AN: Oh yeah, I don't own Twilight. Just taking some of the characters out to play with for a while. I'm sure you were anxiously awaiting Edward's appearance. Don't worry. I won't make you wait long. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2
Four hours later, it was happy hour, Jasper was home with Ainsley, and Alice and I were at a bar frequented by the after work, suit and tie crowd.
As part of her plan, Alice had crammed me into a teeny, tiny, little black dress and stiletto heels. I looked, according to her, like "sex on legs." This, of course, was a quintessential part of the plan.
Perched on my stool at one of the high top tables, I scanned the bar slowly, looking for the other quintessential part of Alice's brilliant plan.
"What about him?"
"Too short."
"How about the one by the bar?"
"Eww, no."
This conversation had been going on for about 30 minutes, and I was on my third glass of wine.
"How about the guy in the Hawaiian shirt?"
"He's like 60!"
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Don't worry. I'll know him when I see him."
"Shouldn't it be my choice, Ali? After all, I'm the one…"
"Oh tosh. You would have picked the first guy you saw just to get this over with. He has to be perfect. Patience is a virtue, my young grasshopper." Alice may have been on her third glass of wine as well.
All of a sudden, she gasped. I followed her gaze and couldn't help a gasp of my own. There, in the doorway of the bar, was one of the most beautiful men I had ever seen. He wore his charcoal gray suit with confidence, grace, and a professional air. To counteract this all-business image, his reddish brown locks were a riot and the antithesis of everything his suit tried to proclaim. It was the kind of hair you wanted to run your fingers through… Or tug while he moaned in ecstasy…
I shook my head to clear it, even as my eyes automatically followed him to the bar where he took up residence on an empty stool and ordered a drink.
I watched as he brought the beer to his lips, mesmerized.
Alice cleared her throat, and I snapped my head towards her.
"He's the one," she declared.
I gulped in a breath and then another. I was on my way to hyperventilating when Alice forcibly grabbed my shoulders and made me look at her.
"Bella, what do you want?"
"I want Jacob to know that we're done."
"What else?"
"I want to move on with my life."
"Ok, then, repeat after me. I am a sexy bitch."
I rolled my eyes at Alice and repeated with decidedly less enthusiasm, "I am a sexy bitch."
"I can have any guy I want."
"I can have any guy I want."
"And I choose him."
I hesitated, but Alice shot a glare at me that brokered no disagreement. "And I choose him."
"Go get him, tiger." She slapped my ass as I stood and squared my shoulders. I threw a little sway into my steps, the wine loosening my gait, as I made my way across the bar towards the handsome stranger.
I could tell the exact moment he noticed my approach. His head and then the rest of his body turned to give me his undivided attention. His eyes moved from my face down my body, and an appreciative smile flitted across his face.
And then, suddenly, I was directly in front of him. I placed my arm on his forearm and leaned in to speak into his ear so he could hear me over the din of the bar. His lips parted expectantly. As I drew in a breath, I could smell his cologne. He smelled delicious.
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," I uttered in a low, sultry voice I didn't recognize.
"Anything." His voice was husky as well. His eyes were green like the grass in spring time. I stared into them, momentarily stunned by his admission.
"Kiss me."
I watched his eyes widen, and then he moved, standing up from his stool. Slowly, like he was expecting me to pull away or tell him I was just kidding, he raised one hand to the back of my neck and slid the other around my waist. He pressed his hand against my lower back, molding my body against his. His fingers moved up my neck to thread themselves through my hair. The whole time he stared deeply into my eyes as if he could decipher my soul.
Damn, I thought to myself. This is already the most erotic kiss I have ever received and we haven't even got to the kissing part yet.
Maintaining eye contact, he lowered his lips toward mine, tilting my head toward him. At the last possible second, my eyes slipped closed.
The heat from his lips sent a tingle down my body. I shivered in his embrace. His lips moved against mine, chastely at first, then with more fervor. His tongue slipped out and I met it with mine. My arms, now around him, clutching his back, pulled us even closer together. I was lost. I heard him moan against me and heat flooded my body from head to toe.
I was unaware of how much time had passed when a clicking sound brought me back to reality. I slowly disengaged from the beautiful man, reluctantly pulling my face back several inches. I noticed that we kept the rest of our bodies plastered together. His hand continued to apply pressure on lower back. Apparently, he wasn't ready for our moment to end either.
