may i have this dance || cody and bella
𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: chalice wedding // summer 2021.
𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: bella x cody.
𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: sexual intercourse implied.
𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: the two have a surprising night at charlie’s wedding.
Cody picked Bella up and they were quiet for most of the day. They said hello to parents and made people proud with just how cute they were together. During the ceremony Cody stood up there and watched his brother marry the love of his life while Cody was here with a fake girlfriend. He felt like shit about how he had been treating Bella as he looked at the smile on Charlie's face, the way that Charlie and Alice laughed together and had a really fun day. After the ceremony, the two were seated at a table with some of Charlie's friends, but Cody had a different idea. "I need you to do us a favor" said Cody, breaking the silence that they had kept unless they were playing the part. "I want you to distract that bartender for like 30 seconds by knocking over the lemon water you're going to order. Then I want you to meet me at the gazebo. It is going to be very worth your time" said the boy with that arch in his brow like he had a plan.
The longer Bella was at this wedding, the worse she felt. This was such a big moment in the Summers' lives, there were going to be pictures of this day that would be kept forever, and she was in the middle of it all. It was going to be a constant reminder of how she was lying to everyone around her. She was watching two people that were genuinely in love getting married while she was pretending to be someone's girlfriend. Someone that wanted nothing to do with her. Bella flinched when Cody started talking, but listened anyways. She furrowed her brows in confusion and looked over at him in silence before turning over to the bar. "Um, okay?" She for some reason agreed without questioning anything. He wouldn't make her look like a fool at his own brother's wedding. Channing would probably do something like that to her date, but Cody wouldn't, right? She got up and walked over to the open bar and asked the bartender for the lemon water. As they were handing her the glass, she let it slip through her hands. She started apologizing frantically and tried help cleaning up the mess before backing away and opting out of a second drink. Bella then walked away quickly, hoping no one saw, and headed to the gazebo. "Okay. Mission accomplished. But I don't feel very accomplished."
While she was distracting the bartender, Cody swiped a bottle of champagne and two glasses, as well as a bottle of rum. He quickly maneuvered to exit the party and get to the gazebo without running into anyone but his mother, "Big romantic surprise for Bella, I've gotta go mom" said Cody with a smile as she saw the alcohol. "Okay you two have fun" she said, not even reacting much as she gave him a pat on the shoulder. God, dating Bella was so good he didn't even get a lecture about his composure at the biggest family event of the year. This was pretty great. "You should, because look at this" said Cody as he pulled the bottles out from his jacket. "I dated the bartender's ex a while back, it was not pretty. No way he would have let either of us have any alcohol" said the boy as he popped the bottle. "Ladies first" he said, happy that he accomplished something. He felt like he hadn't had a good scheme in ages. But the party lives on.
"Ah, theft. You really are a bad influence, Cody Summers." Bella said, unable to keep a straight face. "I wasn't aware being your girlfriend would come with all of this baggage, is there anything else I should know?" She of course was just messing around, it's not like she was originally planning on drinking tonight. Bella usually didn't drink, the last time she did was when they were both up in Claire's room when this all started, but she deserved it tonight. This whole situation was stressful for the both of them. "Thank you." She took hold of the bottle and poured herself a glass before handing the bottle back to Cody. "Do you think he'll notice that two bottles are missing? Do you think he'll know we took them?" she asked, suddenly getting scared by the possibility of getting caught.
Cody let out an actual laugh, "I'm actually an international super spy" he said, quoting the tiktok sound that had been all over his for you page a while back. Cody poured himself a glass as well, "cheers to the happiest couple" he joked as he drank half his glass in the first gulp. "No one is going to notice, and if it appears on the bill ... Katie Hastings will assume it's Juliette and Stevie, or Bryce. Charlie will definitely assume it's Bryce" he said with a smile as he finished his first glass. "Don't be scared of getting caught, it's like half the fun" said the boy, a wicked glint in his eyes. He liked living on the edge, it made him feel alive again. Like everything was worth being there for. Like a laugh. "Only rule is, you gotta keep up with me" he said, "drink up. You're tall. You can handle it."
Bella was almost taken back by the sound of Cody's laugh, but a smile was already forming on her lips before she laughed along. Of course she had seen tiktoks using that sound, but she also used to be quite the Backyardigans fan back in the day. "Cheers!" she raised her glass and took a small sip, only realizing afterwards just how much he had already drank. "I was a bit confused as to why Bryce was invited, but if he's here, he'll unfortunately have to take one for the team. This team." she motioned back and forth between her and Cody. Her eyes widened a bit once he finished his first cup, was she really drinking that slow? "You are a bad influence! I might never be the same after tonight." she joked before drinking more from her cup until it was finished. "I will try my best to keep up, but only if you do me a favor." she said with a sneaky smile. The idea popped into her head, and she at least wanted to see if it would work.
