Donation Drive Chapter Two BPOV

The Cullen boy, the one who had not changed in five years, turned to stare at me, his burnt honey eyes shadowed into a deep ochre and then seemed almost black as the dim light was withheld from their depths. I had only seen him at a distance, across the parking lot and then later leaning back against a locker over fifty feet away. We had never been this close except with a closed door between us as they left. His face had been hard then, eyes set with a grim look that was opposite what I saw in the moment we stood on the driveway together.

Today, the oddly young looking man, who had to be my age, maybe a year younger at the most, seemed full of fire. He was tense, and there was a look on his face of pure desire. His pupils had dilated into the shadowed irises, giving him the look of purely black eyes. I could smell, and feel, the faint stirrings of air caused by his breath as it came more rapidly, and my own increased in response. He smelled of the dregs in a glass of homemade lemonade; sugar, ice, and a bit of tart that made you want to lick your lips and get that last drop. I wasn't sure how I knew this from my five feet away, but I wanted to taste him.

My heart instantly flared with guilt, thinking of Eric, sitting on our bed alone. I had just left my boyfriend of two years this morning and already my mind was contemplating kissing the beautiful anomaly in front of me, never mind the fact that I am here to see Jake. My cheeks heated with my embarrassment as well as a slight flush of desire. Jake, Bella. You came here for Jake, your ex-fiance.

“I'm here to see Jake. I'm sorry to disturb you and then to cost you the money. Please, let me repay you and then if you could please show me to Jake's room or let him know that Bella is here, I'll be out of your hair.”

As I mentioned his own auburn locks, my hair began to blow forward into my face, strands obscuring my vision. He took a step nearer and my dream began to play out. His hands raised, as if to embrace me, his lips almost stained-looking as they parted.

Instead of speaking my name, however, he swallowed, moving nearer. My dream was wrong, which is probably a good thing given my recent circumstances.

“Is... this is the right place, isn't it?”

My voice wavered as I fought an urge to walk into his arms. It felt as if I were drugged or under a magic spell. He stood there watching me with those dark eyes and I could not move except when thinking of going nearer to his thin form.

“Bells! You're here!”

The voice of the one who shattered me broke the spell. Jake ran in his smooth loping way, stopping just in front of me. His chest was even wider than I remembered, and I doubted I could even clear his breastbone.

Jake shook with his contained emotions, no doubt either upset I was here and interrupting his new life or ecstatic as he imagined a romantic reunion. The warmth in his eyes made me assume the latter although as he spun around, facing the Good Samaritan who had paid my cab fare, I wondered if his present circumstances truly did involve drugs. Jake was undoubtedly in the midst of a mood swing.

Jake turned back to me, his eyes hard as stone, lifeless until they met mine and some of his fire came back. He took a step closer, his skin so hot as he lifted me up into a hug that I felt overwhelmed by the searing heat.

I felt like a rag doll in Jake's arms, my legs hanging uselessly. As he stepped up onto the porch, my muscles remembered what to do and my legs wrapped around him as they had done when we were together. Jake carried me into the house, through a very warm yet minimalist foyer, past a baby grand piano, to a gently curving staircase. One of his arms had a firm grip around my hips, the other held my suitcase. He carried me effortlessly.

“Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, cave man?”

He gave me a playful growl which set my body aflame with memories of that growl made against my lower half. The guilt returned of what I'd done to Eric, coupled with the unknown I was walking into. I pushed against Jake and he tightened his arms in response.

A tiny girl, another of the Cullens, gave us a bright smile as she ran down the stairs. Her body moved gracefully as if she were prancing down the stairs. Jake muttered something beneath his breath and the door closed; the girl had gone outside.

“Before you ask, she's not my girlfriend.” Jake rested his chin atop my head as his long legs took the stairs two at a time. Each time his foot fell on a step, our bodies were jolted together. “As to your question, no, Bells. First, we're going to my room. Second, you're going to tell me why you're here- not that I'm unhappy- I'm fucking ecstatic you are here with me. Some time after that, you'll tell me what is up with Eric, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll let you leave my room to meet my housemates. You already know most of them though.”

I turned my attention to Jake's neck instead of my surroundings and saw several one inch-long scars close together. Each was made identically and was so fine that the slight silver sheen was almost invisible against his dark skin. My fingers itched to explore them, to determine the differences between the boy I'd loved and the man he'd become.

