Finding Beauty: Chapter 1
Warnings: Adult Situations (nothing graphic)
Bella looked around the back patio of the local Amsterdam Inn & Bar, which Faye had dragged her along to the day after she finished moving in all her furniture and decorating her house. Faye had promised her that it would help calm her down after the normal stress of moving, and so far she had been right.
"So, how do you like Eastport so far?" Faye asked her as they waited for their table.
"So far it's been great, but now that I'm starting to settle in, I've gotten a tad bit bored. When you're busy at your job, there isn't really anyone to talk to."
Faye nodded. "Totally understandable."
"I don't want to start looking for a boyfriend or someone to attach myself to, but it would be nice to have more than one friend, so I don't have to spend most of my day at home, waiting for you to get home."
Faye nodded again, and then her face lit up. "How about I set you up on a blind date?"
Bella rolled her eyes. "Didn't I just say that I'm not looking for romance right now? I just moved here!"
Faye waved her hand, as if waving off Bella's response. "This isn't for a full relationship - this is just a nice fling that could be fun. Maybe you'll end up finding a new friend!"
Bella pondered this for a few seconds before a smile came onto her face. She flung her hand up in the air, as if giving up. "Fine, maybe you'll be right. Give me his number and I'll call him up."
* * *
Hearing the doorbell ring, Bella got up from her couch and headed outside to meet Matt Ruben, the man Faye was setting her up with on a blind date.
Matt turned out to be a gorgeous blond with deep blue eyes and just a little bit of stubble. Bella felt herself smiling as she gave him a hug. "Hi, Matt isn't it? I'm Bella, Faye's friend."
Matt returned the smile as he hugged her before stepping back to look at her.
Matt introduced himself. Then the two looked at each other, not quite sure what to say.
Matt broke the silence. "So, Faye tells me you just moved here. Where did you live before?"
Bella turned away, thinking about Pleasantview; with its lush lawns, picturesque bridge, and beautiful residents, it seemed like the perfect place to live in. And yet Bella was happy to be far away from it and all its secrets and scandals. She wanted to tell Matt about it, thinking he might listen and not judge because his face seemed so trusting and kind, but she knew she couldn't bring up her old life. Instead she wove the same false story that she told Faye when she first met her.
"I used to live in Strangetown, a small desert town about eight or so hours away from here. I only lived there for a little while because I came here, which I'm very happy about."
Matt smiled and stepped a little closer. "Well, I'm also glad you came here."
Bella blushed and faltered a little, falling towards him a few inches.
Matt put his hands on her shoulders, straightening her up before moving his hands, although they lingered for a few seconds.
The two talked about random things for three hours, never leaving their spot in front of Bella's small house. Bella felt like he was a friend that she had known all her life, but she couldn't help but wish that she fell again so he had to catch her.
Soon, though Matt had to leave. When he hugged her before leaving, he lingered much longer than he had the first time he hugged her.
Bella smiled, closing her eyes and smelling in the scent of his soap and shampoo, which smelled much better than the stuffy cologne Mortimer used to wear.
Matt pulled away, although slowly, like he didn't want to. They smiled at each other before Matt spoke. "Well, I have to go, but I'll call you as soon as possible."
Bella nodded. "I'll be waiting for that call." She blushed, hoping she didn't sound too desperate, although based on the look on his face, she had a feeling he didn't consider it too needy.
Bella watched him walk off, a smile covering her face. Perhaps being abducted and left in Strangetown was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
* * *
Bella slowly brushed her fingertips across the ivory keys of the upright piano she had bought at the local flea market a few days ago, when Faye had invited her along while she was looking for a few things to go with her newly-renovated bedroom, done thanks to her boyfriend, although Faye never mentioned who he was.
She began to play, recalling a lullaby she used to play for Alexander when he was a young baby. Alexander was the thing she really missed about Pleasantview, probably the only thing she missed. If only she could drive over to Pleasantview, bring Alexander back with her, and finally have a perfect life. Without Alexander by her side, she knew there would always be a hole in her heart, even though it was slowly getting smaller.
