Chapter 1
Bella Swan
"Cullen Enterprise," I read aloud as I stood in front of the large glass building in the middle of New York City. Cars chased by, and the streets smelled like gas and breakfast burritos. Not the best combination if you'd asked me.
My chest rose as I took in a big gulp of air. How bad could it be to work at such a large company? I felt my nose wrinkle with my own thoughts.
"Bella?" I turned my heel to the familiar voice and saw Jacob standing before me. He clearly just came out of the gym, all sweaty, wearing a tank top and some Niké shorts. Every woman who passed him eyed him deliciously.
He smiled and stepped up to me. "What are you doing?" I bit my lip at his question. When I applied, he knew I was nervous about working for such a big company.
"I was just walking here to see how many minutes it would take me to walk the distance from home." I blushed deeply, knowing it was ridiculous, but it was true. He shook his head, and his smile grew even more comprehensive.
"You're so cute when you're nervous." I returned his smile and felt the blush rising on my cheek. "Let's go home, Bells; I'm starving." I nodded as he took my hand and practically dragged me off the streets.
x
I poked the spaghetti in front of me; Jacob was the sweetest, but his cooking was terrible; it was the only downside of living with him. "I know." He said out of nowhere. As I sipped my red wine, I raised my brow at his sudden words and looked over my glass curiously.
"I'm a terrible cook, Bella, I know." I pursed my lips together not to burst out laughing; he looked so guilty. "But this kitchen, it's so awesome, Bells; I'm so glad Phill got us this apartment."
Phill is my stepfather. He's financially stable and likes to prove that to the whole family; since he married my mom, I guess that made me family. I don't like being dependent on people, but at least I got to move to New York and start living the life I dreamed of when I graduated. I guess it was also because he felt very guilty about what happened when I lived with them.
"Jake, you're a terrible cook, but I love you, so that makes up for it." He grinned wide, and the guilt disappeared from his face. "Just rinse the taste with the wine; that's what I do." He wiggled his eyebrows at me as I laughed.
"So, tonight..." He started, eyeing me from under his eyelashes. I sighed deeply, and I felt a smile twitching on my lips. "Yes?" I questioned him, knowing what was coming.
"Your last weekend Bella. Before the serious life starts, let's go out." It sounded more like a beg than an actual question. I bit down on my lip and nodded with a grin, I couldn't say no to those puppy eyes.
"Great!" I'll pick you a gorgeous outfit; obviously, you're beautiful, but maybe we can land you a guy." I rolled my eyes. "Land yourself a guy," I spat back. He smirked. "That's what I'm planning, a guy, a girl, maybe both..." He stood and waved me off as he strutted to my bedroom, probably making a war scene of my closet.
I never objected to Jacob being so sexual, but walking around in my own house in my underwear and running into half-naked strangers was sometimes very awkward. Girls weren't such a big problem, but guys were different; most were gay or bisexual like Jacob, but it differed from the proper household I was raised in.
My parents were the kind of people to lock the bathroom door when they showered, and I never once saw my dad, or Phill, for that matter, naked. I've seen a man naked; sex isn't a sin, but it's so different when you walk into the kitchen, and a random naked guy is drinking the milk can. Especially if I see his dong and know where it's been for the past hour.
"GOT IT!" Jacob screamed from my bedroom once I finished cleaning up the table. I entered my bedroom to find a clothes bomb on the ground and my bed. I sighed, he made the mess, but knowing him, he would not clean it up. Luckily everything was still on the hangers, so I could place it back in the closet.
He was holding a red, tight-fitted dress with a low V-cut in the back, and it was the kind of dress that was there for extraordinary occasions. I bit my lip as I looked at his glowing face and shook no carefully.
"Bella, your body is a fucking altar. You should worship it; this dress certainly will." I raised my brows as I snorted. "Altar?" I snorted again, very unfeminine.
