Chapter Eighteen

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you

Been here all along, so why can't you see?

You belong with me

~ Taylor Swift, You Belong With Me

EPOV

In the basement working out. Enjoy your bye week, hotshot. - B

It took me a good five minutes to figure out where the basement was. I'd been to her LA place before, but the pretty little brunette was always quite the distraction. I pulled on a pair of sweats before wandering out of her bedroom. I stopped by Daisy and the corner Bella had created for her in the kitchen only to find her bowls full of food and water and a treat waiting by the snoozing pup.

I opened four different doors - one of which held a beautiful piano topped with a splattering of awards - before I found descending stairs. Music immediately started floating through the sound-proofed door, getting louder as I descended.

Following the sound, I made it to an open doorway and leaned against the frame to take in the view. She was on the treadmill, not quite jogging but keeping a steady pace. It was her own music coming from the speakers, something like a karaoke version without her vocals. Those I got live from the source.

It was impressive as hell - the steadiness of her voice as she went. She had to have been at it for a good hour, maybe two based on the sweat that I could see darkening the lavender sports bra she had on and the strands of hair sticking to her forehead and neck. The short strands that barely touched her shoulders were already growing out again, some of it actually staying in the knot she had tied it in on the back of her head.

I didn't want to interrupt her, and while I would be more than happy to stand here and watch her for however long her workout took, she had an impressive gym set up. And I didn't really trust myself to just stand there. Not with a view like that.

Bella's head snapped in my direction as I took a step into the gym. She smiled, pausing the music and treadmill. "It's tour prep. I don't just, like, listen to my own music on a loop or anything."

"I didn't mean to interrupt." I did. Wholeheartedly.

Because the whole thing… it was still a little hard to believe. Hard to believe that she was mine, that she was so much more than the woman on stage in the sparkly outfits, that my moment of weakness in giving her brother my number and telling him I'd had a crush on his sister for years landed me here. With a woman it was a fucking travesty it took me so long to find.

"I'll be done in about half an hour. I thought you would have slept in."

I shrugged. "Sleeping in is boring alone."

Even through the flush of her exertion and sweat, her cheeks darkened just a fraction. "You and I don't sleep very well."

I rolled my lips together. Sleeping was typically the last thing on my mind when she was in my bed. It was also, admittedly, the last thing on my mind when I set out my search for her this morning.

Bella held up a hand before I could respond. "I really do still have half an hour left."

I nodded. "I really didn't mean to interrupt," I replied before pointing at the rest of the gym equipment. "May I?"

She smiled. "Of course."

Before she started her treadmill again, I stopped by and pulled her in for a kiss. The kind that had me admitting, "I really did want to interrupt."

Bella coughed out a laugh, attention returning to her workout as I pressed the start button on the treadmill for her.

I spent a good portion of my life in a gym. Loved it, the strain of my muscles and the endorphins rushing through my blood after a good workout. All of it, however, couldn't hold my attention with the woman on the treadmill.

I settled on a bench beside a few free weights, a full range of weights given the fact that it was her personal gym. She must have seen me eying the impressive set up because the music paused and she said, "I got some extra stuff recently. In case… you ever needed it. I only really use the treadmill. I have a personal trainer with her own gym she likes to torture me in."

And there it was.

There wasn't a selfish bone in the woman's body. She was a caretaker, through and through. She would give and give until she had nothing left if she thought it would make others happy.

I wondered, just for a moment, when the last time someone showed her the same kindness was.

"Thank you," I told her sincerely, heart warming at the smile it earned me from her, at the relief in her eyes as she finished her workout.

—How You Get The Girl—

BPOV

I tried my best not to be grumpy. My home was typically a revolving door of Angela, Jessica, and Carmen, so it was no surprise they were waiting for me when Edward and I emerged from the basement. I didn't mind they were here. I did mind that I had to send my very sweaty and entirely too lickable boyfriend off to shower without me.

Angela flicked my ear as she walked past me to the kitchen table where we've all had many a meeting. "Don't pout."

