Life's A Beach
Chapter 13
A/N – Trying to keep on a better schedule here. Now that Bella has met the parents, let's see what else the weekend holds. What will Bella think when she sees Edward skating for the first time?
LaB
Bella woke and tried to stretch her arms before she realized that there was an arm wrapped around her waist and a warm body curled up around her. She snuggled against him feeling cozy and content. Edward snored softly against the back of her neck and she tried not to laugh at the ticklish feeling. Suddenly there was a loud, obnoxious buzz coming from the vicinity of the bedside table. Bella jumped nearly a foot in the air, but Edward merely rolled over, tapped the snooze button, and wrapped himself around her again.
"What time is it?" She was still trying to catch her breath.
"Five thirty" he mumbled. "I have to leave for practice at 6." He wiped his face with the hand that wasn't wrapped around Bella. They'd talked last night about getting up early for his practice this morning, but they didn't get much sleep and neither of them seemed inclined to move. "But then we have the rest of the weekend to ourselves." When the alarm went off again ten minutes later, he kissed her slowly, softly, and then climbed out of bed. She heard the water run in the bathroom. Edward stuck his head out with a toothbrush in his mouth. "You don't have to go with me" he said. "Sleep some more and I'll be back in two hours. We can go get breakfast when I get back."
She sat up and pushed her hair off her face. "Can I come? Or will it bother you to have me there?"
"It won't bother me at all, but I'm afraid you might be bored watching me skate around in a big oval for two hours." Edward pulled on sweat pants and a thick sweater.
Bella got out of bed. "No, I want to go. If you're sure it's okay. Will your coach mind?"
Edward snickered. "My coach? He'll love you."
At 6:30, with a steamy cup of sweetened coffee in her hands, Bella sat in the first row of the ice rink, totally amused by the sweet flirtation of Edward's coach. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Banner."
"Just call me Coach, Bella. Everyone does. Except for Edward, who calls me rude names when he thinks I'm not listening."
"I do not" said Edward, skating up to them from across the ice. "I call you rude names even when you're listening. And stop making eyes at my girlfriend."
"Get out there and start warming up. Bella and I will be just fine." Coach shooed him away and then turned to Bella with a smile. "I'm harmless, dear, but I do enjoy winding him up. Makes him skate better."
"Your secret is safe with me" said Bella. Coach excused himself and went down to the ice. Bella turned her attention to Edward and her jaw nearly hit the floor as he skated away from her. She'd seen the powerful muscles in his legs and arms, but seeking him skating was a whole different thing. He was skating slow laps around the enormous oval track, perfectly balanced, pushing off on each foot in turn. Despite his slow pace, each stride was so powerful that it moved him further and further around the track. One arm swung back and forth to match his slide while the other one rested on his back. She was mesmerized by the action. So smooth, so graceful, and yet so strong. It was beautiful. She'd watched some videos of speed skaters to try to learn more about his sport, but they hadn't prepared her for watching it, watching him in person.
Bella leaned forward, listening as Coach gave Edward instructions, made adjustments, and ran him through his workout.
"Okay, Edward, let's do four laps at full speed, not racing time, but push a bit. I know you want to show off for your girl." Coach winked at Bella and she was sure she blushed.
Watching Edward push himself on the track was like nothing she'd seen before. He was born to do this. His speed built until he hit the third lap and then suddenly, another skater appeared on the ice almost directly in Edward's path. Bella screamed as Edward swerved and nearly lost his balance avoiding the skater. He managed, with some difficulty, to bring both feet down to the ice and slow himself. Bella couldn't tell who was angrier, Coach or Edward.
"What the hell, Tracker?" Edward shouted, rounding on the blond haired man. "What are you trying to do?"
"Loosen up, Eddie" said the man, a sly grin on his face. "No harm, no foul. Just testing your reflexes." He laughed. "I guess you pass."
Coach made his way between the two skaters. "Edward, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure" said Edward. "No thanks to this idiot."
"James, get off the ice while Edward finishes his workout." Coach pointed an angry finger at him. "You pull one more stunt like this and so help me…."
"What? You'll tell the committee? Good luck with that." James skated slowly off the ice while Coach directed Edward to start his cool down. Bella wasn't sure what she'd just witnessed, but it was pretty clear this wasn't the first run-in between the two men.
"Well, well, who do we have here?" James looked Bella up and down with an evil grin. "I'm…"
"You're a jerk, and I'm Edward's girlfriend." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. She heard a shout from Edward and wanted to assure him she was fine. She stood and walked away, knowing James couldn't follow her without removing his skates.
Edward confronted the pony-tailed man. "Stay away from her" he growled.
Before James could answer, Coach shouted at him. "Get on the ice, James. You've got work to do .
Tracker skated past Edward slowly. "See ya, Cullen. You too, pretty girl."
"I'll take her out to the locker room exit" said Coach, taking Bella by the arm. "Don't let him get to you."
Edward stalked off to the locker room and emerged fifteen minutes later still angry, but relieved to see that Bella was fine and nowhere near his rival. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Bella."
Bella threw her arms around him holding him quietly for several minutes before speaking. "What was that? You could have gotten hurt. What was he thinking?"
"It was stupid and dangerous, and I know Coach will deal with it, but yes, we both could have been hurt. More likely me, at the speed I was going. James and I have skated together for years, since we were teenagers. He's my biggest rival, here and for nationals, but he doesn't seem to care who he hurts to get what he wants." Edward wrapped his arm around her shoulder and began to walk her out to the car. "His father is pretty influential, and so he gets away with a lot. That and he's good. That's the worst part. He's really talented but he's dangerous."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Bella turned to look in his eyes. "Really okay?"
