*Bella*
*Chapter Song - Say It Again*
The store was a mess. There were stacks of books piled up at my feet, the display for the most recent bestseller had been knocked down by an over-active child about an hour ago and I hadn’t sat down since I got here. My back and feet were killing me and my stomach was grumbling at me, demanding to be fed. There was a line a mile long in front of me as I stood in front of the register. There had been a few mouthy customers that had chosen to tell me how they didn’t appreciate standing in line for fifteen minutes.
There were only thirteen more shopping days until Christmas and naturally, everyone in town had decided to wait until now to come to my little corner of the world. Plus, we were supposed to get one hell of a snowstorm tonight, so they all had to get out now and make it seem that the world was going to end with eight inches of freshly fallen snow.
I should’ve been in a hell of a mood. I should’ve been glaring at everyone that asked for help when I was clearly in the middle of ringing out what felt like tens of thousands of people. I should’ve been impatiently watching the clock for six when I could close and be alone for an hour to peacefully do some paperwork until going home.
Home. Edward.
But I wasn’t. I smiled and politely told impatient customers that as soon as I was able, I’d help them with whatever they needed. I’d barely glanced at the clock since everyone started piling in and I was even humming along with the small radio Jessica had brought in a few months ago to keep the silence at bay during the slower days.
I was in a damn good mood.
I was spending the night with my boyfriend. No sisters, no friends threatening him – just the two of us, our laundry and my completely empty house to ourselves.
Plus, I’d gotten all of my feelings out in the open this morning. Granted, I’d told his sister instead of him, but I felt so much lighter and happier about all of it.
When I’d told Alice – who had been very intent on straightening my hair at the time – that I loved him enough to wait for him, she’d gotten this smile on her face that I didn’t quite understand until she’d set that damn contraption down and hugged me until I was gasping for air.
And then she’d said, “I’m so glad he found you” and every little doubt I’d had about her still having any sort of reservations towards me disappeared.
I’d hugged her back just as tightly, feeling like an idiot when my eyes teared up. When she finally let me go, she laughed and said that the hard part was over – “Falling is half the battle, after all” – and now I just had to tell him.
And I was going to tell him. Tonight. We had no time to lose and I wasn’t going to be an idiot about it anymore.
No, I hadn’t ever been the one to say it first – and the small bit of terror in the pit of my stomach was most definitely there and keeping me very well informed about the whole idea – but it was different this time and I knew it. My heart knew it, so really, what else was there to think about?
We were running out of time for important things like this. We didn’t have all the time in the world to worry about this – we had a week and a few days until we were separated from each other and I wasn’t going to have him leave without knowing how much he meant to me.
He deserved to know. And I wasn’t going to let myself think about what would happen if he didn’t feel the same way about me.
Because I was on too much of a high to let it bother me. I wanted to tell him; I needed him to know that I loved him. He needed to know that this wasn’t just some rebound thing that would disappear when he left. This was real and I wasn’t going to let him think that it wasn’t.
“Hey, beautiful, you got a minute?”
I looked up to see Edward standing in front of me, a pile of the bestseller books that had been scattered around on the floor by the window in his hands as he grinned out at me from underneath his hat.
And even though he really did look ridiculous in the hat and it was pretty damn laughable, my heart still fluttered in my chest when I saw him.
“I didn’t even see you come in,” I smiled, taking the books from his hands and looking around him to see that five more people had just walked in. “And sadly, no, I don’t…”
“Have anything to worry about!”
I jumped when Angela walked behind the counter and gently pushed me out of the way, easily taking the books from my hands and placing them on the counter before she shrugged out of her coat.
And when the hell did she get here? I couldn’t have really been that oblivious to everything, could I have? I know I was blocking out a whole hell of a lot of other emotions and senses right now, but did I block out the ability to spot my boyfriend and best friend at the same time?
“Did you two time this or something?”
“No, but he did scare the shit out of me,” she laughed, nodding at Edward. “I had no idea why this creepy guy in an ugly cowboy hat was talking to me like he knew me.”
“She didn’t believe it was really me,” he continued, laughing as he moved off to the side and grabbed my hand, gently pulling me out from behind the counter.
“Made him take the whole damn thing off and felt like an ass when he was who he said he was.”
I laughed, shaking my head at the two of them. It was nice to see that Edward was getting along with at least one of my best friends. It was even nicer to see that Angela was accepting him, as well.
“But what are you doing here, Ang? You have a studio to run, you know.”
