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WitFit Jan/Feb 2013
90's Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll
Word Prompt: Drain
-PoM-
Earlier, in the basement when I'd done my best to hide in the shadows, his double take had seemed almost unbelieving, and, unlike before, our gazes connected this time. It wasn't casual, and it certainly wasn't comfortable.
I cleared my throat but the words just weren't there.
Instead I took in his appearance, cataloguing the differences. The hair was longer and there was dark scruff along the line of his jaw. My eyes fell to the hem of his shirt and I noticed the long fingers of his right hand curled around a cigarette. Memories that had never really faded bubbled up to the surface, and I scanned the inside of his arm for the red and black tattoo—a beautifully crafted celtic knot.
"Bella."
Avoidance was something I couldn't rely on any longer. I could already feel him, although we were only a few feet apart.
"Hi, Edward."
Rose, rooted to her spot with a stance that resembled a mama bear, looked between the two of us. Unless I gave her the go-ahead, she wasn't going to move even if the earth shook and as much as I didn't want to face it, this was mine to deal with.
"I'll be right in," I said, giving her a small smile and touching her arm to nudge her inside.
She hesitated, clearly torn. "See you inside."
Silence, that in actuality was brief, seemed to stretch into eons. I shifted on my feet side to side, wondering who was going to make the first move—it should be me, I knew that, but the words that would explain why I'd left felt cowardly, somehow.
He put the smoke to his lips and inhaled deeply.
"So, wow."
"Yeah," I said. My body shook, and I was glad for the chilly night air that could explain away my nervous fretting. "How are you?"
"Good. You?"
"Great." The lack of substance in our words did little to soothe my anxiety. Taking a deep breath, I gave him an uncertain smile. "This is kind of a weird coincidence. I mean, how did you end up here of all places?"
Without missing a beat, he said, "Why did you leave without a word?"
The anger I expected was absent in his tone. And as much as those reasons were the right ones for me at the time, they also led to answers that I wasn't ready to give.
"I . . . I don't really know."
He flicked his ashes onto the deck and watched me with a look that said he knew I was full of shit.
"I tried to find you, you know."
"You did?" I said, truly surprised. My heart jumped at his words.
"Yeah, I did. But, I guess it is what it is."
And, really, what could I say to that? God, this was off-the-scale awkward. The darkness of the night was a blessing because the heat in my face openly reflected my embarrassment. I looked down, fiddling with the zipper of my jacket while I formulated words that didn't sound so trite in my head. Deep breaths, I told myself, he deserves an answer. Needing a clue to how it would be received, I looked back up to gauge his mood, and was surprised for the third time tonight. His look had softened somewhat, propelling me toward outright honesty.
"What I didn't say, because I didn't know how to, was—"
"Can we get goin', man?"
The blond guy, the other one who played guitar, had stuck his head out of the door, and he didn't look pleased. My jaw clicked closed with a snap, and I took a step back toward the porch stairs. Edward definitely noticed—he held his hand out, interrupting my flight toward Rose's car.
He turned his face to tell his friend he was coming, and then his attention was back on me. "Come inside, okay? We'll talk later."
I nodded, waiting while he leaned over and put out his smoke in the bucket before following him inside.
The blonde, Tanya, was nowhere to be seen, and I was glad that she'd indeed bailed with her friend.
I took my seat next to Rose and winced when her sharp elbow connected with my ribs.
"What the hell was that?"
I shook my head. There would be plenty of time to tell her later. Resigned, she leaned over and grabbed her beer.
"Fine, then. Let's give you a rundown. The blond guy is Jasper. He's the driving force behind everything. He and Edward promote it together but he runs the show. The bass player is Tyler, and he's the youngest in the band."
When my eyes landed on Tyler, he gave me a nod and a smile, so I waved back. Edward didn't miss a thing and a slight scowl appeared on his face.
The tension in the room, especially amongst the band had changed significantly; it was new, now, more upbeat and anticipatory as the band started with a loud, powerful song. The guitars screamed in an odd, almost discordant tone that was so brilliantly raw.
With the initial shock of seeing him past, and without any other distractions, I watched him openly now. His body, still tall but leaner, rippled in tune to the chords, back bowing as he ripped at the frets of his guitar and let loose a guttural growl.
His hair fell into his eyes, leaving his lips, lips that I had marveled over so many times before, to intimate themselves with the microphone.
No, I couldn't think that, not when he was with somebody else now.
Didn't stop the memories playing, though.
I saw him across the room, casually talking to one of Angela's friends. She nudged me from behind, "Go and tell Rory I want to talk to him over here. Then make your move."
"Ange, he's way outta my league."
"Are you serious? I've seen him check you out a few times. Just go!"
Fidgety, I made my way across the room thinking that it was stupid the entire walk over. Before I knew it I was standing in front of this guy that I knew nothing about, and Rory.
"Hey, Rory, Ange wants your help." I knew he'd jump; he was so head over heels for her it wasn't funny.
"Oh, okay. Catch you later, man?" he said to the guy I'd been sneaking peeks at all night.
