Four
Bella dressed for her performance with extra care. She rimmed her amber eyes with eye liner and shaded the lids with dark eye shadow. She applied ruby red lipstick to her lips and dabbed it off to give just a stained look. She did not put blush on her cheeks because she felt that she looked better without it. She put several stud earrings and two hoops into her ears. Each ear had five piercings and she loved to wear all her earrings at once.
Her hair was done up in a sleek high ponytail and her nails were polished in deep scarlet. A few months ago she had her belly button pierced and she had been waiting for a performance to wear her newest favorite earring. She bought the earrings from a consignment store on Solano. It was an art deco piece, with a marcasite hasp and a large topaz stone the size of an olive. She put it on and it fit perfectly into her navel. It dangled there and it was just the perfect finish to her costume. She put on her many gold bracelets that moved up and down her arm as she danced.
She wore her favorite costume. It was gold and purple. The upper bodice was gold velvet with purple satin trim and dangling gold beads and coins and it fit perfectly over her breasts. The top part of the skirt was purple velvet with gold paillettes and the diaphanous skirt was made of lavender and purple silk chiffon. She loved this costume because it was a gift from Margo. It had belonged to Margo's mother who had been an accomplished dancer in her native Turkey. She completed her outfit with toe rings. Bella always danced in bare feet.
Saturday night when she arrived with Margo and the other dancers at ZaZa's she immediately started looking for Edward. Hoping he wouldn't show up. Hoping he would. Her first performance was at nine and when she started, the only familiar face in the crowd was Alice who had brought a date. Bella relaxed and zoned out. She and the music were one. She smiled often and made eye contact with the audience, many were transfixed and she felt a rush as she continued her dance. She finished her ten minute set and the audience applauded.
She went into the back area and put on her caftan. She was exhilarated and wished that her next set would come sooner. She was relaxed and limber. For the next performance she planned to be more dramatic and do a few Turkish drops and belly rolls. She sat down and ate some kibbi and salad. She had worked up an appetite and the food was delicious.
She took a glance out of the kitchen door and saw that Alice was alone, and sneaked over to her, "Where's your date?" she whispered.
"He stepped outside to take a phone call. Where's your date? I thought I would get a glimpse of this Edward guy."
"He's not my date. Maybe he lost interest. I haven't been very warm. No biggie."
"Well that's too bad. Since Chris you really haven't dated and I'm beginning to worry about you. It's been four months."
"Only four months. I don't feel like dating. If you think about it Alice I've never dated. Chris was the only person I ever went out with. I don't even know how to date."
"True. I'll fix you up"
"Please, please, please don't. And please don't worry. I'll be fine."
"But you're right. You are like a preteen. You don't know HOW. I'm afraid you're going to wind up old and alone.
"For Pete's sake I'm only twenty. " She saw Alice's date coming over and got up to leave. "Bye".
"Wait, I want you to meet him." She held onto Bella's hand. "Dave, I'd like you to meet my sister, the beautiful belly dancer. Bella this is Dave." Dave was younger than Bella expected. He was about her age, twenty-one, or maybe even younger. Sandy blond hair and pinky cheeks, he looked flustered, innocent. Alice was robbing the cradle.
"Hi, how are you" she reached out to shake his hand.
"I'm good. You were really amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off you.
"I noticed." teased Alice. David blushed.
"Thanks, I appreciate that. Well I better get ready, my next set starts in a few minutes. It was nice to meet you, Dave."
Bella went back to the office and got ready to perform.
Minutes later she came out with a flourish. Dramatically, she raised both arms above her head to get the audience attention and then the music started. The first move she did was the slow belly roll and then she went right into the Turkish drop. She slowly leaned back until she was parallel to the floor her pony tail brushed her heels and then she came back up again slowly. The audience whooped and clapped and then she was lost in the music. It was fast and her feet and hips were just as fast. She smiled at the audience and pirouetted, round and round her skirt flying around. Towards the end the music slowed hypnotically and she ended her dance with some seductive come hither rolls of each hip. She was exhilarated when the music came to an end. She gave a deep bow and skipped off in her bare feet back to the office.
She ran right into Edward who was waiting in the hallway. Her heart tripped and started to beat heavily. He smiled and said one word, "Wow!" He was holding a single gardenia which he gave to her.
"Thanks." The adrenaline rush had her flushed and breathless. He stared at her with a smile and she smiled back up at him. "So, I see that you made it."
"Yes, I did. Are you hungry?"
