A/N Hope you all are having a good weekend. Here's chapter 9 :)
Thanks to my beta, Breath-of-Twilight. She makes me not sound like so much of an idiot, and I love her for that. Plus, she's an inspiration and I feel honored that she helps me.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is a goddess and she owns all of the Twilight universe. I own the story line. Please do not steal what isn't yours. No copyright infringement intended.
All the Loves of Our Lives
9. Fresh Memories
This was the first time that I could remember in a long time that I felt totally optimistic. Edward was the reason for this newfound optimism. For the last several days, we didn't make it much farther than the bathroom. I was blissfully happy just being with him. We talked for hours about life, our likes and dislikes, and what made us who we are as individuals. If he wasn't asking me questions, then he was keeping me busy in another manner entirely.
Towards the end of the week, I had resolved that we needed to start to try and get back into the real world. No matter how much I wanted to stay in bed with him forever, I just couldn't. Early Thursday morning, I finally decided that I needed to get up out of bed. Edward was sprawled across the bed, and the sheets were in a tangled mess around his legs and waist. I tried not to disturb the bed so that I wouldn't wake him as I got up.
The shower felt good on my muscles, and I realized that I was sore in places that I hadn't even felt before.
When I finally made it downstairs, Jakey was acting crazy from lack of attention. I tended to his needs, and then went to work on my neglected kitchen. We hadn't eaten a decent meal in several days, so I decided to make some breakfast. I had just opened the refrigerator when there was a knock at my side door. I looked at Jakey in confusion. He was just sitting there; he didn't move to see who was at the door like he usually would. To my surprise, it was Riley.
"Riley, hi, what's up?" I wasn't sure what exactly he wanted, especially if he was coming over here in person. I knew that we were okay, but I wasn't exactly sure whether we were on a friendly basis quite yet.
"Hey, Bell, do you have a second?" He was smiling sweetly at me, and I knew that he wanted something.
I invited him into the kitchen and went to sit at the table. "So, Riley, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Are you cooking breakfast?" I could tell that he was kind of putting me off, but at the same time, he was actually surprised. I wasn't much for eating a large breakfast. He could tell that I was definitely cooking a lot of food, and that was out of character for the Bella that he knew.
"Just been a little famished lately, is all. Are you hungry?" I wasn't sure what time Edward would be joining me, but I didn't want to be rude.
"Sure, if you don't mind." He was quiet for a moment and wouldn't look at me. "Bella, I have a favor to ask of you."
I knew that there was an underlying reason that he was really here to see me. "What's up, Riley? You know you can ask me just about anything." I smiled after that one, and so did he. Our relationship would never be what it was before, and I wanted to be sure that he was clear on that.
"Well, let me get right to it. I haven't told my family about us yet, and I was wondering…"
"Riley, please get to it." I was sure that the look on my face told him that I wasn't going to like what he was going to say.
"My family is coming to town, and they think that they're going to be staying with us here. I was wondering if just this once you could help me." I could hear the pleading in his voice, but I couldn't condone the fact that he was avoiding the breakup that he was the cause of.
"Riley, I can't believe that you haven't told them. I mean, this was on you. I can't play along and let them think that everything is fine with us. I don't want you back in this house under those pretenses. It's not that I don't want to help you out, but Riley, really? Don't you think that you're asking a bit much of me? I don't owe you anything, and I don't want to be rude, but I just have too much on my plate." As if on cue the water for the shower turned on upstairs. Riley looked in the direction of the bathroom, suddenly unable to look me in the eye.
After a few moments, he turned and looked directly at me. "Is that why you won't help me? You've already moved on, and so you feel like… What, Bella? Tell me, please?" He was starting to get angry, and this was very out of character for Riley. In all of the time that we had been together he raised his voice maybe on three or four occasions. I wondered what had come over him to be like this. It seemed like jealousy was rearing its ugly head.
"Riley, seriously, I don't think anything that is going on in my life right now is your business. And yes, that is part of the reason that I don't want to help you lie to your family. It would be like I was condoning this, and I don't. You need to tell them, because you can't just keep on acting like we're okay, happy, and together. What happens in five years when you still haven't told them the truth?" I was starting to get angry. Riley had one of the nicest families, and they didn't deserve to be misled. If I wasn't the one for him, then they would want what was best for the both of us.
"You moved on quick. I haven't even dated anyone out of respect for you." The petulance in his voice was highly irritating, and now he was pissing me off.
"Okay, let's get this straight. What I do or don't do in my own house is my business. I never told you not to date anyone, and I never would. You have your own life to live, and I have mine, Riley, got it? UHHHHH! I can't believe the nerve you have right now. You come here and ask me to act like everything is peachy, and then you get mad at me when things don't go your way." I decided that this conversation needed to be over.