The memory brought tears to Bella's eyes, and she slowly lifted her hands off of the keys, letting the tears silently roll down her cheeks. She needed someone to talk to, so she wasn't forced to bottle up the emotions. Maybe Matt would be the one she could talk to - as soon as he called her back. Of course, it had only been about two hours since he had left, so she was being a little too obsessed. She needed to get her mind off of it.
The grumbling in her stomach gave her the perfect distraction.
Because she needed to go to the grocery store soon, there was only a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. As Bella cooked it on the oven, she cracked a small smile, feeling like a young mother who could only get her children to eat macaroni, rather than the thousands of recipes stored in a stack of recipe books.
Bella ate the cheese-coated pasta, eating at her small wooden table. Her house was full of different shades of red and warm pink, showing off her love of the color red. The fact that Matt's last name was Ruben, like the gem ruby, seemed to be fate - they just had to be together, solely for the name, if not for the butterflies she felt in her stomach every time she thought of him, which had been nearly once every five minutes since he had left.
The sound of the phone ringing from the living room caused Bella to jump up and pratically run to it, hoping it was from Matt.
"Hello?" Bella asked hopefully.
"Hey, hope I'm not calling too soon."
Bella smiled at the sound of Matt's voice. "Of course not!" She looked down at her wrist, then remembering her watch wasn't there - she always forgot to put it back on whenever she took a shower.
Matt sighed in relief. "That's good - I didn't want to seem too desperate."
Bella laughed. "Definitely not."
Matt paused, and Bella waited anxiously wanting to see what he was calling about.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe continue our conversation on Friday."
Bella instantly grinned, bringing her finger to her lip nervously as if this were too good to be true. "Do you mean, like on a date?"
She waited yet again for his response, worried about what it might be.
Matt answered, also sounding nervous. "As long as it's okay with you, but if you would rather just be friends, then forget I asked and consider it an outing with a friend, although if you want to go on a date with me then that's great and... oops, I'm rambling."
Bella laughed, then answered shyly, "I'd love to go on a date with you."
Matt's smile was evident in his voice. "Ok, that's great. I'll pick you up around sevenish, if that's alright. We can go to that new restaurant, Avalon."
"I'd like that." Bella smiled.
Bella and Matt then talked for another hour before Matt had to go feed his cat, who was trying to use his leg as a scratching post while he talked. Bella hung up and felt like she was walking on air. Life was definitely better.
* * *
Don put his arm around Nina, staring into her eyes as he carressed her shoulder.
"I'm glad you're here, Nee. This hot tub is just too lonely by myself." He smiled with his normal cocky grin, which caused many women, along with a few men, to swoon. Nina knew she should feel like the luckiest woman in the world right now, but she felt disconnected.
Don suddenly grabbed her and starting making out. Nina went along with it, but her mind was elsewhere, thinking about her neighbor, Darren Dreamer. She wanted to be back home, watching him paint through the window of his house, rather than being here in the hot tub, with Don's tongue pratically down her throat. She bet that Darren would be a much better kisser than Don.
Don pushed her down into the water, tugging at the strap of her bikini. Nina accidentally swallowed some water, but Don was too heavy and she was unable to squirm out from under him to grab some more air.
As Don continued to kiss her, Nina let her thoughts wander again. She was trying to come up with a way to get to Darren. She could always ask his son to mow the lawn or something, but she didn't want to seem too desperate, especially in front of her sister. Dina thought it was stupid that she liked Darren when she could easily have Don anytime she wanted, even though he was currently engaged.
As Nina grabbed his hand, she felt the engagement ring on his ring finger. Cassandra had been the one who apparently asked him to marry her, and he had agreed only to get into the family wealth, although Nina wondered if there was another reason that he was getting married, since he never would have gotten married about a year ago. But Nina never bothered to ask him - they spent most of their time kissing rather than talking, anyway,
As Don and Nina burst out of the water to get some air, Nina looked at his face. He was hot, but Nina didn't really find him attractive. Instead she wanted a man like Darren; actually, she just wanted Darren.
"You're so hot, Nee." Don said, the cocky grin returning to his face.