"Hungry? Are you kidding? I've been eating non-stop since I got here. The food is great."
"I was hoping to take you out to dinner." he seemed disappointed.
She didn't know what to say. "Let me change and then we can go for a drink."
She ran into the office and changed out of her costume in record time. She came back and found Edward at the table with Alice and Dave. "So you've met."
"Yeah, Edward here came over and introduced himself, he said he saw the similarity and just knew I was your sister." Alice was positively bubbly.
Bella was surprised. "Funny. People never say that. Most people say we look nothing alike. I'm darker haired and Alice has curly light brown locks. She looks more like our Dad's side." Bella was perplexed. Especially since she never mentioned to him that she even had a sister.
"It's true that your coloring is different but you're very much alike in features. The shape of your face and your nose and your pouty upper lips are very similar." They all stared at him, pretty impressed by his certainty.
"Edward was a detective. Hawaii five-O, literally, he knows everything." Bella informed them.
They all sat and talked for a few minutes. He struck her as quite normal, even entertaining.
Finally, Edward got up and said to Bella, "I think we should get going." And to Alice and Dave he explained, "I'm taking Bella out for a drink."
"Bella doesn't drink." Alice said, looking from Edward to Bella.
"I drink Coke and Pepsi." Said Bella.
#
"Did you drive?" Edward asked her as they walked to his car.
"No, I got a lift with Margo. Why?"
"Well I wanted to know how far we could go, if your car was here we would have to come back and get it." He opened his car door for her and smiled down at her. For some reason he looked young and carefree, so different than when she had first met him.
She slid into the car and said, "Thank you." He kept the door open, staring down at her.
"Do you know how incredibly beautiful you look right now?" he asked.
She pursed her lips and replied, "It's the make-up." He laughed and closed the door.
When he sat down in the driver's seat Bella asked him, "Do you always open car doors for women? Or are you on your best behavior?"
"I usually hold doors open for women and I usually say "please" and "thank you" and I usually let sleeping dogs lie."
"That's cryptic. Does that mean I shouldn't ask impertinent questions?"
"Precisely." He started the car and drove away. She sat there smelling the car and Edward. His car still had that new car smell, but she had no idea what kind of car it was. She also smelled him. He smelled of soap and something else. She found his smell very sexy. "What are you thinking?" she mentally berated herself but the words had tumbled from her lips.
"I was thinking that not only are you incredibly beautiful but you also smell incredibly delicious." He answered her. "Do you have any suggestions about a place we could go for a drink?"
"No, not really." She wanted to tell him that she was thinking the same thing about him, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She knew that if she did she would start down a road that she had no experience navigating. "Why don't we go to my house?" she suggested "Alice is out on her date and we have some wine, beer and I think we even have vodka and scotch. I can make you something if you're hungry. And more importantly, I can get comfy." As soon as she said it she wondered if he would get the wrong idea. She really didn't want to go out but she did want to spend time getting to know him.
"Thank you, that would be nice." He said. He smiled broadly and she got the feeling that somehow she had given him exactly what he was hoping for.
He parked in the driveway and they walked up the stairs where she fumbled with her keys in the dark . The moon was almost full but he was standing over her and blocking the light. "Scuse me," she pushed against his arm to get him out of the way. A tremor ran through her as she felt his muscular bicep tense under his jacket and he reached out and held her hand with the key in it. He took the keys away and put his other hand in the small of her back. "I want to kiss you."
"Are you asking permission?" her dimples deepened.
"Yes, I'm asking permission, I don't want you mad at me again." He said softly.
"Then kiss me." She invited. It was all he needed to hear. He pulled her close and bent down to kiss her full on the lips. He didn't open his lips but just pressed them against hers.
"May I?" he whispered against her lips.
"Yes you may," she said and this time her lips parted to receive his tongue. The kiss was long and slow. He ran his tongue over hers and licked the edges again and again. She marveled at how good he tasted. His breath smelled like wine and his tongue was like nothing she had ever tasted.
"So good. You taste so good. " he said afterwards.
"Kibbi and baclava." she whispered and he laughed and let her go.
He gave her back her keys and she opened the door. She left him in the living room and went into her bedroom and changed into a brightly colored blue and green silk caftan. After searching the kitchen for something for him to drink, she came back with scotch in one hand and vodka in the other. "What would you like," she asked.
"Well, I would really like to kiss you again." He answered very seriously.
"No can do." she said teasingly. "You came for a drink and a drink you'll get. White wine, red wine, scotch and soda or vodka and OJ, take your pick."