“I also have a few hours to kill before I have anymore clients coming in. I know Jessica is out this week and figured that I’d come in and give you a hand.” She nodded to Edward as another customer came up to the counter and plopped an entire stack of books onto it. “Go relax, Bella. I’ve got it all under control.”
“Do you know how…?”
“Go!” she laughed, quickly ringing in the first book and smiling brightly at the customer standing in front of her. “This is the same software that I use at the studio. I know what I’m doing.”
“But it’s really…”
“Bella,” Edward breathed into my ear.
My eyes immediately slid closed and I leaned into him, a small smile slowly forming on my lips as I squeezed his hand. Really, that was all the persuasion I’d need.
“I’ll call you if I need you.”
I opened my eyes to see Angela smirking knowingly at me before she tuned me out completely and struck up a quick conversation with the mother of two she was ringing out.
“I, uhm…” I mumbled, blinking stupidly at her before turning to Edward. “What…?”
He laughed and squeezed my hand. “Your office?”
I nodded slowly and let him lead me through the doorway and up the stairs, pushing through my door and closing it behind me.
“
“Yes and I really feel bad for the person sitting in the seat next to her.”
I laughed and welcomed the feeling that flowed through me as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head against his chest and sighing as I closed my eyes again.
This was what I craved every day; being in his arms, safe, happy and without a care in the entire world.
“I like her, you know. She’s a bit overwhelming at times…”
“A bit?” he scoffed, his hands making slow circles on my back.
“…But she means well!” I laughed, opening my eyes and looking up at him. “She loves you, Edward, and she just wants you happy.”
And there it was; the perfect lead in to tell him that I loved him. All I had to do was say four little words - "And so do I." It was simple.
I mean, I was going to tell him anyway - why not now?
No, it wasn't romantic by any means, but that wasn't really such a bad thing, was it? In all reality, what did it matter where I said it as long as I actually did say it?
So why was I on the verge of passing out and letting Edward lead me to the horribly uncomfortable chair behind my desk if it didn't matter?
"Bella? Bella, breathe. Please breathe, Bella," he begged, grabbing my face in his hands as I plopped unceremoniously into the chair.
I sucked in a deep breath, filling my lungs completely and looking up at him to smile nervously.
"Sorry."
"What was that all about? Are you okay? You scared the shit out of me."
I placed my hands on his wrists as his thumbs ran gently over my cheeks, meeting his worried eyes and biting my bottom lip.
Okay, so that didn't really work out all that well for me.
"I was just... thinking... about..." I trailed off, looking to the side as I tried to make sense of my scattered thoughts.
Oh, Christ, this wasn't going the way I'd seen it playing out in my head.
"Bella," he whispered, getting down on his knees in front of me. "Talk to me."
I moved his hands from my cheeks to link my fingers through his, looking down to study the way they just seemed to fit together. No awkwardness in that second before our fingers intertwined, no repositioning of any kind because we just fit together. Taking one more deep breath, I looked up at him again.
"Do you know how much you mean to me?" I whispered, squeezing his hands. "I have never felt this way for anyone else before and I..." I shook one hand out of his to place it against his neck, rubbing my thumb over his jaw line. "Edward, I..."
We both jumped when the phone beside me beeped to signify that Angela was paging me and I sighed, shaking my head as I leaned forward and dipped my head underneath his hat to kiss him as I shook my other hand free and reached over to grab the phone.
So close - oh so close. It was right there; I could practically hear myself saying it and almost feel his lips against mine when I finally did.
Because I wasn't going to let myself think about what would happen if he didn't say it back or just stared at me blankly when I finally got it out. If I did, I'd never be able to say anything to him ever again.
"You need me?" I asked as I backed away from Edward and sat back in the chair.
He stood up, leaning over to breathe a kiss against my neck before whispering into my ear, "I do."
A shiver ran down my spine and I barely contained the small moan that threatened its way out of my mouth as I tried to concentrate on listening to Angela on the other end.
That wasn't fair in any way, shape or form.
"Okay, so, I don't know how to do the gift certificate thing," she mumbled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Bella."
"Don't be sorry," I laughed nervously as Edward gently tugged on the sleeve of my sweater, replacing the fabric with his lips. "I'll be down in a minute."
He growled softly into my neck before standing up straight as I hung up the phone and looked up at him.
"Sorry," I laughed when I saw his bottom lip pop out in a pout.
