*Edward*
I'd been walking out of the Aviation Mall a few hours after dropping Bella off at work with an insane amount of bags in my hands when my cell phone started vibrating in my pocket.
I'd foolishly turned it on for I don't know what reason and had been greeted with somewhere around a hundred voicemails from Jeannie, screeching on the other end and demanding that I call her back as soon as humanly possible in the six or so that I'd actually listened to.
I didn't even want to attempt looking in my email. I might never make it out alive.
I leisurely walked to the truck, staring down at my cell phone once I'd managed to finagle it from my pocket as I decided whether or not I should answer it upon seeing Jeannie's name lighting up the wide screen.
It wasn't going to lead to anything good. When she screeched and demanded that I answer my phone or call her back during a voicemail, it never meant anything good.
And I could only assume that pictures had been taken last night while I was out with Bella, causing an uproar in poor Jeannie's office and making her choke down at least six Tums every half hour.
I was expecting it. I knew it was going to happen. Bella knew it was going to happen; we'd both been well aware of what we were getting in to when I said that I'd go out without my hat.
I wanted to talk to her before I talked to Jeannie about any of this. I needed to make sure that she was okay with all of this; that she was okay and that people hadn't been bothering her all day while she was at work.
Just because she'd said that she was okay with all of it, it didn't mean that she really was. And from the way she'd been reacting when it was merely Jessica dragging our relationship through the shredder, I wasn't sure what she'd be like when I picked her up from work.
From the little I'd managed to decipher from Jeannie's screeching, it was somewhere around six different gossip magazines and double the amount of internet sites that wanted to know who she was and what was going on between us.
Sighing heavily, I dumped all of my packages into the passenger side of the truck before accepting my fate, pushing the little green button and pressing the phone against my ear.
"Hi, Jeannie," I greeted her in my best imitation of someone extremely innocent.
It might buy me a little time.
"Do you have any idea how many times I've threatened to drop your ass today?" she screamed.
Then again, maybe not.
I could hear her munching on what I only assumed was a Tums tablet and sighed as I slammed the passenger door shut and walked around the front of the truck to slide into the driver's seat.
"I have a vague idea."
"Oh, I don't think you do," she snorted. "You told me a week ago that you weren't dating anyone and now there are pictures of you with some… some… girl dancing in a club in Saratoga!"
I heard her slam something down on what I assumed was her desk and leaned forward to rest my forehead on the steering wheel and stare at the outdated gauges as I closed the truck door.
"Things changed."
"You need to keep me informed, Edward! It's madness over here! My phone hasn't been quiet all day! And why haven't you returned any of my phone calls?"
"I haven't been in service until now. I don't get any reception up at my house."
"Then you need to move!"
I rolled my eyes.
"I'm not moving."
"Well you need to do something differently! I can't keep doing this, Edward!"
"Jeannie, you need to calm down."
"And you need to get your ass back to L.A. so that we can figure out what the hell we're going to do about this!"
She had a better chance of seeing pigs fly by her office windows than she did of getting me on a plane back to California anytime before next Monday.
"I can tell you what we're going to do," I sighed as I sat up straight and tapped the brim of the hat. "I'm going to go home, talk to Bella and then I'll call you back."
"I've heard that before!" she screeched and I heard her popping open her ever-faithful bottle of Tums.
She really did need a very long vacation. Maybe I'd buy her the plane tickets for Christmas. It was probably the least that I could do after making her stomach lining all but disappear.
"You need to give me something that I can tell people now until we can get all of this sorted out."
"Jeannie, there's nothing to sort out. I'm in love with her and I don't give a fuck who knows about it."
"Something that you should've told me already, Edward! Why do you do this to me?" she whined, sighing heavily. "I'm good to you, aren't I? I don't ask too much of you or make you do anything that you don't want to do, do I?"
Guilt washed over me and I shifted uncomfortably in the seat, sliding down a little further and crossing my free arm over my chest.
"No, Jeannie, you don't."
"Then why do you do this to me every damn time you start dating someone new? How long will this last, Edward? She lives in New York and you're in California most of the time."
My nostrils flared and I glared out at the hood of the red Neon sitting in front of me, pressing my lips together and doing my best to remember that Jeannie was only trying to do her job.
"We're both very much aware of that," I said quietly. "And it's going to last a hell of a long time."
"Like what's-her-name?"
I rolled my eyes, pushing the hat off of my head and dragging my fingertips over the bandana covering my hair.
"Her name was Kate and she was better off as a friend."
