ISABELLA
“Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead to where there is no path and leave a trail” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
The obnoxious buzzing sound of the alarm awoke me from my deep slumber. The start of a new day. I dragged myself out of the comforting warmth of my bed and walked over to the window. ‘It’s going to be a beautiful day’ I thought to myself as my eyes gaze out into the dawn of the rising sun. The tendrils of orange are beginning to spray across the San Francisco sky. I sigh and walk into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. I need to get downstairs to begin baking. Isabella Swan’s Sweet Spot Bakery and Cafe was known for its fresh quality desserts and pastries all throughout the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco. It’s now 5:00 am and I open the shop at 10:00. By the time I shower, get dressed and have something to eat, I can be downstairs by 6:00. The wonderful thing is that I live right above my business. I live in a gorgeous apartment located above the bakery. It has tons of space with a lot of windows and on clear days you can see the tall buildings of downtown San Francisco.
After a hot shower, I quickly get dressed and head into the kitchen, which is my favorite place in my apartment. I open the cabinet to reach for a mug to pour myself a cup of coffee. Caffeine is my most prized friend, so much so that it was worth the investment in buying the fancy programmable coffee maker that I set every night to automatically brew while I’m in the shower each morning. I quickly pour a cup, take a sip and moan, the flavor of the coffee and its warmth are like ambrosia to my tongue. I finish up my cup and quickly head to my room to collect my keys so I can go downstairs. As I grab them, my eyes focus on a book on my nightstand. ‘Crimson Moon’ by E.A. Masen; I’m a huge fan of his novels. I pick it up and bring it with me downstairs just in case I get a slow moment during the day. I lock the door to my apartment and run down the stairs to the bakery. I walk into the kitchens and begin to get my ingredients out to make my creations.
As I bake, I remember how much my mom and dad enjoyed my cooking. My parents are the two people that I love most in the world, even if they piss me off from time to time. My dad, Charlie, is an avid sportsman. Fishing, hunting, and watching all the known sports of the seasons are his thing. He is the Chief of Police in the small town of Forks, Washington. We are pretty close, although he has never been the emotional type, as it makes him nervous and really awkward. But he has always been and continues to be ridiculously protective of me. It explains my lack of boyfriends all throughout High School. No boys wanted to date the Police Chief’s daughter. Although there were a few that did like me, they never had the courage to ask me out for fear of having to deal with my father. Charlie was always suspicious of boys and I can’t imagine him letting one in our house. Jacob was the only exception; mostly because we have been friends since we were kids and the fact that my dad is best friends with Jake’s dad Billy. As we got older, I thought at first that Jacob liked me because he would always want to hang out with me, not that I minded as Jacob was gorgeous. Tanned skin that I’d kill for, lustrous black hair and eyes, and he had a great body. His Indian heritage gave him that exotic flair.
However, I was soon given evidence to the contrary the day I came home from work to find him upstairs in my bedroom, trying on my clothes! I still giggle out loud when I think of it. Needless to say, that was the day more than just my clothes came out of the closet and told me he was gay. Jake’s a real sweetheart, always giving me advice when I need it. My dad was happy though, relieved I think, that no guy, even Jake was going to take away his little girl. Ugh, whatever. But that is Charlie and regardless, I love him dearly.
My mother, Renee, is the complete opposite of Charlie. I have always been able to talk to her about everything and anything. She is a very open minded, listens without judgment and has never had problems displaying affection. Sure my mom could be a bit “out there” sometimes but she does everything with the best of intentions. Now, at age 24, she thinks its way past time that I had a boyfriend and is always pretty vocal. Although Charlie still thinks of me as his little girl, he has been known to drop hints here and there on the subject. When I go up to visit them, I try and spend as much time in the kitchen making their favorites as that generally shuts them up! At least for a little while. I smile when I think of Charlie and Renee at the table, happy and enjoying whatever it is I whip up for them. My mom is a decent cook, but she’s got nothing on me.
The ‘ding’ of the timer on the oven brings me back to the present. I hurry to take out the cupcakes and cookies and set them on the cooling racks. I then put in the pies and cakes to bake. It’s 6:45 am and I’m making great time. Angela and Jessica will be here by 9:45 am to get the shop ready to open. I will start on my Éclairs and Cheesecakes next. I always use the finest ingredients and I mix everything together lovingly. I put the mixtures into their appropriate molds and put them in to bake as well. To help motivate myself, I put on the radio and start singing along to Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love’. Before I know it, its 9:30 am and all of my goodies are done. As I begin moving everything into the display cases out in front, I hear the front door open and close. Jessica and Angela are here.
