by J. Preston
“Oh please, try me.” I say confidently. I am such a faker. Inside, I am shaking with anticipation…
“Very well.” He moves closer to me. Once his knees are touching mine, he moves his hand to my wet ponytail and wraps it around his fingers. What is it with him and hair? “I love it when a girl puts her hair up, it’s so sexy.” He drawls the last word. “You look stunning like that. I can see your neck and that very kissable spot just behind your ear.” His fingers, now wet from my ponytail, move to the side of my neck. My breath catches when they connect with my skin, and my heartbeat speeds up when he gently starts sliding them down my jawline. His face is getting closer to mine. My eyes connect with his dark ones. I can see the concentration behind them and something snaps. I start laughing. This time I fall face-first on the bed, thumping my fist into the duvet.
“Nothing?” Carter asks in disbelief.
“You almost had me,” I gasp through laughter. “But I just don’t think this,” I point between us. “Is meant to be. I mean, you’re super hot and everything, but, but, but…”
“I know!” He interrupts me. “There’s just this friendly vibe between us, isn’t there? Plus, I don’t like to compete with my best bros.”
“Exactly!” I exclaim. Wait, why would he be competing with Jason?
“Phew… I probably wouldn’t have been able to just be focused on you anyway. You’re superhot too, but a guy’s got needs!” He laughs.
“Slut.” I punch him in the shoulder and we start laughing again.
“See? We’re besties already. This will work.”
“Oh yes! We can braid each other’s hair –” I start in a mock girly voice, but before I finish he starts laughing so hard that I can’t help but join in.
Soon we’re both lying on the bed giggling at each other. I’m holding onto my stomach, Carter’s eyes are watering when I hear someone clear their throat.
“Wait, wait, wait.” I laugh, putting my hand over Carter’s mouth to quiet him down “Did you hear that?” He chooses that exact moment to lick my hand, making me squeal and laugh even harder. Someone clears their throat again.
Wiping my hand on Carter’s t-shirt, I sit up to see who it is. And instantly stop laughing.
Aiden is standing in my door, his lips shut tight, forming a thin line, his eyes shooting daggers at Carter.
“Oh hey, bro!” Carter smiles at Aiden. “We were just getting to know each other,” he says suggestively. I whip my head towards him and frown. What? Carter just winks at me, then drapes his arm over my shoulder and looks back up at Aiden.
“I can see that. I have eyes,” Aiden says through clenched teeth. What is he so pissed off about?
“What’s up, Aide?” I interrupt this weird exchange.
Aiden looks at me. “I was going to make myself a sandwich and wanted to know if you wanted anything to eat…” he starts, then looks over at Carter, whose arm is still around my shoulders. I try to shrug it off, but Carter is not budging. “But I just remembered, you’re my cook.” He finishes coldly. What happened to the guy who, not so long ago, was apologising to me? I thought we were going to try the friends thing… The guy in front of me looks bored and disinterested.
“Sure.” I shrug, feeling a bit off. “What sandwich do you want?”
I can get through this.
5 Edward Cullen Is Our Immortal Friend
When life gives you lemons, turn to life and say, "I didn't order this shit. Bring me the Oat milk Latte I asked for!"
- Jenny
Jenny
The next day is not much better. Aide wakes me up, knocking loudly on my door and demanding breakfast.
I managed to wriggle myself out of making him a sandwich the night before by stating the deal doesn’t officially start until the morning after the bet. Now, I’m clearly being punished for it. It’s before six am on a Saturday, the last weekend before school starts, and I’m awake at this ungodly hour. I groan and drag myself towards the shower, before thinking better of it and stopping by the door to my bedroom on the way. I open it groggily only to see Aiden leaning on the wall, his arms crossed, his foot tapping impatiently. He is wearing surf shorts and a t-shirt with a Hula Girl on it, and is basically looking fresh as a daisy, smelling of that citrusy, soapy mix that makes my knees weak. I, on the other hand, am in my tartan PJ shorts and an old Chelsea FC t-shirt that has seen better days. I definitely need a shower and a coffee before I can do anything.