I grabbed my water bottle and fell into my usual spot at the head of the table. "I'm not pouting."

"Oh, I don't blame you for pouting," Angela clarified. "He is… quite pretty."

I snorted. "He's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen. His eyes are so green that sometimes I swear they sparkle like an emerald. He has more muscles than I knew a human could have. Which I didn't think was my thing, but apparently it is. He was benching two-fifty downstairs. Like it was nothing. And I… what?" My ramblings trailed off as I noticed all three of them staring at me, each with a mixture of shock and happiness and hesitation in their faces.

"I haven't seen you this happy in… a really long time," Carmen said quietly.

I sighed, twirling the cap of my water bottle between my fingers.

I had been working since I was about fifteen. Writing. Making demos. Doing everything I could to have the career of my dreams. But I absolutely would not have been able to get here without the three women at this table.

Angela had been my best friend since middle school. I'd had dreams of stages and music long before I could even hold a pencil correctly, which made me a prime target for bullying. I didn't care, because I knew in my bones this was what I was supposed to do, but Angela didn't care either. She moved to town the summer we were both thirteen and we'd been inseparable ever since. She never looked at me like I was insane for writing little poems in the margins of my notes or for switching to home schooling my junior year once I actually started working.

It was also excellent for my ego for her to be around, because there was no one like your high school best friend to keep you humble.

Jessica was a few years older than us, and we became a trio when we were freshman and she was a junior. She was also pretty decided and set on the life and career she wanted, and I admired her tenacity for it. We wrote a silly little contract between the two of us the day she graduated high school and set off for college. That she would go get her degree in music business while I finished school and I would be the first artist she signed on to manage. She still had it framed in her office.

Then, there was Carmen. Angela's older sister who had been in charge of keeping all of us in line since we were teenagers. Publicist extraordinaire.

We'd been through it all together. Every high, every low. Every on again and off again moment with Jacob. Every win and every loss.

"I really like him," I murmured, eyes on my bottle cap. "So much more than I should after only a few months together, but he's… electric? I don't know what the right word is. He just… It's kind of like I've been lost in the woods for the last few years. Stumbling around with nowhere to go, trying to hold on to everything I knew… then he showed up. Grabbed my hand and walked me right out with a smile. God, that sounds cheesy, but–"

"It sounds wonderful, Bella," Jessica said with a smile.

I let out an embarrassingly contented sigh and couldn't fight my own grin. "It is."

It was a miracle I kept myself from squealing and kicking my feet in excitement.

"Okay," Carmen said, her voice a stern change of subject. "Back to work. We have a lot to go over."

And we did. Have a lot.

Tour would be announced next week and I had to do a final audition and decision on the dancers for it at the end of this week. Band rehearsal started tomorrow and my tour conditioning and training would start up with Quil this weekend, too.

"So, about band rehearsal," I mused. "I kind of want to release a deluxe album. Or EP. Or something right before tour. Nothing crazy, maybe twelve… fifteen songs? I–"

"That's a whole album. Not an EP." Carmen corrected.

I shrugged. "I wrote some stuff recently. And I was also going through some old stuff and realized there was a lot that Da–Charlie didn't necessarily deem good enough that I love. And I want to release it. Perform it. I already sent it to the band and updated the setlist–"

Jess's eyes widened. "Updated setlist? Bella, it was already–"

"That's the thing," I pressed, leaning forward. "I kind of just want to do whatever I want."

The mood around the table instantly shifted, tension locking up everyone's shoulders.

"Do… whatever you want?" Carmen clarified.

I grinned. "Yeah. I wrote some music and I want to release it. I spent the last two years opening for a woman who put on a beast of a three-and-a-half hour show, and I want to push myself to make something just as magical. Not the same era's theme but… just me. My story. My music."

The table went silent for a minute. Then two.

Angela smirked at me from across the table. "She's back."

Carmen and Jess nodded. "Okay," they said in unison.

"Oh, I'm also going to a college football game this weekend with Edward. Just thought you should know."

