First & Ten, Chapter Two: Where It All Began
BPOV
What to do first? Finish doing the write up on the star quarterback of McKinley High or get the stats that Buddy requested? I brushed my brown long hair out of my face and frowned at my ancient computer screen. Would a flat screen monitor really break the bank?
Stats first, that required little to no thought and I’d had a late night yesterday. I’d been out until nearly eleven covering the first wrestling meet of the season. Ten schools, thirty matches…that’s a lot of grunting and sweating. I’d tried to work up interest but honestly, wrestling was not my sport. Football was my one and only love.
I was hip deep in the Cardinals receiving stats for last year, breaking down Whitlock and Fitzgerald’s yards per catch when the ringing of my cell phone broke my concentration. I looked at the phone with a combination of happiness and trepidation. I hadn’t talked to Alice in two weeks and that usually meant one of two things. Either she’d met a new guy and was in love, which happened with alarming regularity, or she’d come up with our next adventure. She’d dragged me on hot air balloon rides, snorkeling expeditions in Mexico, mountain climbing…God only knew what she’d come up with next. If I didn’t answer, she’d just keep calling until I did.
“Hey, Alice.”
“Bella! I have the best news!” Sure she did. She always did.
“What news would that be?”
“I met him!” So, it was option number one. She was in love again. Fuck, this would not be good. It never was.
“That’s great, Alice.” My voice could not have been any flatter. Hmm, Whitlock averaged .32 yards more per catch than Fitzgerald. He was Cullen’s favorite target, thrown to 15 times a game while Fitzgerald averaged 13. Not a big difference. Cullen was lucky to have two number one WRs to throw to.
“Bella! Are you listening to me?” Shit, I hadn’t been. She’d said something about how she met whoever it was but I hadn’t processed it.
“Sorry, Alice, doing some work.”
“Humph. I haven’t talked to you in two weeks and you’re too busy to listen to me now? I’m telling you, he’s the one!” Of course he was; they were always the one, until three weeks later when a new “one” came along. Alice was a romantic at heart, she believed in love at first sight. The problem was she saw a lot of people. One guy replaced another then another…I couldn’t begin to keep up.
I sighed and turned away from my monitor, looking out the window at the building next door. “Okay, how did you meet him?” If I didn’t break down and ask she’d just harass me until I did. It was better to give in than turn the inner pest inside her loose.
“At that charity fashion show I arranged! He was in the front row and one of my male models didn’t show up so I bullied him into joining the show for me. He was a big hit!” Well at least I wasn’t the only person that fell in line when Alice started giving orders.
“I’m sure he was.” I waited for her to get to the point of her phone call. She never just wanted to chat about the guys; I always had to meet them.
“So we’re getting together tomorrow night! Can you meet us at Axis/Radius at eight?” And there it was.
“Listen, Alice…”
“No, you listen, Bella! This is important to me. He is important to me. I already know what you’re going to say so don’t even say it. He is the one. Period.” She’d said that before, though not quite as adamantly as she was now.
“If I go…” she cut me off with a squeal of excitement. “And I’m not saying I will…” Who was I fucking kidding? I’d go, I always did. “Then I’m only going for an hour or so. I have a game to cover on Friday.” Work, always a good excuse.
And the shrieking was back full force. “Oh, Bella, I can’t wait! I told my Jazz all about you and he’s very anxious to meet you.” Jazz? Oh hell no, it was another musician. The last one was some beatnik poet singer named Embry that had Alice wearing tie-dye and going barefoot everywhere. It was one of her more unfortunate romances…I don’t think she even showered. They had to become one with the earth or some damn thing. Thank God she didn’t even last two weeks with him.
Calm down, Bella, they won’t let her in Axis/Radius if she hasn’t showered and isn’t wearing shoes. It’s the hottest club in Scottsdale. Only the elite get in. Not that I was one of the elite, but Alice was. She was the premiere party planner in the city. “Jazz?” I asked, fear in my tone.
