High School Fictional. No one sends Bella into a tailspin quite like Edward Cullen... but can she make him hers? The ups and downs and all arounds.
I fully admit that what drew me to this fic (beyond the fact that everyone raved about it) was my latest obsession with SurferWard. I blame Beautiful Girl from The Boys on Boards Contest for giving me my first delectable taste. I also admit that I'm hopelessly addicted to good high school fics. So, what else do you need? SurferWard. Check. Good high school fic. Check. Done and done. Right?
Eeeeeeh! So wrong. Because I want more, more, more! I always do. I'm greedy like that. And good thing, too, because this story provides more; it is amazing. I picked it up to put me it the mood for a vacation to the beach. And wow! It put me in the mood, and it put me in the mood. I love the feeling I get when reading about someone falling in love for the first time. Nostalgia rolls off this story in waves, and it feels so good! It makes me all swoony and reminds me what it was like to fall in my love with my own SurferWard, who incidentally does not surf but looks cute in his swim trunks. :)
Rochelle Allison makes all of her characters (and I do mean all of them, including Friend!Jake. Yay!) real to life. Edward is not perfect. In fact, he's kind of a jerk, but a real jerk not an over-exaggerated Twific-like jerk. He's just a regular 'teenage guy trying to get kissed and grope a girl' jerk. Interested yet? Of course you are! We all want to be wanted when we're young so we put up with the crap that teenage guys do to us so that our stomachs can flip when they finally, finally kiss us or ask us out on a date or whatever.
Starry Eyed Inside follows Bella from her early teens to her twenties (don't quote me on that). We see her young and falling in love/infatuation for the first time, we see other relationships, and we see her in college, maturing, figuring out what she wants/needs in a man. It's so good to see the evolution of this charcater. And though we don't get to see Edward evolve, he does, and he shows it when these two reunite after some extenuating circumstances that Edward brought all! upon! himself! Stupid #$%^@ing moron! GRRRR!
You will love this Edward and Bella from the first time you see them together until the last. Bella is a very real teenage girl, constantly dissecting Edward's every move, censoring herself around him, dealing with life well, and developing a great self esteem as she grows up. Edward is impulsive, adorable, a little bit pervy, irresistible, and loving in the end.
The cast of supproting characters includes a very lovable 'doesn't get in the way' Jake, a laugh out loud funny Emmett, and very fun best friends, Alice and Rosalie (who are very distinct and very much like real people in my own life). Renee and Charlie are so spot on in terms of real life parents, and I especially adored Alice's mother, Mrs. Pena, who was very protective and kept her daughter true to her moral beliefs.
Rochelle Allison writes young love well. She writes well technically. And she has stolen my heart with Starry Eyed Inside. I dare you to feel otherwise after reading this gem. Love, love, loved it!
Chapter 3: Let Go Excerpt . . .
Edward flicked the cigarette away and closed the distance between us, coming to stand really close. Then he leaned his arm on my thigh, his fingers tapping an absent rhythm on the skin of my knee.
Apparently, sometime between five minutes ago and now, I'd entered an alternate universe. I swallowed compulsively, afraid I was about to totally lose my cool and hyperventilate. In other words, make an ass of myself.
Holy Crap.
I felt raw, like my senses were heightened. The soft lilt of Emmett and Rose's conversation behind us, the harsh, constant crash of the waves, Edward's fingers on my goose bumpy skin.
"Where's Jacob?" he asked again, stilling his hand.
"Playing pool," I said. "Why?"
"He's a good guy."
"I know." I wondered what he was getting at.
"But you don't like him like that."
I stayed quiet, willing my teeth to stop chattering.
One move brought him from my side to in front of me. Sliding his body between my legs.
My heart stopped.
Time stood still.
I thought randomly of Mrs. Pena and how she always warned us about boys and how we always went looking for them.
Edward settled in deeper, reclining against me, his head on my chest, tucked under my chin. Even his smell was intoxicating, for crying out loud, all shampoo and lotion and whatever else.
"Your…hair smells good," I said haltingly.
"Herbal Essences."
My heart started up again. I laughed, biting my lip. "Mhm."
"I'm serious," he laughed back, turning to look at me with his glazed green eyes. "I stole it from my little sister. That shit smells amazing."
He dug around his pockets and lit another cigarette.
I tried to control the shivering; I was on the brink of convulsions. Tyler asked Edward a question, bringing Alice's attention to how we were sitting. She looked at Edward, then at me, squeezing my hand on the sly and smothering back a smile as she turned back to Tyler.
Maybe Edward sat this way with different girls all the time. Maybe it wasn't special. The thought made me feel better and worse at the same time: better because I got to be one of those girls and worse because…there were so many other girls.
But right here, right now? I didn't even care.
He wasn't just close to me. He was almost snuggling. Voluntarily. It was nearly too much, and a good thing I was sitting, otherwise my knees might have buckled.
. . .
Edward started rubbing my legs again, slow, strong strokes from my ankles to my knees. He was warming me up, but I was still shivering - from sheer nerves. I would never tell him that, though.
He was quiet for so long, his eyes shut, that I was sure he'd forgotten where he was. His hands had stopped on my calves, epicenters of heat on my cold skin.
"So you like someone else," he said suddenly, his eyes opening.
I nodded, willing my hands to leave my sides so I could just touch him.
He brought his face really close. "Tell me who," he whispered, brushing his lips against mine.
I gasped a little. He secured his arms around my waist and kissed me, a brief touching of lips.
Don't just sit there. React!
I hesitantly brought my hands to his face. He paused, searching my eyes, and went in for another kiss, parting my lips with his. I could feel his warm breath inside my mouth, and then his tongue grazing mine.
Still I shivered, and still he held me tighter, his body pressed against mine so close. He angled his face so that he could take it deeper, his thumb swishing back and forth against the small of my back.
My mind was racing so fast, traveling at the speed of light, blissfully empty of everything that wasn't him kissing me.
His lips were so soft and warm, and he tasted good, sweet and smoky. His tongue filled my mouth and I tightened up deep inside, my body wanting him in ways my brain wasn't even aware of just yet.
He broke away first. My eyes slowly drifted open and I gazed at him.
My cell phone vibrated in my pocket.
Crap. Half hour till curfew.
"I …have to go soon," I said.
Edward nodded, gazing sleepily at me as he pressed one last little kiss against my lips. He turned to face away but didn't move, and I was thankful for his warm body pressed so pleasantly into mine.
Funny. I hadn't even noticed the stars. They were brilliant tonight.
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