Welcome To The Peach Grove!

We've all been there: you're panting along, eyes glued to the laptop as Domward is spanking the shiz out of a leather-clad Sub-ella. Then you're back in RL and feel...weird? Worn out? Dare I say it???? Over-sexed? Heresy? I hope not.

Because I've been doing some thinking as of late. Just as much as a life without sex would be unthinkable for me, so is a life that's only about sex. And the same goes for fanfic in my book. So behold....a new semi-regularly occurring post section: The Peach Grove (banner pending).

A mostly sweet oasis in a flaming hot sea of lemony fics

Every now and then, UYP and I will be recommending something NOT NC-17 rated. Because, let's face it, there's more to life than whips and clits and all that (although there are days when that's all I'm interested in! *wink*)

For our inaugural Peach Grove post, I have a bittersweet recommendation: Another Auld Lang Syne by bonnysammy for The Mystic Awards' latest dare. For those of you unfamiliar with Dan Fogelberg's song, Same Old Lang Syne, it's a sad tale of a singer who meets an old lover in the grocery store on Christmas Eve, how they awkwardly reconnect and are left wondering "What might have been?"

bonnysammy does an excellent job of merging the sentiments of this song into the world of Twilight, creating a touching story of longing and loss with a hint of hope at the end (no small feat in just over 4000 words!).

From In Search of a Midnight Kiss which I have never seen but looks cute

I looked toward the side window, unable to explain my train wreck of a life to his face. I couldn’t bear to see the sympathy in his eyes at my pathetic semblance of normalcy.

“Well…I’d like to say I love him, but you know how I feel about lying. It’s really been a marriage of convenience. We started dating right after my first year in college. Jess had broken it off with him, so he was alone, and so was I. I mean, it’s not all bad. He’s got a good job; he’s an architect. It takes care of us and we do well enough. But, there’s no passion. I haven’t felt passion for a long time.” Not since you. “But I get the basics: a warm, dry, safe home. And no, there are no kids. I’d love kids, but not with him. He’s not the father type.” Not like you would have been. I took a deep breath and turned to face him again. His eyes were soft, but not pitying. “Enough about me. What about you? I see your new album everywhere. That must be great, you know, doing so well.”

“Yeah,” he answered. “At times it is pretty great. I love the live audience. It’s electric; I can almost feel it. The buzz they give off is invigorating, almost like heaven. But the traveling? Pure hell. I never know where I’m going to be next. And I never remember where I am any given day.”

“That must be hard, discombobulating. It’s almost like living in a constant state of uncertainty.” I felt sorry for him.

“Very,” he answered. “I’m ready to stop for a while. Maybe settle down. Somewhere small, quiet.”

“Sounds like here would be great for you,” I pushed.

“Yeah,” he answered. “I couldn’t do it for another year or so, due to contracts, though. And, that might be too painful.” His voice had become practically a whisper.

A change of subject was necessary.

“Well, you look great,” I complimented. “Almost like no time’s passed.”

“Me?” he questioned, doubt apparent in his eyes. “You look exactly the same, the same blush on your cheeks, the same light in your beautiful eyes. They are just as clear and the same shade of brown I remember.” He reached out a hand and brushed it against my cheek tenderly.

I knew he was being kind. I looked, and often felt, every second of the years that had passed. When I gazed in his eyes, however, they did not give away any idea that he was lying. In fact, they appeared filled with adoration, causing appreciation to shoot through me.

“Thanks,” I hedged. I looked down to the beers and realized that they were gone. I wondered how long we’d been talking; time had passed too quickly. There was really nothing else left to say. Well, nothing trivial. The most important words, the words I would never say due to my circumstances, still hung heavy in the air, making it difficult to breathe.

“Well, I’d better get going,” I finally sputtered out. My tongue felt thick and tired from overuse; I hadn’t spoken so much in a long time. My husband and I rarely spoke more than a few syllables to each other; we had nothing to say.

