Beach Party

Disclaimer:

I do not own Twilight or any of these characters. No copyright infringement is intended

I wake late the next day. My nocturnal activities had obviously taken more out of me than I had realized. Making my way downstairs, I heard Emmett's voice booming from the kitchen. As I made my way in,he leapt from the stool he sat on and came over to me,

"Hey bro! Wow, you look...well,like shit."

I grinned at him. My Mom had either not heard that last part, or had chosen not to say anything. Grabbing a coffee,I sat down desperately hoping that it would wake me up. Little did I know that Emmett had already planned how to do that.

"Party tonight at First Beach; don't forget. The whole gang is coming along and you, my little brother,are more than welcome."

As he said that last part he grabbed me into a head lock and mussed up my hair.

"Em! Pack it in,will ya? Leave me alone" I growled back at him,

"Woah! Sorry Edward. Geez,someone is tetchy this morning. Whats up, not get enough beauty sleep?"

I just glared at him, which didn't help as he was standing there suggestively waggling his eyebrows at me. He obviously thought that Tanya was the reason I was tired. Well, she was one of them so he was nearly right.

Arrangements were made for that night and I then walked outside to get some air. I went automatically to the summerhouse, the scene of the crime, so to speak. As I sat there alone, the thoughts of last night played through my mind. First Bella, which made me smile and want to pick up the phone to call her. Then my thoughts moved to Tanya and I felt sick. How could I do that? Okay,we didn't have sex, but getting a blow job, as good as it was, from anyone other than Bella right now was wrong. I know that we are not in a relationship. I didn't know what we were to each other but I wanted to, and I wanted more.

Pulling my vibrating phone out of my pocket,I was thrilled to see that it was Bella calling. I answered nervously.

"Hey Bella, how are things?"

"Hmmm. Good, thanks. Still in bed. Wishing it wasn't empty,though."

I blushed when I replied "Oh yeah? Have a good night,did we?" I knew that I was teasing, hoping that she would give me the answer that I wanted to hear.

"Hell yeah. Put it this way, I can't wait for a replay. Edward, it was, well it was amazing." She purred into the phone.

I snickered before replying, "For me,too. Bella, we need to talk about this-"

She interrupted me before I could finish, "Oh, I see. So you regret it then? It was a one off – "

"No! Don't you think that Bella. Last night was, well amazing, but we need to talk about what happened. I know I sure as hell am confused, so cannot imagine what is going through your head. Please don't think that I regret it for one second,Bella. Look, there is a party down on First Beach tonight, starts at 9pm. You wanna go and we can talk more then?"

She sighed into the phone, "Rose has already asked me. See you then. Bye, Edward."
With that,she hung up. My mind was racing in a million different directions all at once and I couldn't wait for tonight to come.

As I stood in the doorway to the summerhouse, I was trying to figure out what I would say to her tonight. I saw a figure walking across the lawn to me. Her long confident strides giving herself away. Tanya. I knew that I had to end things between us if I ever wanted to give things a shot with Bella. This was the boldest decision that I had ever taken in my life.

I went outside and motioned for her to join me at the seating area outside. A coy smile played across her lips. Her hand ran slowly up my thigh as she said,

"Hoping for a replay of last night,were we lover? I'm game if you are. Rose asked me to find you. She's flipping out in there about something or other. Em is calming her down."

I knew that this was my chance to break it off. There was no way that she would make a scene here, plus it was daylight, so there were potentially too many people around to see us. Taking a deep breath,I bit the bullet.

"Tanya, I am not looking for a replay. I told you last night that we needed to talk but we never got around to it. You,erm, you distracted me-"

"You didn't seem to be complaining at the time. It seemed to be a great way to be distracted." she purred

She was right,of course. I know that.

"That's beside the point. Although, well. Anyway, the reason that I wanted to talk to you is to say that we need to cool things between us, completely. Emmett already knows. He figured it out by himself just by seeing us together. If he put two and two together, then who knows who else will? I am only thinking of you here. Me? Well,I can take whatever shit gets flung at me, I have put up with far worse. But people will talk, point the finger at you, say that you lead me on, took advantage, seduced me."

I paused, taking in the look of confusion that flitted across her face as my words sunk in. So I continued, hoping that I wasn't rambling but I had never broken up with someone before. I turned to face her,taking her hands in mine.

"Tanya, you are very special to me, you always will be. What you have given me is nothing short of a gift. I am truly thankful to you. I can't bear to see this ruin your life. People would point the finger if this got out and it will be at you. Rose would hit the roof. I dread to think of Mom and Dad's reaction. I know that they will not understand. I would hate for you to lose your friendship and become an outcast over me."

She had what looked like tears forming in her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks as she spoke,

"What about Em, is he gonna say anything?"

I shook my head, "No. He's promised me and I trust him. Look Tanya, I am truly sorry but I am only thinking of you here. Let's see how things go over the next couple of months and take it from there."

