A/N Sorry this took so long to update. Was sick the last week so even though it was written I wasn't up to updating.
Thank you to Tiggrmommi who is honestly one of the best things to happen to me during this whole fanfiction experience! I can't thank you enough.
Thank you to all of those who are reading this, makes my day when I get a review.
I do not own.
I should have known that luck wouldn't be on my side. It never was so why would today be any exception, especially after that little display out there. Within seconds I could hear my name being called.
"Bella, Bella," it kept getting closer and I knew that she would find me.
"I'm in here Alice," I walked out of the bathroom and went over to the sink to wash my hands. "I take it that you were a witness that little display out there." I dried my hands and turned to face her.
"I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who didn't witness that display," she giggled. She stopped as soon as she saw the look on my face. "Oh Bella, don't worry about it. He came right away to help you didn't he? I told you that there was something there," she was smiling at me and I had a feeling that I was supposed to be excited too.
"Sure, just what every guy wants. Someone he has to constantly rescue from herself," it didn't seem like much of a selling point to me.
"Of course Bella, where have you been? That is what every guy wants. Some girl who makes him feel like a hero. Every guy wants to feel needed, even if they complain about it. Never forget that okay," I just nodded because it was obvious that that was the only answer that she was going to find acceptable. "It's the same for girls though Bella, every girl wants the bad guy. Nothing makes a guy more attractive than being perceived as dangerous. If he tells you to stay away from him then he is suddenly ten times more attractive. It's a simple fact of life Bella," she said all of this as if it was common knowledge.
"So are you trying to tell me that I should stay away from your brother because he is bad for me?"
"Nothing could be further from the truth actually. He's too kind and sensitive for his own good sometimes. He doesn't date much but when he does he treats the girl like a goddess and then she always ends up breaking his heart and running away with the bad guy," Alice looked sad and I wanted to change the subject to distract her.
"So, what made you come to Greece?" It worked and she rambled on about history and her parent's honeymoon for a while and before long she was sufficiently distracted. She convinced me that hiding out in the bathroom was not the best way to spend my limited time in Corinthus. We walked out of the bathroom and before long it was time to get back on the bus.
Edward was waiting for us in the bus and smiled at me when we walked down the aisle toward him. Alice took the seat across from him and I went to sit next to her when she stuck out her legs quickly.
"Bella I hope you don't mind but I wanted to rest a little before we got to the next stop. I think I am still a bit jet lagged." She curled into a ball on the seat and closed her eyes. I looked for my mother when he spoke to me.
"You can sit with me. I promise I don't bite," I looked around one last time for my mother before I nodded my head and got into the seat next to him. I tried to breathe inconspicuously but it sounded more like I was hyperventilating.
"Are you okay?" Okay, I could do this. I could talk to him without making a fool of myself. He didn't know me so he didn't know about my bumbling adventures in Forks. As far as he knew I was the most wanted girl in high school.
"Yes, I am fine. Sorry I was just thinking of something else," I turned and saw him smiling at me and all rational thought left my head again. I think I managed to smile back and didn't look too odd because he started talking again.
"Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk earlier. Alice has a tendency to monopolize conversations," we both looked over at her. She appeared to be sleeping except for the smile that was on her face now. "She's an annoying thing most of the time," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear and we both laughed as her smile turned to a scowl.
He held out his hand. "I'm Edward by the way," I grabbed his hand and seeing his fingers earlier did nothing to prepare me for the way they felt when wrapped around my hand. Once again I was rendered mute. He just shrugged his shoulders and continued talking as if I hadn't just ignored him.
Eventually I decided to join the conversation and blurted out, "I'm Bella," completely interrupting whatever he had been saying but he just laughed.
"Nice of you to join in," he grabbed my hand again, holding it for just a bit longer than necessary. "Pleased to meet you Bella," he smiled at me again and I decided to just let go. I only had three days with him so why waste any of it being shy.
"Thanks, the feeling is mutual," I think my responding smile shocked him because he looked down at his hands. "So Edward how did you get roped into a trip to Greece with your parents?"
He laughed. "They went on their honeymoon here 20 years ago and it's always been special to them. Now that Alice and I have graduated and are going our separate ways they wanted to do something special for us before life got too hectic. What about you? Could your father not make it?" He looked over at my mother who was sitting alone in her seat reading a book.
"No my parents divorced long ago," he looked ready to apologize and I held up my hand to stop him. "No, don't feel bad, believe me it is better that way. My mom knew that I always wanted to come here and this was my graduation present."
"I'll have to remember to thank your mom," he smiled at me and I could have sworn that he could hear my heart beat speed up since he started laughing as soon as it did. He seemed so tuned into me already and it made me feel vulnerable. I looked away from him and picked at some dirt on my knee from trash picking adventure.
"Bella check that out," he pointed out the window and for the rest of the short ride and told me different tidbits of information about Greece that I hadn't heard. This was his third time visiting the country and he was a wealth of information. The time passed quickly and before we knew it we were at our next stop. I looked back to see if my mother was okay before I exited with Edward. She had a huge smile on her face and waved me away. I knew that there was nothing to worry about.
He held onto my elbow as he helped me out of the bus and guided me around the Theatre of Epidaurus. We climbed up the stone steps to the very top of the theater and looked down at the people milling about. We sat down on the carved stone seats for a minute before continuing our tour of the theater. It was an interesting combination of areas that looked untouched by time and spots that were just piles of rubble. At one point I tripped on a pebble on the ground and he grabbed my hand to steady me. Once I was steadied though he left my hand in his and we explored again with our fingers entwined.
It was like we were in our own little cocoon. I didn't worry about my mother or his family I just wanted to live in the moment. I didn't want any other distractions to worry about.
"So Bella where are you going to college," he had been mostly quiet during my conversation with Alice earlier so he must not have heard my answer.
We had been keeping our conversation limited to historical anecdotes about our surroundings that I was surprised that he had asked a personal question. I made a split second decision and turned to look at him.
"How about we make a deal Edward," he looked at me confused. "Why don't we just enjoy these next three days. Get to know each other better. No talk about what happens after this. Just these three days, no worries, no regrets."
"I think I like that plan. Three days to just enjoy spending time with you, no worries," his face got closer to mine as he whispered the last two words. I looked up at him and my breath was getting a bit more difficult to catch. He moved his lips to my ear and said one more thing before grabbing my hand and leading me back towards the bus.
He had to pull on my arm to get me moving again. All I could think of were the words that he had whispered to me.
I'm definitely looking forward to getting to know you better.
A/N More coming tomorrow. Thank you again for reading!