Disclaimer: Characters belong to the fantabulous Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with them =].
Chapter Nine: Born to Be Wild
Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die
Born to be wild
Born to be wild
Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf
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BPOV
"Let's get out of here then."
His last words rang in my head as we drove to wherever he was taking me. It wasn't for lack of trying to find out; he was just as stubborn as I was. So that was where we were now, alone in his car in absolute silence. There was a crease in his forehead, alerting me that he was in deep thought. My fingers twitched with the need to reach up and smooth it out.
I hadn't realized I was staring at him until he turned to me and caught me. The blood nearly flew to my cheeks, but instead of the awkwardness I was expecting, he just grinned crookedly at me, and I immediately felt at ease.
Well, as 'at east' as I could possibly feel when my breath gets caught in my throat.
"Breathe, Bella," he murmured. I looked away, my cheeks getting redder. After our revealing moment yesterday afternoon, I didn't know what to expect when I showed up to the rehearsal this morning. Certainly not an empty dance studio- he was always there before me. When he finally did arrive, I was already stretching.
I was jostled in my seat when he hit a right turn too sharply. He looked at me let out a rumble of laughter. I tried to glare at him, but his laughter was contagious. I soon joined in, and it wasn't long before I was clutching my sides, trying but failing to catch my breath. His baritone laughter mingled with my soprano and I couldn't help but notice we were in perfect harmony.
I saw a movement out of the side of my eye, though admittedly it was blurry from the tears. Of laughter. Edward swerved around it, jerking me to the side once more. Once we were past the poor raccoon, Edward sped up. The windows were down, but this morning I had decided on a ponytail knowing it would get frizzy from the humidity and the sweating I knew I'd be doing once we got started with the rehearsal.
I wanted to feel the wind in my hair. For once, I wanted to let loose.
I let my hair down and laughed hysterically as the wind blew it around. Edward took one look at me and burst into laughter again.
"We're wild," I said, but the wind drowned out my voice.
"What?" he yelled.
"I said WE'RE WILD!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and threw my head back in laughter. I looked over to see him inserting a tape into the tape player, smirking.
"Wild, huh?" he asked with a sly grin. I nodded, smiling as well. And as the first few notes of the song started, I just had to laugh.
Because this song was so perfect, so descriptive of what I was feeling right now. He bobbed his head to the music while I moved my entire body, showing off my new sense of rhythm. Yeah, to a guy who already knows. And I got to smirk this time. I knew his eyes were on me, on my body. We were going away from the resort. Maybe he'd let his guard down here and just…just do something.
The car came to a smooth stop…in the middle of the woods.
"We're here," he announced unceremoniously as he got out of the car. I followed, but unsurely. So he was an axe murderer now?
"And…where exactly is 'here'?" I asked, biting my lip. He looked at me at that moment, and it happened again. Like yesterday, his eyes flickered down to my lips. They lingered for a second before he looked back up at my eyes.
"You'll see," he said cryptically as he took my hand and led me to our destination. I was hesitant about following him through the woods. I didn't know where he was taking me; what if he really was an axe murderer? What if he preyed on young, innocent, rich girls like me? And Rosalie and Jasper were his accomplices and they all pretended to be my friend…
I stopped that train of thought. I was being ridiculous, of course. He brought me here so that we could continue practicing, not to kill me. I let him lead me, and honestly, I liked feeling his hand holding mine. Electric shocks spread through my body, starting at my left hand. We walked through the trees and the brush in silence. I was still wondering where we were going, and I have no idea what he was thinking about.
I didn't have to wait long before I heard something. The faint sound of rushing water, like a river or a stream. It gradually got louder the further we walked. I kept stumbling over twigs and small rocks, but Edward caught me every time. And I swooned a little every time.
After I first heard the water, it only took a few minutes before we had arrived. A stream ran below a log that had fallen across it, creating a bridge. Up a bit farther to our left was a small waterfall. Edward didn't waste time getting onto the log. He took off his shoes and walked to the center, with his arms spread out like a tightrope walker. I followed his example and took off my shoes, but only came out until just before the log was no longer supported by ground and was in the air above the stream. I cautiously sit down, straddling the log and watching Edward balance himself.