“Yes! My Jazzy! Wait until you see him, Bella. He’s gorgeous. Tall and blond and lean but his muscles! Oh my God.” And she was off, rhapsodizing about the hotness of her musician. I turned back to my computer and started calculating Cullen’s passing stats while she droned on and on. “And I swear it’s not a set up, I just really need you there for moral support.”
Wait…what? “What are you talking about?”
“Did you tune me out again? Damn it, Bella, how could you do that? I finally found Mr. Right and you’re completely ignoring me!”
“I’m not ignoring you, Alice, I’m trying to work. What were you saying about a set up?” I tried, and failed, to keep the exasperation out of my tone.
“It’s not a set up. It’s just that Jazzy wants me to meet his best friend so he’s bringing him and I’m bringing you for moral support. Meeting the best friend is important and I don’t want to mess it up! I need back up!” Oh, hell no.
“Alice, you know I have no interest in dating anyone right now. I’m too busy and…”
“And you don’t have time for a guy in your life. You’re perfectly content being alone and you’re completely over that jerk. Yes, I know, Bella, I’ve heard it a thousand times before. I swear I’m not trying to set you up with anyone. I just need you there to help keep the conversation going and make me look good. That’s not too much to ask is it?”
I glared at my computer screen as I thought about what she’d said. She hadn’t tried to set me up in a long time so it was entirely possible that what she was saying was true. And I loved her and wanted her to be happy, even if her happiness was dependent on whoever the latest guy in her life was. Could I endure one hour of entertaining the best friend? “Alright I’ll do it, but you owe me big time.”
“Thank you, Bella! You’re the best friend in the entire universe. Wear the Prada dress I got you last Christmas!” And she was off. What the hell had I just agreed to?
EPOV
“Go long.” Jasper darted down the field, running a full out pattern. I threw the ball when he was about twenty yards short, knowing he’d be there when it arrived. He cut in and plucked the pass out of the air effortlessly. “Nice,” I told him.
He grinned, his dimples flashing as he jogged back to me. “Nice throw. You ready to call it a day?”
I rolled my right shoulder and felt no pain, which was good since we had our first game of the season on Sunday. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” We walked into the locker room and stopped to get towels and fresh clothes.
“So, are you doing anything tomorrow night?” Jasper asked. There was something in his tone I’d never heard before. Nerves? That wasn’t possible.
“No. I was going to stay home and watch some game tape.” I shrugged out my sweaty t-shirt.
Jasper chuckled and rolled his blue eyes as he slung a towel over his now bare shoulders. “Really, Edward? Game film again? How many times can you watch? You know you’ve already got their defensive schemes memorized.”
“So?” I liked to be ready, he knew this about me. We’d been teammates for two years and known each other for even longer. His Longhorns played my Trojans twice during our college years and we’d been friends off the field while being foes on it until we were both drafted by the Cardinals in 2007.
“So what more could you possibly learn by watching again? Freeney will be after your ass all day long and Williams and Ford will be on me. Ford’s hobbled with a minor ankle sprain and Williams couldn’t catch up to me if he was on a motorcycle. We’ve got this, Cullen.”
“Yeah, we’ll see. Why are you asking about my evening, anyway?”
He looked away from me, reaching into his locker. “Because I was thinking you could go to Axis with me.”
“Axis/Radius?” I couldn’t keep the disbelief out of my tone. That was the last place someone like Jasper would want to go. He preferred hole in the wall bars, not dance clubs. Hell, I preferred the same thing. I hadn’t been there since I broke it off with Tanya.
“Yeah,” he muttered, still not looking at me.
“Jasper, what’s going on?”
He looked up at me then and the expression on his face left me speechless. He looked like he’d won the lottery. He was fucking glowing. “What the hell? Are you pregnant?”
