I didn't manage to get this chapter to SunflowerFran before she set off for her holiday, so all mistakes are my own.
Chapter 14
Edward
Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a charming town, although it didn't have the same character of historic Oxford. It was quite the novelty to be able to go out with Bella freely, without worrying about who might spot us. Having said that, we didn't spend too much time away from the apartment; Bella and I were newlyweds, after all.
Bella had been scouring property websites ever since we arrived, but we were hampered by our lack of local knowledge. Bella, in her heart of hearts, wanted somewhere rural, a little cottage perhaps, but we both agreed that it wasn't practical while we were still getting to know the area. Our timetables were likely to be erratic for a while, until we settled into our new positions and labs. No, the rural idyll would have to wait a bit longer, and in the meantime, we resolved to find a house to call home.
We had located the local amenities important to both of us. For me it was tennis courts, a decent pub and a supermarket. For Bella, it was a swimming pool, coffee shop and a delicatessen she remembered from the previous summer, which sold the ethnic and British groceries which we considered essential. We were both delighted to find all of these within half a mile of the Harvard campus.
We decided to hold off on buying a car for the time being, but we missed our bikes; we'd sold them on leaving Oxford. I was looking at some on a local sporting goods website on Sunday morning, four days after our arrival, when Bella came back from getting us breakfast, waving a flyer.
"Foxy, look, our neighbours are selling his and hers touring bikes," she announced, setting down two lattes and a bag of doughnuts. "We should go take a look."
"It can't hurt, can it? And two hundred dollars for the pair is pretty reasonable, right? What's that in pounds Sterling?"
"About one hundred and thirty."
"Really reasonable, then."
We texted the number on the flyer and not five minutes later, one was pinged back.
Hey! Come on down anytime this morning. They're real good quality. We're only selling because we're upgrading. J+V
After our delicious, but unhealthy, breakfast, we walked down to apartment 2B, and knocked on the door.
"It's weird that these people will be the first new people we will introduce ourselves to as a couple," commented Bella as we waited for them to open the door.
"Uh-huh," I replied, kissing her on the cheek. At that moment, the door opened.
"Hey there." We were greeted by a tall, skinny, shirtless guy in his early thirties, with ash blonde hair slicked into a ponytail. "I'm James."
Although his demeanour was friendly, something about him didn't sit well.
"Edward." Nevertheless, I held my hand out. He shook it. "This is my other half, Bella."
"Well, hello, Bella," he said, taking Bella's hand, and looking her up and down. "Aren't you a pretty little thing? Lucky man, Ed!"
"It's Edward," corrected Bella, knowing I hated anyone but my closest friends calling me that. "And I'm the lucky one," she added, extricating her hand from James's grasp and squeezing my shoulder. Clearly he'd set off her heckles as well.
"If you say so, doll," James replied, unfazed by her lack of warmth. "Come on in."
We followed him into his apartment, which was identical to ours in layout, except the opposite way round. It was decorated in garish red and stark black, a bit like a futuristic dungeon. Two simple road bikes, both silver-grey in colour, were propped up against a black, PVC sofa. They looked almost brand-new.
"Nice, aren't they?"
"Very. How old?"
"Just over a year. Vicky and I got them as a wedding present from my brother, but they're not really our style, so we upgraded last month."
"Did I hear my name, sugar?" drawled a saccharine-sweet, breathy voice, from the direction of what I figured was the bedroom, heavy with the local Boston accent. A moment later, a very tall redhead, the same age as James, sashayed in, wearing a denim bikini top and mini skirt. I instinctively averted my eyes from her torso; did neither of them own a shirt?
"Honeybun, this is Edward and Bella. They're looking at the bikes."
"Hey, there. I'm Victoria." She went for my hand first and as she shook it, stepped a little too close to me for comfort, her cloyingly sweet, baby-prostitute perfume getting right up my nose. Next to me, Bella stiffened.
"Nice to meet you, Victoria," she muttered through gritted teeth, and stuck her hand out so Victoria had no option but to drop mine to shake it.
"Hi," I added, trying not to look at the tits she'd put in close proximity to my arm.
"Oh lordy, you're English!" she almost squealed, looking me up and down in a way that made me feel a little violated. "I just totally dig that accent! It's so sophisticated."
"Well, that's us," interjected Bella, unable to keep an acerbic note from her voice, "'sophisticated.'" To me, her implication about them was clear. James and Victoria laughed, seemingly unaware or unsure of how to take Bella's retort.
"So, the bikes," I began, trying to return attention to the task at hand. I crouched down to inspect the chains and the gears. "You want $200 for the pair?"
"Yeah. There's not much to them. They'll get you to A to B but you ain't gonna win any races."
"That's fine by us. We'll only be using them to get around the local area and to work."
"Where do you work?"
"We're neuroscientists," I replied. "We start at Harvard in September."
"Jimmy works at Harvard too!" cried Victoria. "He's so smart."
