This was my entry for the Friends to Lovers Contest! It was such a fun contest and you should all go check out the amazing entries!
Thank you to kitchmill and sophiacorgi for all your help! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, at all. I just wrote this little thing.
The hall was full of pink roses. Her favorite color and her favorite flower.
I smiled to myself as I remembered the late nights we had spent going over wedding details as she frantically chugged Grey Goose from the bottle and went on and on about Paul. Some nights the comments would be positive and some not so much. At the time, I didn't really understand what the deep seated feeling of anger I had bubbling up inside of me was.
Was I annoyed that out of the two of us she was getting married first?
Was I annoyed that my best friend was so ready to move across the country for some guy she had only known for two years?
Was I annoyed that she found love before me?
I didn't really know at the time. I just pushed the feeling down and kept going. I put on a brave face and helped her with all the last minute details. Her fiancée, Paul Lahote, the big shot lawyer from Chicago, couldn't help her with it all because he was miles and miles away doing lawyer stuff. Whatever. Plus, he had no idea what her favorite flower was. It was evident in the large number of daisies he would send every time he missed something or if he screwed up.
She hated daisies.
And I hated him.
But she would smile and thank him, completely hiding away the real Bella Swan and becoming the Isabella Swan she had let Paul create. The Bella Swan I knew loved to sing at the top of her lungs in public, no matter how terrible she sounded. Paul couldn't stand anything that would embarrass him. She loved wearing her hair up in some sort of bun on the top of her head so her long bangs wouldn't fall in her eyes. Paul preferred her hair straight, saying it made her look more feminine. She loved the color pink, even if she wouldn't dare wear it. Paul thought she favored yellow. And she loved roses because she fell in love with Titanic. Paul had never seen the movie, and when Bella asked him to watch it, he said no. He didn't know the reason why she loved Titanic; he didn't know it was because ever since she saw that movie, she would dream of finding someone who loved her as much as Jack loved Rose.
Sadly enough, she didn't find that love.
Well, I didn't think so at least.
She thought different, and that was why she was getting married to Paul. That's why she was in a wedding dress she hated and was sporting a forced smile while trying to calm her nerves. I didn't have to see her to know. I knew all this because I'm her best friend, and part of being her best friend meant knowing her better than she knew herself.
I also knew because the one thing she had been looking for since she left that movie theatre so long ago, eyes filled to the brim with tears, was hidden in my eyes every time I looked at her.
I didn't know what I was feeling all those late nights when we would search the web looking for the perfect floral arrangement, or those times we went to cake testings, trying to find the perfect wedding cake. But I realized it the day someone mistook me for the groom.
We were sitting in the dress shop she had dragged me along to with her mother and future mother-in-law. I was being cheeky with her mom, Renee, going on and on about how some man would be scooping her up soon if she didn't stop looking so gorgeous, when the sales woman came by. She glanced at the three of us laughing and smiled.
"Isn't the groom supposed to be surprised by the wedding dress? Isn't that the whole point of the big day?" she asked, her voice laced with a hint of teasing.
Both Renee and Mrs. Jane Lahote looked at me, laughing. But I didn't feel like laughing as I ran my hand through my reddish hair. I felt like a weight had fallen down on me. Like some sort of force was crushing my stomach, and my heart. I couldn't breathe. I just shook my head and Jane answered for me.
"Oh no, dear. He's just the best friend. She's marrying my son. So it's totally fine that Edward here tags along." Jane put her hand on my shoulder, throwing me a smile. I shot her what I hoped looked like a smile in return. With my luck, it was probably more of a grimace.
I got up and went to grab a drink from the water fountain they had by the restrooms. All I could think about was the reality of the situation. Bella was getting married. She was going to be moving across the country with a man she loved but didn't deserve her. And the reason this bothered me was because I loved her. I wanted to be the guy she woke up next to every morning. I wanted to be the person she shared her love with. I knew I would do anything for her; that was how it always was. But in that moment, I allowed my guard down and finally let myself in on the feeling I had been neglecting for years. Just doing that, I could feel my heart beating faster and my palms got shaky. I felt sick to my stomach, but in a good way, like on the drop of a roller coaster ride. It was an amazing feeling.