"Yeah, no prob," he said, taking a sip of his beer.
He was aloof, so cool that I wondered what Angela had been thinking sending me over here. Chickening out, I decided to just leave, but stopped at the words that came as I turned.
"Hey. I'm Edward."
The band completed the second set with an elevated mood that had lacked in the first, taking only a brief pause to drain a drink each before launching in to the third. This one was more scaled back, songs melodic and much more harmonious than the previous sets. I watched, transfixed, as these talented men, instruments so in tune with each other they were almost a fifth band member, cast a spell over the crowd.
After their last set, Jasper, all business, picked up his stuff and headed for the stairs. "Catch you guys tomorrow night." A smattering of goodbyes followed him up the stairs.
Rose turned to me. "Do you still want to go?"
I looked over to where Edward was putting his stuff away and shook my head. "I'm okay. Do what you need to do and then we can go." She squeezed my hand and headed over to Emmett.
Before I got up the nerve to approach Edward, a pretty brunette walked up to him and gave him a light hug. She was joined by another girl who kissed him on the cheek. Watching him chat so easily with those girls sent my stomach twisting. It was the very thing I hated about hanging around bands—the need of everyone to be noticed, the endless supply of girls.
The easy feeling the third set had weaved over me and washed away my nerves like water down a drain, and I grabbed my things to head outside again. We had to talk, but I didn't want him to think I was waiting for him. I navigated the small clusters of people talking, making my way toward the door when I felt a hand on my elbow, firm but careful. Intimate.
"Hey, you're not taking off are you?"
I glanced at him over my shoulder, torn. "Uh, no. I'm just waiting for Rose."
"I don't want you to get away again."
His words threaded themselves around my heart and lightly squeezed. His fingers slowly released their grip and slid over my exposed skin.
"I was just going outside…" I held up my pack of Marlboros to prove the point.
His posture relaxed. "I have a few things to do, wait there? I'll be right out."
"Okay."
My heart was bouncing off the walls of my chest as I stepped back into the cold night air, and the breeze felt wonderful on my overheated skin. Futile as it was to guess what he was thinking, I prepared myself anyway for the conversation we were about to have.
"So this is your place?" I asked, and then gave myself a mental slap. Duh.
"Obviously. I had keys, remember?" He grabbed my hand, pulling me into the apartment behind him. It was nice to notice that he looked as nervous as I felt.
He offered a drink, and I took a seat on the futon couch, moving around a few times while I tried to figure out how or where I should sit.
He delivered a cold beer to my hand and sat beside me, but somehow words escaped us both. Instead he leaned back to the side and picked up his guitar, playing a little tune that I sort of recognized.
"Wow. You're really good."
"Eh, just practice a lot."
The driveway had begun to clear when he stepped outside with a couple of beers in one hand. He held one out to me and I accepted it, grateful for something to do.
"Your band is really amazing."
He reached up and grabbed a smoke from behind his ear. "Thanks. It's been . . . fucking stellar. Really. I can't believe I found these guys, such amazing musicians, who wanted me to play with them. They're all so talented, especially Ty. You wouldn't believe what comes out of that little guy."
"I met him earlier. He seems really nice."
His smile was tight. "Yeah. One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He's behind a lot of our original stuff, just comes up with some insane shit. Kind of brilliant, really. But, and here's the thing, right? He doesn't want any of the glory." He took a sip of his beer. "So you're friends with Rose, then?"
"Yeah, I met her when I came back to Seattle," I said, picking at the label on my beer.
"And when was that, exactly?"
I paused, but decide to just let it go. The weirdness would maybe always linger, but I had to be honest. "The day after I left Phoenix."
He said nothing, just took another pull of his beer and watched me. I stared back.
"You ready to go?" I looked up, surprised that Rose was already there, and then back at Edward, suddenly regretting that our time had been cut so short. I wanted to talk to him. Explain what I did and why.
"Yeah, I guess." I pleaded at her with my eyes to give me another few minutes with him.
She looked at Edward but directed her voice to me. "I'll meet you at the car."
Before I could answer he asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I have to work, but not until two in the afternoon."
"Do you want to grab some coffee? I'd really like to talk to you, Bella."
His face, so guarded but hopeful, sealed the deal.
"Sure." I reached into my purse to find a piece of paper. As I rummaged, he held out his hand.
"Got a pen?"
"On your hand?" I asked, making a face.
"Good a place as any."
"Okay, then."
Wrapping my hand around his fingers—my own were shaking as they ghosted over his palm—I turned his hand to scribble my numbers onto his. When I was finished, he turned his around to squeeze my hand.
"Bella!"
"That's Rose for ya," I said, rolling my eyes.
He dropped my hand slowly, and with some reluctance. "Call you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," I said, smiling.
Backing away, he said, "It's really good to see you."
"You, too. Good night."
The tight feeling in my stomach was hopeful and tumultuous at the same time, but my smile grew even bigger as I walked to the car.
Thank you for reading!
Song: Rusty Cage-Soundgarden