"Not as smart as these two! Brain scientists ... wow, that's some clever shit!" he responded.
"What do you do, James?" asked Bella, returning to her usual politeness, her fingers stroking the back of my neck absent-mindedly.
"I do IT support for the bio-engineering department."
"Great." I rose to my feet. "These look sound. Could we just take them into the hallway for a quick test?"
"Sure."
We wheeled them outside and I adjusted the seat heights for both Bella and myself. She hopped on and cycled up and down the corridor.
"Suits me just fine," she said on her return. "Your turn."
I did the same. James was right. They were basic, but they would be fine for commuting. Cambridge didn't have a lot of rough terrain or hills, from what I had seen so far.
"Suits me too. We'll take them, James."
"Awesome."
I fished out my wallet, pulled out some bills and after identifying two $100 ones, handed them over. Given that US Dollars were all the same colour, I was sure I was going to make a monetary mistake at some point.
"Thanks."
"No problem," he replied, smirking as he looked over my Bella again. "You know, if you guys need a tour guide, Vicky and I would be happy to show you the sights. You English people like to drink, right? We go to this great bar ..."
"That's great of you to offer, James," said Bella. "We're kind of tied up with the business of moving, finding a permanent apartment and reconnecting with old friends currently, but we've got your number, so if we're free, we'll give you a call."
"Sure thing, doll," he replied lasciviously. "Have a great day." He turned on his heel and went back into his apartment, leaving us in the hallway.
We took the bikes back to ours and parked them in our hallway.
"Wow, those two were ..." I began.
"I know!" agreed my beautiful wife. "Sorry, I was a little rude there. They just put me on edge."
"Me too. I feel like I need another shower."
"Need some help, baby?"
"Always!"
-cc-
Bella
Edward and I had taken our new bikes for a spin to Fresh Pond Park and were enjoying a picnic by the water when the 'Fox Phone,' as I nicknamed it, started ringing.
"It's Carlisle," began Edward. "Hi Carlisle ... yes ... thank you, it's great, and Esme was so kind to provide the groceries and phone ... um ..." he looked at me suddenly and took a deep breath, "yes, she's with me ... tonight?"
"What about tonight?" I whispered.
"Hang on just a second, Carlisle." He covered the end of the phone with his hand. "They want to meet my 'special someone' and are really keen."
"Okay. Invite them for dinner."
"Are you sure? Baby, you don't have to cook. We could go out ..."
"No, cooking will allay my stress, and they both love my sticky toffee pudding."
"Okay ... Carlisle? Sorry about that. Why don't you come round to the apartment, around seven? She'd like to cook for you ... no, she insists it's no trouble ... okay, see you then. Bye."
As soon as Edward hung up, I scrambled to my feet.
"Let's go, Foxy. We have shopping to do."
"Whoa, Bella, slow down. Old man here!" he retorted, getting to his feet just a second after me.
I stopped in my tracks. I hated it when he was self-deprecating about his age.
"You are not old!" To prove my point, I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist. He caught me effortlessly and to reward him, I kissed him soundly, pulling back just before the resulting spike of desire made me forget that we were in public. "You aren't old, Foxy," I reiterated. "I'm just young."
Edward
The apartment was spotlessly clean. The food looked immaculate and smelled divine. Bella and I had showered and changed after our cycle ride. She was wearing a long, black sundress which she had deliberately chosen because it made her look older, and made me wear a shirt instead of one of my preferred Neuro-Nerd t-shirts.
At seven o'clock, our apartment buzzer rang loudly. Bella visibly jumped.
"Baby, please relax." I kissed her softly and got up to answer. While we waited for Carlisle and Esme to come up to the third floor (which was really the second- very confusing), she took several sips of wine and deep breaths, but jumped again when they knocked on the apartment door.
"Answer it," she hissed agitatedly, but then her expression softened. "I'm okay."
After caressing her pink cheek, I walked over to the apartment door.
"Edward!" exclaimed Esme when I opened the door. She threw her arms around me and hugged me. "It's so good to see you!"
"Esme, it's beyond wonderful to see you too." I turned to Carlisle, who stuck his hand out, but when I shook it, drew me into a friendly hug. "And you, Carlisle."
"I can't believe you're finally here," he replied. "It feels like a big coup de grace to have poached you from Oxford."
"I hope I live up to expectation," I murmured, genuinely hoping I would be able to do the stellar job he was hoping I would. "Err, go on through."
"Do we finally get to meet your girl ..." began Esme as she walked into the living room. "Bella!"
"Hi Esme," began my girl, standing up. "Hey Carlisle."
"What a lovely surprise!" Esme bounded over to hug her.
"You're in town already? Had I known I'd have got you into the lab this week!" joked Carlisle, embracing her warmly. "Edward, you didn't mention Bella was joining us? And where's your other half?"
This is it.