Cody laughed when she mentioned why Bryce was even here, "that is a ... that is a really good question. I have no idea why he's here" said the boy, mulling it over for a minute. "He must be someone's sorry plus one" Cody replied as he made a face. He smiled at her, "what's the favor?" curious to know what she could possibly think up. He finished off his glass and poured himself another one, holding the bottle ready to refill hers once she finished. Which should be any second now, since he had finished his.
Bella narrowed her eyes at Cody in confusion, did Bryce Matthews just crash this wedding and no one thought anything of it? Then he mentioned the possibility of Bryce being someone's plus one and that made a lot more sense. "A dance." she said with big eyes before noticing his glass was empty again. Bella took a second to finish her drink and held out the glass once it was empty, proud that she was actually getting through all of these, even though she was starting to feel that funny buzz. "Just one? I know you said you don't really dance, but we'll probably have to dance at Founder's Day ... right? So maybe we should practice?" she tried playing it off with a small smile.
Cody chuckled a bit to himself, "I will dance, but be warned. There will be more drinking before we head out there" he said as he refilled her glass. They deserved to have fun, he was so tired of all the bullshit with everyone else. As long as they were having a good time ... no one would bother them. He was sure of it. His parents were nicely wrapped up in the wedding and would only be looking every once in a while. He needed a good night. He needed a win. He needed to tip back his glass into his mouth, and that is exactly what he did. "The dancing will be good practice, considering I have two left feet" said the boy. Just thinking about having to go out there in front of all those people again to be a spectacle made him want to drink a little more before doing so, and he took another long sip as he waited for her to do the same.
Once Bella's cup was refilled, she immediately started drinking. She needed to do better with keeping up with Cody's pace. "I'm sure you'll do great." she said with an excited smile. Bella didn't really think he'd agree to dancing, especially since they weren't talking at all beforehand, but she was really happy he did. It was a little sad seeing everyone on the dance floor while she was sitting at the tables. "Well we do have this whole gazebo. We don't have to dance with everyone else if that would make you uncomfortable. Dancing should make you feel good." She finally finished her cup and held it out yet again, "Like this champagne. It's starting to make me feel pretty good." she said with a smile.
Cody finished his second glass, "no no, I want to go out there. We gotta show people what a cute couple we are so there's that good long lasting effect after the breakup. The umbrella or whatever, where like they have to give us space to grieve such a tremendous loss" he said as he put air quotes around grieve. Cody took her hand and they went running through the pathway towards the wedding again. Come on Eileen was playing and Cody did his best to dance. When he said he didn't dance, he did really mean it. The only kind of dancing he ever did was ballroom stuff for Cotillion and then grinding at parties. This kind of silly dancing was something he hadn't done since he was a kid, but he was laughing up a storm.
Bella was losing focus on what Cody was saying, she was still stuck on the fact that he wanted to dance in front of everyone. It was a win for her, that was for sure, and with the alcohol kicking in, Bella was caring less and less about dancing in front of others. She usually didn’t like attention on her, but when everyone was on the dancefloor, it seemed like people were too busy enjoying themselves to look around at others. Bella ran back to the wedding with Cody, a huge smile appeared on her face when she heard Come on Eileen. She took his other hand and danced to the rhythm of the music without a care in the world. “See it isn’t so bad, you’re doing great!” she said over the music, laughing afterwards and singing a bit of the song here and there. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the song choice, but Bella was actually having a really good time.
Cody took her hands and danced with for a few moments before spinning her out and then spinning her back into his arms, feeling her back against him. He could hear his mother talking about how they were the perfect height for one another. In this moment she was right. He didn't feel like a giant. Her face was so close to his when the photographer came up, and told them to smile. He held her there and kissed her for the camera. Then the song changed to Frank Sinatra's the way you look tonight. He bowed to her, feeling the alcohol they had together, and also Marshall's flask which he had conveniently stolen earlier in the night ... and also a few shooters from Katie's emergency purse. They were dancing formally, but it felt so strange to have her so close face to face. Usually they kept such distance. "This song could be about you" he said earnestly with a little laugh falling from his lips. He just had such a rush about him, feeling like he was actually in love for a song. The day had been all about love, and it sort of got to him he guessed. A nice fake moment.
Bella laughed as Cody spun her around. It felt like they were the only two people on the dancefloor, and she was having the time of her life. She carelessly swayed side to side to the song after he spun her back in. After the photographer came up to them and told them to smile, Bella looked over at Cody as he moved in to kiss her. They had kissed quite a few times, it almost felt normal at this point, but she also wasn’t thinking too hard on it either. Bella smiled and gave a little curtsy before they began to dance again. She felt like she knew Cody’s face pretty well from all the times she spent painting him, but there were all these little details she had never noticed until right now. “Me?” she asked with a small smile. Bella couldn’t tell if that was a comment made because they were out in public or not, but she didn’t think too hard on it. All she focused on was how sweet it was to hear. “Is it because of my dress? Do you like it?" she asked as she looked down at what she was wearing. "You look nice in the tie. I don't think you wore one to that first dinner before. I just thought you were too cool for that." she joked, trying to keep her balance the best she could.
