BPOV
Two weeks crawl by, and I've yet to officially "meet" my roommate.
Jessica Stanley is an enigma, or an enema, take your pick. But, perhaps more to the point, she's a budding porn star. I've seen more female anatomy the last fourteen days than I have in a lifetime of showers and baths. I swear I could work as a police sketch artist, detailing out vulvas and penises in microscopic detail when necessary.
Silly me. I always thought my first glance at the male anatomy would have some stamp of romance to it, and I guess if you count the fleshy offensive Jessica partakes in as "romantic" then I would have been right.
I wake to the sound of grunting and dread to open my eyes. I give a groggy glance over in her direction only to find her overgrown pink nipples bouncing at a dizzying pace. I withhold the urge to wave at Thing One and Thing Two. Sadly, they're more friendly with me than she is. The polite girl in me wants to say good morning to the twins, but I resist the urge.
I groan as I swing my legs out of bed.
"Sheesh. Don't you ever take a break?" I slip into my flip-flops as some dark-haired boy smiles from behind her. Gah! He's waving and penetrating, and I'm fifty shades of creeped out. "That's it," I hiss, throwing crap into my Whitney Briggs duffle bag at random. My luggage finally managed to arrive, but this time I'm only taking the basics. I doubt Jessica or her steady line of boy-toys will bother to pilfer through my father's extensive collection of Hardy Boys novels, so I'll pick those up later. It's Friday, and I don't have any classes, but, unlike the rest of the student population, I won't be soaking in the Z's until late afternoon, I'll be hitting the road, homeless for the rest of the semester. It takes less than five minutes to clear most of my crap and snap up my backpack before hightailing it out of there.
I don't bother waiting for the elevator. Instead, I bolt down the stairwell and head straight for the outdoors. The weather has already turned for the worst since the day I arrived. The air is crisp as an apple, and there's a bite of fall all around us even though technically it's the tail end of summer. Back in Arizona the ground is still baking, sizzling under my mother's feet, but here it's cool as an iceberg, and you can take in large lungfuls of air without choking on the desert dust.
The Briggs Apartment building comes up on me quick, and before I know it I'm riding the elevator up. Edward let me work alongside him at the Black Bear last weekend, and I'm sort of hoping he'll rekindle the offer tonight. I'm more interested in Edward than I am in brushing up on my waitressing skills, but I made over two hundred bucks last Friday and Saturday combined, so I'm not complaining about the income boost either. Technically it's not a boost since anything is more than nothing.
I give a gentle knock over their door and wait a moment. It's still pretty early, so I doubt either one of them is awake. I turn the knob, and, sure enough, it's unlocked, so I let myself in and land my stuff behind the couch. Back at my place, the OCD in me makes sure I check that the door is bolted shut at least twelve times before I go to bed, and, here Emmett and Edward all but leave an invitation for the ax murderers in the neighborhood. On second thought, my brother probably has an open door policy with the surrounding sororities. He's probably blanketed the neighborhood with flyers that read, Need an orgasm to take the edge off that next exam? Head to Emmett's! Bring a friend to double your pleasure. Summa cum loud. Summa cum quiet. Come one, come all! What a moron my brother is turning out to be.
I head over to the wall of shame and start counting tally marks, the one's on Edward's wall first. I'm halfway through the first row when a soft click emits from the hall, and a pretty blonde with a skintight tank top ambles out of the back bedroom. Her rear is hanging out, and I force my eyes to pop back up to hers in the event I'm tempted to see if the carpet matches the drapes.
"Hi," I say it stunned, suddenly regretting ever coming because I know for a fact the last time I checked that wasn't Emmett's bedroom. It's Edward's. Just the thought has my heart turning to stone and crashing to my feet.
She combs her bangs with her fingers and heads to the bathroom as if I wasn't even visible. God—she probably thinks I'm standing in line.
The door opens again, and this time it's a very disheveled looking Edward Cullen, and, for sure, now I wish I was invisible.
Oh God. Take me now.
His head dips back a notch, and he looks around as if to confirm the fact he's not hallucinating. "You just hanging out?"