"What are we doing here?" I called out over the noise of the waterfall. He looked back at me and smiled.
"Lifts are all about balance," he said simply as he flaunted his perfect sense of equilibrium.
"So…how did you decide to be a dancer?"
He stopped jumping up and down on the log and looked at me with a frown on his face. He walked back towards me and sat down, also straddling the log, but facing me.
"We- Jasper, Rosalie, and I- were living in Portland for a while. The Arthur Murray school there was giving a test for instructors. Rosalie had been training all her life, so she just taught Jazz and me how to dance. Jazz didn't do that great, but he's alright. I did much better, so…that brings us here. Newton's was hiring dance instructors as part of the entertainment staff. We came here for interviews and auditions and we got in, although Jasper deals with more technical stuff than dancing." He shrugged after he said this.
"Where are you from originally? You didn't stay in Portland, obviously. Where are you from, then?" I repeated. He sighed and lowered his head.
"Forks, Washington," he mumbled.
"Why did you leave?" I asked before I could stop myself. He looked up and his face was exasperated before he opened his mouth to reply.
"I had a…disagreement with my father. I decided I couldn't really live with him, not then anyways. So, I packed up my stuff, hopped in my car, and left with Jazz and Rose. They insisted on coming even though I begged them to stay. Jazz and Rose's parents were killed in a car accident when we were seven. They've lived with us ever since. I didn't want them to loose another set of parents," he explained with difficulty, telling me this wasn't an easy subject, as if I didn't already know. I nodded and looked away, all of a sudden feeling guilty for the way I talked about my family so reverently the other day. I'm not sure how it made him feel to know that I was so close to my family while he was not. It was obvious that that bothered him.
"And…you've never considered going home?" He ran a hand through his hair. His eyes were full of pain, and I immediately regretted my question.
"Look, you don't have to answer that, I'm just-"
"No, it's fine. I don't mind telling you these things. To tell you the truth, I think about it everyday. Rose doesn't make it any easier when she pressures me to call home. I'm…afraid, Bella," he said ashamedly. I reached out and placed my hand against his cheek. He leaned into my touch.
"It's okay to be afraid, Edward. Everyone is afraid of something," I whispered. He closed his eyes and nodded.
"I can see that you, Jasper, and Rosalie love each other very much. At least you have them," I tried to be optimistic. He chuckled.
"Yes, we do. I'm probably a bit biased, but they're two amazing people. I mean, the way they just…followed me, no questions asked, leaving a home…I don't know. I can't ever be grateful enough. Which is why I feel so guilty about them being with me. They should be back home, they should be with Esme and Carlisle," he said vehemently.
"But they're here with you, and you can't change that. If you asked them to go back, what would they say?" He shook his head, and I knew the answer.
"So…before the…incident, how was your relationship with your parents?" I bit my lip. I didn't know what his answer would be, but I certainly didn't expect it. His eyes met mine purposefully and my breath caught at what I saw in his. His eyes sparkled, truly happier than I had ever seen him. And so sad.
"Carlisle and Esme…are two of the greatest people I know. There was no building tension before I left, Bella, everything was perfect. We really were the picture of perfection. They loved Jasper and Rosalie like their own, and vice versa. Love and compassion were never missing in my house. We used to tell each other about our days at dinner, and everyone listened. We all knew each other so well. Esme knew that I preferred Pepsi but Jasper preferred Coke. Carlisle knew that Rosalie loved gifts. On more than one occasion, he would come home with a pretty new dress for Rose. Randomly, for no reason at all. When we were kids, Jazz and I would spend the day in our backyard playing football, or basketball. Rosalie would watch from the sidelines cheering us both. Esme would bring us cookies. It was great, Bella." he ended sadly.
"I'm a horrible person, Bella. I've hurt my family more than you know, I've broken my mother's heart, the most important woman in my life besides Rosalie. I ruined my father's dreams…you're probably thinking that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself, but you'd be surprised with what you can live with," he said, laughing resentfully.
"No, Edward, that's not what I was thinking at all. That doesn't make you a bad person. You feel remorse, you feel for the other people in your life, and that's a lot more than some other people," I began to stroke his cheek and he closed his eyes. I smiled, knowing that I was making him feel better, if only for the moment. What I wouldn't give to make the hurt go away forever.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair for what must have been the tenth time before grabbing my hands and pulling me up.