"Scotch and soda- on ice, thanks. Didn't you also promise to cook for me?" he reminded her.
"I did indeed. Come into the kitchen and I'll see what we have." She whirled around and he followed her.
He let out a low whistle, "This is state of the art, a chef's kitchen." He noticed.
"We redid it last year. I like it a lot. It's easily my favorite room in the house, other than my bedroom." She stopped realizing that he may take that as an invitation to go see it.
He came over to her and took her by the shoulders and turned her into his arms. "You have nothing to worry about. I can go as slow as you want. I won't push you into doing anything you don't want, okay?"
She looked up at him and nodded, "okay" she said.
He let her go and she went to look in the fridge. "I can make you crepes with smoked salmon and a side of asparagus, does that sound good?"
"Perfect."
"Why didn't you eat at ZaZa's? The food is really good if you like Lebanese food. "
"Like I said, I was hoping to take you out to dinner. I had a plan."
"What was the plan?" she asked curiously.
"Well I was planning on taking you to Gary Danko's and then out to a night of jazz. But you decided to eat and ruin my night." He smiled at her indicating that he thought the night was far from being ruined.
They sat around the kitchen island, she sipped on sparkling water while he sipped his scotch and soda. "Why don't you drink?" he asked.
"I drink an occasional sip of wine, but nothing else. I don't like the zippy feeling, I guess. And I don't like being out of control."
"Aah. I see."
"What do you mean?"
"Well if fits with your personality. You don't really like being out of control with anything."
"And what makes you think that you know my "personality"?" she asked, starting to get a little annoyed.
"Well I only meant what I've observed about your personality so far. For instance…" he stopped.
"Please go on. I'm curious to know what you think." And she was curious.
"For instance when I first spoke to you at the airport, I got the feeling that you hated the fact that I was trying to lead the conversation. I know you enjoyed our kiss in Napa, but you hated not being in control. So you ran away. That's why I asked you for permission to kiss you tonight. I think you are afraid when you're not in control of your behavior. That's why you don't drink and why you don't… like sex."
She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "That's not true. I like sex."
"That's good to know." He smiled devilishly.
"Was that a trick? You wanted me to say that I like sex?"
"Well, I wasn't too sure. But now I know." He smiled and dug into his meal with gusto.
"You are a snake." She laughed
#
After Edward ate, he insisted on washing the dishes and told her to go sit in the living room. She put on one of her favorite Nancy Wilson jazz albums and sat on the floor listening. Edward came into the living room and found Bella lying on a big floor pillow staring out the picture window at the moonlit sky. He quietly lay down next to her, on his side propping his head up with his arm. "Penny for your thoughts." He said and she turned to look at him. She rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her arms.
"I was thinking about what a great time I had tonight. Dancing, and talking with you. And I was thinking that you're way too observant for me." She couldn't help but be honest. "I think you can see right through me and that is unsettling."
"Well I am a pretty good observer of human nature, but that doesn't mean I can see right through you. I don't know very much about you at all, but I would like to spend time finding out." He put his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He stared into her face and waited. They stayed like that for a few minutes each looking at the other. She noticed his hair with just the slightest smattering of grey at the temples. She noticed that his eyes were clear grey with flecks of blue. He had long dark lashes. His nose was strong and longish, but very masculine. She touched the bridge of it where there was a slight bump.
"Did you get this in a fight?"
He nodded slightly, "Boxing."
She continued her journey down his face and touched his lips with her fingertips. She slid her finger down his face all the way to his chin. Running her finger over the pencil thin beard that rimmed his jaw and ran up into the thin mustache.
"Like it?" he asked smiling.
"Very much" she answered, smiling back.
He took his hand and lifted it up to her face. She was wearing his gardenia in her hair. He stared into her amber eyes and touched the mole near her right temple. He ran his thumb down the side of her cheek, touching the cheekbone and then resting it in her dimple. He finished his journey by touching her still red lips. He rubbed his thumb gently over her lips and pried them open. He put his thumb in and touched the wet inside of her mouth. "I like your face too." He said softly and then bent down to kiss her.
He ran his tongue along the lips he had just touched. He ran it from side to side. He probed the tip of his tongue into the inside of her upper lip. She met his tongue with hers. He opened his mouth and let her put her tongue in his. He tasted so good. He tasted of the scotch and the food but she could taste the esence of him too.
