A Change in Direction: Chapter Eight

2/6/2020

A Change in Direction: Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight

With that, he left me standing in the middle of nirvana. Or it would have been if I wasn’t afraid to touch. So, instead, I decided just to look around. Edward must have been a hardcore gamer, something I never would have figured. The pool table was well-worn like he played it, too. I could say the same about the pinball machines and arcade games, which included classic Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Pac-Man.

All the bottles in the bar were unopened, except for the flavored syrups like Starbucks used in coffee. There was a large fridge, but I didn’t open it to see what was inside. I was confident it was full of beer and sodas. Though I had a feeling Edward didn’t drink it himself. He didn’t seem like the type.

He had every film you could think of and hundreds I had never even heard of. It was impressive to be sure. He had them organized in alphabetical order, and I could only imagine the time it took. I brushed my fingers over the spines, glancing at some titles before turning my attention towards the couch.

There were about two dozen black pillows on the floor of varying sizes, roughly arranged so a man could prop up comfortably and play video games at the same time. I couldn’t imagine Edward being that guy in his slick business suit and perfectly combed hair. I sat on the sofa, the cushions super soft and overstuffed. When I went back fully, my feet didn’t even come close to touching the ground. The whole thing swallowed me up, but it was so damn comfy.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as I breathed in slowly. I could smell Edward around me, the scent on the couch itself. Playing with the end of my braid again mindlessly against my fingertips, I took several deep breaths as I tried to clear my mind. I could see myself quickly falling asleep on the sofa, curled up under a blanket on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve always felt this room was missing something,” Edward lamented, surprising me. I opened my eyes and immediately turned my gaze to him. “And finally, I think I know what it is.”

He stood in the doorway in a pair of blue jeans, ripped and worn at the knees and heels. His hair was still slightly wet but was curling up as it dried in small loose ringlets where it was long enough. He wore a t-shirt that was a black well-loved concert souvenir from some tour. It was hard to read because it was so faded. Barefoot and relaxed, I could see this man lying on the floor playing video games.

“What’s that?” I asked softly.

“You.”

Flushing, I turned my gaze towards the blank screen for a second then to my lap. I really wished I had put something on, so I had an excuse not to look back right away. “Why do you say that?”

“You just seem so perfect sitting right there, and I like it.” He looked down at his hands, frowning to himself. “But I’ve made you uncomfortable again. I’m sorry. Let’s change the subject. Did you think of something for lunch?” He asked as he came around the front of the couch to sit down with me.

“Oh, no.” I grimaced in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I got distracted by all the awesome stuff.”

He chuckled as he plopped down onto the cushion beside me. “It’s okay. I get distracted by this room all the time. Sometimes for hours. How about this, we can just order a pizza?”

“I’m good with that. I love pizza.”

“Perfect. What do you prefer on yours?” Edward inquired as he pulled out his phone, swiftly scrolling through his list of numbers. I bit back my smile when I realized he had all the pizza places on speed dial. Typical bachelor.

“I enjoy most of the meats. But I’m fine with just about anything, really. Whatever you want.”

“Tell me your favorite kind.”

“It doesn’t matter what you get. I’ll eat whatever,” I tried to assure him once again.

Putting his phone down in his lap, he brought his hand under my chin so that my eyes were looking into his. “Isabella, I want your opinion. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked. So, stop acting like I’m the only one that matters here.”

“Aren’t you, though?” I whimpered.

Edward smiled, shaking his head. “No. I want you to be happy too,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss my forehead. His lips were warm and soft, lingering against it. I melted into him, my hand resting on his shoulder to keep myself upright. “Tell me what you want,” he spoke against my skin.

What I wanted was a make-out session on his pile of pillows in front of us on the floor. With maybe some second base action.

“Pepperoni, ham, and mushroom.”

“Now, was that so hard?” He smirked as he leaned back and picked up his phone once again.