He laughed and punched me in my left shoulder, wisely avoiding my throwing arm. “No, man. It’s just…I met someone and I want you to meet her.” A woman? Well good, that was way better than the world’s first pregnant man. I could deal with a girlfriend.
“Whitlock, have you finally fallen for a girl?” This was a first; Jas liked to love ‘em and leave ‘em and never apologized for it. I was the one that always ended up in relationships, even when I didn’t want to be.
His smile only grew wider. “Yes, her name is Alice and she’s amazing. She’s like a little whirlwind and I don’t know. One look at her and I was done.” Holy shit, he was actually in love. I never thought I’d see the day.
I ignored the envious twinge that revelation evoked and returned his smile. “Good for you, Jas. I’d love to meet her.” Game film could wait; it wasn’t every day that my best friend fell in love.
“Good. Axis at eight. We’ll be in the VIP room.” The smile slipped off his face and he eyed me warily. “There is one thing though.”
“What?” How bad could it be?
“Her best friend is going to be there.”
Oh, that fucking figured. “I assume her best friend is a girl?”
He looked abashed. “Well, yes, but…”
“Damn it, Jasper, you know I’m not looking to be with anyone right now. I just got free.”
“I’m not trying to fix you up, I swear. I know what a number Tanya did on you. She just wants me to meet her best friend and I need you there to help me clear the way. You know how girls are about their friends liking their guys.”
“Look, Jasper, I don’t think it’s a good idea. You know how girls get around me and I don’t think…”
“Alice says Bella isn’t like that, at all. She’s just as anti-dating as you are and she’s not going to fawn all over you and try to get into your pants. Though if you ask me you could use…”
“Shut the fuck up, man.” I snapped my towel at him and he danced out of the way, laughing. “If I want to get laid, I’ll get laid on my own, thank you very much.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I know! I’m not pushing you. Enjoy your celibacy, Monkward.”
“Dick.”
“I have one and I am using it. How about you?” I laughed along with him and shook my head. “Don’t tell me Tanya actually castrated you? That would explain a lot.”
“I kept my dick out of the line of fire, thank you very much.” My ex had a hot Russian temper and I’d gotten the shit scratched out of me when I broke up with her. But she hadn’t gotten her hands on my junk, thank God.
“That’s good. Women and quite a few men all over the world would be in mourning if you were permanently out of commission.”
“You know, for someone who wants something from me, you’re acting like an ass.”
He flashed his dimples at me. “I gotta be me. You know you love me.”
“Dude, I am so not talking about loving you while we’re both half naked in a locker room.”
“I’m secure in my masculinity.”
“I know you are.” Jasper strolled around the locker room naked all the time, without a care as to who might be in the room. Once my mother had come in to see my father and…no, I didn’t want to think about that. “I’m gonna hit the showers.”
“So, tomorrow, eight o’clock?” There was a plea in his eyes that I couldn’t resist.
“I’ll be there.” Who knew what the hell I was in for?
BPOV
I was running late and Alice was going to kill me. It wasn’t my fault though. Buddy had sent back my piece on Todd Johnson, McKinley High’s quarterback and future Arizona Wildcat, with several questions and edits. By the time I had it up to par, it was already after six. After I got home, showered and changed it was already quarter to eight. I wouldn’t be there on time and she was going to have a fit.
Hmm, is it better to let her know I’ll be late and deal with her angry texts and phone calls or just show up? She’d have to play nice in front of “her Jazz” and his friend, so that was probably the best bet. The wrath of Alice was not something I cared to experience if I didn’t have to. She could rage at me later. At least I was wearing the short black Prada dress she’d demanded, right? I’d washed, dried and fixed my hair, curling it so it fell in soft waves around my face. I was even wearing makeup. Alice might hate my tardiness but at least she’d approve of my appearance. I was going to be late either way. This was more effort than I tended to make for my own dates, which might be why I rarely had any, come to think of it. Like I cared.
