OK...I know it's shocking but yes, it's another update!! Just a quick note to say that I have finally gotten my act together and posted links to some of the songs associated with certain chapters of the story on my profile, so check them out if you get a chance...
HUGE shout out to my beta cdunbar....her Edward has been nominated for a Bellie award so check out the awards and vote for your favorites...I'll post a link on my profile as soon as I post this because I forgot...lol
To the usual suspects...EclipseoftheTwilightMoon, PurdueLiz and Qjmom...MWAH, sloppy kisses to you all.
All the ladies over on the thread for this story on Twilighted(dot)net...I've had so much fun messing with you all, so this chapter is dedicated to YOU!!
Disclaimer: They're not mine.
CHAPTER 13
BPOV
Pushing the cart that my suitcase was balanced on through the Arrivals area of SeaTac airport, I scanned the mass of people for a familiar face. The feeling of being home washed over me as a flock of butterflies flew wildly in my belly. Alice had promised to meet me, skipping her last class of the day in order to pick me up, but I was suddenly nervous that she wouldn't be alone and I felt ill prepared to deal with seeing Edward again in my post flight dishevelment.
"Bella!" I heard the high-pitched squeal a fraction of a second before I caught sight of the blur that was Alice, hurtling toward me.
Bracing myself for impact, I opened my arms just in time for her to throw herself into them.
"Oh my god, I can't believe you're home!" she shouted excitedly.
"I missed you too, Alice," I laughed, straining to see if she'd brought Jasper with her. From what I had gathered from her phone conversations over the past few weeks, the two of them had been joined at the hip since I'd left.
"Where's Jasper?" I asked, still afraid to inquire about Edward's whereabouts. The longer I stayed in my bubble of denial, imagining his life somehow frozen in time while I was away, the easier it was to control the torrent of nerves that were assaulting my insides.
"At school, silly." Alice released her hold on me and grabbed the handle of the cart. "Come on, I can't wait to show you the apartment!"
The drive into Seattle was filled with Alice's happy chatter and I smiled at the ease with which we fell back into our old relationship. By the time we pulled into the parking garage of my new home I felt as though I'd been away for an afternoon, not a month and a half.
It wasn't until we stepped onto the elevator that I began to notice my surroundings. It was obvious just from the chrome and mirror clad space that this building was much newer than the one I had lived in before. As Alice pushed the button for the tenth floor, I was surprised at the speed of our ascent compared to the decrepit piece of machinery in my old place.
The hallway was clean and well lit with thick Berber carpeting in a neutral shade, so unlike the threadbare orangey patterned carpet seen in so many older buildings. Its thickness served to muffle the sounds of people moving about in the halls.
Alice unlocked and threw open the door marked 1006 with a flourish before turning to usher me inside.
The entryway was spacious, with a table against one wall and a closet set into the other. Dropping my case by the door, I slipped off my shoes and gasped as the slate tile on the floor warmed the soles of my feet. I had only ever been exposed to in-floor heating once before, in the Brandon's bathrooms of course, and I had always loved getting out of the shower or bath and stepping onto the warm floor.
Alice's eyes sparkled with glee as she led me further into the apartment and my jaw dropped as I took in the many features. The kitchen and living areas were open-plan and larger than my entire old apartment.
Following the slate flooring around the wall from the entry, I stared in awe at the kitchen with its stainless steel appliances, black granite countertops, and deep cherry wood cabinet doors.
I slowly made my way around the room; running my fingers lightly along the cool, smooth granite and admiring the backsplash beneath the upper cabinetry, which consisted of tiny mosaic, glass tiles in various shades of grey. The silver flecks embedded in them glistened in the under-cabinet lights.
Opening the fridge, I chuckled as I was confronted with three take-out containers and a carton of milk, and on the freezer side sat a single bottle of Grey Goose. As talented as Alice was in so many aspects, cooking had never been her forte. The girl could burn salad, for Pete's sake. While I began to make a mental grocery list, I hazarded a guess that the chef's range and double wall oven in the room had never been used in the two weeks she'd lived there.