“I’m just going to have a shower and then I’ll make you breakfast,” I say, pulling my hair out of the bun I slept in. It drops to my shoulders in a messy tangle. Great. That’ll be at least half an hour of hard work.
Just as I’m about to turn and walk back to my bedroom, I look at Aiden and my lips turn into a half smile. He has ceased his highly annoying foot tapping, his hands dropped to his side and his mouth is slightly ajar. I cock my head to the side.
“I’ll take your silence as agreement.” I smile triumphantly and turn away.
“Wait.” Aidan’s voice is hoarse. I turn slowly. “I’m hungry now. Can you make me a sandwich and then have a shower?”
I groan. I’m about to protest, but the look in his eyes is so hungry, I don’t.
“Fine,” I huff. “Let me at least wash my face.”
Aide nods then walks into my bedroom and sits on the bed, his gaze following my every move. I roll my eyes and walk into the bathroom. That’s the second boy on my bed in as many days.
When I get back into the room, my bed is made and Aiden is flicking through my copy of The Little Prince. He looks relaxed, happy even, and like he belongs. I shake my head to get those thoughts out of my head just as Aide looks up at me, smiling from ear to ear, his dimples making my head spin, or maybe it was the head shaking? Yes, it was the shaking. Hundred per cent.
“Let’s go then, oh master!” I say mockingly. Aiden just smiles wider and jumps off my bed.
He still hasn’t told me what sort of sandwich he wants, so I decide on good old PB&J. I head towards the kitchen cupboards and pull out the jars, spotting some Wonder Bread. Yuck. But I'm not jumping through hoops for Mr. Grumpy Pants. I can feel his eyes following my every move. Suddenly, I’m aware of just how short my shorts are and how tattered and full of holes my favorite t-shirt is. I turn reluctantly, the bread in my hand, his gaze raising the hair on my arms.
Or is it cold in the kitchen? I should get to that shower fast, and the faster I can make that sandwich, the faster I can do it. I turn away from him, walk towards the kitchen island, and drop the bread on the counter.
“What do you think you're doing?” I hear Aiden’s deep, smooth voice from behind me. I turn around, only to see him hovering close behind me. Too close. His breath hot on my neck.
"Making you a sandwich, wasn't that what you wanted?" I sigh. What a weirdo.
"Not with that crap, you’re not! That loaf has been here since we moved in last year and looks exactly the same."
"Okay then." I move to throw the loaf in the garbage just as Jason, dressed in surf shorts and a t-shirt, comes into the kitchen and shrieks.
“What are you doing?! Leave Edward alone!" He grabs the loaf out of my hand and hugs it to his chest. Why the hell is he up this early?
"Edward?" I ask.
"What's happening to Edward? Did he finally go green? Did I win?" Carter runs into the kitchen, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. When did everyone start waking up at the freaking crack of dawn on Saturday mornings, and what is Carter doing here? I put my hand on my forehead. Do I really have to spend my time with these idiots?
"I thought you were going to wait in the car.” Aiden narrows his eyes at Carter.
"Chill your pants, Aide. I was on the porch swing, listening to the birds and bees and all that, when I heard Edward’s name, and we all know I've got money on this week." Carter replies, walking over to Jason, who is still cradling Edward in his arms, and gently prying it out, inspecting it. "Boo, no green." Carter makes a sad face then replaces Edward on t
he shelf I found him on.
"Do I even want to know?" I ask no one in particular.
“Edward is our immortal friend.” Carter says, walking up to me and giving me a hug. This time I manage not to touch any offending body parts, I proudly notice. After a few seconds, he steps away, his arms on my shoulders appraising me.
“If that’s how all the chicks in England dress in the morning, no wonder you English guys are into soccer.” Carter grins at Aiden. “Isn’t Chelsea your favorite team, mate?” Carter continues as Aiden turns red. “I thought so. Say Jenny, are you planning on putting something else on or shall we assume you’re happy with our friend over there having blue balls while we’re surfing?”
