Bella and Rosalie sat quietly side by side in their first period class. Rosalie remained quiet as she took in the different signs she could from Bella. The girl was anxious. Her heart was beating too fast, her fingers were quietly tapping on their shared table, and she was putting off a scent that Rosalie was starting to recognize from her: want.
Rosalie rested her chin on her fist and tried to remain focused on Mr. Berty. He was attempting to engage the students in a discussion about a movie where a zombie falls in love with a human. The man wanted the kids to seriously talk about the deeper implications. Rosalie would have found it interesting if Bella wasn't infinitely more so. What was the girl thinking about right now? Could it be about Rosalie? It might not be. Just because the human had enjoyed kissing her didn't mean she would be spending extra time thinking about her.
Bella's leg started jumping. She was extremely anxious about something. Rosalie reached under their shared table and laid a hand on Bella's twitching leg. Her knee continued to bounce up and down, so Rosalie did what she could: squeezed Bella's thigh tightly. She was careful not to use too much pressure. She didn't want to bruise the girl or surprise her too much. In response, Bella snapped her pencil. Rather than replace it, she started taking her notes with the nub that still had a sharpened end.
Rosalie opened to a clean page of her notebook, scrawled a note, and tapped it to get Bella's attention. Are you okay?
Bella wrote on her own notebook. Don't laugh. She raised her eyebrows, and Rosalie nodded. Bella began writing again, her stub of a pencil moving awkwardly. I'm feeling- Bella paused as she considered her words. Rosalie waited, her hand still resting on Bella's thigh. It's embarrassing. She could feel the girl's leg ready to resume its bouncing. Rosalie waited, hoping Bella would elaborate. She added a few words to the paper, then let Rosalie read it. It said I'm feeling pent up. Physically.
Rosalie took in the words. She didn't mean to, but her hand tightened on Bella's thigh slightly. Bella gasped, then attempted to cover it up with a cough. The scent of want increased, and Rosalie felt herself reacting to it. She put her head down and pretended to take notes on the bizarre lecture. Instead, she wrote another note to Bella. What do you want? Bella read the note, and gave a very obvious, raised eyebrows look that Rosalie hoped she was interpreting correctly. There's no gym class first or second period. That means the locker room is empty, just so you know.
Bella read the note and nodded. All they had to do now was wait fifteen more minutes.
When they stood outside the locker room, they leaned against the wall and pretended to be deep in conversation. Rosalie was instead whispering inappropriate things to Bella to tease the girl. They were tame words, simple sentences about how she liked kissing Bella, enjoyed how warm she was, and finally she reminded the girl she could tell how turned on she was.
"Rosalie I swear to god…"
There was an opportunity for them to slip away unnoticed, and she took it. Rosalie pushed open the wooden door and quickly yanked Bella in behind her. The room was dark, lit by a single skylight which could only provide a dim grey light filtering through the ever-present clouds. Before Bella could fall off balance the vampire lifted her up, wrapping the girl's legs around her waist and carried her to the counter between the sinks. She set her down gently, then said, "Is this okay?"
Bella didn't answer. She hungrily lunged for the girl in front of her, arms around Rosalie's shoulders as she closed the space between them. One of her hands buried itself in Rosalie's hair, and their lips met roughly. Rosalie tried to stay careful, protecting the two fragile things in front of her: Bella and the bathroom counter.
Their lips met again and again, and as Bella grew more excited, so did her hips. Bella was squirming, pushing against her, desperate for a relief that Rosalie could grant her, if she really wanted. Rosalie trailed her hands up Bella's thighs, and Bella groaned into her mouth. She was getting too used to this. Being hungry for Bella, and Bella being hungry for her. The worst part was she could get used to this. Danger aside, things with Bella were so easy. Bella brazenly slid her free hand up Rosalie's shirt, and her thumb grazed the bottom of the satin bra she found there. Rosalie hissed.
Bella didn't move her hand, but she did pause. "Is this okay?" Rosalie hesitated, their breath mingling as they both panted. The hand on her stomach was warm, and splayed out across most of her belly. It felt so good. Bella was looking at her with blown eyes, pupils huge, anxiously watching Rosalie for any indication she should stop. Rosalie nodded, then kissed Bella again. The warm hand gently moved around under her shirt, exploring her skin hesitantly. Bella took her hands back, then leaned back, putting a few inches between them. Rosalie hoped her face didn't show how worried she was. "Could I-?" Her hands fiddled with the bottom of Rosalie's shirt, toying with the final button.
