This is my first all human story. At first I was wary of them but I'm growing to like them more and more. Instead of doing actual work, this story popped into my head and I spent all night coming up with the first chapter. I hope you all like it and I'd love some feedback!
Edit: Thanks to beella. for pointing out my wardrobe error! Sorry; I'm no Alice!
Also, this isn't going to be a typical "Edward is a dog and player" story. It may seem so at first but I promise things aren't always as they seem…
I slowly opened my heavy eyelids to the too-bright bedroom. The nausea I felt and the pounding headache that was throbbing and spreading to the rest of my body reminded me of the vast quantity of liquor I'd consumed the previous evening. Trying not to move too suddenly, I shifted my legs beneath the bed covers. It was too much. I closed my eyes and took some deep, calming breaths in.
A clanging noise startled me and my eyes popped open, much more alert than they'd been just a few minutes before. Scanning the room for any trace of a madman or burglar, I became confused. Something was off… very off. And then it hit me.
This wasn't my bedroom. And I was naked.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I suppose I should start with the day Alice and I left the University for Thanksgiving break. The Cullen family had invited me over since I was practically family and I eagerly accepted; Renee was going to Fiji with Phil and Charlie was going over to his girlfriend's to spend time with her family. I was more than happy to spend some quality time with a normal family.
"Emmett just called," Alice said an hour before we got on the train. She walked into our bedroom wrapped around in a towel, running late per usual. I groaned, realizing it was going to take her at least an hour to get ready. She ignored me and continued on. "He wanted me to remind you to be extra clumsy today. He said it's been too long since he last saw you."
Alice's brother Emmett had gotten married that June to our good friend Rosalie. They spent the next two months vacationing in Africa so we unfortunately didn't get a chance to have a proper goodbye.
Still, I wasn't thrilled with his comment. "Why is he always picking on me about that? He knows how self-conscious I am about it!"
I cursed at my suitcase that refused to close. Alice walked over and waved my hand away, giving me a condescending look before rearranging a sweater and effortlessly closing the piece of crap.
"You're in a bad mood," Alice observed. "You know Emmett loves you and can't resist teasing you. He can't resist teasing anybody."
"I know, I know," I said, sighing as I plopped down on my bed.
A silence came over us as Alice put some lotion on and stood in front of her closet, inspecting each garment. I twiddled my thumbs, begging myself not to ask what I so desperately wanted to ask. Every now and then, Alice cast a glance in my direction as though she knew what was coming. I should have known; Alice knew me like no one else did. She knew of my sickening fascination with her brother, Edward. To my credit, it had certainly gotten better over the years. In high school I was practically reduced to a vegetable whenever standing in the same room as him. The summer before our first year in college, Alice and I hung out with Edward and his friends. We managed to form a casual friendship that lasted over the next two years. It certainly wasn't a close one; I hadn't spoken to him since August when we all went off to another year of school. I kept wondering if he was going to be at the dinner but I didn't want to ask. I didn't want Alice thinking I was obsessing again.
But it was only a matter of time before I broke down.
Alice was just slipping on a beautifully tailored pair of jeans as my mouth opened. "Is… Edward going to be there?"
She smirked at me as she gracefully wiggled into the snug pants. How can you look graceful wiggling? I scowled at her but she didn't pay attention.
"I would assume so. He hasn't missed one yet."
That was true. I knew how close they all were. Still, I'd never spent a Thanksgiving there.
"Oh," I said, fiddling with my hair. Smooth, Bella.
"Why?" Alice asked, delicately easing into a white satin blouse.
My eyes narrowed. She knew why. "Just wondering."
"Right," she said, picking up a necklace from her desk. "Could you put this on for me?"
I begrudgingly stood and took the necklace from her. My mind worked overtime as all the various scenarios of this dinner played out. Most were uneventful. Some were fantastic. Some were downright ridiculous. And then some were tragic. The other question I yearned to ask danced on my tongue, begging to be released. But I couldn't ask- it would be way too obvious. Alice would see right through it.
