A/N: Hello my friends! Welcome to The Beaches of Life! A brand new story and a brand new storyline!! I am sooo excited about this story and I hope you all are just as excited! For all of you coming from Mended Hearts welcome back! For my new readers-welcome! Please know that I reply to ALL reviews! So...if you want to let me know what you think I would be eternally grateful! :) Reviews help ward off writer's block too!
A great BIG special thanks to my beta's tnuccio and sendmeonmyway!
OK enough babble! I do not own Twilight or the characters within-Stephenie Meyer has that great privelege! Hope you all enjoy the first chapter!
Chapter 1 ~ Blast from the Past
The late summer ocean air covered my skin with a thin sheen of salty sweat as I walked up the quaint cobbled walkway. My pink tank and black Roxy skirt clung to my skin as I made my way to the door of my friend Alice's townhouse.
Alice and Jasper lived on Shore Drive looking out over the bay of Virginia Beach. My other good friends, Rosalie and Emmett, lived right next door to them.
It was two weeks ago that I received a phone call from Alice, she had wanted to invite me to a party, a sex toy party. I laughed hysterically at her on the phone and sobered up quickly when I realized she hadn't even giggled. She told me since I had just moved back home that it was a good idea for me to come and meet some of 'the elite', which consisted of her employees who worked at her spa and a handful of friends she made being in the business.
As odd as it seemed I agreed to go. I wasn't bashful, but I had to agree with her on some level, I did need to get more into the social scene here at the beach. My four years at NYU had left me with little time to keep in touch with old friends at home. I didn't really agree that a sex toy party was the best or most comfortable way to meet potential friends, but I guess I needed to start somewhere. Since most of my friends from high school had moved away, it seemed I was left with few options.
I met Alice and Rosalie in New York when they were in town to attend a hair show. My hair stylist at the time, Jane, had been asked to perform in a competition sponsored by Paul Mitchell and she begged me for weeks to be her model. I was hesitant, but as time wore on she became more persistent, and I eventually caved. Alice and Rosalie saw the intricate design Jane created with my hair, which from what they said was the perfect thickness and texture, and fell in love with it. They started asking me all kinds of questions about hair to which I had no answers. Alice eventually talked us into going out with them for drinks after the show. One drink turned to two, one place to many and by the end of the night we had hit some of New York's hottest nightspots. After that evening I never lost touch with Alice or Rose. They visited me a few times a year with their significant others and I was floored when I learned they resided in Virginia Beach where I hailed from. At the time I hadn't decided if I would move back after college, but they eventually swayed me.
Now here I was, standing outside Alice's door, debating the likelihood of making friends at a sex toy party. I hesitated on the porch before knocking on the door. As I raised my fist to knock lightly, the door swing open quickly.
"BELLA!" Alice screamed out.
"Good evening, Alice," I replied quietly with a look of mock horror and wide eyes. "Too much caffeine today?" I giggled quietly as Alice stared up at me. She was a tiny woman with short, dark hair that was always artfully done. You wouldn't think someone that small could be so intimidating, but surprisingly she could more than hold her own. She was freakishly strong both mentally and physically.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Belllaaa," she sang out as she moved to the side and flourished her hand, motioning for me to come in. "Please come in."
"Hey, Bella," Jasper said coming out from the kitchen with a full goblet of wine for me.
"Hi Jasper," I said as I pulled him in for a hug. I hadn't known him for long, but he always made me feel so comfortable that it didn't seem right to not hug him. He was tall and lean with sandy brown, shaggy hair. Alice kept his hair current with the hottest style of the month and he gladly accepted the frequent change, never questioning Alice or her artistic flair. His body was muscular from the hours of surfing on dawn patrol. "For you, my dear," he said holding the wine out to me.
"Thank you. I think I might need several of these," I muttered so only he could hear me. He chuckled lightly and made his way back into the throng of people gathered in the living room.
"Don't I get a hug?" Alice pushed her lip out and made her eyes wide feigning innocence.
"Of course you do," I replied pulling her into an embrace. "I am so happy to be home."
"We are happy you're here, girl. Now let's get the introductions out of the way."
She led me into the living room where everyone was gathered around a display of vibrators, gels, lotions and sexual devices of the sort. I gave a small wave to Rose and Emmett who were sitting on the couch.