"Come on, you have a thing or two to learn about balance," he said, tugging on my hands. His body was leaning towards the center of the log where he had previously been. I shook my head feverishly, my eyes wide and my lips parted.
"I-no. No. I really-"
"Come on, I'm here. I won't let you fall," he teased. I smiled and blushed, then nodded and followed him to the center. He still had a hold on my hands, something I can't say I disliked. He started doing a basic mambo step with me, setting a silent beat. Soon, I let go of his hands and held my arms out, like he had been doing earlier. I danced with him, there on the log suspended over a fast moving stream. He started making faces at me, and I laughed.
Eventually we forgot about the mambo and just started free-styling. He did the monkey, something I'd remember to tease him endlessly about later. I did the Travolta and he laughed raucously. I pretended to give him a glare, before I started laughing too. Still sniggering, he grabbed my hand again and led me off of the log.
"I think you've got the balance thing down now," he winked, "but you've still go to learn the actual lift."
I blanched at that. I've never been particularly afraid of heights, but having someone throw me up into the air and expect them catch me was nerve-wracking. If I was too heavy, or if he didn't put his arms out in time to catch me? Then what? I fall to the ground and break my hip? True, I've had worse, but pain and I didn't go hand-in-hand. He must have sensed my anxiety because he started rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb. Instantly, my shoulders relaxed and my heart slowed. Just one small gesture from him could put me at ease.
We came to a huge open field with grasses that came to my middle. I looked at him questioningly.
"We'll practice here," he said. I nodded and looked back out onto the field. Wherever here was, it was beautiful. Picturesque. I wondered if it was a park or just some random neck of the woods he had found. The stream, the waterfall, and now this field- it all seemed very private to me. Like something that was all his own and he had never shared with anyone. It seemed silly to me to feel honored that he was sharing it with me, but I did.
"Alright. I'll be standing about ten feet away from you. Don't worry about me, I'm strong enough to lift you. I'm going to need you to stay tight and make yourself as light as you can. When I say go, you'll run up to me, jump, flex, and I'll lift you. When you get up, spread your arms and point your toes. Got it?" he asked. I bit my lip and nodded nervously. He grinned reassuringly before walking out roughly ten feet in front of me.
"Ready? On three," he said, bending his knees and putting his arms out to catch me.
"One," Oh no… "Two," I can't do this, "Three!"
I ran at him and when I was right in front of him, he placed his hands on my hips and tried to lift me, but I was scared and didn't jump.
"That's okay, that usually happens the first time. Come on, let's try again," he said encouragingly. I took a deep breath and nodded, blushing.
"Alright on three again. One…Two…Three!"
I repeated the process, again being too scared and not jumping. He placed me back on my feet and shook his head.
"This won't work if you don't trust me, Bella. We need to trust each other, otherwise we'll both get hurt," he said seriously. I knew I'd be laying in bed later that night, analyzing those words. The double meaning wasn't lost on me.
We kept at it for about another half hour. Not much progress was made. I wasn't necessarily afraid that he'd drop me, but I kept trying to incorporate it into the actual beat of the song. Apparently, that wasn't such a good idea because I actually kept missing the beat. After one particular accident where I had fallen on top of him, he hastily called it quits, saying that he needed to get me back to the resort in time for lunch.
We nearly ran through the trees, remembering about time and the need to keep up appearances. No one could know that I was doing this, especially not my family. If I was missing at lunch, Alice would definitely get suspicious and I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep lying to her before she finally caught me. It felt like we made it back to his car in no time. He opened the door for me, bobbing from one foot to the other impatiently. I scrambled in and he quickly shut the door. He jogged to the driver's side of the car and sat down gracefully before starting the car. When the radio turned on, I checked the time and groaned.
"What? What is it?" he asked worriedly.
"It's halfway through lunch. I need to get back in time, Alice and I promised Mattie we would take him to arts and crafts today," I whined, not caring how childish I sounded at the moment.
