Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Wild 95.5, Exhale, or the boat that Emmett has… but I wish I did.
Kymclark! You rock my socks off; I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help! Haycat, let's go to Florida together and retire. Sheila, you're the hey to my ho… I think you'll know which part of this story is for you!
WARNING: If you are not old enough to buy a lottery ticket. Go listen to some Justin Beiber and come back to play after naptime. There's a… *shifts around uncomfortably* glass of "lemonade" in this chapter…
BPOV
I woke a little after 9 o'clock on Saturday morning. I stretched my sleepy muscles and got out of bed. I was meeting the girls for yoga at noon, so I had plenty of time to get some things done around my apartment. I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, then put my hair up in a messy bun on the top of my head. Walking out to the living room I turned the radio on. The station was playing our Saturday Morning Replay, a replay of The Morning Show's best clips from the week. They were currently playing our uh… "discussion" of the best movie songs of all time. Emmet wanted to fill the list with all Dirty Dancing songs, as he has an unnatural obsession with Patrick Swayze (RIP). He also very nearly rebuked all of my and Rose's input because 'Best Movie Songs' come from 'Best Movies', not chick flicks.
"What the eph do you think Dirty Dancing is, Emmett?" Rose huffed.
"A Classic."
With the participation of our listeners we were able to make up a list:
'My Heart Will Go On'- Celine Dion from Titanic
'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'- Aerosmith from Armageddon
'(I've Had) The Time of My Life'- Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes from Dirty Dancing
'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'- Elton John from The Lion King
'Circle of Life'- Elton John from The Lion King
'I Will Always Love You'- Whitney Houston The Bodyguard
'Summer Nights' John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John from Grease
We only got to number 7, things got ugly after that. Emmett cried over Dirty Dancing only making the number 3 spot, and then claimed mutiny over Grease being on the list at all. Rose was throwing anything she could get her hands on at Emmett for insulting John Travolta, stating that he was eons hotter than Swayze. "You know, but like, back when they made the movies."
"I hear this crap first hand; I don't want to listen to it again." I muttered to myself, walking over to the stereo and plugging in my iPhone. I selected my 'Mixed up' playlist and put it on to play at random. The opening rifts of 'Shy That Way' floated through the air and I let out a very girly squeal.
I set to task cleaning my apartment, wiping every non porous surface with Clorox Clean-up Wipes. I had just finishing vacuuming when there was a knock at my door. I really didn't want to answer the door all sweaty from cleaning and still in my pajama shorts and a tank top.
I took a peak out the peep hole, but no one was there. I opened the door and looked both ways down the hallway. Nothing. I was just about to close the door when something on the floor caught my eye. There was a bouquet of three pink origami lilies in a delicate glass vase sitting directly in front of my door. My hand flew to my chest and an audible gasp left my lips. I bent down and picked the vase up, then looked across the hall at Edward's door. I bit my lip to try to contain my colossal smile, but I don't think I was very successful. I debated on whether or not to go thank him before I remembered what the fuck I was wearing. I decided I would thank him tomorrow and returned to my apartment. I set the origami flowers on my nightstand. It was there that I noticed the time, 11:00 am.
With a dreamy sigh I made my way to the shower. I turned the water on and set the temperature. After slipping out of my pajamas I stepped in to the shower and grabbed the shampoo. Once all things Bella were washed I turned the water off and toweled down, and journeyed on to the bedroom to get dressed.
What does one wear to yoga? I suppose yoga pants are a good place to start. I slipped on a pair of black capri yoga pants, a dark pink racer back tank top with a built in bra, and sneakers. I grabbed my water bottle from the refrigerator, my mat from the hall closet, and headed out the door.
Twenty minutes later I was walking up to Exhale. Rose and Alice were already in the room when I arrived. I took in what they were wearing, looked down at myself and groaned.
"How come we always fucking match?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Well, lately, it's because we shopped together last week. Remember? You were there." Rosalie was so helpful. "Besides, we don't really match, we just kind of coordinate."
