AN: Hi.

Chapter 8

Angela weeping was heartbreaking. The wiping of her snot on my shirt was disgusting. She was a blubbering mess as she held tightly to my waist. Thankfully, the evening air was much cooler. This was suffocating.

"What am I going to do? Where am I going to live? I need a job! Are there any jobs in the school system?" she asked in a rapid speed. Her questions were being fired at me like the bullets of a machine gun.

We were sitting downstairs on my dad's ratty couch and trying to figure out Angela's next move. This was reminiscent of when James left me. I was the snotty mess that was using Angela as a human tissue. She was wonderful to me and I was determined to be that for her.

"My resume is still sitting on a desk somewhere. I did hear of an opening as a lunch lady. What are your thoughts on tater tots?" I teased trying to lighten the mood. Angela shot me a dirty look. "Seriously though, I can talk to Jane and see if she has a waitress opening."

Angela looked hopeful. "Is Jane nice?"

"She's lovely. She will also try to hit on you," I admitted. "There is always the piercing kiosk at the mall. It has an opening now."

This was probably a terrible suggestion. Angela was a daydreamer. She would never be able to concentrate on little marker dots on people's ears. Those poor customers would have piercings everywhere but where they wanted.

Edward walked in carrying a bottle of vodka and shot glasses. He placed the glasses in front of us and started pouring them to the top.

"Trying to get us drunk?" I looked at the shot glasses skeptically.

"This night calls for vodka, baby. Angela here needs alcohol." Edward was about to hand Angela a glass, but instead she laid her head into my lap and started bawling again. "That girl's got it bad."

"I . . . I . . . I . . . Want my Tori Amos CD! Can we listen to Silent All These Years, Bella?" Angela asked. Her voice was husky with the mucus filled sadness.

"We need to stay away from sad songs, Ang, Let's listen to Ani DiFranco. We need some angry girl folk music!" I stroked her hair like she did for me. "We are strong, independent women! We don't need men to define us! We are women and hear us roar! Do you remember who said that?"

"Betty Friedan? Gloria Steinem? A press release from the NOW?" Angela sniffed. She blew her nose into the bottom of my shirt. Nasty.

"You did, silly! When James left, you didn't let me wallow. Instead you gave me the strength to get up, pack my things, and find a better place to be. James leaving was the best possible outcome. I had become complacent with my life and you helped me realize that."

"I have no idea what you girls are talking about, but if it's about not letting two assholes hurt the both of you then I'm all for it." He clapped his hands together. "Get drinking, ladies! I'm taking you to Jane's!"

Angela sat up and rubbed her wet eyes with my sleeve. "Where did you find this guy?"

"An Aerosmith video. I tried to push him back into the eighties, but he keeps coming here in his DeLorean. It's okay. Edward's growing on me like lichen," I explained, giving him a wink.

Edward snorted at me. "I'm a landscaper, smart ass. I do know what you're talking about. I think you're cute too."

Angela watched us with wide eyes and grabbed two shot glasses. She sucked them down with barely a grimace.

"Ang?" I leaned down next to her.

"You two make me want to drink."

I didn't blame her one bit.

XXXXXX

"Two hot girls roll into town and you're both straight. It's completely unfair." Jane sighed as she poured some beers. "Angela, honey, you sure that you don't like a nice pair of boobs?"

"I like my boobs. Does that count?" Angela slurred. Her eyes were bright with liquid mood enhancer as she leaned over the bar.

"Sure. They're quite perky." My boss took a long glance and sighed. "First Bella hooks up with Mr. Green Thumbs and now you'll probably get it on with Mike Newton."

I looked over to see Mike Newton swaying to Boys II Men in front of the jukebox. I made it my mission to update the music on that thing. It was possible the vintage music player was haunted. There had to be a reason that this was the town where time stood still. It must be the constant playing of eighties heavy metal and nineties R&B.

But I digress, Mike wore his in trademark track suit and gold chains that made him stand out from the crowd. Rumor had it that Mike was so inept, that he had never progressed from his stock boy position at his parents' sporting goods store. I could see his ineptitude clearly in the way his movements resembled an incoherent rhino.

"There was no way she'd ever date him, Janey! Can you believe he was the captain of our football team? No wonder we always lost," Alice trilled. She sat down next to me and nudged me with her shoulder. "I see you've added a new member to our girls' club. Hi Angela! My brother gave me the lowdown. I'm sorry about what happened."

"I need to get laid!" Angela yelled. She raised her beer mug in the air. It became a like a beacon for the sea of men wearing band tee-shirts.

I pulled her arm down. "Angela, cut it out! No rebounds tonight."

"This town doesn't get new blood very often, Angela. The fact the both you and Bella are here is going to be a pretty big draw to the men in town. They're going to be animals. Take it easy, girl," Jane explained. Jacob started to stroll over and she pulled out her baseball bat. He quickly fled when Jane waved it at him. "Old Batman here will keep the wolves at bay."

"I think that I should change my doctorate topic," I muttered in thought.

The Psychological Draw of New Feminine Hormones on a Primarily Masculine Population and the Effects That it Has on the Social Construct of the Community would be a perfect title. It was a bit of a mouthful, but I've seen much worse.