Turning my head slightly to the left, I saw Alice, my phone in her hand, snapping away at the two of us. This, of course, was the final, quintessential part of the plan. The plan which had flown out of my mind the moment my lips touched his. Alice was grinning madly at me, finally lowering my phone, because, I assume, she had got all the pictures she wanted. She sauntered forward, pulled one of my hands away from his body, and placed my phone into it.
"The rest is up to you," Alice chimed with a chuckle. Then, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
My gaze, drawn like a magnet, returned to his. Surprisingly, he was smiling at me. Surprisingly, he wasn't freaking out that a stranger had propositioned him and then had her friend take pictures of them making out.
"I can explain," I whispered, a hair's breadth away from his lips. His smile turned into a smirk, and he once more pressed his lips against mine lightly.
"Let me get you a drink and you can tell me all about it."
I couldn't help smiling warmly back at him as I released my death grip on his suit jacket. He, in turn, loosened his hold on my and motioned to an adjacent bar stool. He raised an eyebrow at me in question, and I requested a glass of red wine. He motioned to the bartender, ordered my drink, and then looked at me expectantly.
I can do this, I thought to myself. You just had your tongue down his throat, no need to get shy now. Just tell him your story. I looked down at my hands that minutes before had been pulling a total stranger against me with abandon. I glanced up at him and immediately connected with his inquisitive green eyes. Damn, I mused, temporarily side tracked from my goal, he really is beautiful.
As I gazed at him, a glass of wine appeared before us. He handed it to me and raised his glass. Automatically, I raised mine as well. "To unexpected encounters," he said, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.
I giggled. "You make it sound like you came across an alien life form."
His smile turned sheepish, and he blushed. I fell a little more in lust with him in that moment.
"Well, then what do you suggest?"
I pressed my finger to my lips in mock thought. His eyes followed the digit with intense interest. I smirked at him. "To pleasurable introductions and accommodating strangers."
"I can drink to that." We clinked our glasses together. "I want to rectify the last part, however." In a move that seemed to belay the intimacy of our meeting, he stuck out his hand. "Edward. Edward Cullen."
Grasping his hand in mine, I responded, "Bella Swan." He captured my hand in both of his, returning intimacy to the gesture. He stroked my hand with his. I sighed, leaning closer to him, drawn by some invisible force. I drew in a breath, his delicious scent filling my nose and lungs once again due to his close proximity. "I owe you an explanation." He released my hand reluctantly and reached for his beer.
"Not that I don't enjoy kissing beautiful women," he trailed off, taking a sip of his drink, and it was my turn to blush. "But usually I know their names first."
"Would you believe this started with a spilled cup of coffee?" My mind drifted back to that day six months ago. The sting of the day had faded. I had been honest with Alice. I was ready to move on with my life. I would always be hurt by what Jake did, but it was like a long healed wound that only aches before a big rain storm. A ghost of the original pain brought out by rare circumstances. He didn't have the power to hurt me anymore. That thought gave me power. I smiled at Edward.
"You should know, I'm kind of a clutz." He smirked at my comment, his eyes traveling down to the death traps on my feet. He quirked an eyebrow at me. "I know, I know! I'm not as bad as I was in high school, but I usually don't subject myself to these." He chuckled at my declaration.
"Why tonight?"
"They were part of Alice's plan." When he looked confused, I ran one of my stiletto-clad feet up and down his leg seductively. "The plan," I said again, emphasizing the word plan. His eyes widened in understanding. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves."
"So a spilled cup of coffee?"
"Yep. I was driving to work, trying to get my caffeine fix, when I hit a pothole the size of Texas and spilled coffee all over my shirt." I took a sip of wine. "I had a little time and my current boyfriend's apartment was closer than mine. We were at the leaving-some-stuff-at-each-other's-places stage of our relationship." A thought struck me. "Jake was actually trying to convince me to move in with him. Thank God I never gave in."
"So you stopped by his place?" Edward's face was showing his understanding of the story that was about to unfold.
"So I let myself in with the key he insisted I have- I swear, he was trying to get caught. Regardless of his intentions, that's exactly what happened. I caught them together, and the rest, as they say, is history." I hadn't slinked away quietly. There had been yelling and breaking of breakable objects. The woman in question, who I knew, who knew Jake and I were together, had been together for over a year after he finally convinced me to go on a date with him, got a piece of my mind as well. It was cathartic, and there were plenty of expletives involved.