Jake took me into a room next to a stairwell leading up to a third floor. It was a comfortable room, about twelve feet by fifteen. The walls were painted in shades of forest green and the gray haze of the morning mists. Much like he'd had in our apartment, images of wolves and the moon covered many surfaces.

He dropped my suitcase onto a small couch and then used the now free hand to pull back the covers on his bed. Faster than I could have imagined, Jake slid between the sheets, my body still tucked in tightly against his chest, and pulled the blanket over us.

“What...”

“Shh. Just let me hold you. Then we can talk. I just need to hold you.” Jake's voice held a desperate tone that I could not ignore.

I nodded, and then tucked my head into his neck, letting the warm musk scent wash over me. Even at our last visit, when he'd come to Florida, his natural smell had made me feel at home. This time, while it made me relax, my mind was focused on the differences between this overpowering musk that was tied up in memories of twisted sheets or pine needles sticking into my back through Jake's jacket as we made love in the middle of the forest, and that refreshingly sweet scent of the boy outside.

The heat relaxed me and I felt myself almost lulled to sleep before Jake rolled us so that he was on top of me. His weight was resting on his forearms, his body held up at the elbows in a mock push-up over me. I closed my eyes as his face came closer. His lips pressed against my forehead and then breath hotter than the Arizona summer fanned over my face. Jake's parted lips dragged across my temple, a traveling kiss that part of me wanted to turn into.

Footsteps outside our door and then on the floor above drew my attention away, reminding me of why I came and what I'd given up to be here. I turned my face into his arm as Jake's mouth descended along my jaw, giving him my neck instead of mouth. He bit down gently and my breasts tightened in response. I curled up facing away from Jake as best I could beneath his body.

“You and Yorkie aren't broken up then?” With a sigh, Jake lifted off of me, settling behind me on the bed, his arm wrapping around my waist.

“I'm staying here as long as you need me. I told Eric I didn't know if, or when, I was coming back.”

I felt the mattress sink as Jake lifted up on his arm. The hand that had been on my waist caught my chin and turned my face so that our eyes met. “Bells, what do you mean by 'need?' I always need you, you know that. I thought you'd finally come back because you'd forgiven me.”

I didn't want to do this. I really didn't want to do this. “Your dad said you needed me.”

The space between his eyebrows pleated with crinkles of confusion. "What?" Jake's lips parted as he looked at me. “How?”

I reached down and pulled out the letter Billy had sent. I fingered it, holding it at my hip. “Billy said you were in trouble, maybe drugs. I've seen the marks on your neck Jake. What can I do?”

Of all the responses, I did not expect laughter to be the one he gave.

“God, Bells. I swear to you, the only drugs I do are legal and by prescription. Fuck, my dad was here last night for supper. Dad's been talking about you quite a bit lately.” Jake paused, his eyes focused on the window. “Can I see the letter?”

I let him take it from me and he opened it carefully. He was silent as he read, his eyes going over the words a few times.

“Bells, I can't tell you what I'm doing, but I swear to you that it isn't anything wrong. My dad and Charlie both know. I'm fine here. It's easy work and puts a roof over my head and money in the bank. Dad's been trying to talk me into coming to Florida and bringing you back here where you belong, with me, and I guess I was taking too long. Dad decided to bring you to me instead.”

The world's colors faded out and then were washed over with red as if I was wearing tinted glasses.

“I just ended a two year relationship because your father wants us back together?” Somewhere along the way, my question turned into a screech as I sat up.

Jake rolled up onto his knees, the fluid motion of his body capturing my gaze. The thin shirt he wore clung to muscles that were almost obscene. Jake held up his hands to placate me; a dimple made the slightest of an appearance in his left cheek.

“Bells, sweetie, some things are just meant to be, like you and me.”

I shook my head and climbed off the bed. I needed away from him so I could think clearly. “Jake, we aren't meant to be. You ruined that when you told me, quote, 'let's get this over with,' end quote.

“You're my best friend, Jake; that is all. I love you but I love myself more. I am not the nineteen and a half year old you walked out on. I finished my degree online instead of walking to campus each morning with you and our friends. I worked my ass off to pay for my own apartment and still send my portion of rent to our landlord in Seattle. Why else do you think he gave you more than our security deposit back?”

I paused, taking a breath. “I made new dreams, Jake; ones that don't include you. Until yesterday morning, when I received that letter you're holding, my dreams involved Eric and me. I left behind my life to come here and help you. And what did I find? You, looking better than I've seen in years, except for the scars. Yet again, you won't tell me what is going on, but want me back in your bed.”

