Disclaimer- Stephenie still owns the usual suspects.
I own my original characters and original story.
** This parallels Chap 40 'Some Justice & Escargot' and Chap 41 'Pink Chiffon & Man Skirts' from V&V.
Enjoy!
**********************************LRM************************************
Chapters 40&41 - Symbol Of Eternity For The Anxious Suitor
Even though I'd slept most of the afternoon away, I still forced myself to go to bed at a decent hour, hoping to adjust to the time change as quickly as possible.
My dreams were filled with Bella. In one, she was with me, holding my hand and smiling, as Sidney drove us through the English countryside.
In another, I was waiting for her at the altar as Charlie walked her down the aisle toward me. My heart tried to beat out of my chest upon seeing her smile, a smile meant for no one but me.
And in yet a third, we were lying under a canopy of stars, as I undressed her slowly, agonizingly slowly. That last one was so realistic that I found myself having trouble catching my breath as I was pulled from sleep by the chime of my cell phone, alerting me to an incoming text.
Rose outdid herself today. Video of Geri's meltdown prob on youtube by now. Going out to celebrate. Wish you were here…Not to worry, the necklace and earrings are safely tucked away, awaiting your return.
I love you, B
Along with the text, Bella sent me a photo of herself, dressed to go out for the celebration.
She was gorgeous.
I immediately felt jealous, knowing that she would be going out in public wearing that dress. Other men would be able to see her, whereas I could not. I dialed her number without a second thought.
"Hello Edward." She sounded so happy.
"Baby, are you trying to kill me?" I spoke in a voice still groggy from sleep.
She chuckled. "That was the furthest thing from my mind Edward."
I chuckled, remembering my dream. "Here I was in a dead sleep, dreaming about this gorgeous brunette who was just about to let me have my wicked way with her, when I was awoken by your text."
I heard her sharp intake if breath. "Um. Sorry I woke you up."
"Please don't be, the photo of you in that dress… Bella, you're so beautiful."
She was quiet for a moment. "So who's this brunette you've been dreaming about?"
'Now that you mention it, she looks remarkably like you." I said with a smirk.
She cleared her throat.
I believe I may be making her uncomfortable. At least I hope so.
"Bella are you okay?" I asked quietly.
"Oh, yeah, sorry."
"If it wasn't for the heavy breathing, I would have thought we'd been disconnected." I said with a laugh.
"Know what else?" I asked in a low voice. "I'd be willing to bet right now that you're blushing."
"I love that blush." I added.
Even from eight time zones away, she makes me crazy, and it seems I may have the same affect on her.
I started laughing again. "Bella, say something."
"I…, I can't." She whispered before clearing her throat again. "I miss you."
"Me too baby. More than you know." I answered.
I heard a muffled knock.
"Edward, I'm going to keep talking as I follow Emmett and Rose downstairs."
Good, I don't want to hang up either.
"Tell me about Geri today." I asked.
"You should have seen it Edward. Rose was right when she told me Geri was a crazy bitch. She's done so many evil things, and Rose called her on them. She freaked the hell out! I was afraid at one point that her head might explode." She laughed.
I laughed with her. She sounded so carefree for once.
"Edward, I should let you go, you need your rest." She said the words, but I wasn't convinced.
"I slept earlier today Bella. I don't want to hang up yet." I said sadly.
We were both silent for a moment. "This is so tough." I sighed.
A few minutes later I yawned. It was obvious that Bella heard me when she suddenly said, "Go back to bed Edward. We'll talk tomorrow."
"Okay, we'll compromise. You go enjoy yourself. I'll go back to sleep, and dream of you."
"I promise to do the same when I fall asleep tonight. I love you Edward."
"I love you too Bella. I'll call you tomorrow. Goodbye."
I fell back to sleep immediately, my dreams again filled with visions of Bella.
When I woke up, it was early morning. I went to check my phone for messages, but it wasn't on the nightstand. I had been so sleepy when I hung up with Bella, that I wasn't sure what I'd done with it. I finally found it on the floor, where it had slipped part way under the bed. I checked for missed calls, and found a couple text messages from Bella.
After I read them, I realized my girl had the gift of drunk-texting. The first one brought a smile to my face.
Got shit facd with Em and he mde me eat snails. Ugh
The next message, although funny, was also a little disturbing.
