Chapter 10

Bella was sipping her coffee at Armchair Books. She had her laptop, the book she was reviewing, and the books she would buy laid across the table with three already empty coffee cups.

Oh, coffee. It was her vice. She didn't drink a lot of alcohol, only a glass of good chardonnay now and then, and she didn't smoke. But she drank coffee, and not just any coffee, but coffee made from freshly roasted and grounded beans, preferably with some frothed oat milk.

Yeah, she was a bit of a coffee snob, and it was because of her friend Alicia, who had taught Bella, Ailani, and Sarah to enjoy good wine. Yeah, she had taught them to love good coffee, too, flat white that only kiwis knew how to make properly. Ailani had said that Bella was the snobbiest of snobs, but who was she to say things like that Ailani wasn't any better. Maybe she overdid it sometimes, but as it was her only vice, she felt she was allowed to be a bit stupid about it.

And her favorite café in Forks was the only place in the area that made coffee the way she loved it.

Bella sighed. It was a shame that there was only so much coffee one could drink per day. She had already had one, if not two too many; she would be wide awake until early hours in the morning.

Well, maybe she could try to finish this bloody review during awaken hours. Or she might try to finish her online courses that needed to be done before her semester at the UW started. She put her empty cup down and tried to get back into her writing. She was behind her schedule, there was the next book already waiting to be read and reviewed, but she had to finish this one first. She didn't know what her problem was: she'd read the book, liked it, and had outlined the main points she wanted to put into the review, but here she just sat staring at the screen, and nothing came out.

She sighed, pushed the laptop further, and placed her reading glasses on top of her head. She was thinking about Bane. And Paul. She had started to think about Paul more and more. After the boat trip, Sarah and Ailani had constantly asked Bella what she was planning to do with him or whether she was planning doing him.

"I would have jumped him myself if he had shown any interest in me," Sarah had said.

It was clear as a day that the guy was pursuing Bella and not even bothering to be very discreet about it. And there was no point in lying: she was very, very tempted, like totally tempted. The guy was sex on legs, he had shown her how much he wanted her (well, maybe not intentionally), and she missed sex so very much.

Yep, doing him would definitely be very high on her bucket list.

But. She sighed again. Bane had called her twice in the last three days, and he refused to believe that he and Bella were over. It was a shitty situation. Hopefully, Ailani talking to him later this week would help.

Bella had talked with Bane's mom too. They had cried and talked and cried some more. Bella had told Edena honestly why she had left Bane. Edena had understood her and encouraged her always to be true to herself and not go for second best. Of course, she had hoped that Bella would've been the one for Bane, but love cannot be forced.

Edena was certain that both Bane and Bella would find their true love sooner or later. She had promised to keep an extra eye on Bane, and she would help him in every way he would let her. She and Bane had always had a very close relationship. That was a big relief for Bella; she'd been very worried about him.

"Let it go. Something Beautiful wants to grow in its place," Edena had said before ending the call.

Bella felt tears prickling in her eyes again. That phone call had been emotionally exhausting, and its weight started to squeeze her heart again.

It was the damn guilt. She just couldn't shake the guilt out of her. It was there; the nauseating twist in her stomach accompanied the knowledge that she had hurt Bane so deeply. And the thing was that she felt that she shouldn't even try not to feel it. It was like she needed to suffer because Bane suffered.

And yet here she was on the brink of something new. Deep down, she could feel that something beautiful could be growing if she let it. And the feeling was more than just the tingling in her lady bits every time she thought of Paul. And oh boy, there were lots of tingling involved when thinking of Paul.

At this point, Bella was giggling to herself. "What a fucking mess you are, missy. Great, now I'm even talking to myself," Bella muttered and rolled her eyes.

Bella glanced at the big clock on the wall; it was 2.45 pm. Paul would come soon. Bella noticed that she was really excited to see him. It was a bizarre mix of feelings: on the other hand, to be excited to meet up with the guy that was one of the sexiest, no, that was a huge understatement, definitely the sexiest man she'd ever met and on the other hand to feel super guilty for making another one miserable. But she couldn't help it; she was so intrigued by him on so many levels. Beyond the obvious reasons, Bella couldn't get past the fact that he was an excellent cook. At least his sandwiches and muffins had been to die for. Well, he was a man who made muffins, for crying out loud.

Not that men didn't cook, the most distinguished chefs in the world were mostly male. But after Bane, the difference was just so blatant, and her father couldn't cook to save his own life. When he lived alone, her father lived on frozen and take-a-way meals. And it was more often women than men cooked in the relationships she knew. So, needless to say, she'd been stunned to hear that Paul had made all that they'd eaten, and he had made even the delicious lemonade.