“Shut up, man!” Aiden growls as I wriggle from under Carter’s grasp. Jason is deep in thought, looking at the loaf of bread, oblivious to the conversation going on in the room. I walk over to him, ignoring the other two males going alpha at each other like werewolves.
“Jason, Edward? Bread? Are you okay in the head?” I smile as I notice the rhyming. The two alphas in the corner look ready to grow fur. Edward… Immortal friend… Werewolves… Did they call the bread Edward after Twilight? It must be worse than I thought. Should I call psychiatric services or something? I thought I was the only one in the family that named everything, anyway. Jason sighed and looked up at me. “Edward? Like Twilight Edward?” I ask. Jason sighs again and nods solemnly.
“It was named by this chick I was seeing at the beginning of last year. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it sucked, and so the name just stuck. Now it’s Edward, just get over it.”
“Jeez, okay. So what’s up with Edward then?” I gesture towards the loaf of bread. Jason sighs again, pulling a baguette from the cabinet and eggs from the fridge. “Since you’re making breakfast, you might as well feed us all.” He smiles, handing me a frying pan. I shrug and turn to the stove as he jumps up onto the counter and sits with his back leaning against the kitchen cabinets while I heat the pan and start slicing the baguette.
“So…?” I pull out plates, cutlery, and a large mixing bowl.
“So.” Jason starts as I crack the eggs into the bowl. “Edward was here when we moved in—”
“What?” My jaw drops as my hand holding a pinch of salt stills above the eggy mixture. “You mean when I moved in a few weeks ago?”
“No, Jen, when I moved in last year!” He clarifies, passing me the pepper mill.
“That means it must have been here forever!” I exclaim, grabbing a whisk and fiercely beating the eggs, turning toward my brother with the bowl in one hand and whisk in the other. Jason narrows his eyes and looks above my right shoulder, shaking his head. I whirl around only to see Carter and Aiden sitting side by side, their heads cradled in their palms, elbows on the kitchen counter, making googly eyes like deranged boy scouts. “Knock it off!” I shoot in their direction, turning towards Jason. “But it felt fine…” I start.
“Exactly! It didn’t have any mold, it felt as soft as the breads in the store. It looked and felt brand new!” Jason exclaims. “So we decided to keep it and see how long it lasts.”
“You mean how much longer than about fourteen years?” I raise my eyebrow, pouring the eggy mixture into a pan.
“Yes, and then…we decided to make it more fun…”
“More fun than sitting and staring at a fourteen-year-old loaf of bread? Oh, do tell!” I say, but the sarcasm is lost on my brother, who just continues.
“Yes! We made bets on when it will start going green, you know, when it goes bad! So far we’ve got five grand worth of bets in the pot. You see, other people bet on it too. There is a whole website dedicated to Edward.” He finishes proudly.
“Five thousand bucks?” I exclaim, stirring the eggs. “Website?”
“Yeah,” Jason nods. “EdwardCullenGoesGreen.com. You can place your bets there and see updates and photos. Edward even has his own twitter account. Someone from Starwood set it up. It’s a thing!”
I shake my head with disbelief, dividing the scrambled eggs onto four plates.“You guys need girlfriends.”
“Aide has his eye on someone.” Carter grins. My smile falters and my chest tightens. I must be really hungry.
“Well, you definitely need a life.” I say, setting the plates on the kitchen island and grabbing a fork.
We eat in silence for a minute, bar a few noises of appreciation over my scrambled eggs.
“So anyway, why are you guys up this early? Carter, did you say you guys are going surfing?”
“Yes.” Carter replies while chewing a piece of baguette.
“I hope you’re taking wetsuits. I nearly froze to death yesterday,” I say, looking at Aiden.
“Ah, you see my young padawan.” Aiden smiles at me. “Our friend just opened an indoor surfing arena and we’re going before it opens to the public. Wet suits we need not.” I stifle a laugh. What a geek.
“In that case, may the force be with you,” I say, getting up and clearing my plate.
“I’m in love… Seriously,” I hear Carter whisper. “If you’re too chicken to act, I’ll make a move bro.”
What the hell? I turn just in time to see Aiden punch Carter’s shoulder.