"It's what bonds us together as friends," Alice chimed in, "Oh my goodness, Bella! I had such a great time at The Blue Monkey last night! That should become our regular Friday night thing."
"It's the Blue Martini, Alice, and I'm glad you had a good time. But, it already is our Friday night thing… Rose, Em, and I just get paid for it! I agree, though, that you and Jasper should join us!" I replied, "And… you know, Edward, too."
"Has he kissed you yet?" Alice asked in a sing-song voice.
"No, not even close," I pouted… yes pouted.
"What?" Rose was aghast.
I shrugged. "Well, really we've only been talking for like a week."
"True, but I guess I just assumed," Rose paused, "after the way he was with you last night that, well you know…" Alice nodded in agreement.
"Yeah… no dice." I sighed.
The instructor walked in then and called the class to order. Rose, Alice, and I lay our mats out next to each other and followed along with the basic poses, and stretches. I was managing just fine until the instructor coached us first into the downward facing dog pose, and then proceeded to lift her left leg up behind her. And up, and up in to a split and then continued on to touch the top of her head with her toes. My body dropped to the floor, I looked over at Rose and Alice incredulously and all but screamed.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MINDS?"
Ok, maybe I did scream.
XXXXXXX
Rose and Alice repented by treating me to ice cream. We walked down the street to Cold Stone Creamery- well, they walked, and I limped.
"Ooooowww I think I sprained my pancreas," I groaned.
"Oh my gosh, Bella, you did like five poses. You're surprisingly flexible; you just need to push yourself a bit more. Get better form and muscle control," Alice encouraged.
"Shhhhh, no more yoga talk. We have arrived!" I stood in front of the doors to the creamery with my arms held out to my sides, displaying the store front like one of those fucking show models on The Price is Right. Man, I miss Bob Barker; the price is wrong, Drew!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er… Creamery, I skipped up to the counter, my sprained pancreas clearly cured by proximity to the caloric utopia, and placed my order for a 'Gotta Have it' sized 'The Pie Who Loved Me' and sashayed my happy ass over to a table in the corner. When I looked up I noticed Rose and Alice still standing in front of the door staring at me like I had grown a second head.
"What?" I asked through a mouthful. They just shook their heads and walked to the counter to place their own orders. Rose joined me first, followed closely by Alice. Their portions were much more reasonable, with the 'Like it' size. Both of them got boring combinations, in my humble opinion.
"That's all you guys got? Sweet Cream base with one mix in?"
"We're lucky we got any at all!" Rose huffed playfully, "You cleaned the place out."
"What all does yours have in it, anyway?" Alice asked sweetly.
I smiled adoringly at my saccharine delight. "Cheesecake ice cream, Oreo cookies, graham cracker pie crust, and fudge."
Sigh.
Alice hummed in appreciation. Out of my periphery I saw Rosalie's spoon trying to encroach on my little slice of heaven. I slapped her hand away and looked up at her shocked and amused face.
I gave her my best 'bitch face', but wasn't able to keep my smile entirely at bay. "Do you have a death wish?"
Alice's tiny frame shook with uncontrollable laughter as she tried to keep her mouth closed around her ice cream. Rosalie downright guffawed, causing the other patrons of the creamery to look at the three of us. The staff must have heard me, too, for I heard a few snickers coming from behind the counter.
"Jeebus, Bella, I didn't know you were so fierce!" Alice giggled.
"Priorities, ladies, priorities," I said.
"Bella can be a scrappy bitch when she needs to be," Rose had a knowing grin on her face.
"No way!" Alice looked between me and Rose, "Aside from Jasper, Bella is the most docile woman I know."