And speaking of the devil, there he was.

"Hot damn," Bella murmured.

Paul opened the door and came in. He was smiling widely and looking at her with those intense eyes. It made Bella's heart skip a beat. He was wearing low-hanging faded jeans with a white "wife-beater" piece of garment that Bella generally disliked on men, but Paul - hot damn. His ink-black hair was in a sexy mess, and on his ear lobes, he had the same distinctive-looking black hooks he wore on the boat trip. Jesus, she hadn't seen anybody that gorgeous. Ever.

Bella was checking him out when he walked toward her, but she couldn't help herself. She had to clench her teeth together to stop her mouth from opening. She could feel her mouth watering. Yep, she was definitely drooling.

The smirk on his face told that he noticed that.

Bella moved her stuff, and Paul sat down. Suddenly Bella felt a bit shy.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi."

They gazed into each other's eyes for a while. It was a bit awkward moment, but it seemed they both were lost for words. Bella tried not to stare at the moist lips he had just licked.

Jesus, he was gorgeous.

"Umm..." Bella opened her mouth first, "nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you too. Have you been here long?" Paul asked, tearing his eyes from Bella and looking around. "Nice looking place. I think I haven't been here before."

"Oh, this is my favorite place in Forks. I used to come here often just to read and hang out. Now I like working here with my reviews. There really is something about writing about books and being surrounded by them," Bella said and added, "I came four cups of coffee ago." She pointed to her empty cups.

"Desperate for caffeine, huh?"

"Nah, coffee is just so good here. But I am trying to collect some energy to do some work. It just seems that coffee isn't the answer today."

"So, what are you reviewing now?" Paul asked.

"It's Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers," Bella answered.

"Any good?"

"It's all right; not her best work, but I like her style. So, you're working in construction or something like that?" Bella asked, wanting to know more about Paul.

"Yeah, as a laborer mainly and some other stuff too. It makes money, but it's not something I plan to do for the rest of my life. The good thing about it is that I don't need to pay to go to a gym."

"You can say that again," Bella blurted before she could stop herself. Shit. She blushed.

Paul chuckled.

She really tried not to ogle his muscular biceps and pecs but failed. She saw a tattoo on his right upper arm. It was a wolf. It was also tribal design, as were her tattoos. She would ask about it later.

Ah, so apparently, she was already planning to see him again.

She cleared her throat and said, "I'm looking for some extra work to save some money for the college."

"Come work for me," said Peter, who brought them water and menus. "I need someone to do some shelving and dusting for a few hours a week, and you being a reading nerd, there are probably many other things I could use you for."

"Do you mean that?" Bella asked, not believing her luck. It would be her dream come true to be able to work in a bookshop.

"Sure, I do. Come tomorrow about the same time, and we can talk about your hours and tasks and pay, of course," Peter said and left them. Bella beamed at Paul.

"Congrats on your new job," Paul grinned and picked up his water glass. Bella raised hers, and they toasted.

Both seemed to relax after that, and their conversation started to flow effortlessly. Bella told him about her ambitions to become a marine biologist after living in Hawaii. She did carry away a bit describing the wonders of the sea life in her favorite snorkeling spot, Three Tables, and how often she saw sea turtles there, but Paul didn't seem to mind. It felt like he really was interested in what she was telling him.

"So why tribal turtle?" Paul asked.

"Oh, you mean my tattoo?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I just loved the design. I've always been very interested in the tribal legends of La Push, so I learned a little about some of the Hawaiian legends. In Hawaiian creation stories, The Honu was the first creature to emerge from the deep sea to touch the land. This design is close to the ancient honu petroglyphs found around Polynesia. Just knowing that sea turtles have survived for over 75 million years on this planet blows my mind away." Yeah, she did carry away a lot.

"And these seahorses?" Paul asked and brushed his fingers over her left wrist lying on the table. She shivered at the contact. She was becoming more aware of how Paul sitting close to her was affecting her. She was tingling all over.

"Umm… It was my first dive after I got my diving certificate when I saw a herd of seahorses, and two of them were swimming around each other like they were dancing; it was some sort of mating ritual. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. I stayed watching them and almost got lost from the group. As scary as that experience was, I couldn't forget the sight of those two tiny dancers. Afterward, I heard seahorses are very rarely seen in Hawaii because they need calmer waters than the ocean around the Hawaii islands, no barrier reef, you see. I just wanted to remember those two."