He smiled at her and moved his hand down her back a little bit more, "It is a nice dress" he said as they continued to dance, getting closer and closer. "I am a little too cool for a tie at a family dinner" said Cody letting out a small laugh. They were dancing closer and closer, and it felt more and more intimate as the songs went on. "Cmon" he said, wanting to be alone with her. He took her hand and they went running as they passed the bar. Cody took a bottle of champagne and said, "thanks man" to the bartender before continuing to run off with Bella into the brush and out to the gazebo again. He laid down once they got there in the middle of the gazebo, a little out of breath. Mostly the adrenaline of everything. After a second he got up and opened up the bottle. This time they didn't have glasses so he took a big swig and then passed it to Bella, "still drink for drink. I danced for two songs" said Cody. This night was a lot more fun than he had expected.
"Okay!" Bella said with a big smile on her face as she ran with Cody. She was practically smiling the whole time they were out on the dancefloor anyways so there wasn't much of a difference. But now they were running passed the bar, and Cody quickly took a bottle, and it all felt so exhilarating! Her life wasn't very exciting. She played by the rules, and didn't like to cause any kind of disturbance, so this was pretty different for her, and she was loving every second of it. Once they made it to the gazebo, Bella sat down beside Cody and tried catching her breath, looking back to see if, for some reason, anybody was chasing after them. It wasn't that serious, but it was possible if the bartender disliked Cody that much. "Thank you." she said as she happily grabbed the bottle and took a sip. "Have I said you're a bad influence yet? Because you're definitely a bad influence." she laughed. "But a deal is a deal, and you did great out there. Extra points for all those fancy spins. And you were having fun, right?" she asked as she poked his arm. "You can admit it, I promise I won't tell a soul."
"Oh I am the worst influence. You should really let our moms know that their intention of you rubbing off on me isn't working" said Cody as he took the bottle back and had another swig before giving it back to her. "I might have been having fun" he said as he took her hands and they started to dance again, the bottle in between their guiding hands. It became too awkward to have it there, and he wanted to be closer to her. So he put the bottle down on the edge and resumed dancing with her, the quieter sounds of the music coming stronger into earshot. They danced quietly for a while, Cody liked the quiet of it all. He liked just looking at her, and then feeling her head on his chest. It made him feel like his heart wasn't broken, having here there to hear his heartbeat. He took the hand that was intertwined with hers and pulled her chin up and kissed her. It was a different kind of kiss than before, he meant this one and he kissed her like they were in love.
Bella took one more sip before raising her brows at Cody, "You're having the most fun." she corrected him playfully. She was for sure having a great time, and nothing felt even the slightest bit awkward at this point. Her stupid smile was back as he pulled her in to dance again. The gazebo was all lit up, they were under the stars and moon, they were dancing together, it all just sort of seemed perfect. Bella then leaned her head against Cody's chest and closed her eyes as they continued to dance. She would usually be too hesitant to do something like that, but she allowed herself this one thing. There was this sense of peace that she felt being like this with him, and she didn't want it to end. The silence between them never felt weird, and right now, it almost felt comforting. Bella looked up once Cody titled her head back and felt his lips against hers. This was different from any of the kisses they had ever shared together. This wasn't for anyone else, they were all alone. This was just for them. Without a second thought, Bella moved in closer and deepened the kiss, reaching up to cup the sides of his face.
Cody wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or just the evening in general. But he was drunk on her, on how her lips felt against his. He didn't have any words to say, but he knew that this felt right. All their fights was layered with some sort of care or concern for the other, of wanting to protect each other. He thought about what he had said at the cabin, when he called her weird, and how he didn't mean it like that. He liked those things about her. How unapologetic she was about the things she liked. He thought about how beautiful she looked tonight, and how he wished he could have brought his camera to capture that beauty. Cody kissed her cheek and began dancing with her again, holding her more softly than ever as the song played. The silence was kind, but he knew one of them would have to break it at some point.
Bella blushed a bit as Cody kissed her cheek before they continued on with their dance. Maybe she was still on this high from all the dancing and running around, but her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she found herself smiling yet again. He understood her in a way that no one else did. They seemed like complete opposites, but were so similar at the same time. Being around Cody was just easy. She never had an issue with talking to him, or even messing around with him. She felt like an actual person, she felt like herself. There was no need to act or speak a certain way when Cody was around. They danced in silence for a moment when she realized that though she was having such a nice time now, their time was almost up. This was all going to be over soon. All they had left was founders day, and maybe the summer art exhibit, and that was it. It hurt to think about, she didn't want to lose this feeling. "You should really go on that trip, that one you mentioned a few months ago. I think that would be really fun for you. You could take your camera and capture a lot of beautiful moments." she said as she looked up at him. Bella wasn't sure if they were ever going to talk again once this whole fake relationship was over, so she wanted to try her best to make sure that Cody continued doing something he genuinely loved, like photography. "Did you ever think about where you wanted to go?"