But… Alice knew how I felt about him, even after all these years. Okay, I didn't consider him to be a god anymore and I didn't fancy myself in love with him (technically, anyway) and I knew full well that he was incapable of any kind of significant relationship. But I was still interested in him. Who wasn't?
Alice giggled and I realized belatedly that I'd been standing with the necklace around Alice's neck, the clasp hanging in mid-air.
"Sorry," I muttered, hastily trying to snap the necklace together. Of course, clumsy old me dropped one side of the chain.
"Just ask it, Bella," she laughed.
"Ask what?" I tried to ask nonchalantly, but I think my voice shook anyway. She knew. Damn it.
She laughed harder. "He's not bringing anyone. At least to my knowledge. A few years ago there was a particularly dramatic and uncomfortable incident that resulted in Esme politely but firmly asking Edward to never, ever bring another one of his girlfriends back to the house. She said she only wanted to meet the woman Edward knew he was going to marry. As if that day will ever come." Alice snorted and then shifted impatiently. "Do you think you can put this on me sometime today, Bella? I still have to style my hair."
I quickly finished up and Alice skipped away to spend 45 minutes on her short hair. The girl amazed me.
47 minutes later we were on our way to Alice's town. It was a nice feeling. I hadn't seen the family in a while and I loved them as dearly as though they were related to me. I tried to keep my mind off all things Edward and instead decided to think of my ex-boyfriend Mike and all my revenge plots. Alice helped.
"Maybe you can spread a rumor," Alice offered.
"Nah," I said, shaking my head. "Not effectual enough."
"Hmm, maybe you can put Vaseline on the car-door handle."
I laughed. "I did that for April Fools' Day."
"Damn."
Mike, or the Bastard as I now referred to him as, had been my boyfriend since second semester last year. He was my first serious boyfriend and of course my first heartbreak. I walked into his dorm room on Halloween, after waiting four hours at a party he never showed up to, to find him in a not-so-innocent position with some bitch named Jessica. He didn't even look embarrassed or upset; he just mumbled something like "I should have locked the door…" Bastard.
"What about hiding an egg somewhere in his room?" Alice asked.
I shook my head. "Don't have the key anymore."
"His car?" she suggested.
That was a fairly good idea. "Worth consideration, though the Bastard treats that thing as though it were his dick or something. He locks it up mostly all the time."
"Oh, well, we'll think of something. We're not letting the Bastard get away with this." Alice went back to reading her magazine and I blared angry rocker chick music for the rest of the ride.
We drowsily stumbled off the train after falling asleep for the last hour of the trip. Carlisle was standing practically right there, of course, smiling broadly at the two of us. He practically pounced on Alice, laughing as he twirled her around like she was still a little girl. She giggled and hugged him tightly. He finally set her down and then repeated the action to me, though of course it was nowhere near as adorable.
"It's so good to see you, Bella!" he said, ruffling my hair. I smiled; I could tell he really meant it. So many people say that term as an empty, polite filler, but not Carlisle.
"Thanks, Carlisle. You, too."
"The two of you must be exhausted and starved. Let's get a move on."
Before I could blink, Alice was squealing and hopping up and down like a crazy person. I darted a look around to make sure no policeman were running our way.
"Jazz!" she screamed.
Turning around, I saw Jasper Hale running eagerly in our direction, barely dodging other people. I smiled, shaking my head. The two were the cutest couple I'd ever seen, and not in the nauseating way, either. They loved one another so much. You could feel it by just standing next to them.
"There you are," he breathed, finally pulling her into his arms and placing a tender kiss on the top of her hair. "I was going to wait in the car to surprise you but I couldn't." He looked over her shoulder and saw me standing there. "Hey, Bella!"
"Hey, Jasper," I grinned. He always made me feel happy whenever I was around him. Maybe it was because he was always smiling.
"When did you get back?"
"Edward and I got back about an hour ago. We heard Carlisle was leaving to come get you so we came along."
I gulped. Edward was here? Automatically I started scanning the area, looking for a particularly gorgeous, bronze-colored head.
"Well we better go before Edward ends up driving away and leaving us all here." Carlisle took my suitcase and walked away swiftly, Alice and Jasper following behind. I practically had to run to keep up with energetic trio.
