Each week, the ladies of The Lemonade Stand share with you, what we are reading. You pick four of those reads each week, to be featured as fics of the week... Thank you, to all of you who log on each week to place a vote for those stories that move you the most!
I give you this week's TLS Fics of the Week:
Simply Coffee by Edwards Eternal
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7398663/1/Simply_Coffee
A girl about to break. A boy who so desperately wants to help. Will she let him in ?
Twilight - Rated: M
Review By: KitKat681 (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2018878/kitkat681)
Maybe today I'd get the sweet smile; maybe today I'd get a chance to say something. Something other than "what can I get for you?' Maybe I could somehow find a way to get over to her table and engage her in conversation and make her smile that smile more than once…
Maybe I'd find out her name…
Cause it was hard to be in love with someone and not even know their name.
From the first chapter, Edward’s Eternal manages to suck you in and make you ache to find out the secrets his mystery girl is hiding. Our poor, sweet Edward, owner of his own coffee shop, is head over heels in love with a girl he doesn’t even know and is desperate to find out more.
I watched as she made her way to her usual table in the corner and sat down heavily, as if suddenly it was just too much effort to walk any further.
Shit. I wanted to go over and wrap her up in my arms and make whatever made her look so tired and so sad just go the fuck away. My gut told me she needed help. How the hell could I help?
Edward makes several bumbling efforts to get to know the sad Bella, but he seems to make mistakes at every turn. His actions cause her to push him away when all he wants to do is hold her close and take care of her. Bella finally lets him in and shares her heartbreaking secret.
"But I am not selfless, Edward. I'm not. I don't make much in tips at the diner and what I do get goes towards Gram's care, but all the change I find in the bars when I clean I keep and use for the one thing I won't give up for anything , the one luxury I allow myself …"
"What is that sweet girl?" Eating has become luxury to her? What could be more important than eating?
For the first time she looked up at me and offered a timid smile.
"My treat - a cup of coffee at your place after seeing Grams. The chance to sit quietly for a short time and just be in the same place as you. And hope to see the most beautiful warm eyes I have ever seen look in my direction. To watch you smile as you talk to your customers. Just to be close to you for a few minutes, even if I couldn't do more than that. That is thing that has kept me going week after week. Right from the first day I walked in."
One tiny hand drifted up and touched my cheek softly. Her eyes were wide and held a look I had not seen before. An intensity that was directed entirely at me.
"You, Edward. Only you."
And though we want to scream and rejoice when she finally lets him in, there is a long road to happiness for these two. Both stubborn and hardheaded, it takes a while for them to be able to understand that allowing someone to take care of you is one of the most selfless things a person can do.
While it does have a mature rating due to Edward’s potty mouth, the pseudo-lemons are gentle and sweet. Edward’s Eternal kids that she is the first story on the Lemonade Stand poll without an actual lemon, and while I am one of those that enjoy those tart and tangy sex scenes in the fics I read, Bella and Edward’s first time in ‘Simply Coffee’ could not have been more perfect.
Entering the condo I had swung Bella up in my arms and carried her to our room. I could feel the bravado was fading and her nervousness was beginning to show. So I did the things I knew relaxed her. I held and kissed every inch of her soft skin I could reach while I whispered loving sentiments to her until I felt her relax against me once again.
And we made love. Slowly, softly and with as much adoration as I could push through my skin.
I worshipped her.
I stroked her soft curves and kissed her till she was mewling for more and when I was sure she was ready, I made her mine.
Truly mine.
I’ve kidded Edward’s Eternal that she is the ‘beta to the stars’. She is the eyes behind the works of Sheviking, Windchymes, Raingirl and yours truly and has the honor of pre-reading for the incomparable AydenMorgen. I found it humorous that in the last three weeks, nearly all of her authors have been on the poll and now she has trumped us all.