"Um…yeah." I bite over my bottom lip because suddenly I feel ridiculous counting tally marks while he's busy making them. I don't know why in the hell it would bother me to see a pretty blonde slink out of his bedroom. I don't know why in the hell I couldn't stop thinking about him for the last two weeks—except maybe those washboard abs have something to do with it, or those bright eyes, or that blessed-by-God face...
I run my tongue over my lips while staring down at his chest like I'm about to eat an entire stack of pancakes off it, and a part of me wishes I were. His boxers are pulled so low I can see the perfect V leading to his—
"My roommate was at it again." I shake my head, trying to snap out of the trance his boy parts have unwittingly pulled me into. "I can't shut her off—personally I think she's some high tech sex toy." My insides tingle just looking at him, and now I wish I had a high tech sex toy to take the edge off. The Edward 2000 model to be exact. And if that bulge in his boxers is telling the truth, it's the extra-large version, for sure.
The blonde skank saunters back into the hall before I can finish my thought. God. I wish the carpet would open up and swallow me whole. Or maybe they have one of those Venus flytraps lying around, so I can go and curl up between its meat-eating leaves. I've never once not wanted to be somewhere this bad, save for my father's funeral.
"Look, I can go—I should go." I turn to grab my things, but his arm lands heavy and full around my waist preventing me from taking a single step. Everything in me sighs at his warm, strong touch. My lids flutter as a strong surge pulsates deep inside me, and I swear I've just had one of those G-spot mythological orgasms that half the women on the planet think are fiction spun by men to make women feel sexually inadequate.
"Stay," he presses his searing abs against my back, and his voice vibrates down my neck, heated and sultry. "I want you to." He smells like sex, and his skin is moist with perspiration, and I should be twelve kinds of disgusted right now, but I'm not. A quiver ripples through my stomach, and it takes a moment for me to catch my breath. Edward Cullen is holding me in a quasi-embrace, and I never want him to let go.
"I'd better make tracks." The blonde leans in and kisses him on the cheek, awkwardly sandwiching me between them. God, she's probably used to sandwiching other girls between them. Maybe that's how Edward and my brother have managed to amass so many tally marks in the first place—threesomes. I shudder at the thought. Although, right about now, I wouldn't take the idea off the table if it entailed Edward and his strong hands dispelling a thousand myths that surround the female anatomy.
"I've got roll call in ten minutes." She pulls back and frowns into her phone. Her face is tanned to perfection, she's got bee-stung lips to die for, and her cleavage miraculously balloons the way God intended. Well, maybe not God—more like Victoria's Secret, but, nevertheless, the premise is the same. There's no way in hell I can ever compete with that. "So are you new?" She blinks her dark eyes at me, and honest to God, outside of Angela, this is the only other female that's acknowledged my presence these past two weeks.
"Freshman." I'm not in the mood to have a faux conversation with the girl who just slept with my imaginary boyfriend, besides—his strong arm is still wrapped warm around my waist, and now I've got multiple orgasms to contend with. Wait. Is that what he is? My imaginary boyfriend? Shit. This is getting serious.
"Cool!" She hops on her toes as if freshman, in and of themselves, were an anomaly. "Meet me in the quad at noon, better yet, what's your name?"
"Bella Swan." I have a feeling I'll be regretting this seemingly innocent exchange.
"Perfect." She jots it into her phone. "Consider yourself rushing for Alpha Chi. Now Lauren won't give me shit for being late." She presses another kiss into Edward's cheek and inadvertently crushes me against his rock hard body. "I've already met my recruiting quota for the day. See you Monday at four, Alpha Chi—don't be late!" She waves and bites the air at Edward before slamming her way out of the apartment.
Emmett's doorknob rattles, and Edward lets go of me and takes a full step back. Emmett swings his door open, good and pissed.
"Dude," he groans into Edward, looking equally sexually disheveled. "Bella?" His eyes bulge as he takes me in. "What the hell? Did you touch my sister?" He charges at Edward with his chest pulled back like a gorilla.
"No!" I'm quick to step between them and avert a physical altercation. "No, he didn't." But all of my girl parts wish to God he did.
