Well the wait is over! I'm here with another loooong chapter.
I have to say, it amuses me how some of you can't stand the thought of Esme' and Charlie being together xP … My apologises, because they're in this chapter =P But don't worry, I'm Esme' and Carlisle all the way =D … it just, wouldn't have worked for this story lol.
Anyhoo, I'll stop rambling and let the story unveil …
Chapter 10:
Friday Morning.
"Your coffee sir" the waitress smiled, as she placed Edward's cup down onto the table, almost curtsying as she did.
"WOW" Tanya's mouth emphasised the phrasing as she watched the waitress walk away.
"What?" a distracted and fidgety Edward took a gulp of his drink, before pulling a face at its bitter taste. "Pass us the sugar Tan" he signalled to the sugar on her side of the table, and she tossed it across to him absentmindedly. Thinking about it now, coffee probably hadn't been the wisest choice, considering his current state of agitation, perhaps a splash of whiskey would've numbed his nerves. Although it was doubtful even that would do much good.
"Could that waitress have been anymore obvious" smirked Tanya, amused at how some women just didn't have any morals at all. Much like herself actually.
Brought to the attention of Edwards unusual bout of silence, she squinted her eyes inquisitively. "So come on then, spit it out. What was so urgent that I needed to cancel my weekly shopping trip for a one on one with you" she failed to beat around the bush. "You know its sales season" she looked at him directly, teasingly, but it failed to do much good.
He did manage a small smile in return, but the feeling in his stomach had his face falling straight. "I think my mom knows" he stated simply.
She almost did a double take, placing her drink back onto the table as she'd gone to take a sip. "And by knows, you mean… you and Bella" she easily filled in the gaps. She'd actually guessed it was about Bella, the majority of their conversations had revolved around her over this past month. It became a little samey after awhile, considering every conversation was virtually identical.
And 'Samey' being, Edward's face lighting up at just the mention of her, whilst Tanya would sit by, twiddling her fingers and thumbs in the hope that one day he'd come to his senses and admit he was really in love with her, Bella, not Tanya. In fact Tanya had even made a bet with herself, way back when their affair had started, guessing it would take a month or two for Edward to realise. Unfortunately, Tanya had long lost that bet awhile ago, realising it often took Edward along time to make sense of what was right in front of him, and clearly Bella was no different; both as oblivious as the other. But Tanya was just thankful Edward felt he could confide in her. She was always happy to lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on. After all, Edward would do the same for her.
"Yeah" he answered after a moment, taking a deep breath. "She, kinda found some of Bella's underwear in my room last night" he awkwardly responded; not usually this nervous around Tanya. In fact he'd had many conversations with her involving woman's underwear. What people failed to know about Tanya was, despite her pretty looks and startling fashion sense, she was very much one of the guys.
Tanya laughed, gobsmacked, "Ok, first of all, how stupid are you for even keeping that stuff!" her eyes opened wide at him.
"I know" he sighed, running a nervous hand through his hair. "But I honestly forgot about it. They must have fallen out of my jacket pocket or something" he pulled a guilty face.
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Ok. So what did she say?"
"Well, she, didn't really say much" his eyes became shifty almost.
"Okay" she emphasised. "Well what did you say?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"I said, that they'd probably got caught up in my laundry or something" he shrugged, a look of unease on his face; like not even he would believe that.
"Ok. Well, there's no reason that wouldn't be true" she offered, trying to reassure him.
"Yeah, but you didn't see the look on her face. I could just tell, she sensed something was up" he swivelled the cup on the table distractively.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I don't know... I was, actually, kinda hoping, you'd tell me" he said hesitantly, causing her to chuckle.
"You want my advice?" he nodded back sheepishly. "Fine. It seems pretty simple to me. If this really is just about sex" she whispered the last part to avoid raising eyebrows. "Then, maybe its time to think less with your pants and more with your head, and put a stop to it … but, if it's something more now, if you actually have something special, something you don't want to give up, then, maybe you should start thinking about, telling them" she shrugged, rather blasé. While a part of her wanted to grab him, shake him and scream at him 'WAKE UP! YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER YOU IDIOT!' She knew she couldn't very well do that, it was up to Edward to realise and make that decision on his own. He was a big boy, and she was sure he'd get there eventually.
