Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own a healthy love for Aussie summers and threadbare t-shirts.
Five
Working at Mint turns out to be pretty awesome. The work is easy, maybe a little physically tiring, but nothing I can't handle. The pay is pretty good too, and everyone is really fun and easy going. Plus, I get a free meal every time I do a shift. I get cheap beer and free soft drinks. And, I get to stare at all the pretty, tanned surfer boys – and get paid for it.
Mum's called every day since I left home. She always seems to find some ridiculously trivial reason to call, whether it's the dam flooding down the back of our property, or the sheep that got into the house. I'm pretty sure they're all excuses, but I indulge her anyway.
Jake's called once or twice too. I answered once, but after an hour long whinge-fest, in which he tried to get me to come home, I didn't make that mistake again.
Both Rose and I have just finished the lunch shift, when she corners me in the staff room.
"So, how's the wild oats thing working out for you?" My lack of love life seems to be one of her favourite things to talk about.
Pulling my hair out of its elastic, I shake it out, rubbing the sore spot where my ponytail has been all day. "Yeah, awesome. You can't get carpal tunnel from excessive masturbation though, right?"
She laughs, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Dunno. I'll ask Jasper."
The sun is still high in the sky when we step outside. Squinting, Rosie slips her sunglasses on.
"What are you doing tonight?"
My lip curls as I screw up my nose. "Probably another fun filled Friday night at home with Mick and Jessie. We'll watch Better Homes and Gardens, or, if I'm lucky, the footy."
Rosie makes a sound of disgust in the back of her throat. "Sounds like fun."
I nod, gearing myself up for another early night in bed with a book.
"Wanna get some tea with me instead?"
I try not to jump at the chance; try to act cool and nonchalant. "Uhh - yeah, sure."
The idea of spending a night with Rose, instead of on the couch beside my Aunt and Uncle, is exciting. If I have to spend another Friday night listening to my uncle swearing at the TV, I swear, I'll fucking cut someone.
Offering me a change of clothes and somewhere to leave my work stuff, Rose takes me back to her place. She and her brother live just a street over from the beach, only a couple of minutes walk from Mint. The house is an eclectic mish-mash of furniture, both old and new, and there are splashes of Rose and Jasper all over the place, from the surfboards in the lounge room to the framed posters on the walls. With the all the windows in the house open, I can smell the freshly mown lawn next door, the hint of salty sea air, and the smell of a barbeque over the back fence somewhere. There's something about the organised chaos that makes me feel instantly comfortable, like I could curl up on the floral patterned sofa like a cat and fall asleep.
Rose lends me a singlet top and a skirt, and I'm surprised to find they both fit perfectly. It's always nice to have someone to steal – I mean, borrow – clothes from.
Rose and I got along well from our first night at Mint together. There is something inexplicable that's just clicked between us. Plus, she's the only other person I know who can quote The Simpsons from memory. She's just so comfortable with who she is, and with her life. She's easy going, stress free, and doesn't make me feel like an outsider. It's really nice to have found someone like her so soon after moving here – having her around has made it that much easier to feel at home in Clearwater.
Jasper has actually turned out to be a pretty okay guy too. But he and Rosie couldn't be more different if they tried. I mean, as twins there are definite similarities between the two: the bright blue, almost azure coloured eyes, the award-winning smile and perfect straight teeth. And once you get to know them you start to notice the similar mannerisms; the way they speak, the body language, the short tempers. But really, it stops there.
The thing with Jasper is that at first he's cute and silly; kind of adorable in a brand new puppy kind of way. But the more time you spend with him, the more annoying and less puppy-like he becomes. Jasper knows this of course, and uses it to his advantage. The local girls know better, half of them have been there, or know about his rep. They know that beneath his ridiculous, cocky exterior – is a cocky, ridiculous idiot. But the tourist girls? Fuck. They love it. All they see is blue eyes and dark hair, the bad-boy piercings and tattoos, the kind of guy that looks hard on the outside, but inside, is actually a soft, sweet-hearted guy.