"Nothing a little time in the hot tub won't cure. Could I talk you into joining me?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"Absolutely" said Bella. "I even brought my blue bikini."
LaB
Alice pushed her chair back from the table where her laptop sat. "There, it's done. Two round trip tickets to Savannah, courtesy of Jasper and Emmett."
"Let me see" said Rosalie, leaning over her shoulder to read the email with the flight details. "I can't wait till next weekend."
"I know" Alice answered. "I can't wait to see Jasper again." She looked thoughtful. "Do you think this is all too fast?"
"Not at all" said Rose. She pulled Alice over to stand in front of the mirror. "Who can blame them for falling in love with this?"
"True" said Alice. "Speaking of which, I think we should call Bella. You know, make sure she's having a good time, check on when she'd coming back so we know when to pick her up."
Rose rolled her eyes. "You don't need to call Bella. Bella is a big girl, and I'm sure she is just fine. All you want is to find out what's going on with her and Edward. Why don't you call Jasper and thank him for the tickets instead?
"Great idea!" Alice dashed to the other room to get her phone.
"Good" said Rosalie. "That gives me at least an hour of quiet." She sat down at her computer and opened Skype. It wasn't long before Emmett answered. "Hey, big bear" she purred. "Got a few minutes?"
Emmett got that silly grin that always happened when he talked to his beautiful girl. "I have all the time in the world for you, Rosie."
She heard Jasper's voice in the background. "No you don't. You have exactly one hour, Emmett. We have a bar to open."
"I'll be ready as soon as you get off the phone with Miss Alice." Emmett grinned. "That'll fix him. There's no way the pixie will let him off the phone any sooner than that."
"You are such a clever boy" crooned Rosalie. "Thank you for the plane tickets. Now, what plans do you have for next weekend?"
"Oh, I've got plans" he answered. "It's open mic night at the club since we don't have Edward to sing, so I can use your help behind the bar."
Rosalie narrowed her eyes. "Try again, Emmett."
"Okay, okay. I still have to work Saturday night, but how does a picnic on the beach sound? You and me, lots of sand, lots of food?"
"That's more like it" she answered. "I'll even help you work the bar after."
"That's my girl" Emmett said with a grin. "I love a girl who knows how to pour a beer and mix a margarita."
Rosalie sighed with contentment. Some girls might want sweet words and romance, but Emmett knew her and knew exactly what to say.
LaB
It was late Saturday night, and Edward had taken Bella out to dinner in Chicago. They sat at their table and looked out over the lights of the city. He held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb across her palm. "So what do you think of Chicago?"
"It's wonderful" Bella responded. "I'm so glad I got to see it."
"I hope you'll see it many more times, sweetheart."
Bella smiled at the term of endearment. "I'm glad I got to see you too. And meet your parents." She paused. She didn't want to make this too heavy, but she had to ask. "Do you think we'll be able to make this work?"
"I know we can" Edward replied. "But I admit it won't be easy for the next year. This isn't going to be just a long-distance relationship. It's gonna be a long-distance relationship where you'll have to travel to me more than I can travel to you. Where you'll have to spend a ridiculous amount of time watching me train instead of taking you places and doing things with you." He swallowed hard, almost afraid to hear her answer. "Are you going to be okay with that?"
Bella took his other hand and looked into his eyes. "It's one year, Edward. One year where it'll be this intense. Not forever. I get that it might always be different, but that's okay. You're a world-class athlete…"
"Well, not yet. Not till I make the team."
"With your determination, you'll make it, I know you will. And I will be there, any way you want me."
"I don't just want you, Bella. I need you." He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "Promise me we'll go back to Hilton Head, soon, even if it's just a weekend, or a day…I want to remember what it was like to kiss you on the beach."
"In the warm air, that's something I can definitely go for." Bella pretended to shiver. "It's cold here. And colder at the ice rink."
"Guess you better get some warmer clothes" Edward said, smugly "cause you're gonna spend a lot of time being cold for a while."
Bella laughed, then her expression turned serious. "Can we talk about what happened today, at practice."
Edward frowned. "Don't worry about it, Bella. James is an ass, but he wouldn't really risk hurting a teammate."
"Are you sure? Because it sure looked like it."
"I can handle James." He deftly changed the subject. "Now, I'd much rather talk about the hot tub. Promise me you will never get rid of that blue bikini and that you'll bring it when I take you back to Hilton Head."
"I promise" said Bella.
They stood, and Edward retrieved her coat. He held it out for her and waited as she slipped her arms in. He wrapped her scarf around her neck. They walked outside, and both grinned when they saw it was snowing. The light reflecting on the new snow made a magical scene.
"Hey, did you ever call the girls back?" Edward asked, curious.
"Nope" said Bella. "I haven't called them and it has to be making them crazy. I have 12 texts and 4 messages from Alice. She's a little over the top."
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Edward kept a straight face and opened the car door for her.
"Go ahead and laugh, Edward. You aren't the one who has to deal with her when I get back."
"But you love her."
"I do. I really do. She and Rose are the best."
"Then I guess it's a really good thing my best friends are in love with them too."
Bella thought she might burst from happiness. "It's a pretty amazing thing. And just think, it all started with that crazy puppy."
"Yeah" said Edward. "I think he's earned dog biscuits for the rest of his life." He kissed her gently and started the car. "Now let's go make plans for your next visit."