“Is that normally how you get the information you want out of people?” I frowned at him, not liking the disconnection. I knew I shouldn’t have wanted to keep doing it, but I did.

He looked at his cell and then at me like he had to think something over. Once he decided, he brought his hand up to my face, his long fingers cradling my jaw as he slowly leaned in to kiss my upper lip. He spoke against my mouth, his cool breath making me shudder. “No. It’s not. But it pleases me greatly to know I can do that to you. May I beg you to withhold certain kinds of information more often? I really enjoy this interrogation method.”

“You’re definitely a good cop,” I teased with a smile, and he grinned in return before kissing my bottom lip. He wrapped his around mine, suckling it gently for only a second before pulling away. A shaky breath left my parted mouth. “Very good cop.”

Chuckling, he picked up his phone again. He was obviously pleased with himself, but I couldn’t blame him. After he patted my knee to get my attention, he scrolled through his numbers once again. “Why don’t you select a movie for us to watch?”

I sulked, not liking how much he could affect me. I pushed myself forward off his massive couch, having to scoot as I did so until my feet reached the ground. As he ordered, I trailed my fingers over the titles again, trying to figure out what to pick. Once he finished, I spoke again. “I don’t know how to choose. I’ve never seen so many in my life.”

“Tell me a genre. Just at random, first thing that comes to your mind.”

“Um, science fiction.”

“What year?”

“Two thousand three.”

He typed that information into his phone, scanning whatever came up for him. “Alright, the best science fiction movies of that year are... X-men, the second one. The Hulk,” he chuckled. “Okay, so there weren’t any amazing sci-fi that year. I don’t think Lord of the Rings is, but it’s on here, too. The second part of the series as well.”

“That’s more fantasy, in my opinion,” I responded, walking over to the L section. I pulled out the first Lord of the Rings and handed it to him. “Here. It’s the best out of the three. I don’t like to watch movies out of order.”

“Me either,” he smiled as he took the case out of my hand. “You know something? I think we will get along just fine.”

“I think so, too,” I told him honestly, unable not to return his charming smile. It went all the way to his eyes, the creases around them seeming to smooth away as he did. He was so much younger when he grinned like that.

We spent most of our day on Edward’s massive, man-eating couch watching all of them and devouring pizza, which we just had for dinner, too. We didn’t accomplish a thing we had discussed the night before.

I was lying barefoot on the sofa, his head on the opposite cushion from mine. Our legs were in between the others without even touching, discussing the films.

“Okay, so what’s the big deal about him? I think they could have left him out of the movie just fine. The entire story, as a matter of fact. He serves no purpose.”

I scoffed. “Legolas is hot. Sorry. That’s the big deal.”

“He’s a priss in tights,” Edward snorted.

“He’s a graceful elf.”

Scrunching up his nose, he tilted his head as he eyed me. “Do you think he makes cookies? Or maybe toys? Does he work as one of Santa’s helpers when he’s not walking to Mordor?” He teased, but I was having none of it. I was firm on my stance.

“A. He’s an important part of the group. They needed each other to get as far as they did. Two-”

“B.”

“Whatever,” I spouted, making him laugh again at my silliness. “B. He’s smoking hot. Come on.”

He didn’t like that at all. “Orlando Bloom is an odd-looking fellow. What’s so attractive about him, anyway?” Edward pouted, his lips pursing out in annoyance at my comments.

I giggled. “Aw! Are we jealous? Don’t worry, Mr. Masen. You’re hot in a different way.” I poked his thigh with my foot, smiling to myself.

“I don’t see how you can say that.”

His serious tone caught me off guard.

“How can you say that?” I repeated back at him.

“What?” Frowning, he sat up some as he did. I couldn’t imagine what had changed his jovial mood so quickly. We were having so much fun.

“Edward, you’re gorgeous.”