OMG. Riding in back of the hummer. Rose says that she and Emmett did IT back here. I need a hazmat suit. Double ugh.
I laughed for five minutes.
God how I missed her.
After showering, I pulled out my laptop and searched the internet for whatever I could find about Geri's interview.
There were bits and pieces of it on a lot of different news sites. Evidently it was a big story when a federal prosecutor had a meltdown on live television. I already knew she was a bitch, but after seeing the clips, I realized that she was beyond fucked-up. She was so full of hate. It made me wonder what had happened in her life to turn her into such a monster.
After I heard the things she'd said about Bella, I decided that I didn't give a shit what had caused her to become this way. I would never be able to find any pity in my heart for this horrible woman.
Fuck Geri Chance.
-LRM-
My time spent at the studio was short. I met up with Tony and Yves, and we did a couple read-throughs for the scenes we would film next week. They talked me into going out to dinner and, even though I thought about Bella the entire time, I found that I really could enjoy myself, secure in the knowledge that I would speak to her the next morning. As it turned out, both Tony and Yves were missing their girls, so we commiserated together, and had a laugh at how pathetic we were.
"When is Bella coming over to visit Edward?" Tony asked as we ate.
I sighed. Both Tony and Yves had just gone into great detail about when their girls would arrive, and they naturally thought Bella would be doing the same.
"She can't come over." I muttered. "She graduates from UW in June, so she's got a few more weeks of class."
"Sorry to hear that, I was hoping to meet her." Tony said.
Yves nodded in agreement.
The paps had followed us to the restaurant, and they waited around outside the entire time we were there. I was certain that they would invent some type of story, but also knew that Bella would never believe their lies.
A few fans approached us during dinner, asking for photos and autographs. They were extremely polite, and I didn't mind in the least granting their requests.
-LRM-
"This is going to be harder than I thought Edward. By the time I get home today, it will be after midnight where you are." Bella sighed in frustration.
It was Wednesday evening for me, which meant it was the middle of the day for Bella. We were speaking during her lunch break, trying to coordinate times to skype or phone each other.
I tried to reassure her. "My schedule this week is a little flexible because we don't start filming until next week. Hopefully we'll find time to skype. For instance, today was spent with wardrobe and makeup, I was free for the day by two o'clock. Tomorrow will be more of the same with some rehearsals, I'll probably be finished by four o'clock at the latest. On Friday, I'm supposed to be getting my military haircut once again." I sighed.
"Oh yeah? That's good. You were looking a little fluffy." Bella giggled.
"Fluffy?" I smirked.
"Okay maybe poofy is a better word."
"Poofy? First of all I don't think that's even a real word, and secondly there is nothing 'poofy' about me Miss Swan."
She laughed. "Okay, okay. I stand corrected." She continued to laugh.
A pang of longing hit me, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around her at that moment. Even if she was laughing at me.
I sighed. "God I wish I could see you." I thought about that. "Bella, I've got an idea. Suppose I set my alarm for early tomorrow morning like 5am or so, it'll be after 9 o'clock tonight where you are. Maybe we can skype for an hour?"
"Are you sure you'll get enough sleep?" She asked.
"Plenty Bella. It's almost nine o'clock here now. After I hang up with you, I'll probably play my guitar for a while, and then go to bed. My personal life is so exciting when I'm not with you." I said sarcastically, and then chuckled. "So, it's settled, we'll skype as soon as I wake up, I need my Bella fix."
"I know what you mean. It's a date Mr. Movie Star. I'll see you then, I love you Edward."
"I love you too sweetheart."
-LRM-
My breath caught in my throat when I caught my first glimpse of Bella the next morning. She had no idea how beautiful she was.
"Edward" she whispered.
"Hey baby." I answered in a groggy voice.
After a few minutes of just staring at each other, Bella started telling me about the aftermath of Rose's interview with Geri Chance. It seems that her boss at WIRI was miffed about how Rose handled the entire thing, until he received call after call from viewers congratulating him for the fantastic show.
I knew that Rose was leaving the station soon, but from what Bella said, she didn't want any ill will between her and her old bosses.
I told her what London was like, and about the paps shadowing my every step.
"Oh good, I'll have to go on the internet to see the photos." Bella said with a smile.
"Miss Swan are you threatening to be my internet stalker?" I smirked.
"I wish I could stalk you in person." She said sadly.
"We are a mess Bella. It's not even been three days yet."