She nodded at me, and I stood kissing her lightly on the cheek before I turned and made my way back across to the house. I felt like the biggest bastard in the world, but I had done the right thing. I took myself back to my room and went back to sleep for a few hours. I needed to be on my A-game for tonight, for Bella.

We arrived at the beach to see a bonfire blazing and hear loud music blaring from a stereo. As we approached the large group,I recognized some of Em's football buddies, and then noticed that there were a lot of people here tonight. Word must've gotten out.

Em guided us down through the people to the bonfire and of course where the drinks cooler was stashed. He offered me a beer and I took it. What harm could a beer do? We sat around with his college friends drinking beers and just talking about, well, nothing really. That's the thing that I liked about them, they didn't judge me for my appearance, they just accepted me. Why could the kids at school not do that? Hmmm, guess I'll never know. Tanya was already here which was no surprise to me. She was flirting outrageously with Garrett who was on the football team with Emmett. She kept glancing over in my direction, I assumed to see if I was at all jealous. I wasn't, so she continued. It's a shame that she didn't realize that Garrett was gay and she was wasting her time.

My attention was caught when I felt a tingle at the base of me neck, almost like someone was tickling it, but of course there wasn't. I saw Rose jump up and run off squealing towards someone, then I heard her voice as she was saying hello to everyone as Rose introduced her. I don't know why but I found myself on my feet to greet her. It was Bella.

She looked nervous but Rose had her firmly under her wing, whispering in her ear and obviously filling her in on who was who and who she could steer well clear of in regards to the team. Eventually she made her way towards me, and Rose just couldn't resist a chance to be a bitch, as she said,

"Oh Bella, let me introduce you to my brother, Edward. At times, he can be a complete ass, rude and obnoxious, but we love him."

I just rolled my eyes at her and gave her a glare before I spoke,

"Hey Bella, wasn't expecting to see you here." I lied and could feel a blush working it's way up my cheeks.

"Well Rose invited me, and a party is a party after all." She smiled at me and winked. I hoped no-one else noticed it.

She sat down on the sand next to me, not too close, but close enough that I noticed every time she looked in my direction. I was itching to speak to her and tell her how I felt but there were too many people around. I would either need to wait for people to spread out or get her away from here, but how?

The party was in full swing and I managed to tear myself away from Bella to go talk with Emmett and Laurent as they were setting up a keg of beer. I had no idea where they got it from and really knew better than to ask. Feeling slightly drunk, we were laughing at nothing when I looked around to see where Bella was. Maybe the beer inside of me gave me confidence, but I knew that I wanted to talk to her, to tell her how I felt about her and didn't care who saw. She wasn't where I had seen her last so I scanned the crowd. Then, I saw her. She was about fifty feet away from me down the beach, but she wasn't alone. James was there.

I watched them for a few moments, trying to work out what was going on. She said that they were finished, over. So why was he here with her now? I decided that she had made her choice and was obviously back with him, and our night together was simply forgotten. I threw myself into the conversation with Emmett about, well I couldn't honestly tell you as my brain was elsewhere. Yeah, fifty feet away down the beach. Then I heard a shout. Spinning around towards the noise, I felt my heart fall as I saw James had a hold of her wrists and was pulling her somewhere with him. I could see that she was trying to resist. When Bella screamed a second time, I dropped the can of beer in my hand but was frozen to the spot. Luckily Emmett was far more switched on than I. Before I could speak, he was charging down the beach towards them. I followed.

"Get your hands off of her! I told you that you are notwelcome here, James!"

Emmett was furious and made a grab for James, who instantly turned away but still had hold of one of Bella's wrist and she screamed in pain or shock, I didn't know which.

"Fuck you, McCarthy. This is a private matter, between me and my whore of a girlfriend. She promised me something and now she is going to deliver." James sneered.

My blood ran like ice through my veins as I realized what he was referring to. Bella was going to have sex with him the night we met on the beach, but had run away from him due to his asshole friends being there. He obviously thought that he could still collect. There was no way that I could stop him. He was bigger and tougher than me.

"Let her go. Now. I won't give you a second chance," Warned Emmett with his voice low; all the time he was balling his hands into fists at his sides.

James just laughed at him and pushed Bella onto the sand. I was at her side instantly, and putting my arm around her in comfort as she looked terrified.

"C'mon, then McCarthy, me and you. Let's do this. Hey, maybe we should have a little wager on it. Hmmm. I know the winner gets to fuck Bella. God knows she could do with a damn good fucking, it might cheer her up and put a smile on her face. Then again, it would be better to let the loser take her, you know with her being…"

He didn't get chance to finish as Emmett's fist made contact with James's jaw, the force sending him sprawling into the sand. Emmett was then over him grabbing his shirt and screaming in his face to get up and take it like a man. James just laid there rubbing his jaw. Once Emmett started to walk away, James was on his feet, grabbing his shoulder, spinning Emmett around, landing a punch of his own. Bella screamed again and I took her into my arms, holding her tightly to my chest so that she would not have to see any more of the brawl.