"Who's Mattie?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
"The little boy Alice and I were with yesterday," I said before I could stop myself. I winced once I said it. We hadn't mentioned it and the day was going fine so far. Of course I had to go and ruin it with my big mouth, but I found it almost impossible to lie to him.
"Oh," was all he said. I stared outside my window, grimacing and refusing to look at him. Great. Way to go Bella. Make a perfectly good morning with him awkward.
"Is he your brother or something?" he asked. Maybe all hope wasn't lost?
"No. I just met him a few days ago. He's really sweet," I said with a smile.
"How did you meet him?"
"Well, Alice and I were playing croquet. He comes up to us and asks us if he could play with us, and Alice agreed. She has always loved children. I was never a big fan of them, to tell you the truth. I always felt uncomfortable around them, until I met Mattie. There's something so genuine about him that I couldn't help but fall in love. I just…I want to help him too. His parents aren't that great, all he really has is his nanny," I explained. I peeked at him from the corner of my eyes and saw his forehead creased.
"Who are his parents?"
"Um, Mr. and Mrs. Preston. I've never met them, but apparently Mrs. Preston stays at the resort all week, but Mr. Preston only comes on weekends. And they completely ignore their son," I said bitterly. I turned to face him and was surprised with what I saw. He was grimacing, almost as if he were in pain.
"Edward, are you alright?"
He masked his face with a neutral expression, but I wasn't fooled. I knew what I saw.
"Fine," he answered. I decided to let it rest, filing it away for later.
We arrived back at Newton's in twenty minutes. I hurried out of the car then turned back to him.
"Thanks, but I really have to go if I want to make it in time. I'm in enough trouble with Alice as it is. I'll see you tomorrow?" I turned around to leave, but he grabbed my arm before I could take two stops. I hissed, he had unknowingly grabbed the same spot that James had yesterday. It was already sensitive. Thankfully, the sleeves of my t shirt covered the ugly bruises.
"Actually, I was wondering if we could see each other later? I'd like to try the lifts in the water, it really is the best place to learn them," he said, his eyes working to their best ability. I stopped breathing, well aware that my mouth was agape.
"Bella?" he asked concernedly.
"What?" I asked stupidly, snapping out of my daze. He grinned crookedly.
"I asked if you would like to meet later? To practice the lift in the water?" he repeated.
"But won't we be seen? The lake isn't exactly private," I said, pointing out the obvious. To my intense surprise, he smirked.
"Maybe not the part you go to. The employee section is usually empty. No one goes there 'cause they're working. So, do you want to or not?"
"Sure. What time should we meet?"
"What time do you think you'll be done with Mattie?"
"Um…around four then? Is that alright?"
"Yes, that's perfect. Just keep walking on the track, past the guest section of the lake. The employee section is right next to it. I'll see you then," he said excitedly with a goofy grin. I felt the corners of my mouth tilt upwards in a smile as well.
"Okay. Bye," I said before running off to the dining room.
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I was right.
I just knew that it wouldn't escape Alice's attention that I wasn't there for lunch, and I knew that she wouldn't buy my 'I was taking a nap and lost track of time' excuse either, even though it worked for Charlie and Renée. She cornered me right before we went to the foyer to pick up Mattie and grilled me about my real whereabouts. I repeated the answer I gave at the table, and after five minutes of badgering me, she threw her hands up in defeat. She may have let me win that once, but I knew it would come back to bite me sooner or later.
By the time we got to the foyer, Maria was there, holding an overly excited Mattie by the hand. His face lit up when he saw us and he ran to us. We greeted each other quickly before promising Maria we'd have him back to her by three thirty.
I had fun with Mattie and Alice at arts and crafts. We pushed Mattie to talk to and play with the other kids, and I think he had fun with them too. He was laughing and the kids were nice enough. Alice and I made each other friendship bracelets and Mattie drew what any seven year old draws, a picture of his house and his family. I noticed that in the picture, his parents were way off to the left while he and Maria were on the other side, smiling and holding hands.
