herself, she had to admit, he was easy on the eyes. He was around six feet tall, with a shock of light brown hair with some blonde highlights in it. His eyes were a clear, grey-blue with a hint of mischief mixed in. His mouth held a row of almost perfect white teeth, which were in contrast to his deeply tanned skin. There was one tooth that overlapped his right lateral incisor, which strangely seemed to add to his charm. He was dressed in old jeans and a charcoal grey tee shirt with blue and red graphics on the front. Well, at least he wasn't decked out, trying to impress her.
As she rounded the left front bumper, he ducked his head so that his eyes were level with hers, and waved his hand in front of his face. She tried not to laugh, but he was acting kinda goofy. She had nearly gotten within arm's distance of him when her toe hit a loose rock in the driveway, sending her sprawling into his surprised arms. Whoops—that made an impression, not a good one, but an impression, nonetheless.
He could imagine how embarrassed this must have been for her, but d'arvit, it was nice feeling her slim body encased in his arms, a very pleasant turn of events, for him, anyway.
"Darn rocks. There were explicitly placed there just to harass you," he joked.
Bella closed her eyes, acutely aware of the spread of crimson covering her face. And here she was in the muscled arms of a handsome stranger. He loosened his grip, as she straightened up and backed away, smoothing the wrinkles from her rumbled blouse. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Hey, no need to apologize. The pleasure was all mine," he stated nonchalantly, as he shook her hand. "Derek Miller by the way, and you're Bella, I'm guessing."
Her eyes involuntarily rolled in her head. "Yeah, unfortunately, the klutziness goes hand in hand with the name."
"Oh, Bella," Renee chastised, Derek knows all about how accident-prone you are. It's one of your endearing qualities. You don't have to be sorry about it.
"Well, you two get to know each other while I open the trunk." Renee walked to the back of the Honda, while they stared at each other in awkward silence.
Derek broke the stand-off. "Your mother is somethin' else, but you probably already knew that, huh?"
"Oh, yeah . . . My mother just says whatever pops into her head. No filter on Renee Dwyer, that's for sure . . . Look—Derek, I'm sorry that my mom dragged you into this."
Without hesitation, he countered with, "I'm not. It'll be nice having a pretty girl around for the summer. There's nothing but retirees in this neighborhood."
He liked that she seemed natural, without a trace of makeup, and her clothes weren't revealing like most of the girls in college wore. Her mahogany colored hair draped about her shoulders gracefully, and god, those eyes—they were like pools of melted chocolate.
"Okay, muscles," Renee yelled. "Get your firm little butt back here and help get this luggage into the house."
Bella was mortified, but Derek shrugged and shook his head. He lifted the suitcases out of the trunk and transported them up the stairs to Bella's bedroom.
The next day, Renee was yelling from downstairs. "Sweetie, can you get the door, I'm in the middle of washing up last night's dishes."
"I'm not dressed," Bella answered, irritated. "I'm wearing my pjs, for cryin' out loud."
Renee continued scrubbing a pot that she accidentally burned the night before. "Oh for heaven's sake; people around here go everywhere half-naked. This is Florida. Now go get the door." Good grief, Bella was 18 years old, she needed to live a little.
Bella raced down the stairs, nearly tripping on the bottom step. She yanked open the front door, and there stood Derek, all bright eyed and bushy tailed. He had navy blue sweats on, and running shoes. He was accompanied by two German Shepherds. Thankfully, they were both on a leash. Surprised as you may be, she was scared to death of dogs, ones that didn't change to human form, that is. She stepped back from the threshold in fright.
"Don't worry, we don't bite." He clicked his teeth together. D'Arvit! Was she afraid of dogs? His good idea suddenly didn't seem so good.
Feeling self-conscious, she looked down at her bare feet. She was covered modestly enough. Her light yellow sleep tee came down to her mid thigh. It was weird though, standing in her sleepwear in front of this new acquaintance.
Derek looked her up and down. She definitely was a girl, all right. Drinking in the view, he grinned, and said, "Still in your jammies, huh? By the way, nice legs. Really cute toes too. Mind if we lick them—the dogs, I mean."
Oh my gosh, she could feel her face flushing again.
He immediately realized how shy she was, and regretted his overt remark. "I guess that red face is my signal to stop. Don't mind my teasing. But, hey, why don't you go change and come with me? I got up this morning and said to myself, Self, why don't you go on over to Ms. D's house and ask that nice young lady to go running with you on the beach? So, whaddya say, besides no. How bout an affirmative on that? I've got two leashes. One for you; one for me."
