Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight

Chapter Ninteen

"You're Emmett's cousin?"

I didn't move to sit down as I gawked at Edward. I noticed a small smirk playing at the edges of his mouth, which caused me to frown.

"Are you going to stand there staring at me all night or are you going to sit down?" he asked, flashing his crooked smile. I rolled my eyes and pulled out the chair across from him, making sure not to look in his direction as I sat down.

I removed my pea coat as I hesitantly took my seat and hung the grey garment on the back of my chair. I frowned when I realized that I still had the deep red rose in my hand. I grimaced at the flower and carefully placed it on the table.

"You're Emmett's cousin?" I asked again, unable to keep the grimace off my face. He stared back at me, an unreadable expression on his face. I tapped my fingers nervously on the edge of the table and raised an eyebrow at him.

After a few moments of silence he finally nodded, and dropped his stare on me. "I'm surprised that you didn't figure it out," he commented.

I was somewhat surprised that I didn't figure it out either. It seemed terribly obvious now; Edward arrived to Forks at the same time Emmett's cousin did, I should have put it together.

I stared deeply at him, a mask of disbelief danced across my features.

I took the time now to take in Edward's - as always - gorgeous appearance. He was wearing a tight fitting light grey cashmere sweater, he had the sleeves of the sweater rolled up to his elbows, exposing his delectable tattooed covered arms. He also wore a pair of tight fitting khaki pants, paired with slick brown combat boots.

His soft chuckle brought me out of my thoughts and he smiled widely at me. I blushed a deep shade of crimson as I realized that he had noticed me staring at him.

"You look beautiful Bella," he said softly, meeting my eyes.

The blood pooling behind my cheeks deepened and I smiled softly at him. "Thank you Edward," I whispered without breaking eye contact. He stared back at me, an unreadable expression on his face. I watched in awe as his eyes shifted from a light emerald green color to a deep, forest shade. He's beautiful, I thought to myself as I openly eyed his perfectly structured facial features.

We sat in a comfortable silence, both of us greedily staring at each other. I noticed a glimpse of longing in his expression paired with something that I couldn't put my finger on. The glimmer in his eyes had me feeling beautiful, a feeling that I hadn't felt in a very long time; that much I could put my finger on.

As if out of no where the waitress cleared her throat, breaking Edward and I's connection. I couldn't stop myself from sending a small glare of annoyance her way.

"Hello, I'm Kate" she purred, shamelessly eying Edward up. "I'll be your server for tonight, what can I get started for ya?" she asked, looking only at Edward. She made no attempt to hide the wink that she threw in his direction. I glared angrily at her, unable to stop the small growl of jealousy from leaving my lips.

What the hell was that? I shook my head slowly from side to side, fighting the urge to face-palm myself. I stole a quick glance at Edward from the corner of my eye; he was looking directly at me, wearing that beautiful crooked smile on his face. A part of me wanted to swoon and the other wanted to kick him from underneath the table.

Slowly he removed his eyes from me and turned to the slut bag waitress. She was about a medium height, thick around the waist but still slender. She had obnoxious, huge, protruding tits that ever so modestly poked out from the top of her way too tight black button up. I pretended not to notice the way she purposefully pushed her chest outward into Edward's face and fought the urge to punch her in her's.

"I'll have a diet coke with lime," he said smoothly and turned to me, "Bella?"

Kate rolled her eyes and turned ever so slightly to look at me. She raised her eyebrow at me and frowned. I curled my fingers into a fist, fighting hard to stop myself from giving her the finger as a response.

"Sweet iced tea, no lemon" I spat, "think ya can manage that Blondie?" She tried to hide the look of disbelief on her face but I noticed anyway. I couldn't stop the loud chuckle that escaped from my lips. Kate glared at me, sending daggers right at my forehead which only caused me to laugh harder. She let out a huff of annoyance before hastily turning away from the table and sauntering away, swishing her hips a little too hard.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, tightly crossing my arms over my chest as I stared in her direction with a sour look on my face.

I heard Edward laugh from his side of the table; the sound was soft, masculine and music to my ears. I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him, "what?" I snapped, my tone thick with irritation.

"Nothing," he smirked, raising his hands up in defeat.

"Shut up," I commanded, rolling my eyes at him. He laughed harder and louder, the gorgeous noise bouncing off of the walls of the restaurant.

I uncrossed my arms and leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table top. "Did you know it was me you were going on at date with?" I prompted.

Edward frowned and rubbed his face with one of his hands, "I did" he said "but not until about five minutes before I left." His tone filled with annoyance and irritation.

I laughed quietly, "seems like you were just as unprepared as I was, huh?"

"Apparently so," he replied, his perfect plump lips turned down into a small frown and I couldn't help but laugh harder. Kate, Queen of the Slut Bags finally sauntered her way back to our table. Without looking at me she placed my drink in front of me on the table, turning to smile at Edward in what I assumed was an attempt at looking sexy and placed his drink in front of him. I grimaced and again fought the urge to get violet with her.