He felt her head against his chest again and enjoyed the comfort of it all. He had already scheduled the trip, but now he felt like he didn't want to leave. "Maybe I should" said Cody looking down at her, meeting her gaze with his. He didn't want the fake dating to be over necessarily. It felt like it was all wrapping up too quick. "I think I'm kinda dead set on Amsterdam" said Cody, not really sure why he wasn't telling her that he was going to be going in January. He didn't really want to celebrate that, he had a lot to sort out. There was always the fact that he might not even talk to her then, but they had just kissed ... for real. Things were changing, "There's something else I'm kinda dead set on" said Cody as he dipped her and kissed her again. He just felt safe here, he didn't want to go. Maybe they could make this work for real. No one would ever have to know. They could just keep on keeping on, and they could have their own private anniversary of their real relationship as well as the fake one. He was done with Skylar due to the texts they had sent back and forth. Cody was ready to start fresh with Bella, for real this time.
"That's nice, I'm sure you'll love it." Bella nodded. He'd get so many great pictures, maybe his love for photography would even grow from it. She hadn't seen much of his work, but she could tell how talented he was from the little she saw. Hopefully he knew that too. She furrowed her brows in confusion and was ready to hear what else Cody had to say, but his lips were already on hers. They were kissing again, he wanted to kiss her. This wasn't some act they were pulling, this was real, and she didn't want it to end. There was this rush of emotions that she felt was being pushed down before. Bella wanted to stay like this with Cody. There was the issue with Taylor, but she knew she'd have to make things right with him. She'd probably have to come clean about this whole fake relationship, and the guilt would definitely get to her since he confessed his feelings, but she would figure it all out later. Right now, she was fully focussed on Cody and their future. Maybe they could actually have a future together. All Bella could do was look at him with wide eyes once she pulled away. Suddenly she couldn't speak around him, but she hoped the smile on her face sent some kind of message.
Cody broke the silence, "Do you want to go back to my place? We don't have to do anything, I just want to get out of the public eye. I feel like people are going to be coming around here all night" he babbled. His hands were on her waist, but he wanted to move them more. He just didn't want to make her uncomfortable being so close to the reception. "Cmon" he said as he took her hand and brought her back to his car, popping the back of the truck down and putting her up on it before kissing her again, "we should have been doing this the whole time" he said as he started to move his lips down her neck, nipping at her collar bone. He hadn't realized just how much lust he had in his heart for Bella. All of their arguments had just been foreplay at this point, getting other each other's skin for one reason or another when all they needed was to just shut the fuck up and kiss. He was mostly remembering the good times as he had his hands moving up and down her body: the lake, being up against her in the art studio when she was adjusting the camera, the hot tub. It drove him wild, all of it. Now. Then. Always.
Bella thought about it for a second. She was worried that it would look rude of them to leave the wedding early, considering the fact that this was Cody's brother's wedding. But they were with the family the whole day and it was getting late. Maybe no one would notice, everyone was pretty drunk at this point, and if they did notice, they might not even care. "Yes." she said happily as she nodded her head. "We can do something." she blurted out. "If you want to, of course. We don't have to. I'm just saying that I'm fine with it ... if you are." This was not the time for rambling, but so many emotions were running through her. The night was so crazy, but so fun at the same time. What a rush! Once Bella was on the car, she opened her legs up and pulled him in closer as they kissed. She tried her best to not make a sound as his lips travelled down her neck, she was still thinking about how they were outside. But everyone was so far away, no one would see them out here, so she let out a small moan the moment he reached her collar bone. "We should have." she responded quietly. It's not like she hadn't thought about it before. That moment they had in the art studio caught her very off guard, but there was no way she was going to suggest anything that day. Bella had been trying to convince herself that she wasn't attracted to Cody, but she couldn't be couldn't be more wrong. "But all that matters is right now." Bella took hold of his tie and pulled on it as she went to lay down on her back. She didn't want to hold back these feelings anymore.
Cody looked at her for a second and smiled, "I definitely want to" he said, nodding. It wasn't his smoothest moment. Usually he had girls wrapped around his finger, but something about Bella almost made him nervous. She was just so delicate. He usually went for girls who pretended to be rough around the edges, but Bella was just honest and soft. He climbed up as she pulled on his tie, maybe he was wrong about that softness. Cody was into the fact that she knew what she wanted. Especially if that meant him. "Just say when and we can go back to one of our houses or the dorms or literally wherever. We can get a room somewhere" said Cody as he moved his hands up her dress to grip her tighter, pulling her closer to him. For the first time in a long time, maybe since Alexandra, no definitely since Alexandra, he wanted to make love. The thought alone kind of made him want to gag, but he meant it in his internal monologue. He wanted to treat her right, and not have it all be about him or some game for attention. Maybe have the most honest sex he had ever had, and he wanted that with her. He did his best to not think about leaving, it was so far away anyhow. Maybe she could come abroad too. That was wishful thinking though, he was getting ahead of himself and his mind was a little clouded from hearing her moaning.