The double sink and dishwasher were set in the long island that separated the kitchen from the main living area and a raised slab of granite that ran the length of it served as a breakfast bar.
Moving around the island, I stepped into the vast expanse of the living/dining area. There was a beautiful, glass-topped dining table, with six high-backed upholstered chairs neatly tucked in around it, set toward the back of the room, near the kitchen. The charcoal grey, microfibre fabric complimented the black leather of the high bar stools lined up at the breakfast bar.
The hardwood flooring was stained the same reddish brown of the cabinets; its finish was flawless and the coolness of the wood was a pleasant change after the warmth of the heated slate.
The walls throughout the main area were painted a light grey that appeared to have a red undertone, making it warm and inviting rather than cold and dreary. The décor in the room was sparse and modern, which was not usually something I would have liked, but it worked perfectly in the space and it definitely screamed Alice.
A large, flat-screen TV hung on the wall adjacent to the hallway to my right. A long black leather sofa faced it in the center of the room, with an apothecary table situated in between. Both pieces of furniture sat on a large, rectangular area rug; its thick cream colored pile functioning as a means to lighten and cozy up the otherwise stark look.
A matching runner ran the length of the opposite wall, drawing attention to the sleek shelves and sideboard arranged around a piece of modern art so large it warranted its own lighting.
As impressive as these items were, nothing could have prepared me for the true focal point of the room.
I walked gingerly through the room until I was standing behind the only other pieces of furniture there; four overstuffed armchairs, arranged in pairs around two small tables facing, what can only be described as, a wall of glass.
The floor to ceiling windows were four frameless sheets of thick, tinted glass with one panel that could be popped out onto a track and slid to the side, offering access to the narrow Juliet balcony with a plexi-glass railing. What was, essentially, a transparent wall allowed for a spectacular view of not only downtown Seattle, but also of the ocean and the mountains in the distance.
I stood for a few minutes, taking it all in. It had started to get dark out and the city lights were beginning to flicker on. I could see the traffic moving on the streets below, but the noise never reached the room and I was suddenly struck with the realization that it was too much. Too good to be true. There was no way I could afford to live in a place like this, even if I was sharing the costs with Alice.
With a heavy heart, I turned to my friend, who was waiting somewhat impatiently for me to finish my tour.
"Alice, I…"
"Shhh," she cut me off, no doubt knowing what my concern was. "Don't say anything until you've seen your room," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the hallway and the first door on the left.
The large, airy room was carpeted with the same plush Berber as the outer hallway and the queen sized bed looked decidedly small against the expansive wall that accommodated the door. There was a large, walk-in closet to my left and next to that was a door leading to an en-suite bathroom, the likes of which I had only ever seen before in magazines.
Both the bathroom and bedroom had the same glass walls, offering a continuation of the uninterrupted view from the living room.
Centered in front of the window was a large, jetted bathtub, the tiled surround built around it allowing space to store toiletries or arrange candles. Directly behind the tub was the largest shower I had ever seen, the open, frosted glass door revealed matching showerheads and molded benches at each end with additional jets located along the back and sides.
His and hers vessel sinks sat atop the black granite vanity counter in an alcove against the wall opposite the window and beside that was a door leading into a small room that housed the toilet.
Alice noticed my surprise at having the bath and shower on such full display to the outside world. The fact that we were on the tenth floor would suggest that it was unlikely that we would be seen, but I still didn't know how comfortable I would be bathing while feeling so exposed.
"They're like two-way mirrors," she said conspiratorially, pointing to the tinted glass. "It's almost impossible to see in from the outside during the day. But if you want some privacy at night…" She trailed off, flicking a switch on the wall.
A low hum filled the room as blinds began to lower from a track in the ceiling that I had not noticed before.