"Edward," Jeannie sighed heavily, "you've said that about more than half of the girls you've dated while I've known you. Why do you think that this one will last?"
"Because it's more than that!" I exclaimed, sitting up in the seat and slamming my hand on the steering wheel. "Jeannie, this girl is… she's everything."
"I can't imagine that you've known her that long to really believe that."
"Aren't you supposed to be supportive?" I growled, wrapping my fingers tightly around the steering wheel.
"I've seen this happen to too many of my clients before, Edward, and I just want to make sure that I'm actually prepared for something that you're getting involved in."
"I'm telling you," I said quietly, fighting the urge to throw the phone out the window, "this is the real thing."
I heard her sigh and then heard the Tums bottle rattle before I heard her munching on another tablet.
"You really love her?" she finally asked.
"I really love her."
"This isn't just some bullshit fling that you need to get out of your system before coming home?"
"Jeannie," I sighed heavily, twisting my hand around the steering wheel before dropping it into my lap.
"I want to get the truth out to the credible magazines and sites, Edward, so you need to be sure that this is real. I'm not going to waste this much time and effort into putting an entire story out there if this is going to be over within the week."
"This is as real as it gets."
"And do you promise to call me back once you've talked to this girl?"
"Her name is Bella and yes, I promise to call you back."
She sighed heavily and I heard her teeth crunch down on another tablet.
"I'll be in my office until six. If it takes longer than that, call me on my cell phone."
"I will."
"And Edward?"
I sighed, leaning forward and resting my forehead against the steering wheel again.
"Yes?"
"She knows what this means for her, doesn't she?"
God, I hoped so.
"Yes, she does."
"You better make damn sure she knows all of what it entails, Edward. If you're really in love with her, you better make sure she's well informed."
"She knows."
"I hope you're right."
"I'll call you later, Jeannie," I mumbled, sitting back in the seat again and sighing at the Neon.
"One more thing."
I barely resisted the urge to slam my head against the dashboard.
"Yes?"
"I am rooting for you and keeping your best interest at heart."
I relaxed and took a deep breath, briefly closing my eyes as I placed my free hand on the top of my head.
"I know, Jeannie."
"Call me back as soon as you can. I want to get this out before my phone blows up."
"I will."
"Goodbye, Edward."
"Bye," I mumbled, shaking my head and pressing the red button on the phone before throwing it in one of the many bags at my side.
I spent the entire ride to my house thinking about how to bring this up to Bella easily before finally figuring out that there really was no easy way.
She could've already known by that point, anyway. She could've had people swarming her and asking for details while I wasted time in the mall and talked to Jeannie on the phone. She could've been having one of the worst days because of who I was to the rest of the world and it was something that I couldn't stop now.
Driving by the bookstore with its overly full parking lot made me cringe and tighten my hands around the steering wheel, fighting the urge to pull onto the side of the road, walk in there and demand that she come home with me now.
Just to protect her for a little while longer; keep her out of the spotlight and safe in my arms for just one more day.
Shaking my head, I drove up our street and parked the truck in her driveway before grabbing the bags and lugging them across the street.
I stored all of my packages in the bedroom closet, sliding the door closed before walking back downstairs and into the living room to flop on the couch and stare at the silent television. I untied the bandana and flung it next to me, settling down on the couch and resting my hands on my stomach.
I sat there for the rest of the day, only realizing what time it was when the light through the window started to fade and I had enough common sense to look at the clock on the DVD player.
What if she couldn't handle all of this? What if she'd just been putting on a brave face for me? What if when I picked her up, she decided that she was going to call it quits with me?
My heart twisted painfully in my chest as I shrugged my jacket back on and grabbed her keys from the table.
Could I live without her at this point? Could I really let her go when I'd already banked on the rest of my life with her? Could I really learn to live without her?
I swallowed hard and walked out of the house, jogging across the street and hopping into her truck.
No. I couldn't live without her now. She'd become a part of me that I couldn't think about being without.
Leaving her to go to Washington at the beginning of next week would be hard enough, but losing her completely might kill me.
Taking a deep breath, I backed out of the driveway and down to the store, parking in the mostly empty lot and drumming my hands on the steering wheel.
I stared at the door, anxiously waiting for it to open before I hopped out of the truck and paced around it, running a hand through my hair.
I couldn't just sit there and wait patiently. There were so many scenarios running through my mind of how she'd walk out of the building that if I stayed in one spot, I'd probably just go insane.
When I heard the door open, I looked up and sighed heavily when I saw a regular customer walk out, a plain white bag swinging from one of her hands.
