Author's Note… An extra special thank you goes out to my Beta, stavanger1… you rock my socks girl!
As always, I don't own a thing… just the heart of my very own Edward…
BPOV
There was a comfortable silence in the car as Jake drove me home. As we pulled up to my building I was filled with the oddest feeling; one full of anticipation and promise, but at the same time I had a sense of foreboding as well.
"Bella, I…" Jake said, his voice quieter than I had ever heard him use before.
"What's up oh brother of mine?" I said lightly, turning in the seat so I was looking directly at him.
"I want to come out of the closet. I'm sick of hiding our friendship just because you're a scoop."
"JAKE!" I said with a laugh in my voice. "Don't you think you should have done that before you married my sister?"
"Huh? What does Nessie have to do with our…"
As I burst out laughing, physically unable to hold it in any longer, a look of comprehension crossed his face.
"Not what I meant and you know it Swan! God! Can't a person ever have a fucking serious moment with you?"
"Nope, not likely," I replied, the laughter still ringing in the car. "C'mon Jake… that was funny as hell and you know it, lighten up."
"Don't know about that Scoop, can't have you going around thinking your funny or something, now can we?"
Jake reached across the car and tucked some of the stray hairs behind my ear, rubbing his thumb across my cheek before he started to speak again.
"Bells, seriously," he began. "You've got the in with not only me, the rest of the shields all trust you too, and frankly I'm tired of not being able to brag about my little sister anymore. Heck, Bella; even the Captain knows that you are our go-to girl if we need that random drop of information to get to the press without actually saying it. So, no more pretending, you aren't going to lose the exclusives but we don't have to hide our friendship anymore either, okay? I'm just saying I'm proud you're my sister and I want to brag once in awhile, alright?"
I sat there in awe, barely comprehending what my friend had said as my eyes filled with tears. It was the first time in a very long time that anyone except my sister or Charlie had told me they were proud of me and my heart swelled with happiness.
"Jake?"
"Yeah Bells?"
"Thank you. That's the best birthday present anyone could have given me."
I reached across the center console and laid my head on his shoulder, his arm engulfing me in his warm embrace as we sat there for a few minutes just enjoying being close to each other. Jake was my big brother in every sense of the word, and I couldn't have been happier to have him in my family.
"You okay, or do you need me to walk you up?" he asked.
"I'll be fine, go take care of your wife and I'll give you a call if I find anything that might be useful to you, okay?" I replied with a small grin.
I started my way out of the car and then turned quickly to my friend and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Love you Jake. Thanks."
I think I heard him reply 'Love you too Bells' as I shut the door, but with Jake, I just was never quite sure.
I was unlocking my door when I heard a soft noise behind me. I turned and looked over my shoulder but there was no one around. Shaking off the feeling that I was being watched, I entered my small apartment. What I saw caused me to gasp in surprise. There was the hugest bouquet of roses on the bar of my tiny apartment, I could barely see past it into the kitchen.
"I am so jealous Bella," the bell-like voice of my neighbor and friend Alice startled me into dropping everything I had in my hands as I jumped in shock.
"ALICE. Don't sneak up on me like that!" I snapped back. "How did they get in my apartment though?"
"Don't be silly," Alice replied as she picked my bag and keys up off the floor and walked past me into my apartment. "I just used my key."
I just looked at her for a moment and shook my head.
"Alice… when did you make a copy of my key?"
"Well, remember when you and Nessie went away before her and Jake got married and you wanted me to get your mail and stuff? I made a copy then so I wouldn't lose it and I just… kept it, for emergencies ya know? Like this one. I couldn't very well leave a bouquet like that out in the hall and you and I both know that if I took that home, I was never bringing that back to you."
I had to laugh; it was so typical Alice, I didn't even have the heart to be angry with her about not telling me she had the stupid key. It actually made me feel a little better knowing she had it. I slipped off my shoes and walked to the fridge, poured myself a glass of tea then reached up to grab the card. I gasped as I looked at the card; Edward.
'Happy Birthday my Bella.
Read your email… Be Safe'
~ E
"So dish… who's the new man-meat?" Alice said as she made herself comfortable on one of the stools that flanked the other side of the bar that separated the kitchen from the rest of my studio. "OH God… they aren't from Newton are they? I should have looked, should I have looked??"
"NO…No, Ali, they're not from Newton. I might actually say yes if he had this much class."
We laughed together for a moment before Alice suddenly gasped and stared at me with the biggest eyes.
"Bella, your birthday; YESTERDAY, was your birthday. Oh my God, I am the worst friend ever. I can't even begin to…"
"Alice, its fine," I replied, reaching across to my friend. "Seriously? If you and everyone else hadn't forgotten my birthday, this," pointing to the roses next to us, "wouldn't have happened. So we're cool. In fact, as fucked up as it sounds, I almost think I need to thank you."
"Okay, your right, which does sound fucked up, but I still want to make it up to you; how about lunch tomorrow?"
"I can't promise, but we'll try. I have to see if I can get an interview with the family of that girl who was found dead over near the base. In fact, I really should…"
"Say no more my friend. Hey… how many inches did they promise you?"