Bella wanted to undress her? Rosalie's head swam, and she nodded slowly. Bella only undid the bottom three buttons of her shirt, then looked reverently at the exposed skin. It wasn't much, but Rosalie felt naked under the probing gaze. Two warm hands touched her stomach, lightly tracing the faint shape of her abs. She inhaled and was overwhelmed by the scent of Bella. Her clothes, her hair, and her arousal filled the locker room. Bella's hands slid around to her lower back, fingers dipping just below the hem of her jeans.
Rosalie was finished with not having her lips on Bella's, especially when they felt like this. Bella pushed against her, their chests flush as their lips met. She pushed herself closer, as if they could melt together and disappear. Rosalie returned that energy, both hands on Bella's face as she deepened their kiss. Bella was an aggressive kisser. She shoved her tongue deep into Rosalie's mouth, and Rosalie moaned. She hasn't meant to. "Oh god," Bella gasped against her lips. One of her hands slid back into Rosalie's hair and fisted it as she had the day before.
All the sensations at once exploded in Rosalie. Electricity ripped down her spine, setting her skin alight. She moved her mouth from Bella's to kiss her way down to the tender junction between her neck and shoulder. She sucked gently there, slid one hand down Bella's front, and rubbed her thumb across the apex of her jeans. Bella tensed and Rosalie froze, her hand in the same spot. The girl seemed shocked and unsure. Her hips rolled one more time, pushing gently against Rosalie's hand. She groaned quietly, put her head on Rosalie's shoulder, then said, "Stop."
"Of course." She removed her hands, setting them on the counter on either side of Bella's legs as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't need to breathe, but the heaving of her chest felt out of her control. Bella kept her head where it was, then reached down and buttoned the bottom of Rosalie's shirt back up. Her hands accidentally grazed Rose's skin, and the touch felt like fireworks. She didn't know the last time touching someone had felt like this. "Are you okay?"
A warm hand gently brushed the side of her face, then settled on her shoulder as Bella leaned back and looked at her. "Yes."
Rosalie searched for any red flags in Bella's face. She didn't see any stress, fear, or anger. Bella can always tell her to stop, and Rosalie would always listen. She didn't even need to explain why she said stop. "Are we okay?"
Bella kissed Rosalie. "I think so. Do you?"
Rosalie nodded. "I do."
"There are some things I want to talk about before we even consider doing them." She put her head back on Rosalie's shoulder. "No one has…um…ever touched me like that before." She laughed, rocking against Rosalie. The laugh was breathless; the warm air against her neck did nothing to quell the raging fire between Rosalie's legs.
Rosalie gently smoothed Bella's hair with one hand. She felt she could handle that contact. "Was that okay?"
"It was, though I might make you leave so I can take a cold shower in here."
"The gym showers don't work. They haven't worked in years."
"Shit." They stayed, their breath mingling a moment longer, before Bella spoke again. "Thank you for stopping when I said."
A stone cold pit of dread landed heavily in Rosalie's stomach. Her response had to be carefully crafted. She leaned back very slowly to make sure she didn't scare Bella, then took one of her hands in her own. "Did you ever doubt that I would?"
"No, I didn't doubt it." She gently rubbed a thumb across Rosalie's hand. "It's just nice to not have worried, and know I never need to worry." Bella looked at their joined hands, touching the cold scar James had left on her over a year ago. "It makes me feel like, if it came to it, you wouldn't almost drain me while trying to save me."
Her throat tightened. Not only had Bella almost been murdered a year ago, Edward had almost followed an insane vampire's murder attempt with a manslaughter of his own. Rosalie hadn't helped protect Bella when she had the chance. All she had been asked to do was wear Bella's clothes and run. She refused. That probably explained why she had ended up in Italy with the same girl she'd refused to protect, then risked everything to save her as well. She leaned in, kissing Bella's forehead before responding. "I told you: I'm probably the safest one in the family."
Bella nodded. She looked at Rosalie, and it seemed like she might consider kissing her again. Then the locker room door flew open.
"Woo! It smells like sex in here. You two have two minutes until the bell rings, and four minutes until the rest of my gym class shows up and wonders what you two have been doing. I suggest you straighten yourselves up before that!"
"Hi, Alice," Bella groaned.
"Hello, horny teens." She clapped her hands. "Chop chop!" They split apart, and Rosalie held out a hand to help Bella get off the counter.
"Oh dear god. I am so-" Bella stopped speaking as she stood, legs slightly apart, and her face turned bright red.
"I'm sure you are, hun, I'm sure you are," Alice laughed and ignored the heaviness between them. She took out a brush and helped Bella straighten her hair.
Rosalie fixed her makeup and hair in the other mirror. Bella was wet. Because of her. Was she proud? That couldn't be what she was feeling. That shouldn't be what she was feeling…They needed to be believable, but maybe they were too believable. Maybe she should ease up on this charade.