Edward was in the car. Of course. Why would he feel any need or urge to be waiting for us? He loved Alice, to be sure, but he didn't have that compulsion that Jasper did to see her, naturally. And he sure as hell didn't have it for me.
The familiar silver car sat out front. He usually drove a silver car, no matter what car it actually was. I had a limited knowledge of cars; all I knew was that this one was sporty.
Carlisle piled our suitcases into the trunk as Alice and Jasper crawled into the backseat. I inwardly groaned, realizing that I was going to be next to them practically having sex for a good twenty minutes. I couldn't wait to lay down in one of Esme's comfy beds and take a much need nap.
I took a step to get into the car but Carlisle beat me, effortlessly sliding into the backseat. I blinked and then panicked. There was no way I could sit in the front with Edward.
I hunched over to peer in, temporarily distracted by the god that is Edward. Shit. I promised I wouldn't think of him as a deity anymore. He was watching Alice and Jasper sucking face with a look of repulsion. Sighing, I looked back at Carlisle.
"You don't have to sit back there, Carlisle."
"It's fine," he assured me, winking. "Besides, someone better keep an eye on these two."
"Please do," Edward moaned. I involuntarily sucked in a breath at his voice. Stop it, Bella! Be good!
"Being good" got shot to shit when he looked over at me, one eyebrow raised in amusement.
"Am I driving you, Bella, or are you planning on standing here all day?"
"Sorry," I mumbled, falling into the low car as gracelessly as possible.
Edward chuckled and changed gears, saying something like "You haven't changed" under his breath.
When Alice came up for air a second later, she asked, "So what girl are you dating now, oh brother of mine?"
He opened his mouth to answer but Carlisle beat him to it. "You should revise that to girls, Alice."
Everyone laughed. Mine was forced, of course. It appeared Edward hadn't changed, either.
"So…?" Alice prompted.
"He just broke up with a girl named Tanya," Jasper laughed, a joke evidently in there somewhere.
Edward scowled. "Is anyone going to let me answer?"
"Tanya?" Alice asked. "Tanya?! You went out with a girl named Tanya? I thought you had better taste than that, Eddie!"
"You should've seen her, Al," Jasper said, now cracking up to the point he was barely coherent.
Alice shook her head. "I can only imagine. Well, I guess it's comforting that some things never change. Edward's still a slut so I guess hell hasn't frozen over yet."
"I'm not a slut!" Edward looked almost horrified. I giggled at his expression but sobered up pretty quickly when he shot me a death glare. "You think I'm a slut, Bella?"
"Edward, honey," Alice sang, "everybody thinks you're a slut. Even Bella."
Edward just clenched his jaw and kept on driving. He was silent for the rest of the ride.
A while later, we finally pulled up to the house I now considered home. It was just so cozy-looking. Esme still had some pumpkins outside. Candles and the warm glow of the lights on inside shone through the windows, reflecting off the white of the house. It made it all look more inviting than usual.
Transfixed with the house, I didn't even notice Edward grabbing my bag.
"Oh, you don't have to!" I called out after him. It was futile; he was practically to the front door already.
Alice came up next to me. "Tanya!" she scoffed, shaking her head. "When is that brother of mine ever going to grow up?"
I forced a smile and shrugged, following her inside. Esme stood at the doorway, grinning and looking so beautiful and incandescently happy that I wanted to take her picture. She embraced her daughter fiercely and whispered "I missed you" into her ear. The sight made something in my chest tug. Renee never greeted me like that; she usually tapped my nose and said something about my weight, regardless of the fact I'd actually gained or lost anything. It was just her way of saying "hello again".
"I put your bag in your room," a velvet voice said lowly into my ear. My shoulder rose in response to the almost delicious feeling.
Slowly I turned my head to meet his indescribably beautiful eyes. "Thanks." Ever eloquent as ever, Bella.
"Bella!" Esme cried, rushing over to hug me as fiercely as she'd hugged Alice. She stepped back and cupped my face lovingly. "I've missed you dearly! You have to tell me everything about your semester."
"Don't forget to tell her about the Bastard," Alice reminded, twining her arm around Jasper's.