The blonde kept her eyes on me, one side of her mouth quirked up into a smirk as she walked by and got into the metallic blue Honda Civic I hadn't noticed before.
Shaking my head and reaching up to tap my fingertips against my forehead, I continued to force even breaths in and out of my mouth as I heard her pull out.
That could've been so much worse.
Maybe it had been inside. I wasn't in there to see how her interaction had gone with Bella. Maybe she'd caused a scene in there and Bella was on the edge of hysterics right now.
I should've never let this happen. I should've never let myself be with her this way. I never should've let myself cause someone as beautiful and perfect as her this kind of pain.
She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to have to deal with this much shit on a daily basis.
It wasn't fair to her.
It'd kill me to be apart from her, but I wouldn't have her going through this all the damn time if she didn't have to. I wouldn't cause her this much pain if it was avoidable.
My head snapped up again when I heard the door slam closed and I nearly growled when I saw Jessica walking toward me with a rather large grin on her face.
I did not need this right now.
"Hello, Edward," she purred, walking straight up to me and pressing herself against my chest.
I backed up into the truck as far as I could, slapping my hands on the side of it and stretching my neck back and away from her as I looked down.
"Hi," I mumbled.
"So, I was thinking," she started, tilting her head to the side and licking her lips.
Ugh.
"About that premiere…"
"What about it?" I managed, trying to force some sort of hole into the side of the truck with sheer will power so that I could escape her.
Why was this woman such a pain in the ass all the damn time? Didn't she ever get tired of it? Didn't she have anything better to do with her time?
And if Bella walked out right now…
Oh, God.
"You have one coming up soon, don't you? I read about it on the internet."
She reached up to trail one fingertip down my chest and I quickly pushed her hand away, shaking my head down at her.
"Yes, I do," I said quietly, placing my hand back on the side of the truck again. "And I'm going to talk to my agent tonight about our agreement. You'll have all of the information you need before I leave here."
Her grin got that much wider.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Yeah," I laughed uncomfortably, turning my head away from her and looking out to the woods surrounding the back of the store.
I heard the door slam again and immediately tensed, closing my eyes tightly and wishing that the truck would somehow just swallow me whole.
This could not be happening.
I kept my face turned away, praying beyond anything that Bella could see just how much I hated this. I heard her voice, asking Jessica if she needed something and nearly cringed when Jessica said no and kissed my cheek.
I fought the urge to childishly wipe away the remnants of her sticky lip gloss and was very relieved when I opened my eyes to see her flouncing off to her car and backing out of the parking lot. She waved at me as she drove away and I cringed.
I started babbling when Bella merely raised her eyebrow at me, but I didn't know what else to do. I'd been thinking not even five minutes ago about how I'd leave her to protect her from all the shit that surrounded my lifestyle and now I found myself tripping over my own tongue trying to explain that nothing had happened.
Because God damn it, I didn't want her to leave me. I didn't want to be without her. I couldn't.
But then she was calling Jessica a massive bitch, walking over to me and wrapping me in her arms as she laughed a little.
Which didn't really calm my nerves down at all. Yes, Jessica was a massive, vindictive bitch but it didn't explain the laughing and I wasn't sure if it was nervous laughter or if she was just trying to cover up what she was really feeling.
And then bananas left her lips and I just stood there, staring at her.
She'd used it. She'd used the trick I'd taught her and it had worked for her. She wasn't hiding any other emotions from me. She really was okay.
My heart swelled in my chest and I wrapped my arms around her again, telling her that I loved her and completely forgetting about anything that I might've been thinking about leaving her.
This woman was amazing and she was mine. I wasn't going to fuck with something like that.
We got in the truck and I drove us home, my hand grasped tightly in hers as we pulled into her driveway.
"So," I started as we met at the back of the truck and clasped hands again, "I got a call from my agent."
"Oh yeah?" she asked, looking up at me and brushing hair away from her eyes.
"We're out."
"In a big way," she agreed, nodding.
I looked down at her as we crossed the street and watched her face for any sign of remorse or second thoughts.
When I found none, I untangled my hand from hers and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against me as we walked up the porch steps and kissing the side of her head.
"And I need to tell Jeannie something to tell all the papers and sites. So, you really need to tell me now if there are any skeletons in your closet."
She threw her head back and laughed as I unlocked the door, walking in ahead of me and watching as she threw her jacket and purse on the rocking chair.
"I'm not nearly interesting enough to have skeletons in my closet." She kicked off her shoes and walked over to the couch, flopping down onto it and looking over at me. "I do have some questions for you, though."