He shook his head. “No. I’m weird looking and awkward. And I’m not great at this humanity thing. I’m not good with people.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

For a long moment, he was silent. Then he took a breath. “I’m not very good with other members of the human species. Even with my family. I’m always the one in the corner, just trying not to say anything or be in the way. And when I talk, I seem to make a fool of myself. The last thing I am is ‘hot’ or even remotely desirable.”

“Yes, you are!” I brought my legs underneath me as I adjusted myself, brushing my fingers through my hair so that it wasn’t in my face. “And you don’t seem that way with me.” He had mentioned he felt that before, but I just couldn’t see it.

“I’ve never been this way with anyone else. I’ve never been more comfortable with a person before.”

Staring, I blinked slowly. “You’re exaggerating. I’ve seen how you talk to people you work with.” I shook my head. Honestly, I didn’t see how it might have been true. They all loved him. Jasper only had kind words about his boss.

“Bella, that’s just business.”

“And what is this?” I questioned, cocking my face to the side as I gazed back at him.

Had he forgotten I was being paid to be with him and do exactly what we were? I was positive it would be more difficult at times, but I was basically being paid to be his friend. And probably someday soon, his fuck buddy.

He promptly got up and picked up his cell phone, not looking at me as he did so. “You know, it’s getting late. I’m going to call the car for you. They should be here within ten minutes. They’re close to here.”

I sat there, speechless for a moment. I couldn’t exactly understand what was going on. Quickly, I stood up, grabbing my boots.

“Have I made you angry?”

“No,” he said shortly, scrolling through the numbers on the screen with his thumb. He pressed one of them and brought the black rectangle to his ear. “Yes. This is Mr. Masen. I need the car at my home now. Thank you.”

“Edward,” I breathed as I walked behind him. “What did I say?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. Nothing. I had forgotten the fact you wouldn’t have been here otherwise. But yes, you are right. This is only business.” His mouth was so tight.

“That’s not true.”

“What?” He laughed without humor, returning the movie to its place with the other films on the wall.

“Edward…” I sighed. “I would have come here if you asked me. If you invited me to hang out or whatever. You’re a great person to spend time with. Today and yesterday have been delightful. It’s just that our lives didn’t take us that way, and we’re living this one. You pay me, but if I didn’t want to be here, I could be home right now. If I didn’t like you as a person, I would have quit already.” I touched his shoulder, making him stop to look at me. “Hey. What is this? Why are you acting like this? It wasn’t my point to say I would only be here because of the money. I was only going to say that maybe this is easier for you because it started out as a business thing. You know you can control the situation completely if you need to. I’m not saying it’s bad. I just don’t think we should ignore what this is if this is going to work.”

“I’d prefer to ignore it,” Edward muttered under his breath but nodded his head. “You are right, though, I suppose. It doesn’t mean I like it.”

“I’m sorry.” I frowned. “I don’t really see the problem, and I don’t want to tiptoe around it. You’re the one that came to me with this. It’s not like I reached out to you and asked you to be my sugar daddy. If you don’t like it, why did you do it?”

Swallowing, his eyes went over my face repeatedly as if they were searching for something. Edward put his hand under my jaw and lifted my chin. Slowly, he pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss before pulling entirely away.

“Yes, you are very right. I am sorry for my behavior.” He paused, shaking his head again to himself. “Bella, this is very rude, but will you excuse me? I am exhausted, and I’d like to go take another shower before I go to bed. The car should be here within a few minutes.”

“Do you still want me to come over Sunday?” I asked him seriously.

He stopped for a quiet minute before turning to speak. “Yes, of course. I do. Ten again? Tomorrow we should work on that paperwork right away. Also, I have some papers to give you. We will need to get down to business.” Edward paused again. “Goodnight, Isabella.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Masen.” I frowned to myself as he walked out of the room without looking back at me.

That went fantastically fucking well.

Seth smiled at me as I came to the car, but I suppose my expression made him not want to start a conversation with me. I didn’t know what the hell had just happened, but I didn’t like it one bit, and it showed on my face.

Men could be so confusing sometimes.

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading this chapter!

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