"Alice, watch the mouth!" Esme scolded.
"Mom, if you knew him, you'd be calling him that, too. I never liked him."
"Who is this?" Edward asked, gazing intently at Alice with an expression I couldn't comprehend.
Alice shrugged. "Let Bella tell it. She makes it out to be funny, even though it really isn't."
He looked at me and raised his eyebrows. "Well?"
"Don't be so nosey," Carlisle laughed, throwing his arm around Esme.
I suddenly felt very lonely. "Yeah," I said, attempting a laugh that came out incredibly fake, "I think it's more of a dinner table story, anyway." I shifted on my feet and kept my eyes carefully focused on the stairs.
Esme got the hint. "Maybe you girls want to unpack."
I nodded. "That's probably a good idea. If I don't do it now I never will."
"I'll do it later," Alice said, her eyes fixed on Jasper's. "We have a lot of catching up to do."
I smiled and lazily made my way upstairs. I walked down the long hall and turned to my right; sure enough, my usual room was made up just for me. Esme told me once that she always kept it like this because I was a part of the family. I think I actually cried at that.
Humming to myself some silly tune, I attempted to open up my suitcase. It wouldn't open. Typical. I tried various positions and techniques but it wouldn't budge.
Laughter made my head snap up and sure enough my perpetual tormentor stood in the doorway.
"Having trouble?" Emmett asked innocently, his head turned to the side. His mouth twitched, desperate to turn up at the sides. Admirably, he managed to keep a straight face. That was some feat for Emmett.
"Hello, Emmett," I said flatly, ignoring the question. "Where's Rose?"
"At the store," he said, coming into the room and wordlessly opening up the suitcase.
"Figures," I muttered.
"How are things going for my favorite hot mess?"
Ugh. I forgot he liked to call me that nowadays. Damn Rosalie for making him watch Project Runway with her!
"Perfect." I glared at him. I was sure that Rosalie told him all about the Bastard. I only wondered how he'd managed not to tell Edward or the rest of the family.
"How are the guys treating you?" He looked too innocent.
I groaned. "She told you."
"Duh. We're talking about Rosalie, here."
I shook my head.
"Are you okay, pooh bear?" he asked grinning. He may have been teasing but he really meant it. That's why I loved him to death.
"I will be."
He whistled and played with a figurine on the dresser. "You have the worst luck with men."
"I know," I muttered miserably, plopping down onto the bed. "At least I've learned some valuable lessons: never date a musician, a recovering addict of any kind, anyone Alice tries to set me up with, anyone who knows more about fashion that I do, notable players, those with strange eating habits… The list can go on and on."
"Strange eating habits?" he asked.
"Alice never told you this? I went out with a guy once who ate every pea piece of lettuce individually."
"Like the Seinfeld episode?!" Emmett boomed. He was already uproariously laughing.
"Exactly." I giggled along; I could acknowledge the humor in that.
"Emmett, Bella- dinner!" Alice screeched from downstairs.
Emmett shook his head. "For such a small thing, it's amazing she can scream so loud."
Rosalie was downstairs when we got there. I hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. I'd certainly missed her. She was a necessary buffer for me with Alice, sometimes.
"You look nice," she told me, appraising me up and down. "Your hair needs to be cut, though."
"When I can afford it," I snickered.
Alice, the brat, purposely arranged things so I sat across from Edward. Not only did I have to worry about being noticeably distracted by him, but I also had to deal with the fact that he'd be able to see me eat. It wasn't that I had no table manners or anything. It was just that I had a propensity to make myself look stupid, regardless of the circumstances. It was more than likely that I was going to drop some roast beef onto my lap or accidently speak with my mouth open and look on in horror as a flap of food falls out. I shuddered at the thought.
"Are you cold?" I looked up and saw Edward watching me. I shivered again.
"Not really. I just got a weird chill."
He only nodded. He probably knew about his effect on me! Ugh!
"So, Bella," Esme said, tossing some potatoes onto my plate, "why don't you tell us how you're studies are going?"
"Bella's been offered a winter internship in London!" Alice bellowed out. She belatedly slapped her hands to her mouth and looked over at me apologetically.
