I forgot to mention, this little habit I have. The word I use for "wife-beater" is "marina". So any time Edward has been described as wearing a "marina", hes really wearing the equivalent of a "wife beater". I hope there wasn't much confusion while reading.
Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight or any of its characters. Also, I don't own any of the components of the Celine Dion song, "A New Day Has Come"
Second Session
"Are you and Edward going out?"
The question should have come as a surprise to Bella, but she had been contemplating the same concept to herself for ten days exactly that hearing Angela asking it out loud just confirmed that she was crazy for speculating it.
Still, Bella wasn't sure how to respond, so she shrugged. Even if she had a good idea of what was going on between her and Edward, she was pretty certain that she didn't want to share that knowledge with Jessica lurking around in the room. She was on her bed, pretending not to listen this whole time, but she suddenly perked up attentively at Angela's question.
"You and Edward Cullen are going out?" she exclaimed.
Bella wanted desperately to roll her eyes, but she resisted the notion. "I don't know," she said.
"I guess I'm just asking because I always see you two together nowadays," Angela said. "And when you're not with him, you're with Alice, who's his baby sister. I mean, it kinda looks like he's trying to assimilate you into his life or something."
Bella knew where Angela was going at. She and Edward had been spending a lot of time together since the night they went out to dinner together. Most occasions were kept casual – lunch on campus, walks in town, a movie in a dorm common room. Other occasions, though, felt not as casual. For example, they had gone to dinner twice following the first time, and each time felt like they were on a date. Edward never offered the bill in her direction, his gaze never flounced around at other girls, and every night ending in a classic kiss goodnight. Kisses that never ceased to be exciting.
Even though he was affectionate enough to raise suspicion while they were in public – he held her hand, or keep his palm placed gently on the small of her back – he never did kiss her in public. And he never made it seem like they were going out. Alice, who had also sparked heavy interest in Bella and invited her all over town for lunch whenever it was convenient for both their schedules, guessed that Edward liked her, and was just waiting for the right time to make it official.
"Let me put it this way," Alice had said. "I've seen how he treats girls that he's not all that interest in. You know the type, girls he just wants to 'hit and quit' if you will. And he doesn't treat you like that at all. But sometimes," Alice sighed, "it takes Edward longer to realize that he really likes a girl than anyone else. I mean, I could tell he was into you from the time he introduced us. Just wait it out Bells, you'll see."
Bella never really had the heart to tell Alice about the 'Bells' thing, and after a while the nickname started to grow on her anyway, so there was no need for an unnecessary dispute. Bella wanted to get close to Alice: she was just the right amount of fun without being over the wall. And she clearly had no shame in sharing her insights when it came to her older brother and his relationship with Bella.
But even with Alice's thoughtful insights on the whole ordeal, it still left Bella wary. She certainly didn't want everything to turn out in a way that she had just been one of the casual affairs. But at the same time, she had no interest in potentially ruining what was happening between her and Edward by bringing up the topic.
So she sat in limbo, awkward and confused about it all.
"I really have no idea what's going on," Bella said, referring to Angela's comment. "I mean, Alice thinks he likes me, but there's no way of really knowing."
"Alice Cullen? Are you talking about Alice Cullen?" Jessica's voice was laced with disbelief.
Bella rolled her eyes this time, but Jessica didn't seem to notice. This was really not a conversation she wanted to have with Jessica in the room. "Since when did you and Alice Cullen become friends?" Jessica asked. "I wasn't even under the impression that she would know someone like you."
Bella ignored the vindictiveness in Jessica's voice. "Her and I are cool," was all that Bella said.
"And well she and Edward are hanging out now," Angela said in an obvious tone. "It's only natural for Edward to introduce the two of them at one point. Everyone knows Edward loves his baby sister."
Bella smiled at the thought. It was really clear that Edward and Alice were impossibly close. They even finished each other's thoughts – it could be somewhat jarring at times. But even then, Bella wished she had had a younger or older sibling whenever she saw the two of them interact – their relationship was close enough to make anyone jealous.
"I guess," Jessica said quietly, but Bella could tell that the girl was peeved. She was probably having a hard time understanding why her 'loser' of a roommate was suddenly getting 'in' with the 'in crowd'.
In a way, Bella was still taken off guard about it all as well. Not because she thought she was a loser or anything like that, but mainly because she simply couldn't believe a guy like Edward had taken an interest in her. Not when he clearly was the most wanted guy on campus, and there were girls who were willing to be his hook-up buddies if only for a night or two. Yet Edward was still doting on her, and they hadn't even shared a real kiss yet. Lots of closed mouthed pecks yes, but nothing that made her loins burn….
…Okay, that was somewhat of a lie, because Edward in general made her loins burn. But something was telling her that his weren't burning back just yet.
It was as if all this talk and thought on Edward Cullen sent enough psychic messages to his brain, because in the following moment, he was ringing her cell phone. "Hey," Bella said when she answered.
"Hey," he said pleasantly. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing really, just hanging out with Angela," she replied, since she wasn't truly hanging out with Jessica - she was just hanging around nosily.
