Two new chapters incoming because these two are just too much fun to write. I love to hear your thoughts so drop me a line if you enjoy xx
Nine.
The week passed without even a blip. Edward and I had texted everyday, but that wasn't really anything new for us. Even the content of our messages hadn't changed at all, we were mostly just sending each other dumb videos and exchanging stories about our days.
By the time Friday rolled around, Edward called me for the first time that week.
"I'll be there around midday tomorrow," he told me.
I felt heat spread down my neck and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Okay, you sure you want drive all the way to Port after you get here?"
He pondered this for a moment. "What do you want to do?" He asked.
"We could go down to the beach. It's still pretty nice out there."
"Okay, I'll pick up some food on the way."
We chatted for a bit before I had to go meet Alice and Emily. They bombarded me with questions the second I got to Emily's house, and I was honest with them saying nothing had really changed. Things were totally normal between us. I think they sensed that I didn't want to be pushed, because when they pressed for more details I shrugged them off, and they begrudgingly left me alone.
I'd thought about Edward a lot through the week. It was strange, because I knew him so well, but now I was seeing him in a whole new light.
Edward was a good guy. Like, totally the kind of guy you'd be proud to call your boyfriend. He was fun, easygoing, confident, and also sweet and caring. He had this special way of making people feel comfortable around him and sucking you into his orbit.
Another part of me was conflicted, though. It was no secret that I wasn't crazy about relationships. They just didn't seem for me. I'd always wanted to get out of Forks to travel the world, and I just didn't want to be tied down. I wanted to experience everything there was in the world without worrying about somebody else, and I knew it came from my mom. She'd missed so much raising me and Emmett, and life literally slipped through her fingers before she ever got to live out her dreams. Like climbing the Matterhorn and visiting the Great Wall. She had such an infectious lust for life, and I wanted to do all the things she didn't get to.
More than that was something that I knew had rooted so deep inside me but that I'd never admit to anyone: I was terrified of loving someone and losing them.
Flings worked for me, because there were no expectations. There was an understanding that we were in high school, and high school things didn't last.
Edward was different, though. I couldn't just be with him then not. Besides Emmett, he was my best friend. Closer to me than Alice and Emily in some ways, because he knew me. For this to work, we had to have an understanding that this was just fun. We couldn't let something like lust and sex come between us.
I was getting ahead of myself, though. We hadn't even spoken about that night, and for all I knew, he was coming here to let me down easy.
When Edward arrived in town on Saturday, he called and said he was stopping by to say hi to his parents first then he'd be over to pick me up.
I dressed in my favourite jeans and a tight tee, knowing in the back of my mind that I wanted to look good for him.
I heard him pull up and bounded out the front door. Thankfully, Charlie was on shift today so I didn't have to explain to him where I was going. I could only imagine his confusion if I said I was hanging out with Edward while Emmett was still in Seattle.
I dropped myself into the passenger seat and smiled brightly at Edward.
I don't know what happened in the week since I'd seen him, but he looked so damn good. His hair was a sexy mess on his head, and his eyes danced with anticipation.
"Hi," I breathed.
"Hey," he smiled back. We were such dorks. "I brought us some food. Mom made cookies, too, so I brought those."
"Mmm," I hummed, smelling the sweet aroma drift through the car.
Edward put the car into drive and coasted toward La Push. We made small talk, conversation coming easily like it always did. When we got to the beach, Edward pulled a blanket out of the back of his car along with a bag full snacks.
We wandered over to the empty shore and watched as the local kids took turns leaping off the cliffs.
Everything seemed totally normal for a while, then Edward discarded our sandwich wrappers into the bag and moved closer to me so our sides were touching.
I felt a rush of heat travel through me, and he looked at me shyly through his lashes. "Is this okay?"
I nodded, unable to keep a smile from forming on my face.
He chuckled quietly and ran his finger over the back of my hand.
"So… last weekend," he began. I waited expectantly, but he didn't say anything else.
"Last weekend," I repeated.
After a moment, he looked into my eyes. "Was it okay?" He asked.