If only they could see him now, sitting on his sofa reading FHM, scratching his balls.
"Jasper!" admonishes Rosie. "We have company."
He looks up at me for a moment and then back down. "It's only Bella. It's not like she's the queen, hey?"
"Such a gentleman," I joke, shaking my head at him.
Jasper just smiles, getting back to his semi-naked ladies.
An hour or so later, Rosie and I are on our way out for some take-away, when the front screen door swings open, slamming against the frame loudly.
Edward stops short in the doorway to the lounge room, his face a picture of surprise.
Pulling his sunglasses off, he smiles, and there's a beat of silence, the crackle of attraction heavy in the air as he smirks at me.
"Well, well. Bella Swan."
"Edward Masen."
"Jasper Hale," says Jasper, tossing the magazine aside. "Now we're all reacquainted, can we go?"
"Unless you're gonna surf in your jocks you better change," says Edward, pointing to Jasper's severe lack of surf appropriate attire.
Jumping up off the sofa, Jasper hot-foots it into his bedroom to change.
With both he and Rosie elsewhere in the house, it leaves Edward and I alone. He seems happy to just stand there gawking at me, his arms crossed over his chest as I stand around feeling out of place.
His black baseball cap is low on his forehead, and his faded blue t-shirt is so thin and threadbare it looks like it might blow away in a strong wind. I can see the shape of his chest underneath it, see tiny pieces of skin through the holes in the neckline. Holes large enough to fit my finger through. Or my tongue.
I have to avert my eyes for a moment just to regain some composure.
The most frustrating part about it is that even in his shorts and t-shirt, I get the feeling Edward has no idea the effect he has on women. He can just turn up out of nowhere, barefoot and sparkly eyed, and just stand there like he isn't practically melting the underwear off all the women in a six foot radius. He's completely oblivious, and for some reason, it makes him even more attractive.
Taking up Jasper's spot on the sofa, I pick up his magazine and start flicking through it while I wait for Rosie.
"Nice choice of reading material," says Edward, gesturing to my nudie magazine.
"I read it for the articles."
He smirks, letting it slide into a slow smile. "I bet."
We sit in silence for a moment, him leaning against the doorframe, tapping a beat against the wall, me, pretending to read an article called '10 Ways to Satisfy Your Woman In Bed'. Funnily enough, it does little to dispel the air of awkward sexual tension humming around me.
Pretending to look at my magazine, I chance a peek over the top of the page. He's trying to be discreet, but I can see him taking a long look at my bare legs. His bottom lip is pinched between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes lazily drifting up my leg, up my thigh, up my midsection...to my eyes.
I smile, raising an eyebrow.
"Get a good look, did you?"
He doesn't even seem embarrassed that he's just been caught ogling my legs. He just lets go of his lip and smiles at me. I don't know how he does it, but suddenly I'm the one that's blushing instead of him. I suppress the urge to fan myself with the magazine.
Jasper returns moments later in hus wetsuit, his hair pulled back and a towel under his arm. "Come on then."
"Bye, Bella Swan," says Edward, slipping his sunglasses back on.
I slowly uncross my legs and recross them again, nice and slow. "Bye, Edward."
Shaking his head, he laughs all the way out the front door, his keys swinging around his index finger.
Watching from the front room, I see Jasper stick his board in the back of Edward's van. They both slip into the front and its engine rumbles loudly as Edward starts it, the music blaring out of the speakers so loud I can hear it from inside. I smile at his choice of song, adding good taste to his growing list of attributes.
Rose and I opt for fish and chips by the beach for dinner. A short way down the beach front is a wooden picnic table where we set up our dinner and watch the tide come in. This time of night is starting to be my favourite. The little sliver of time right before the sun begins to set, where the ocean calms and the beach empties. When the sky darkens slightly to a steel grey, the last rays of sunset slipping below the horizon.