Rose grinned widely showing off her supermodel straight teeth. If I hadn't known her better I would have been extremely intimidated. Her corn silk blonde hair flowed beautifully down just past her shoulders and her body was the envy of every woman around. Her piercing blue gaze could cut you down with a single glance. She came across slightly bitchy, but once you got to know her she quickly lowered her walls. "Hey, beautiful Bella," she called from across the room. I gave her a toothy grin.
Emmett pumped his fist in the air and bellowed, "Alright, the beauty is here let's get this party started." I giggled and gulped down more wine. He winked at me and crinkled his nose trying to appear like a cute schoolboy, a look I'm sure he had mastered by the age of five. As with Alice and her pout, Emmett used his wink and crinkle to get what he wanted. Emmett, in all his goofiness, was a perfect match for Rose. He was outrageously tall and equally beautiful. His dark hair sat short on his head and his azure eyes were kind and playful. He had a body builder frame and his muscles protruded from under his shirt and shorts. He was handsome in a boy-next-door kind of way.
I took a moment to survey my surroundings and noticed that every person seemed to have another person attached to their arm. I quickly pulled Alice to the side and whispered frantically, "Is this a couple's sex toy party?"
"Well, it wasn't supposed to be, but it ended up being that way. I was going to call to warn you, but I figured you wouldn't come so I didn't bother. It will be fun, Bella, I guarantee you'll have a blast."
"Riiiigggghhhhtttt," I drawled out sarcastically. I made my way back into the living room and found a seat in the corner. The doorbell rang again and Alice danced over to answer it. I could hear her squeals as the next guest arrived.
I looked up to see the couple entering the living room and my breath caught. I stared at the girl standing in the doorway.
"Jordan Sutton?" I called from my seat in the corner.
Her eyes met and locked with mine as I stood up and made my way to her.
"Bella Swan?" She whispered as the smile spread wide across her face.
Flashback
September 1998: First day of Third grade at North Landing Elementary
"Hi, I'm Jordan. What's your name?"
"Bella Swan," I replied quietly.
"I really like your Trapper Keeper. Purple is my favorite color," Jordan mused excitedly.
"Thank you. I like purple too."
"Is this your first year at this school?"
"Yes, my family just moved to Courthouse Estates. I don't know anyone here."
"Well, you know me now. And, it looks like Ms. Tawny put us in alphabetical order so I think you're going to be stuck with me for the next year!" She giggled excited as she toyed with the flap of my Trapper Keeper.
"Thank you for being nice to me," I said sheepishly.
"It's alright. I think we should be friends."
"Sounds like a plan. Want to come to my house this weekend? I need help unpacking the boxes for my room."
"Sure that sounds like fun. Can I have your phone number? My Mom will probably want to talk to your Mom."
"Sure," I replied happily.
End Flashback
I smiled at the memory as I felt myself being swept into a squealing embrace. We jumped up and down in the doorway to the living room as we embraced. "Oh my God, Bella! How the hell are you?"
"I'm fantastic! How are you doing? What have you been up to?"
"I'm great! Oh, hey, I want you to meet someone," she said as she brought the man on her arm around to the side of her, "this is my husband, Edward Cullen."
I slowly moved my eyes over to Jordan's husband and my stomach lurched into my throat. My pulse quickened as his burnished emerald colored eyes gazed upon me. His hair was a beautiful brown with hints of copper and mahogany. It stood up in all different directions creating the lovely vision of 'sex' hair. I think my jaw went slack as he held out his hand for me to shake.
"It's my pleasure, beautiful, Bella," he said as he grasped my hand and pulled it up to his mouth to brush his lips across the back of it.
"Will you stop dazzling her, Edward? Jesus you're going to scare her off and I haven't even had time to catch up with her yet." Jordan playfully smacked his arm while rolling her eyes. "Sorry about that, Bella, he has a way with women, he can't seem to control himself."
I blushed furiously, shaking my head at that last sentence. There were so many ways I could imagine him losing control with me, but I mentally chastised myself for having thoughts like that about my childhood best friend's husband. "It's nice to meet you, Edward," I finally managed to squeak out as he dropped my hand. I took a deep breath as Jordan took my hand and led me into the kitchen.
"Oh my God Bella, we have so much to catch up on. I can't believe you're here. You don't know how happy I am to see you."