There is nothing better than sitting down with a cup of coffee and reading a story that makes you cry and warms your heart. ‘Simply Coffee’ fits that description perfectly.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7041524/1/
It was best to keep her at a distance. Best for her it seemed until tonight. How do you start over with the one you hurt the most? B x E AH Love, Angst, Lemons... the usual suspects
Review By: Nikki @swino16 (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2191173/Swino)
If you know anything about Suzie55 you know she loves a little angst as it makes the love story so much sweeter in the end and Somewhere Only We Know (SOWK) is no different. The first chapter starts off with the following lyrics which sums up Edward pretty much:
If I could go back once again
I would change everything, yeah
If I could go back once again
I'd do it all so much better
-The Bravery
We see the story starting off with Bella and Edward being best of friends preparing for the next four years ahead in high school, we get a glimpse at their connection, their feelings and how important this friendship is to them. They have shared all their greatest moments together late at night through their windows and now that is all about to change. We end this first chapter like this.
"Good luck tomorrow at school."
"Thanks. You too. And hey, I think ninth grade is gonna be awesome."
"I wish I could believe that," Bella said, her nerves starting to get the best of her.
"Don't worry. I've got your back."
Bella blushed and smiled. She knew he did. "Thanks." She ducked back in. "Night, Edward."
"Goodnight."
By the end of the first week, Edward and Bella had barely spoken. By the end of the first month, they didn't say hello to each other in the hall. And, by the end of the first semester, they didn't acknowledge each other anymore. What was the point?
Edward had been anointed into the popular crowd once the girls got a good look at him after he started filling out and the guys started idolizing his skills on the basketball court. He was destined for high school greatness from the first day he walked through the Forks High School doors.
Bella on the other hand, disappeared into his shadow just a girl from his past. She had gone from his best friend to just his neighbor. The girls were envious of her for that but when she refused to give up details on him or invite them over so they could spy on him, they soon moved on. Some made fun of her because she was quiet. Others never bothered to get to know her at all.
She fell asleep for months touching her lips, remembering their kiss, but that faded with time just like their friendship. Neither of them fought for their relationship. They just seemed destined for two different paths, not parallel, but never intersecting anymore either.
The next four years treated them both well. They were both fairly happy, but every now and then they couldn't stop their eyes from wandering over to the window that faced them. They waved once or twice, out of courtesy, but that was it.
There are many names we could use for Edward during this story as he lets his insecurities get the better of him at school and beyond that. Suzie does an awesome job of being inside a teenage boys mind as Edward struggles with life and his feelings for Bella. He is torn because he adores Bella but thinks she’d be better off outside the popular crowd, better off without him. And as he is a typical boy he has no ability to express these concerns to her. Instead he sends the occasional mixed signal and manages to hurt Bella more. You may even want to shake Edward and say wake up boy at times, but Suzie also allows you to recognize that he is in a different point in his life and we need to be patient as he works his way back to Bella.
Through all their ups and downs Bella and Edward manage to keep in some sort of contact, mainly through music. The music Suzie uses to express their feelings is such an important part of the story including the Keane song with the same title as her story.
She sat up. Why was her window open? She always closed her window because she got cold easily. She looked over at her clock: 7:23 a.m. Bella got up curious to what was going on. She reached the window and started closing it, but as she looked down she saw a basket sitting on her sill, their basket, the one they used to pull across the rope to share things with each other. Inside sat a CD, an envelope with Bella written on it, and a wildflower that she knew only grew down by the lake they used to visit.
Her heart thudded in her chest as she picked up the envelope. It had been many years since she had seen his writing, but she recognized it instantly. She pulled the CD out and put it in the player on the nightstand. Still standing in front of the window, she pulled the note from the envelope as the song started. It only contained two words.
I'm sorry…
The music played in the back ground:
And if you have a minute, why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go somewhere only we know?
Somewhere only we know
Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting older and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
Bella's eyes flashed up and looked at his window. His blinds were open but she saw the suitcase that sat by the door last night was gone. She grabbed the flower and ran to the back of her door almost ripping her robe off the back of it. She threw it over her shoulders as she ran down the stairs.
"Morning, Bells," her dad said, but she didn't stop.
She ran out the front door and across the grass divider between their house and the Cullens. She could see his car wasn't parked there, but she didn't want to believe it. It can't end like this. She just got him back last night. He can't leave me like this. Not now. Tears welled in her eyes as she slowed and walked hesitantly to his front door.