Then again, maybe if she was keeping Bella happy, it didn't matter how far they went. Bella was comfortable with her. She was comfortable with Bella. A little fun never hurt anyone.
Isabella Marie Swan was extremely uncomfortable. Not because she was actively yearning for more time alone in Rosalie's arms, their tongues in each others mouths. Not because in a moment of weakness, Rosalie had groped her over her pants, and she had liked it. No, she was uncomfortable because she was living her day in wet underwear. She had no way to change, no extra clothes, and she was horrifyingly aware of the fact that every vampire knew she had been pawing at their sister this morning.
Sometimes she truly forgot how in tune with the world around them the vampires were. She hadn't considered Rosalie's sense of smell. She hasn't thought about Alice hearing them. (Recalling the sounds Rosalie had made turned her on again.) Finally, she hadn't thought about how Jasper, Alice, and Edward would be intimately aware of their locker room meet up due to their gifts.
At lunch that afternoon, Rosalie told Bella she would sit with her family to have important discussions about privacy. The humans noted Rosalie's absence.
"Trouble in paradise?" Jessica asked. She was genuinely concerned.
"No, none at all." Her mouth smiled without her permission, and she looked at Rosalie. Their eyes met. They look on Rosalie's face was the softest look she'd ever seen her make. It was as if the girl's smile was made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. Her heart galloped away in her chest, and she looked down at her food. "We're good. Great even."
"Dear god, you are so gross." Lauren spoke up from next to Jessica. Bella looked at her, expecting judgement, but Lauren was smiling. "I'm gonna say something terrible, but just bear with me. So I thought I had never seen someone fall in love so fast when we saw you with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named last year." Mike chided her, angrily saying 'Dude!' She ignored him. "But you two were nothing compared to you and Rosalie."
"Hear hear!" Tyler called through a mouth full of fries. "I'm not just agreeing because I think you two are fucking hot either." Mike took pleasure in slapping Tyler up side the head. He choked on his fries and Ben had to slam his back with an open palm for a minute. "Woof, sorry. Ow, that hurt." His eyes watered, but he spoke anyway. "Seriously, Cullen looked at you like," cough, "he was gonna kill you at any moment." Cough. "Hale looks at you like," he looked at the table as he grasped for words. He picked up his phone and held it up for everyone to see, "you're the newest, shiniest iPhone." The table groaned and everyone laughed.
"So you're saying Rosalie treats me like I cost about a thousand dollars and my camera gets better every year?"
Ben tried to save his friend. "I think what this absolute GigaChad means is she values you." He wiggled his eyebrows, "And she really wants to press your touchscreen."
The conversation collapsed into an uproar of laughter, conversation decidedly over. Angela covered her face and kept repeating "oh my god," as the rest of them laughed.
Bella's cheeks hurt from smiling. Her borrowed phone went off with a text from Rosalie. Don't worry, I know you're definitely worth more than 'about a thousand dollars.' Bella didn't have a chance to answer before the next message came through. And I've already been pressing your touchscreen. That messaged was followed by a choice few emojis, including an eggplant, water drops, and a kissy face.
Bella looked up from her phone in time to see Edward storming out of the cafeteria again.
"Does that dude practice his dramatic exits every day, or what?"
Rosalie followed her brother at a deliberate pace. She stopped at the trash, throwing away her untouched food, started towards the cafeteria doors, then abruptly changed direction. She walked to Bella's table with a purpose.
"Hello everyone," she said, offering a wave to the table without looking away from Bella. A chorus of 'hello's' and 'sup' greeted her back. "My love," Bella received. She knew the smile on her face was dopey. Rosalie gently touched her cheek, then asked, "May I?"
To be honest, Bella had no idea what Rosalie was asking her about. But between the dampness she still felt and the excitement of two hours ago, she was going to say yes to anything. "Of course." She wasn't surprised when Rosalie bent down so her lips could meet Bella's. Her hand under Bella's chin tilted her head up. It was gentle, but possessive. Rosalie kissed her slowly, languidly, and sucked on her lip just a bit before she pulled away. It may have been seconds, but it felt like an eternity. The cafeteria fell into hushed silence around them.
"I'll meet you at the car after school." She used a thumb to wipe some of her smeared lip gloss off of Bella's chin, then turned and walked from the room as sensually as anyone in a high school ever could.
The noise around them erupted. The boys at the table started offering money to come see the girls in their private moments, and Jess slapped Mike across the chest, yelling "lesbian presenting couples do Not exist for the male gaze, you pig! They exist to be respected!"
Mike attempted to backpedal.
Angela burst into tears.