"Not your fault," he sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "You're at work. You have obligations that don't involve letting me suck on your shoulder for extended periods of time."
"Not that I don't enjoy it," I laughed, gently reaching up to tug on his belt loops before standing up.
He smiled and kissed me quickly before walking with me to the door and pulling it open for me.
"Seven-thirty?"
I nodded, smiling at him as I walked in front of him and started down the stairs.
"Would you mind grabbing your shirt and my bag from your place before you come over? I didn't think about it before I left."
"You weren't really allowed a choice."
"Would you be nice to her?" I laughed, reaching behind me to gently slap at his thigh. "I'm sure she could've been so much worse."
"You're definitely right about that," he mused as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "But it was bad enough as it was."
I shook my head as he turned me to face him, smiling up at him as I lazily draped my arms over his shoulders.
"You're busy," he mumbled, his hands resting lightly on my waist.
I merely nodded, shrugging one shoulder as I linked my hands behind his neck. "Appears that way, doesn't it?"
He laughed, bending down and lightly pressing his lips against mine.
"Smart ass," he mumbled, backing away.
"Sometimes."
He laughed and kissed me again. "I'll see you when you get out of work. What did you want for dinner?"
"I'll make something when I get there."
"Are you sure? I can attempt to make... something."
I laughed and shook my head. "Just wait until I get home, okay?"
He smiled softly at me and nodded, leaning in and kissing me again before letting me go.
"I'll see you tonight."
"Yeah..." I trailed off, biting my bottom lip and stealing one more kiss before backing away from him.
He laughed and reached out, grabbing my hand and squeezing it quickly before disappearing into the crowd I hadn't realized was standing behind us.
And what made it just that much worse was that more than half of them had been watching us. He kept walking, his head down and his face completely covered as he disappeared out of the door.
My cheeks instantly started to burn when the door slammed shut behind him and I ducked my head before weaving through them and walking up to the counter to stand next to Angela, who was merely smirking at me.
"Shut up," I grumbled, gently nudging her with my elbow as I reached into the bottom drawer and grabbed a bundle of the gift certificates.
"Is that your boyfriend, Bella?"
My head snapped up when I heard the familiar raspy voice of one of my regular customers, Mrs. Carbody, and I laughed nervously, nodding slowly.
Oh, God, I hope she hadn't seen enough of his face to recognize him. She was the town gossip and the last thing either of us needed was to have her know who I was currently dating. It would quite literally make the local news and that wasn't something either of us needed to deal with right now.
She was pushing ninety years old and lived alone - all her children gone and in different states and her husband had died a few years ago. She came in at least once a week to talk to me about anything and everything that she'd seen on the aforementioned local news program and no matter how hard I tried, there was no escaping her.
"Well, honey," she rasped, leaning heavily against the counter. "That boy has one mighty fine ass."
Angela threw her head back and laughed, her hands covering her face as she collapsed into the chair behind her. My own face must've been about as bright as a fire truck and all I wanted to do was go back to hide in my office.
"Yes, he does," I squeaked, fighting with the paperclip that was holding the gift certificates together. "How much did you want on this?"
She waved off the certificate, resting both elbows on the counter and leaning in at almost the same time that everyone else did.
"How long have you been with him, sweetheart?"
Since when did my love life suddenly become the most interesting thing of the day? Wasn't there someone out there hijacking cars or some such bullshit that they could turn their attention to?
"Honestly, Mrs. Carbody, I really don't feel comfortable talking about this," I begged, laughing nervously as I continued to fight with the stupid paperclip on the certificates.
And since when did working a paperclip suddenly require a college degree?
"It's just so nice to see you happy, Bella," she smiled sweetly at me as I looked up at her. "You glow."
"You're not pregnant, are you?" Jane Cross, one of the pharmacists that worked at Stick's asked as she leaned a hip against one of the chairs across the room.
"No!" I said quickly, shaking my head and taking a deep breath as my eyes widened.
I needed to have sex to get pregnant and I was pretty damn positive that that hadn't happened yet.
"Okay, okay," Angela wheezed behind me, finally standing up and spreading her arms in the air once she'd stopped laughing. "That's about enough of that, I think. Bella thanks you for your interest, but we're losing daylight and need to get this all wrapped up for the day."
And as the room heaved a collective heavy sigh, I wanted to get down on my hands and knees, kiss her feet and promise that I would be her personal slave for as long as she wanted me to be for that act alone.
"I love you," I whispered to her.
She laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders.