"Yes. Don't deny this dress; it's b-e-a-utiful." His movie reference always made me love him even more. "Don't you Jim Carrey me." I rolled my eyes as I took the dress from his hands.
An hour later, the dress was on; my hair was set into a high ponytail with a few loose curls dancing around my face. I've done light eyeliner on my lashes and put some light red color on my face and lips. Not too much, but not too soft either; after all, it was a fancy club, as Jacob said.
We came walking out of the bedroom simultaneously. I held a gold necklace and some hoop earrings, ready to put them on as I took Jacob in. He was wearing some khaki slacks with a light blue blouse. His muscular arms hugged the blouse perfectly; you could see he worked out a lot. His dark hair ruffled on the top of his head, and his brown eyes showed something I couldn't place as he looked at me. "Damn Bells, you're hot!" I bit my lip. "Says you!" I pointed at him as he wiggled his hips in victory with a broad smile.
I laughed and shook my head. "No, baby, not the necklace, just the hoops." I raised a brow at his words. The neck of the dress wasn't far low, but it showed my collarbone. "Just the hoops, trust me." He probably saw me thinking hard. I rounded up the hoops in my ears and looked at myself in the mirror, approving his thought.
The strappy black sandals, with small heels, matched the red dress perfectly. The dress came till above the knees, from the front very appropriate, and from the back super sexy. The V-cut at the back came just above my buttocks. One black ribbon held the back of the dress together from one shoulder to the other. I didn't look too bad; I felt pretty sexy and self-confident.
x
The club was packed; Jacob walked us up to the front line and said something to the bouncer, who directly pulled the red robe aside for us. The whole line of people moaned with desperation.
Jacob turned to me as he dragged me into the club and winked at me. Drunk In Love from Diplo slammed through the rooms as we walked down the corridor, and Jacob jumped excitedly as we got close to the bar.
Once we were at the bar, he turned to me. "The usual?!" He said in my ear over the music, and I raised my thumb to him in agreement.
He waved at the barman, who quickly eyed Jacob and grew a smile. Jacob could get anyone if he wanted. Being his best friend wasn't always easy. I always felt I would drag his looks down, but he never cared about that. "I'll pee real quick," I shouted as he flirted with the bartender.
When I turned, I bumped into this girl, and her whole drink spilled right into my dress. I felt the liquor pouring down between my boobs to my panties.
"OMG!" She shouted, "I'm so sorry!" I raised my eyes to meet the pixy-haired girl standing before me. She looked indeed very apologetic. "Let's get you to the bathroom!" I nodded as she started walking towards the bathrooms ahead.
It was a little bit quieter in the corridor, which made it easier to converse. "I'm so sorry!" The woman said again as we came to a halt for the bathroom line. I gave her a small smile. It wasn't entirely her fault anyway.
"It's fine; it happens." Her dark eyebrows cocked together as she smiled. "I'm Alice." She said as she placed her hand in front of me; I studied her small hands and took it into mine as I smiled at her. "Bella," I replied.
"Lovely to meet you, Bella; I'm sorry about your dress." I felt my cheeks getting warm from blushing and looked down. The dress was okay, though. No discoloring or anything, just a little wet.
"It's a stunning dress, though." I looked up at her again and smiled. "Thanks, my friend picked it out; I probably will never wear it again." Her face turned pale. "We can get it clean!" she immediately said.
I laughed. "No, I mean, it's not my choice of dress. I normally don't wear these kinds of things." Alice smiled back, her pale round face turning back to her nude coloring. A blush started to creep up her cheeks. "Well, you look outstanding, Bella." I blushed crimson red at her sincere compliment, I had just met her, but she seemed genuinely friendly.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Alice asked me, studying my face. "I don't know. I just moved here like two months ago." Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to solve some sort of puzzle. "I feel like I've seen your face before or that your name rings a bell." I shrugged and smiled.