"Docile? Ha! Every spring, Clear Channel Radio has a softball team and we play like, other businesses in the area. It's just for fun; I mean we're lucky if we get taken to Pizza Hut afterwards," Rose rolled her eyes. "Anyways, we have 22 people on our team but only 8 were able to make it to the game this past Thursday. So we're running around trying to cover all the holes in on the field. Emmett's pitching, I'm at Second, and Bella's at third. The team we were playing kept talking shit, and Bella was the one getting an ear full seeing as she was right outside of their dugout. Shit started going down when this big bitch bowls B over when she was coming in to third. Bella jumps up off the ground and says, 'Dumb bitch, kick it down a notch.'"
Rose's eyes slid over to me then looked back to Alice. Alice was listening in rapt attention.
"This chick then gets in Bella's face telling her she shouldn't have been on the bag-"
"I wasn't even on the fucking bag," I interrupted.
"Right," Rose continued, "and how someone needs to teach her how to play, blah, blah, blah. After that things just got worse and worse. The players on their team just kept on talking smack. Emmett ended up getting so fed up that he straight up threw the ball at the batter, getting tossed from the game. Both teams were yelling and tempters were flaring. Emmett was thisclose to jacking this one fucker right in the mouth, but somehow Bella managed to get him to calm down a bit. B, and I were walking Emmett to the car when the guy he threw the ball at came charging at us with some "gangsta posse" in tow. Long story short- Bella and that one bitch get back in to it. B's all up in the girl's face, arms gesturing wildly, dropping 'F' bombs all over the place. Now mind you, this chick is a good 6 inches taller than B and is a good 150 lbs. bigger than her. Bella is literally jumping up to shout in the girl's ugly mug screaming, 'This is just a fucking game, assholes!' and 'Take your fake ass gold and walk away' and she's fanning this girl away, like she's bothersome fly. My favorite part though was when Bella asked her, 'Really? Really? You want to start something with a girl?' and the girl says 'What are you talking about? I'm a girl, too.'" Rose paused to let out a chuckle, "Bella replies 'Coulda fooled me, Butch.'"
Alice was gaping at me and Rose was back to her man-like guffaw.
"I was so pissed. They were acting like it was the World fucking Series. Don't judge me," I said sheepishly.
The girls and I parted ways with air kisses and, for me, a pint of 'Oreo Overload' to go.
I stopped off at my apartment to drop off the ice cream and take a quick shower. The remainder of my afternoon consisted of previously neglected errands. I met with my broker to make some adjustments to my portfolio, then to the post office to mail out my mom's birthday card, and rounded out the day at the grocery store.
I picked up some things that I would need for tomorrow as well as the rest of the week and headed back home. I set to putting things away and then started making dinner for myself. I hadn't realized it was already 6 o'clock. ABC Family was running another Harry Potter marathon. I jumped all over that and sat my lazy non-yoga doing ass one the couch with my dinner on my lap.
I woke up the next morning with a wicked kink in my neck. I took in my surroundings and realized that I must have fallen asleep on the couch. The plate from dinner was still sitting on the coffee table, and ABC was now playing reruns of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, that meant it was only 8am. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and took my dishes to the kitchen and then went to the bathroom to make use of the facilities and brush my teeth.
Back in the kitchen, I pulled out the makings for burgers and a marinade for chicken. I sliced the tomatoes and onions, pulled apart leaves of lettuce, set aside slices of cheese, and formed hamburgers, then put everything in separate containers. Next I mixed olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic cloves, fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper to a Ziplock bag and threw the chicken breast in. Placing the chicken, burgers, and vegetables back in the fridge, I pulled out all the fresh fruit I had picked up yesterday. I sliced the pineapple, oranges, watermelon, and apples, put them in a Tupperware container and added it to the stuff in the fridge. I washed all the dishes and utensils I had used, and even dried and put them away. Well, there goes two hours. Now what to do for the other two…
I heard noise coming from the hall, and as per usual, I sprinted to the peep hole.
Helloooo, Doctor!