"I love you too. Now show me how to ring in a gift certificate."
I sighed happily as I showed her, infinitely glad that she had gotten the crowd in front of us off of the topic of my love life.
It was mine for a reason. And it wasn't going to be private when Edward went back to
~*~
I had no sooner pulled into my driveway at seven-thirty and gotten out of the truck when I saw Edward making his way across the street with my duffel bag and a white trash bag filled with that I assumed was his laundry in his hands.
I'd spent the last hour and a half of the day finishing up the paperwork that I had sorely neglected since Jessica had left for vacation and doing my best not to distract myself with thoughts of what could possibly happen tonight when I got home.
He'd said that he'd needed me. I wasn't sure in what form he might've needed me, but it sent a glorious shiver up my spine when thinking about any possible reasons.
I hadn't really been able to get a lot of the paperwork done when I'd begun thinking about it, either. It didn't matter how hard I tried to focus on the report of what I'd be getting in for a shipment next week; all I could think about was how his voice sounded when he whispered into my ear, or the way he'd pulled the shoulder of my sweater down to kiss my skin. It hadn't been easy to keep myself in that chair until I finally did comprehend most of what was coming in for the shipment next week, but I'd somehow managed to do it.
And now, I didn't have to distract myself anymore. I was home, Edward was walking across the road and nothing else mattered any more than it should've.
Laughing, I shook my head at him and reached back into my truck to grab my purse before slamming the door closed and waiting for him, shivering slightly as the wind I hadn't noticed before slapped at my face.
"Had quite a bit of dirty laundry, didn't you?" I asked, smiling as he walked up to me.
"I didn't realize that I'd worn so many clothes already."
He grinned and dropped both bags onto the ground before taking my face in his hands and leaning down to kiss me, his lips urgent and hungry against mine as he pushed me up against the truck.
I sighed against his mouth, dropping my purse and keys on the ground and reaching up to tangle my hands in his hair.
As much as I'd learned to like
The minimal amount of time that I'd gotten with him each morning before I stepped foot out of the bed hadn't been nearly as satisfying as feeling him pressed up against me with his mouth firmly planted on mine had become.
I felt his lips part above mine and eagerly opened my mouth to his, my tongue greeting his as his hands fell from my face and landed on my hips, jerking me even closer to him.
"Bella," he whispered, breaking away from me to trail his mouth down to my neck.
I tipped my head back, resting it on the truck as his lips continued their trail across to my throat, his tongue flicking out every once in a great while and driving me absolutely crazy.
I fisted my hands in his hair as he trailed his mouth back to my neck, his hands tightly gripping my hips.
"Hm?" I managed to hum out, relaxing my fingers to gently scrape my fingernails across his scalp.
He kissed up to my ear, placing small, feather-light pecks along the bottom of it.
"I love you," he whispered.
I froze and he stopped kissing my ear, instead placing his lips against my neck and holding them there.
Did he just...?
Oh my God, he did.
Right?
I couldn't have imagined that, could I have? It sounded real - and it was definitely his voice as opposed to one I'd dreamed up when thinking of this moment. I wasn't just wishing and imaging that, was I? It sounded too real for it to be one hell of an incredible figment of my imagination. He was too still and too quiet for it not to have been real.
I was only vaguely aware of how fast my heart was beating or how quickly my breathing had sped up as I forced air in and out of my lungs. My hands were still in his hair, my hips were still pressed tightly against his and his lips were still planted gently against my neck.
And as I finally became aware that this was, in fact, very real when his fingertips pressed even more tightly into my hips, a smile slowly started to form on my lips.
He'd said it. He'd said that he loved me. He loved me. Me; boring, plain, ordinary, clumsy Bella Swan.
It felt like I was floating; like the world had stopped revolving and the biting, bitter cold wind that was whipping around us ceased to exist. We weren't standing outside of my house with the threat of snow looming in the air or bags of laundry at our feet. We simply were and there was nothing in my entire life that had ever made me feel like this before.
"Bella, if you don't..."
"Do you mean it?" I breathed out, interrupting him and unable to tame the smile that was now spreading across my entire face.
"I'd never lie to you," he breathed, his voice shaky.
I moved my hands to grab the sides of his head, forcing him to face me. He quickly averted his eyes from mine and I had to bite my bottom lip when I saw the tight line he'd pressed his lips into.
"Look at me, Edward. Look at me," I repeated when he stubbornly shook his head once, "and say it again."