Speechless, I shook my head in disbelief before turning to pass Alice's smirking face to return to the bedroom. Alice followed me into the room and caught my wrist in her hand, pulling me around in my stunned silence.
"So," she started enthusiastically. "I thought your couch could go here and that nice chair you have could go…"
"Wait!" I planted my feet firmly into the plush carpet and raised my hands. "Alice, I can't afford this! I love it, really I do, but there's no way…"
"Yes, you can." It was her turn to interrupt me. "Your half of the rent is the same as you were paying before," she stated.
She let out an exasperated sigh when I gave her a stern look to indicate that I didn't believe a word she just said.
"Honestly. A few years ago, my dad represented the developer through some legal issues they had while this place was being built," she explained patiently. "When he won their case for them, they credited him as being the reason that this project ever got finished and, by way of thanks, they gave him this unit at a reduced rate," she finished happily.
It still sounded too good to be true to me, and Alice rolled her eyes when she saw that I wasn't convinced.
"Here." She thrust her phone in my direction. "You can call him yourself, if you don't believe me."
The look on her face told me that she was telling the truth and I immediately felt bad for doubting her as I gently pushed her hand away.
"I believe you," I said on a sigh. "But you at least have to switch rooms with me." Why she would give me what was clearly the master suite baffled me, but if I was going to live here, the least I could do was take the smaller room.
"What on earth for?" she cried, taken aback by my request. "We can paint it if you don't like the color or…"
"No, no, it's not that," I assured her. "It's just that this is obviously the master bedroom and I…"
"Ohhhh," she jumped in, a look of realization creeping over her features. "Let me show you my room before you decide anything," she said with an impish grin as she led me across the hall and into her room.
"Whoa" was really all I could say as I looked around from the doorway.
Her room was noticeably larger than mine and, because the apartment was situated at the end of the floor, she, too, had a wall of windows that showcased a different, but equally breathtaking view.
There were also two walk-in closets and another impressive en-suite. The main difference being that, instead of a Jacuzzi tub in her bathroom, there was a freestanding, claw foot tub by the windows in the bedroom itself.
"You still want to switch rooms?" she asked smugly.
"Yes," I snickered back. "But for entirely different reasons, now."
Our laughter eased the slight tension that had built up as we proceeded to drag my suitcase into my room and unpack. Now that the idea of living here was beginning to sink in, I started to join in Alice's excitement about how we were going to finish arranging my room once I had the time to empty my storage unit.
I also couldn't deny that I was looking forward to making full use of our well-equipped kitchen as the mental grocery list reappeared in my mind's eye. At the thought of food, however, my stomach growled loudly and Alice burst into another fit of giggles at the sound.
"I know you don't have any food here, Alice," I said with mock chastisement. "So, how about we order pizza tonight and we'll do a big grocery shop tomorrow?"
"Sure," she agreed, flipping open her phone. "Volterra?"
"Ugh…yes!" I think I drooled a little at the suggestion. "God, I missed their pizza."
Half an hour later, Alice and I were sitting at the breakfast bar, enjoying our dinner. We had both mellowed considerably and I felt my eyes begin to droop as we finished up.
"Okay, time for bed," Alice announced, after noticing my heavy eyelids. "I need you well rested for tomorrow. We have so much to do!" Her voice raised an octave at the last sentence as she clapped her hands excitedly.
"What do you mean, Alice?" I asked warily.
"It's your birthday tomorrow," she stated, as though that explained everything.
"I know that, but what does that have to do with being busy? You haven't made plans without telling me, have you?" She knew how I hated surprises and making a big deal out of my birthday.
"Well…" She actually had the decency to look slightly sheepish. "I've made reservations at Union. It'll be Jasper's and my treat." And then she pulled out the pout.
Damn the pout!
"Okay," I sighed. "That's sweet of you both. Unnecessary, but sweet. Thank you." I smiled before scrunching my eyebrows together in confusion. "Wait, so why are we going to busy all day?" I almost dreaded the answer.