Before I knew it, it was time to get him back to his cabin. I left the activity room confident that Mattie had made friends. When we got to his cabin, we found Maria out on the porch, sitting on a swing, reading. She looked up when she heard Mattie call her name and smiled. I wished I had a camera at that moment, it was beautiful. He jumped into her arms and told her all about the friends he made. He showed her the picture he drew, this one of him and Maria, alone. Her eyes got teary and she hugged him close, whispering in his ear. Alice and I stood back, letting them have their moment. Mattie hopped off of her lap and came over to us to say goodbye. We gave him a group hug, before waving to Maria. She waved back as we descended the stairs and made the short walk back to our cabin. There I stayed while Alice went off to find James for their date.
So there I stood, in front of my dresser where all my more intimate clothing were, trying to decide what to wear. I had to meet Edward in twenty minutes and I still couldn't decide which bathing suit to wear. Sure, I had bought plenty the other day with Alice, but I wasn't sure. I was leaning towards the simple, black one piece. Simple, I thought darkly as I looked at it. This was in the 'I-might-actually-wear-this-in-public' pile the other day in the dressing room, but I was still wary. It was technically a one piece, but the only thing that held the top and the bottom together was strip of fabric running down the middle. It was backless, except for the string that would tie my top. I sighed in dismay as I looked at it. We hadn't gone to the lake lately so I hadn't needed to come up with an excuse to just wear my old suit.
But today, I needed a suit. I was starting to panic. Time was slipping and I was already down to fifteen minutes before I needed to meet Edward. I groaned in frustration as I yanked the black suit out of the drawer and made my way to the bathroom.
And as my luck would have it, I tripped on a bedpost. Not even a good ol' trip which would have ended up with me on my hands and knees. No, by some freak occurrence, I somehow ended up on my ass, facing my dresser again. And something caught my attention.
Another black string was hanging out of a drawer adjacent to the one I had just taken the black suit out of. I looked at the black suit in my hand, then at the black string in the drawer. I got onto my hands and knees and crawled back to my dresser. I opened the offending drawer and took a peek inside.
Ah, yes. This was the drawer where I had stored all of my…other purchases the other day. I tilted my head as I examined the contents, again at an impasse. There was an assortment of colors and several things caught my attention at once. Reds, blues, oranges. My eyes began to hurt from all the brightness in the drawer. The brightness seemed to be getting bigger and closer with every second.
I shot a glance at the clock to see that I had ten minutes. Gasping, I grabbed my suit and ran into the bathroom, without tripping this time.
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EPOV
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, a million times STUPID. I don't know what I was thinking when I invited Bella to go swimming with me. Or rather, to go practice lifts, but I wasn't stupid. The water was an excellent place to practice lifts, but what I really wanted was to feel her body against mine, slick and wet. I wasn't thinking with my head, at least not the one that sat on top of my neck.
I sighed, giving up. Berating myself still wasn't putting a damper on my good mood. My feet were light, and I knew I had a shit-eating grin on my face. I waved 'hello' to everyone who I passed on my way to the lake, and they just gave me confused look, probably wondering about this change in me. I never went out of my way to make contact with the rest of the staff besides Rose, Jazz, or Emmett. They usually came to me, but today was different. Today I was on a cloud.
Because I trusted Bella today. I showed her the real me.
And she still wanted me.
I saw it in her eyes, and I did a mental whop of triumph. I was ecstatic. Even after knowing what a pathetic excuse for a man I really was, she still wanted me for who I was. This angel who is the embodiment of goodness actually fucking wanted me, a fallen soul. It not only did wonders for my ego to know that, but it filled a hole in my chest that had been slowly getting bigger ever since I left home.
And I'm sure her daddy would be very pleased to know just what his precious daughter likes.
I halted my steps.
Damnit, damnit, damnit, DAMN IT ALL TO HELL. Just when I thought things are finally going my way…I remembered. I remembered the why I wanted to stay away from her in the first place. I remembered why I told Jasper to steer clear. I remembered the reason why I squashed every single feeling I got about her.
Because she was a guest.
Because Bella came from a world that I had once belonged to. Because I would certainly get fired if I initiated any sort of relationship with her. Because Bella Swan's father would never allow it. And most of all, because Bella deserved so much better than what I could give her.
I hadn't noticed where my feet were carrying me, but when I looked up I saw the pristine waters of the lake. No Bella. I checked the time on my watch and saw that I was about three minutes late. I shrugged and walked over to one of the lounge chairs to set my towel on it. I stripped myself of my shirt, suddenly needing to cool off in the water. I tested the temperature first with my feet. Not too warm, not too cold. Perfect.