“Good Morning, Bella.” Jessica says, smiling.
Angela wordlessly hands over a latte to me. I take it gratefully.
“Good Morning, Ladies,” I respond back. “You didn’t have to get me this, you know, but thank you so much! I really needed it.”
Angela shrugs, “It’s no biggie, Bella. You’re too good to us. It’s the least I can do,” she says, smiling. “Besides, I know you and your coffee.”
I laugh, “Yeah, I know you do!”
I turn to look at the time, its 10 am. “Looks like it’s time to open up shop, Ladies!” They murmur their assent.
As it nears lunchtime, it becomes increasingly busy in the Café. I’m mostly in the back making the sandwiches, soups, salads, and various other lunch items for my customers. However, I always try to come out and greet my customers and make sure everything is to their liking. I glance up and see a couple sharing a light kiss. I could tell that they were very much in love, they almost glowed. Seeing this causes that yearning feeling in my stomach, I want that. I want to love someone and have someone love me. I smile wistfully and shake my head as I head back to the kitchen thinking ‘yeah, like that will ever happen! I doubt I will ever find the right guy!’
Once the lunch rush passes, the rest of the day is fairly slow. Friday afternoons are usually like this and by 3 o’clock, Angela and Jessica are discussing what their plans are for the evening and the weekend.
“So, Bella,” Jessica asks, “What are you doing tonight? Do you want to come out with us?”
I shake my head, “I can’t, Jessica. I’m picking up my best friend, Rosalie, tonight from the airport. She’s coming in from New York.”
They both gasp. “Rosalie Hale?” “The model, right?” they say, almost in unison. (Yeah, I get that reaction a lot) “Um, yes, actually”
“Well, maybe she’d like to come out with us?” Jessica asked, hoping that I’d say yes.
“I’m sorry, Jess, but she’s more than likely going to be tired, but maybe we can all go out soon. Sound good?” I asked, trying to placate her.
She nodded, happy that at some point she would get to meet her. Rose was my other best friend that I grew up with. Jake, Rose, and I were inseparable. I was also really good friends with Rose’s brother, Jasper. He was a cutie, but I never felt anything more for him than brotherly affection. We all wanted to make something of ourselves; however, we also knew nothing big was going to happen to us living in such a small town the size of Forks. So after we graduated High School, we all moved down to California with hopes for more opportunities and a better life. Because of my love of cooking, I chose to go to culinary school. Jacob went to design school, and Rose struck it big and landed a contract with IMG Paris to model. Jasper ended up becoming her agent, as Rose trusted no one but her family to represent her. While we all had different pursuits, we always stayed connected to each other.
Of course, when people find out that I am friends with Rose; they always seem so “star-stuck” It’s always hilarious to watch the looks on their faces. I was really excited that Rose was coming to visit; I haven’t seen her in quite some time, and besides my life was never dull when she is around. She is funny, outgoing and suffers from a serious lack of filter. Which I think is her best quality as it’s kept her grounded in the crazy world she has chosen for her profession. She is also god’s gift to men. To say that Rosalie was beautiful was an understatement, she was exquisite. And people wonder why I have self-esteem issues. Not that I was ugly or anything, I hade a nice figure when I wanted to show it, nice hair for the most part, and big, expressive eyes. Once I put on make-up, I was actually pretty. But when you grow up with someone who makes the word beautiful look tame, you can’t help but feel dull by comparison. Rosalie is a bombshell blonde, with curves like a Spanish guitar, the perfect hour-glass figure. She had lusciously full lips and sparkling blue eyes. Whenever I went out with her, I just faded into the background as no men ever noticed me when I stood next to her. It’s not as if she tries to steal the spotlight; but it is what it is and needless to say, it’s made me less confident in myself and when it comes to men, even after Ben…….
Angela’s voice brought me back to reality. “It’s time to close shop, Boss Lady,” she said jokingly. “It’s 6 o’clock.”
“That it is, my dear,” I smirked back at her. “Try not to party too hard tonight; you both have to work tomorrow!”
