CHAPTER NINE
The rest of Edward's afternoon passed by in a daze. He tried his best to focus on the work that needed to be done at the shop but his mind was far away from everything in front of him. For four days Bella had been the only thing on his mind. She was beautiful and kind and above all things she was innocent, a trait that Edward loved more than anything. She was a good mother to her children and he could see in her eyes and her smile that she loved them more than anything. He loved being with her and spending time at her side, even if they were only sharing their time as friends.
He'd risked so much in kissing her that night but everything inside of him had told him that it was the right. She was unhappy with her marriage and she'd spent the entire night, laughing and smiling at his side. She'd answered his prayers when she'd returned the kiss. She'd tasted perfect, just as he'd imagined she would. Her lips were sweet and soft and he would have given everything to have tasted so much more of her. When she'd pulled away from him, thinking of her family, he'd been disappointed but he understood. Something inside of him had told him that she would come back to him in time.
He hadn't expected that, the next time that he would see her again would be on his door step while she cried in a hysterical fit. She'd claimed that he was the only person in the world that she had left to turn to in her time of despair. Her husband had cheated on her and she'd come to Edward. But he knew that he had to be gentle with her because her heart was fragile and he couldn't take her for granted. He kept her close to him but didn't move in too quickly or without warning. He did everything that he needed to do to calm her down and it had worked and now she was asleep, in his bed, waiting for him to come back to her.
"Edward…"
Outside of the recesses of his mind, Edward heard his older brother calling for him. He shook free from his thoughts and turned his attention back to the V8 he was currently working on..
"Yeah?" he asked, pushing his hair from his eyes and looking back to his brother. Carlisle was watching him with raised eyebrows and a concerned expression.
"Where'd you go?" he asked.
"Oh… I'm just… distracted," Edward said, reaching out and slamming the hood of the car shut.
"Yeah. That's the understatement of the day," Carlisle said. "We haven't gotten none of the cars done today because you keep dazing off and staring into space. Jasper's already gotten bored and now he's down in the lobby, making plans for the rest of his day, no doubt. Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"Um… yeah," Edward said, sighing softly. "I mean… I want to but… it's complicated."
"Try me," Carlisle said, rolling his chair closer to his brother. Edward sighed and looked to him.
"Do you remember my friend Bella?" he asked. Carlisle nodded.
"How could I forget? Cute brunette with the nice ass," he said, nodding. Edward shot him a look and Carlisle stepped down.
"Well, she's married and she has a couple of kids," Edward said. "But she's not happy and her husband doesn't spend any time with them. She was looking for some friends and I tried to be that person for her. After we got back from the club, I kissed her in the elevator and although she kissed me back for about ten seconds, she knew where her priorities laid and she let me go. But she came back tonight… without her kids and she was a crying mess, sobbing and just broken into pieces. Her husband cheated on her and she caught him. And she came to me."
"Whoa," Carlisle said. "That's… heavy. What did you do?"
"Well, she's still at my apartment right now… sleeping in my bed," he said, looking up to his brother and expecting disapproval.
"Well is she there because you know that you can take her pants off later or is she there because you genuinely care about her and you're honestly trying to help her," Carlisle said.
Edward hesitated. Something inside of him told him that if he returned to the apartment and woke Bella up, she would sleep with him. She was vulnerable and open, wanting to take action against her husband who had betrayed her. But at the same time, Edward was just content letting her sleep, giving her a place for refuge until her heart was strong enough to face Michael.
"I guess a little bit of both," Edward said, sighing. "I mean, I can't tell you that I wouldn't enjoy having sex with her but… I don't think it's the right time for that. I want her to trust me and I don't think that will happen if I go home and jump her bones."
"Then there's your answer," Carlisle said. Edward looked at him questioningly.
"I never asked you a question," he said. Carlisle laughed and shook his head.
"Go back to your apartment, Edward," he said. "Go home and make sure that she's all right. If it leads to sex then you'll have had a good night but if not, then you've got a friend that you know will come back to you again, especially after she gets rid of her husband. Don't rush it."
Edward wondered when his brother had become such a Dr. Phil. He nodded and stood up slowly. He gathered his things and slowly began easing towards the door.
"Thanks bro," he said.
"Sure," Carlisle said with a smile. "Now make it count."
Edward followed his brother's advice. He left the shop and hurried back to his apartment. On the way back to Bella, he called Bree and explained to her what was going on. She agreed to keep the kids for another two hours and Edward promised that, by then, he was sure that Bella would be ready to pick them up and take them home.
When he stepped into his apartment, it was dark and quiet. Fear ate away at Edward's heart and for a moment he wondered if maybe she had left. He couldn't remember if he'd turned the lights off or not. For a moment, he found himself standing motionless at the front door, waiting to hear Bella sigh from the back bedroom. He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the door.
He was so fearful of what the evening held in store for him. But as much as he was afraid, he was eager because he'd never met a girl like Bella. She was beautiful and sweet and everything that he'd ever wanted in a woman. At one point in his life, Edward had believed that he'd found that in Jessica but even in the few short weeks that he'd known her, Bella had opened his eyes to something he'd never known but always dreamed of. She could be his best friend as well as his lover and with Jessica, he'd never found true friendship.
Pulling Edward away from his thoughts, a strange sound beckoned him from the living room. Opening his eyes, he glanced around the living room and stepped forward. It was the beeping of a cell phone but it wasn't Edward's because his phone was nestled inside of his pocket. He followed the sound until he came to Bella's purse on the couch. Without being too intrusive, he located her cell phone and flipped it open.