—How You Get The Girl—

When I was finally free of my meeting, I found Edward sitting on the edge of my bed. Daisy was curled in her corner I had set up for her in my room, and Edward was smirking at whoever he was obviously facetiming on his phone.

I tried not to pout that he had, in fact, showered without me.

"We can just do the usual, Alice. Grab dinner, go to the game–"

"We can't just do the usual, Edward. If–"

"We can, actually."

I frowned to myself, quickly catching up on the conversation as I sat next to Edward and poked my head into the shot. "Hi, Alice."

"Hi," she squeaked.

"Am I interrupting some kind of brother-sister tradition? I didn't mean to. I can–"

"No! No, no, no, no. Not at all. Of course you should come!"

I sighed in relief. "You're sure I'm not imposing?"

"Never. I just thought - if you were coming you might want to do something more exciting than tailgate and watch a bunch of rowdy college kids party."

"That sounds like a blast," I answered honestly.

Alice fought a grin. "Oh. Oh, okay. Sure. A blast. I'll… see you Saturday?"

"Can't wait," I smiled.

"I will be there too, you know," Edward jabbed playfully at his sister, drawing her attention back to him.

Alice stuck her tongue out at him before hanging up.

"She's sweet. Are you sure I'm not going to cause trouble? I–"

"Tailgating might not be a great idea. We can talk to Sam about it. But either way, we'll go and watch the game and have a good time."

I didn't really care about tailgating or college football or rowdy college kids. But I was stupidity excited to spend the day with Edward and his sister. But I also didn't want to ruin their time together.

"If you and Alice want to–"

He broke me off with a peck. "I want to make sure you're safe. That's all."

—How You Get The Girl—

I was a tad on the tipsy side. Maybe a little over, if I was being honest. But, Edward gripped my hand fiercely as he guided me through the flashes to the car and made sure I didn't so much as stumble over the curb.

Most of my time, unless I was either alone or surrounded by a few select people, I always had my guard up. Miles and miles of walls keeping myself tightly contained in the public, keeping eyes on every corner. I could clock a phone snapping my picture from a mile away.

But with Edward, all of those walls turned to dust.

The photographers that were waiting outside of our restaurant probably got a shot of my first genuine smile in public as we left.

I watched tension fall from Edward's shoulders as he sat by me, and even in my alcohol-muddled brain I knew it was for me. He wasn't worried about the photographers getting a bad shot of him or what headline would be beside the photos in the morning or anything besides me getting to the car safely.

I caught a glimpse of his crooked smile before I kissed him and everything went fuzzy. His taste was on my tongue and his hair soft between my fingers and, at the moment, it was all I cared about. He was all I cared about.

I pulled away with a pout when my lungs started burning. Sparkly emerald eyes flared down at me and my pout deepened as I realized no song I had written so far was close to doing those eyes justice.

Edward's lips brushed against my ear. "You wrote a song about me, princess?"

"What?" I gasped, pulling away and staring wide-eyed at him.

His head cocked to the side. "You said something about songs and my eyes?"

"Oh." Outloud, apparently. I had said it outloud. "Well, yes. Only one. Or two. Or eight. It's just… how I deal with things. I'm sorry. I–"

"Why would you apologize?"

I shrugged. "Some people don't like it. Having songs written about them."

Edward shook his head as the car came to a stop. "Will you play them for me?"

"I…"

His lips drifted up my neck, his tongue and teeth trailing along the sensitive skin behind my ear. "Please?"

Green eyes flashed up at me. And I was a goner.

That was how, twenty minutes later, I ended up sitting on the floor of an office of sorts at home. There was a piano in the center of the room, and a few guitars littered about. The rug was plush between my toes, the cream contrasting against the dark hardwood floors. My first Grammy sat on the coffee table and I lit the candles lingering about the room as I stalled.

I ignored the cozy leather couch and plopped myself down on the rug, guitar in my lap as I absentmindedly strummed a few cords.

