gemmabobella wants more than "Just This Once"

Just This Once

profmom72

11,005

210

Do Edward and Bella really mean their chance Christmas break one night stand will only be "just this once?" A o/s entry for AnythingGoesUnderTheMistletoe. E/B.

"Yes," I practically whispered.

I heard him draw a ragged breath.

"Just this once," I added quickly.

Famous last words ...

Because we all know ...

"Once you pop, you can't stop ..."

---

Trying to pick just one favorite One-Shot recommendation was a nearly impossible task for me. There are so many out there that I love and go back to time and time again. But I thought it best to find one for you that had minimal angst, in spite of how much I love angst, and one with some steam, and I'd like to think I've succeeded.

I absolutely adore Profmom, and have been a follower of hers since her first story, Lucky Charm. She is also part of the duo that brought us Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Fates, along with HMonster4. She's also dabbled in AU with Rabbit Hole, which is incredibly good and angsty, as well as writing one of the best canon Carlisle's I've ever read in her Twilight Twenty-Five: Spero. I really enjoy her writing style as well as the way she approaches her lemons. She gives just enough detail to set the scene and ... erm ... wet our appetites, but also gives us the freedom to let our imagination roam. And goodness knows I have a very, very good imagination.

I've lost count of how many times I've gone back and read this one-shot. Every time I read it, it feels new and I fall in love with these characters all over again. I find it incredibly easy to place myself in Bella's place and relate very well to all of her thoughts. The way Profmom writes this story makes it easy to read between the lines where Bella can't, and therefore understand and see the big picture. I honestly don't know how she does it, but I love it!

Even though this was an entry for a holiday contest, The Sandbox: Anything Goes Under the Mistletoe, you don't need to be in the holiday spirit to appreciate it. It features something that we all dream about - a perfect one night stand with an old friend that just happens to be the most attractive guy you've ever met. And where this could have been only that - an amazingly hot night of sex - this story is so much more. It is real and deals with what happens after we get that dream experience. It doesn't shy away from the fact that sex changes everything, no matter how much we wish it didn't. And of course, because this is Edward and Bella, it means that they have to both believe the other isn't interested until one of them becomes brave enough to admit it to the other.

The stage is set as Edward and Bella catch up at a bar, and Bella decides to ask Edward for his male opinion on why she hasn't had sex in two years. Sounds innocent enough, right? Sounds like perfectly normal chatter between two friends, right? Courtesy of a little liquid courage, however, things start to get interesting.

He sat up straighter, then leaned forward. "How about me?"

"How about you what?"

"For a one night stand," he answered.

Uh ... yes, please!

But it's not that simple. We're not talking about two strangers passing through the night. We're talking about friends who share mutual friends. And even though they're completely oblivious to it at first, it soon becomes pretty clear that there are some feelings below the surface, the kind of feelings that keep this from being a simple wham-bam-thank you-ma'am kind of night. I don't want to spoil things too much for you, because I really want you to read this, but I have to tempt you with a little taste of the lemon ...

I couldn't recall when my clothes came off, or which one of us had been the one to remove them. All I knew was that each time his fingers slipped inside me or his mouth made contact with my skin, I came alive a little more. His expression mirrored my own. There was no way to know whether our reactions were so pronounced simply because it had been so long for both of us. It might have been five minutes, or five hours. I never looked at a clock. At some point, I straddled his hips and asked, "Are you ready?"

But like I said, this is more a story of what happens after that night. Because it is the holidays, both Edward and Bella don't get another chance to reconnect before they have to part again - making sure they stay true to their agreement that it would only be "just this once." But it is very clear that both of them wouldn't mind repeating their rendezvous. But again, miscues, uncertainty, and insecurity keep getting in the way.

Profmom does a wonderful job of building the tension throughout, driving the story forward in a realistic and captivating way. Again, I don't want to give anything away, but I truly feel that the one-shot ended the only way that it could have, the only way that makes sense, and the only way she could. You can't help but fall completely in love with the characters profmom writes.

In my mind, this is the perfect example of a perfect one-shot. With the perfect amount of background information, character development, dramatic tension, steam, and a fitting conclusion. You will feel like you've been on an adventure, like you've known these characters for years, like they are long lost friends. This is a story you will find yourself coming back to time and time again. It is comfort food, a warm quilt in winter, a cool breeze on a hot summer day, and that tall glass of ice-cold water when you're really, really thirsty.

And ...

"Once you pop, you can't stop ..."