Edward was bent over picking up his Sunday paper. Oh, Holy Moses, he's still in his pajamas. McHottie rose up to his full height slowly, or maybe it was just my mind that put him in slow motion. He was shirtless and I could see all his sinewy muscles flex and release as he moved. His pajama pants were thin and light blue… and Praise to the Holy powers that be! I can see the outline of Edward Cullen's peen!
A gasp escaped my lips and I clamped my hand over my mouth. Edward was turned to go back in to his apartment but must have heard me because he looked over his shoulder to my door, smirked, licked his plump pink lips, winked, walked in and closed the door.
My body was aflame, a powerful throbbing between my thighs. I was in desperate need of some *ahem* medical attention. A physical exam perhaps? I can't look him in the face today all flustered like this. Well, I can do one of two things: Build a shrine to the sizable member de Edward Cullen or take care of things myself. The blush was already taking over my face.
Hmmm…
I dashed to the bathroom and tempered the water, then went to the bedroom and set out my clothes for the beach. Stripped of my pajamas, I was back in the bathroom stepping in to the shower.
The warm water flowed over my tense muscles, relaxing some and exciting others. My nipples pebbled as the palms of my hands grazed softly over my breast. I pictured Edward behind me, with my hands acting as his. My body gave an involuntary shudder as Fantasy Edward kissed my shoulders and neck while his fingers pulled, pinched, and rolled my taut nipples skillfully. My hands movements mirrored his as I pictured his left hand massaging my breast as his right traveled over my stomach, circling my bellybutton in languid movements.
"Mmmm…" my breathing was coming more rapid.
Fantasy Edward's right hand voyaged further south to cup my smooth mound. Talented fingers brushed along the length of my slick slit. I pushed my index finger between my sodden folds and circled my engorged bundle of nerves, and pictured Edward doing the same.
I gasped at the pleasure, a sense of urgency crashing down on me. I rubbed quick tight loops over my clit and moaned loudly. My left hand followed the path of my right and two fingers plunged into my quivering center. I imagined Edward pressing his firm member into the flesh of my behind.
"Ohhh, Edward," I groaned breathily.
My release was coming hot and quick. I picked up the pace, both hands working fervently. My thighs began to shake and my knees went weak. White lights burst in front of my eyes, and sweet satisfaction ripped through my veins as my orgasm hit.
Pulling oxygen in my lungs hastily, I slowed my fingers movements until they came to a stop. I took a deep breath and propped myself against the shower wall for support. My heart rate and breathing slowly returned to a normal speed.
I finished my shower quickly after sexy time with Fantasy McHottie. I toweled off and went ahead and applied my SPF 80 sunscreen. I pulled my bikini on; it was a new one that Rose talked me in to buying. It was a Roxy bikini, which I guess meant something to the surfer folk here, white with yellow and orange dots in circular formations. What made it cute were the ruffle embellishments, even still- I was thanking my lucky stars for a full Brazilian wax! I pulled my 'Ask Mr. Owl' tootsie pop t-shirt over my top and a pair of denim shorts over my bottoms. I looked over at the clock on my way to the closet to get my Hello Kitty flip flops and military cap. 11:30 AM, I need to hurry up! I packed a beach bag with a towel and my sunscreen and set it on the kitchen counter.
I was packing the food I was bringing into a cooler when there was a knock at my door. Edward, Alice, and Jasper were on the other side, all smiles like on picture day. I stepped aside and welcomed them it.
"Hi kids! How are we this fine afternoon?" All three shuffled past me, Edward being the last.
"Oh goodness, Bella, your apartment is so pretty. I love the Black/White/Red theme. Does it carry all throughout? I'm gunna take a look around…" Alice's voice trailed off as she wandered through the apartment. I looked after her with an amused smile, and then became acutely aware of being stared at.
My breath hitched at Edward's proximity.
"Thank you for the origami flowers, they were lovely," I mumbled shyly.
Edward smirked and looked down, shoving his hand deep in his pockets. "You're welcome. I'm glad you liked them." His shoulders shrugged and he looked into my eyes.