We said our goodbyes, when Bella started to have difficulty keeping her eyes open.
Thursday was a little busy. I had to be fitted for a couple costumes, which was followed up by makeup tests in the afternoon. On the way back to the hotel I had Sidney drive around a bit, not wanting to go back to my lonely suite just yet.
Sidney drove us toward the shopping district, as he rounded a corner, I spied the Tiffany's sign. As he drove past I asked him to try his best to lose the paparazzi. I had to hand it to him, he knew what he was doing. About five minutes later, free of paps, I had him drive back to Tiffany's and park. It was a eureka moment. I knew I was going to propose to Bella after I returned from London, why not look for a ring today?
A man, whom I assumed to be the store manager, approached as soon as I'd entered the store. "Good afternoon Mr. Masen. May I assist you with any particular item today?" He said with a genuine smile.
I actually felt nervous.
After clearing my throat, I spoke. "Yes, please. I would like to see the rings."
He eyed me knowingly. "I believe you must mean the engagement rings? Am I correct?"
I must have 'nervous boyfriend about to propose' written across my forehead.
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. That's correct." I said as I smiled widely. He showed me a few rings, none of which were exactly what I wanted. As I looked at them, he continually asked questions and, after determining my taste, went to another cabinet, unlocked it and brought two rings over, setting them down in front of me.
And there it was. The perfect ring. I knew this would be the one Bella would choose if she were here.
After arguing that I was spending too much money of course.
"That's the one." I said in almost a whisper.
"Beautiful selection Mr. Masen." The manager smiled as he put the others away. "Did you know the size?"
I gave him a blank stare.
Well shit. I hadn't even thought of that.
"Can you give me a moment." I held up one finger as I pulled out my cell phone.
"Of course. Take all the time you need."
Realizing that Rosalie would be the one to ask, I quickly dialed her cell number.
"Hey Edward, to what do I owe the honor?"
Oh fuck. If I ask Rose for Bella's ring size, she's going to know why I need it.
Fuck it. Time to grow my balls back.
"Hey Rose." I started in a firm voice. "I need to ask a question, and I would prefer if you would keep this conversation to yourself." I said forcefully.
There was silence for a moment. "What the hell are you going to ask that Bella can't be told about Edward? Did you fuck up?" She asked angrily.
"Of course I didn't fuck up." I blurted. I noticed the manager quickly moving away in order to give me a little privacy.
It's probably not often that a customer uses the 'f' word in Tiffany's.
I'm an ass.
I glanced up and saw Sidney standing by the door with an amused look on his face. "Rose, I need Bella's ring size if you know it."
There was another moment of silence before Rose screamed in my ear.
She's been around Alice too much.
"Edward! Are you going to propose? Oh this is fantastic!"
God I hope no one is around to hear her.
"Yes, Rose. I plan to do just that when I return from England." I said calmly. "Now do you know her ring size?"
"Of course. For her twenty-first birthday, Emmett and I gave her the birthstone ring she always wears. It's a size five." Rose answered in an excited tone. "Oh Edward, you just made my week!"
"I wish I could be certain that she'll say yes." I muttered, my nerves taking hold again.
"Edward, when are you going to realize that she can't live without you either?" Rose said quietly. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."
The jeweler informed me that the ring would be ready in a couple of days. I went back to the hotel feeling lighter, the next step in my proposal plan complete.
I was disappointed that I didn't get to speak with Bella before bed, but I knew she had had a busy afternoon. I turned in early out of sheer boredom.
I was startled from sleep by someone banging on my bedroom door. I could hear Alec's voice from the other side. "Edward, damn it why is your door locked? Open the hell up, it's important."
I lurched from the bed, immediately fearing that something was wrong with one of my family members or Bella.
Oh God no.
As soon as I opened the door, Alec pushed his way inside.
"Edward, something is going on with Bella. There are photos of her all over the gossip sites." He said as he made his way over to my computer and keyed something into it.
"Look" He said as he turned it toward me.
There were photos of Bella and a couple campus police officers. I was relieved when I saw Lou standing with them, but the blurbs under the photos didn't make sense. Another site had photos of two girls being taken into custody as Bella looked on. I wanted to laugh at one site that identified Lou as Bella's new boyfriend, but I was too worried. I immediately grabbed my phone and dialed her number.
"Hello, Edward." She sounded as if she'd been asleep.