That song just gets me EVERY time!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the song and the lovely one/shot it inspired. Please go check out Another Auld Lang Syne and send bonnysammy some love!

Before I let you all go, though, I wanted to mention that originally, I had intended for my inaugural Peach Grove pick to be The Beauty Within by my friend and ITB co-author, afragilelittlehuman. Unfortunately I slacked on this post too long and now everyone and their mother has recommended it.

STILL, I wanted to mention that The Beauty Within is what moved me from thinking about creating The Peach Grove to actually making it a reality. So for that, fragile, I thank you!

For those of you who may not have read this AMAZING one-shot yet, here's some background:

This story was written as a gift (because fragile is just so sweet that way) for erikasbuddy. Greta (that's erikasbuddy) gave fragile the idea for the story (see fragile's blog for the details) and fragile wrote this touching piece.

I have blatantly stolen this from fragile's blog. *wink*

The dessert plates were cleared, and we sat in silence as the band began to play a slow song. Her hand was on my arm again, and I could hear her chair creak as she leaned toward me. "Edward, would you dance with me?"

Me, dancing? No, I knew that was a bad idea. "Thanks for asking Bella, but I'm not really a dancer. Maybe one of the other guys..."

"I don't want to dance with any of the other guys." Her voice was suddenly shy and meek. "I want to dance with you."

Summoning all the courage I could muster and swallowing hard, I moved my chair away from the table and stood, extending my hand toward her. "Lead the way."

Bella took my hand, and I tugged it slightly to help her up out of her seat. I expected her to lead me by my hand or maybe even place my hand on her shoulder as she'd probably seen Jasper do a time or two. What I didn't expect was what she did.

She pulled my arm around her and placed my hand on her waist.

"Is this okay?" She didn't even try to hide teasing tone of her voice.

I nodded a little too enthusiastically. "Y-yes, this is fine."

A tiny gasp and the tinkle of a charm bracelet let me know that Alice and probably Jasper were watching the entire exchange. My face was blazing in embarrassment, and I knew I'd never hear the end of it.

Usually, if someone wanted to guide me, they would offer their elbow. With my parents, Jasper, and Alice, I preferred just a light touch on their shoulder. It was awkward trying to navigate the floor with only my hand at Bella's waist. Like this, however, I could feel the beginning of the swell of her hip with my pinky, and I wasn't about to give that up.

Finally, Bella stopped, and, as she turned to face me, my hand brushed around her waist until it rested at the opposite side. I brought my free hand up to the small of her back and pulled her to me, her arms coming up to encircle my neck. I kept a respectable distance as we gently swayed, but I still felt her warm breath on my neck as she whispered to me.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Her muscles were tense underneath my fingers.

My hand, having a mind of its own, rubbed small, soothing circles on her back. "Sure, Bella, you can tell me anything."

"I asked Alice to seat me next to you." Judging from the absence of warmth, she was holding her breath.

"Really?" No, my voice didn't break like a pre-pubescent undergoing a voice change, not at all.

Her arms tightened around my neck, and she pressed herself against me. The soft curves of her body molded to me, and I tried to calm my breathing as my hand moved from her waist to brush up and down her side. I felt the heat of her released breath, and the tiniest whimper escaped her lips. Unable to stop myself, I leaned down and found her cheek with the tip of my nose, brushing it across and inhaling her tart scent. She shivered in response.

The beautiful, slow song ended and a cacophony of dance music started. We didn't move a muscle.

"Edward?" Bella asked, her voice breathy.

"Yes?" I replied, almost choking.

"Would you like to go to the museum garden with me? Get away from all this noise?"

My heart, which had been pounding previously, completely stopped.

*sigh* This one is such a romantic one/shot. It leaves you with a wonderful, dreamy feeling inside. Please go check out The Beauty Within and let fragile know what you think of it.

And PLEASE let me know what you think of the Peach Grove idea in the comments. We're definitely not getting rid of the LEMONS in The Lemon Sisters, but sometimes you need to temper it with something a bit softer. I hope you enjoy!