"Is it terribly important that you keep hanging out with her? I want to see you."
Bella blushed at the words: she loved it when he said that. "I'd have to ask," Bella said, but Angela was already gesturing obsessively for her to go along with Edward. "But something tells me I'll be able to make it," she added with a giggle.
"Cool. Come over to Cypress and I'll grab you from there."
Bella raised a speculative eyebrow even though he couldn't see her. Cypress was one of the names of the dorm buildings on campus. "Cypress as in the campus building?" she asked just to be sure.
"Yeah, that's where I board," he explained. "I'm chilling in my room right now, and I suddenly started craving company."
He said the words very casually, but already Bella's heart tempo had increased dramatically. His room? "Um, okay," she said in a not-so-smooth tone.
Edward seemed not to notice. "Bring your guitar too, so we can play. And maybe your music book? But that last part is up to you."
"Okay," Bella repeated. She was answering on automatic, because her brain had shut down once she grasped she was going to his room.
"Okay, call me when you're outside so I can come get you."
He hung up before she did, mainly because she was still holding the phone motionlessly against her ear. Then finally, when her brain turned back on, she lowered the device.
"What's up?" Angela asked in a curious tone.
"He wants me to come to his room," Bella whispered.
Both girls' – Angela and nosy Jessica – eyes widened in surprise. Jessica, as usual, spoke first. "Edward Cullen asked you to come to his room?"
Even though the girl's irritating catchphrases were enough to make Bella want to chew nails, for once, she understood the gravity of the situation that Jessica was envisioning. She glanced down at her attire, suddenly greatly aware of the fact that she was braless and wearing incredibly short white spandex.
"Should I change?" Bella asked Angela.
"No," Jessica answered. "If you do that, you're going to seem eager. And you don't want to appear eager, it's not attractive."
Bella couldn't believe she was actually about to ask Jessica Stanley for advice, but the question had come out before she had a chance to stop it. "What do you think I should do?"
Jessica looked thoughtfully for a second, but Bella also noticed the smirk of pride at being asked for help. "Well," she began slowly. "You have to remember, that this doesn't necessarily mean he's going to make a move on you. For all we know, he might be calling you in there to break off whatever you two kinda have going on, and he's just choosing to do it in private."
Angela scowled. "Would you get on with it?"
Jessica stuck out her tongue. "Well just go and do whatever you guys normally do. If he makes a move, then reciprocate. If he doesn't then you shouldn't either. And if you change your clothes, you're just going to mess everything up. Pull on a pair of sweats and now you look like one of the guys."
"Can't I at least put on a bra?"
Jessica scoffed as if that was the worst idea ever, but she said, "Fine, if you must."
Bella chose a black sports bra and pulled on her favorite grey sweatshirt, trying to down her extreme exposure. Then she told herself to calm down – maybe she was overanalyzing things. She and Edward had hung out alone and in private many a times before, and nothing serious ever came of it. Just because they were going to be in his bedroom didn't mean much.
…She thought.
She brought her guitar, and music book, and walked over to Cypress, calling Edward once she was in the common room. He appeared a couple minutes later, wearing nothing but a pair of loose fitting grey sweats. Bella's eyes immediately took in the perfect sight of his sculpted center: the solid ridges of his abdomen. She didn't even fight the reddening of her face – it would be a pointless battle.
"Hey," he said, breaking her from her obvious stare. When she looked up, there was amusement in his eyes. "You almost ready to go or do you have more observing to get done?"
Bella was pretty sure her face resembled a tomato. "No, we can go," she murmured shyly.
He took the guitar case from her in one hand, and took hers in his other. They took the elevator to level twelve. Bella knew for a fact that all the levels above ten in the dorm buildings were singles. This knowledge made her already peaked nerves skyrocket further.
When they arrived at Edward's room, it was – as Bella suspected – a single. Singles were the size of normal doubles but without the second bed. Edward's room surprised her. It was quite clean for a guy she thought, and the simplistic décor made it feel homey. And then there were the instruments. Set up in the corner which would have been Jessica's side of the room had they been in Bella's room was a miniature music room. There was a drum set, a keyboard and a couple of string instrument cases.
Edward must have noticed her checking out his equipment because he said, "I know I said that I wasn't able to carry my instruments around before, but I did try."
"You succeeded," Bella said as she stepped into the room. She headed straight for the drums. "You didn't tell me you played drums."
Edward shrugged. "It's not my forte. I can keep a steady rhythm, and I can read notes. But that's about it."
Bella imagined her songs with a drumbeat behind them, and felt that she had written just the song to try it out. "Would you play for me?" she asked him.
He smiled at her. "Of course I would. I figured we could play here anytime. Since we don't have to worry about any roommates bursting in or anything like that."
Edward walked over to the set and Bella got up so that he could sit down. She went to her guitar case and took out her guitar. Her music book was at the bottom as always. She flipped to a page of one of her songs and started to play only the melody. When she glanced up at Edward, she saw his eyes narrowing in concentration as they followed her fingers on the guitar. Soon enough, he was playing a steady beat behind her melody.
"It's pretty Bella," he said after a couple of repetitions.