"First, we need to find you a new dress and most likely some shoes." Alice looked at the ceiling and I knew she was compiling a mental to-do list. "Plus, you wanted to go grocery shopping," she added, pursing her lips like she was sucking a lemon. Grocery was perhaps the only kind of shopping that Alice disliked. "Then, we'll have to get back here in time to get ready to go. Our reservation is for six o'clock."
"Why so early?" I asked.
"I thought you'd still be on 'Chicago' time and would want to eat early," she said, clearly proud of her foresight.
"Oh, yeah, you're probably right." I gave her a grateful smile. That really was very thoughtful of her.
"Bella." She winked at me. "I'm always right, remember?"
"Sorry, I forgot," I scoffed through a yawn.
"You're forgiven," she teased back. "Now, go and get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning." She turned me around and nudged me down the hallway.
"Okay, goodnight, Alice."
"'Night, Bella." I heard her reply before my door clicked shut behind me.
Even though exhaustion was quickly taking over, I still needed a shower after my day of traveling. So, with some trepidation, I went to my bathroom to try to figure out the various features of the intimidating multi-jetted 'power shower'.
After being soaked by a couple of the horizontal jets during my trial and error attempt to master all the knobs and buttons, I finally discovered how to set the water so that it only came from one showerhead. I proceeded to have a somewhat normal shower, quickly washing away the grime of the day, before dressing in my usual flannel pajama pants and tank top. Curling up under my covers, I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
"Happy Birthday!" I was awoken the next morning by a very hyper Alice, jumping on the end of my bed.
"What time is it?" I groaned into my pillow.
"It's almost nine o'clock." Jumping onto the floor, Alice grabbed my arm and started pulling me to the edge of the bed. "Come on, we have to get going!"
"Okay, okay." I swung my legs off the mattress and allowed Alice to pull me to my feet.
Four hours later, Alice and I were dropping the last of the grocery bags onto the kitchen counter and we began to unload the food into the cabinets and fridge.
"Sandwiches?" I asked wearily as Alice shot me a questioning look. "For lunch," I clarified.
"Uh…sure," she answered noncommittally.
She had been decidedly distracted for the past hour and that had me more than a little worried. She and Jasper had been firing texts back and forth during that time and she had become more and more withdrawn with each subsequent missive. I really hoped that everything was okay between the two of them, but if I broached the subject she would just brush me off and tell me not to worry, acting like nothing was amiss, until the next text would have her frowning at her phone.
With our food put away, I set about making the two of us our sandwiches. Then we sat and ate in silence. I sighed as I loaded our plates into the dishwasher, the stresses of the morning weighing heavily on my shoulders.
"I think I'm going to lie down for a bit," I said, at which Alice immediately brightened. Odd.
"Perfect," she chirped. "I have a couple of things to do, anyway. I'll be back in an hour or so, okay?" She scooped up her keys from the hall table and had her hand on the door handle before I could react to her sudden change of mood.
"Oh…alright." I shrugged, clearly confused.
Alice simply grinned at me before opening the door and disappearing down the hall. I shook my head at the strange turn of events before padding down the hardwood and into my room.
What started out as a quick nap turned into a deep sleep and I was quickly immersed in a frustrating dream. I was looking for Edward, revisiting places where we had spent time together, but I arrived at each location just moments after he had left. I could still feel his presence lingering and the air was filled with that wonderful musky, spicy scent that I remembered waking up to that first morning, but he was always gone. As my mind struggled to make sense of it, my body started to panic. The butterflies bounced off the walls of my stomach as my heart beat wildly against my ribcage.
Was I too late? Did I stay away too long? If there was something there to begin with, had he moved on?
"Bella!" I was woken by the shrill voice of an apparently fully recovered Alice. "We don't have much time. Get in the shower and wake up!" she squealed, dragging me, still half asleep, to my bathroom.