Once I got in about chest-deep, I ducked my head in, getting myself completely wet. I did a few laps, warming myself up for the work-out I knew was to come. When I started getting out of breath, I stopped and looked to the shore.
Bella was setting her towel down on the lounge chair next to mine. She was bent over, giving me a perfect view of her…assets. My throat got tight. I tried to swallow, to no avail. The vision of her bikini clad bottom was ingrained in my head, even after she straightened herself up. I watched as she reached to the hem of her cover-up.
Oh dear God, if you have any mercy on me, please don't let her-
She did.
And fuck, if I thought I was turned on before, I was wrong. Because nothing in this world could prepare me for seeing Bella in a tiny red bikini. The top stretched over her ample chest, and it was probably a little too small because it pushed her breasts together, making them look even better than they did on a regular basis. Her skin was smooth and slightly tanned, but still paler than most. The bottom tied around her hips, leaving her creamy thighs exposed for my eyes. Her long legs stretched for miles in less clothes than I had ever seen them. They were things of beauty, created by God himself. Her subtle curves made her that much more desirable. They were natural, every guy's dream. I wanted to touch and taste every inch of her soft skin.
I figured I must've looked like an idiot standing there in the water staring at her, so I composed myself and started wading towards her. She still hadn't noticed me, folding her cover up neatly and adjusting her bikini in a vain attempt to get it to cover more than it never would.
"Bella!" I called out once I got onto the shore. Her head turned in my direction and her eyes widened. As I walked, they ran up and down my body, taking me in. I felt so fucking smug knowing that I was having as much of an effect on her as she had on me. I held my head up higher and strutted up to her, not caring how cocky I looked.
"Hello Bella," I said huskily. She snapped her eyes back to mine, and something changed. She went from ogling, nervous girl one second to:
"Edward," she purred. She fucking purred my name.
"Shall we start?" I asked, playing into her little game.
"Yes," she said before she took my hand and brought me to the water. Once were in about waist deep, she turned to me.
"You're the teacher," she said with a dazzling smile. I grinned crookedly at her before taking both of her hands.
"You remember what I taught you this morning?"
She nodded, licking her lips. Minx.
"Just do that, but without the running start. You trust me right?"
"Yes," she said, and I could tell she was no longer talking about the dancing. I nodded and dropped her hands, placing mine on her hips.
"On three, jump. One, Two, Three!"
She finally got the jump right. She bent her knees, jumped, and flexed, making it that much easier to lift her. She was up, her arms were spread, and her toes were pointed.
"Good, good. Don't break…Bella…" I tried to sound stern, but she was getting wobblier by the second.
"Don't break!" I yelled before she dove into the water, bringing me down with her. We were a tangle of limbs under the water, before we rose to the surface, sputtering for breath. Somehow while we were wrestling underwater, Bella had ended up with her arms around my neck. We were laughing, but mine started to die down when I noticed the position we were in. Hers died when she noticed I was getting serious.
"Um, I-"
"Let's try again?" I suggested before she could really say anything. She nodded and disentangled herself from me. I placed my hands on her hips again.
"Alright on three. One…two…three!"
She jumped again and I lifted her…again. And of course, she broke position…again.
We fell back into the water, once more wrapped up in each other, literally.
But this time when we reached the surface, we weren't laughing. Last time, Bella's arms were around my neck, but for having her hands on me, she was still at a respectable distance from me. This time, her entire body was pressed up against mine. I had already felt her when we danced the tango, but not like this. Not half naked and completely drenched from head to toe. She was slippery and slick beneath my hands which rested on her sides. Her eyes were hooded and almost black with lust. I knew mine were in the same state. Her face was tilted up to be closer to me. I was hyper-aware of the fact that if I just bent my head a little, I'd make contact with those plump, delicious lips of hers. My head made the decision before I did and began to lean in. Once my forehead made contact with hers, I stopped.
"Edward," she breathed. I took a shaky breath, and released it quickly.