I place a hand on either of their chests as if to keep them apart, but really I'm taking a moment to molest the hell out of Edward's abs—and, just as I suspected, he's carved from oven-heated marble. "I was just about to crash on the couch"—I hesitate for a second, dripping my fingers down Edward's chest—"like all weekend." I try to bat my lashes at him in an ill attempt to flirt, but he's got my stomach knotted up in a bundle of nerves, and I want to cry because it feels like I'm invisible to him as well. "Anyway, I sort of need to catch up on some serious beauty sleep."
"No, no, no…." Emmett groans into the idea.
"Yes, yes, yes," I counter. "He said it was okay." I smile over at Edward with the lie still fresh on my lips. At least I'd like to think he'd say it was okay if I had asked—offered up his bedroom maybe…his body to keep me warm. "That's right." Edward gives an apprehensive nod. His emerald green eyes pulsate over mine as if speaking in code. There's an undeniable pull taking place. Edward has power over me whether I like it or not. "I'm just going to jump in the shower real quick. Either of you guys want to hit breakfast in a little while?"
"Emmett." A girl's voice emanates from deep in my brother's bedroom. Seriously? Does anybody sleep alone around here?
"Nah, I've got more important things to do." Emmett glances over his shoulder.
More important things, or people to do? I want to ask but don't. Just thinking about what goes on in that love shack of his makes my stomach turn. Come to think of it, this entire place is probably heavily coated with genetic forensics I want no part of, especially the couch.
Emmett socks Edward in the arm. "Why don't you guys go ahead."
"Will do." Edward glances over at me with the ghost of a smile before disappearing down the hall.
Emmett wags his finger at me to come in close.
"What?" I openly glare into the dark pit behind him. "By the way, Mom is going have an aneurism when I tell her what a testosterone-laden beast you've morphed into."
"Bella." He closes his eyes a moment. "Please don't say a word to Mom." He digs his fingers into his eyes in an effort to wipe away his sleep. "Anyway, I thought I heard something about rush." Emmett shakes his head without verbalizing his disapproval. "Trust me, Alpha Chi is the last place you want to be."
"Sounds like some backward cheer." I'm only half-teasing because I can feel my blood boiling just beneath the surface. "This isn't going to turn into another book club lecture is it? Because in case you haven't noticed—and you probably haven't because you're too busy jonesing for condoms—I'm in college now, and I plan on having a life for once." Life is code for fun, which just might be code for penis, but I'm not brave enough to admit it.
"Hey"—his eyes soften into mine, and for the first time since I've arrived it's like looking in a mirror—"I want you to have a life. I really do. It's just I don't want you mixed up with the wrong crowd. I want you to have a good life."
"Emmett," the girl's voice hums from his bedroom.
"Sounds like you're living the good life," I muse. I don't really care for the double standard he's imposing. I'd call him out on it, but I'd rather not toss around the word hypocrite before seven in the morning.
"Just do us both a favor and don't rush. Trust me, the last thing you want to be is a 'sorority' girl." He says sorority like it's a new strain of herpes.
"Excuse me!" The girl laughs while nailing him in the back of the head with a pillow. I smell a Greek tragedy in the making.
"I'd better let you go." I glance into his room before looking him right in the eye. "Looks like things are about to get violent. Be careful in there." I don't bother wavering from my hard stare. Emmett has systematically been pushing all my buttons by pulling the big brother card every time I turn around. I'd hate to break it to him, but the more he tries to push me into the arms of a fictional boyfriend, the more I'm tempted to add my name to the wall of horrors and start chalking up my own damn tally marks. And if he tries lecturing me on the benefits of being a good girl one more time, I swear I'll put every penis on notice well before afternoon. But he doesn't.
I head over to the couch and hear the door to his room click shut, the sound of incessant laughter on the other side, then a slam and a whack. Something tells me a little more than a pillow fight just broke out.
…
"Sorry." I apologize to Edward for the tenth time as we head outside of the building. "It's just, my roommate is making me insane. Honest to God, I'm looking forward to her menstrual cycle just so the both of us can finally get some rest."
He huffs out a laugh, and I'm entranced with the way the slight impression of a comma slices up his cheek.
"Sorry—TMI, I know." I shake my head. "But I haven't been able to get one ounce of studying done in that room." Mostly it's Edward's fault because I can't stop thinking about him. He's become my singular obsession like no other boy has, and, now, I'm going to have breakfast with his mouthwatering abs.