His eyes snapped down to mine and I watched his mouth relax as he looked into my eyes.
"Say it again," I whispered, rubbing my thumbs over his jaw line as I swallowed hard.
"Bella, really, if you don't feel that way, it's okay. No harm done," he said quickly, his voice cracking.
"If you really meant it," I bargained, my voice rising as the panic started to creep in, "you will say it again."
He was talking himself out of this. He was standing right in front of me, looking directly into my eyes with his mind in over-drive as he tried to take those beautiful life altering words back.
I saw him swallow hard and sucked in a deep breath as he just stood there, his eyes impossibly sad as he continued to stare into mine. Finally, his mouth opened before it snapped shut again, his jaw twitching underneath my hands.
"It's not that I..." he started slowly.
"I love you," I blurted out, clenching my jaw together tightly. "I'm in love with you, Edward, and damn it, if you don't say it again..."
He cut me off with his lips on mine, once again slamming me against the truck from the minimal amount of space I hadn't realized that I'd created as he braced his hands on either side of me.
I hitched one leg up around his waist, combing my hands through his hair again and gently shifting my hips up into his.
He moaned softly, tearing his lips away from mine and breathing heavily as he looked into my eyes again.
"I love you," he breathed, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me away from the truck and pressing me against him. "I love you."
I breathed out a laugh, pulling his lips back to mine and winding my arms around his neck.
"I love you," he breathed, accentuating each word with another kiss. "I'll say it as many damn times as you want."
I laughed again, slowly dropping my leg back to the ground and barely controlling the urge to start doing cartwheels around my driveway.
"I never want you to stop saying it," I breathed, still laughing slightly as I shook my head.
"I love you, Bella," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine and closing his eyes.
I grinned as I trailed my hands out of his hair, over his shoulders and rested them on his chest.
"I love you," I whispered, bouncing up on my toes quickly to gently nudge his nose with mine.
I watched the slow smile spread across his face as his arms tightened around my waist and he opened his eyes to meet mine again.
"I've never…" He took a deep breath and kissed me again before backing away slightly. "I've never been… you're the only one, Bella, and I don't ever want that to change."
I wanted to squeal like a little girl and barely managed to rein it in before I attacked his lips with my own once again, fisting my hands in his shirt.
"And as much as I would love to continue this," he started, laughing quietly as he backed away from me again. "I think we'll both freeze if we stand out here much longer."
Oh, right, yeah. The wind was still whipping around us and the world was still turning despite how I'd forgotten about both and if we did stay out here for much longer, I was pretty confident in saying that I'd probably lose a few fingers from frostbite.
"Yeah," I breathed, nodding as I let go of his shirt and stepped back from him. "Good idea."
He laughed and kissed my cheek before bending down and grabbing the two bags from the ground. I took a deep breath, steadying myself and doing my best to stop looking like an idiot as I smiled at everything around me and bent down to pick up my purse and keys.
"How was work?"
I shrugged, tilting my head to the side as we walked up to my front porch.
"It was work. Angela stayed for about an hour after you left and by then, the rush had pretty much died down."
"I really like her, Bella." I looked back at him to find that he was smiling brightly at me. "She seems like a really good friend."
"She is," I nodded, smiling as I stuck my key in the door and pushed it open, dropping them and my purse on the floor next to me.
Even seeing my lonely old recliner as the only type of furniture in the living room didn't bring me down. I was walking on air and could really care less if I didn't have anything for either of us to sit on while we waited for our laundry.
I stripped my coat off, throwing it over my purse and waited for him to do the same before I began walking ahead of him, our footsteps echoing in the mostly empty dining room as we passed through.
"What do you feel like having for dinner?" I asked as I led him into the kitchen and over to the corner next to the garage door, yanking open the doors to reveal the washer and dryer hiding inside.
"Why don't I have a closet in my kitchen?" he pouted, dropping the bags at his feet once again.
"I'm just cooler than you are." I shrugged easily, flicking open the top of the washer and screaming when I felt his arms come around my waist, lifting me off the floor and turning us around to face the doorway of the kitchen. "Edward!"
"I do believe that I was once on a list for being cooler than anyone else," he said conversationally, his hands dangerously resting on my very ticklish stomach.
"No, that list was for how hot they thought you were," I clarified, pointing up at the ceiling as I looked back at him. "Trust me; there was nothing in that list about you being cooler than anyone else."