Jake opened his mouth to speak but one look from me changed his mind.

“What about Crystal, Jake? Or Leah? Or even when you had a thing with Lauren? What? You thought she wouldn't tell me? There may have been no one else when you left me, but you sure as hell had no problem replacing me. It took me the better part of a year to even go on a date, and that was with someone we were friends with in high school. You wanted nothing to do with me until I stopped pining for you and learned to be just your friend. Well...”

The door opened as I got ready to say, “fuck you and our meddling fathers,” admitting the height-challenged girl from the stairs and a tall blond man. His eyes, gold like those of the boy outside but with an almost copper ring around the outside of his irises, met mine and I suddenly lost my desire to fight with Jake. It was as if all the anger was just sapped out of me.

“Is everythin' all right in here?” His voice was a slow drawl as if he didn't have a care in the world. “Jake, you ain't pickin' on this sweet little thin', are you?”

“She isn't that sweet, Jasper, and she's off limits.” Jake's voice made me shiver; it was filled with a level of menacing authority that I couldn't imagine anyone denying.

“Maybe we don't like sweet, Jakey. I bet she's rather spicy if she put up with you.” The girl, or rather a woman in (almost) miniature stepped forward, holding out her hand. “Welcome to our home. I'm Alice. This is my husband, Jasper. My father is at work right now and my mother is out in the garden. I can help you get set up with some toiletries and a hot shower to freshen up. I doubt this Neanderthal,” she pointed at Jake who was seething, “has offered you anything. Jazzy, honey, why don't you stay here with Jake, and I'll take Bella to our shower.”

“No, that's okay. I don't want to intrude.”

Alice grabbed my hand and began pulling me with a strength I would not have imagined in such a small body. “Let's get you away from Jake, before you punch him and hurt yourself. We'll let my husband have a little chat with him about how you treat a lady.” She dragged me, only semi-willingly, into the hallway, past Jasper. He smiled and I felt myself flush.

Alice giggled as she led me down the hall. “He has that effect on everyone. So does my brother, Edward, but I've never seen him react like that to anyone but you.”

Edward. That's who he was.

“Come on, let's get you cleaned up so that you don't smell like airplane seats and,” she paused to sniff my shirt, “Acqua de Gio.”

That was Eric's cologne she smelled on me.

“If I had had more notice of your arrival and stay, I'd have set up a guest room for you. Do you mind staying in Jake's room for a day or two? Otherwise, there is a pull out couch up on the third floor in the open room. The room isn't decorated or anything, and you'd have to deal with Edward being across the hall but it wouldn't be a problem.”

“Jake's room is fine for the moment. I'll probably head to my dad's house in a few hours, once I've sorted things out with Jake.”

Alice let out a small giggle that sounded a lot like the one I'd heard over the phone.

“Oh, you won't sort things out with him for weeks. He's a stubborn one. But, you and I, we're going to be great friends while you're here. Please stay. I can make Jake sleep out back in the dog house if I must or even with Rosalie. She was going to see him tonight regardless.”

I was awestruck as we walked into a bathroom larger than my efficiency with Jake and easily the size of my kitchen and dining room at my, no, it is only Eric's now, apartment. It was decorated luxuriously, like a personal spa. The shower was a step down into tub with the spray at floor level raining down on you. There was a view of the river and woods from the tub. I could only imagine what it would be like to soak in there with the jets on and watch the night sky.

Alice was staring at herself in the mirror and then turned to me with a smile. “You are welcome to use the tub whenever you want. If Jasper and I are using it, we lock the bedroom door.”

“Unless we want you to join in.” Jasper's sudden presence against the doorjamb startled me; he was leaning against it with his feet crossed at the ankle, dark gray boots disappearing beneath close fitted jeans. One dark blond eyebrow was arched and he gave me a wink. “I'm teasin', maybe; but to echo what my darlin' wife said, please make use of our tub when you need a place to unwind. Alice, baby, did you tell Miss Bella 'bout dinner at six thirty?”

“Not yet.” Alice dropped down into a squatting position that would have made me look like I had as much coordination as a bull in a china shop. She pulled out some bottles of shampoo and some soaps. “This is for washing your hair,” she held up a silver bottle, “and this one is for conditioning the ends. Put it on for ten minutes and then you can apply the one in the red bottle through all of your hair.”

Both of them laughed as I stared, wide-eyed. “Alice, well, thank you, but I brought my...”