I got back into my trusty silver Volvo and drove into the heart of Scottsdale. It was a 30 minute drive from my apartment in Phoenix. Why was I doing this again? Oh yes, because I loved my best friend. Foolish of me, really. I could always find a new best friend, though I could never find another Alice. She often drove me batty but usually she was right about things. Every trip we took that I thought I would hate I ended up having the time of my life. She cajoled and pushed; I bitched and moaned and somehow we complimented one another perfectly.
I turned onto Camelback Road and sighed when the giant club came into view. Axis and Radius were two separate buildings joined by glass catwalk. Axis was one side, Radius was the other. Walls of glass windows were everywhere in the two story buildings. There were two huge dance floors and each level had several bars. Alice being Alice had procured us seats in the VIP room at Axis. I pulled up to the valet area and stepped reluctantly out of the car.
The valet took my keys and gave me a ticket, directing me to the front floor entrance of Axis. There I encountered a hulking figure of a man, looking ultra serious dressed all in black. I thought about turning around and getting back in the car but the valet had already absconded with it. I took a deep breath and approached the huge guy. “I need to see your ID, Miss,” he said in a deep baritone.
I gulped and dug it out of my wallet. “Isabella Swan? You’re on the VIP list.” I tried not to be offended at the surprise in his voice. I really didn’t look like the VIP type so I couldn’t blame him. You could dress me up in Prada but that didn’t make me a VIP. I’d rather be in jeans and a t-shirt any day.
“Uh, where is the VIP room?” I’d only been to this place once and that was with Alice, of course. We hadn’t been on the VIP list then though. She must be doing some work for the club to earn that status. Perhaps she was planning a major party here and they were kissing her ass. It happened quite often these days as she made more of a name for herself.
“Up the stairs, to the right, all the way around back. You’ll have to show your ID again once you get there so you may as well hold onto it,” he told me gruffly, already turning away from me to card some other people that had come up behind me. I took a breath and entered the club.
I was immediately assaulted by the pulsing beat of a Rihanna song. “Rude Boy” was blaring over the speakers and bodies were gyrating in the center of the dance floor. I stayed the hell away from that mess, heading to the stairs and walking up carefully. Of course I would have to climb fucking stairs in four inch heels. But these shoes went with the dress. I only knew this because Alice had included them with the dress when she gave it to me.
I gripped the railing for dear life as I made my way up and breathed a sigh of relief when I managed to make the top without falling. My clumsy days were mostly behind me, except when I was wearing stilettos. Damn Alice and her ridiculous taste in shoes.
I shoved my through the crowd, already irritated at the huge mass of people in my way. Why were they all out on a Thursday night? Did nobody have to work tomorrow? I felt like I’d been in the ring with the champ for five rounds by the time I made my way to the VIP area. Another hugely muscled man was standing at the door, this one with a completely shaved head. I handed him my ID and he checked it against his list. Yes, same Isabella Swan as I was downstairs. Really, how VIP is their damn VIP room anyway? He stepped back and opened the glass door, gesturing me inside.
I took a minute to take in my surroundings. Alice clearly didn’t know I was here yet because she would have called me over instantly. It was dark inside and actually relatively quiet. The music played here but at a level that didn’t require screaming to hear your friends. There was a bar at the front of the room, filled with any kind of liquor you could want, all of it looking pretty top shelf to me. Not that I would know, personally, but the bottles were very pretty. There were booths along the other three sides of the room and I walked slowly past each one, looking for my petite friend and her mystery guy. And his friend, of course, the sour voice in my head reminded me. It’s only an hour, Bella, you’ll survive. I hoped so.
I glanced to the far right corner, just two booths down from the bar and there she was. It was funny how she managed to stand out in any situation. She was in a red halter top and short black skirt and knee high black boots. She was, in a word, stunning. I shook my head as I took in my best friend, positively glowing with happiness as she chattered at the blond guy next to her. His head was turned toward her, facing me, so I couldn’t get a look at him until I got to the table. Someone was sitting next to him, it looked like, there was an empty beer there but whomever it belonged to was nowhere to be found.
