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these chapters aren't beta'd, by the way.
Her eyes were intense. She never looked away while we talked.
Carmen was a nice girl. An attractive girl.
But intense.
She was smart too, smarter than me. Working on her PhD now.
Her eyes looked almost black.
Our families were close; I'd known Carmen for most of my life. She wanted me but she was subtle. And patient, apparently.
I liked her, just not the way she liked me.
Kate called her away and I finished my beer, making sure to toss it in the proper recycling receptacle. My sister was nothing if not thorough when it came to these things and I wasn't going to be picking through trash in the middle of the night because some asshole had stuck paper with bottles or bottles with garbage.
Worse yet if I was that asshole.
Kate had just turned thirty two. Most of her friends were here, and most of mine too. That's how it ends up when you live in the same city your whole life. I didn't mind it. The Bay Area was vast and multifaceted; boredom was an impossibility. Besides, there were always new faces. If you got bored with the folks you'd known since back in the day there was always a steady stream of people just coming or just going.
I was manning the grill, catching up with Kate's fiancé Garrett when I heard a raucous laugh that could only be Jacob Black's. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the group he'd just arrived with. My boy, Jasper Whitlock, attached to that cute, tiny girl he'd been seeing. Sam and Jacob. And two girls I didn't recognize.
They looked young, like Jasper's girl, probably her friends. He'd always gone for younger girls.
I didn't. There was no aversion; I just dated the girls I was around and most of them were my age. Like Carmen. Or Lauren. I didn't want to think about her though. She had no problem getting over the two years we'd been together and I was at the point where I was over it too.
It had been a while though.
So. Jasper. Had to hand it to him, he always did find the pretty ones.
I laughed to myself, turning my attention back to Garrett and the grill, back to flipping burgers and kabobs.
"You're doing it wrong," I remarked, watching Riley pour the beer from his bottle. "If you don't tilt the glass it gets fizzy."
"Shut up, Edward," he chuckled. He listened, though.
My eyes wandered back to the two girls on the hammock. They were by themselves now, having branched off from Jacob and Sam. Maybe they weren't together, then. It had been hard to tell initially, coming in all paired up.
"You want another one?" Riley asked.
I shrugged. "Sure. In a bottle."
We talked for awhile. He was four years younger than me but we'd gotten closer as we'd gotten older. When I started my own construction company several years before, he'd been the first to support me, defending my choices to my parents. They loved me but had always harbored fantasies of my becoming a doctor like Dad, Siobhan and Kate. It took a while and a lot of discussion – arguments – but they got on board eventually.
Riley handed me my beer. "You see Jake?"
"Yeah. He came with Jasper earlier."
"What's up with that, you think?"
"What? The girls?"
He nodded, grabbing a brownie.
"I don't know."
"I'm gonna go talk to that one," he said, putting the beer and uneaten brownie down and wiping his hands. I watched, amused, as he made his way through the crowd, stopping sometimes to talk before continuing on. Riley had no problem getting girls but this one was exceptionally pretty.
"Got a light?"
Jasper.
"No, man, I quit."
"Me too," he sighed, shaking his head. "I thought I saw you smoking earlier."
I smirked. "You did."
He laughed. "I know how that goes. It's worse when I drink."
I nodded, leaning against a tree. "How're things going with your girl?"
"Alice is great. So easy, you know? Being with her is easy."
"That's good. About time you settled down."
"Not all of us are serial monogamists," he snorted. "Sorry."
"Apparently," I said, smiling. It was true. I didn't date. I was either in a relationship or I wasn't. I'd always been that way. "I think she's looking for you."
Alice stood nearby, her eyes searching in the dim light.
"Ah well. No smokes for me. Later, man." He clapped a hand on my shoulder and left.
The brunette who'd come with Jacob walked over to the open bar. She was a pretty girl, my type. Definitely young, how much younger I couldn't tell. Long, shiny brown hair and dark eyes. Pale skin and rosy cheeks, probably from drinking.
Girls like to stick together. I know this because I have two older sisters, and I noticed the second the brunette saw her seat had been taken and her friend was nowhere to be seen. She faltered, a red cup in each hand.