"It's okay," I chuckled. "You're more excited about it than I am, anyway."
"You don't want to go?" Edward asked curiously.
Shit. I was going to have to look at him.
I ignored the fire raging in my belly when my eyes met his and answered. "It's not that. You know how Alice always manages to be more excited than you about anything. You could get your dream job and she'd still manage to out-do you in the joy department."
He cracked his breathtaking smile. I don't know how I didn't faint. I think I heard a rumor once in high school that a girl fainted when he smiled at her. Wait a minute… Oh my God! What if that was me and I blocked it out?! That's something I would totally do! I would-
"So tell us about the… Bastard, Bella." I glanced at Edward and saw him smirk at me before taking a greedy bite of roast beef.
"Yeah, tell everybody!" Rosalie cheered. She got a bigger kick out of it than Alice. It had happened to her once before, too, so I was consoled somewhat by that. After all, Rose was the most gorgeous woman in the world. If it could happen to her it could happen to anybody.
Of course I had just taken a gigantic bite of bread due to the panic I had over the possible fainting in high school. I rushed to chew the piece so I could answer but it refused to go down.
Finally, I managed to gulp it down and looked over at Alice, smiling at her triumphantly. She grinned wickedly back; she loved when I choked on food.
"Bella?" Edward brought me back to the nasty tale I had to tell.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell it, Alice?"
Emmett snorted. "It probably would be better. You know she's going to interrupt you at least a thousand times to offer her version of things."
"Shut up!" She smacked him on his arm and he actually grimaced. Go Alice!
"If you're uncomfortable, sweetie, you don't have to tell us," Esme said comfortingly, ignoring the antics of her children.
I blushed. "I don't mean to be dramatic about it. I don't mind talking about it; I just think Alice and Rosalie might have made this out to be a bit more entertaining than it is."
"It's definitely entertaining," Jasper smirked.
"Definitely," Emmett agreed, chuckling under his breath.
"Wait a minute," Edward interrupted, sounding almost agitated. "You all knew about this?"
Rose stared back at him with an unfathomable expression. Everyone else shrugged and ignored the question, instead looking at me to begin. I cleared my throat and took a sip of water to prepare myself for the tale.
"There's not much to tell. You guys remember Mike, I'm sure… I brought him over during the summer."
"That loser?" Edward snorted. "Now I get why you call him the Bastard."
"You don't even know!" Alice laughed.
"Anyway... on Halloween he harassed me to go to dress up and go to some stupid party. I went and-"
"What did you dress up as?" Emmett interrupted. I glared at him.
"Snow White," Alice said hastily.
"Anyway," I said, aggravated, "I went and waited around for four hours but he didn't show. I kept calling his cell but he wouldn't answer and I got worried. That was so unlike him… he wouldn't just leave me there…" I trailed off, thinking about all the times he called to make sure I was safe and sound. The thought depressed me. I hurried on with the story, desperate to get the memory out of my head. "So I decided to go over to his apartment. I knocked a couple of times but there was no answer so I panicked and used the key to get in. I heard… noises… and rushed into his bedroom, thinking he was getting murdered or something." Alice broke out into a fit of giggles. She remembered, I guess, how I used to tell her he sounded like a ferocious, rabid animal during sex. That night it was the worst I'd ever heard it. "I walked in to find him with some girl I'd seen once before. His lab partner, I think, and also his best friend's girlfriend. I think they're dating now."
"You forgot the best part!" Rosalie screamed.
"Yeah, tell them what he was dressed up as!" Alice squealed.
I glared at them and took a deep breath. I muttered it under my breath but everyone said "what was that?" at the same time. Their voices started getting louder, everyone begging to be told.
"Pinocchio!" I yelled, clenching my eyes shut in exasperation.
Everyone erupted into laughter, even Edward.
"So what happened next?" Edward choked out in between his laughter.
"I stomped out and made Alice go get me ice cream."
"No great revenge?" Edward asked in disbelief.
Alice cackled wickedly. "Oh, we're working on it. Trust me."