"You don't need to apologize—especially when you've done absolutely nothing wrong. Jessica's the one who should say she's sorry."
I glance down at my lavender flip-flops, my questionable level of dress, considering I'm wearing the tiny cotton shorts I slept in and a WB sweatshirt.
Maybe I shouldn't care that Jessica Stanley is having marathon sex. Maybe I should be running from Emmett's apartment because of the very same reason. Listening to Emmett satisfy his jock itch is just as bad.
"Sometimes I wonder if coming here was nothing but a big mistake."
"Hey." He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and my entire body demands to mold to his, so I do. "I'm glad you're here." Edward smells like soap, mountain fresh with a hint of mint. I glance up at him as his eyes pull along my features slowly with a strangled angst that I can't quite categorize. "Angela was pretty darn glad you were here last week to help out, too. Speaking of which, are you up for catching some hours tonight? I'm working at the Sky Bar. Same drill, less skill." He twists his lips, and my stomach pinches with heat. God knows I don't have any skills when it comes to the opposite gender, but I'd love for him to teach me.
"Yes." I practically accost him in the process by wrapping my arms around him tight. "I mean"—I take a step back, trying to play it cool—"that's totally fine."
"Great. Now let's get to the task of nourishing you so you can last until three in the morning." His arm slinks down to my waist and leaves a line of fire in its wake. "Oh"—he puts his hands in the air like a thief—"sorry."
A bus hisses down the street, and my hair flies up like a thousand little snakes from the gust of wind, but I can't break my gaze from Edward and those gorgeous eyes. A smile tugs at his lips, but he won't give it and my heart wrenches.
"I'm not sorry," it comes out barely a whisper. I'm sure he didn't hear, but a part of me wishes he did—that he wasn't sorry either.
"You want to go for a ride?" He motions to the sea of bicycles tethered to the front of the building. He runs his tongue over his lips, quick as lightning, as if he didn't know what else to do with himself. My arms beg to fit themselves around his body. He's watching me again in that deep knowable way that suggests he's peeling back my skin to see what's really underneath, and my face burns with heat.
"I'd love to go for a ride. In fact, that's exactly what I'm saving my tips for—a shiny new bike." My throat goes dry, so I clear it. "Well, maybe not so shiny since it'll most likely come from the nearest thrift shop, but it'll be new to me."
"You may not have to save as much as you think." He breaks out in a slow-spreading grin and leads me over to a pair of bikes, before unleashing them both from their chains.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to have all of Alphi Chi after me for bike theft?"
"You won't." He tweaks his brows like he's flirting, and my insides do a cartwheel. "It's your brother's. He hardly uses it. He prefers his penny board when it comes to cruising campus. Besides, if he reports it missing, you won't do much time behind bars—three, four months tops."
"Nice." I smack him over the shoulder. "Bike theft, huh? I had a feeling you were a bad boy." My eyes widen as he pauses to look at me, and for a second I think I've crossed some invisible line.
"I am a bad boy." He hops on his bike, and I do the same. "That's exactly why you should stay far, far away from me." His chin dips, his eyes cloud over like maybe he means it.
"Be quiet and feed me." I laugh as he leads the way.
….
We peddle out past the university, past the row of Greek mansions with their boxy chic exteriors, their well-manicured lawns, and over to a rundown strip mall that's badly in need of a paint job.
Edward points over to a donut shop, and I give an eager nod because everyone knows that donuts and coffee are the breakfast of champions.
"You mind if I run in and grab it to go?" He gives a sheepish smile as he climbs off his bike. "There's someplace I'd like to take you."
"Not at all." My heart thumps at the thought of where this mysterious place might be. And by "take you" I'm hoping he means sexually. Edward has girls for breakfast lunch, and dinner, I don't see why I should be off the menu. If those tally marks attest to anything it's that his penis isn't all that picky.
"Any requests?"
"Chocolate," I shout as he starts to head in. "Oh—and throw in a jelly filled!" I should have said cream filled and got his wheels turning.