"What'll it be?" she asked me, her voice hard and icy. I glanced down at the menu, selecting the first thing that my eyes found on the page. "Mushroom ravioli," I replied curtly.

She then turned to face Edward, again obnoxiously pushing her chest towards him. "And for you, cutie?" she slurred. I raised an eyebrow at her, my eyes burning a hole in her make-up plastered forehead.

I took that moment to make a quick assessment of myself, mentally rolling my eyes at my behavior. I wasn't sure what sparked the violent waves of jealousy crashing through me, but I knew that I didn't like it. I felt myself slowly attaching myself to Edward, it was only at a matter of time before I was head over heels for the guy I barely knew.

I shook my head ever so slightly and took a small sip from my tea. I glanced up at Edward from the bottom of my lashes and found him staring intently in my direction, a thoughtful look on his face. "The penne Vodka," he clipped, not taking his eyes off me.

Kate smiled brightly at him and told him that she'd be right back with the order. It didn't escape my notice that the bitch was speaking directly to him, ignoring my presence completely.

From the corner of my eye I watched her walk away, breathing a small sigh of relief once she was away from the table. Edward was still ogling me with that thoughtful expression on his face, I raised my eyebrow at him in question.

"What?" he demanded, that crooked smile dancing across his face. I was beginning to really like that crooked smile of his.

"You tell me what," I retorted "you're the one who's staring." He laughed lightly, his green orbs dancing with an emotion that I couldn't quite place.

"You're so beautiful, how could I not?" he replied, his voice smooth like velvet. I swooned, a light blush flushing my cheeks. I took another gulp of my tea, hoping to wash the butterflies swarming my insides away. I looked at him for a few moment, contemplating my next comment. I wanted to address his – for lack of a better word – erratic behavior over the last two weeks. I ran a hand through my tousled curls, pursing my lips as I carefully worded my question.

"So," I began. "What's been up with you?"

I suppose that was the best I could come up with, there wasn't really an easy way to ask what the hell was up with his mood swings.

"What do you mean?" he replied, I watched as a knowing look danced across his picture pefect features. "I mean, your mood swings are kind of giving me whiplash."

He frowned ever so slightly and quickly apologized. "Yeah.." he trailed off, closing his eyes. "I'm terribly sorry for the way I've been acting," he said. "I've sort of had too much weighing on my mind."

"Like what?" I pressed, leaning closer to him.

"Pass," he replied. I shot him a questioning glance and he responded with a look that ended this particular line of conversation.

"Okaaay..." I muttered, awkwardly rubbing my hands together. "You're Emmett's cousin?" I piped, changing the subject. He nodded in response, waiting for me to continue. "So, what? Where did you come from?" I asked. "I've known Em and his parents for some time now, they've never mentioned you."

Edward was silent for a few moments, it looked as if he were debating whether or not he wanted to answer my question. After what seemed like hours of silence he finally frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose with the tips of his thumb and pointer finger.

"I guess you could say that I don't exactly see eye to eye with my parents," he began, a pensive expression on his face. "My mother, Elizabeth and Esme are sisters," he said. "Twins."

I nodded in understanding, asking him with my eyes to continue. "My father is Edward Senior, we've never really gotten along. Eventually, I decided that enough was enough and left Chicago to spend some time with Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle," he finished. I raised and eyebrow at him, begging him to leave me with more than that. He response only seemed to create more questions that it answered.

"That's all I have to say about that," he frowned, looking up at me. "What's your story, anyway?" he pressed, eyes dancing with curiosity. I grimaced, looking down at my hands. I was unsure of how much I actually wanted to share about myself, deciding that I didn't want to share much. I immediately understood his aversion of the "tell me about yourself" conversation.

"Uh..." I trailed off, trying to word my response. I ran my fingers through my hair and nervously took a sip from my drink. "I was born here in Washington, lived in Forks my whole life. I have an older sister, Rosalie" I said, giving him a small smile.

"I don't speak to my mother and Charlie, my father; passed away about two years ago now." I finished my short story in a tone that ended the conversation. He eyed me up, mentally pressing me for more information. I shook my head and shot him a small smirk.

"That's all I have to say about that," I copied him. He laughed lightly and pursed his lips at me.

The Queen of the Slut Bags chose that time to return to the table with Edward and I's food. She placed our orders down in front of us, asking Edward if he needed anything else, an edge of implication was laced in her offer. I glared at her and shook my head, wondering if she spat in my food.

Wouldn't put it passed her I thought dryly and chuckled.

Edward politely declined and sent Miss Whore-Bitch on her merry way.

I watched as Edward gingerly picked up his fork, stabbing the pasta. I couldn't help but melt as I noticed the small barbell piercing through his tongue as he took his first bite. For a brief moment my thoughts flashed back to the day he roughly pinned me to the wall and kissed me. I bit my lip, remembering the way his mouth moved feverishly against mine and the way his sexy tongue piercing danced against mine as his fought for dominance.