Just having Cody on top of her made Bella blush. She could feel the goosebumps run across her entire body as his hands moved up her dress. She wanted his hands all over her body. The thought alone nearly embarrassed her, but only because it was a kind of thinking she wasn't really used to. She had become very self-conscious after her first time with Landon, so the idea of sex didn't interest her as much afterwards, it just made her more nervous. But that wasn't the case right now. There was this excitement in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. She wasn't all that experienced, so there were some nerves present, but not enough to where she wasn't ready for this. Bella played with the end of his tie as she kept her eyes on Cody, "Now, please." she answered softly with a sweet smile on her face. She had a bad habit of being a little too direct at times, and she hoped that didn't seem pushy, but she wanted to make sure he knew that she was very much interested. Bella placed one hand on the side of Cody’s face and kissed him softly once more, “If that’s fine with you. But I can wait if you wanted to go back to the wedding. I don't mind. Either way. I'm just happy to be here." Here she was, awkwardly rambling again. How did other people flirt so easily? It almost seemed impossible for Bella.
Cody looked her up and down, and he only knew one thing in that moment: he was not going back to the wedding. "We already saw the cake cutting and the first dance, I think they'll be okay" he said with a breathy chuckle. She was a mess, but she was a mess for him and he felt a fire burning in his chest for her. "Fuck, I forgot that I can't drive" said Cody realizing he was drunk and not planning on anything coming in between them right now. "Cmon, I know a place" he said as he got off of her, picking her up once he was down from the truck and lifting her to the ground. Cody moved her against the car and put his hand under her thigh, lifting her leg to wrap around him as he kissed her again, not wanting to wait until where they were going. "I just need you so bad, and we kinda have a walk" he whispered against her lips. Cody took her hand and they started to walk towards town square. All the business were closed, and the twinkle lights were still strewn across the quad. "Stop right there" he said pulling out his phone and taking a picture, spinning her a little and taking a little video before pulling her into a sweet kiss. "You just look so beautiful" said Cody as they approached an apartment building on top of Basist Bakery and Romano Roost. They headed into the lobby and into the elevator, before they arrived at 4C. Cody pulled out keys and opened up the apartment, "I don't think the happy couple will mind. Katie put them up in a hotel" he said before entering the threshold of his brother's apartment. The whole place was filled with boxes, Charlie and Alice preparing to move after the honeymoon.
Bella's eyes widened the moment Cody realized he couldn't drive. She felt so stupid for not thinking about it. She was usually a lot more cautious, but with all the alcohol she drank and her mind being a little too focussed on Cody, she wasn't thinking about that fact that they'd actually have to drive somewhere. She simply nodded and sat up once he was off her. He always seemed to have a plan for everything, she clearly took notice of that the first night he came up with the fake relationship. Bella would usually just give up when there was a problem in the way, but she was glad Cody wasn't like that, especially right now. It seemed like he wanted this just as much as she did. Once she felt Cody's hand under her thigh, she lifted her leg up and wrapped it around him as they kissed again. Every kiss felt better than the last. He was right, why weren't they doing this the whole time? Hearing him speak to her like this was almost surreal. She never pictured she'd be like this with Cody Summers of all people ... until she totally started picturing it. But whenever she did, she would just feel embarrassed and shove those feelings so far down. That wasn't the case anymore. She was letting herself feel the way she wanted and not holding back. It was pretty freeing. Bella took his hand and looked around the empty town square before stopping to see Cody take out his phone. She gave a shy smile once the picture was taken and began to giggle as he spun her around. "Thank you." she answered softly. Her heart almost couldn't take all of this in, she couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. She couldn't help but laugh when he ended up bringing her to Charlie and Alice's apartment. Talk about a wild night for Bella. "They won't find out, right? They're not coming up here tonight for anything?" she was already beginning to kiss him as she asked. It was a little risky, but her need for Cody was far more stronger than her fear of getting in trouble right now.
He was not positive that Charlie and Alice would not come back here, but it was a safe enough bet. "They'r-" Cody tried to speak before getting cut off by her lips being on his. He shut and locked the door behind him, fumbling around with it behind his back. Cody slid his jacket off and threw it somewhere in the apartment. He moved his lips to her neck as he messed around with her zipper, and then he remembered that he should be a better fake boyfriend right now. "Do you need anything" he asked as he trailed down her neck, "Like food or water or another" he finally got the zipper down "drink or something". Cody had a one track mind when it came to this. He knew what he wanted right now, but he also knew that Bella wasn't exactly that type of girl. Part of Cody wanted to just hide away in this apartment for the rest of the summer. He didn't want to share this with anyone, their whole fake relationship had been so public. Cody wanted to keep the real stuff to himself and just enjoy his time with her. If someone told him a few years ago he'd be enjoying his time with Bella Langston he would have laughed so fucking hard, but now he craved being around her. He wouldn't trade this night for anything already, and it had only just started.