"So you read it, hm?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
"Of course I read it," I shrugged easily, biting my bottom lip in order to keep the smile off my face. "Apparently, making you number one only showcased how completely blind some people are."
"What?" he screeched, his fingers twitching against my stomach and causing me to whimper and squirm a little in his arms. "You don't seem to be complaining too much when I'm sleeping next to you half clothed at night!"
I bit my lip even harder at the image he'd placed in my mind and quickly grabbed onto his arms, trying to wiggle away from him.
"I can be a good actress when I need to be!"
"Oh, that's it," he growled, his fingertips digging into my stomach and causing me to scream, kicking my legs out. "That was entirely unfair!"
"Edward!" I laughed, digging my fingernails into his arm and squirming against him. "No, stop!"
"Not until you admit that I'm the hottest man on the face of the planet!"
"You're pushing things a bit with that, don’t you think?" I managed to breathe out, throwing my head back onto his shoulder and screaming again as he dug his fingertips underneath my ribs.
"You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you?"
I stopped wiggling despite how his hands kept roaming all over my stomach and did my best not to scream out or laugh as I looked back at him, my chest heaving.
"Did it ever occur to you," I started, twitching as his hands found my sides, "that maybe I like having your hands all over me?"
He stopped and I watched his eyes darken, causing me to swallow hard as he set me back on my feet and turned me around to fully face him.
"Is that so?" he asked, his voice low as his hands rested on my hips for an entirely different reason now.
I nodded, swallowing hard again as I slowly ran my hands up his chest and rested them on his shoulders.
That wasn't a bad reaction, right? He wouldn’t do any of it he didn't get some kind of enjoyment out of it… right? He couldn't do it purely to see me wiggle and scream at him, could he?
"Yes," I said boldly, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders.
"Well, then," he mumbled, closing the small space between us and quickly dipping his head down to press his lips to mine.
Oh, no, definitely not a bad reaction.
I gasped a little as his cold hands quickly worked their way under my shirt, his fingers splaying on my back and he took that opportunity to stick his tongue in my mouth and stroke mine.
I leaned into him, placing my hands on each side of his neck and running my thumbs gently down his throat, eagerly meeting his tongue with mine. He moved his hands around to my stomach, running the back of his fingers up and down gently even as his lips became urgent against mine.
Okay, so this had to be somewhere close to Heaven at the very least. The smallest touch was leaving little trails of ice and fire combined, sending my entire nervous system into a complete frenzy and leaving me desperately craving all that he was willing to give me.
When I felt his thumbs gently graze the wire of my bra, I moaned softly and arched my back, all but silently begging him to keep going. I didn't care where he was going or what he was planning at this point; I just needed him to keep doing what he was doing.
I moved my hands from his neck, slowly dragging them down his chest before lifting up the hem of his shirt and gliding my hands underneath and over his stomach.
I listened to his sharp intake of breath as I lightly trailed my fingers over his abs and up to his chest.
Yeah, sure, I'd seen him without a shirt on every night for a week, but there was something incredibly different about the way he felt to me this time. It was as if every inch of him was new to me, as if I hadn't been able to do this anytime I truly wanted to.
He took a few steps forward, easily pressing me back against the counter and moving his hands from underneath my shirt. I whimpered at the loss of contact and felt his lips lift into a smirk against mine. I huffed, ready to pull away from him to ask what the problem was until I felt him lifting my shirt from the hem, dragging it up.
"Sneaky," I mumbled as I backed away from him.
"Is this okay?" he whispered, stopping his motions with my shirt just underneath my breasts.
"If I wanted you to stop, I would've told you before," I whispered back, dropping my hands out of his shirt and raising them over my head.
"I want you to be sure."
I dropped my arms again, cupping his face in my hands and gently rubbing my thumbs over his cheeks.
"I love you," I said softly, my heart fluttering in my chest as I watched the smile light up his face. "I'm sure."
And with that, I raised my hands above my head and he slowly pulled my shirt off, throwing it to the side before wrapping his arms around me and kissing me again. My hands went back underneath his shirt and his hands dragged slowly – achingly slowly, actually – across my back, over my shoulders and barely brushing against the sides of my breasts.
Just as his thumbs were starting to dip underneath my bra, there was a series of impatient, loud knocks on the front door that had both of us jumping.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I groaned, panting slightly as I pulled away from him.
"Think we can ignore it?" he mumbled, burying his head in my shoulder and kissing my neck.
I shivered, my head rolling back as his mouth continued down my throat and onto my chest.