I raised an eyebrow and toed off my shoes as well, throwing the keys on the table and shedding my coat to rest it on top of hers before joining her.
She leaned against me as I sat down and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders again, resting my cheek on the top of her head and staring at the wall next to her.
I could only imagine what questions she might've needed answered. I didn't even want to think about what Jessica had brought up to her today.
But she wasn't upset. She wasn't crying and she wasn't avoiding me, so it couldn't have really been all that bad.
Right?
"Ask away," I said quietly, absently trailing my hands through her hair.
She took a deep breath and I tensed, closing my eyes tightly and waiting impatiently for what I was sure couldn't be leading anywhere good.
"Tanya Holden."
My breath came out in a whoosh and I smiled as I opened my eyes again, reaching around and wrapping my other arm around her as well, leaning in to bury my nose in her hair and laughing a little.
Ah, yes, Tanya.
"My very good friend Tanya Holden?"
"You dated her," she said timidly, one of her hands reaching up to make nonsensical patterns on my arm.
"For a short while," I agreed, nodding as I rubbed her arm. "We were better off as friends and we've been that way ever since."
"You don't make up and break up every time you see her?"
"God no," I laughed, shaking my head and reaching up with one hand to tip her chin up. "Because we're still close, the media assumes that we're back together each time we go out to lunch or dinner or hang out at a bar. I haven't dated her in over three years and I have no desire to do so again."
I leaned down and gently touched my lips to hers.
"She's probably one of my best friends and you'll meet her one day. There's absolutely no need to worry about her, Bella. I'm in love with you," I whispered.
The smile that lit up her face as she threw her arms around my neck and tackled me to the couch had me laughing as I pulled her down with me. She burrowed her nose into my neck and straddled my lap, gently tapping her fingertips on my chest.
"What does your agent need to know about me?" she finally asked, tilting her head up to rest her chin on my chest and look at me.
"Well," I started, my hands in her hair again as I looked up at the ceiling and twisted my lips to the side. "If you don't want someone really prying into your background just yet – because it will happen eventually, Bella – she'd like to know all the basics. Full name, where you grew up, whom your parents are, where you live… it's something like a questionnaire."
"Should I write all of this down and send it to her?"
"I have to call her back. I wanted to talk to you first and make sure that everything was okay."
She grinned at me, anchoring her hands on either side of my head as she sat up enough to kiss me.
"I don't think I've ever had a day that ended this well."
I laughed and pulled her back down to me, keeping my arms tight around her shoulders as I kissed her again.
"That's really good to know," I whispered as I pulled back from her.
"It's really good to say."
I laughed and pushed hair behind her ear, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs.
"You're in this with me," I said softly, nodding my head and marveling slightly at the whole concept.
She was still here. She'd dealt with Jessica all damn day and had come out of work with fire in her eyes and a laugh on her lips when it was just the two of us.
She was still here with me.
"For the long haul," she confirmed, nodding and grinning at me.
I breathed out a laugh and kissed her again, burying my hands in her hair.
"I'm serious," she mumbled against my lips. "You're not getting rid of me now."
I laughed, shaking my head and pulling away from her again.
"I don't want it any other way."
She smiled and rested her forehead against mine, her eyes slowly closing as she curled her arms around my shoulders.
"You should call her," she said softly, nodding slightly. "You need to get this controlled before people start making their own assumptions."
"Love, they already have," I whispered, nudging my nose against hers and watching as her eyes opened again. "No matter what Jeannie says to any of them, they're going to make their own conclusions about you. About us."
I watched as she folded her bottom lip into her mouth, her teeth gently gnawing on it.
"It's going to be hurtful." I swallowed hard and moved one hand from her hair to cup her cheek. "And it's going to be really hard, Bella. They're going to dig up as much as they can and use it against you and they won't feel any remorse for it. They'll follow you with cameras and questions and they're going to make your life a living hell."
I swallowed hard again and kept my eyes on hers.
"And if I could keep you from that… if you want me to keep you from that then tell me now. I can…"
She cut me off, her mouth forcefully pressing against mine and her hands unwrapping from my shoulders to wind roughly in my hair.
"What did I just tell you?" she asked, backing away from me and pursing her lips. "The long haul, Edward. That means I'm not going anywhere."
"I just want you to be aware of what could happen; what will happen once Jeannie confirms all of it."
"I already knew it. You told me before. My life won't be simple or quiet or any other boring adjective you can come up with and I know this." She moved her hands from my hair and placed them on my cheeks, squishing them together and causing me to laugh. "But I don't care. If that's what I have to deal with in order to be with you, then I don't care."