"Bella!" Angela grabbed my face. "Who is that sexy boy?"

I looked around to see Edward playing pool with Jasper. Jacob and Tyler stuffing their faces with hamburgers. Some random headbangers played cards in a booth, while Mike continued dancing his ode to the slow jam. I had no clue to which man my friend was referring to. I asked Angela, "Who the hell are you talking about, drunky?"

"Is it me?" Alec poked his head out of the kitchen to hand his sister an order.

Jane grabbed a sandwich from him and growled, "No, Alec."

"It's him!" Angela squealed. "He's no Bennie, but I need to forget!"

She pointed to a mullet individual wearing a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off. Slowly the person turned and glared at me. To my horror it was—

"Jessica Stanley!" Alice squealed. "That's the lady that punched Bella!"

Angela started laughing hysterically and fell off the stool. She sat on the floor in a pile of peanut shells and continued giggling.

Jessica stomped over and looked down at Angela. "You laughing at me?"

"I thought you were a man!" The giggling continued. Angela admitted, as she was being roughly pulled up by Jessica, "You would make an attractive fellow!"

"I'm going to punch you!" Jessica hissed.

All of a sudden, there was a move to action by our group. I tried to remove Jessica's hands from Angela. Alice made a dash toward Jasper and Edward. Jane grabbed her bat. Jessica elbowed me in the chin. "I have more of that for you, outsider!"

Damn, that hurt!

I wasn't going to take it anymore. I jumped onto Jessica's back and started to pull at that greasy hair of hers. I screamed, "This is self-defense! I shall save you, Angela!"

My attempt at stopping Jessica didn't do much damage, but it caused her to drop Angela. Who, of course, was still full of laughter. Jessica tried to get me off by twisting us around in a circle. I was spinning around like a top and getting extremely dizzy. It was somewhat fun, like the carnival rides I enjoyed when I was young.

All of a sudden, I was pulled off and cradled into Edward's chest. "Jess, will you please leave my girlfriend alone?"

"I'll be damned! Congratulations, dude!" She touched him on the shoulder, letting her hand linger. "Sorry! Ed, you know I get cranky when I drink Bud Light."

Jane came out tapping her baseball bat against her hand. "Stop flirting with Ed and take your bullshit elsewhere, Jessica. Get out of here."

That was flirting?

"Fine, Jane. I'll see you tomorrow." Jessica gave Jane a small salute then discreetly gave me the finger.

I just sighed and tried to get Edward to release me. "Down now. I don't need to be rocked to sleep."

"I'm taking you home, baby. You're a trouble maker." He chuckled and kissed me.

The bar erupted into hoots and hollering of very sexually explicit acts that I would be performing on Edward. I acted offended, but some of them sounded quite promising.

"Angela—"

"Is perfectly fine," he pointed out.

I looked over to see Garrett helping Angela up and kissing her hand.

"He's like Don Juan over there!" I screeched in Edward's ear. "She needs to sleep! Angela's not ready to get laid. She inebriated!"

Angela gazed into Garrett's eyes. "I would just love to get laid."

"Your wish is my command, my—" Garrett began.

"Take her to Charlie's house, Garrett," Edward instructed. "She needs sleep and you can visit her when she's lucid."

"Where are we going?" I inquired.

He kissed my temple. "Home with me. Somebody has to keep you out of trouble."

XXXXXX

I was in bed with Edward.

Naked.

Curled up in his arms and eating strawberry ice cream. It was something that James would balk at. Edward thought it was fun. There was a vitality I had been missing that I found when I was in Edward's presence.

That Tyler had a nifty suggestion with the reverse cowgirl move. I rode Edward like he was a prize bull at the rodeo. Yee haw, partners.

"You are one clumsy girl," Edward stated. His fingers ran through my hair.

"I'm just extremely unlucky." I dripped the ice cream on his chest and I licked it off. I liked his shudder so I did it again. "I think my luck is changing."

"Really? Why is that?" His hand wandered to my breasts and he began to play.

I squirmed. "Hey! I'm eating here!"

"I'm waiting for your answer, woman." His fingers twisted and pulled.

"You."

"I like that answer," Edward stated. He kissed my strawberry lips. "You're my lucky star, Bella Swan."

Fingers twisted and turned. They traveled to sensitive places.

"I think I'm making your bed sticky." I felt the wetness from the bowl that overturned on our joined skin.

"I like being sticky with you." His mouth went from creating words to sucking the melting cream from my belly.

I stifled a moan.

Edward looked up from my stomach and at my face with dark eyes. "Let it out, girl. Your noises are like classical music to me. I sure as fuck don't understand it, but it's damn pretty."

"I don't normally make sounds," I admitted. James liked silence to dominate our lovemaking. Orgasmic expressions were internal.

"I need to hear them, pretty girl." His head traveled down further and further. A nip here. A kiss there. "Here's what I want to taste."

A felt his tongue swirl and mouth suck. James had never done that before.

"God damn! May I have some more, sir? Why has this never happened before?" This all came tumbling out of me in an uncontrollable verbal explosion. "Edward, you give me more! You hear me! I love your mouth!"

"There's my music," he mumbled into my pelvis.

It was a dirty symphony. That was for sure.