They kissed for many minutes then her arm gave out and she flopped back against the pillow. He let her go, but he kept looking down at her in the moonlight. He stared at her for a long, long time.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"I want to remember you like this, warm, lovely, voluptuous, and very sexy. I'll think about this when I'm in my bed later tonight." he promised.
She reached up, put her hand in his hair and pulled his face down to hers. She kissed him in her most seductive way. "You don't have to go yet." She whispered.
"I have to. I can't stay." He kissed the tip of her nose and then her mouth. He slowly ran his fingertips down the side of her neck and traced a line along the scoop neck of her caftan. She shivered, suddenly she yearned for him to put his fingers inside her top and touch her underneath. He stood up and reached down for her hand and pulled her up into his arms. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No."
"Well what I'm saying is I didn't come prepared. I have nothing."
Bella still had no idea what he was saying and kept looking at him.
He bent down and softly whispered in her ear, "Condoms."
"Oh." She was taken aback. "I wasn't thinking that we would have sex. I just thought that we would, you know, kiss, have fun."
"If I stay we will have sex. So I better leave."
"No we wouldn't," she said, annoyed that he would assume that she would have sex with him on the first date.
"Yes, we would." He insisted.
"You think a lot of yourself, don't you?" Bella said, testily.
"Yes, I do." He said and he took her hand in his and walked to the front door. He pushed her against the inside of the door and kissed her again. His hand wrapped around her ponytail and pulled her head back, kissing the underside of her chin. He buried his face in her neck and his tongue darted out to lick her skin. "You taste like nothing else I've ever tasted," he told her, "and I want to taste all of you. Soon." He bit her chin gently and then opened the door and left. Bella watched him get into his car and closed the door. She felt ravaged, but in a good way.
She went to her bathroom and took a shower. While she was donning her nightshirt she heard Alice come in. As she lay in bed she thought about everything that happened and wondered if she was a little bit crazy. Before she saw him with that gardenia she had hoped to never see him again. And a few hours later where was she? On the floor begging him to stay -that's where. She buried her face in her pillow. She felt like a shameless hussy.
She heard Alice go to her bedroom and she decided not to go and talk to her. She needed some time to figure out why she was so weak where Edward was concerned. If he hadn't decided to leave she knew they would have been rolling around in her bed right now.
#
After a restless night's sleep she didn't feel any better. She got up the next morning and made some pancakes for breakfast. Alice came into the kitchen. "How did it go with Edward?" she teased.
Bella kept her back turned to her sister, "Fine." She answered. "Do you want bacon or sausage?"
"Changing the subject, huh? What are you hiding? Did he make a move?"
"No comment."
"Well I have a comment. I just want you to know that I came home at twelve and saw a strange car parked in the driveway, so Dave and I waited across the street in the car. The lights were off and we waited and waited and finally I saw him leave at one o'clock. He was here for at least a couple of hours. What did you guys do?" She waited.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not? Share, please. Pretty Please?" she clasped her hands together and begged.
"Alice, I need time to think. Why can't I keep this to myself for now?"
Alice looked at her and said, "Fine, but can I say one thing? I would hate to think that you are embarrassed to be falling for someone. It's human and it's about time that you got over sappy Chris."
"I'm not falling, Alice. I'm in lust, but not in love."
"Oho." She smiled. "But that's the best. Falling in lust is all the fun without the heartache. Sweetie, have fun, enjoy being young. Remember it's a roller coaster ride. Enjoy the thrill while it lasts. And missy, I'll have bacon and sausage."
The sisters spent the day spring cleaning. Bella was quiet and her thoughts constantly veered to last night and Edward. Edward. She had fleeting thoughts of trying to get in touch with him but had no idea how. She didn't have a phone number or an address. He is very much an unknown quantity she thought to herself. She expected to hear from him that day, but heard nothing. He doesn't have my number either she realized.
The next day she came home and found flowers on her doorstep. The card said, "Came by to see you. Don't have your number, here's mine. Please call me. E.C." She kept the card but was too hesitant to call. What would she say to him? She wasn't used to calling men. She was hoping he would drop by again but didn't see him that whole week. She thought about him often. "Maybe he is trying to play games, so that I'll get desperate and fall into his lap." she thought.
So life went on as before. She taught her dance class Tuesday and Thursday evening and worked at the restaurant Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. She looked forward to the coming Sunday and Monday when she had no commitments and her time would be her own. But all that week she couldn't stop the dreams that came in the night, and they were all about Edward. And they all left her yearning for his touch.