Five missed calls from Michael Cell and three from home. Three voicemails, he thought as he read the screen and sifted through the received calls. Damn. Sighing heavily, Edward set her phone back into her purse and he glanced back to the hallway. Licking his lips, he moved towards his bedroom slowly.
His heart settled when he saw Bella curled up in his bed, her body nestled underneath his blankets and sheets. Taking a deep breath, he advanced toward the bed and slowly moved to her side. He sat on the edge of the mattress, careful not to wake her, and reached out to her. With the back of his palm, he touched her cheek gently and then turned his hand and drew his fingers along her jaw gently. She didn't wake and he just stayed quiet beside her as he drew his hand away.
In one single movement, he crawled over her and laid in the bed at her side before pulling himself close to her. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. She smelled like baby powder and tears. He draped his arm over her waist and gently pulled her hair away from her neck. Ever so softly, he kissed the skin just below her ear lobe but it was enough to cause her to stir.
Roused from her silent dreams, Bella felt Edward's lips against her skin and his body warm against hers. Her eyes fluttered open gently and she found herself looking at the wall in front of her. She'd been dreaming of Edward and even though Michael had tortured her reality, he was the farthest thing from her mind. Sighing softly, she rested her hand over Edward's at her stomach and slowly turned her head until she could see him over her shoulder. She didn't smile or speak at all. She just looked at him, finding his eyes with her own and searching his face for the answers that she needed.
Without a word, he leaned into her and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't resist. She returned the kiss and as it continued, she turned her body slowly until she was facing him. Edward's hand traveled along her waist and to her lower back and he pulled her close to him. She pressed her body against his and slowly brought her hand to his cheek. Despite the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes for her broken marriage, kissing Edward felt right and she had no reason to feel sadness.
"Bella…" Edward whispered against her lips between kisses. She opened her eyes and found that he was already watching her. He brought his hand to her cheek and pushed his fingers through her hair.
She knew what he wanted to know. He was hesitating because he was worried that she was only coming to him because she wanted revenge on her husband for hurting her. It wasn't like that at all and Bella didn't know how to tell him. She hadn't known Edward very long but she held him in his heart already. He had been the friend that she'd needed, the equal that she'd been seeking ever since she realized that her life was never going to be as she'd always dreamed it to be. She was a young parent, struggling with a difficult marriage, and she was alone and afraid of the future. Edward had stepped in and filled the emptiness that she'd been feeling since she'd moved to Chicago. All that he had done was given her his time and his friendship and had let his children play with hers. Even if they're romantically involved, Bella knew that she could be happier with Edward than with anyone else.
"I just want you to kiss me, Edward," she said, reaching for his lips again. He kissed her back and nodded softly as he brought his hand back to her cheek.
"I can do that," he said, softly and kissed her again. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she moved onto her back and let Edward fall over her. He anchored his hand against the bed beside her head and pushed the other through her hair, his fingernails gently brushing against her scalp. Goose bumps rose over her skin and she shifted underneath him, sliding her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. She brought them to his sides and pulled him down closer to her.
For another twenty minutes they stayed there, their bodies pressed close together and their lips never leaving each others. Finally, they drew apart but stayed together in the bed, their feet tangled in the sheets and the shadows of the night dancing over them.
"I need to get my babies," Bella said, lacing her fingers with his.
"I called Bree. She said that they're doing fine, that they've been asleep," he said, turning his head to look at her.
"I know but I still need to go back to them," she said, turning to look at him. She found his eyes and he looked back at her and smiled. With his free hand, he reached up and brushed her hair from her eyes.
"Do you want me to go with you?" he asked. "The three of you are welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like."
"As tempting an offer as that is, I need to confront Michael about this before I walk away from him. He still has no idea…" she said, her words trailing away in the darkness. She hadn't returned to the situation since before she'd fallen asleep. It was still there, looming over her head, waiting for her to take action.
"He called you a few times," Edward said. "I saw your cell phone on my way in."
"I better go then," she said, slowly sitting up. She pulled her hand away from him and then her body as she stood up and stepped away from the bed. Edward sat up and looked at her with fear in his eyes. What was he so afraid of? Did he think that she would let Michael get away with it?
"Can I confess something to you?" she asked, before she even let him question her. He raised his eyebrows and slowly moved to the edge of the bed. She swallowed thickly and smiled as she stood near the door.
"Yeah," he said. "Please do."
"After that first day that I met you, after we sat together in the park, I went out with Michael later that night and we came home and had sex," she said. Edward didn't seem interested because confusion passed over his eyes. Bella found herself smiling then. "But I wasn't really looking forward to it because I haven't enjoyed sex with Michael since before Sam was born so I… I imagined that he was you."
"What?" Edward asked, truly not expecting that to be her confession. A crooked smile began to form at the corners of his lips. "Well…"
"Well, let's just say that, for the first time in many, many months… I enjoyed myself," she said, smiling back at him. Edward licked his lips, obviously proud that he'd done so well with her in such a short period of time. She laughed gently and slowly backed towards the door.
"Maybe someday I can live up to your expectations," he said. "In the flesh."
"Maybe," she said and then smiled as she turned away from him and hurried back to the living room. She heard him come after her. Once she reached the couch, he took hold of her arm and pulled her towards him.
"Be careful," he said, looking down at her. She smiled and slowly pushed up on her tip toes and kissed him gently.
"I will," she said and smiled as she stepped away from him. She gathered her purse and he walked her to the door.
"Come back in one piece," he said as he opened it and led her into the hallway.
"It's not me that you should be worried about," she said, as she stepped up to the elevator and pressed the button. He smiled and waved lazily. She returned the wave and stepped into the elevator once it opened for her. Edward stayed there, standing at the door until the elevator doors closed shut and carried her away from him.