Bella exhaled softly as Cody's hands moved towards the zipper of her dress, tilting her head to the side while his lips were on her neck. She was a little taken back by the sudden question. Was he nervous? Was he stalling because he didn't actually want this? Or was he just being nice? She didn't want to second guess Cody's kindness, she usually assumed the best in people, but she was a bit nervous herself. He's probably been with people that were way prettier and way more experienced than her. She didn't want to mess anything up. "Oh, no thank you." she paused as she started to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt. "Do you want anything?" she for some reason decided to ask back, hoping that didn't sound weird since this wasn't her apartment. It wasn't Cody's either, but by default, he technically was the host. Once Bella got all the buttons on his shirt undone, she gently pushed the shirt off his shoulders and moved her arms down to let her dress slip off her body. "You're ... very attractive. Hot. You're really hot." Bella laughed under her breath after hearing her poor delivery. Thankfully she wasn't super embarrassed by that, but that was mainly because she was still drunk. "I'm so sorry. I'm not laughing because I'm lying. I'm not lying. I'm just laughing at myself. Sorry."
Cody smiled when she asked him if he wanted anything out of reflex, "I'm also good right now" he said, not laughing but exhaling like he found it amusing. Bella trying to tell Cody he was hot was the most adorable thing he had ever witnessed. Not to act up, but she was not his type on this level. He'd been with a lot of girls who were very ... seductive, and good with their words. But this was far more endearing. He began to laugh too when she accused and then un-accused herself of lying. "Oh so you're lying?" he said, laughing a little more. They were just in a silly goofy mood it seems. "Bella Langston the liar, everyone" said Cody, with an announcer voice and an air microphone in front of his mouth "let's give her a round of applause for pulling off the greatest fake relationship of all time. Not caught even once, and now they're considering having sex. Now Miss Langston, how do you feel Cody's chances of a fade to black situation happening tonight?" he said, holding the air microphone up to her mouth and raising an eyebrow, "don't be shy, the fans want to know."
Bella was a bit of a mess, but at least in the moment, she didn't mind. She was having a fun time, and Cody seemed to be as well. "No, no. I'm not lying!" she waved her hands side to side and shook her head as she continued to laugh. She was clearly not making a lot of sense, but she wasn't even realizing it. Bella held onto his hand as if she were holding onto the air microphone herself, "Well first off, I prefer the term acting, not lying. I am an innocent being. You on the other hand are the bad influence that I cannot seem to say no to." she said as she gently grabbed his face with her other hand. "A bit unfair to look the way you do, and act the way you do, but I guess it cannot be helped." she spoke while practically analyzing his face before her eyes met his. "Now his chances of a fade to black situation? Hmmm. I think they might be high. Very high actually. Probably the highest it's ever been. Do you agree?"
Cody smiled as she touched his face while she was talking, telling him that he was a pretty boy. It felt good that the one person who was acted like she was repulsed by him still found him good looking, it drove him crazy now that she was telling him he was good looking. She said it was a high chance that he would sleep with her tonight, and he took the air microphone back and looked directly into her eyes, "I agree whole heartedly. I think we're going to have an excellent season, I look forward to more games and leaving it all on the field." Cody dramatically dropped the air mic, "I'm totally going to have to pay for the mic damage" he said as he slid his hand onto the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss between laughter. Cody took her hand and led her to the bedroom -fade to black-. He was out of breath, the sex was good. He could tell she hadn't had much sex, but it was more that it was with her. He actually cared about making her feel good, which was something he hadn't done in a long time. Yeah, he'd had passionate sex where everyone was having a good time. But he hadn't had the kind of sex where you always put your partner first since he was manipulated into it by A.P. There was something so different about this, he liked laughing during sex and actually talking and making sure everyone was having a good time. The kind of sex you have with someone you actually care about and who actually cares about you.
Bella stayed quiet for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. There wasn't too much to compare to, but this was great sex. Her first time was so one-sided and disappointing, and this was nothing like that. She was noticeably nervous at times, but they were laughing and he was actually being very sweet throughout it all. Cody made her feel comfortable, and that mattered a lot to her. But now that it was all over, she was starting to overthink. It was good for her, but was it good for him? Was this the worst sex he's ever had before? Is he going to kick her out of this apartment? Bella then shifted to her side to look over at Cody, "Um, that was nice. Very nice. And I hope that was nice for you too. I was just nervous. It's not because of you though! Just everything in general was making me nervous." she started to speak quickly. "I promise next time I'll be more relaxed-" Her eyes started to widen once she mentioned a next time. How could she be so dumb to say that? "I mean, there doesn't have to be a next time. If you want there to be a next time, there can be. But there doesn't have to be."
