Fredward sure could suck a dick sometimes! "I'm sure that's true, but I don't think my nerves, or my truck, could take it."
"Some trust, please, Bella. If you can't trust the guy you're going to first base with... who can you trust?"
He had a point.
"Nope. Not a chance," I said, surprised at myself.
He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"What, don't believe that I would deny you something?"
I started to step around him, heading for the driver's side. He might have let me pass if I hadn't wobbled slightly. Then again, he might not have. His arm created an inescapable snare around my waist and he continued to squeeze me, tighter and tighter.
"Give me the keys, or I'll never let go," he said in a tone that was half-playful and half-serious. "Bella, I've already expended a great deal of personal effort at this point to keep you alive. Do you really think I'm just going to drive you off a cliff?"
I tried to respond, but he was squishing my lungs so hard that I couldn't even breathe.
"Do you really think I'm going to let you behind the wheel of a vehicle when you can't even walk straight?"
If he thought he was going to get away with calling me a cripple, he had another thing coming... as soon as he stopped squeezing the life out of me.
"Besides, 'friends don't let friends drive drunk,'" he quoted with a chuckle, letting go of my waist to the point where I could breathe with serious effort. I could smell the unbearably sweet fragrance coming off his chest.
"Drunk?" I choked.
"You're intoxicated by my very presence!" He was grinning that playful smirk again.
"As if!" I squeaked. There was a pause. "Actually, I guess you're right," I sighed a small sigh, conserving my air.
He let go of me a little more with every bit of truth I revealed. There really was no way around it; I couldn't resist him in anything. I held the key high and dropped it, watching his hand flash like lightening to catch it soundlessly. Completely free of his clutches, I coughed violently and then, eventually, began to breathe normally. "Take it easy," I warned, "my truck is a senior citizen."
He shook his head, not entertained by my joke.
"And are you not affected at all?" I asked, irked. "By my... presence?"

285

Chapter 13

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