The One That Got Away

Chapter One

For those of you who read the Get Your Southern On contest entries, this is my contribution. I am tickled at the results ... first place in public vote and third place for the judge's choice. I've decided to break this up into smaller, drabblish chapters and it will be continued. The contest contribution is the first six or so chapters, roughly. I don't know how long it will be, but I do have it planned. Thank you to Bridget for betaing this for me and for Clo, who created the banner.

Here's a longer summary since FF won't let me put a full summary. Meh. Thanks to TWCS, AO3 and FicPad for giving me that freedom!

Bella Swan was dreading going back to her ten year high school reunion, over Valentine's Day Weekend, for Hillsborough High School. Her time in high school in Tampa, Florida was not high on her list of pleasant experiences. She was quiet, unassuming and secretly in love with Edward Cullen. It was that unrequited love that forced her to move away to Seattle, as far from Tampa as possible. He never knew she existed. Or so she thought.

Edward was looking forward to his high school reunion because he was anxious to see the one that got away. Bella Swan was the quiet girl who never really interacted with anyone, but Edward saw that she was something special. But as ruler of the school, he had certain expectations to maintain. It was one of his biggest regrets. His life would have been easier if he had followed his heart. Now, he was a divorced father of two. His ex-wife, Tanya, who was his high school girlfriend, left him for a younger man and abandoned her children.

Will Bella be happy to see Edward or will she stay hidden amongst her classmates? Will Edward finally break the mold that was expected of him and open up his heart to the beautiful and shy Bella Swan? Will he be able to win back the one that got away?

The One That Got Away

Seattle, Washington ~ February 1st, 2016

"I don't know why I have to go, Mary Alice," Bella grumbled, searching through her closet. "I really don't want. High school sucked when I was in high school. Why would it be any better now?"

"Oooh, you're getting frustrated, Swan. Your accent is coming out," Alice teased, rooting around in Bella's lingerie drawer. Her nose was wrinkled. Her best friend had a record number of granny panties. No twenty-eight year old woman should have this many pairs of granny panties. "Bella, when was the last time you went to Victoria's Secret? Your underwear drawer leaves much to be desired."

"You're pilfering through my underwear?" Bella screeched. She ran to her bedroom, her eyes wide. "What the hell, Alice?"

"And you wonder why you're single," Alice teased, holding up a pair of black panties.

"Oh, for the love ..." Bella snapped, tugging the black fabric from her hands. "Why am I friends with you?"

"Because I'm awesome and I don't molly coddle you," she snickered. "You're going to your ten-year high school reunion. I think it's time for you let loose, Bella. You need to show those kids that you're not the same, bookish, quiet girl you were back then."

"I am the same, bookish, quiet girl from high school," Bella retorted. "I work in a library."

"And write smutty novels in your downtime," Alice smirked. She was Bella's best friend and her agent. "Marie Cigno is the hottest writer since the chick who wrote the Fifty series. You have women panting and begging for more. Men are reading your novel for tips and ideas to spice up their bedroom Olympics. There's an inner-perv underneath that conservative, prudish exterior."

"Alice, only you and my publisher know who I am," Bella frowned, toying with the too-large granny panties. "And it's all from my imagination. The one sexual experience I had was not all that memorable."

"That's because Jacob Black had a pencil dick and he didn't know how to please a woman," Alice snorted. "Look, I know that you want to go."

"I do, but I don't," she sighed. "Can't you come with me and be my lesbian lover? I don't want to go alone. I don't want my former classmates to see that I'm still the same person from before."

"You're not. Don't you see that?!" Alice said, walking to her and taking her hands. "And I can't go with you as your lesbian lover. Jasper may like that too much."

"This is true," Bella nodded, her brown eyes glazing over. Jasper was Alice's husband and a perv, just like her. He constantly teased Bella about having a threesome with Alice and him. He was all bark, but no bite. He worked in the library as well, in the history department. In fact, it was one of Jasper's diatribes that Bella thinking about writing smut. She took one of his scenarios and created a steamy threesome for her first novel. Jasper didn't know her secret, but he did provide a lot of fodder for her stories. She thanked him in her notes, but never by name.

"Bells, listen to me," Alice whispered, taking Bella's hands. "You go back to Tampa and give them what for. Have fun, reunite with your friends, have some raunchy sex."

"In my granny panties," Bella snorted.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Alice said. "Come on. I know you got a royalty check this week. Let's go spend it on some naughty underwear and sexy clothes for this reunion."

Jutting out her chin, Bella walked over to her purse and picked up her keys. "I think that need more than Victoria's Secret. I'm going to follow suit from my romantic heroines. Let's go to Agent Provocateur and La Perla. No more granny panties for me."

"About fucking time!" Alice whooped, hugging her friend. "My girl is about to get sexified and made over. Now we're talking."

A/N: I promise, chapters will get longer. You can find me on Facebook: Tufano79's Twilight Fanfiction Appreciation and on twitter: tufano79. I also have a blog. The link for that is in my profile, or you can access it from the Facebook account. Leave me some!