"You really love me, huh?"
I was surprised that she understood me as she tilted her head back and forth and twisted her lips to the side.
"Maybe just a little."
My mouth tried dropping open, but seeing as how she still had my cheeks clasped in her hands, the intended effect didn't work all that well. Instead, I tightened my arms around her and flipped us both onto the floor. She landed on her back with me on top of her and I watched her closely to make sure that I hadn't hurt her and that she was breathing all right through her laughter.
I hadn't and she was, her legs coming up to wrap around my waist as she finally let go of my face and wiggled around underneath me.
"If you really need to question that, then maybe I haven't been doing a very good job of showing you just how much," she stated, quirking an eyebrow at me.
My heart fell.
No. She wasn't allowed to think like that. That wasn't what I'd meant by that at all.
"No, Bella, I didn't mean it like that…" I started, shaking my head fiercely.
I really was just cramming my foot into my mouth today, wasn't I? I'd need a damn shoehorn to get it out of there if I kept this up.
"Oh, would you just relax?" she laughed, gently slapping at my chest as she continued to wiggle underneath me. "Let me up. I need to go do something."
"Bella," I said helplessly, feeling her legs slide down my hips to land on the floor.
It didn't make a damn bit of difference if she'd told me to relax. Relaxing was not an option when she was slapping at my chest and trying to wiggle away from me.
"Seriously, Edward, get up," she laughed, pushing on my chest.
Grudgingly, I moved off of her and stood up, holding my hand out to her and helping her get up from the floor. She bounced up on her toes, kissing my cheek noisily before flouncing out of the room and up the stairs.
I plopped back onto the couch and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and my chin in my hands as I stared at the visible part of the stairs from the living room doorway.
Great. Now I'd just chased her away.
And this day had started out so great…
I sighed heavily and looked over, peering out of the windows when I heard a car coming up the road.
I stood up, tilting my head as I saw a police car pull into Bella's driveway.
Maybe they were just turning around. We were pretty much the last houses on this road and Bella's driveway was most definitely one of the biggest.
But then the tall, thin and slightly menacing police officer got out of the cruiser, all but sprinting to her front door and all the panic at chasing her away from me vanished as new panic replaced it.
Something could've happened to the store. Someone could've tried breaking in or had succeeded in it and everything she'd worked so hard for was gone.
And if they did it because of me…
I felt sick.
"Bella!" I yelled, quickly walking over to the bottom of the stairs. "Bella, there's…"
"Don't you dare come up here, Edward Cullen!" she threatened.
"But there's…"
"No! I'll be down in just a minute!"
"There's a police officer at your house!" I blurted out, huffing slightly.
She was quiet and I heard her hasty footsteps as she appeared at the top of the stairs in nothing but a black corset and a pair of matching underwear.
Oh. Holy. Fuck.
All thoughts of worry and her store being burglarized vanished from my mind in an instant.
"Police officer?" she asked, her voice flat as her eyes darted from me to the direction of the front door.
"Uh…"
I'd lost any and all speaking capabilities. The blood that had once been running through my veins was now settling very nicely in my groin the longer that I stared at her.
"Albany County?" she asked, quickly running down the steps to stand next to me and peek around the corner.
"Uh…"
The running and the bouncing and the proximity and the near nakedness of my apparently very sneaky girlfriend were not helping with the speaking issue I was currently having.
"You're a big damn help!"
I blinked at her and then stepped back, pointing at her outfit and shaking my head.
"Uh…"
She rolled her eyes and waved me off.
She slowly inched her way into the living room, pressing herself against the wall as she neared the windows and only making my mouth water and my jeans get that much tighter around my hips.
She cursed softly and inched her way back to me, slapping at my chest when she reached me before running back up the stairs. I didn't bother trying to disguise the moan that ripped its way out of my throat before falling against the banister and panting.
Yes; panting. Like a damn dog in heat, I was leaning against the banister of my stairs in an effort to stay standing and panting after her.
Even when she came back down the stairs dressed in a pair of jeans and one of my t-shirts a few minutes later, it didn't help the images that were still embedded in my brain.
"I love you, but you need to stop that," she stated, pointing at me before she yanked her hair up in her hands and tied it back. "That police officer is my father."
Immediately, the blood was back in my brain and I was holding onto the banister for a completely different reason as I gaped at her.
"Excuse me?" I managed.
"Now you speak!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air when her hair was safely tied behind her.
"He's your father?"
She nodded, sighing and fisting her hands on her hips as she slowly inched toward the front door.
"And you're apparently going to meet him today."
Fuck.
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