As if on cue, I could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Edward entered the kitchen, and his presence was quite dominating. He was fresh out of the shower. His chest and feet were bare, and his jeans hung low on his hips, accentuating his amazing physique.
If I had a camera, I would have liked to take a picture of the look on Riley's face. His jaw was close to hitting the table, and his eyes were wide. But within a second, he had snapped out of it and he tried to instantly save face. Edward walked right past Riley, as if he wasn't even in the room, and pulled me into his arms. I looked up into his eyes, and I could see the possessiveness in their depths. He was branding me his, right there in front of Riley.
In a second, his mouth was on mine, and somewhere in the universe I heard a chair scrape the floor. I pulled away and remembered that we weren't alone.
I'd also forgotten that it hadn't been that long ago that Edward had interrupted my conversation with Riley at the dance studio. I hadn't introduced them then, but I was glad that I'd had the chance to do it now.
"Riley… this is Edward. Edward, Riley." I thought that it couldn't possibly get any more awkward, but then, Edward moved to shake Riley's hand. Edward has such a physical presence that he dominated the space between him and Riley. Edward had a good six inches on Riley, so all the Riley could do was look up at him. Edward reached out to shake Riley's hand, and the difference in size was very apparent. Even Edward's hand was larger.
I suddenly felt very proud that Edward was with me. Just by having Edward in the room calmed me down and had me thinking rationally again. I almost felt sorry for Riley. I could only imagine the thoughts that would be running through his head while he compared himself to Edward. Edward, on the other hand, had already walked away from Riley and was headed to get himself some coffee. The thing about Edward was that he had already sized up Riley, and made his decision that he had nothing to worry about where Riley was concerned. His confidence radiated off of him. I could tell that Riley was self conscience, but that was only because we'd been together so long. He would never let Edward see him show any kind of weakness.
"Edward, Riley is my ex-boyfriend…"
"I think we were a little bit more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. Bella and I were actually engaged." I could tell that he was trying to gain some ground back that Edward had taken from him.
"Were being the operative word. You see, Edward, Riley just stopped by to ask a favor." Riley shot a look at me. He had apparently forgotten that we were arguing before Edward walked in.
"A favor, huh? What kind of favor?" I could tell that Edward knew that this could potentially be an uncomfortable situation, just by the way that he looked at me to gage my mood.
"Nothing really, it seems that I can't help him out anyway." Riley shot me a pleading glance. "Seriously, Riley, I can't do this for you. I have a wedding this weekend, and really, you just need to tell them the truth. I love your family, but I won't lie to them. I just won't do it. They deserve better." I knew that he was going to be really pissed and possibly not forgive me for a very long time. The more that I thought about it, I realized I didn't owe him anything, not even sympathy.
"Well, I guess that if that's the way that you feel about it, then there is nothing left to say. I just thought that you could help me out this one time. It's not like I have done anything to deserve you treating me like this." He was grasping at straws. I wasn't sure if he was trying to guilt me into to something, but it was not going to work.
"Don't you think that you should just accept that she said no and leave it at that? " Edward said coolly. He was looking at Riley without any expression on his face. I hadn't known him that long, but I could tell that if Riley didn't accept, Edward would help him out in the understanding department.
"I don't see where any of this involves you. This is between Bella and me. If she doesn't want me here then she needs to be the one to tell me. Not some stranger who moves into town and takes advantage of the first woman he meets that's alone."
"That is enough, Riley. I want you out of this house, right now. How dare you come in here and insult my guest in my house. Out, now!" I walked towards him and waited for him to get up out of his chair. Riley stood up and looked at me like he couldn't believe this was happening to him, how I could do this to him? It was always, and would forever be, about him. He turned, walked to the side door, and left, slamming it behind him.
I jumped when the door slammed, and Edward was immediately behind me. The moment that his arms wrapped around me, all of the tension seeped out of my body. The tears started to fall down my cheeks. I just couldn't understand why Riley had turned into this angry person.
"Come here, Bella." He pulled me into his arms. "I don't think that there's anything you can do for him."
"I know. I just can't understand how he can act like it's my fault. I can tell that he blames me, but I didn't do anything wrong." After today, I would never cry for Riley again.
"Honey, I honestly don't think that this is really about you. At the risk of sounding inappropriate, he sees another cock in the hen house, and I think he really took offense to me being here." I immediately started to protest, even though deep inside I knew he was right.
"Listen, you don't have to try and protect him. I'm a man, and I know that if you were mine and I lost you to another man, I would be the same way." He had a smirk on his face.
"The thing is, he didn't lose me, he left me."