A rise of heat filters through me as I give a casual nod, but everything about this feels anything but casual. God—it actually feels like a date. I should write Jessica a thank you note—or, more specifically, her insatiable vagina, although I doubt either of them would know who sent it.
Edward reappears in record time, and I follow him out as a soft haze fills the streets.
A sign appears that reads, Welcome to Hollow Brook as the city turns decidedly rural, and strip malls are replaced with dense emerald pines. The air cools as we ride to higher elevations. My thighs called it quits about ten minutes ago, but my lips won't let the protest fly as I soldier on right behind Edward.
He pulls us off onto a dirt path, and we head into a clearing that opens to a cloud of vapors emitting from a tiny pool of water. It's partially hidden behind a series of boulders, and it looks like a dream, a fairytale.
"What is this place?" I try to not to sound so out of breath as I park my bike alongside his. My legs feel like rubber as I walk over to admire the view. If Edward did want to have his way with me, I might collapse and lay there like a corpse. Not exactly the way I envisioned losing my virginity.
"The Witch's Cauldron."
We take a seat on the lowest boulder overlooking the aquamarine spring, the perfect size of a hot tub, and Edward pulls me in by the waist. My breathing ceases. Dear God, he did drag me out into the middle of nowhere just so he could have his way with me!
"Wow"—I clear my throat—"it's so amazingly beautiful." I gaze into the tiny pool as a layer of mist wafts over the surface.
"It is beautiful." His hand grazes mine as he passes me a cup of coffee, and my entire body breaks out in a fit of perspiration. "So are you."
I suck in a quick breath and hold it. I've never had that kind of a compliment before, certainly not from a sex god like Edward. Although, he did already add a tally mark to his wall this morning. Maybe he's going for double or nothing? With my luck he's still on autopilot, and the compliments are just a part of the carnal package.
"Thank you." I take a sip of coffee only to burn the tip of my tongue. "You don't have to practice your pick up lines around me." I land my hand over his arm to push him off but don't have the will to do it. "I'm not really in your league." I glance down at the rim of my coffee, embarrassed by my admission, true as it might be.
Honestly? Could I have let fifteen minutes go by without dragging us into the awkward zone?
"I don't have a league." His eyes meet with mine before he removes his arm and opens the tiny pink donut box with half a dozen sugared treats staring back at us. "But if I did, I'm pretty sure I'd let you in." He pushes into me playfully with his shoulder, and my body lights up with hope.
I glance up at him and hold his gaze, heavy as steel. "According to those tally marks, you let a lot of girls in."
"Touché."
"Jelly." I hold up a donut. I'd better shove it into my mouth before anymore word-vomit oozes out of me. The next thing I'll be telling him is that I want to pull a Jessica Stanley with him and commence the fuck-fest immediately. That pool of steaming water looks like a good place to start, although I'm betting he's already "tapped that well," too. I bet there's nowhere he hasn't committed a carnal crime and not very many girls he hasn't committed them with. Except, of course, me, and now it's quickly becoming evident I'm on a mission to rectify that.
"So tell me about your classes." He's not eating. He's not even holding his coffee. He's simply observing me as if he really cared to know.
"U.S. History is going to be a bear. The professor hates me, I can tell." I sweep my gaze over his chest and am startled to see how close he's sitting. I could have sworn you could have parked a bicycle between us a moment ago. "And, I already have three papers due in a two week span between that and lit. It looks like I'll have to pull a few all-nighters—but secretly I've been looking forward to those." I push into his shoulder like he did mine, and my arm lights up with heat from the exchange. "I'm a nerd that way."
"I'm a nerd that way, too." He pushes back, and, for moment, I think our little donut exchange might parlay into an all-out wrestling match, jelly and all. "You do realize Jessica has a few all-nighters planned herself. I doubt you'll get much done at your place." He bites into a glazed donut, and half of it disappears.
"For sure I won't, but I could probably get some great footage and make millions off a sex tape. 'Jessica does Whitney Briggs.' Who needs this whole edjumacation thing anyway?" I try to rival his donut eating skills and fail miserably by smearing jelly up the side of my cheek. I'm quick to wipe it off, but with my luck it probably looks like a massacre just took place.