"Too bad you didn't take a picture…" Emmett said dreamily. I'm sure he was thinking of how much funnier it would have been if he could have seen it, rather than it serving as a revenge tool.
I smiled faintly with everyone and joined in the conversation here and there but the story had certainly depressed me. As much as I tried to laugh it off and devise my Mission: Destroy the Bastard plan, it still hurt. I really had loved him. Flashes of all the good times of our relationship kept coming to mind and each one was as painful as the last.
At the end of the meal, I guess Rose and Alice noticed my somber mood and pounced on me.
"Get dressed up," Alice said.
"Preferably in something sexy," Rose added.
"What are you two up to?" I asked wearily.
"We're going to a club," Rose said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"The hell you are!" Emmett called out from the living room.
Rosalie sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're coming, too, fool."
"Can I come, too?" Jasper whispered into Alice's ear. He knew the answer already.
"Count me in," Edward piped in, coming out of nowhere.
Everyone but me groaned.
"You're such a pain in the ass when we go out!" Emmett whined.
Edward feigned a hurt look. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You complain the whole night that you're not having a good time, then you get completely wasted, and then you vanish with some trampy-looking girl and don't resurface until late afternoon the next day. We all end up worrying about you the whole night," Jasper said.
Edward chuckled. "I'm coming, regardless. Bella needs a chaperone."
I almost choked. "Me?!"
He grinned mischievously at me. "You're not used to clubbing. Your kind gets taken advantage of."
"Yeah, by people like you," Rosalie muttered under her breath. Edward heard and shot razor blades in her direction.
"For your information," Alice said smugly, stepping between me and him, "Bella and I go clubbing all the time."
"Is that a fact?" Edward questioned with one eyebrow up in disbelief. He smiled crookedly, one side of his mouth curved up perfectly. "I don't think Jasper was aware of that."
"It's cool, dude," Jasper said. "Alice wouldn't cheat on me."
Edward just shook his head. "I'm coming," he said firmly.
Everyone sighed collectively, resigned.
We went to a club I'd never been to before. It was called "The Rat". Emmett joking added "Bastard" to it. It looked grungy and dark from the outside and once we entered, my first impression didn't disappoint.
We migrated over to the bar and drank for a while, laughing over memories and catching up. After a few shots and a couple of fruity mixed drinks, that are notoriously deadly, I was feeling a hell of a lot better. And I uncharacteristically felt like dancing.
Emmett howled at my moves, finding delight in the fact that I was just as uncoordinated on the dance floor as I was in every day life. My out of control inebriation didn't help matters.
Edward unexpectedly came up behind me at one point, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me snugly into his body. I gasped at the contact; his body was hard and unrelenting. Desire coursed through me like an uncontrolled flood. I hated that he had this effect on me but I wouldn't let him let go for the world. He smelled delicious, like always. He leaned down slightly and blew into my ear.
"You look beautiful tonight. My sisters did a number on you."
I blushed. Alice and Rosalie had forced me into a skimpy red dress that I normally wouldn't have been caught dead wearing. They referred to it as the "anti-Bastard" suit of armor. Honestly, these Bastard references were getting out of hand. Alice teased my hair into official sex hair as Rosalie expertly applied my makeup. The finished product was me looking totally unlike me; that was a good thing at that point.
Since I looked… well… kind of slutty, and Edward himself was pretty intoxicated, I explained his sudden clinginess away as harmless flirting. How naïve.
"Thanks," I mumbled back, a good two minutes after he complimented me.
"You smell… intoxicating," he whispered into my neck. Of course I had to go and shudder. He liked that. I could tell. "I want to eat you… gobble you down. Fuck the turkey tomorrow."
I snorted at his lame joke. "Smooth."
He jerked me around so that the front of my body was pressed to his. "You making fun of me?" His eyes dazzled in the reflecting lights of the club. I was momentarily dazed and slightly stumbled. He laughed and let go of me. "Maybe you should go get a glass of water."
"Maybe," I said distractedly. Somehow I made my way over to the bar and asked for a glass of water. The bartender eyed me like he was afraid I was going to barf any minute.
Sipping my water, I scanned the dance floor. Where had Edward gone? And then I spotted him all too soon.