Jessica sighed, “I know, don’t you worry. We’ll be here.”
Angela laughed, “We sure will, but you enjoy your weekend off. You deserve it. You work too hard.”
I smiled, “You guys are sweet. If I didn’t take this weekend off, Rose would kill me. You ladies are sure you can handle everything by yourselves? Promise to call me if anything happens!”
“Uh, Bella, I think we can handle it. We’ve been working here for two years. I’ve seen you make everything a gazillion times, we got it, you worry wart!” Angela said affectionately.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, okay!” I stuck my tongue out at her. She just laughed.
We quickly got thru closing and by 6:45 we were locking the doors behind us. I ran up to my apartment to shower quickly and change clothes. Rose’s flight comes in at 8:10 pm. I had a little over an hour to get to the airport. God, I hope traffic isn’t still bad, but it is a Friday so who knows. I quickly run down to my old truck. Yeah, people would have thought that I would have gotten rid of it and replaced it with a newer car, but I loved this truck. I laugh quietly, wait until Rose sees it. I’m never going to hear the end of it!
San Francisco traffic is the fucking worst! “Hurry the fuck up, People!” I yell, knowing no one can hear me but it sure makes me feel better. “I do have some place to be!” It was already 7:45! I was really starting to worry that I was going to be late.
I finally pull into the airport at 8:06 pm. I found the closest parking structure to her terminal, parked and ran out over the concourse till I reached the terminal where I stopped to check the monitors for flight information. I exhale in relief; her flight is delayed 15 minutes which means I have just enough time to get something cold to drink and catch my breath before she makes her way from the gate to where I’m waiting. God forbid that Rosalie waits on anyone, including me. I grab an iced coffee from Starbucks and find an empty chair to wait. I am glad I grabbed the book I have been reading,’ Crimson Moon’, from my nightstand before I left; it’s the latest novel by one of my favorite authors, E.A. Masen. I didn’t get a chance to read all day, so I may be able to get thru a few chapters while I wait. This turned out to not be very long.
“Bella!”
I look up and there she is. Rose looks as beautiful as ever, even when wearing jeans, a shirt, and sneakers. Joy erupted in me and spilled over like a volcano. It had definitely been too long. “Rose! How was your trip?” I squealed as I hugged her. “I missed you so much!”
“I missed you too, Baby Girl,” she said.
We finally broke apart and noticed that quite a few people were staring at us.
“Damn,” I muttered, “haven’t they seen two women hugging before?”
Rose laughed, “Not two, hot ass women like us! You know people find girl on girl hot as hell!”
I felt my cheeks burn. “Rose!”
She arched a brow and gave me a wide-eyed look of innocence “What?”
I laugh, shaking my head. “You know why they’re looking, Miss Famous Model.”
Rose just shrugged. “Let’s get my luggage and get the hell outta here.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” I salute. Rose just laughs.
A quick stop at the baggage carousels, as Rose’s suitcases came out first, the benefits of flying first class apparently; and we are out of the terminal and making our way to the parking structure, Rosalie sees my truck and gaped at it in disdain.
“You still drive this piece of shit?”She exclaimed. “I thought this fucker would be dead and gone by now.”
“Hey! Don’t insult my truck! It’s a survivor, dammit! And it’s a classic!”
“Uh, Bella, Mustangs and Chevy's are classics. Not this shit.”
“Fuck You, Rosalie.”
“Your hot, Bella, but I don’t roll that way. I prefer dicks, thank you,” she smirked. I huffed at her and turned the truck on and pull out and drove to the freeway towards home.
“Speaking of dicks how’s the love life? Meet any real men or have all your orgasms belonged solely to your battery operated machine, code name: vibrator?”
Heat flooded my cheeks once more. “Rosalie!” I hiss. She laughs, unrepentant. I can’t help but smile back at her.
“No,” I sighed. “Not all of us are lucky enough to be as beautiful as you.”
“That’s a crock of shit. Your gorgeous, Bella. You just have to get out there more.”
“I try, Rose, I really do, but…just …nothing happens. I’m beginning to think it’s me.” I whisper.
“Bella, there is nothing wrong with you! You just need to build up your confidence. You know,
Throw caution to the wind for once. You might be surprised by what happens.” she said.
“Easy for you to say. Your gorgeous and sexy, men flock to you.”