Cody smiled as she started rambling, "there should be a next time" he replied, "and a time after that". He just wanted to convey that he was interested in that, she seemed to be nervous about where he was at. "I had a really good time, I'm having a really good time" he said quietly as he took her hand and gave it a small kiss. "We can talk about it tomorrow, but right now I think we both need some sleep. Personally, I'm fuckin spent" he said as he laid back onto the pillows, pulling the sheets over them and wrapping himself around Bella. Everything was a mess but he didn't care. -Time Jump- Cody woke up quietly the next morning, he could still hear the sleepy sounds of her breathing and he snuck out of the apartment. Now, he wasn't leaving. Cody just put on his button down and slacks from his tux and headed down to Romano Roost to grab coffee, and then over to Basist Bakery and got the two of them breakfast. He got a lot of shit from Elaine, because she knew exactly what apartment he was coming from. But he just laughed it off and headed back upstairs. Cody came back into the loft and went into the bedroom and gave Bella a good morning kiss on her temple, "I got us breakfast, sleepy" he said to wake her up. He felt so soft, how did he let himself get like this again? He felt utterly whipped, and he almost hated it. Almost.
Bella was awakened by the sound of Cody speaking. She rubbed her eyes, and sat up with a sleepy smile on her face, making sure the sheets were still covering her. She genuinely wasn't expecting any of this kindness, and not because it was from Cody, but because she simply wasn't used to it. The bar was set pretty low for her, but she was never treated right in her past relationships. Not to say that they were in a relationship right now, or at least a real one, but Bella hoped they'd be. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but the idea of really being with Cody made her heart skip a beat. “Oh, thank you so much. You didn't have to do that. I hope Eleanor or Elaine didn't give you too many problems." She could already picture the two girls talking about how her and Cody were staying in his brother's apartment for the night, and there wasn't anything Eleanor didn't tell Veronica. Her sister would definitely text her and tease her about it, but she knew how her siblings worked. They might have been ruthless at times, but when it came to family, they were, for the most part, harmless. "Breakfast in bed?" she suggested as she patted a spot on the bed beside her.
Cody looked at her for a minute before shaking his head "I mean if any Kestner or Wesby was going to give me any trouble ... my money is on Savannah and Sloane" Cody sucked on his teeth. Those two were relentless, and he was definitely too old for their bullshit these days. "Elaine did make fun of me though, and I'm sure there was more than a couple laughs spared at our expense between the three of them. But it might be more directed at the fact that I already abused my apartment sitting privileges before they even left town", he said wincing a little. His head ached from their wild night. He definitely had too much to drink. Not that he regretted anything, but she might now that it was morning. When she patted down for a spot next to her, he thought well ... at least she was going to be nice about it. For fucks sake if she wasn't. It wasn't his idea alone to have sex. If it had been he would have had a little solo moment and gone to sleep in his childhood bedroom after being carted home by one of his family members. "Yeah breakfast in bed. I got some bacon, some croissants, and two cold brews along with some bottled water. Because cups are difficult when you're laying in bed, and I think that's all I can physically do today" he admitted, looking over at her. He was having hookup flashbacks from last night, Cody honestly couldn't look at her and not think about it.
Savannah and Sloane. Ever since her sister Veronica started dating Eleanor, the Langstons and Wesbys started to get closer, and that meant they were also getting closer with the Kestners. That was all fine and dandy since most of the people in those families were kind, but Savannah and Sloane? Mean mean mean girls. Bella listened to Cody and notice him wince in pain. She assumed he also had a headache. She rarely drank in general, so the amount of alcohol she did consume resulted in a pretty bad headache, but she tried to hide the pain. Bella always felt like an inconvenience when she complained about pretty much anything, so she usually kept it to herself. "Well I appreciate you getting breakfast even though you're not feeling too well. That's very kind of you." she nodded as she spoke, reminding herself every so often to keep eye contact with him. Everything was starting to settle in, and though they seemed all happy last night, Bella wasn't sure if this was just some big, embarrassing regret for Cody. "Um, do you need anything? Like for the headache, I mean, if that's the problem." she started to fiddle with her fingers as she spoke. "Or if you just need peace and quiet, I understand. I do peace and quiet very well, I promise."
Cody looked over at her, and moved her hair behind her shoulder when she said he wasn't feeling well. How did she already notice? How was he already taken care of? He'd been trying to take care of her. "The headache is part of the process of drinking. A price to pay for released inhibitions" he said with a shrug, it was a little masochistic. But sometimes it was a good pain to bear, a small reminder to stay in control of yourself. He saw her fiddling with her hands, "I would be down for some quiet." Cody loved the quiet of the morning, it was a peaceful time. Honestly he'd be really happy to lay in bed all day long. Cody put two and two together that she didn't have normal clothes here as he was undoing his button up shirt, "as much as I am very into this" said Cody gesturing to her with the sheet covering her, "if it would make you more comfortable to borrow a t-shirt from Charlie or even Alice's clothes?" he asked. He didn't want her to feel like she had to do anything, that was the last thing he wanted. The thing he wanted most was for her to feel comfortable around him, that way she could stay longer. It wasn't like she had anywhere to be, right? He wondered if she was seeing someone, in secret. Like he had.