I made my way over to them and stopped at the table. Alice had her hand on Blondie’s arm and was completely oblivious to my presence. “Alice?” Still nothing. “Alice!” I raised my voice a couple decibels and it finally got through to her. She tore her eyes away from her Adonis and saw me. A huge smile broke out on her face.
“Bella!” She was up and out of the booth like a shot; her arms wrapped around me before I could even process the movement. “You made it!” There was no hint of censure in her tone and I felt myself relax infinitesimally, maybe she wasn’t pissed that I was late.
“I said I would, didn’t I?” I asked, returning her hug.
“You did! I can always count on you,” she murmured softly, so that only I could hear. She pulled back and turned to her newest love at the table. “Bella, meet the love of my life, Jasper. Jazzy, this is my Bella.” Jasper? Well that was a hell of a lot better than if his name was actually Jazz, I guess.
I turned to hold out my hand to her date as he stood up from the booth, revealing a very tall, athletic frame. I felt my jaw drop open as I took in the face. Holy shit, he wasn’t a musician at all. Alice’s Jazz was the Cardinal’s own Jasper Whitlock, one of the premiere wide receivers in the league after only two seasons. Why the hell hadn’t she told me he was a football player? Or had she? I hadn’t paid much attention to her when she was blathering on about him on the phone. Still, she should have made sure I knew. That was the sort of information a best friend who loved football should be told, wasn’t it?
“Bella, it’s very good to meet you. Alice has told me so much about you,” he said, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips. I chuckled at his Southern charm.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jasper. I’m afraid that Alice didn’t do the same for me regarding you.” I shot a glare at her. “I thought you were a musician since she called you Jazzy.” She shrugged and scooted back into the booth next to him. I sat down next to her.
He laughed long and hard at that one. “I’m afraid that I’m pretty pathetic when you get me near any kind of musical instrument. My momma tried to get me to learn the violin but I was helpless.” Something caught his eye over my shoulder and he grinned. “Though the same can’t be said for my boy here. He’s the musician. Bella, meet Edward. Edward, this is Bella.”
Edward? It couldn’t be, could it? Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I turned. Right next to me was a body clad in blue jeans. My eyes were level with his crotch. Great, Bella, way to make an impression. I slowly dragged them upwards, taking in the hunter green button down shirt that stretched across a truly gorgeous chest. I gulped as my eyes continued their journey, over two beautifully sculpted shoulders. It had to be him. It couldn’t be but it had to be. I looked up further and saw the jaw and then I fucking knew. It was him. Edward Cullen. Fuck me. Literally and figuratively, fuck me, please.
EPOV
This sucked. I was at Axis at eight, just like Jasper had requested. I dealt with all the usual bullshit that came from coming to a place like this. Requests for autographs, pictures, girls all but throwing their phone numbers at me…why was I here again? Oh yeah, for my best friend. I moved quickly through the throng of admirers and took a deep breath of gratitude when I made it into the VIP room relatively unharmed. I loved my life, for the most part, but being surrounded by money hungry women was not my favorite pastime. If they wanted to know me for me, it’d be great, but they wanted to know Edward Cullen, quarterback.
It was frustrating and one of the many reasons that I’d more or less given up on the dating scene. Most of the girls I met just wanted to be seen with me and didn’t give a damn about me other than what I could do for them. I thought it best to date a woman that understood the pressures of fame and that’s how I’d ended up with Lauren and then Tanya. Both monumental mistakes. Lauren made a habit out of banging any and all of her costars. I found that out the first time I visited her on the set and had the misfortune of walking in on her mid-bang with the guy who was playing her father in her film. Her father! I know he wasn’t actually her father but that was pretty foul, wasn’t it?