"So, you going to tell me about this ex-boyfriend of yours?" asks Rose, picking at the left over chips.
Tugging the sleeves of my cardi over my hands, I sigh dramatically. "Are we at that stage? The whole sharing thing?"
"Says the woman wearing my clothes." She smiles. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Fiddling with the cap of the water bottle, I shrug. "It's not like it's some big secret. It's just not that big of a deal."
"So tell me then."
My memories of Jake aren't bad ones, they're not painful or angst ridden – they're just something I want to be able to move on from. I want to start fresh and not have to think about him moping around at home like a lost puppy, waiting for me to realise I've made a mistake and come crawling home. Clearwater is just the beginning of my plan to find some direction, to force myself to figure out what the fuck I want to do with the rest of my life. Bringing up old memories just feels like a step back.
"Jake and I grew up together, we used to swim in the dam at the back of our farm, and once, he pushed me off the front deck and I chipped my tooth." I tap my front tooth loudly.
Rosie makes a face. "Sounds like a catch."
"We were five."
She rolls her wrist, her hand moving in circles, gesturing for me to continue.
"Anyway, we were friends for ages, pretty much best friends. And then a while ago he professed his undying love for me."
I'm momentarily distracted as a bunch of guys, all carrying boards, make their way up the beach. The sunlight has well and truly disappeared, they've surfed the day until there's no light left, only to wake up and do it again when the sun reappears. To say I don't keep my eyes peeled for a head of bronze hair would be a lie.
"What do you say to that, you know?" I continue. "So we went out for a bit."
"How long's a bit?"
"A year and a half."
Her brows raise but she doesn't say anything.
"Anyway, one day he started talking about marriage like it was inevitable. Like we didn't really have a choice, like, I'm supposed to be happy being stuck in Forks forever. He said that's where my family and friends were, and why would I want to go anywhere else. And he was needy, so fucking needy." Talking badly about Jake makes me feel wretched, a guilty stone settling deep in my stomach. "In the end, I knew I wanted something Jake couldn't give me, and so here I am; single, living with my aunt and uncle, with a bad case of masturbation induced RSI."
Rosie laughs. "Living the dream."
I sigh. Even though outwardly it might seem like I'd taken a step back, there was a sense of freedom I'd gained with my move. Like I was standing on the precipice of something big, just waiting for it to come along.
Rosie is quiet for a moment, picking a the paper from our fish and chips. "I guess that's not the kind of life every girl dreams of, huh?"
"Not me," I reply. "Not with Jake anyway."
With a big sigh, she scrunches up the paper and tosses it in the bin. "You're right, that is a boring story."
To some, Rosie's flippant attitude might seem a little harsh. But since sharing and feeling and doing all that emotional stuff is not really me, I'm happy to let the topic slide. Well, I'm happy to take the spotlight off of me anyway.
"So how come you don't have a boyfriend?" I ask, chucking my empty water bottle in the bin.
Rose rolls her eyes. "Have you seen the boys around here?"
Snorting, I nod. "Yes! And I repeat, where's your boyfriend? There are so many cute guys here."
It's almost dark, slivers of light fading quickly. But even in the dim light of the evening, I see a faint blush grace Rosie's cheeks. "There's just no one around here that does it for me, you know?"
"Uh-huh," I reply, not buying it.
She groans, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Come on; let's go back to my place. The boys will be back and I feel like a drink."
She thinks I didn't catch her deflection, but I did. And I'll get to the bottom of it. But, lucky for her, now I'm a more nervous about whom she's referring to when she says "the boys", and whether or not said "boys" means Edward.
It'll be okay though, right? Me, Edward, beer, and copious amounts of sexual tension?
Right?
Meg and Tiff beta'd this for me, and Thimbles and Ink pre-read - even though both of the latter have their own stories to write. They are in my favourites.
Thank you to everyone putting the story on alert, reading and reviewing.
xx Wink