As they say good things come to those who wait and this is certainly true with SOWK. It is an emotional story that may make you grab for the tissues on more than one occasion, it may make your heart ache but it also makes you feel excited and makes you feel as though you are apart of Bella and Edwards lives. You see them grow up; realize what is important and what is worth fighting for in life.
She opened the note and read:
One day…
One day indeed. Bella leaned her head against the window and let herself cry. She didn't care if anyone looked at her or thought her strange. It wasn't about them. This was about her trying to do the person she loved right. She would set him free and hope that one day he would come back for her like he promised. Then and only then, he would be hers forever.
Suzie55’s SOWK is a complete story so those of you who can’t read angst until it is complete, I suggest you jump right in and hold on tight it will be worth it.
Rhapsody in B by Lillybellis
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5427856/1/Rhapsody_in_B
When a rising musician falls in love with his small-town childhood friend, can their yearly New Year's Eve tradition bring them together once he rockets to stardom and leaves her behind?
Review By: OneBraveLamb (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1823038/One_Brave_Lamb)
Music is a passion of mine, like it is for many people. Good music can inspire you, it can lift you up and bring you down. Music is something that’s transcendent. So when I found Rhapsody in B by Lillybellis the first time, Edward just held my heart captive. I’m almost always smitten with Musicianwards, but Lillybellis’s Edward blew me away.
You don’t meet him right away, however.
You start in 1975. It’s New Year’s Eve and Renee and Charlie are discussing the beginning of their life together and making their own traditions.
"This means a lot to you," I said.
"I thought it would be a nice thing to do every year, something we could share with our kids once they're old enough, and then they could share it with their kids, and on and on and on..."
Our kids. I'd be lying if I said that thought didn't bring a smile to my face each and every time it crossed my mind. I couldn't wait to have babies with Renee. Little hell-raisers with my eyes and her free-spirit; the best things about both of us all wrapped up into one. The thought that one day we might share this with them made it a little bit easier to tolerate.
My hand grazed the bottom of her shirt, and I lifted it up just a little so I could touch the soft, warm skin of her belly. I smiled and kissed that spot on her neck she liked so much, the one that made her make that noise that almost always brought me to my knees. "We could get started on that right now if you want to."
She smacked my hand away, laughing. "You distract me, and I'll burn the beans! They're supposed to be good luck for the new year. If I burn them, who knows what'll happen."
They dance together in their small kitchen and Charlie sings ‘My Girl’ to his wife during the last few minutes of their first year together.
It’s hopeful.
Wistful.
It leaves you smiling.
But with the next chapter, which skips ahead to 1990, it turns bittersweet.
You find Bella, who narrates the story, wanting desperately to be anywhere but her father’s diner for their annual New Year’s party. She’s struggling with the recent loss of her mother and doesn’t feel up to celebrating, though she knows how important the tradition was to Renee.
So, instead of running away, which I most likely would have done, she carries on. Bella might not be happy about doing so, but she does it.
This is where we meet Edward.
"What's that?" Dad asked as I let go of him. "Do you hear it?"
The noise outside was loud, but there was definitely something happening out there. I went to the door to see what was going on, and when I got out into the dining room and past all of the people who were crowding around, I saw it. Edward was up on the stage in the lounge, tinkering on the piano. Not all of the notes were right, but enough of them were. I knew what he was playing. It was her song. Our song.
I had never heard Edward sing before, but he was a lot better than I thought he'd be. I leaned back into my dad as Edward sang, just a little bit off key at first, because I could tell he was nervous.
"Isn't she lovely. Isn't she wonderful. Isn't she precious. Less than one minute old..."
One by one my mom's friends started in, and before long, everyone was singing along with the cute boy on the stage. I cried then, but they were happy tears, because for the first time in a really long time, I felt like maybe my mom really was with me again.
And so, a new tradition begins.
Bella and Edward’s story is so compelling, it touches your heart and makes you feel, really and truly feel what the characters are going through.
"You gonna sing to Bella tonight?" Jasper asked, peering over his shoulder at Edward.
"Always," Edward replied quietly, and I felt a shiver all the way to my fingertips when he said it like that.
"I know what song you can sing to her," Jasper said, playing a few notes that sounded kind of familiar to me, and then Edward joined in.
"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. I'm standing here outside your door. I hate to wake you up to say goodbye..." The two of them laughed as they sang.