And Tanya? She was just using me like the rest of them wanted to. We looked good together but that was about it. She had a hell of a temper…her fits made Naomi Campbell look like some kind of saint. Her tantrums were the stuff of legend and I just got sick of them. We only saw each other about twice a month and that was two times more than necessary in my book. I tried to break it off with her for several months but each time she distracted me with sex and I ended up sticking with her. I finally put my foot down a couple of months ago, endured the rage and the scratching and the hitting and got the hell away from her for good. Is it any wonder I was off women these days?
But this wasn’t about me. I was here for Jasper. He was gone over this Alice and it was my job to make sure that she deserved him. Jazz had a good heart and he’d yet to trust anyone with it. I wanted to make sure she was worthy. I saw his tousled blond hair at the right side of the bar and made my way over to him.
“Hey Jas, I’m here.”
He beamed at me and I was again shocked by the utter happiness on his face. He’d always been a content guy but this was something beyond that. He was completely gone over this girl.
He slung an arm over my shoulder. “Hey man, what’re you having?” I ordered a beer and Jasper gave the bartender a hundred. “Keep the change.” Some people would think he was showing off but that was Jasper, he was always generous with his money. “Come on, you need to meet Alice.”
He led me over to their booth, which appeared to be empty until we were right up close to it. There sat a tiny woman with spiky black hair and a slinky red top. She was so short I hadn’t been able to see her over the booth. She stood and I bit back a laugh at how incongruous she looked standing next to Jasper. They were physical opposites but there was still a rightness about them that I couldn’t deny. “Edward, I’m so happy to finally meet you. Jazzy has been talking about you nonstop,” she chirped, her voice as cheerful as she appeared to be as she grinned up at me. Jazzy?
I started to offer her my hand but that was ignored as she all but leapt into my arms. Her short arms wrapped as far as they could go around my chest as she hugged the life out of me. Yes, I could see why Jasper liked her. She was full of life and there wasn’t a shy bone in her body. He needed someone like that to balance him out. I immediately approved. “It’s nice to meet you too, Alice. Can you loosen that grip a little? I have a game in three days and I don’t need cracked ribs going into it.” I was only sort of joking but she giggled and released me. She scooted back into the booth and was nearly in Jasper’s lap she was sitting so close to him. He didn’t seem to mind though.
I sat on his other side and noticed that Alice’s friend had yet to appear. What was her name again? Belinda? I sipped my beer and felt that twinge of envy as I noted how Alice and Jasper looked at one another. There may not have been anyone else in the room for all they seemed to notice. I cleared my throat and Alice turned to me. “Sorry,” she said with another giggle. “I tend to forget myself when I’m with my Jazzy.” There it was again. I laughed as I imagined calling Jasper that in the locker room. Emmett would have a fucking field day when he heard about it.
“So how did you two meet?” He hadn’t enlightened me and I figured it was a good conversation starter. Sure enough, Alice lit up as she recounted their story to me.
“I’m an event planner and I planned that charity fashion show for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital a couple weeks ago. You must have heard about it.” Actually, I had. I had to go to a family wedding or else I would have likely been there, as would my parents. “Anyway, one of my male models didn’t show! I was absolutely frantic and I peeked out of the curtain trying to see if I could find someone, anyone, to step in and there he was, sitting in the front row.” She kissed Jasper on the cheek. “He took my breath away right then there. It took me a few minutes before I was able to walk up to him and ask him to be in the show for me.”
Jasper laughed. “Ask? I don’t remember you asking.” She scowled at him and he slipped an arm around her and turned to me. “Actually, she walked up to me and informed me that one of her models didn’t show up and that I had to step in for him. I tried to protest that I knew nothing about modeling and she put her hands on her hips and informed me that I was gorgeous and I knew it and all I had to do was walk down the catwalk.”
“Well, you are gorgeous,” she pointed out, snuggling into his side. I almost felt like I was intruding on their own private world, it was strange.
