As promised... I have a few more chapters of this ready and will be posting them throughout the week. Stay tuned xx
Ten.
Charlie insisted on having a birthday party at our house the following weekend.
"You're my baby girl. Let me celebrate your birthday before you go off into the world," he'd said with an unusual softness in his tone, and I couldn't say no.
It wasn't anything big, just my dad, Emmett, the Blacks, the Cullens, Alice and Emily.
The weather had finally decided to turn, and it was bucketing down outside, so it felt like we had more guests than we actually did with everyone crowded into our modestly sized living room.
It was wholesome and full of love. Esme had insisted on preparing almost all of the food, and the cake she'd made was a heavenly mound of layered coconut and cream. Emmett clinked his glass with a fork and proceeded to tell embarrassing stories until I finally lobbed a piece of cake into his face. Carlisle thought he was hilarious for bringing out out my Springsteen tape, and I could only bury myself into the sofa trying to disappear as the entire room keeled over holding their bellies laughing at my expense.
Edward and I were surprisingly good at pretending things were normal. We joked and bickered like we normally did, and whenever I looked around at Emmett or our families, I never saw a hint of detection that they knew what had happened between us. I'd already warned Alice and Emily that they weren't to say a thing, and I think they gathered from my tight lips after our trip to La Push that this was a topic that I wasn't willing to discuss with them yet.
It felt good, whatever Edward and I were doing, and I didn't want other peoples' excitement or concerns or whatever else to turn things murky. It felt uncomplicated right now, and I wanted to keep it that way.
When people began to gather their belongings to leave, Charlie pulled me aside and whispered in my ear how proud my mom would be. This birthday marked half my life without her. My eyes stung with tears, and all I could do was hug him, so appreciative for the incredible dad I had.
Alice and Emily dragged me up to my room to change for the little gathering we were having at Mike's (yes, Alice and Mike had managed to put their differences aside for my birthday celebration) and when I descended the stairs with a fresh face of makeup that was entirely Alice's doing, my dad's eyes shone.
"Call me if you need anything," he mumbled, pressing a kiss to my temple.
Emmett offered to be the designated driver for the night and drove us to Mike's house. I thought it was funny that now, he and Edward were tagging along to our parties.
Mike's parents were out of town for the night, and apparently he was taking full advantage of it because this small gathering was actually half the student body. I arrived to whoops and hollers as everyone shouted their birthday wishes, and I totally relished in it. I let people pour me shots and danced along with my friends, shaking my ass and letting my hair tumble around my shoulders. Edward deftly made his way to me and I shot him a wink, but otherwise I pushed his chest and kept him at a safe distance. He cracked a smile and quirked his brow, but otherwise acquiesced. I wasn't even jealous when Jessica rubbed up on him, mostly because I could see his mirth. I just threw my head back in a laugh and swayed my hips, feeling the thump of the music vibrate through my body.
Later, sweaty and breathless, I dropped myself onto a sofa between Alice and Emily. Alice reached over and began playing with my hair, and Emily lay her head in my lap tapping away on her phone.
"So, you gonna say anything about Edward?" Alice asked casually.
"Nope," I retorted.
"Okay, okay. Keep your secrets," Alice pouted.
I laughed and shot her an exaggerated wink, yelping when she yanked my hair playfully.
We sat in a heap and gossiped for a while, then I unstuck myself from their skin and got up to go to the bathroom.
Someone was in there, so I leaned against the wall to wait.
I felt a presence behind me and instantly knew who it was.
"Hey creeper," I said without turning around.
I felt a finger skim the back of my neck and smiled.
"You gonna let me kiss you tonight?" Edward breathed into my ear.
We'd been texting all week, and somewhere along the line they'd gone from innocent to flirty. It was funny seeing the side of Edward that he'd obviously reserved for other girls. Now I got why they were all so hypnotized by him. The boy was a bit of a freak, and it sent tingles to the pit of my stomach when he sent me secret, dirty texts late at night.
The bathroom door cracked opened and Edward took a casual step back. Jess stumbled out, makeup smeared under her glazed over eyes and she smiled drunkenly when she noticed Edward standing behind me.
"Hey," she breathed in a way I was sure was supposed to sound sexy. I liked Jess, we were friends, and I couldn't blame her for shooting her shot. If anything, I felt kind of bad for her knowing her efforts were futile.
Edward nodded curtly and Jess stumbled down the empty hallway back to the party.
I waited for her to round the corner then looked up at Edward and silently hooked my finger into his belt loop, pulling him inside the bathroom with me. We locked the door and Edward had me pushed into the vanity with his hands in my hair before I even knew what was happening. I matched his pace, giving him my tongue and running my hands under his t-shirt, eliciting a soft whimper.
It made me feel evil with glee that I could do this to his body.
I ran my fingers across his hard stomach, loving the way his muscles rippled at my touch. God, I wanted him.
I shimmied my ass to the edge of the vanity and pushed myself to him, feeling the hardness beneath his jeans. His hips bucked a little and I smiled into his mouth.
His lips dropped to my neck and he sucked lightly just beneath my ear, this time pulling a moan from me. I felt raw and needy, and snaked my hand down to rub him through the fabric.
Edward pulled back and stared into my eyes, leaving me pouting. He brought his hands to either side of my face and just stared. I moved my hand slowly, purposefully, trying to work him up. He began meeting my pace, pushing himself into me, eyes never leaving mine.
We were both panting, and I found myself growing impatient when his hand finally slid down my neck, briefly grazing my breast until it finally settled on my thigh just beneath the hem of my skirt. His fingers played there for a moment making me squirm.
"Edward," I huffed, sick of his teasing.
