As One Does

As One Does 
"You keep giving me excuses and lashing out at me, but you know what? Not once have you said, 'Edward, this could never work because I don't even like you.' Which means," he leans in conspiratorially, "that you do. Like me." As One Does was a one shot entry in the May to December Contest. Now it's expanded!

So . . . I entered the anonymous May to December Romance Contest hosted by CarrieZM and Nicffwhisperer, and I won some stuff. Hooray! I'm so thankful to everyone who read and voted. And I'm so glad this contest was pimped on Twitter because it's not a topic I would've tried on my own, but it seems to have worked out. So much so, that I expanded it. If you liked the original, here's more, and if you haven't read the original, just start here! Enjoy!

Twilight 25: Round 9

I've finished the Twilight 25: Round 9 prompts. In addition to the word prompts provided by the contest, I used a few picture prompts to inspire me. I posted them on fanfiction, but since you can't have links, I figured I'd post them here to make it easier. Enjoy!

Prompts: 

01. Ancient

02. Animalistic

03. Banned

04. Complications

05. Covert

06. Crush

07. Desecrate

08. Disheveled

09. Exposed

10. Fabricate

11. Forbidden

Pink Balloon.

12. Forgotten

13. Hunger

14. Innocence

15. Insidious

16. Kingdom

17. Limit

Seriously. Kiss Me.

18. Mist

19. Pristine

20. Serendipity

21. Shattered

22. Treasure

23. Tryst

Dangling Feet.

24. Waffle

Bed Flop.

25. Worthless

Pickup Truck by MaryElizabeth23

Pickup Truck by MaryElizabeth23
A Teambella23 Fic: Freckled, sunburned, and scraped, our lives are lived barefoot and sandy, rolling under the baking sun and surfing the salty water—young, wild, and brave. Volkswagens, bonfires, and "You call that a pickup truck?" We were born into this, but we won't be like them. We're invincible. We're seventeen. We're smarter than that. What's the worst that can happen?


Pickup Truck is so my kind of fic. Teenagers running a muck, doing stupid things, saying stupid things, hurting each other's feelings, making out in a pickup truck. Oh, and they live on the beach, so there's lots of this happening . . . You're welcome!


I love everything about this fic--writing style, fresh, new characters, changing up older faves (James is a Bella's BFF and a girl, Edward has gray eyes, Bella's a blonde, Charlie, a board shop owner and pothead). Everything, everything, everything is great. Even the plot! I know!

Bella and Edward are best friends. She's never seen him that way. Sure, he's cute and has always been her "fixer," but that's it. She even has an off again, on again boyfriend (Reminington, who I imagine looks like this . . . again, you're welcome). But one drunken birthday night and a accidental flash of boob gets hormones running where they haven't before, and the pair of opposite sex besties end up naked in a . . . pickup truck.

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Then there's the moon, and the stars, and the waves … I'm so drunk.

I lift the hood to my hoodie over my head, tighten the strings tight, and look over at Edward, smiling.

"Nothing but teeth," he says.

I notice he's taken his shirt off. "Nothing but chest!" I laugh. Then I look down at myself: sweater, swimsuit bottoms, flip flops. "Wait," I say. "Are we going swimming?"

He shrugs.

I pull my hoodie off over my head and let it drop to the sand. Only too little too late, I notice that with my sweater went most of my top. My entire left breast is exposed.

I look over at Smirks with wide eyes.

He kisses me.

Somehow we end up in the front seat of my vehicle—foggy windows, elbows and knees, seat belt lodged in my back—the whole stereotypical deal. Thank God for bench seats.

He's smirking again, and it's so pretty, so I show him both of my boobs. He's a boy, so he loves them. We're laughing, and we're touching, and we're so fucking drunk that nothing else matters, not even the consequences.
They play it cool; they're best friends, and accidents happen, right? Of course they do. But what about the worst kind of accident between teenagers--conception. Bella is plagued with thoughts of what the hell she's going to do. What are her options? Does she tell Edward? Does she tell Remington? What does she do with a baby? Now, I've read bad Bella's pregnant fics, and this is not one of them. This fic gets to the heart of things--the struggle a woman goes through when she's pregnant and it wasn't planned. But it's not a heavy storytelling. Maryelizabeth23 does an amazing job of not making judgments and at the same time keeping these deep topics lighthearted through the wit and naive thought process of a kid--a kid that doesn't know anything.

