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not beta'd

storyline - Vacuum (i think i'll just rename it Malicious)

prompt - delicious, malicious, suspicious

Summer before junior year

"God, he looks delicious tonight," Jessica breathed, elbowing me.

I glanced at her, knowing by that particular gawk she was talking about Edward Cullen. She had the hots for about six different guys, but most especially him. He was doing flips off the diving board, totally showing off for his audience.

He always had an audience.

We both did, actually, only difference being he lived for the attention whereas I merely tolerated it. It burned him up that he had to share the spotlight with me. I found this highly amusing.

Okay, I also found it really satisfying.

I could swim before I could walk, so swim team was a natural for me. You could say the same about Edward, and we'd grown up attending the same meets and competitions. Sometimes I beat him, other times he beat me, but either way we shared the number one position on the team and always had. By high school he was captain, because I really didn't care as long as I got to compete. I had other things going, like debate team and lifeguarding.

Jessica elbowed me again. She seriously needed to stop that."I want another one."

Her red Solo cup was empty, as was mine. She was a couple of drinks ahead of me, though. I nodded toward the Crowley's kitchen, barely visible through the sea of scantily clad bodies clogging up the patio. "Let's go refill, then."

"Chug it! Chug it!" It had been going on all night. This time I recognized the ass stuck up in the air: those were Rose's bright red short-shorts.

"Oh, man, she's so brave!" squealed Jessica, shoving through the crowd to watch Rose finish her keg stand.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the makeshift bar and made myself another vodka cran. Jessica liked them, so I made her one too. She appeared next to me with Rose, who wasn't even red-faced – but then again, she could hold her alcohol better than most.

"I know you don't want this," I saidm motioning toward the vodka.

"Beer before liquor, never sicker," she recited. "I'm good."

"Okay." I handed Jess her drink. "Where's Al?"

Rose shrugged. "Off humping Jasper somewhere."

"Nice." Alice and Jasper were always off humping somewhere.

A couple of hours later, I was drunk and playing volleyball in the pool. Not too drunk, but enough that everything was hilarious and I was feeling a little horny. Even so, when Mike tried to untie my bikini bottoms I knew it was time for a break.

I kneed him in the balls and stumbled out of the crowded pool. Alice was still MIA, and Rose had long since dragged Jessica in to a rowdy game of beer pong in the living room. I needed to pee.

Not wanting to drip all over Tyler's parent's house, I grabbed a towel off of someone's deck chair and wrapped myself in it. The first floor bathrooms were all occupied, so I sneaked up stairs, praying that at least one was empty.

It was. The parent's. My parents had raised me better than to go cavorting through people's private quarters when they weren't home, but I seriously needed to pee. There was a dim light on, just enough for me to see where I was going. I locked the door behind me, dropped my towel, and sighed in relief as my butt hit the toilet seat.

"Hey, Bella."

Edward was sitting on the counter across from me, barely illuminated. I shrieked, stopping mid-stream and covering myself with a nearby hand towel. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Same thing you're doing."

I stared blankly at him, because if I was the one peeing, then he certainly wasn't.

"Well, I already went. Now i'm just chillin."

Was that pot I smelled? Coach would have his ass. "Get out."

"Chill." He outed his joint in the sink.

"No, seriously, get out Edward. I can't believe you let me drop trou and didn't say anything."

"Yeah, right, you came in here so fast I thought you were gonna hurl." He jumped down, wiping his hands on his butt. "I didn't have time to say anything."

"We could've made time," I snapped. "Get –"

"I'll close my eyes."

He did, even turning away.

"Cover your ears," I said. Later I'd wonder why I'd played along in the first place, letting him stay when i should've insisted he leave but then again...inebriation doesn't exactly make for good choices.

He covered his ears.

I squinted in the dimness, suspicious that he was somehow watching me, but it didn't seem that he was. So I finished, wiped, and yanked my bottoms up in about two seconds flat before joining him at the sink. Unable to meet his eye in the mirror, I hurriedly washed my hands.

"I must say… I never imagined you be that…bare down there."

I went to smack his stupid - albeit handsome - face but it was a sloppy move, because I was drunk. He grabbed my hand, grinning. "What?"

"If you have to ask, you're way more gone than I thought." I pulled my hand away. "And anyway I have to keep it trim. I can't be sporting a bush at practice."

"Why're you so mad?" he asked, seeming confused. "I've known you forever."

"Doesn't mean I feel comfortable showing you my twat."

He snorted, and then choked, and then starting laughing so hard that he doubled over. It wasn't that funny, but he was stoned, so whatever. After a second I laughed, too. "Shut up."

He calmed down eventually. His expression went from mirthful to lusty so fast it I almost missed it. And believe me; I'd seen him work this on plenty of girls. "I like this." He pulled at the string holding one side of my bottoms. Thankfully, I'd double knotted it after Mike's little stunt in the pool.

Not like it mattered. Edward'd already seen the goods.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to leave. Whatever friendly moment we'd just shared was cancelled out. "You see me in a swim suit every day, idiot."

But he reached out, his fingertips warm on my hip. "Not like this. Not in a bikini."

I shrugged, but I was beginning to feel weird. And hot. In both senses of the word. I wasn't attracted to Edward. I mean, I found him attractive, but I had better things to do than chase down his conceited ass. Our swimming rivalry gave new meaning to the concept of familiarity breeding contempt.

At that second, though, I was considering it. Not…sex. Just…

His look turned predatory, all the lion stalks the gazelle.

One second I was beside him, the next he had me up against the counter. "Don't act like you've never thought about it," he said.

I frowned. "I haven't, actually."

We kissed. And it was good. Within seconds we were pressed together, and I could feel how hard he was.

I moved my face away, letting him suck on my neck instead. "I'm not sleeping with you, horndog."

"That's okay," he whispered. He pulled me over to the shower and turned on the water.

"What're you doing?"

"Rinsing off," he said, easing me inside.

It was steamy and sexy in there. The boy could kiss, I'd give him that. He moved my top aside and pinched my nipple while he reached down between my legs with his other hand. The heat turned me on, made me feel even more intoxicated. He made me come with his fingers and I did the same for him.

He was even kind of sweet afterward, getting out first so he could bring me my towel. I was under no illusion that our fooling around was anything but a onetime thing, but I did wonder how it would affect swim practice. I kind of hoped he wouldn't be a jerk about it, talking crap to his friends. School was just about to start and the last thing I needed were malicious rumors starring Edward, me and Tyler Crowley's parent's shower.

"We're cool, right?" he asked as we walked down the hall.

Looked like we were on the same page. "Yup."

I meant it, too.

We went our own separate ways, and I felt fine. Amused, even.

So imagine my surprise when I overheard Mike and some kid I didn't even know, talking about it less than an hour later.