"Bella, you know we can't," I said in a pained whisper. Her eyes closed. I dipped my head into the crook of her shoulder and placed a lingering, sensual kiss on her neck. I even pulled the skin between my lips a little. She shuddered.
"Why not? I want to…and I know you do," she begged. I shook my head, resting on her shoulder.
"We can't," I whispered desperately, needing her to understand. My body ached at having to refuse her something. I never wanted to do that, I only wanted to give her everything.
"Please?" she asked in a broken voice. I lifted my head up, took my hands off of her and took her hands off of me. I instantly felt cold without her touch.
"No," I said with an air of finality. Her eyes filled with tears and she waded out of the lake as fast as the water would allow. I followed her, kicking myself for making her upset.
"Bella-"
"What, Edward?" she shrieked, whipping around to face me. I winced at her tone.
"Bella, please, you need to understand," I said exasperatedly. She shifted her weight onto one foot and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"Bella, if we got caught, your family wouldn't be happy and I-,"
"Oh, so I'm supposed to believe that the only reason you're stopping this is to make things easier for me? That's bullshit, Edward. My family can deal. We want each other and as I see it, that's the only thing that matters," she said heatedly. I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and my forefinger.
"Bella, that's the way things should be, but it's not. If Ron caught us? I'd get fired, Bella, and I need this job, you know I do," I pleaded with her. She shook her head.
"We're smart, we'd find a way to make this work," she argued, stubborn as a mule. I growled in frustration and just pulled her into me. We stood like that, our arms wrapped tightly around each other. I placed a light kiss on her temple and she pulled back.
"Please, Edward…please?" Her voice was thick with her sobs. I felt like a royal asshole for being the one to make her cry, and I wanted, no, needed a way to make her better.
And that's how I did it.
I groaned in resignation.
I crushed my lips to hers.
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James POV
I walked back from the Swan cabin with the biggest fucking case of blue balls ever. Alice was willing to go to second base now. Whoop-de-fucking-do. Most girls put out for me on the first date, rarely on the second date, and in extreme cases, the third date. This was the longest it had ever taken me to bone a girl, and it was taking a toll on me. I'd have Victoria in my cabin every night to relieve myself. Just who the fuck did Alice think she was anyway?
I was rethinking the whole virgin pussy concept. By then, I wasn't sure if it would be worth it anymore. She was really making me work for it. If she didn't give it up to me soon, I'd dump her because I knew plenty of girls here dying for me to get into their pants. I didn't really want to miss out on that this summer and so far, Alice was taking up a lot of my time.
Needing Victoria fast, I started walking towards the staff quarters where I knew she'd be flirting with Eleazar, Carmen's boyfriend. So maybe she was a slut, but we had an agreement, a good agreement. She understood my lack of desire for a commitment and I understood her promiscuous tendencies.
I didn't really want to go all the way back to the main house just to have Ron find me and give me a job to do. Instead, I took a shortcut which would lead me to the staff ballroom, but not without passing by the lake first.
I didn't give my path much thought. I had roamed it before with Alice, and countless other times on my own or with some other chick. I knew my way around, and I knew what to expect. I expected the guest section of the lake to be near empty, the sun not as hot as it was in the early afternoon.
But what I didn't expect was what I saw at the staff section of the lake.
If it had been any other couple, I would've walked past them not really giving them a second thought except 'at least someone's getting some'.
But this wasn't just 'any other couple', so I stopped in my tracks and just stared openly.
Edward Cullen and Bella Swan were kissing furiously, like they were afraid that the other one would run out of mouth. Cullen's hands were roaming Bella's body in a way that I knew was anything but innocent. Bella's fingers were tangled in his hair, massaging and pulling. I nearly groaned myself, I loved it when chicks did that. And damn, I couldn't blame Cullen for wanting her. She was showing more skin than I had ever seen and fuck, baby had it going on. She was as hot, if not hotter than, her sister. I could do without her attitude, but her body got a solid A in my grade book.
Bella had been a thorn in my side ever since she confronted me about Rosalie. She looked at me as if I were something stuck on the bottom of her shoe, and I knew that she would make it even harder for me to bed Alice. Yesterday at lunch she had played a game with me and I nearly shot myself when she won. She held a very important card; the knowledge of Rosalie and her pregnancy. I got her message clear: if she needed to, she would play that card, no hesitations. And I knew I was fucked because I wasn't sure if Alice would believe me or Bella. I didn't even know if Bella had warned her about me yet. I doubted it, but you never know.