Nina smiled, but inside she was wishing she was hearing another set of three words, although she certainly didn't want to hear it from Don, because she knew it wouldn't be real.
* * *
About five minutes after Nina headed home, Cassandra showed up at Don's front door. Don greeted her still in his neon green speedo, not caring if someone saw him and got it on camera. After all, that was the only reason he and Cassandra had first gotten together: for the publicity. Of course, they had gotten engaged because of a scandalous secret, but the publicity was a big point. It also helped that Cassandra didn't care about his infedility - sometimes she encouraged it, if it would give her more publicity or get her something she wanted. Cassandra was much more cunning and manipulative than most thought.
Don began making out with Cassandra, kissing her over and over again as the sky began to get darker. This was different than kissing other women, like Nina, because Cassandra didn't seem to care about him at all - which was fine, because he didn't like her either. Their relationship was based on lust and publicity, and Don didn't want it any other way.
Soon the couple found themselves in the hot tub, in the exact spot that Don was cuddling Nina in about an hour ago.
Don whispered into Cassandra's ear. "I found her."
Cassandra smiled. Everything was going perfectly.
* * *
Dina intertwined her fingers in between Mortimer's fingers, smirking at the sight of her tan fingers against his pale, wrinkly ones. But his appearance wasn't what she was using him for - it was his money.
Mortimer pulled his head from its spot next to her own. Dina turned to him, a questioning look on her face. "What is it, love?"
"How would you like to go to Willow Bark with me tomorrow night?"
Dina smiled. They had just come from the opening luncheon at Willow Bark, and she had loved it - it was expensive and classy, and the perfect spot for a first date. "I'd love to go, sweet."
Mortimer blushed at the pet names she gave him, loving how they made her seem more elegant. Ever since his wife had disappeared, he had felt so lonely, and meeting Dina was almost like meeting a younger Bella.
Dina lightly kissed him on the nose, glad that their relationship was beginning to move forward. Dina wasn't getting any younger, and the sooner she got hitched and popped out a few heirs to the Goth empire, the better.
When Mortimer gladly kissed her on the lips, she pushed him down, kissing him harder. She wanted to push their relationship further, but she knew that he wouldn't sleep with her until they married because he didn't want to give her a bad reputation, even though Dina didn't care - any publicity was good publicity, because it would make their relationship much more real.
Sure enough, when Dina tugged at his jacket, trying to pull it off, Mortimer lightly pushed upward, settling back into cuddling her and holding her hand. Dina sighed, but kept the smile on her face, because she knew she was getting much closer to everything she wanted.
* * *
Nina stood in front of her old wardrobe. Hopefully, as Dina's relationship with Mortimer furthered, they would be able to start updating their house, since it was so sparsely decoorated and outdated.
She wanted to find something sexy to wear out, in case she saw Darren, but all she could find was an old dress of Dina's that she had given to Nina after wearing it out in public once.
She pulled the dress on. It hugged her curves, but she felt that the color was washed out and didn't quite make the greatest impression, but until she got some more money she couldn't afford better dresses. This dress would just have to do. And hopefully it would work.
* * *
Jennifer Burb typed away at her keyboard, trying to quickly write her article so it could make it into the next day's newspaper. Her articles normally were on Page Six, the society page of the newspaper, but she didn't mind being considered a tabloid writer; she was good at it, and it got her plenty of money.
She paused and reread the article, making sure she had written everything.
She smiled. The relationship between Mortimer Goth and Dina Caliente was a hot topic right now, and she was busy trying to keep up with them, along with the dealings of Mortimer's daugther and her own romantic partner. But Cassandra seemed to be hiding something - she was normally quite outspoken about everything, but when asked why she was attempting to tame the local Casanova, she seemed to be hiding something, which was quite unlike her. Jennifer was determined to find out what she was hiding, no matter what it took.
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- Enjoy this quick updating while it lasts - I happen to be on a roll right now, but we'll have to see how long it lasts. But, while I'm being really fast at updating, hopefully I'll also update the Irises and the Dasanis.
Past Updates:
[ Prologue]