Oh, God, yes, if he kept going, I'd ignore if the entire world exploded into flames.
The person on the other side of the door had other plans, it seemed, as they began knocking again. Louder and more incessantly.
"Fuck," he groaned, backing away from me to run his hands through his hair.
I wanted to cry when the cold air hit my skin, infinitely annoyed and very pissed off as I bent down to snatch my shirt off the floor and slip it back over my head.
"I'm gonna kill whoever is out there and then we can continue," I seethed, pulling my hair out from the collar of my shirt.
"Don't kill them," he laughed half-heartedly, leaning in to kiss me once more. "I don't want to spend the rest of the night at the county jail trying to bail you out."
"Can I just maim them?"
He shrugged one shoulder and smirked crookedly at me, nodding. "I don't see why not."
"Okay then."
I kissed him again before I walked back into the living room, my eyes narrowed at the front door as I reached it and yanked it open.
I didn't even care if it was Angela or Rosalie – I would gleefully rip off their arms for rudely interrupting what had been started in my kitchen.
My breath caught in my throat and my vision clouded over with the color red when I saw Jake standing on the other side.
Maiming him would simply not be enough of a justifiable punishment.
"What the hell do you want?" I growled, my hand tightening around the doorknob I still gripped tightly in my hand.
"I've tried calling you at least ten damn times in the past week, Bella," he grumbled, his eyes narrowed at me. "I came to get the rest of my stuff out of the garage."
"You couldn't have waited for me to call you back?"
"So you were avoiding me?"
"I didn't even know that you called."
"I've left you at least half as many messages, Bella! You can't tell me that you didn't get them!"
I blinked at him. I hadn't even bothered to check my answering machine to see who might've called. I'd been so wrapped up in spending as much time as possible over at Edward's while I could that little things like returning phone calls I might've missed didn't occur to me.
Until now, of course, when it was too late to do anything about it.
"I've been busy," I finally ground out, clenching my jaw together.
He studied me carefully, his jaw twitching as he clenched his teeth together before he stiffly nodded once, as if accepting my excuse.
"I see he's still here. Spending all your time with him, are you?" he sneered, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder at Edward's dark house.
"None of your concern anymore, Jake. I'll open the garage door," I said evenly, squaring my shoulders and standing up straight. "You can go in through there."
"Just let me in through here, Bella." He rolled his eyes, pushing on the door. "There are only a few more things that I need."
"Go through the garage, Jake," I said through my teeth, pushing back against the door. "I'll open the damn door."
"He's here, isn't he?" he asked, his eyes widening and his jaw going a little slack. "You have him here."
"None. Of your. Damn. Concern," I ground out, my eyes all but slits at this point. "You gave up the right to know anything personal about me."
"Didn't take you very fucking long to move on to him, did it? I was right, wasn't I? You weren't just talking to him, either, were you? You were probably in a relationship with him the whole damn time, weren't you?"
"I never cheated on you, you asshole. I never would've done that to you."
"Well it sure as hell didn't take you long to get over me, did it?"
"If you hadn't been such an asshole, maybe it would've taken me a little longer!"
"So you are with him!"
"What does it fucking matter?" I yelled, throwing my free arm out to my side. "You're the one that left me!"
"For this exact fucking reason, Bella!" He stood on his toes, looking over my head and into the house. "Hey Cullen! You know that thing she does with her tongue? I taught her that!"
My eyes widened and I pushed on his chest, only mildly satisfied when he stumbled back a few steps onto the porch.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted before I tried slamming the door.
His hands were there, one slapping against the wood and his other one just below my neck as he pushed his way into the house, forcing me backward into the living room.
I panicked, suddenly having to gasp for air as Jake stared down at me, his eyes hard and narrowed and his fingertips twitching against my skin.
He'd never hit me before, but I wouldn't put it passed him to start now. I'd never seen the crazed, almost manic look that was currently shining in his eyes before and he had never been this aggressive with me.
Before I could really comprehend what had happened, Jake was across the room, knocking over my lonely lamp and I was safely tucked into Edward's arms.
I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my head into his chest as I sucked in deep gulps of air, closing my eyes tightly as I fisted my hands into the back of his shirt.
I don't know where he came from, but I didn't care. He was holding me and I felt safe again.
"Do not touch her," his voice was quiet and smooth, the hint of menace and threat lying just underneath. "This is her home; you no longer live here."
"I suppose you do," Jake's seethed, panting as I heard him scramble up to his feet.