"Bella, thank God." I couldn't hide my relief. "What happened today? Alec woke me to look at photos of you on the internet."
Alec was standing there with a bewildered look on his face.
"Edward, calm down. How much information did they include with the photos?" She asked.
"Nothing that makes any sense Bella. There are photos of two girls being arrested, and photos of you with a couple police officers and some of you, Lou and the officers. One website said that you were arrested, another one said that those girls being arrested were friends of yours, one even said that Lou was your new boyfriend." I chuckled at the last one.
"Geesh. They couldn't have gotten things any more wrong. Those two girls are the ones that vandalized my car. Someone turned them in yesterday. The police were ushering me to safety, in case they tried anything."
"But you're okay? Everything's okay?" I asked anxiously.
"Everything is fine. More than fine. I can honestly say that if you were here, my life would be perfect."
I breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank God."
"As a matter of fact, as soon as the police determine that those girls acted alone, I won't really need Lou any more, I'll be able to drive myself."
No.
No, no, no, and fuck no.
But, how to frame this so I don't seem like an overprotective jerk?
"Bella, I'd like you to keep Lou. At least to drive you to and from school. Just while I'm away." I answered quietly.
Before she had a chance to object I added, "Please Bella" in a whisper.
"Okay Edward." She answered quietly.
I was so relieved. And to think, all it took was a little pleading.
I'll have to remember that for future reference.
"Thanks baby. Let's go on skype, I need to see you."
I disconnected the phone call and explained the situation to Alec. He nodded his head in understanding. "Hey, by the way Edward, why did you lock your door?" He asked, confused.
"Alec my friend, you're a man-whore, and I'm not taking any chances that one of your 'friends' will stumble into my bedroom, whether by accident or on purpose, during the night."
Alec grinned sheepishly. "Get the hell out of here." I barked as I grinned back.
After locking my door again, I signed on to skype, and there was my beautiful girl.
What the fuck is she wearing?
I didn't even try to hide my reaction as I took in Isabella's beautiful body, covered in a very feminine nightgown.
I cleared my throat as I tried to recover myself. "Bella, what are you wearing?"
"Do you like it?" She was playing coy. I was thankful that she wasn't aware of the way my body was reacting to her. "Rose got it for me."
She immediately stood to model it for me, giving a little twirl in the process.
Fuck my life.
"Jesus Christ" I muttered as all the blood which would normally help my brain to function, traveled south.
She fucking giggled at me.
"You are a cruel woman Miss Swan." I said, barely recognizing my own voice.
"I just want to make sure you don't forget about me when all those women are throwing themselves at you Mr. Movie Star." She said as she crawled onto the bed, pulling the covers up to her waist.
"There's no chance I could ever forget you Bella. As if missing you wasn't difficult enough, you had to give me a new reason to take cold showers for the next month."
She laughed out loud.
"Come on Edward, stop teasing me. I know you're around women that are far more beautiful than I am every day." She challenged.
Is she fucking serious? What other women? There are no women that even come close to her.
"Are you just fishing for compliments Bella, or do you really not know how beautiful you are? I don't have eyes for anyone but you. And that is precisely why it was cruel of you to wear that sexy slip of material just to taunt me."
"Okay, well, I'm sorry. I'll hide under the covers in order not to tease you any more." She said as she pulled the comforter up to her chin.
Oh no, this will not do.
"Hey! Put that right back where it was, I didn't say I didn't like the nightgown, just that you were cruel for wearing it when I can't do anything about it."
I don't know what the hell I would do about it. Okay, I'd do as much as she'd allow me to.
But even that's not possible from thousands of miles away.
"Um, then maybe this is the safest time to wear it." She smiled sweetly.
Too fucking true.
I sighed. "You're probably right. As I said before, I'll abide by your wishes in that matter Bella. And you can just keep torturing me." I smirked.
"Edward, aside from tonight, I've never tortured you."
I laughed.
She remains blissfully ignorant of her affect on me.
"Maybe not on purpose, Bella, but you torture me constantly in a thousand different ways."
I watched as she blushed. Skype didn't do it justice, but I could still see it.
"Have I told you how much I love that blush?" I whispered.
"A few hundred times." She giggled.
I was glad when she decided to change the subject. Maybe I could calm down enough to forgo the cold shower this time. It seems that she, Rosalie and a few friends were going out on Saturday night to blow off some steam.
