EPOV
I can’t believe she danced with him. After he had his tongue down her throat, and I had to drag myself out of here to calm down, Bella danced with Newton, again. That girl is too forgiving.
I try to look away from her as she talks to Alice, and focus back on the gang of idiots around me, but it’s so hard to block her out to listen to their inane chatter.
“I know, I know, bro,” Tyler is saying. Why do they think they need to talk this way? Am I supposed to be impressed by how often they can say the words “bro” or “bra”? I mean, Emmett’s been known to drop the “bro”-word from time to time, but Crowley is seriously giving me a headache. I smile and nod. I’m the cool teacher.
“Okay, so, Mr. Cullen, did you see the show earlier or what, bro?” Tyler asks me. I look at him questioningly. The show?
Ben—I think it’s Ben—laughs and nods, enthusiastically. “Yeah, dude, holy shit. Alice Brandon and Bella Swan were totally going at it on the dance floor.”
Lovely.
“How about at the end, though? When Brandon pulled on Swan’s ponytail? I was like ‘fuck yeah’, bro!” Tyler says, high-fiving Ben. Alice was pulling Bella’s hair? Did they get into a fight?
“You know I’m no minute man, but I seriously thought I was gonna blow my load watching Brandon lick Swan like that. Fuckin-a, man! Can you believe it? How hot would that shit be? A little girl-on-girl?” Ben is making lewd gestures with his hands as he talks.
What the fuck? Alice was licking Bella? I feel the tightening in my groin and close my eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. I don’t want to share Bella with anyone, but even I can’t deny how hot that must have been. What the fuck were they thinking?
“Dude,” Tyler is saying, talking to another, big kid I don’t know. Garrett? It’s something like that. “We should totally try to sneak into the girls’ locker room. I bet Swan and Brandon are in there all the time, just going at it!”
Jesus Christ. What has Bella done?
The guys are looking at me like they’ve shared the hottest, most coveted piece of information out there. Are they honestly expecting me to join in as they fantasize about two of my students? Fuck. Where’s Bella?
I look around to see her watching something with a concerned look on her face. What’s wrong? I want to go to her, and kiss that frown off her face, but I’m stuck over here, pretending I give a shit about what these meatheads have to say. I hate playing it cool.
Honestly, all I want is to wrap my arms around Bella and dance with her—really dance with her—so all these thugs know who she belongs to. I’ve been watching her dance all night. When Bella moves, it reeks of sex. Her hips sway, her eyes close, and it’s all I can do to keep from moving up behind her and pounding into her with my throbbing cock. Fuck.
I wonder if I could get her to leave early. Am I allowed to leave early? Mrs. Cope said that we had more chaperones than she expected…
“Mr. Cullen.”
I look up to see Alice standing in front of me, blocking Bella from view.
I glance at the football players next to me who are staring, mouths open, at Alice. The big brother side of me wants to punch them. Where the fuck is Jasper?
“Yes, Miss Brandon, what can I do for you?” I ask, trying to block Alice from their view.
“I was wondering if you’d dance with me,” she says, smiling.
Jesus Christ. First, I get to listen to these morons talk about how hot Alice The Lesbian is, and now she’s asking to dance with me, in front of them. Well done, Alice.
I give her a questioning look. This can’t be a good idea. She’s a student. Ever so subtly, she cocks her head to the side, redirecting me to Charlotte West, a biology teacher who is dancing with a student.
I look back to Alice, who has a knowing glint in her eye. I nod, gesturing for her to head to the dance floor. She takes my hand, pulling me away from the football players, and wrapping her arms around my neck.
I place my hands on her waist, holding her an appropriate distance from my body. As soon as we start to move, I start to talk. “So would you like to tell me what this is about?” I ask.
She laughs. “Bella wants to dance with me.”
“So she’s living vicariously through you?”
“I’m opening up the window of opportunity. I went over to some other girls from my grade and I asked them if they dared me to ask you to dance. When they did, I said if I did it, someone else had to do it after. So, you’re going to dance with about ten different girls. But after a while, Bella will come and ask you, and you’ll be able to,” she says it with this finality that makes it sound like the most sensible thing in the world.
“I have to dance with a bunch of girls, just to dance with Bella once?” It doesn’t really seem like an even trade—although, if I were being honest, I’d do just about anything to put my hands on Bella as soon as possible. It’s all for Bella.
“Yes.”
“I see. Thank you?”
She laughs. “You’re welcome. I know she wants to dance with you. This was all I could think of.”
“Thank you, Alice. I hope it works.”
“It will.” We continue dancing in silence for a moment, before Alice speaks again, “I have to say this, and now seems like as good a time as any.”
“Okay…” I prompt, spinning us around a little. I watch her face carefully, wondering what she’s got to say. She suddenly looks nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alice look apprehensive about anything.
“Bella is my best friend,” she says, glancing up at me. “She is not close to a lot of people, but those who she is close to…well… when Bella loves, she loves wholly. And she loves you, Edward. What you mean to her…I don’t know if she has even realized how deep it runs. And you know, she’s been through a lot. I was her friend back then, when her mom left. She hasn’t been the same since. She’s had this…weight…and you’ve…you’ve lifted it. That first night you met, you lifted it. She’s so… happy. And she deserves it. Anyway, I’m rambling…the point is this…” she looks over my shoulder for a moment, and then back to me. “You two are in the shittiest situation I’ve ever heard of. There are so many ways for both of you to get so fucking hurt; I can’t even comprehend them all. So I want to tell you this: If you don’t do everything in your power to make sure that doesn’t happen…to make sure Bella gets to stay happy…I will kill you.”
She looks up at me, totally serious, and honestly, I believe her. Alice is a lot of things, including crazy and protective. I nod my head, automatically. I have to tell her…to try to explain…it’s all for Bella.
“Alice,” I say. Where to begin? “I applied for another job.”
She stares at me for a moment. “What? Where?”
“Port Angeles. I don’t know if I’ll get it, but I’ve applied. Bella doesn’t know. I’ll tell her—I will, but I’m telling you, now, because I want you to know how seriously I take this situation. I don’t want anything to happen to us, and I don’t want Bella to be hurt in any way. Forks is a great place to work, but I’ll leave if I can, if it means Bella and I can be together.”
“You know it’s not that easy, right? Charlie is going to flip, no matter when you tell him. If you leave for Port Angeles, he’ll put it together. If you tell him in a year, when she’s graduated, he’ll put it together.”
I nod. I know that. I know Charlie will probably put a bounty on my head. “I know.”
“I’m sorry,” Alice says softly. “I’m sorry you guys met under these circumstances.”
“I’m not,” I say. “If we hadn’t…I may have never met Bella.”
She grins. The song is winding up. “You’re a good guy, Edward.”
“Yeah? You approve?”
She nods, moving her hand to pat my cheek. “I do.”
“You know what I don’t approve of?”
She shakes her head. “What?”
“You licking my girlfriend’s neck.”
She laughs loudly at this. “Sorry. Sex sells.”
“She’s mine,” I say, and although I mean it teasingly, it comes out like a growl.
Alice grins, stepping away from me as the song ends. “She was mine first, Cullen,” she says, and winks.
And like that she’s gone. And before I can even think about anything she’s said, Angela Weber is in front of me, wiping her palms nervously on her dress. I sigh.
It’s all for Be
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