"Seriously, what's going on?" I asked, feeling like there was some big secret that no one had let me in on yet.
Edward put his guitar down on the floor next to him and scooted forward a little bit closer to me, reaching out to take my hands.
"Remember all of those shows we've been playing since the summer?" he asked, rubbing his thumbs in small circles over my palms.
I nodded. Mike and I had gone to a couple of the ones we could get in to. It was interesting seeing Edward play in front of a crowd. He seemed so different than he did when he was singing at the diner, almost like he wasn't himself at all; so confident and composed, and just…un-Edward like. Watching him sing like that made me feel like I knew hardly anything about him, even though I knew almost everything there was to know. "Yeah..."
"Well, the engineer who worked on our demo sent it out to a few of his industry contacts," he explained, looking over at Emmett who was pouring a bunch of shots into the shot glasses lined up on the table next to Edward.
"Okay," I said, feeling butterflies in my stomach, even though I wasn't sure why.
"A record company sent someone out to see us, and we got signed," Edward said, squeezing my hands. "We got signed."
"You...got signed," I repeated, testing the words out to hear how they sounded. I grinned when I heard them. "You got signed?"
Rhapsody in B is only twelve chapters long and complete. It spans a good amount of time, from 1975 to 2005 and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself hanging on to every word, not wanting it to end.
I’ll share one more passage, one of my favorites, to prove my point.
"You should go in there and sing to her," I said my voice cracking as I ran my fingers up and down the lapel of his jacket. "Pick something sweet, okay? Angela will always remember the first time." I smiled, my tears blurring my vision. I was doing the right thing for him, I just knew it, even though it hurt me so much I almost couldn't breathe. "Go," I whispered.
He stopped at the doorway, the noise from inside filtering out into the cold, rainy night air.
"B?"
There it was. "Yeah?"
"I miss you. More than you'll ever know," he said, that crooked smile finding its way back onto his lips again. For that one moment, I felt like we were us again.
I nodded. "I miss you, too."
It’s not an easy road for our favorite couple. Edward’s a rising musician and Bella’s the childhood friend that gets left behind. There’s a whole world of obstacles between them, the biggest of them there by their own making. But you’ll find yourself wishing, hoping and praying that they’ll get it together, figure it out and live happily ever after.
Do they?
You’ll have to read and find out for yourself.
Remember Me by IsaKassees
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6356152/1/Remember_Me
"If I only got one day a year, I would make it count." One secret tree, one magic sunset, one chance to make a wish. Childhood sweethearts turned penpals, they grow up together and apart, falling in like, lust and love. E B, OOC, AH, A/J
Review By: Leelan Oleander (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1917215/Leelan_Oleander)
I would have given anything to be able to feel closer to her and if there had ever been a
place filled with memories of her, it was here. But it wasn't the same here without her.
I'd never come here before alone and it didn't hold any magic without her presence.
Without her, it was just a tree.
It was always more than just a tree after Bella came into Edward’s life when he was seven. One
serendipitous moment shaped both of their lives in the years that came. The first chapter is a wonderful portrait of two small, naive, and adorable children; one hiding from fighting parents, the other from a torturous older sibling.
"Look! Make a wish!" she exclaimed, pointing at the horizon.
"Why? You're only supposed to do that on shooting stars and birthday candles," I
explained.
"No," she insisted stubbornly. "My Ninny told me that every sunset is a chance to
wish. 'Cause it's magic 'cause it's not day and it's not night. It's like, in between."
As the day passes into evening, they ultimately part ways, and much to poor Edward’s chagrin, Bella is taken away, out of Forks, to live with her mother in California.
Thus begins the story of Bella and Edward who have one day, every year, in which to be together. Each chapter is a new year, and Edward starts each one off each one with a bit of a recap of the year that’s passed, giving us an idea of how each one is changing, evolving, and dealing with the world around them.
IsaKassees paints such a vivid portrait with these two that you can feel the pain they have over only having the one day together, and watching them go though typical growing pains. They may not have a lot of face time, but the special bond between these two is intense and pure.
"How come you don't think I'm gross, Edward?" she asked suddenly. At my lack of
response, she continued. "All the boys at my school think girls are gross. The only
time they talk to them are if they're being mean. But you're always so nice to me."