"Well, maybe he regrets that decision more than he's letting on. You don't know what you have until it isn't yours anymore, and in this case, you are definitely not his." Then, in the most perfect of moments, he kissed me.
"So, I'm not his, huh? Then whose, may I ask, am I?" I was being a little coy with him, but a girl can't just wait around for a guy to let her know where they stand.
"Your mine and I don't share. I mean, if that's okay with you. I don't want to overstep my boundaries. If you don't want me, I can leave." I wrapped myself around his waist so he couldn't walk away from me.
"You aren't going anywhere if I have my way." I came up on my tip toes so that I could kiss him again.
He pulled away and said, "You have a wedding this weekend? Who's wedding?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. You've had me a little busy these last couple of days that I completely forgot to ask you if you would come to my best friend's wedding with me."
"You would like me to come with you? I would be honored. Is any of your family going to be there?" I could tell that he wanted to properly meet my mom and brother. It definitely seemed important to him.
"Why wouldn't I want you to come with me? I would be proud to show you off to my family. I think that it's definitely time for you to officially meet my family and friends." I was so excited to be able to call Edward my man that I could burst. Maybe it was because our relationship was new, but it could have been that I thought I really didn't deserve such an amazing man. He was so handsome that it hurt to look at him, and then there was me. People would look at us like we didn't belong together, but I didn't care.
"I would really like that. Do you think they'll like me?" That was an absurd question. Anyone with a lick of sense was going to like him.
"Why wouldn't they? They liked Riley. Now I see that you're more of a man than Riley ever could aspire to be. If you care for me, then they'll like you. I think that you have to worry about Rose more than anyone. She's not only my business partner, but she's also my best friend. If things went poorly they would affect all aspects of my life, including my work. Although, she's the one that came over to your house first, so I think that you have that going for you. They just need to get to know you." The thought of him being in the same room with my family made me so happy.
"She came over to my house first because she didn't give me a chance to come over. I had every intention of coming over here. I can't say that I hadn't noticed you looking out your window." I turned red with embarrassment. "Don't think that I didn't notice the beautiful brunette being quite curious about her new neighbor. I tried to find any excuse to go outside just to see if I could get you to look out your window." He smiled at that.
"Really? I tried to be inconspicuous, but I guess when you have someone being so nosey, it's hard to miss. There just hadn't been anyone in that house for so long that I was overly curious. Then, to find out that I had this gorgeous man living next door, that didn't help the situation. It kind of helped pass the time when Riley left. The thought of seeing you out an about took my mind off of what was going on in my own life. I just wanted someone to be around and you were there when I looked out the window." That memory made me smile. As I watched him, I hoped that one day he could at least be my friend. I never thought that he would become such an important part of my life.
"I'm glad I moved in. I hoped that you would stop looking out that window and come outside, but when you came out there was never a time that I could come out as well. I noticed that you would come back from taking a walk, but I would be on the phone. I would see you come home from work, and I would have just come out of the shower. I just couldn't seem to ever be able to just run into you. I wasn't sure if I ever would." He looked at the floor when he said this, and I wondered where his mind had gone to.
"Well, none of that matters now. You're here, right. I just think that we need to ground ourselves back in the real world. Go somewhere and do something."
"What would you like to do?" he asked with sly smile on his face.
"Don't get me wrong, I have certainly enjoyed our activities, as of late. I just need to go to the grocery store, or go for a walk. Oh, before I forget, I need to go get my bridesmaid dress, and check on the studio. So, what should we do first?" I hoped that he had every intention of going with me.
"Well," he moved closer to me and kissed my neck, "how about we go to store and get some food and do your other errands. Then we can come home and cook dinner. Then maybe go for a walk later. How does that sound?" When he said it, it sounded wonderful. When I said it, it sounded like work.
Somehow, he had maneuvered me towards the kitchen counter and lifted me onto it. With me at this height, I was almost able to look him straight in the eye.
"How do you feel about me being here with you?" He made no move to come any closer to me, hovering between my legs.
"I love having you here. I was wondering when you would want to go back home. I was just waiting for you to say something." I didn't want him to leave yet.
"I'll stay for as long as you like." It sounded like he wasn't ready to go either.
"Well, you have an open invitation for as long as you want. If you need to go home, then I understand, but just know that you can come back anytime you want." I didn't want to think of him having to leave but he had his own life, with his own responsibilities. He didn't need me making him feel guilty.
"I don't have to go anywhere for a couple of weeks. I have a business trip that I should be gone for a couple of days for, but then, I should be home for months before I need to go anywhere else. Let's just take it one step at a time. I want to make the most out of the time that we have." He kissed me and turned away towards the door. "Well, are we going?"