"What! Are kidding!" he kept his voice down, eyeing the room warily, as if his parents were in that very room, "They'd flip!" he said as he looked at her.
"So it is more then!" she exclaimed delighted, pleased she was finally getting somewhere with him.
"I …don't know" he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I've never really thought about it. I've never had too".
"Well maybe it's about time you do" she told him pointedly, her eyes wide.
He paused taking a moment to think. "No way. Charlie would kill me if he ever found out," he sighed, "And even if I did want to be with her and make it official. There's no saying Bella would even want that" his voice softened in sadness.
She smiled, bewildered at his lack of intuition. "Are you kidding me! Edward, I met her for the first time the other day, for practically two minutes, and even in that short space of time, I could see that you're all she ever thinks about. She looked at you like, like it would've killed her to let you go".
He smiled softly, fondly as he thought of Bella. "You know, she's insanely jealous of you" he said, a smirk on his lips. "In fact, I'm pretty sure she hates your guts".
"I figured as much" she rolled her eyes, seemingly delighted by it. "Most girls would do" she lightly chuckled. "But then doesn't that just prove she wants to be with you!"
"Maybe" he answered unconvinced. "But she's been all over the place this past week, hormones and stuff. I never know what she's thinking half the time" he shrugged helplessly.
"Look, the bottom line is, you need to make a decision. This scare with Esme's obviously given you a reality check. Now you have to decide. Do you treat this as a lucky escape and put an end to it now, before anyone gets hurt? Do you openly admit to her, and yourself, that you want more than just a casual fling? Or do you keep this up, sneaking around and going behind your parents backs in the hope that they'll never find out? At the end of the day, only you can make that decision. But it wouldn't hurt to discuss this with Bella; in fact I'd encourage you too. If you're honest with each other, then making that decision would be so much easier."
His expression was fixed with determination as he pondered the many possibilities, his eyes not blinking once. "You're right. I need to talk to her" he exhaled loudly. "Thanks Tanya, this really helped. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you".
She smiled back at him. "Not a problem. We're best friends, giving advice is part of the job" she said, raising her cup with his to clink.
Before she took a gulp though, her brow puckered intriguingly. "You know, there's always option D though".
"Oh yeah, what's that?" he asked curiously.
"I stand in as your secretly obsessed girl friend" she went on melodramatically, "we have rabid dog sex for hours on end and consequently throw them right off the scent" she grinned smartly.
He stifled a snort of amusement. "No way, you'd enjoy that way too much" he smirked. "Besides, I don't do rabid dog" he gave her a knowing look.
"Oh really?" she cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm a cheetah" he added.
"Oh right, yeah, I forgot the hunt was your obsession. Wasn't that how you got Bella in the first place?"
He scoffed, "Please. She came willingly" he gladly informed her.
She laughed back; "whatever Romeo," before taking a sip.
……………………………
(3.30pm)
He waited nervously in the truck for Bella, the only sound he could hear was the thumping of his erratic heartbeat; surely that couldn't be healthy. He practically jumped a mile as the passenger side door swung open and Bella hopped inside.
"Hey" grinned Bella, as happy as ever.
"Hi" he swallowed away the lump of nausea that had forced its way up his throat. "Good day at school?"
She shrugged as she pulled the seatbelt across her waist, oblivious to Edwards internal torment. "It was alright. No homework though" she exclaimed. "I mean, aside from revision" she added with a light chuckle.
"Cool" he nodded, unable to express the same enthusiasm as Bella had, he only hoped it couldn't show. "So are we heading to the Library?" he started up the engine.
"Nope, not this time. I got everything I needed yesterday" she smiled. Inside Bella almost burst with excitement, the prospects for this evening had her toes curling, she'd barely thought about anything else all day.
And to mark their reconciliation, she had a special surprise for Edward…
"Home it is then…"
……………………
(4pm)
She laid the lingerie set out on her bed, stripping herself of her casual school clothes and slipping them on. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, pleased with the image of the woman that looked back at her.
She'd bought this lingerie set on a whim a few days prior to Edwards return. She figured she probably wouldn't end up using it, it was made for a special occasion really, and not necessarily one with Edward, but down the track when she was in a proper stable committed relationship, it would surely come in.