"Well, come on in and make yourself at home, Lord knows Alice already has." I lead him in to the kitchen and finished packing up. As Edward was looking around the living room I took the opportunity to look him over. He was wearing black and white plaid board shorts with a plain white tee, and a baseball cap (unfortunately) covering his hair.
"May I take a look around?" Edward asked politely.
"Oh, I can give you the five cent tour. Let me just finish putting these in the cooler," I said, finally remembering my manners. Just then we were joined by Alice and Jasper, both complimenting my design skills. Alice offered to pack the cooler so I could show Edward around. She sent us off with a wink.
"Well, you've seen the kitchen and the living room," I started and then walked down the hall and pointed out the bathroom.
"And this is my bedroom," I announced nervously.
Edward sauntered in and looked around a bit before facing me with a smile. "It suits you. I like it. He looked at me from under his lashes with a devious look in his eyes. He motioned to my t-shirt and asked in a low voice, "So, Bella, how many licks does it take?"
A slow, and hopefully flirty, smile took over my face. "It depends on whose licking."
He chuckled lightly, looked at the bed and then back at me.
"Your, uh… your bed looks comfortable."
"The world may never know…" I left him in the bedroom to chew on that little innuendo, and went to help Alice in the kitchen.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alice and Jasper decided to follow me to the marina in their car. Edward jumped in to the passenger seat of my car without any hesitation. That made me smile. A lot.
"Nice car, Bella," Edward said, eyeing my BMW 5X appreciatively.
I grinned. Cars were a bit of a weakness of mine. I bought this one with my first dividend check.
"Thank you," I replied. I suddenly got shy. He had made it pretty clear that he wanted to spend time with me. I should do the same, yeah?
"I'm really glad you could come out with us today." He smiled and looked over at me.
"I am, too. You know, Bella, I've been watching you ever since you moved in."
I froze. He what now? He must have noticed my uneasy demeanor because he quickly answered the unanswered question.
"NO! No, I don't mean like, I stalked you. But… Look, I'm just going to put this out there," He took a deep breath, "I've wanted to ask you out for so long, Bella. I fed off of every tiny conversation we've had in the past six months. This past week, has been so great. I've really enjoyed getting to know you."
When he finished he looked shocked that he had said so much.
"Me, too." My words were barely above a whisper.
"Yeah?" Hip lips lifted in to a crooked smile.
"Yeah," I was surprised he could hear me.
"Well, Miss Bella," his smile was growing wider, turning to face me in the seat, "Please allow me the pleasure of taking you to dinner this week."
"I'd love to," I giggled at his formal manners.
"May I take you out on Thursday?"
"That'd be great," I answered.
"So tell me, Edward. What do you plan to do this summer since you're not in school?"
"I took an extra lab during Summer I term, but decided to take Summer II off because I know how busy I'll be come September. Until then, I'm volunteering at the St. Mary's Medical Center, and wooing a young lady who lives in my apartment building." He released the crooked smile on me again. Guh!
"Is that so?" I asked coyly
"Yes, ma'am. Be prepared, I'm getting ready to step up my game." He sat back in his seat with a smug expression on his face.
I wanted to lick his jaw.
I was fighting a massive smile when a song came over the speakers from my iPod that wiped the smile from my face.
"I didn't take you for a Britney fan," Edward asked, clearly amused.
I rolled my eyes. Of course 'Baby One More Time' had to come on.
"Firstly, Edward, I do work at a top 40's radio station. Secondly, I am a Britney fan, but more of the newer stuff- don't judge me. Third…" I trailed off.
"Third…," Edward prompted, waving his hand to get me to continue.
"We do this bit on the Morning Show- one that I'm actually involved in, it's called 'Headphone Karaoke' where the person who is singing has their headphones on so only that person can hear the song, but the music is so loud that you can't hear yourself sing. So you know, usually you end up tone deaf from it." I laughed remembering how Emmett sounded during this bit.