"What are you doing here?" A male figure stepped up to Alice with a smile on his face. He has dirty blond hair and a ruffled beard. His build was thin, not that tall, and a southern accent was attached to a nerdy but handsome look.
"Jasper, this is Bella." Jasper took my hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, ma'am." My crimson-red blush faded shyly as I nodded.
"I accidentally spilled my drink over Bella, but this line is taking so damn long," Alice complained to Jasper. His hand was slowly moving around her tiny waist. Their shared glances confirmed their relationship with me, definitely in love.
"I'll wait for you at the booth then. Nice to meet you, Bella." I returned his smile once he nodded his goodbye politely. "You too!" I said after him once he left.
Alice winked at me as we took a step further. The line was ridiculous; I hated being a woman at that moment. After about ten minutes, Alice and I finally got in the bathroom and cleaned me up with pieces of tissue. I walked into a stall to take a look at my panties.
The black fabric was utterly soaked and sticky. I tried to dab it with some toilet paper, but it didn't really help. I came out of the stall and met Alice's guilty eyes. "How's down under?" she barely spoke.
I shrugged. "Don't worry, Alice, they're just panties, not Victoria's Secret or anything." I smiled at her to calm her nerves. She felt so guilty, and it was readable all over her tiny figure.
We walked out to the center of the club again. "Come sit with us, Bella; let me buy you a drink to make it up to you." She bounced up and down from sudden excitement, and I gave her a small smile.
"Thank you, but I'm here with a friend, and I really have to meet up with him; we're kind of celebrating something." Alice pouted. She grabbed a business card from her purse and handed it to me. "At least call me to take you shopping or something." I took the business card and put it into my purse without looking at it. "I will; thank you, Alice." She gave me one last huge smile and dashed away to some corner.
Jacob was still talking to the hot bartender when I arrived at the bar again. I leaned my front against his back and placed my chin on his shoulder. "There you are." He turned to me and pulled me to his side, and I rested my head on his shoulder.
"A girl spilled a drink on me, and the line took ages." I groaned. "You poor woman, if only you had a dick to use the other bathroom." He said with no hesitation, I giggled at his words.
I spotted the tall glass of Long Island Ice Tea and grabbed it gratefully from the bar. I was famished.
The drink disappeared within a few minutes, and I ordered a few more as time passed. Jacob introduced me to James, who stopped to talk to us every now and then. He was a veterinarian student working here on the weekends to make some extra cash. James was 29, three years older than Jacob and me. Jacob seemed to really dig him; he placed his hand gently on his arm every now and then.
"Let's dance!" I shouted to Jacob. My cheeks felt warm, and my head was spinning. I knew the night would end soon with how quickly those ice teas sank in. It had been a while since I drank this much alcohol. Maybe the shots in between were also not a good idea...
I grabbed his hand and pulled him off the stool into the crowds. The song Feel So Close by Calvin Harris started coming up. Jacob took my hand and swung me around with a massive grin. I jumped up and down and swayed to the music once the beat dropped. My eyes closed. I took in everything, the music, the voices, the dancing. Everything felt right for a moment.
I opened my eyes to see Jacob face to face with James, both grinning widely as they swayed to the music close together. I smirked; of course, he'd get the first person he'd actually converse with.
I scanned the room to find Alice in the crowd, not far away from me, losing herself in the music just as much. She spotted me as well and waved franticly, and I waved back and beamed broadly. She stopped dancing once someone grabbed her elbow and talked to her in her ear.
My gaze moved up and into the piercing emerald eyes of a serious face. He was asking Alice something as I studied his face. His sunkissed hair was bed messy, his sharp jaw clean-shaven and perfectly angled. My eyes automatically dropped lower; he was wearing a white blouse, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, uncovering his lower arms which sported a watch. Black slacks sitting on his muscular hips. Every piece of clothing hugged his body perfectly. My jaw dropped, and my eyes moved back up, locking with his beautiful and intense emerald green eyes. I closed my mouth and gulped as he grinned widely.