"There's an empty seat right there, if you want."
She turned toward me, her eyes barely meeting mine before she looked away. "Oh…that's okay. I'm kind of like standing."
Now she was looking at me. I liked her face, her mouth.
"So do I," I said, breaking eye contact. Riley looked like he was doing okay; the friend was smiling at him now. They were standing closer.
"So, you're friends with Kate?" the brunette asked.
I hid a smile; she was checking me out now.
"She's my sister."
"Oh, no kidding…" She looked me up and down.
"Looking for family resemblance?" I teased.
Her cheeks turned pink and she smiled. "Yeah."
Enough of that. "I'm Edward," I said, extending my hand.
"Bella." We shook hands. "We came with Jasper, Jake and Sam."
"Ah, Jasper. He's a trip." And he really was. You don't grow up with someone and not know their dirty secrets.
Just then Carmen came over and got a bottle of water out of the cooler.
"I think we're going to get going soon," she said, looking meaningfully at me. "My parent's thirtieth is tomorrow, so we're heading out …"
Her words faded into background noise. I liked talking to the brunette and I wanted to continue. I hoped she wouldn't leave.
For the first time ever, I found Carmen's insistence on engaging me in conversation irritating . I didn't hear half of what she said. I downed half of another beer, angling my body away from her. Speaking of beer, this stuff was crap. Who'd bought light beer? Probably one of Kate's friends. They were all obsessed with calories. I eyed the brunette in my peripheral. She had a cute body, a great ass. I imagined sliding my hand into her back pocket, cupping my hand around one of her cheeks…
"… but I told her that wasn't fair. Why should we get Dad his favorite but not Mom? You know? It's their anniversary, as in, the both of them…."
I tuned out again. The brunette looked uncomfortable now. She'd spotted my brother chatting up her friend.
"Well, have fun with that. Give them my love," I said smoothly, squeezing Carmen's hand.
Carmen grinned, not seeming to notice how abruptly I'd ended our conversation. "Okay, Edward. See you soon."
I turned back to the brunette, realizing I'd already forgotten her name.
"What was your name again?"
"Bella."
"Bella." I made sure to keep it in mind. "Well, Bella, looks like your friend has found my brother."
She looked back to Riley, surprised. "Your brother? How many of you are there?"
"Four. Two boys, two girls."
"And you're all here tonight?"
"Everyone but Siobhan. She lives in Maine."
"Oh. Okay."
She seemed bored suddenly and it occurred to me that maybe she was humoring me the same way I'd been humoring Carmen. Her phone was in her hand.
A friend of mine smiled and waved me over so I left Bella to her texting.
It was late.
Garrett was walking around, mingling and blowing out candles while Kate and I relaxed in the hammock, talking about the good ol' days.
Riley passed by, stopping and bending to hug Kate.
"Heading out?"
"Yeah, I've been… asked to go somewhere," he said, grinning.
I glanced over at the girl he'd been with all night, Bella's friend. She was hovering nearby, smiling shyly.
Lucky bastard.
"Have fun, man," I said, bumping fists with him. "You driving?"
"Nah, walking. They live a few blocks away."
"Call me if you need a ride later," I said, wondering how my little brother always got himself into these ideal situations. It was ridiculous.
It would've been nice to talk to Bella a little more. We'd crossed paths all night, talking here and there, nothing substantial. Just one of those things. I'd probably never see her again.
Riley reappeared after a few minutes.
"Edward."
I looked up at him, stilling the hammock's movement with my foot.
"They want you to come." He smirked.
Bella wanted me to come.
Well, well.
I helped my sister stand with me.
"Behave yourself." She sighed, kissing my cheek.
I followed Riley out of the yard, through the dark path leading out to the street.
Bella stood at the edge of her group of friends, twisting her hair. She let go of it when she saw me and came toward me, her eyes dark and huge. Like an unspoken command had been issued, we all started walking down the street.
She looked really good. And by how she was looking at me, she was thinking the same thing.
epov will be sporadic; not every other chapter. sometimes he just doesn't want to talk, and sometimes he's Chatty McChatterson.