"Uh…I dunno. I guess I never thought about it. I guess you're not a girl to me. You're
just…my Bella. Do you think I'm gross?" I asked, already knowing she didn't.
"No," she snorted. "You're just…my Edward. I missed you so much this year."
Tightening my arms around her as she wrapped hers around me, I whispered into her
hair. "I missed you, too."
As they get older, you can easily see the shift in their personalities, especially Edward’s. In one year he goes from a very sensitive, naive, almost tortured narrator to a pre-teen who is beginning to find his place at school and then back into geekdom. In the process, Bella has taken the backseat to his newfound popularity.
Staring out across the field, she spoke first. "Why'd you tell me to come, Edward?"
"Because you always come. You have to. I only get one day a year," I pointed out,
confused as to why she would even ask.
"But are we even really friends anymore? You don't have any idea what I'm doing
down in Phoenix and I have no idea who you are," she argued softly.
"I'm still me, Bella. Things just got a little busy this year," I defended, but even to my
own ears it sounded lame.
Watching Edward go through puberty was both hilarious and painful to watch. He starts to realize that Bella is more than just his Bella, and she’s actually a girl and worries that it’s going to change things until she flies into his bedroom door the day after his 14th birthday and Edward has his epiphany:
And there it was. I could totally do this. Because at the end of the day, she was my Bella
and I was her Edward and we were best friends no matter what.
Since this is The Lemonade Stand, I suppose there should be a taste of citrus in this review since we all know they’re going to hook up—it’s rated M for a reason.
One of these days, I was determined to try and make her orgasm just by fondling her,
but as of right now, I could never stay patient long enough. Watching her arch into my
hands, her breathing quick, her skin hot to my touch but covered in goose bumps, it all
made me so incredibly hard for her I thought I'd tear straight through my boxers. As
it was, I was grinding with little control against her soaked panties, already closer to
coming than was acceptable.
"Edward," she gasped out, pushing desperately at the elastic of my boxers. I took the
hint and slid my hands down her body to remove the last of both of our clothing. I was
inside her a second later, my eyes rolling back into my head as her warmth and tightness
engulfed me, setting my body on fire. Staying in this position wasn't an option; I was
two thrusts away from losing it, I could tell. Leaning back on my haunches, I lifted her
up and twisted us so I was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her in my lap and me
miraculously still inside her.
With her knees astride my body, she began to move up and down, gasping into my
mouth with every stroke down. It created a whole new level of depth that left me
gasping back into her mouth, my hands tight on her hips as I helped guide her above
me. Her arms were around my neck, her hands twisting in my hair, the pleasurable pain
giving me enough distraction to last just a little while longer.
I could feel her starting to tighten around me, the telltale signs of her orgasm coming.
The flush across her chest, the scrunch of her eyes shut tight, her lips slightly parted, the
tilt of her head back, all of it meant she was close. I leaned in and kissed her neck and
chest with rough, openmouthed, biting kisses, intermittent with sweeps of my tongue
to soothe the sting. Keeping one hand firm on her back as she continued to slide up
and down, I slid my other down to her center and found her clit immediately. I rubbed
in small circles gently, even as both of our thrusts came harder and faster. The pulsing
pleasure where we were joined began to pound, until I was unable to think of nothing
but lasting just one second longer, needing to feel her stiffen in my arms.
And then she did, an unintelligible cry escaping her lips as she froze, letting me
manipulate her body up and down twice more before I too came, capturing her lips with
mine. She swallowed my groan as I collapsed back on the bed, holding my arms around
her tightly to keep her close.
"That," I panted, "is new favorite position number two."
"Really?" she asked, still slightly out of breath herself. "It knocks out from behind?"
"I'm afraid so," I smiled lazily. "I like to see your face when you come."
This is a sweet story of enduring friendship and love that will warm even the coldest of hearts. It’s not all puppy dogs and sunshine, there is some angst, because after all, what life isn’t fraught with some adversity? The angst, however, is light, and the awesome is heavy, and eventually, the lemons get a little steamy.
IsaKassees has really delivered a well-rounded and incredibly entertaining fic.
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