“If you say so, darling,” he murmured, his cheeks actually coloring. Dear God, Jasper blushing? I should be recording this shit to play for the entire team. He would never live it down. I laughed and he looked at me and shrugged sheepishly. “Anyway, I tried to argue with her but that lasted all of about two minutes. Next thing I knew I was back stage and she was yanking off my clothes. I didn’t really mind that, so much.”
She giggled. “No, he didn’t mind it at all. He reached for me and I told him that we didn’t have time to play then but if he played his cards right I might just undress him later.” She had no filter, did she? She wasn’t remotely embarrassed that she’d just told me that she planned on fucking my friend within minutes of meeting him. For some reason, though it should have been off-putting, with her it wasn’t.
“So you were in a fashion show? Is there tape of this occasion?” I asked, a huge smile on my face. Alice nodded at the same time that Jasper shook his head. “Yeah, I’m really going to need a copy.”
She laughed. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said at the same time that Jasper said, “Over my dead body.” She patted Jasper on the arm as he glared over at me. She mouthed “I’ll hook you up” while he faced away from her. I liked this girl, I really did.
“Anyway, he got out there and strutted his stuff…”
“Strutted? I don’t think so,” Jasper interrupted. “More like I walked down the aisle as quickly as possible.”
She laughed again. “Okay, that’s true. He wasn’t exactly working it on the runway but he did it for me and I was very grateful.” She planted a kiss on him and again I found myself clearing my throat because they seemed to have forgotten all about me. “Sorry,” she said again, though her laughter belied her words.
“After the show, we sat backstage and talked for hours. It was like we’d known each other all our lives. You know me, man, I don’t talk to anyone for long but with Alice here it just comes naturally.” Jasper’s words were an understatement. He was a lot of fun and a great guy but a terrible interview. He tended to just answer questions with as few words as possible so he could get away from the cameras. To hear about him talking to anyone for hours was surreal. Then again, Alice probably did most of the talking.
“He’s a regular chatterbox with me,” she said, countering my thoughts. I shook my head and grinned at her. She was something else. I wondered if her friend was anything like her. She wasn’t really my type but she wasn’t what I’d pictured for Jasper either.
“Where’s your friend?” What’s her name? It started with a B, I was fairly certain. Still I wasn’t going to say it and be wrong and piss Alice off. I didn’t want to get on her bad side, somehow as happy as she seemed, I felt like there was a hell of a temper in there.
“Bella?” She looked down at the delicate silver watch on her wrist and frowned. “She’s running late, as usual. Probably got hung up at work. She’ll be here soon.” Bella, that’s right. Pretty name, I wonder if it’s fitting?
I put my empty beer bottle on the table and stood up. “I’m going to get another. Do you guys need anything?” They both shook their heads and I made my way back to the bar. This was going to be my last drink, I wanted to get home and watch some film before bed. I got my beer and returned to the booth. It seemed Alice’s friend had finally arrived. I saw brown hair peeking over the top of the booth and stopped next to her to introduce myself. I heard Jasper say something about me being a musician and felt embarrassed. Why was he telling her that?
“Bella, meet Edward. Edward, this is Bella.” I dimly heard Jasper make introductions but I was looking at the girl next to me.
Bella turned and seemed to focus on my waist. I felt my cock stir due to her proximity to it as well as the fact that she seemed to be staring at it for about a minute. She slowly looked up at me and I took in a porcelain face framed by long curly brown hair. Her brown eyes seemed dazed as she looked up at me and her mouth fell open a little bit. I guess she recognized me. She was absolutely beautiful and I felt my cock harden even more at the sight of her in that little black dress. Her legs seemed to go on for miles. I set my beer down, wanting nothing more than to touch her. “Hi.” My voice was confident despite the nerves I felt as I reached a hand toward her. “Nice to meet you, Bella.” Her name was more than fitting. Her hand slipped into mine and I felt an electric shock go through me at her touch. This night was just full of surprises. Suddenly, I was not so eager to go home.
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