Edward sat across from me, back against the couch and legs stretched out beside me at he patiently waited.

He didn't interrupt once as I went from song to song, smiling to myself, grinning at him as I went.

Bad, bad boy shiny toy with a price

You know that I bought it

If they call me a slut

You know it might be worth it for once

You know for me its always you

In the dead of night your eyes so green

And I know for you its always me

Who could ever leave me, darling?

But who could stay?

I want you for worse or for better

I would wait forever and ever

Broke your heart, I'll put it back together

I would wait forever and ever

He got that boyish look that I like in a man

I am an architect I'm drawing up the plans

He's so obsessed with me and boy I understand

Didn't they tell us don't rush into things?
Didn't you flash your green eyes at me?

Didn't you calm my fear with a Cheshire Cat smile?

It's you and me, that's my whole world

They whisper in the hallway, "she's a bad, bad girl"

I blew out a breath, placing the guitar on the couch behind my back when I was done. Edward stared at me, eyes burning into my face so intently I felt my cheeks heat.

Then the corner of his lips pulled into a smile. "I love you, too."

EPOV

Her thighs shook where they were flung over my shoulders and her fingers tugged at my hair until my scalp prickled with a twinge of pain.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," she repeated, her arousal coating my tongue. The woman was… exquisite. Perfect. Sin incarnate. Mine.

I didn't care if I should have waited longer to tell her or if we were moving too fast or if she was going to tear my heart out of my chest and squeeze it to a pulp between her hands once they were out.

I believed in the if you know, you know philosophy and was too impatient for anything half assed.

She was worth the risk. She was worth everything.

"Edward," she murmured, hips grinding themselves against my tongue. "Oh, God."

I tightened my hold on her, chancing a look up to catch her back arch off of the floor as she moaned. "Say it again, princess," I groaned against her, forcing myself to pull away and nip at her thigh.

"I love you," she gasped out immediately. "So fucking – so fucking much. I – fuck. Please. I love you I love you I love you I–"

She arched fully off of the floor as she came on my tongue. Collapsed against the thankfully impressively plush rug as I dragged every ounce of pleasure out of her until she was begging me to stop.

I kissed my way up her body, smiling at the muscles that fluttered beneath my tough and the goosebumps that rose in my wake.

"Say it again," she groaned against my lips.

I smiled against her cheek. "I love you."

BPOV

My fingers wrapped around his cock, sneaking through his pants after I lost my patience with his zipper. He groaned into my neck, thrusting into my hand.

Even that tiny, obnoxious, annoyingly loud part of my brain that liked to scream every worst case scenario at me whenever I was starting to feel the tiniest bit of okay couldn't get through to me.

His hands won my battle against his zipper and the rest of his clothing was gone.

"Bed," he groaned, his cock resting hard and impatient against my abdomen. "I should take you to bed."

"Too far away," I grumbled, lining his cock up with my entrance. I would have begged and pleaded, but he was inside of me before I got the words out.

He kissed me, lips hard and tongue sloppy as he moved inside me. Each thrust slow and deep and enough to make me whimper against his lips.

"So good," he groaned into my neck. "Your pussy is so fucking good, princess."

I groaned his name.

His thrusts came harder, faster. His murmuring nearly incoherent, save for every few words. Wet, come, want, fuck.

"I'm coming," I whispered against his neck. Or thought it. Whatever. "I'm coming."

"Yes, princess. Fuck, yes," he groaned, coming inside of me.

"Don't stop," I gasped out, fingers sliding against his back. His thrusts slowed, his hips a lazy rhythm against mine even as he softened inside of me. Even as I felt his come leak out of me.

"Never, princess," he moaned, kissing my temple.

A/N: Not me actually keeping up with updating the past few weeks! Hope you enjoy this one. Thanks for sticking with me!

Lyrics from this chapter are from the following songs, in order: Cruel Summer, Slut!, I Know Places, The Archer, How You Get The Girl, I Think He Know, Wonderland, Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince all by Taylor Swift.