He was swaying in the corner with some blonde skank who looked as though she were permanently attached to his pelvic region. She was unashamedly grinding into him and moaning so loud I could practically hear her over the thumping beats.
Shock and hurt came over me, as irrational as it may seem (I blame the alcohol, mostly). I had no claim over him. I hadn't even spoken to him since the summer. But for some reason, it really stuck home at that moment; I loved him. It wasn't ever just going to go away because I wanted it to. I fell in love with him from the first moment I laid eyes on him when Alice brought me over one day after school in our freshman year of high school. I wondered for a second if I was so hopeless in love because I was destined to be with him. I snorted at that thought, however, when Edward seductively leant down to plant a very luscious-looking kiss on her lips. It didn't help that she was beautiful. He whispered something in her ear and they walked off somewhere together. That was it. I couldn't take it anymore.
I spun around and demanded a tequila shot from the bartender.
Mistake number one.
As I polished off my second tequila shot, Alice appeared next to me. "You look fairly smashed," she told me, amusement clear in her voice.
"Shush," I said, clumsily putting down the shot glass.
"I saw you dancing with Edward."
"Pfft." I tossed my arms around in some foreign gesture. I was beyond words, I guess. All that came out were sound effects.
"Look, I don't know if I should tell you this but I figure it's better if I tell you rather than you turn and see it. Over there by the wall-"
"Edward and that slut are fucking, I know!" I yelled, shocking everyone around me.
"No! I don't know how to tell you this… Mike and Jessica are over there."
You know how in books and in movies when main characters' jaws "drop open"? It's become an expression these days, but when you truly experience something as unbelievable as that, it legitimately happens.
"I forgot Jessica lived by me," Alice said, biting her lower lip as though it were her fault.
"Shush," I said, attempting to put a finger on her lips but poking her nose instead. "Let bygones be bygones." That expression had no relation to what was going on, and I was certainly not over what happened.
She just shook her head at me. "Why don't you come dance with me and Jasper?"
"I think I'll just… just hang out here a while."
"I'll come back and check up on you… Don't drink too much more, okay?"
I nodded. After she left, I peeked at where she said the Bastard duo was. I nearly puked at the sight. They were all but screwing against the wall. I felt like complaining so that they'd get thrown out. What were the chances? Of all the nights, of all the towns, of all the clubs… why HERE?
Before the grey clouds of despair could once again descend upon me, I spun on my stool again and demanded a shot of vodka.
Mistake number two.
I don't know how many vodka shots I had but by the time I realized Edward was suddenly sitting next to me, I barely remembered my own name.
"Hello there," he chuckled.
I just nodded.
"Having a good night?"
Another nod.
"Any guys try to pick you up?"
I shook my head.
"Are you so drunk you can no longer talk?"
Nod.
"Well I guess I better take you home… My apartment's not too far from here. Do you want to crash there for the night?" Nod. "Okay, then." I could hear him smiling. "How about another shot for the road? What would you like?"
The bartender amazingly appeared before me and I spoke before giving it a second thought. "I'll have a shot of Jameson."
Mistake number three.
Which brings us to the present: mainly being me, naked, in Edward's bed. I didn't need a verbal affirmation that we did it.
I groaned and tried to stand but my body refused to obey. All I knew was I had to get out of there and fast. I finally noted that the shower was on just as it turned off.
Shit!
Ignoring my body's protests and the increasing threat of vomiting all over his plush white carpet, I jumped up and quickly tried to find all of my clothes. My bra hung on his lamp. My now-wrinkled dress was hanging on his curtain rod. I smiled at that one, even though the situation was hardly humorous. Now all I had to find were my underwear and shoes. One shoe was in the bed. The other I found in the hallway. My underwear was nowhere to be found. I dashed back to his bedroom to take one more quick look around just as his bathroom door opened.
"Good morning," a familiar velvet voice hummed.
Double shit!
Slowly, I turned and saw the splendor of the god also known as Edward. Somehow, I managed to squeak out a good morning.
Judging from his somewhat uncomfortable expression, I knew that this morning was going to be anything but good.