I hopped off of the counter and ran to get my purse, forgetting breakfast, just wanting to be with him. I wondered how long it would be before I completely forgot myself.
The next few hours were nothing like I expected. He drove my car like he'd been doing it for years. We checked on the studio, picked up my dress, and during the final fitting, he even managed to get fitted and purchase a suit. He probably owned many suits, but he was trying to participate in my life.
When we reached the grocery, he took my hand and the list, and went about the store like he knew exactly where everything was located. He would occasionally throw something in our basket that I didn't recognize from the list. When I asked him about them, he would just put me off and tell me that it was a surprise.
We returned home to find Jakey waiting to be fed. Edward moved to feed him for me and it made me happy to see him move so freely around my home. He fed Jakey and then sat with him for a minute, speaking to him in a very low voice. I stood there watching without him noticing me. I'd never seen Jakey react to someone the way that he was reacting to Edward. Jakey had climbed up to his shoulder and was rubbing himself all over Edward's face.
They stayed that way for a few minutes, and then Edward came back into the kitchen. He looked like he had something on his mind. He started to take the items out of the grocery bags that I didn't have on my list. He moved about the kitchen like he knew exactly where everything was.
I sat at the table and watched him. He fit so well in my life. He looked like he belonged in my home. Then, I realized that I should be up helping him.
"Sit, I want you to just relax and let me handle everything." I thought that even though I should protest, it was nice to have someone wait on me.
He set the table and placed the most mouthwatering pasta dish I'd ever seen in front of me. He poured the wine, dished out the food, and waited on me hand and foot. When I thought that things couldn't get any better, I tasted the food. If I wasn't insecure in his perfection, I definitely was now. His looks, his personality, even his cooking was perfect.
He watched me eat, and it was one of the single most erotic moments of my life. I couldn't think of anything but him. The way he sipped his wine, and the way the food looked when he bit into it; it made me want to abandon any other plans for the rest of the evening.
"What are you thinking about? You have this look on your face that I can't quite place. I haven't seen it before." He was waiting intently for my answer.
"I was just thinking about you. Wondering about you, and what you think about. I…just thinking about you." I was just thinking about him. How I wanted to bury myself in his chest and escape the world.
"I think about you, too. Ever since I first saw you from the window, I haven't been able to get you off my mind. As far as anything you want to know about me, you can ask me anything." He took another bite and waited for me to answer.
"Tell me about where you come from and your family. You seem to be out of town a lot, so I was just curious what it is you do when you're gone. I mean, if I'm over stepping any boundaries, please let me know."
"Well, I'm twenty-nine years old, and I was born in London. My mother passed away when I was ten. Felix is my only brother, and he and my father still live in London. We operate a family business of sorts, and that's what takes me out of town so often. Traveling back and forth between here and London takes time.
"I never know when exactly I'll have to leave, just more of an approximate time frame. Usually, I can be gone from anywhere between a week and a month. That's really about it." He waited for me to respond.
"So, if you're from London, what could have possibly brought you to Grass Valley?"
"I' came here a couple of times with my family, as a child. They had some friends that lived not too far from here. I always liked the area, so when I needed to come back to California for research, I thought this would be a good home base. It's close enough that I can travel anywhere, and it doesn't take too long. It's far enough away that there's still privacy."
"But it's so far away from London, and your move seems quite permanent." It all just seemed too random.
"I have a lot of research to do here in the US, mostly in California, to be more specific. I just didn't want to move to Los Angeles or San Francisco." I was glad that he hadn't chose to move there either.
"So, this research that you do, it's related to you family business?"
"Yeah, there isn't much to do, but my part in the business doesn't require me to be around all of the time. The bulk of what I do was done in the beginning stages of our venture. I now have more of a maintenance position. I was the builder of our machine, so I now do research to make it better." He was explaining everything as thorough as I wanted him to, but I still had so many questions.
It always seemed to come down to questions. I had so many questions, but I always felt so pushy to ask. It wasn't like he was keeping anything from me, but I just wanted to know more. He seemed like he was such an interesting man, had led such an interesting life. I just never got around to being very exciting.
"Why don't we finish eating, and then walk some of this food off." We ate the rest of the meal in silence, enjoying each other's company.
After we finished eating, I took him on my usual walk through the mine property. It felt so good to have someone to share it with. I'd spent so many years only spending time with myself on these trails; being able to see things through his eyes made it all new and exciting.
He held my hand for the entire walk, and it was such a welcome comfort. I loved that we didn't feel the need to fill the silence with useless chatter. There was nothing worse than trying to fill an uncomfortable silence. We were just coming to the end of the trail when I heard the screech of tires.