“Honey, I have confidence in myself and that is sexier to men more than any ounce of skin shown and overdone make-up.” Seeing the look on my face, she quickly added, “I know, easier said than done, but if it’s the last thing I do, I’m gonna help you see that in yourself.”
Good luck on that, I mused internally. With you around, no one will see me.
We finally made it back to the apartment, got her luggage up the stairs and into the guest room. I left her to give her some time to get her things organized. 15 minutes later she came out and sat down on the couch with a loud sigh.
“You got anything to eat? I’m starving!”
I smiled over at her. “I’ll whip something up for you.”
I went into the kitchen and took out some chicken breast, ham, and cheese. I was going to make
One of Rose’s favorite dishes. Chicken Cordon Bleu. I’ll pair it together with a simple green salad. That should be perfect.
As I put the chicken in to bake and started preparing the salad, I heard Rose’s phone ring.
“It’s Jasper!” She yelled over to me.
“Tell him I said hello!” I yelled back at her.
I could hear her chatting away. And then she squealed. Rosalie Hale squealed. She never squeals! Oh my, I wonder. What did Jasper tell her?
I set dinner on the table and called Rose over to eat. She comes sashaying into the dining room, looking positively giddy with joy. She looks over at the clock.
“God, we are so bad, eating dinner at almost 10 o’clock at night.”
I snort. “You’re going to love it; after all I made your favorite, so quit complaining.” She just grins. I shake my head laughing, some things will just never change. “You are incorrigible.”
“But you love me,” she grinned.
We begin eating and Rose begins talking about how she was looking to leave the modeling business.
“You are? Why?” I asked, flabbergasted.
“Well, these fuckers think I’m getting too old,” she said.
“Rose! You’re 25!”
“Yeah, well 25 is old to these bastards!” she spat. “But I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. So
I’ve been looking into transitioning into acting.”
“Oh, Rose, that’s great! Is that why Jasper called?”
“Yeah, there’s this film wrap-up party tomorrow night at the Hotel Fairmont. He wants me to go.
He thinks it’ll be good exposure.” She gave me a sidelong glance. “And you’re coming.”
I choked. “WHAT?!” I sputtered.
“You heard me,” she said. “You’re coming tomorrow. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Rose! I can’t go to something like that! At the Fairmont? Are you kidding me?!” I fumed.
“You want to meet a man, don’t you?” she asked. “This is a perfect opportunity. Besides, it’s long past time you had sex to something other than your vibrator.”
Bitch! You just had to bring that u again! I scowled.
“I mean seriously, aren’t you tired of doing that shit yourself?” she asked.
“Piss off, Rose!” I spat.
“I love you too, Sugar. Now let’s look in your closet and see whatcha got. I know Jacob’s been sending you shit you never use.”
Jacob was always sending me tons of samples that I never wear. I just stuffed them in my closet, but he’d kill me if he found out.
“What, your keep tabs on me now?”
“I’m best friends with Jake to, Bella. He fills me in on everything.” She arched a brow at me.
“Including your love life…or lack thereof.”
I sigh. I know I said I wanted to meet a man and start actually living my life. But saying it and actually doing it are two different things. It now seems so real. I felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, deciding whether or not I was gonna take the plunge. Then my mind wandered back to that couple I saw today inside my shop. I remember seeing the love between them and wanting that for myself. I felt resolve build inside me. It now or never, Bella, walk to safety or take the plunge. Fuck this! I’m doing it! I let go. Now that I’d taken the fall, I felt brand new, not myself. I looked over at Rosalie.
“Ok, I’m going. But you must promise to make me bewitching.”
Rose smiled slowly, “Oh Honey, bewitching I can do…”
I grin back at her. Oh yes, watch out, because now it’s my time to shine.
Author’s Note: Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter! Once again, a HUGE shout out to my Co- author @CosmicGirl78 , you are the best! You’re amazing! Love you SFM!
To my Kickass beta, @Roxxvamp , You are seriously a godsend! Story wouldn’t be the same without you. Me loves you so much!
I wanted to let all my readers know that I do work and attend school full time, so RL can be a bit hectic for me. I will do my best to update as soon as possible. At least 2 weeks between chapters. Song for this chapter is “There’s gotta be more to life” by Stacie Orrico. It is in my playlist until next time…