That day had come sooner than she'd thought. Ok, so maybe they weren't in a stable committed relationship, and she certainly wasn't about to go in there and give him a strip tease like the book she'd read yesterday had proposed, but she deemed it the perfect memento for their long awaited 'reconciliation'.
It was black with a stunningly intricate laced detail, and had light padding in the sides of the bra cups for that extra oomph. It was a real head turner, and she had her sights set on spinning Edwards this very evening...
…………………
A jittery Edward was sat on the chair beside his bed, he leant forward, elbows on his thighs as he placed his hands to his mouth in a prayer like manner. He'd been glad of the talk with Tanya, it had certainly laid things out a little clearer, but now, alone in the house with Bella in the next room changing, his nerves were starting to get the better of him. He knew that one way or another they would have to talk it out; he just never thought he would be the one to initiate it.
How would he even go about bringing it up, when he rarely spoke of his thoughts and feelings to Bella on an average day? And how would she even respond? The latter was his most concern, particularly because he still wasn't sure how he even wanted her to react. He'd spent the better part of the day contemplating what he truly wanted, and still came up virtually inconclusive; constantly changing his mind as he tried to work out what any of it actually meant. And as each tension filled second passed by, the whole 'No Strings' thing was starting to look a little unrealistic.
A tap on the door caused him to spring to his feet, his heart thudding in his chest at the fright. He didn't move an inch though, he didn't have too, as the door opened by itself, and Bella slid inside, closing it behind her.
"Hey" she spoke shyly as she stood before him; she wore a black and white checked shirt, fastened with only two buttons, leaving a little of her cleavage tastefully on show, and a short floaty black skirt finished the look.
"Hey" he offered her a soft smile. She walked forward after a moment as he failed to move, bringing herself up close to his front. Her hands hooked themselves onto his shoulders, while Edwards found their way onto her hips, holding her in place.
"Guess what?" she smiled, daring a look in his eyes. The pink on her cheeks told him she felt nervous. It wasn't usually like this, with Bella taking the lead and Edward just standing back. He usually went out of his way to make her feel at ease, but now, with millions of thoughts rushing through his brain, he could barely think straight.
She went on as he failed to respond. "I'm all better" there was a glint of hopefulness in her eyes, and he smiled back, but there was very little happiness that lingered in that smile.
As she went to kiss him, a flicker of something flashed through his eyes, causing her to pull back. He seemed troubled, she hadn't noticed it up until now, but thinking back, he had been awfully quiet during the car ride home. The look in his eyes now proved something wasn't right.
"What's wrong?" and just like that, the happiness in her face faded away. It was as if it had never been there, and an imaginary dagger struck Edwards heart at her sadness.
Inside he wanted nothing more than to be with her, to forget about life's little dramas and just enjoy their time alone. But things had changed, and after his talk with Tanya, he'd been determined to sort things out.
"Edward… what is it?" his mouth opened a jar as he went to speak, the words almost on the tip of his tongue. But no sound came out.
He sighed helplessly; unable to even speak due to the devastation and fear on her face. How could he be the one to take that happiness away from her now? After she'd spent an entire week suffering in her misery. And now, just as she was finally over it, her little face so full of hope and excitement, he was about to come along and tear her down again.
He shook his head, bowing out. "Nothing … it's nothing", he smiled softly, running his hands up and down her arms gently to reassure her.
Coward! The voice in his head called out to him, but he forcefully tried to ignore it.
"Are you sure?" she asked, unconvinced.
"Yeah, absolutely" he perked up, even if inside he was screaming.
He leant down and kissed her, doing his best to deter Bella's thoughts and distract her concerns.
It worked. And within the heat of their kiss, she somehow managed to push him backwards into the chair.
With her hands on his shoulders for support, and Edward's hands gripping her waist, she climbed on top of him, straddling him in the chair. He wasn't done with his mental torment, but having Bella parading in front of him was certainly a distraction.
Sitting herself down she pulled away, a soft smile lingered on her lips as she looked at him with heavy lustful eyes. She timidly removed the remaining buttons of her shirt, revealing her black laced bra. His eyes flashed a look of surprise and almost wonderment, and Edward couldn't help but lick his lips as she presented herself to him.