"Let's start over," she told him. "I'm going to start, and then you come in."
"And then you'll sing?"
Bella blushed. "And then I'll sing," she whispered.
Bella positioned herself on the edge of Edward's bed and readjusted her guitar in her lap. She did a silent count off in her head before beginning to play. Edward joined in flawlessly, and it wasn't long before she was singing. Softly, but surely.
I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on
And don't shed a tear
Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you
Hush, now
I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has come, oh
Where it was dark, now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy
It was another song about Edward. Bella felt like she had been churning them out obsessively. But she couldn't help it. And she didn't want to change it. She liked the way Edward made her feel, and she liked writing about it. And more importantly, she liked singing about it for him.
Hush, now
I see the light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has
Come, oh
Hush, now
I see the light in your eyes
All in the eyes of a boy
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Oooh
Hush now
A new day
Edward must have stopped playing at one point, because only Bella's chords faded softly into the silence. She looked up at Edward, and he was watching her with the most penetrating gaze. Her cheeks burned under the intensity.
"You're so talented," he whispered.
She smiled. "Thank you."
"You should really consider the winter recital."
"Oh Edward, I can't."
"It would be just like playing for me Bella."
Except there would be hundreds of others watching. "I don't think so," Bella replied.
He got up from the drum set and walked over to her. It was almost like it was slow motion. Gently he took the guitar from her lap and placed it back in its case. He moved her music book to the side as well. Instinctively, Bella backed up from the edge, placing herself further onto his bed, while giving him an opportunity to join her. But he only leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her into the mattress.
"What are you really afraid of?" he asked her quietly. "I would tell you if you were bad Bella. And you really aren't."
Bella couldn't really think with him being this close to her, breaths mingling. "I…" Damn, nothing. Nothing but Edward's piercing gold eyes and close proximity.
"You what?" Edward pressed softly.
Bella remembered Jessica telling her not to make a move – something about looking eager. But right now, Bella was nothing but eager. Those full lips of his were so close that she could already taste them. Without considering the repercussions of her actions – or really considering anything at all – she titled her head towards his, making their lips brush. A thrilling spark jolted through her at the contact.
There was nothing for a moment, and Bella's eyes fluttered open – she didn't even know she had closed them – to see what was wrong. Edward was still watching her with that intense gaze, but his face was blank. Just when Bella was starting to think that Jessica's prediction had been accurate, she felt Edward's lips pressed against hers. Softly at first, then harder, as he climbed onto the bed to join her.
It seemed almost automatic, the parting of her lips. Edward eased them open with his tongue so swiftly, Bella didn't doubt that they were opening by themselves without his intervention. Regardless of how it came to be, that first instant when Edward's tongue brushed against her own, Bella's whole body seized with excitement, then melted away with desire. The one break between their kiss was when clothing – her sweatshirt she noticed – was being pulled over her head. She gasped at the loss of clothing, but her thoughts were lost in the return of Edward's kiss.
He pressed his body closer to hers, though not putting his full weight on her. His kiss became fiercer, and his fingers were dancing along her now exposed flesh. Bella trembled under the intensity of it all, and yet hungry for more. When his mouth dipped down into the crook of her neck, she sighed with pleasure, a soft moan accompanying the exhale. His tongue traced patterns all along her skin, and his hands seemed to be everywhere: her shoulders, her stomach, her inner thighs. Bella wondered if he would touch her fire – she was certain she would combust if he did. She had never felt such sexual turmoil as she did right now: trembling with pleasure, gasping for air.
The fingers on her inner thigh moved closer to her center. She breathed his name involuntarily, "Edward."
"Bella," he breathed back. His voice had gotten incredibly husky, and the look in his eyes was fierce. "Bella," he repeated.
And then he got up. Slowly, he detached himself from her – Bella realized that at some point she had put her arms around him – and sat up straight.
Oh no. Oh no no no. Bella sat up quickly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Edward said. "Nothing's wrong." And as if to prove his point, he smiled widely in his direction. "Come on, let's go grab something to eat."
Bella's body jerked in surprise. That was it? Had they not just been all over each other in passionate embrace? Now they were going to get something to eat? The sudden mood swing was more than sudden, it was jarring. But before Bella could come up with a protest, Edward was already off the bed and sifting through his drawers for a shirt.
"Edward," she said when she finally found her voice. "Are you sure everything is fine?"
"Yes, of course," he said, not looking at her. Whether this was deliberate, or if he was still looking for a shirt, she couldn't tell.
"Then why…." Bella's voice trailed off uncomfortably. Why were they not still making out like there was no tomorrow? What an awkward thing to ask.
He chose a white t-shirt. Once it was on his body, he turned to face her. His eyes were filled with unspoken emotion. Awkward as it was, Bella wanted to ask. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"Are you coming?" he asked her gently.
Bella had no other choice. She pulled back on her sweatshirt and got off of Edward's bed. The two left the room together in silence.
Celine Dion, A New Day Has Come:: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=nEjeItYtioE&feature=related (remove spacing)
Another chapter done, more are in the works.
Reviews are always appreciated, thanks.
Until next time
--Brin--