Bella froze up a bit as Cody pushed her hair off her shoulder. Perhaps his love language was physical touch and that was supposed to be some kind of good sign? She shouldn't be overanalyzing such a small gesture, but she was. Even though she wouldn't admit it in the past, Bella did care what Cody thought of her, and she was really hoping he wasn't disgusted by her because of last night. She nodded once he said he'd like some quiet. Maybe quiet was good for them, just for a little bit. Maybe it would calm her down a bit, and then she'd be ready to talk about last night. Unless actually talking about it wasn't something she should do? Her mind just couldn't settle on anything at the moment. Bella blushed and let out a quiet, nervous laugh, "Ah, are you a fan of bedding sets?" she asked as a joke, which she immediately regretted afterwards. Why did she insist on making jokes when she wasn't even funny? "But um, yes please. I'll take anything. Thank you." she answered with a small smile on her face.
Was this ... awkward? He didn't feel awkward. Did she? "Yeah if you're wearing them" Cody responded back, looking her up and down as he headed over to the chest of drawers and pulled out some of Charlie's sweats for himself and for Bella, along with a shirt for her. It had their high school on it. Weird to think that they had gone to high school together, weirder to think that they dated siblings. Weirder to think that the whole time there was someone who was really great for Cody just hiding in the art room ... or to be honest... being mocked by him and his friends. God, he felt like shit for that. Cody took off his shirt and enjoyed the moment of silence before switching from his suit pants to the sweats. He liked looking at her, he liked thinking about her, he just liked her. He'd wasted so much time being angry and scheming, and for what? For him to be a shitty person that she settles for? He needed to be better, "so ... how are you feeling about last night?" he asked. Cody was stepping up for once.
Bella blushed a little harder as Cody spoke, but his words were definitely calming these nerves she had. There was absolutely no way he would just be saying this if he didn't mean it. He was the kind that was not afraid to let you know if he didn't like you. "Maybe I should wear them more often then." she responded, a little hesitant at first with her delivery. She didn't want to make it seem like she wasn't interested in him, so she knew she'd have to take herself out of her comfort zone a bit when it came to flirting. She just hoped that didn't sound corny, but if it did, she hoped he would think it was cute. Bella grabbed the clothes and began to put them on before looking up at him to answer his question. "Good." she said with a single nod. "I don't regret anything. I actually had a lot of fun the whole night." she went on, smiling to Cody. "I don't think I've had that much fun since ... well, I guess since we were on the boat during vacation. But other than that, I can't really recall. Oh, but if you're referring to just what happened here, then my answer would still be the same. I feel good. I promise. It was very nice." she gave him a thumbs up. "I may not have had a lot of sex, but I would say that was top tier."
Jesus christ this girl could talk. She was just goin on and on, but he was smiling like an idiot the whole time. He realized he had never really gotten any positive affirmations from anyone ... ever. At least, not in an honest feedback way. Definitely no thumbs up. Cody rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, "we should do it again sometime, maybe" he said with a shrug. Cody was not doing great at the positive thing, so he gave her a thumbs up after. "You really had fun on the boat?" he asked, turning his head a little. That had been a really fun afternoon, much better than the evening that was for sure. Best part of their whole trip, and he had gone away with Selena the next weekend. Like an idiot. He wanted to kiss Bella, but he didn't know how to instigate it honestly. Cody did what he always did. He leaned in, but then he hesitated, and then he tried again and then he just laughed, "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I just, well, good things make me uncomfortable sometimes." Cody leaned in one more time and gave her a quick peck, like some middle schooler. He'd completely lost any coolness to him.
Bella nodded quietly at Cody's suggestion. She wasn't sure if she made him nervous from all the talking she did. She should have just given a simple answer, but just like every other time, she couldn't shut her mouth when he was around. He was just smiling so much, and he looked really cute, and it seemed like he was really listening to her, and it made her feel good. People were never actually listening to Bella when she spoke, it's why she just kept quiet most of the time. "Yes, we should. Maybe not in your brother's apartment, but we should." she said, smiling at Cody. She still couldn't believe that they spent the night here. You could say she was turning into quite the badass. Not true at all, but Bella thought so. "Minus your incredibly reckless driving," she paused to suspiciously narrow her eyes and point at him. "I did have fun. A lot of fun." She wished they could have a repeat of their vacation. Bella's jealousy clearly got the better of her when it shouldn't and it ruined everything. She couldn't help but smile when Cody explained why he was laughing. It kind of made her heart beat a little faster. She kissed him back quickly and raised her brows at him once he pulled away, "I'm a good thing? Very good to know Cody Summers." she said playfully. "I can say the same about you." she nodded before going in to kiss him again, letting herself linger there for a moment.
Cody shrugged, "brother's apartment, not my brother's apartment. All details" it was typical Summers behavior to absolutely abuse any privileges held. The amount of parties at their house had been honestly shameful. Little to no respect for personal spaces in the summer home, and this was made clear by the fact that Cody didn't even feel a little bad about using his brother's apartment. Kissing sober like this meant a lot more to Cody than most of his conquests in the past few years. Drunken hookups were just part of his usual, or agreements. This was just a choice they were both making. He felt cared for as he kissed her back, knowing that they had a really great lazy day ahead of them. //END