I walked over to Bella's side and placed my hand in the small of her back.
"Well, err ..." Bella looked up at me and bit her lip before looking back at Carlisle and Esme. "The thing is, um ..." Shit. Where was my articulation?
"Edward and I are together!"
Bella's word vomit was sudden, and I looked back at our guests' faces to see them frozen in surprise.
"I see," murmured Carlisle impassively. Bella curled into me and buried her face in my chest.
"Oh," was Esme's response. I kissed the top of Bella's head to stop her trembling. "Carlisle?"
"Yes, dear," he sighed before reaching into his shirt pocket for something and slipping it into her hand. "Here you go."
"What's that?" I asked warily.
"You just cost me fifty bucks, Professor Masen."
To our abject surprise, Carlisle and Esme burst into peals of laughter. Bella let go of me and we watched them laugh maniacally for a minute before deciding to intervene.
"What's going on?"
"Bella, you emailed me, and Edward, you Skype-called me, within minutes of each other, to say that you'd changed your minds."
"He mentioned it to me, and I replied, jokingly at first, that perhaps it wasn't a coincidence."
"Our conversation escalated into a big debate. I didn't think you had it in you to capture the attention of a young, pretty girl like Bella, and Esme retorted that I must be blind because Edward Masen was one hot PILF."
"'PILF?'" I enquired, my head spinning a little.
"Professor I'd Like to Fuck," clarified my Bella, nodding along with Esme.
"Should I be flattered?"
"Definitely," stated Esme. "It's just the truth. You're a handsome man, Edward, and perhaps made more so by the fact that you're oblivious."
"Yes, the more Esme thought about it, the more she was convinced that you two were together."
"Why?" Bella wondered out loud.
"I knew you were being supervised by Edward because John Gerandy told us when he was here on vacation last fall, so I knew that you knew each other. I just kept thinking how sweet and dedicated you both are, and how much you have in common, despite your ages. Then, Edward, there was your comment about how you prefer brunettes ..."
I vaguely recalled the conversation I'd had with them when they were in Oxford in May. I must have said that thought out loud after all.
"Ah."
"Despite all Esme's reasoning, I stupidly ended up betting against her. I never learn."
"Do you object?" asked Bella in a small voice. "To our relationship, I mean. This isn't just an affair, Carlisle. We're in love and have planned a whole life together."
"It's none of our business, Bella. Besides, I'm hardly one to talk. Esme was my doctoral student when we fell in love."
"Really? I didn't know that," I replied in surprise. "I thought you did your PhD with the late Marcus Christopher, Esme."
"I transferred to Marcus Christopher's supervision after Carlisle and I got caught making out in the supply closet at the lab Christmas party."
"Esme!" exclaimed Bella. "Did it cause a scandal?"
"Yep. I was dating someone else at the time ..."
"A real tool!" interjected Carlisle. We all laughed.
"... and everyone in the lab thought that Carlisle was gay because he never showed any interest in any of the girls."
"What happened after that?" I asked, intrigued.
"Esme and I ran away to Vegas and returned on January 2nd, married."
"For real?" Our guests nodded. "What a story."
"And here we are, twenty-three years, two kids and two successful careers later. The scandal blew over, and now, nobody bothers asking how we got together, and nobody is fazed that Carlisle is twelve years my senior."
"There are nineteen between Edward and me," stated Bella. "It doesn't bother us, but we didn't want to start off on the wrong foot with you ..."
"Bella, dear, the most important thing is that you two are happy. We don't care about anything else," replied Carlisle calmly.
"I think the anxiety stems from the fact that we had to be so careful at Oxford. We've been together since January, and it was very stressful keeping our emotions hidden," I commented. "We don't want to hide anymore, but we don't want to start out under a cloud."
"I think that's understandable," replied Esme.
"There may be some gossip when you first start, but it'll die down. These things always do. Edward, your new labs are on a different floor to mine, so you won't see each other much during the working day."
I slung my arm around Bella's shoulder. She had relaxed considerably.
"I'm happy as long as we come home to each other," I told them earnestly.
"Me too," agreed Bella, covering my hand with hers.
Esme's eyes zeroed in on our rings.
"Those are striking."
"You got married?" asked Carlisle.
"Yes, nearly two weeks ago in Italy," I replied. "It felt like the right thing for us."
"Congratulations, we're so pleased for you both!" They both moved to embrace us once more.
"Thank you."
"I'm very glad I brought this now," added Esme, pulling out a bottle of champagne from her handbag. "And it's cold too!"
We spent the rest of the night talking about our research plans and our wish to find a home of our own. Carlisle and Esme were eager to help us with both.
-cc-
A short chapter this week, but next week should be longer. All being well, the next chapter should be up next Monday, but will probably also be unbeta'd.
Thank you so much for all your support these past few months. It's been tough keeping going with so much RL stress and all your reviews, comments and messages make it all worthwhile.
CC xxx