“Suave strawberry. I know. You can hand it over now and I'm tossing it. You're,” she paused doing math in her head it seemed, “twenty two, will be twenty three soon.”

I thought back on the last time I'd looked at a calendar. My birthday is in less than a week.

“Yeah, I guess I will be. The thirteenth.”

Jasper let out a groan a split-second before Alice made a headache inducing screech of delight. “We are having a party for you. Don't bother telling me no. You don't have to do anything but show up and eat cake. Presents! Lots of presents! The boys don't let me buy presents for them anymore and Rosalie has everything. This will be fabulous. I get off work at two on the thirteenth. If I go in early, I can have all of the spreadsheets done by eleven thirty, and then be home by two. We can have a dinner party and then...”

A long fingered hand clamped over Alice's mouth. “Alice, you're scaring the fresh meat. Go plan your party.”

She jerked free of Jasper. “Like I was saying, you're almost twenty three and that is too old to be using strawberry shampoo. This is much nicer.”

“Are you a stylist or something?”

Alice let out a soft laugh as she shook her head, dangling earrings swinging delicately against her neck. “The family would kill me if I did this professionally. I'm actually a risk manager in an investment bank in Tacoma. I also handle the family's accounting.”

Jasper smiled at me over Alice's head. “I'll leave you two women-folk to the ablutions stuff before I get roped into finding heated towels and bathrobes. Bella, it has been my pleasure to meet you. I will see you at dinner.”

I couldn't help but tingle once more as he said 'pleasure.' It felt as if every bit of me was being stroked from the inside out for the briefest of moments. Alice stood on her tiptoes and I watched with a smile as Jasper leaned down, kissing her softly before walking backwards from the room with a mouthed, “Ladies.” I could just imagine him tipping a hat as he went.

~*~

“And this is our dining room.”

Alice had taken several hours fighting with me over the dress she wanted me to wear. Apparently, none of my pants and shirts were nice enough for dinner. I was about to tell her I'd go to Charlie's for dinner when she mentioned that the entire family sat down for dinner together. I had finally put on the dress, with thoughts of seeing Edward again, and Alice touched up her makeup while I brushed out my hair. I was standing in front of the full-length mirror across from Alice and Jasper's bedroom door when I saw Edward walk down the hall in a white dress shirt, black slacks, and a black tie. His hair was wet from his shower, and the shirt clung to his back between his shoulder blades. My mouth went dry as I watched the lean muscles of his back move beneath the silk.

His head turned in our direction, giving a terse nod, as he descended. Despite his short notice, I was glad that I'd given Alice her way. The white cotton sheath dress ended just below the knee with black stitching and a ribbon at the waist in a shiny black fabric. She had given up on trying to put me in heels since I had let her dress me, allowing me to wear my simple black slip-ons I had from work.

I did my own make up and hair, pulling my hair down into a clip at the back of my neck, and put on mascara and lip gloss, my normal routine. Despite my current aggravation at Jake, I put on the silver and moonstone paw print necklace that I rarely went without. He'd given it to me on my eighteenth birthday so that while I was away at college without him, I would have something to remind me of him.

Alice and I descended the stairs, she leading me at a slow pace. Her vibrant yellow dress with black accents made her look like a bumblebee with several stingers masquerading as well-sculpted spikes atop her head. Alice and I reached the first floor and she tugged on my hand, stopping me from looking around. The floor plan was open and I saw a large table set for fourteen. There were six chairs along each long side of the table and one at each end. Each had a place setting in white rimmed with gold, topped with a black card with gold engraving of the chair's intended occupant.

A good looking blond man, who was of an age that made it hard to peg him to be in his late twenties to even late thirties, sat at the head, a gentle smile upon his face. He stood as we entered.

“Welcome to my home, Bella. Any friend of Jacob's is a friend of ours.” A curiously cool hand clasped mine as I looked into eyes of a clear topaz. “I'm Carlisle Cullen. You've met Alice and Jasper, I hear. This is my son, Edward.”

I watched as Carlisle pointed toward the kitchen where Edward was coming from, bearing a large silver platter, covered in a high dome. His face tightened and he gave me a nod much like the one upstairs before sitting down beside his father.

“Here is my wife, Esme. You will see her fairly often during your stay, Bella. She takes care of the house when I am not here to assist her.”

A woman who looked like the quintessential mother yet could double as a model came into the dining area. Her hair was a warm brown that matched her eyes. She wore a simple blue dress, covered in a white apron. There was a gentle happiness that seemed to follow her.