"Our listeners call in and vote for who was the best. The loser then has to do something crazy, like for next week the loser has to do a strip tease on the Party Barge at 4th on Flagler. So anyway we have a theme to the segments, and next week is Britney Spears." I finished.
"Sounds like a lot of fun. I can't imagine you singing off key, though I can't say I wouldn't enjoy a little strip tease from you!"
I playfully smacked his arm. My face was flaming red. Ohmigod! He wants to see me in a state of undress. My stomach flopped at the thought.
"Edward!" I laughed, "Whatever… I hope Emmett loses, and he usually does, I think he'd handle the strip tease better than either Rose or I. Besides, you'll see me in my swimsuit this afternoon; it isn't like you'd see more than that on the Party Barge."
Ok, Bella. You're a strong, confident, independent woman. I am? Yes! Claim control of the sexual tension!
"But you know Edward, you play your wooing cards right and you just might get a private showing," I said with a wink.
The flabbergasted look on his face told me that my comment resulted in the desired effect. His eyes widened and his jaw was slacked. Edward smirked, and then cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. I mentally did a fist pump.
We pulled in to the marina a few minutes later. I parked next to where Rose and Emmett were unloading their car, Alice and Jasper pulled in next to me.
"Wow Bella, wunna trade cars?" Alice jest as we were all unloading our cars.
"Nah, you should go for the Audi, it'd fit you better, Pixie," Emmett commented before turning back to grab the cooler from Rose.
"You have a BMW and an Audi? What kind of car is the Audi?" Alice asked.
I smiled wistfully and pictured my precious.
"A metallic silver Audi TTS Roadster with custom pink leather seats," I sighed, "0-60 in 5.1 seconds, 265 hp 6000 rpm, and a compression ratio of 9.8:1. Ah, the beauties of German engineering."
Rose, Emmett, and I were daydreaming of aforementioned German engineering, Edward and Jasper looked impressed, and Alice looked confused.
"So, it's a silver car?" I blinked slowly at Alice.
"Yeah… it's a silver car."
"Wow. At the risk of sounding uncouth, I must be in the wrong profession if you can afford your apartment, and two delicious cars on an intern's salary."
"Oh, uh… I don't really get paid for my interning job at the station."
Alice's brows furrowed. "Then how-," Emmett interrupted before she could finish her question.
"Little sis is a wiz at the stock markets! I've been trying to get her to buy me a car for ages."
"Hey, I told you I'd help you manage your portfolio a long time ago. By now you could've bought you own car, had you listen to me!" Emmett chuckled and shook his head.
Just as I picked up the cooler from the trunk I felt someone standing directly behind me. I instantly knew it was Edward. He gently brushed my hands away and took the cooler from me. With a wink he walked down the dock with Jasper and Emmett. The girls sidled up to flank me on either side.
"Oh, he's got it bad for you girl!" Alice squealed.
"He asked me to dinner this Thursday."
Rose elbowed me in the ribs. I looked over at her and we shared a silent fan-girl moment with each other.
XXXXXX
We reached Peanut Island around 1 o'clock; the island was packed with beach goers as usual, so Emmett pulled around to the less populated side. When Emmett anchored the boat, the guys carried the coolers and the little BBQ grill to shore. The girls and I stripped down to our swimsuits and left our clothes on the boat so they wouldn't get wet. Emmett tossed Rosalie over his shoulder and carried her to shore, Rose screaming profanities at him the whole way. Alice jumped on Jasper's back, and he gave her a piggyback ride to the beach.
"Your chariot awaits, M'lady."
I looked over the side of the boat to see Edward holding out his arms.
"You don't have to carry me. I can wade to shore."
"Nonsense, woman, don't take away my excuse to touch you." His tone was playful, but he looked unsure of my desire to have his hands on me. Is he fucking crazy?
He held me close to his lean body bridal style, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I felt his hand flex slightly on my thigh, my body immediately aware of the closeness of said hand to my eager center.
"Thank you, for carrying me."
"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine."