I shivered at the thought, quickly bringing myself out of the daydream.

Silently, I unraveled my silverware and gently picked up my fork. Without hesitation, I pinned one of the huge raviolis to the end and shoved it in my mouth. Our waitress was a total bitch but at least the foods good. I thought to myself as I chewed.

"Tell me about your tattoo's." Edward said, finally breaking our silence. I nodded and quickly finished chewing my food. "I have three total," I said finally.

"A swan on the back of my neck," I told him as I raised my hand, lifting my pointer finger as I named off my tattoo's. "A pixie on my ankle and a skull with roses on my foot." He smiled as he caught me staring at his ink covered arms, both of which were covered in a disarray of beautiful colors and pictures.

"Just three?" he asked, still smiling. I nodded sadly, "yeah just three."
"For now anyways," I added.

"You want more then?"

"Oh, hell yes!" I exclaimed, "I can't stop now. I'm addicted." I threw him a wicked smile, glancing again at his art covered arms. He laughed at my response and took another bite of his food.

"I wanna know the story behind your tattoo's," I said. My eyes burning with pure curiosity. He shot me a small smile and rubbed his entire face with the palm of his right hand. "How about one?" he compromised and I nodded in response.

"The hibiscus flowers on your left forearm?" I questioned. Surprisingly he responded with a bright smile, "that's easy. They're my mother's favorite flower."

I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and gave him a small smile, "mine too."

The rest of our evening passed by at a disappointing fast pace. I had to say, I quite liked Edward's company when he manged to act like a somewhat decent human being. I'd like to say that our date answered more questions than it rose, but it didn't. Edward was an enigma, I was dripping with curiosity. I wanted desperately to know every detail about him, even the small mundane things.

After we finished our meals Edward called for the check and paid for everything. Much to my displeasure, he wouldn't let me drop a single dime towards the check, not even the tip. Although, I'm quite certain that our waitress didn't exactly deserve one.

Once we finished he led us outside to the parking lot, his black Harley a few spaces down from my decrepit old truck. As soon as we stepped outside, I excitedly searched my bag for a pack of cigarettes only to come up empty handed. I frowned, remembering that I chain smoked an entire pack on the way up here. Edward smiled knowingly and led me over to his bike. Without a word he lifted the seat and pulled a pack of Marlboro Red's from the hole. He generously handed me one and took a second one out for himself. I put the cigarette to my lips, searching in my bag for a lighter.

"Pretty girls don't light their own cigarettes," he whispered and quickly lit the end of my cigarette before lighting his own. I blushed lightly and smiled up at him.

It was twilight out, the sun just barely poking out from behind the clouds. The sky, a beautiful mixture of orange and pink with a few strikes of lavender dancing around the clouds. I took a drag from the cigarette, the harsh non-menthol taste burned my lungs but I didn't mind. Finally, I looked up at Edward and grinned.

"I had a wonderful evening Edward," I admitted, my voice just above a whisper.

"You have no idea," he said, sounding as if he were talking mostly to himself. I glanced up at him from beneath my lashes, my eyes landing on his soft, marble lips. I watched as his mouth turned up into that crooked smile that I had begun to love. Slowly, he lowered his face and pressed his lips gingerly against mine. I couldn't help the small smile that painted itself on my face at the feeling of his lips pressed against my own.

Cigarette in hand, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed deeper into the kiss. My lips moving gingerly against his. This kiss differed drastically from the first kiss Edward and I shared outside at Forks High School, while that kiss was intense and full of fire this one was gentle and full of longing.

After what seemed like no time at all he removed his lips from mine and smiled down at me. "Have a good night, Bella" he said, pulling away from me and mounting his bike. I stared deeply into his emerald orbs, drowning in the pools of green; I doubted that I would ever resurface.

I stepped away from him as he winked at me and pulled his helmet on. Without taking my eyes away from him, I stepped backwards toward my truck, anxiously drawing another hit from my cigarette. Lightly, I leaned up against the driver's side door of my truck and watched him pull away and fly down the road.

I doubted that anything could remove the shit eating grin from my face.

AN:
Alright haha, I'm not sure if anyone is even following this story anymore or if anyone even really reads fanfiction anymore. Regardless, I wanted to post this chapter. I feel bad for leaving this story's followers hanging for the last two and a half years, as a reader myself I know how incredibly awful it is for a story to randomly go on hiatus. Writing has really been next to impossible for me, this is the first thing I've written in about two and a half years. This chapter is fresh of the printing press, after two and a half years I've finally managed to finish a piece of writing.

As far as other chapters go, I'm not sure. I really would like to finish this story, leaving something unwritten is quite unsettling for me. However, I'm not sure when I'll write or update. Chapters will definitely come in sporadic spurts.

In regards to this piece, well frankly, I'm not sure if it's even good. My skills have gotten quite rusty, what with my being out of practice for so long. I'm really terribly sorry for leaving you all hanging like that.

I hope to write again soon, I can't seem to ever get this story out of my head.

xoxoxoxoxo
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