Esme sat the pitchers of water down onto the table, she wiped her hands on the apron before coming to embrace me. The hug felt like everything I was supposed to feel from my own mother but never had. It was like being clasped inside a sugar cookie still warm from the oven, a glass of milk, and a cup of chicken noodle soup on a rainy day. She was undoubtedly the matriarch of the home.

“Bella,” she breathed into my ear as she hugged me. There was no need for an eloquent welcoming; her hug had done it all for her.

As she released me, I heard three thudding sets of feet on the stairs and then Jake rounded the corner, followed by Sam and... Seth?

“Seth?”

I was scooped up into Seth's arms as I tried to reconcile this body that was almost as hulking as Jake's with that of the young teenager I'd seen last. All of the men were dressed much like Edward and Carlisle, white shirts, black slacks and ties. I felt like I was witnessing a GQ fashion shoot as Seth finally set me down.

Sam touched my shoulder gently, we had never gotten along well. Jake pulled me against his chest and held me tightly. “Sorry, Bells. I'm an ass.”

“Language, Jacob!”

Jake ducked his head at Esme's admonishment. “Sorry, Esme.” He released me and moved to pull back my chair, making an odd sound when we saw that Edward already had it pulled out.

“Thank you, Edward.” My whisper could barely be heard by my own ears.

Edward however, ducked his head and had he not turned away quickly, I would have certainly seen a blush across his cheeks. During my girl talk with Alice, she'd said that while he's socially awkward due to being a child prodigy, he is quite caring and warm once past his initial defensive tactics. She promised that I would get to know him well, but it would have to be on his terms and time table.

My next shock, besides seeing Seth and Sam, was when Jessica and Lauren came down the stairs in black dresses that left little to the imagination. They were obviously expensive and well-fitted, but they seemed more suited to a club than to dinner in the Cullen's home.

I stood to greet them and they both sniffed, taking a seat opposite me, next to a slightly larger chair that was still empty. I was seated three down from Carlisle's left, Alice and then Jasper beside me on Carlisle's side, my boys from the Res on my other side. Three people came in through a sliding glass door behind Carlisle, the most note-worthy being a pale skinned man with dark curly hair that would only be small when compared to Jake. With him were two blond women, one as tiny as Alice with short bobbed silvery blonde hair and then a tall statuesque blond who had to have spent a fortune on plastic surgery to be that beautiful.

Emmett, as he had introduced himself, was warm and genuine, with a quick laugh. His wife, Rosalie, was a little aloof but polite. Charlotte, seated opposite Jasper, gave him a smile before she turned and introduced herself to me. Her cheeks were a bright red as Jasper smiled at her before Alice kicked him beneath the table. Apparently he was a flirt with all of the women except his mother and Rosalie, who I was told was his twin sister.

The Cullens ate little, perhaps that is how they kept their trim figures. The boys ate three, if not four servings, each plateful dwarfing what I ate. Carlisle went to the kitchen and then brought out a tray of goblets, half glass, half either silver or pewter all the way through. To his family members, he handed the solid cups; to Jake, Sam, Seth, Lauren, Jessica, Charlotte, and myself, Carlisle gave the glass ones.

I have never been much of a drinker so I just took a sip of the wine. There was a faint salty and metallic scent in the air, perhaps Carlisle had broken one of the glasses and cut himself, leading to the different cups. The smell was turning my stomach, so I played with my cup, faking small sips. Edward, who had been sitting extremely still during dinner and had said nothing, looked around the table and then finally lifted his glass. I watched as he took a smell and then his nostrils flared as if filling with smoke.

His face underwent a transformation, there is no other explanation I can derive. Pain filled his features, a grimace as if undergoing extreme torment. I looked to his family for help but they ignored Edward as he got up from the table and walked briskly for the door.

“Is he alright, Alice?” I gently touched her arm as I whispered and she froze like a deer caught in headlights.

“Edward will be fine, Bella. Thank you for your compassion.” Carlisle was the one to answer me after a minute, if not two, had passed.

Does he have problems with drinking? Did Edward become ill?

“Should someone...”

“No,” Alice interrupted me before I could finish. “It's best to just leave Edward be when he's in this sort of mood.”

We sat in silence after that, eating our dessert while drinking, or pretending to drink our wine. When Jake had finally satiated his unending cavern of a stomach, he pushed back his chair and stood. Apparently, that was the signal that dinner was over as everyone began to clear their glasses and the dessert cups. Chocolate, from the dark chocolate mousse with fresh berries, had left a stain on the bottom of each. Jake had taken one from Rosalie, finishing up what she hadn't been able to, before reaching for yet another from Alice.