I doubt that!
I looked up at Edward to see him wearing a satisfied grin. He set me down once we got to the beach but he didn't release me from his hold; his arm was around my waist comfortably as we walked over to the others by the grill. Emmett had lit the grill and Rose was putting the burgers and chicken over the flame. Alice and Jasper had set up chairs for everyone.
Light conversation filled the air as the food was cooking. When I was walking back to my seat after getting a drink, Edward pulled me down to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist. He continued his conversation like nothing had even happened. I looked at the faces of our friends to see them all fighting off giddy smiles; I had bit my lip to control mine.
Once the food was ready Rose, Alice, and I served everyone. Alice had made an amazing potato salad. All of us tucked in, this time Edward let me return to my own seat but had moved his closer to mine.
"Mmm, Bella, I am officially coming over for dinner every night. This chicken is great" Edward moaned in pleasure. It made my girly bits tingle. I feared that if I opened my mouth I would offer to be his personal buffet, so I simply smiled at him in thanks.
After lunch we girls lay out to get some sun while the boys tossed a football around. I watched with rapt attention as Edward ran down the beach and then fell into the water to catch a pass thrown by Emmett. Edward emerged from the surf and shook the water from his hair. Water droplets rolled down his toned torso, the sunlight hitting the tiny prisms and sparkling like diamonds. Hysterical bouts of laughter to my left caught my attention. Alice and Rose were bent over clutching their waist with tears flowing from their eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"You're panting like a bitch in heat!" Rose spat out whilst gasping for air.
"Yeah, I think you've even got some drool right there honey," Alice added, pointing to her chin.
"Fuck off, both of you!" I chortled despite myself. "Oh holy hell…"
The girls looked in the direction I was, both mirroring my slack jaw and wide eyes. All three boys were wrestling in the water, trying to dunk each other under. Before we could even register what was happening, all three boys had run up to us and thrown their respective girls over their shoulders and tossed us in to the water. Strong hands grabbed my hips and pulled me to the surface. I sputtered water and fought for sight through my ratted hair.
I looked up to see Edward laughing boisterously. It did not escape my notice that he still held me by the hips. He must have noticed at the same time I did because his laughter died off and he looked intently in to my eyes. He helped brush the rest of my hair out of my face, his hand traveling lightly over my cheek.
"Bella…" He whispered.
This is it, ohmigawd! He's going to kiss me!
""
Our heads snapped in the direction we heard the scream. Emmett was jumping around like a damn fool on one foot, his right foot cradled between his hands.
"A fucking crab pinched me! Did you see how big that fucker was?"
Rose ran to the shore shrieking and started to pack our beach items in a panic. We all stared at her blankly.
"Rose, what the fuck are you doing?" I asked calmly
"WE'RE LEAVING!"
Emmett turned to all of us and shrugged.
An hour later Edward and I were walking down the hallway to our apartment doors; Edward turned to me with a hopeful expression.
"So, I'll call you to confirm plans?"
"That sounds great. I'm really glad you came this afternoon, Edward."
"Me, too."
Edward gazed into my eyes, pools of brown meeting mossy green. He reached to cup my face in his right palm. His thumb drifted faintly across the flushed skin of my cheek. His moist, warm breath fanned across my face, my body responded to his touch instantly. My heart began to race, my palms started to sweat, goose bumps pebbled atop skin, my lips separated on their own accord. My breathing accelerated as I watched Edward's gaze dart from my eyes to my lips and back. Suddenly, his entire stance took on an air of determination.
My breath hitched as Edward took a step toward me and inclined his head towards mine.
A/N:
I cannot express enough how much I appreciate you reading my little story. I keep every one of the emails FFn sends me when one of you favorites, reviews, or puts me on alert. I know it's weird. I get ridiculously giddy. So, thank you.
*Coldstone Creamery scoops in sizes as follows: Like it = 1 scoop, Love it = 2 scoops, Gotta have it = 3 scoops.