I groggily stepped into the shower and slid the door closed before turning every knob and pressing every button on the control panel. Jets of hot water hit me from every angle and I instantly began to regain consciousness as I soaped myself up and lathered my favorite strawberry scented shampoo in my hair.
The dream had bothered me more than I cared to admit, my mind was reading more into my decision to return to Seattle than I was comfortable with. I had already convinced myself that seeing Edward again was just one of many, solid reasons to come back and that his reaction to my arrival shouldn't hold any sway in how I felt about being home. I hadn't given him any indications that I saw him as anything more than a friend because I hadn't allowed myself to think of him in any other way before I left. So why would I think that even if he had harbored any feelings for me, that he would have held onto those during the past six weeks?
I sucked in a deep breath as I rinsed my hair, trying to allay the anxiety that had settled itself in my heart and my mind. Convincing myself that I could handle whatever what was to be, I suddenly aware that all I really needed was to know what I was facing so that I could go on with my life accordingly. Edward and I could be friends, we had proven that before I left because the comfort I felt around him was unlike any I had felt with a man before and if that was all we were to be to each other, then I would gladly embrace it.
With a renewed sense of calm, I got out of the shower and toweled myself off before returning to my room and my overly excited friend.
"Sit," Alice commanded, motioning to the chair she had moved into the room while I was showering, using the hairdryer in her hand to point to the seat. She had already showered and done her hair and make up and was bouncing on the balls of her feet, wearing an oversized, fluffy robe.
Once my hair was dried and styled into shiny, soft waves, she moved around to start working on my make-up.
"So, where did you go?" I asked cautiously as I looked to the ceiling while Alice applied my mascara.
"I went to see Jazz." She smiled at first but the expression fell slightly when she realized I wanted her to expound further. "He was having a bit of an issue with Edward," she explained, her eyes pleading with me not to delve too deeply.
My traitorous heart leapt at the sound of his name and I couldn't hold back my curiosity any longer.
"How is Edward, by the way?" I tried to sound nonchalant but my voice cracked slightly and I hoped that Alice didn't notice.
"He's been…uh…busy." She seemed to be choosing her words carefully and my heart clenched at the many connotations that one word could hold. "You know, with school and stuff," she ended with a shrug.
"Oh" was all I could muster. My reaction to her words clearly telling me that I was not ready to hear the specifics of the sort of stuff that he had actually been busy with.
After what seemed like an age, I was finally deemed ready to put on the dress Alice had chosen for me that morning. I had attempted to keep my enthusiasm in check when I tried it on, knowing that would encourage Alice to prolong our shopping trip as she forced me into dozens of dresses in an attempt to fill my substantial new closet. But the fact was that I loved it and I was pretty excited to wear it, which was unusual for me. I rarely got excited about clothes.
From the front, it was quite plain looking with a fitted bust-line and a scoop neck. The body of the dress flared out below my breasts to an uneven hemline that fell to just above my knees. The back, however, had four straps that criss-crossed over my shoulders and gave it a slightly sexy feel. The dark blue fabric was stretchy with just enough weight to it that it would not look out of place in the mid-September evening. It made me feel feminine, without being overly ostentatious.
Slipping on my coat and the low heeled, blue pumps that Alice insisted I get to match my dress, I waited by the door as she took one last look in the hall mirror before hooking her arm in mine and leading me to the elevator.
By the time we had parked a block away form the restaurant, Alice was practically crawling out of her skin with anticipation and she was making me unnecessarily nervous. As we walked toward our destination, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this evening than just my birthday dinner.
"What has you so giddy?" I finally asked, grabbing her arm and turning her to look at me.
"Nothing." She tried to look innocent but her wild eyes gave her away and I stared back sternly, letting her know that I wasn't going any further without an explanation. "They're going to be so surprised to see you!" she blurted out as she began bouncing on the spot once more.
"They?" I probed.
"Jasper and Edward, of course!" she exclaimed.
My stomach churned into a hive of activity, the previous butterflies morphing into fully grown eagles as they struggled to escape their confines.