A grey dove darts from the bushes and soars into the sky, leaving a trail like pencil lead through the haze, but Edward doesn't notice it. For whatever reason the only thing he seems to notice is me. He touches his finger to my cheek and swipes a small spot of jelly off then holds it in the air for me to see before licking it clean.
Holy shit.
"You should ditch that whole dorm thing and hang out with Emmett and me." He pushes into my arm again, and this time he stays there with his shoulder butted up against mine, and, holy hell, my girls parts are feeling some damn good vibrations right about now. His thigh is so close to my leg, I can feel the warmth radiating from him like an inferno.
"I'm one step ahead of you." I swallow hard. "I've already got my bags packed. But don't worry. I won't cramp your style for long. I plan on scoring a room at Casa Alpha Chi. Did you see the size of those Greek houses?" As much as I'd like to talk about expensive looking real estate, I can't help but quiver from his touch. My entire body feels as though it's about to combust. One more touch and I'll embarrass myself by having an all-out screaming orgasm in front of him.
"I have seen those houses, and I've also had the pleasure to roam those halls. You'll be living it up in the lap of luxury once you're in."
"You think I'll get in?"
"Yes." His brows rise into his forehead. "They'd be insane not to want you."
My insides melt at the thought of him believing in me—wanting me.
"I haven't had this kind of encouragement since my dad died," I say it soft, unwarranted. "Not that my mom doesn't care, but she's been a little overly cautious with me since he passed away. In fact, Emmett is the only reason she green-lighted Whitney Briggs to begin with. I guess she thought having my brother around would be the equivalent of body armor." A chastity belt is more to the point, but I don't dare share the imagery with Mr. Cullen. Besides, my girl parts are on the cusp of sending a personalized invite to his boy parts, and I'm not about to stop them.
"He sort of is." His eyes widen because we both know he's already been threatened to steer clear. Anyway, I'm sure a god like Edward Cullen thinks of me as no more than a little sister, himself. Who am I kidding? Even I thought the girl that kissed him goodbye this morning was hotter than hell.
"So was that your girlfriend?" If I'm going to pull us into the awkward zone, I may as well commit.
A bird chirps, an entire array of strange animal sounds purr and hiss in the distance as Edward tries to figure out exactly what the blonde bimbo from Alpha Chi could have meant to him.
"Heidi is just a girl in a long string of girls."
I like the way he reduced her to the human equivalent of a paper chain. Something cheap you could throw away on a whim.
"Notches," I correct. A lizard saunters up the rock before spying us and quickly scurrying away.
"Yeah, well, I think I'm going to hang it up and hand the reins over to the king. I'm no match for your brother's testosterone superpowers. I think I'll yield to the master and let him take the throne. It is senior year. One of us was bound to be defeated."
"Really?" My heart thumps wild in my chest as a series of low lying clouds move in and steal the sunshine from the watery blue sky. "What's going to happen to your man parts?" My eyes widen, my cheeks blush bright as candy apples as if I had outright propositioned him. "I'm sure there are some serious ramifications to denying them their regularly-scheduled testosterone release. Rumor has it blue balls are a very real thing."
"I've taken a cold shower or two in my time." His steely gaze locks onto mine, and all of nature goes off like a siren around us. It's as if the birds, the bees, and every creature known to man is cheering us on, every living creature except for Edward, of course. I'm pretty sure his vow of celibacy has very little to do with me—unless, of course, I nauseate him—kill his appetite for all things estrogen.
"Cold showers, huh?" I edge my face in toward his to see if he'll bite. Edward glances down at my mouth and wets his lips. He's eyeing me like a snake that might jump out and inflict him with a venomous bite. I've kissed a few boys in my time, and leaning in like this was all the nudging it took, just a little movement in the right direction, and before I knew it, their tongues were being fed to me by the inch. But Edward doesn't move. He doesn't breathe or say a word. He just stares me down as if a standoff at high noon were taking place—his testosterone against my estrogen. His eyes widen. His shoulders nudge toward mine, but he stops and presses his lips together as if he's made up his mind not to continue.
We finish our donuts, and he races me downhill all the way back to campus.
He lets me win, and I'm okay with that for now.
Edward is the real prize.
I wonder if I can win his heart like he seems to be winning mine?