Another smile broke across my face and I watched as his expression mirrored mine.
"I won't lie, it totally took me by surprise. And I don't really know how I feel about it yet, but yeah, it was okay."
He nodded thoughtfully. "It took me by surprise, too. I liked it, though. A lot."
"Yeah," I breathed. My eyes flicked to his lips and I knew he was thinking the same thing as me. I wanted a repeat.
I was surprised when Edward didn't make a move to bring his lips to mine, but instead pulled back infinitesimally. He kept my gaze though, and something about it made me uneasy. Because it wasn't just lust that I saw this time, it was something more tender than that. I had to know that he was on the same page.
"Edward, I don't really expect anything out of this. We can have fun," I said easily.
His expression said he hadn't expected to hear that. For a minute, his face was unreadable before he finally nodded.
"Okay," was all he said.
A lazy smile crept onto my face and I felt the spot between my legs pool with desire. This time, I didn't even try to pretend I didn't feel it.
Confidently, I inched my face closer to his and held his gaze. His breathing began to labor and he hesitated for a moment before finally touching his lips to mine.
Our kiss was shy at first, like the first one. After a minute though, I felt Edward's hands weave into my hair and he moaned into my mouth when I stroked my tongue with his.
We made out for a while, exploring each others mouths and learning what the other liked. My hands roamed Edward's chest and arms, but his stayed respectfully in my hair, on my face, running down neck.
The knowledge that what we were doing felt somewhat forbidden and secret turned me on, and every now and then a soft laugh escaped my lips. Edward would look back at me with a mix of hunger and amusement like he understood, then he'd pull me back to him capturing his mouth with mine.
The semi-clear sky slowly became filled with clouds, and a slight chill took to the air. Feeling goose flesh on my arms, Edward ran his hands over them creating friction.
"Wanna head back to the car?" He asked.
With a nod we collected our trash and meandered back to the car. Edward drove to another point with a better lookout off the cliffs and I unlatched my seatbelt expecting we'd move to the backseat. Instead, Edward caught my hand and stared into my eyes. Then we just… talked.
We talked like we always did, easy and goofy and sarcastic and fun, and I found myself relieved that none of the weirdness I was anticipating ever came. We sat with our hands threaded together until the clouded sky began to turn a delicious shade of pink and purple, and my stomach rumbled demandingly. Hearing it, Edward laughed and drove us back onto the road, heading toward the diner in town.
We sat across from each other eating cheeseburgers, and Edward licked his lips when a glob of ketchup dropped onto my chin. I made a show of slowly wiping it with a napkin and relished in the rosy tinge I saw color his cheeks.
"Are you staying the whole weekend?" I asked as we pulled up to my house and Edward cut the engine. I looked to the driveway and noted that Charlie wasn't back yet.
"Nah, I have to work tomorrow. Plus, I have a paper due Monday that I haven't finished," he said dejectedly.
"Okay," I nodded.
I felt myself tense as I waited for the awkwardness to finally descend. Instead, Edward reached over and flicked my ear, earning a shocked gasp from me.
"Hey!" I laughed, poking him in the spot on his ribs that I knew made him squirm.
He laughed, eyes dancing in the glow of the street lights.
"I'll see you next week, Bella," he finally said, smile still firmly in place.
"See you next week," I agreed, opening the car door.
Edward hooked his finger into my belt loop and pulled me back to him for one more kiss. This time, there was no timidness. He immediately gave me his tongue and I sucked on it greedily.
When I pulled back this time, he let me. I was out of the car when I turned to him, needing to make sure we were on the same page about one last thing.
"Oh, hey. Can we not tell Emmett about this?" I asked, ducking to see him.
His face pulled into another unreadable expression, and he paused for a moment before silently nodding.
"Okay, later Edward." I pushed the door closed and skipped up the porch steps.
Once inside, I walked to my room in a daze and dropped heavily onto my bed. I lay there for a minute, feeling warmth tingling over every inch of my skin.
Then, I turned my face into the pillow and screamed until my throat was raw.
Next chapter incoming. The heat is turning up now ;)