"That sounds great Bella. I think Lou should drive all of you, that way you can drink and not worry about a cab."
I really wasn't happy about her plans, knowing that the chances of some asshole, or several, hitting on her would be high. I made a mental note to speak with Lou about that beforehand.
"Actually, that will work perfectly. Thanks Edward."
I smiled, happy that she didn't argue.
After that was settled, I told her that Jasper and Alice would be arriving on Saturday, and staying for the week, and I hoped to get to do a little sightseeing on my days off.
I could see Bella's eyelids getting heavy and before I knew it, she was asleep. I looked at the time, and realized that I'd need to leave soon. There was no way I was disconnecting from the view of my sleeping goddess though. Instead, I got dressed and took one more glance at her sleeping form before leaving. I knew that her image would haunt me for the rest of the day.
If I hurry, Bella may still be asleep when I return.
As it turned out, I couldn't hurry. I had a meeting with the director, and had to rehearse a couple of scenes before getting my hair cut. When I arrived back at the hotel, it was after three and I thought for certain that Bella would be awake.
I removed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign from the knob before entering the suite. My intent had been to keep the housekeeping staff away from getting a view of my girl. It seemingly worked, but also meant that my bed went unmade, and no clean towels had been delivered.
Fuck it. It's worth it if I get to see my Bella asleep. Especially wearing that nightgown from last night.
Imagine my delight when I walked into my bedroom to find her on the screen, still sleeping soundly.
After brushing my teeth and straightening out my bed a little, I lounged across it and watched my girl. I wasn't sure this was helping my loneliness, because the more I watched her the stronger the urge to touch her became. She was so lovely. As I watched her, the morning light streaming through her window brought my attention to the lovely red highlights in her hair. My fingers twitched remembering just how soft her hair felt. I closed my eyes as I remembered holding her close, my hand in her hair, as I breathed in her scent.
I ached to hold her again.
After about an hour, Bella started to stir. She opened her eyes and sat up as she stretched her arms over her head.
I hadn't realized I'd gasped out loud when the covers fell away, revealing the silhouette of her perfect breasts under that god forsaken night gown.
Fuck. I feel like a gawking teenage boy.
Bella obviously heard the gasp, because she immediately pulled the comforter up from where it had fallen away from her body. She turned toward me, and I smiled sheepishly.
"What are you doing Edward? How long have you been watching me?" She said in a groggy voice.
"You fell asleep right before I had to leave. I didn't have the heart to disconnect. I guess I was hoping we'd still be connected when I got back."
She watched me for a moment.
"I like the haircut by the way." She said quietly. "So answer the question, how long have you been watching me?" She said with a smirk.
She was being playful.
I grinned. "I got back about an hour ago, and have been watching you sleep ever since."
She laughed. "And you accused me of being a stalker."
I chuckled. "I'm sorry Bella, but honestly, you already knew about my stalker tendencies. It seems that I can't help myself." I grinned.
After we chatted for a while, we disconnected in order for me to eat, and Bella to get some homework done.
Alec coaxed me into going out for dinner. Not wanting to spend all my free time holed up in my hotel suite, I agreed.
After dinner, he talked me into going to a club across from the restaurant. It wasn't my favorite thing, but as long as I didn't overindulge in alcohol, I was certain everything would be fine. Maybe I'd even enjoy myself.
Not likely without Bella.
I gave Sidney very specific instructions to take me back to the hotel no later than midnight.
Alec enjoyed himself immensely, dancing with one gorgeous female after another. Sidney didn't sit with us, preferring to stand where he could see anyone that approached the booth. As I sat there, it became painfully clear what a rotten time I was having. The music was loud. The drinks were nothing special. I would have much rather been skyping with Bella.
I was miserable. After downing my drink, I nodded to Sidney, indicating that I was ready to go. I glanced toward the dance floor to see Alec, dancing very inappropriately with a blonde.
What the hell happened to the redhead he was with five minutes ago?
I signaled to him that I was leaving. He just waved me on.
Obviously planning to spend the evening elsewhere.
As we drove back to the hotel, I looked at the time. I'd barely made it an hour at the club.
***********************************A/N********************************
A/N Next chapter will include the belly dancing. Should be fun.
I'm off to write more V&V.
Reviews are better than Skypeward watching you sleep. Okay, maybe not, but I like them anyway.