Now, as I watched Bella and Cullen get hot and heavy, my smirk grew.
Bella had just given me a major card to play.
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BPOV
I tugged on his hair, needing some way of letting my frustration and lust out, other than his mouth. When he crashed his lips onto mine, I thought I would faint. This was better than heavenly. Kissing Edward was in a category all its own. His tongue battled with mine, fighting for dominance. I refused to let him have it, it was too good to stop and just let him take over. I had only been kissed twice before this, but they just didn't count anymore. Nothing could ever compare. My lack of experience was made up for by my intense need to taste him, to feel his glorious lips on mine.
I felt his hands run up and down my sides, caressing and rubbing. I moaned into his mouth, it felt too good to not make some sort of noise. When I moaned, he groaned, and I knew he liked what I was doing with his hair. I could feel every inch of his body up against mine, and it just fueled the fire in my belly even more.
Sensing my dire need for oxygen, Edward broke away, but his lips didn't leave me. They wandered across my jaw, to my neck where he placed open-mouthed kisses everywhere. Not one bit went unkissed. My breathing was embarrassingly loud. When I had gotten enough oxygen to satiate me, I pulled his head back up to mine. We kissed urgently, making up for the short time our lips had spent apart. I would soon come to find that any time spent away from any part of Edward was too long.
A while later, we had moved to the lounge chairs. He leaned back and I sat in between his legs, my back to his chest, our lips still joined. The urgency had decreased in our kisses, now just sweet pecks. When we finally broke apart, I laid my head against his shoulder, sighing in content.
"Edward?"
"Hmm," he murmured sleepily. I smiled.
"We can make this work, can't we?" I asked, timid all of a sudden. I didn't know what his answer would be, and I was scared that this was all an illusion, that he would realize after our kiss that I wasn't worth it.
"I'm willing to do anything for you, Bella," he said simply. I twisted my torso to face him.
"Really?" He chuckled and kissed my nose.
"Yes. Fuck it all. We'll break the rules now, together," he reached for my hand and squeezed it lightly. I beamed at him and leaned in, aiming for his cheek, but he had other plans. He turned his head and caught my lips with his own. I laughed against his mouth and felt him do the same.
A/N: Oh, come on, you didn't seriously think I'd give you the first kiss without any sort of drama? I thought you knew me better than that! -sniffs-. lol. I hope this chapter makes up for my lack of steaminess in the last chapter, and if it doesn't, screw you. Anyway, this will be a two part chapter, only because I need a little more time to develop the Alice&Jasper and Rose&Emmett part of it. Part Two should be up later today...no bull, I'd have it up like a little later but I'm kinda tired. It's almost two friggin a.m and I woke up early today. I haven't done much of them lately and I really want to, but I didn't want to make a monster one-part chapter either.
To those of you who have seen the movie, please don't kill me for doing this out of sequence! And yes, I'm aware that James was not the one supposed to catch them, but the equivalent of Vivan Pressman in this story would not be roaming the resort at this time in the afternoon. She hasn't really been introduced personally yet, though I'm sure some of you may have figured it out. To be honest, the kiss wasn't even going to be in this chapter. I was going to do all that according to the movie. Baby and Johnny don't really have any contact like that until the night of the Sheldrake (the Crowley). But like you, I got impatient -rolls eyes-. Whatever, the true jizzinyourpants steaminess shall happen on that night, and by my estimate, that won't be for another two or three chapters. I'm very interested in writing that night from Rosalie's point of view, and that may take up quite a bit.
So I would have had this chapter up earlier Saturday, but I got distracted watching Prayers for Bobby (gotta love lifetime) but after I watched that, I was inspired. Seriously, I wrote like six pages of the chapter right after watching it. Beautiful movie, you have to see it if you haven't already!
And the song...come on, you know you love it!
So,
A) Review if you're born to be wild ;D
B) Review if the steaminess of this chapter totally makes up for the last chapter
C) Review if you like cold pizza =]