Bella fairly choked on her answer. "I don't know . . . I—"
To her utter dismay, she heard her mother's voice shout from the kitchen, "Go on, Bella. Have some fun. By the time you get back, breakfast will be ready."
She was cornered. "Okay, I'll just be a minute." She turned and walked up the stairway, hoping that he wasn't ogling her rear end.
Renee finished washing the abused pot, and dried her hands on a dish towel. Entering the living room, she suggested, "Why don't you come on in and have a seat. Bring the dogs in with you. They're well behaved."
"Thanks, Ms. D." Derek sat on the bright orange couch; the dogs lay down at his feet. He stroked them both behind the ears. "I really enjoyed meeting Bella. It's too bad she can't go to college here. We'd make a great couple," he hurriedly added, "of friends. "Crap, did Ms. D. notice that little slip. He changed the subject quickly. "Did she get settled in all right?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. She's used to traveling back and forth between her dad and me. It's second nature to her now." I just wish she would stay here and forget about that cold, soggy peninsula, she thought.
Bella came down the stairs a few minutes later dressed in her best sweats, not the tattered ones she wore at night in Forks, thank goodness. Derek and the two German Shepherds stood up simultaneously. She kept her distance until he finally introduced her. "Bella, I'd like you to meet Ben, and Geri." He stepped forward, and taking one of her hands, dangled it in front of each of their muzzles so they could get used to her scent. Ben licked her hand, and Geri rubbed her head against it, whimpering.
"German Shepherds are very intuitive; and see, they like you. They know a good person when they smell one." Derek placed her hand on the fur at Geri's neck. "You can pet her; she loves being scratched behind the ear."
Bella timidly raked her fingers through Geri's fur. The dog panted happily, wagging her tail. Derek watched as Bella slowly became a little more confident, and dreamed of the day when she would ruffle her fingers through his hair.
He handed the leash to Bella. "Okay, we're off—see you in a few, Ms. D. Try not to burn the bacon," he whispered in Renee's ear.
They walked toward the beach, the dogs leading the way. When they made it to the shoreline, he turned to Bella. "Thanks for coming with me. My brother usually walks Geri, but I told him I was going to invite you, so he bowed out. He doesn't like girls all that much—yet. Frank's only ten, he'll learn." He chuckled softly. "Don't tell him I told you but his full name is Franklin. We all call him Delano, just to get a rise out of him.
"You ready to run, girl?" He clicked his tongue. "C'mon, boy!" Ben and Derek took off like jets. Unfortunately for Bella, Geri ran after them at top speed, dragging her along. She tried to keep up when she accidentally loosened her grasp on the leash, and the dog was immediately galloping toward her master, the leash trailing behind her in the white sand.
Geri caught up to Derek, as he craned his neck to look back at Bella. "D'arvit," he swore, "Geri—go get Bella . . . go on. Bad dog!"
Barking at Bella, Geri grabbed the sleeve of her sweat top with her sharp teeth, pulling the tired girl relentlessly to the waiting figures of Ben and Derek. "I guess I should have warned you. Ben and Geri are inseparable. Tomorrow, I'll let Frank walk the dogs, and you and I can jog without worrying about runaway canines."
Bella was breathing heavily; it was hard not to notice. Derek leaned down to her eye level, while Geri lapped at her hand with a long pink tongue. "Hey, are you all right? You seem a little short of breath."
Spouting her old stock answer, Bella replied between each labored breath, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Is there an oxygen bar anywhere nearby?"
Geri got up on her hind legs, and jumping up, placed her paws on Bella's shoulders, licking her face over and over.
"D'arvit," He yelled once more. "Get down, girl."
Geri whimpered and lay down in the sand. Bella bent over with her hands on her thighs, gulping in air. Patting her back, Derek offered his apology. "Sorry, Bella, I've never seen her act this way before."
"I think I'm okay, now. One question, though. What the heck does d'arvit mean?"
"It's a slang term from the Artemis Fowl series. Haven't you read any of those books? They're fantasy; about pixies and dwarves and fairies, and a 14 yr old evil genius. I think I've read every one of them."
Bella shot him down with, "I'm more of a classics kind of girl, you know, real literature. Shakespeare, the Bronte's, Austen, Johnathon Swift . . ."
Way to go, Derek, now she thinks you're an idiot. Strike one!
He looked down at Geri, and picking up the leash, said, "Okay girl. Let's go home. I think we'll walk the rest of the way."