Emmett stood there with rather a bemused look on his face as he calmly said, "Cheap shot, fucker! You will pay for that."

Then they were fighting all over again. All I saw was a blur of bodies as they rolled around on the sand, punching and kicking each other. Finally, some of Emmett's teammates dragged them apart and suddenly the fight was over as quickly as it began.. Emmett had a split eyebrow and lip and James appeared to be far worse off and had blood pouring from his nose. He was escorted away while Rose stood there screaming at Emmett for fighting while he just laughed it off. Someone brought a blanket over and I took it, wrapping it around Bella's shoulders to keep her warm as she had just had'as this wild display had to be a bit shocking. People walked away from us, more interested in hearing Emmett's side of the fight.

Finally alone, Bella huddled up to my chest, giving me that familiar tingling whenever she was around. As she started sobbing, I ran my hand over her hair while gently kissing the top of her head, murmuring that it would be okay. I held her tight while she rode out the wave of emotion that was carrying her.

She changed positions, once she stopped crying, sitting with her back flush to my chest, between my legs. It felt so nice as she pulled the blanket around both our shoulders, cocooning us together. I knew that I had to speak to her.

"Bella, are you okay? You seemed pretty shaken up."

"I'm fine. James was being a jerk as normal. He doesn't seem to understand English. I told him that we were over, but he just had to push it."

"As long as you are okay, that's all I care about." I spoke into her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

She stood suddenly, making me jump as she said, "Emmett! Shit! I should go thank him, and check that he isn't hurt too badly."

I stood pulling her towards me as I said, "Emmett will be fine. He takes far tougher knocks on the field. Trust me, he didn't feel a thing"

She gazed up into my eyes before she moved forward slowly, giving me that vibe that she was going to kiss me. I glanced around to make sure that no one was looking and then saw her,standing there, hands on her hips at the edge of the main group. Tanya.

I pulled away from Bella as if I had been shocked and the look on her face was one of confusion. I muttered,

"People are watching. C'mon, lets go."

I took her hand and led her down the beach to the bonfire, keeping a respectable distance from each other. All the time I could feel Tanya's eyes boring into me, watching to see what I was doing. I knew that I would have to keep my distance from Bella, and left her with Rose who was now ignoring Emmett and made my way over to Tanya.

"What's the problem, Tanya?"

"Hmmm, let me see. You dump me and then I see you with her! That little prick tease that James is glad that he never fucked. Bet she is lousy in bed. He's well of that amateur.

Anger boiled in me. I had never wanted to hit a woman but right now she was pushing that to the limit.

"You don't know her Tanya, so don't go around shooting your mouth off. And for your information I am notwith Bella in that way. She goes to my school that's all. So get your facts straight. You should know how dangerous rumors can be."

I secretly hoped that she had not picked up on the chemistry between me and Bella or the fact that were comfortable with each other. That would give the game away, for sure.

"Whatever Edward, you were fun to play with little boy, but now. Well, now I have a real man to take care of me and my every need. See you around."

I stared after her. What did she mean, she has a real man? I never once heard her complain when we were together. As she walked away from me towards a male figure farther up the beach, I was aware that I was not alone; Bella was standing just behind me.

"Who was that? She was, erm pleasant" she said the words, dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh Tanya." Shit Cullen think! "She is a friend of Rose's, no one special." I hoped that she had not heard our exchange.

We watched as Tanya ran towards the man waiting for her, leaping into his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist as they kissed. He placed her back on the sand before draping his arms across her shoulder and both looking back towards us. Then I recognized him and so did Bella. It was James. So they were together, after all. She had lied to me. My blood ran cold for the second time tonight as I realized that she had betrayed me, with him. Resolving to have a good time for the rest of this evening, I put my arm back around Bella and led her back towards the main bonfire to the safety of the group, but there was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I could just not lay to rest.

Authors Notes:
Thanks as always to Cosmom for beta'ing this for me – you are FAB! Also thanks to my ever enduring pre-reader and friend Mamasutra – please do go and check out her amazing stories.

I have a new story which is called Duplicity – link on my profile. This is me writing someone else's initial plot bunny, and we are working on the idea together over wine and webchats, chapter two has just posted.

So you all took Edward being with Tanya fairly well last week - PHEW! I was very nervous about reading the reviews as I managed ato shock Mamasutra with that one and she is pretty much unshockable (if you have read her fic Whats Done... You will understand!)

Please do remember to leave me a review by hitting the button, I read and reply to every single one of them Anyone that started to read Taken, I have some brilliant news, that WILL be going back up all beta'd this weekend - promise!

You can find me on twitter loopylou992 and also Facebook Loopy Lou - look for the Red Fraggle and that is me!

See you same time next week! Lou x