While I had been reminiscing about Jake and Lauren's well deserved dressing down, Edward's expression had become somewhat stilted, as if he were forcing himself to hold the smile on his face.
Before I could ask, he queried, "So this was revenge for him cheating on you?" He seemed disappointed by this, why I couldn't fathom, but I couldn't help but burst out laughing at his assumption. His expression changed to one of confusion.
"God, no!" I managed to get out as the chuckles petered out.
"Really?" The relief was evident in his voice.
"Yeah, that was six months ago. I am over that, over him."
His smile was true. I couldn't help but smile back at him like a fool.
"So, why?" The curiosity was back, and the way he looked at me gave me warm, fuzzy feeling that had nothing to do with the wine.
"After I dumped him- loudly- Jake refused to accept it. He kept calling, telling me we were 'meant to be.' I started ignoring his calls and texts when he wouldn't take a hint. Today, Jake decided to tell my dad that we were getting married because apparently his delusions have reached epidemic proportions."
"And that led you here?"
"Well that led me to my friend, Alice, who came up with a plan to show Jake once and for all that I was moving on without him."
While I had been telling my story, Edward and I had been gravitating closer and closer, our knees pressed together, our heads almost touching. He was looking into my eyes as he reached out a hand to caress my knee. My eyes drifted closed at the pleasure of his touch.
"And are you? Moving on?" His breath caressed my cheek. I swallowed.
"Yes." I opened my eyes because I couldn't not look at his beautiful face. He was so close.
"What happens now?"
"Now, the final step of the plan." I looked down at my phone that rested on the bar in front of me. "I send him a picture of us. Visual proof that will hopefully knock some sense into him."
"Can I help you pick?"
I nodded my assent. I picked up my phone and opened my photos, holding it so we both could see the screen. Edward moved closer, pressing his body against mine under the pretense of getting a better view. At least, I hoped it was pretense.
What I saw made me flush with heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment. We were hot. Alice had caught us before we kissed. We were staring at each other with such passion, we looked as if we wanted to devour each other. If I didn't know better, I would never believe it was our first kiss. I flipped through the pictures slowly, hyper aware of Edward's body pressed to mine. His breath seemed more ragged than before. I'm sure mine wasn't much better.
"That one. And that one."
I selected the two he had indicated- one where we were entwined together and one just after we had pulled away, our bodies still pressed together, our lips millimeters apart. There was a tenderness in both our expressions that was clearly not born of time or experience. I had no explanation for it.
I opened a text message to Jake, whose contact information had been changed to Dickhead by Alice. Edward chuckled at the name. Without hesitation, I sent the photos out with a swoosh. Then, I powered down the phone and set it back on the bar.
"To moving on."
I turned my head to respond, and Edward captured my lips with his. I found myself swept into a kiss with just as much passion as the first. My body turned more fully into his. My hands snaked from his chest, up his neck, and into his hair. His tongue caressed mine and sent tingles down my spine. I couldn't resist tugging on his hair just like I fantasized about. I was not disappointed. He moaned into my mouth, and the vibrations added a new layer to the kiss and caused heat to pool deep inside me.
Breathing soon became a necessity, and I pulled back reluctantly.
"Of all the gin joints," he murmured against my lips.
"In all the towns, in all the world," I whispered.
"You walk into mine," he finished, paraphrasing the end of the quote. His eyes searched mine. For what, I wasn't sure, but he found it. A look of determination came over his face.
"Bella," he paused, "would you go out to dinner with me? Tomorrow?"
I stared at this beautiful man who I was still plastered against. I didn't know where he lived. I didn't know where he worked. I didn't know his favorite color, if he was close to his parents, if he has a dog, likes Thai food, or enjoys bad movies. I didn't know if he drank coffee, if he had an overwhelming passion for buffalo wings, or read books about teenage vampires. I knew nothing about him except his name, the fact that he can quote Casablanca, and the way he makes me feel.
He made me feel alive and ready for whatever life threw at me next.
I looked back into his eyes that were searching my face like he was trying to read my mind. I grinned at the thought. A crease appeared between his eyebrows, and I reached up to smooth it away. With a grin still in place, I cleared my throat.
"How do you feel about Thai food?"
The smile on his face said it all. I may not know much about him, but I wanted to find out. I was moving on with my life and I chose him.