Peter brought them blueberry muffins and the coffee Paul had ordered and Bella her green tea.

They talked a bit more about Paul's job, and he told her that once, he had been planning to get a certificate to be a chef. Bella guessed that his foster mother's death was probably why the plan had been buried.

Maybe he would be ready to try again.

"What was the school you were thinking about enrolling in?"

"Mmm, it was Culinary Arts School in Port Angeles, I think. Not sure if I remember it right," Paul told her.

Bella moved her laptop closer and started browsing. Paul shifted closer to her to see the screen better.

Bella was very aware of Paul stretching his arm to the back of her chair and leaning closer. She was aching to turn her head and kiss him. She was feeling a pull that was getting very hard to resist. Paul was clearly feeling the same. He was leaning closer still, and Bella could feel his breath fanning on the shell of her ear, making her belly flutter.

She started to turn her head to meet his lips, and just when Bella was sure he was going to kiss her, she heard someone calling her name. They continued to stare at each other's mouths for seconds before snapping out of the haze. Paul licked his lips, and Bella had to force herself to turn her head to see who had called her name.

It was Lauren Mallory. The bitch number one from Forks High.

"Oh, hi Lauren! How are you?" Bella asked.

"I didn't believe it was you. How are you? Are you just visiting or moved back?" Lauren asked.

"Umm… I moved back," Bella replied to Lauren, but her every sense was tuned into Paul.

He shifted a little but didn't remove his arm behind her; if anything, he moved his hand a bit closer to her shoulder. She felt his thumb brushing her bare shoulder oh so lightly that she wasn't sure if she had imagined it. Then he added some pressure and circled her tattoo.

She shivered and wished Lauren would just vanish. Something had changed between Paul and her, and it had flooded over her like a fast-rising tidal wave. She wanted to explore the feeling, not to chat inconsequentials with someone she had always hated. She glanced into Paul's eyes, and she was tasered. Paul's eyes were blazing, and she could almost taste the lust pouring out of them. She licked her lips. Paul's eyes flickered to her lips, and he started to lean closer.

Lauren cleared her throat and said something.

Oh, she was still there.

"Hmmm? Sorry, I didn't catch that," Bella said, tearing her eyes off Paul's heated stare.

"I was just telling you that I'm visiting my family. I live in Berkley, California now," Lauren said, and she looked pissed. She was flicking her blond hair bracelets jingling on her wrist and batting her eyelashes at Paul, who acted like she wasn't there.

Then Bella could feel his lips on the back of her neck. Oh. My. God. what the hell was happening? Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and the want Paul had ignited inside of her was pulsing between her legs, and she felt the wetness dampening her underwear. She had to suppress a moan and fight to keep her eyes focused. She couldn't; she closed them for a second or two. She felt Paul's fingers playing with the string of her pearl, fingertips brushing the nape of her neck. Jesus, she was so turned on.

"Oh, ok. So, I guess I'll see you around," she said to Lauren.

She didn't wait to see if Lauren was leaving or not when she turned her head and attacked Paul's lips. They both moaned. Paul entwined his right hand into her hair and pulled her closer while his other hand was snaking under her t-shit on her back.

Their mouths molded each other with a hunger that didn't make any sense. What the hell was this? She didn't care; she was losing her mind. She had never been kissed like this before. Hell, she had never kissed anybody like this. She was on fire, and she needed more. Paul thrust his tongue into her mouth, and Bella sucked it. She moved her hands to Paul's head and scraped his scalp with her nails. Paul made a noise that wasn't suitable for a public place. Bella was losing herself.

Just then, her mobile rang.

"Fuck!" they both cursed at the same time.

They pressed their foreheads together, noses brushing against each other, breathing heavily, and stayed like that for a while. Then Bella snatched the phone from the table and glanced at it to see it was her father.

"Shit, it's my dad," Bella said, still breathing heavily. "We've been invited to have dinner with the Blacks and the Clearwaters. Gosh, it really is that late already. Sorry Paul, I need to leave."

She answered the phone and started to back her stuff in her bag.

"Where are you, kiddo?" Her dad asked. "We need to leave soon."

"Yeah, dad, I'm coming. I'll be home in ten minutes so we won't be late. See you soon."

"I guess my dad just saved us from being arrested for indecency in public," Bella giggled.

Paul chuckled and rubbed his neck. "You might be right. Go out with me tomorrow night."

Out of the window went the guilt and doubts about what was right and what was not.

"Yeah, I'll go out with you tomorrow."

AN:

Did you feel the heat? I sure did.