Excerpt from Chapter 5

"I have the results, Bella."

It's like a shot to the heart, literally—I'm pretty sure my heart stops beating. Dying would be much easier than destroying the lives of everyone around me with another positive result. At least if I croak now, I'll be remembered as that cool surfer chick and not the seventeen-year-old teen mom.

I'll go out with a little bit of pride intact.

It would suck because I'd be dead … but my life might be ending, anyway.

Dr. V pushes away from the counter and holds the paper with my result in both hands. "Like I told you before, Bella, you've already taken three—"

I interrupt her. "Can you just tell me what it says, please?"

As it turns out, my heart never stopped beating. Nope. It's very much working, pounding from the inside of my fucking throat.

My lungs on the other hand…

"It's positive, Bela with one L."

Dr. V's crack at a joke wasn't very funny. And I really wish I was one of those people who fainted every time they heard life-altering news. It would be so cool to just check out right now. It would be even better if I woke up with James and Dr. V above me again, only to have Dr. V tell me she was kidding.

"Just kidding," she would say. "You're not pregnant. Your boobs are growing because you're awesome, and you've missed a period because God has decided you're too cool for the agony of a menstrual cycle. I called him," she would say. "I have God on speed dial."

But none of that happens. Dr. V just moves on to the next set of questions. This time they involve every single detail of my life since I last had sex.

I answer them as best I can: "No, I've only had one partner in the last four months. Yeah, he has a girlfriend. No, I don't know if they have sex, but … you know. Yes, I'm sure. One. I've only been with one person. Edward. His name is Edward."

After the rapid-fire questioning is over, Dr. V leans against the wall and sighs. "Going by the information you've given me, Bella, I'd say you're between six and eight weeks pregnant. You're estimated due date is late January. Probably around the twenty-eighth."

I hide my face in my hands. "This isn't happening."
I love this Bella (I imagine she looks like this--a bit edgy but still beautiful.). I love her friends, her family, Edward aka Smirks, her stupid job and Swedish fish, and her skateboarding. I love everything. The only thing I don't love is that it's not finished, but that will happen. I trust this author. She's amazing. Sadly, she does take stories down on occasion, so I've only been able to read two of her multi-chaptered fics. The other is one of my faves, too. I reviewed True Love Way forever ago, and the author pulled it before many of you could read it, but now it's back up. Yay! So go read that one, too.

I promise you will not regret reading Pickup Truck. You will also not regret looking up "Surfer Boys" on WeHeartIt. For serious. I could spend all day on that tag. Yum!

Never Said I Didn't Review

@Typokween wrote a review of Never Said I Didn't on her blog. And OMG! I can't stop staring at the animated banner she made. No one's ever made anything like this for me before. I'm stunned by it, and I can't stop reading the review. It makes me want to read my own story. It's amazing. Take a gander. Thank you, @Typokween. I'm in awe.

And I've perused her reviews a bit as well. Looks like a great place to get recs (I know I found some.). Her reviews give that extra bit of information you need to decide whether or not a fic is for you. That is always important to me. I never read a story simply based off a summary. It's just not enough for me, so this helps. Check it out.

A to Z Survey

I saw this survey on Anna Reads and loved it so much I had to fill it out for myself.

Author you’ve read the most books from:
JK Rowling with Sarah Dessen a close second.


Best Sequel Ever:

Through the Ever Night, the sequel to Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi.

Currently Reading:
The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson.

Drink of Choice While Reading:
Water.


E-reader or Physical Book?
iPhone.


Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated in High School:
William Carter from Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford. I would have fallen hard for this dork because he's not afraid to be stupid. (Dex is a close second from This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.)


Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. This is not my typical cup of tea, and it was a hard book to read, but it was so, so worth it.

Hidden Gem Book:
The Carter series, starting with Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford. This series made me laugh throughout and was so realistic. Plus, I loves me some stupid boy who joins drama and does jazz hands.


Important Moment in your Reading Life:
Reading The Girl Who Owned a City by OT Nelson in the seveth grade and reallizing girls, even my age, can be strong and independent and smart and resourceful. I needed to believe this, and this book did the job and thus changed my life.


Just Finished:
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:
Historical fiction. No thank you.



Longest Book You’ve Read:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling.