"Edward's here?" I squeaked out. "Wait, what do you mean 'surprised'? They don't know I'm back? Why didn't you say something? You know I hate surprises, Alice." The panic was beginning to come through my voice as the questions became more frantic.
"I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure that you were coming home," she sighed, placing her hand on my arm to try to calm me. "And then when I realized that you be home for your birthday, I thought it would be fun to surprise everybody!"
She started to pull me forward but I held my ground, unsure now of what lay ahead. I wished I'd had more time to prepare and also suddenly felt very nauseous.
"You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep this from Jasper. Although, I think he knows something is up after I insisted he do whatever it took to make sure Edward was here tonight." Her eyebrows scrunched together in disappointment at the thought of her plan being foiled.
"That was the issue you had to deal with this afternoon?" I realized before letting out a defeated sigh. "So, Edward didn't even want to come tonight? Oh god, Alice, what if he brought a date?" I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable about this whole thing. "The last thing I want is to be the fifth wheel at my own birthday dinner!"
Alice's eyes rolled up into her head and she gripped my arm more tightly before forcing me to move along the sidewalk.
I reluctantly followed her into the warmth of the Union, my previous excitement and confidence reduced to anxiety and nausea as the hostess took our coats and led us to our table.
Trailing behind Alice, I used her to shield me from view as much as possible as I scanned the room for the face that had haunted my dreams for weeks. I was relieved to notice that it was, in fact, just Jasper and Edward sitting at the table and I paused as I took him in.
A feeling of déjà vu washed over me as I saw him staring at the table, his lips pulled in the same tight line they had been in that first night at O'Flannigans. His fingers were worrying the corner of the cloth napkin that was folded in front of him as his eyebrows knitted together like he was bracing himself for yet another unwelcome outing. His charcoal grey suit jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a crisp white shirt and a tie that was identical in color to my dress. I had to stifle a laugh at that point, knowing that Alice had orchestrated both of our outfits.
I came to the realization that my dreams had not done him justice, at all. Even with his troubled expression and his absentminded fidgeting, he truly was strikingly handsome and my insecurities began to push to the forefront of my mind all over again. I was standing just a few feet away from the table and Alice had already made eye contact with Jasper when he elbowed Edward in the arm and nodded in my direction with a huge grin on his face.
All the air seemed to be sucked out of the room as Edward turned his head slowly to look at me. His eyes appeared even greener than I had remembered as he slowly blinked, once, twice, three times, his expression frozen as if he were struggling to recognize me. I had to beat back the urge to turn tail and run and instead stayed rooted to the floor as a blush rose to my cheeks. I held my breath, waiting for some sort of reaction, and just as I was considering reintroducing myself, Edward spoke.
"Bella?" he whispered and I answered with a slight nod and a small nervous smile, unable to form words in the airless vacuum I found myself in.
Suddenly he was on his feet, the smile that broke out across his face lighting up his perfect features. Heck, it lit up the whole room and almost knocked me off my feet. If he had taken any longer to scoop me up into his strong arms, I was sure I would have fallen on my ass right there in the middle of the swanky restaurant.
"I can't believe you're here," he breathed so quietly that I wasn't sure I was supposed to hear it as he buried his face in my hair.
As I relaxed into the embrace, I took in a deep, relaxing breath, filling my lungs with that uniquely 'Edward' scent and wrapped my arms around his waist as my face pressed into his shoulder. This was what was missing in Chicago. For all my reasoning and rationality, I could no longer deny that it was Edward I missed while I was away, and he was the reason I came back.
We stood, breathing each other in for an immeasurable amount of time before Alice cleared her throat pointedly beside us and we pulled apart to turn and look at her.
"Surprise!" she sang out, waving her hands in the air mockingly.
The four of us laughed at what was probably an embarrassing spectacle as Jasper held out a chair for Alice and Edward did the same for me.
I love reviews...that is all :-)