"Me too, Jordan! What have you been up to?" Jordan and I had been close until our junior year of high school. We slowly drifted apart as our circle of friends changed. We still enjoyed each other's company and talked frequently, but we didn't hang out as often.
"Well I went to William and Mary for a degree in Business Management and I was hired right out of college to be an Executive Assistant for a big developer here at the beach. I do a lot of traveling with my boss for work and I love to travel, but I am not home all that often. It's the only aspect of the job that turns me off slightly. Otherwise I love it!"
"That's so great Jordan, I am so happy for you. I'm so glad you are still here in the area! Who would have thought after all this time we would meet up again?"
"I know right? So what have you been up to?"
"Well I attended NYU for four years, I majored in Literature. I wrote a book and it's about to be published," I said the last part quickly hoping she might not catch it. I didn't like to talk about my writing much so I continued, "I also have a home pole dancing and spa party business. It's so much fun and really boosts a girl's self esteem."
"God Bella! I always knew you would be successful, but you have really out done yourself."
"Thanks Jordan. So are you living right here at the beach?"
"No we have a townhouse in Sandbridge," she replied smiling.
"Ahhh...back towards the old homestead?" I giggled slightly as her beaming smile grew.
"I just love that area. We wanted to buy a house in Courthouse Estates where we grew up, but we just couldn't afford it yet. So we settled on something smaller, but closer to the beach."
"Are you close to the beach?"
She smiled as she nodded her head, "Yeah, not too far. It's such a nice area. It does flood every once in a while, but it's not bad. There are a lot of canoers out there and the beach is usually just filled with locals."
"Perfect, I loved it down there too. It was so much more fun compared to the ocean front and dealing with all those tourists."
Our conversation paused briefly as I noticed a quick flicker of what looked like anger pass through Jordan's eyes. I looked behind me to see Edward standing in the kitchen with us.
"Have you been hiding this beautiful creature, Jordan?" He asked coming up behind me.
"Seriously, Edward, she doesn't know you. Stop doing that to her. You are going to embarrass her and she's going to run away screaming."
I turned slowly thinking that running would be the last thing I would be doing from this would be God that was Edward Cullen. He returned my gaze, staring at me intently with heavily lidded eyes. His bright emerald eyes from earlier had darkened slightly.
I suddenly felt bare, almost naked in his presence. It was as if his eyes could see to my soul. I felt plain, boring and dejected all in one instant as I turned from his gaze back to Jordan's. "Don't worry Jordan, he would have to do a lot more than speak like a cocky ass to scare me away."
Jordan cracked up laughing joined by Alice and Rose who had now entered the kitchen.
"Damn, Edward, you might have met your match," Alice said with a laugh. "When are you going to let me do something about that mess of a mop you have on your head?" She said while trying to tame his hair down.
"Lay off the hair, Alice. It looks hot and you know it. As for meeting my match, I'm not so sure about that," he stated while looking deep into my eyes, a small but cocky grin playing on his lips.
"So, where are you staying, Bella?" Jordan's words broke me out of the trance Edward's eyes pulled me into.
I tore my eyes from his as I answered Jordan's question. "Barclay Cottage down on 16th street. It's so touristy down there, but it's such a nice little cottage. I couldn't pass it up when they told me they had a room open for several weeks."
"Oh, Bella, you have to come stay with us," Jordan started with wide eyes.
"No, I don't think so. I don't want to intrude on your personal space."
She waved her hand in front of me. "Nonsense, you aren't going to intrude on anything. I am always out of town and I need someone to baby-sit Edward here. I never know what he's up to when I'm gone."
I giggled as I turned my gaze to Edward's. His features lit up with an incredibly sexy sideways smirk. My breath caught slightly as he started, "Yes, Bella, why don't you come and stay with us for a while? Our house will be better than a room at the Cottage and we only use two of the three bedrooms. The third room is completely empty."
"Oh, I don't know. I don't want to put you guys out," I replied tearing my eyes away from Edward's mouth once again.
"Bella, please come stay with us? It would give us time to catch up. It would help you get your life started here. Please?" Jordan begged.
"Alright, I guess I can move in with you guys. It won't be for long though, I promise. I'm starting my apartment hunting early Monday morning."
"Great! We'll start moving your stuff in tomorrow. I don't want to waste another day without you at our house," Jordan sang victoriously.
"Sounds like a plan," I sighed.