“Ouch! That will bruise!” Carter exclaims, rubbing his shoulder and making a hurt face at me, trying to get some sympathy without a doubt.
“You can tell all the ladies you were in a fight. It’ll gain you some street cred.” I laugh at them.
“Marry me?” Carter says as I laugh, and Jason punches him in the other shoulder.
“Nope,” I say.
"You halfwits better stay away from my sister!" Jason growls, and I smile.
“Do me a favor boys, clean up after breakfast, okay?”
They all nod in unison as I walk out towards my bedroom and the shower.
I spend most of the day by the pool soaking up the late summer sun and working hard on reapplying SPF onto my body.
By noon, I’m bored out of my mind and decide to hunt for something to read. I go into the living room and start digging through bookshelves when I hear a noise coming from the kitchen. I grab the thickest book I can see, Gone With The Wind, and tip toe towards the sound, the massive book above my head in both of my hands. The sucker is really heavy. With a loud and scary, at least in my opinion, shriek, I jump into the kitchen ready to fling the book at the intruder just as it slips from my grasp and falls to the floor.
Shit.
I bend over to snatch the book up just as Aiden turns around, holding a jug of lemonade and two glasses. I exhale loudly.
“I nearly killed you!” I say, grabbing the book from the floor and pressing it against my chest in hopes of covering my small red bikini.
“Riiight.” He grins at me.
“Where’s everyone else?” I enquire, eyeing the lemonade.
“You mean Jason? Him and Carter went to grab some food in town and meet up with some friends.”
“And you didn’t join them?”
“I didn’t feel like it. Plus, I’ve got better things to do.”
“Ah…” He is probably waiting for someone. I turn around, making my way back to the living room when Aiden speaks up again.
“You want some lemonade?”
“Yeah!” I grin. “I’d love some. You must have read my mind.”
“Cool. I’ll bring some outside in a second,” he says, smiling at me, his green eyes sparkling.
“Okay.” I nod and swallow loudly, slowly backing away into the living room. When he can’t see me anymore, I turn around, put the book back in its place, and run to the patio, my heart hammering in my chest. What is going on? I must be having sunstroke or something, so to cool off I jump into the swimming pool. I manage to do one lap before Aiden steps onto the deck, two glasses full of lemonade in his hand. My mouth waters at the sight, and I reluctantly swim towards Aide’s tan and muscly legs. He sets the glasses on the edge of the pool, sits down, and flings his feet into the cool water. I reach out and gr
ab a glass, gulping the contents in three large swigs, making a satisfied noise at the end.
“Thanks!” I peer up at him, then look at the other glass, still full of lemonade. “I was really thirsty.”
“You can have the other one.” He smiles. I reach for it without hesitation and take a big gulp just as he starts taking off his t-shirt, resulting with me spitting up the lemonade onto the grass near the pool. Super sexy, I know.
Aiden raises his eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Yup.” I cough. “Went down the wrong way.” I croak out, still coughing, my eyes darting between the spot on which I hacked out my lemonade and his now bare chest.
Aiden slips into the pool next to me, and I stiffen for a second, but then I’m instantly relieved as his chest is now covered with water and only his head is sticking out.
“So,” he starts. “Are you looking forward to the beginning of the school year?”
“I am actually.” I reply tentatively. “For the first time in a long, long while.”
“Oh?”
I swim away, not sure if I want to talk to enemy number one about my deepest thoughts. I dive and swim the length of the swimming pool underwater. When I pop my head out, Aiden is still in the same place, his eyes squinting against the sun in my direction. I sigh and turn around, looking up at the sky. We’re quiet for a moment until I can feel my skin prickle under water. It grows warmer and warmer until I can’t stand it anymore and turn around to glance in Aiden’s direction. He is mere inches away from me. His face, for once, on the same level as mine, his emerald eyes searching mine.
“You can tell me, Jenny. I will never use anything you tell me against you. I promise.”
“You’re asking me to trust you, but I’m scared,” I say, hesitating. “All I know from you is hurt… It’s only in the past few days that I have stopped hating you.” I trail off. His face grows sad, and he swims even closer to me.