"Ben didn't promise inches Ali, he promised the front page," I whispered, as if saying it out loud would jinx the guarantee. "I don't know what the actual pay per inch is, but this could really be it. I'm just scared to get my hopes up, ya know?"
"Isabella Marie Swan," my pixie friend scolded me. "You will not end up as a stringer for the rest of your career. The Trib would be stupid if they keep letting some ass like Newton continue to dictate your writing for them."
She stood in front of me and just grinned. "This is the big time for you Bella, I can just feel it… major changes are coming just around the bend for you. Good changes."
"Work on your story, I know your dying to. Just don't get too set on your outline quite yet, something else may come to light before your deadline. Don't forget to call me tomorrow, okay?" she said as she gave me a hug and walked toward the door. "Oh, and Bella?" she asked as she turned toward me before leaving. "You do remember… don't ever bet against me."
I locked the door behind my friend and got settled in for the night. I had a lot of writing to get done and not that much time left in which to get it done and edited so it was posted to Ben's inbox before the deadline. I thought briefly about Edward's note with the flowers, I knew he had sent me something in my email; I just couldn't bring myself to check it at that moment. If I did that now, I would lose all motivation to actually write and I would end up spending my time thinking about him instead.
I put the kettle on the stove and jumped into the shower before pulling on a pair of pajama pants with a tank top. I pulled my wet hair into a high pony tail to keep it out of my face and settled in at the coffee table with my laptop, a cup of tea and my notes. I was in the middle of writing out a rough outline on paper when I couldn't bear the anticipation any longer and opened my email.
Scrolling thru the random sales mail from Pier One and other stores, jokes forwarded by friends, my heart leapt in my chest when I noticed the one email address that would make me smile. I pulled the lap-top closer and started to read.
My Dearest Bella,
When our eyes locked for the very first time, you rendered me breathless. Now, just thinking of you, passionate warmth envelops my heart.
Even with the little time we've shared; as each moment passed us by, I felt myself drawn more closely to you. The few memories we have shared in so short a period of time far encompass only the beginning as many more will come.
I woke this morning with you on my mind, and I most certainly will go to bed dreaming of you. The funny thing is; I don't really know you. I've seen you, touched you and caressed your soft skin; but I still wonder what your favorite color is, your likes and dislikes. All I know is that my heart soars blissfully when I am with you; as I sit and contemplate being away from you, I close my eyes and dream of your embrace, our fingers intertwined and your soft lips pressed against mine. There is a void in my heart that only you can fill now that you have come into my world.
You've seduced my heart and captured it in a way I never believed possible. You complete me, not in the way that I couldn't live without you, but in the way that I would never want to. In a way that steals my breath and makes me want to fill every quiet moment I have with thoughts of you and the next time I can be beside you. These feelings that I hold within my heart for you run deeper then what you can imagine; and the hold you have on my heart is complete and final. I am simply counting the days until I can see you again.
Which brings me to the roses; do you enjoy them as much as I had hoped? I can't begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to having three full weeks to spend time by your side. There are thirty-two roses, one for each day we will be apart. There is a meaning behind each and every rose that you received today, each picked for a reason that expresses my desire to hold you, touch you and caress you once more.
Each day until I see you again I will find a way to tell you what the rose for that day represents in my heart, and in that way I will never truly be away from your side.
Yours,
Edward
I must have read the email four or five times when I finally heard the chirp of my cell phone indicating that I had a text message. I grinned and wiped a few stray tears from my eye when I saw Edward's name on the screen. I opened my phone to the text message:
The first is a rose of deep burgundy to symbolize your unconscious beauty which has captured my attention from the first moment my eyes were blessed with the sight.
Almost instantly, my phone indicated another message:
R U awake? Wanna chat?
Was he serious?
U need to ask? Call me...
I don't think I waited five full second before my phone rang, again displaying Edward's name across my screen.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself beautiful… Is it too soon to tell you that I miss you already?" he asked me.
A/N: (it's a big one!)
The chapter was a little longer than this, but I cut the end because Stav and I were seriously not happy with where I was cutting it off before and I just didn't want to hold it back any longer… Please bear with me… I am truly sorry about how long it took me to get this out to you. I've been feeling the angst lately instead of the fluff and this chapter just didn't want to work out for me. Add to that some major celebrating (see my profile for the news!) and the fact that I got engaged (INSERT SQUEAL HERE) and you have all the insignificant reasons for not getting y'all the chapter…
I must say that I'm surprised at the number of reviews that I got saying something about the military cover up, but only two people commented on the condom issue and only one on the antics of our fave guy, Mr. Newton. I'm glad the distraction worked... remember that things may not always be what they seem. Jake might be frustrated because he couldn't get an answer. Then again, maybe not…
Shout outs this chapter are to lvk1978, Darcy-13 and Little Miss Whitlock. Your reviews made me laugh, made me cry and made me spit wine all over my monitor. You know who you are. :-)
Last thing to note before I venture off to write the next chapter… I am participating in the Support Stacy April Author Auction. Details are on my profile… I am writing for Twilight, Harry Potter and Family Guy. Come join us in support for this awesome cause!