Alice and Rose giggled at our conversation. I turned to look at them, "What's so funny?"
"You are so easy to convince, Bella," Rose giggled.
"Hey, that's not nice!" I cried.
"It's the truth though," Jordan joined in now.
"Hey, how do you guys know each other?" I asked curiously.
"That's a story for another time, but I am glad that we are all together now! It wouldn't be the same without you here, Bella. I feel like our group is complete now," Jordan replied.
"Me too. I feel like we've been waiting for ages for you," Alice said as she danced over to pull me into a hug. She pulled back and called us all into the living room.
I thought I was the last in the line to leave the kitchen, but I felt a large warm hand on my shoulder and then heated breath blow across my neck as a whisper formed in my ear, "I know I've been waiting a long time for you."
I turned quickly to see Edward grinning that lopsided smile again before he sauntered out of the kitchen to the living room leaving me dumbstruck in his wake. I quickly wondered what I was getting myself into. But money was a bit tight and I needed to save. I brushed off his forwardness and walked into the living room for a lesson about sex toys.
After a few hours of pass the penis and several glasses of wine later I found myself meandering out Alice's sliding glass doors to the beachfront. I plopped down and relished the feel of the soft sand. I forgot how much I missed this. There was something about the silky feel of the sand beneath my feet and the salty spray of the ocean water that lulled me and calmed my fears.
I sat listening to the waves crash to the shore, lost in my own thoughts when I felt, rather than heard, someone sit next to me. I sat up and turned my head to see the glowing gree orbs that had lingered in my thoughts for the last several hours.
"Too much pass the penis?" Edward asked quietly.
"Something like that," I replied as I inhaled deeply. He smelled wonderful. Like amber and musk, ocean and man. It was a delicious scent that had me wanting to lick every inch of his exposed skin. He extended his legs out into the sand showing his muscular calves. I noticed how tight his t-shirt was and how it showcased his defined chest beautifully.
"I'm sorry about being so forward back there," he threw his head back in the direction of Alice and Jasper's house.
"Oh, it's alright. I know it's an act," I smiled as I turned my gaze back to the ocean.
"Jordan and I are in marriage counseling," he blurted it out as if it was some lie he was hiding from me. I didn't quite know how to respond so I sat silently and as still as stone. "I don't know why I just told you that."
I adjusted myself so I was facing him now and saw the pain in his face. "Why did you tell me that Edward?"
"I don't know. I mean...I guess I'm just really happy to have someone outside of the group that I can talk to. All of those people in there, they know practically everything about my personal life and they've all picked sides. So, yeah, it's nice to have someone objective to talk to."
"Ah...so what's with the cocky act then? I mean you obviously aren't always like that seeing how you just said about five sentences without trying to use a pick up line."
"I think it's a coping mechanism, but I swear I am not always like that."
"It's alright, I'm not offended in the least," I offered a smile. "So how long have you two been in counseling?"
"Almost six months," he replied grimly.
"I see. Is it helping?"
"I don't know. We still fight and argue about the same exact things we were six months ago. I think we are both too stubborn to give in."
"How did you guys meet?" I asked trying to break the tension in his voice.
He smiled and started with a wistful look in his eyes. "Well I met her through work. I have my own consulting business and I had to deal with her developer, in turn dealing directly with her most of the time. I found her quick wit to be incredibly intriguing. We started dating and the rest is history."
I nodded and turned to look out at the water again absorbing what he said.
"So what time do you want me to come over tomorrow?"
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at him confused.
"To help you start moving," he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh, whenever. I can be up at whatever time you want to start. I don't have too much though. Just some boxes of books and clothes. I should be able to fit everything into my SUV."
"You are not moving everything alone. If it all fits into your SUV that's great, but at least let me help you load it all up."
"Alright," I nodded my head and tried not to stare at his striking features. The way he kept shifting his eye from me to the water I had to wonder if he was doing the same with me.
"HEY,YOU TWO, GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF PASS THE PENIS," Alice's voice rang clearly over the crash of the waves.
I giggled quietly as Edward got up shaking his head gently and offering me his hand. I gladly accepted as he pulled me up from the sand. We made our way back into the house for more sex toy torture.
A/N: YAY! Chapter 1 complete!! I am planning on posting once a week! Reviews are better than playing pass the penis with Edward! WOOOO! *fans self* ;)