Rosalie came around the table, gave me half of a smile, the corner of her mouth barely lifting. I watched as crimson finger nails latched around Jake's arm and she pulled him to the stairs. He did not so much as look back at me although it seemed that everyone else at the table was staring at me or at Jake's back.

“I guess she didn't like him taking her chocolate,” I said, trying to break the ice a bit.

~*~

Two hours later, I was staring at the ceiling of Jake's room, when the door quietly opened and then closed again. Jake shuffled to the bed, unceremoniously took off his clothes, leaving them on a pile on the floor, and then climbed in next to me. I had expected to sleep on the couch if he came back, or to make him do it, but he seemed too tired to move and was blocking me.

In the moon's glow, I saw that his cheeks were flushed and as one arm came up to drape over me, I could smell him. He smelled of sex. The warm, earthy scent of his sweat and come mixed with a woman's arousal. Jealousy flowed through me, hotter than anything I've ever felt, followed by confusion as he'd disappeared with a married woman. Jake's breathing equaled out, quickly falling asleep, as he always does after sex. Some time after, his sleep lightened into a doze and he began to murmur.

“Love you, Bells.”

He kissed a part of my shoulder exposed by my tank top. I waited, taking shallow breaths, as Jake's hand slid down my side to rest upon my hip. I had forgotten pajama pants in my hurried packing, and had stolen a pair of Jake's boxers to sleep in, rolling the waistband twice to tighten it up.

“Mmm. Mine.”

His voice was sleepy but the tone behind it was unmistakable. Jake was pleased by my choice of clothing and despite the sexual activities he had taken part in before coming to bed, his body craved me. I could feel the insistent pressure of his cock as Jake rocked against my lower back in his sleep.

I felt the hot bough of flesh peek out of his own boxers and reached between us, tucking him back into the fabric. “Jake, wake up.”

In response, his hand reached down, trying to slide beneath the waistband of the boxers I wore.

“No, Jake.”

He let out a growl in response.

“I'm not doing anything with you, especially when you've just come back from fucking someone.” Not to mention what that would make me after breaking things off with Eric.

“It's not like that.”

My laugh was bitter. “Jake, you smell of her. I came here thinking you were into drugs, but you know what? I don't think your dad really knows what is going on. You're a gigolo! You live here, dress in clothes that are so not like you, and are making more money in a few months than your dad was making in a year, all by selling sex. Is that worth it to you? I thought I knew you. I was wrong.”

I climbed out of his bed and pulled on my jeans from earlier. I stormed down the stairs, not knowing what I was going to do with myself at ten PM with my body telling me it was one AM. I only knew that I needed away from Jake. Luckily, he still knew me well enough to not follow. The main floor was dark except for a small light above the stove. I made my way to the kitchen and looked through the cabinets for some hot chocolate mix. If I was going to be up for the night, I needed chocolate.

“We...don't... use... instant.” Edward's voice called from the shadows near the front door. I had to have walked right by him where he sat at the piano to come in here. His words were jilted as if he was having a hard time speaking.

I was frozen in place as his body slid off the piano bench and his feet, now only in black socks, his shoes tucked into a shelf by the door, were silent as he crossed the twenty or thirty feet to where I stood. Edward did not speak again as he fetched milk and cream from the fridge, a chocolate bar from the pantry along with some sugar.

He did not so much as look at me as he moved about, grabbing a sauce pan and almost awkwardly pouring the milk into it.

“Edward,” his eyes darted to my face, almost in fear as I spoke his name, “have you ever made hot chocolate before?”

He shook his head and stepped away. I took the milk from his outstretched hand and poured more into the pan. With my peripheral vision on Edward, I heated the milk slowly, breaking in two bars of the unsweetened chocolate. I stirred in the slowly melting chocolate and a little of the sugar. As it steeped, I put away the ingredients, making a mental note of their locations for other nights; if there would be other nights.

“Where are the mugs?”

Edward pointed to the cabinet beside the stove and I opened the door, standing on my toes to reach a mug. I grabbed a second one, filled both with the mood enhancer, and then offered one to Edward.

His eyes went wide in fright like I'd burned him. I moved back to the stove and set the extra mug on the counter.

“I'm sorry, Edward. I wasn't aware you didn't like...” I turned back to my reluctant kitchen helper, but he was gone, the front door closing as I looked for him.