"As Bella said before, that's none of your concern. She said she'd open the garage door for you to get your things and leave. There's nothing else you need here."
"What do you know? You know nothing about her, Cullen, and she's not worth your time. Do yourself a favor and leave her while you can."
My arms tightened around his waist at the same time that his tightened around my shoulders and I buried my nose into his chest.
I couldn't think about anything like that right now – having my ex-boyfriend telling my current boyfriend to leave me when I could still feel his hard, unforgiving hand on my chest was just not something I felt I could deal with right now.
What I could deal with, however, was getting Jake the hell out of my house so that I could try and salvage what might've been left of our night.
"Get your shit," I growled, raising my head to glare at Jake. "Get your shit and get out of my life."
"Do not," Edward started as Jake's mouth opened again, "say anything else to her unless you want to go through that window."
Edward simply nodded to the front windows Jake was standing in front of, keeping his eyes trained on Jake's and his arms tight around me.
I swallowed hard when Jake's eyes narrowed again, solely focused on Edward's as he curled and uncurled his hands into fists at his sides.
"You will regret not leaving her on her ass while you can, Cullen; trust me on that."
With that, he stormed by us and I heard the door leading to the garage open and slam shut seconds before I heard the garage door start to rise.
And before I could even think to start breathing normally again, Edward's hands were on my face, on my throat and his fingertips gently running across the spot where Jake's hand had been on my skin.
"I'm fine," I said quietly, shaking his hands off of my throat before wrapping my arms tightly around his waist again and clinging to him.
"You may be," he breathed as he rested his head in the crook of my neck, "but I'm not."
I rubbed my hands up and down his back, still taking deep breaths as he held on to me.
"Thank you for…" I trailed off, huffing out a deep breath and looking up at him.
His hands immediately rested on my neck, his thumbs gently running over my throat as his eyes scanned my face for what I assumed was any sign of any kind of damage.
"…For coming to help," I finished, trying to offer him a slight smile.
He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he threaded his hands through my hair and ran them down my back, stopping at my waist.
"If you thought for one minute that I'd stand back and let him do that," he shook his head, leaning down to rest his forehead against mine and closing his eyes, "let him touch you like that and hurt you…"
He trailed off this time, slowly shaking his head. I reached up, my hands slightly shaky as I combed my fingers through his hair. I stepped forward as his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him as he leaned down even further to rest his chin on my shoulder.
"I love you, Bella," he whispered into my ear, gently kissing the side of my neck before resting his chin on my shoulder again.
I untangled my hands from his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his chest, breathing in deeply and telling myself that this – Edward, me, here, now – was real. Everything I felt for him was more real and more solid and stronger than anything I'd ever felt in the entire three years while I was with Jake.
What we had was everything I'd ever dreamed of and I wasn't going to let someone like Jake bring us down and tear us apart.
"I love you, too," I whispered back, pressing a lingering kiss over his heart.
We stood that way for a few minutes more, wrapped up tightly together and listening carefully to hear anything that might've sounded out of the ordinary in the garage before I finally pulled back and told him that I needed to go out there.
It took me about twenty minutes to convince him that I really did need to go out there to make sure that Jake wasn't hijacking the snow blower just for the hell of it and he only agreed to it if I left the door to the kitchen open so that he could hear anything and everything Jake wasn't supposed to say to me.
He was throwing tools, bike parts and other random things that I wasn't even aware were in there into the side bag of his motorcycle while I stood on top of the steps, my arms crossed protectively around me.
He glared at me the whole time, but didn't say anything more to me. It took him about an hour until everything he apparently needed was strapped safely to the back of his bike and he jumped on it, flipping me off as he roared out of the garage and disappeared down the road.
I didn't even care enough to wonder how he'd gotten there in the first place and quickly closed the garage door, turning to go back into the house and walking directly into Edward's arms.
He closed the door behind me, calming the shivering I hadn't realized I'd been doing as he ran his hands over my back in an attempt to warm me up.
"How about that laundry?" he asked softly into my ear when I had finally stopped shivering.
My lips twitched and it wasn't long after that that I'd burst into laughter, burying my face into his chest and wrapping my arms tightly around his waist.
The night had only partly turned out the way I'd wanted it to and I was sure that Edward hadn't been bargaining for this when he'd walked in the door with me tonight, but just that simple question made all the stress and worry and tension melt away and out of my body.
0 comments:
Post a Comment