"Beautiful" he muttered to no one in particular. And Bella's cheeks blazed in her triumph of achievement.
Closing the gap between them she recaptured his lips, his hands moving down to her thighs, where he felt the skin beneath her skirt, before reaching down further to hook her thighs in the palms of his hands.
She ground into him, the thin lacy material of her underwear suddenly feeling like a barrier between them; a cruel restriction, and one she could really do without.
Sensing her level of discomfort as she squirmed on top of him, he fumbled with his jeans, pulling the zip down to release himself before carefully grasping a hold of her pants. He pulled them to one side, trying not to tear them in the process. It wasn't ideal, but it worked for the time being as she shifted herself on top of him and swallowed him whole.
They sighed simultaneously at the friction, and she used her hips for leverage and her hands on his thighs helped her pulsating movements.
They didn't kiss. They just stared into each others eyes as she moved in his lap, relieved after an entire 6 days of their building tension.
After reaching their climax and coming to an eventual stop, she leant back, his hands on her waist kept her in place, but she stretched her spine out, deliriously happy to be united.
"That was definitely worth the wait" she murmured in a daze, sounding as if she'd had one too many. True, she was intoxicated, but only by Edward.
He nodded back at her, smiling. Cupping his lips with hers she kissed him. Mid-way he rose to his feet, lifting her limp body with him and then laying her down onto the bed.
He fully removed her pants then, the skirt still hanging at her waist, and he made note to catch her eyes now and then, that delightful smile on her face, her eyes droopy in a way that could only be expected after undergoing such a highly energetic activity.
Casting his jeans to the ground he positioned himself on top of her, pulling the sheets around them, and then placing kisses on the tips of each bra cup…
………………………………
*Meanwhile*
"I can't believe the barbers shop was closed" Moaned Charlie as they strolled up the driveway towards the house. He'd planned on getting a traditional cut for the wedding, but they'd found the salon closed by the time they'd got there.
"Oh well, never mind. We'll go earlier tomorrow" suggested Esme', as she rummaged in her bag for the house keys.
On opening the door they were struck with silence. "Wow. It's dead in here" commented Charlie as he closed the door behind them.
"Aw, I bet they're working" cooed Esme', signalling to the upstairs living space.
"Yeah, it's nice that Edward helps her with her studies. We're lucky you know, that they get along so well" he smiled adoringly, and Esme' nodded back contentedly.
"Hey! How about we sneak up on them when they're not expecting it" Charlie snickered playfully, rubbing his hands together sneakily.
"Oh Charlie, you really are just a big kid at heart aren't you" Esme' chuckled, whacking him on the arm.
"Are you telling me you're not?" he teased her challengingly, as he began creeping up the stairs. She eyed him amusingly from the base of the staircase, before she relented, "Oh go on then", finding the child in her and following him along.
On reaching the brim of the landing, the floor creaked beneath his feet. "Damit" swore Charlie at the uncooperative floorboards, as they threatened to spoil his fun. He felt like an army man as he scouted the area with a beady eye, whispering "all clear" to Esme,' who hung back behind him trying to stifle her laughter, before they proceeded on with their hunt.
A mumbling could be heard from Edward's room as they neared the end of the landing. Edwards door was shut, whilst Bella's bedroom door was left wide open, with her nowhere to be found. Something twisted in Charlie's stomach at that, a feeling inside him almost telling him something was wrong. Charlie's smile began to waver. And a similar feeling in Esme's gut, one, that if she was honest, had been there for awhile, also lingered there sickeningly.
Another few steps and they were right outside the door, with Charlie's hand wrapped around the neck of the doorknob. And a mere second before Esme' could stop him, he'd already turned the handle, and BAM! the door had swung wide open before them, smacking off the wall and causing everyone to jump.
In that moment it suddenly all became clear. The light bulb in his head switched on, and as he stood at Edwards doorway, his mouth now agape, Charlie's worst nightmare stared him straight in the eye...
BUSTED! :O
So how will Charlie react to that? And Esme' for that matter… or did she secretly know all along? … Meanwhile Bella and Edward are forced to deal with the aftermath – what will that mean for them now?