The corner of his mouth quirked cockily, then he moved his hand painfully slowly to where I wanted him.
I shuddered a breath and my eyes rolled back a little. I pushed into his hand greedy for more contact, and when he finally slipped a finger beneath my underwear I thought I would explode.
I opened my eyes and Edward was still staring at me intensely, mouth slightly ajar as his face contorted in pleasure. I held his stare, so incredibly turned on my how forbidden and wonton this felt.
He picked up his pace and I matched him, my hand rubbing furiously over his jeans. All too quickly, I felt myself clench around his fingers, my mouth wide with a silent scream. Edward grunted lowly, eyes hooded and cheeks flushed.
I finally broke his gaze and dropped my head to his shoulder. I began to unfasten his jeans when his hand caught mine, stopping my movements.
"It's okay," he whispered shakily.
"I want to," I pressed.
"It's your birthday. And if you do that now, I won't want to stop at just touching, and I'm not really too crazy about fucking you in Mike Newton's bathroom."
A shiver ran through me hearing the words 'fucking you' come from his sexy mouth and I nodded in a daze.
I jumped off the counter on unsteady legs and straightened my clothes. My hair was a mess and my cheeks were a bright shade of red. I'd have to avoid Alice and Emily for a while, because I was sure they'd know exactly what happened the second they saw me.
I tamed my hair the best I could and walked to the door, glancing questioningly at Edward when he didn't follow me.
"I'm gonna need a sec," he said, motioning to the still engorged bulge in his pants.
I ducked my head, feeling shy for the first time all night, and peeked into the hallway before stepping out.
I spent the next hour avoiding Alice and Emily, and my stomach flip flopped when I saw Emmett, but thankfully his attention was taken up by Lauren shamelessly trying to flirt with him. I would be grossed out, but after what I just did with his best friend in the bathroom, I didn't really have a leg to stand on.
Edward and I mostly avoided each other for the rest of the night, keeping a safe distance but exchanging secret grins when our eyes met.
My curfew was creeping up and Emmett eventually came to nudge me, telling me to say my goodbyes. The girls and I made our rounds, meeting Emmett and Edward at the car. Edward sat up front and squabbled with Emmett over his music choices, playfully throwing punches when Emmett attempted to rap along to Eminem.
My body felt hyperaware of him, but I focused on the girls and kept my eyes away from the beautiful specimen that sat just inches away.
Alice and Emily were sleeping over, and we crept our way upstairs when we got to my house, careful not to wake Charlie.
Emmett said he was too tired to drive Edward home, even though his house was less than ten minutes away, and threw a pillow at him jerking his chin toward the couch.
I caught Edward's eyes noticing how they crinkled at the corners in a smile, and wicked thoughts ran through my mind. Of course, I couldn't act on them. Alice and Emily were sleeping in my bed with me, because we had no boundaries and were all hopelessly clingy with one another, and I had no way to creep away through the night without being caught.
We slept late the next day, Alice snoring like a goddamn chainsaw and Emily spooning my side, her morning breath wafting over my face. Gah, I loved them.
When I finally padded down the stairs, I was surprised to see the living room empty with a pillow and blanket neatly stacked at the end of the sofa.
My dad and Emmett sat at the kitchen table, Charlie flipping through a newspaper and Em absently spooning cereal into his mouth while he texted in the other hand.
"She's risen," my dad quipped without looking up from his paper.
"Hey, dad," I replied, leaning over to drop a kiss on his salt and pepper hair. "Where's Edward?" I asked casually, studying Emmett for any signs of suspicion.
There were none when his eyes met mine and he shrugged his reply. "Said he was hanging out with his parents today."
I nodded silently and poured myself a bowl of oats. We sat around the table in comfortable silence until Emily stumbled in yawning and rubbing her belly.
"I swear Alice's snoring is getting worse. I hardly slept all night."
I snorted a laugh, and shovelled oats into my mouth when Alice came in behind her shouting, "I heard that!"
"I meant you to," Emily shot back. Alice flipped her off then quickly hid her hand behind her back when my dad cleared his throat.
The girls joined us at the table and we settled into easy conversation. It was just past noon when Emmett announced he was leaving to get Edward so they could drive back to Seattle together. I felt a pang of disappointment that I wouldn't see him again today, but I was also relieved that we wouldn't need to sneak glances at each other with all the spectators.
Emmett left and the girls and I lazed around my room, listening to music and painting each others nails.
Alice was carefully applying a cherry red to my toes when she finally hit me, her patience obviously wearing thin.
"So, anything happen with Edward last night?" She asked innocently.
I'd been waiting for this, so I was prepared.
"Nope," was all I sad.
"Really? Because he looked like he might eat you when you were dancing with Katie."
I remained silent, and I knew Alice's eye was one vague response away from twitching.
"Bella!" She whined.
I chuckled evilly. I wasn't giving this up. Emily tossed aside the magazine she'd been thumbing through and turned to her stomach on my bed.
"We get it, you're doing something 'bad' right now and it's a turn on. But seriously, you can't not tell us."
"Guys," I sighed. "I just don't want to talk about it. It's just a bit of fun, but because it's Edward, it's so much more likely to get weird if feelings get involved. I get that you want to know, but let me keep this for myself, yeah?"
They exchanged knowing looks that probably would have irritated me, but I chose to ignore it. I really did get it. If it was one of them, I'd want to know too. But alas, it was me. And once I'd made my mind up about something, it was damn near impossible to make me budge.
They grumbled but otherwise dropped it.
That night when the girls went home and I was alone in my bed, my phone pinged and I rustled in the sheets to retrieve it. The message that appeared made my insides quiver.
I want to taste you.
I quickly typed out my reply.
Then come eat.