Major book hangover because of:
The List by Siohban Vivian because I wanted more from every character. I loved them all. They were so well developed that any one of them could've been the main voice for the entire book. Also, I can't stop thinking about it. This book sticks, and I think every female should read it.


Number of Bookcases You Own:
Two that are mine. Three more between the kids.


One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling.

Preferred Place To Read:
My big couch under the window or my bed. I always read before I sleep.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:
"Just so you know,” I inform him, “one day, I’m going to get tired of sharing your affection with that coffee table and I’m going to make you choose.” “Just so you know,” he mimics me, “I would chop that table up and use it for firewood before I would ever choose anything over you."
— Katja Millay (The Sea of Tranquility)


Reading Regret:
I've never read Catcher in the Rye, and I'm afraid to, afraid I won't like it.


Series You Started and Need to Finish (all books are out in series):
The Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr.


Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling.


Unapologetic Fangirl For:
Rainbow Rowell. I love her style of writing, her honesty, and she is fun to chat with on Twitter. :)


Very Excited for This Release More Than All the Others:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell with Allegiant by Veronica Roth as a close second.

Worst Bookish Habit:
I slop food on my books. Mostly chocolate.


X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
The Time Travelor's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. 

Your latest book purchase:
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. 

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. No regrets!

Never Said I Didn't Around the Web

Some people talk about my story on the world wide web. Did you know? Well, now you do. And here's where you can see what people are saying . . .

Never Said I Didn't review on Bookish Temptations by @AllthingsHHH.

Never Said I Didn't on The Fictionators (Fictionator Friday).

Never Said I Didn't made the Sexy Six on The Lemonade Stand 6/25-7/1/2013.

Part of Twific Trivia in July
In "Never Said I didn't" by purelyamuse what are the names of Edward's siblings? Katie and Garrett. 

And some picture gifts . . .

From Kennedy Nicole Maddock

From Mina Rivera

This was sent by many twitter peeps, saying it reminded them of Never Said I Didn't. 

A Flamingo Zebra From @msjaxteller. Ha ha!

From Missy Melissa Cullen and @GeekChic12FF

From Me to You!

Never Said I Didn't Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“Goodnight, Edward,” Bella says. She runs her hands around my wet shoulders and into my hair, pulling me toward her. Charlie’s eyes are burning a hole in my head. I have to make a quick get away when she’s done in hopes he doesn’t kick my ass.

Her lips are on mine fast and sure, and as much as I want to speed things up, I can’t because as Charlie said, I am a boy, and I like kissing Bella. My arms wrap around her waist, and I give as good as I get, almost forgetting we have an audience. Almost.

Bella slips down the hallway and into her bedroom, and I’m left to fend for myself.

But not for long.

“Go home. Now.” It’s official: Charlie Swan hates me. And I didn’t even deflower his daughter yet. That must be some kind of record.

I don’t even say goodbye. I pass Renee, who’s smirking. She’s such a strange woman, but I have a new respect for her. I can see where Bella gets her toughness from. I arrive home in two point three seconds and release the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

A light flips on when I get into the kitchen.

“Ack!”

“Sorry,” Dad says, chuckling. “You okay? Manhood still intact?”

“Yeah.”

“Charlie was so mad,” he says, trying to hold in his laughter. I’m glad he finds joy in my fear, but this is suspiciously happy for him. I lean in, sniffing. He doesn’t smell like alcohol. Hmm.

“He’s scary as hell.”

“You never saw your grandfather angry. Now he was scary. I avoided him as much as possible. Spent more time going in and out of your mother’s window than I did using the front door.”

“Really?” I grimace. TMI, Dad.

“Not that I condone that,” he says, clearing his throat. “You are safe though, right?”

“Yeah. We were just at the park. We’re fine.”

“No, I mean, you’re being safe? You have condoms or Bella’s on birth control?”

“Oh, blah. Mom just gave me this lecture. It’s not like that. We . . . never mind.”

“You haven’t?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“It’s Bella. I want to . . . I don’t know . . . do it right.”

“You will. You’re a Cullen.” Dad smirks, looking a hell of a lot like Garrett, and walks away. “Night, Edward,” he says as he passes me and heads to his room.

“Weird night,” I mumble to myself as I get out my frozen grapes, hoping they’ll stave off nightmares of Charlie chopping my body into bits and throwing them into some ravine.