It was like a cheesy movie montage was playing in my mind and all I could see was Bella. I saw the moment I first met her, her brown hair in pigtails as she casually told me about her parents' divorce the day she moved next door. I saw her brown eyes as she clapped in the audience of the school's band performance, cheering me on as I fumbled my way through the songs on my tuba. I saw her the day my grandfather died, her tears matching my own and her arms holding me tighter than ever before. I saw her the first day of high school, biting her lip as an older guy tried to talk to her. I could still feel the clench in my jaw as I balled up my fists in anger. I saw the bright red of her first string bikini the summer of our sophomore year and remembered how I had to hide in the bathroom so no one would see the tent I had in my trunks. I saw her at Prom, wearing the dress she made herself, on the arm of someone else, and the way her eyes always found mine and smiled. I saw her the day we graduated college, her lips stained pink with her color of confidence as she tackled me in a hug, shouting how we had finally done it. And I saw her coming to my apartment, her shiny engagement ring on her finger, and her smiling face hiding the sadness she was bottling up.
My heart tugged and I felt lost.
Thinking back, I had so many opportunities to be honest with myself about my feelings. It was all there. Every ounce of love I had hidden from myself was trying to break its way through to get out. To let me know what was happening. And of course, the moment I realized it would have to be the moment we were looking for her perfect wedding dress.
I put myself back together and returned to my seat, only to be met with the most beautiful sight I had ever seen—Bella in her wedding dress. Her shoulders were bare and the dress seemed to fit her like a glove, forming to her body so her curves showed the woman she had become. The bottom flowed out to the floor, and it looked like someone had pinched the fabric and left it there. From where I stood, I saw some sort of beading by her hips, and it made me want to reach out and touch her. She looked stunning.
My eyes went over her body and finally caught hers in the mirror. Brown met green as she watched me, seeking my approval. My heart started beating faster, and I tried to give her a reassuring smile. It might have been just me, but she had a different look in her eyes, something softer, as she held my gaze.
I cleared my throat. "You look beautiful."
Her eyes filled with unshed tears, and she looked away from me as her cheeks filled with color.
"You have to say that." She hid her emotion behind a laugh and I shook my head.
"No, I don't. I'm only telling you the truth. You look amazing." She gave me a small smile, and that was when I remembered we weren't alone. I hadn't even realized Jane and Renee were there still, chattering away about how gorgeous she looked and how perfect everything was going to be.
"I still like the one I picked out," Jane smiled. "You look gorgeous in this one, doll, but can you imagine how gorgeous you will look in the long sleeved one? Princess Kate will have a run for her money!"
Jane and Renee laughed together and Bella simply nodded her head. She gave me one more glance before she went back into the dressing room. Almost as if she wanted to preserve that moment in history.
She ended up going with the dress Jane suggested. She looked gorgeous in that one too, and from the photo Jane showed me on her phone, she did give Kate Middleton a run for her money. But the first dress was still my favorite, and from the way Bella's eyes were glued to the dress as it was taken away, I knew it was hers too.
We didn't talk about the dress and we didn't talk about my feelings. We simply went on with our lives. Bella kept begging me for help, and I kept giving in. Her arguments were correct, I did know her best. So planning things with me made it easier on her. I helped her decide on the thing she wanted, not the things she thought Paul would want.
But on the big day, seeing everything we had worked so hard on for months come to life, I had to force myself to smile. I wanted to be strong for her. I wanted to give her everything she wanted, just like Jack did in Titanic. He let Rose go so that she could live a life he could never give her. Well, actually he died, and she got to live because he refused to man up and demand more room on that fucking door, but as Bella always says, he gave her a second chance at life.
I felt like Jack at that moment, which is something I would never say out loud. If I did and somehow my brother Emmett heard about it, I would be called a woman for the rest of my life.
But I was trying to do the right thing and not interfere. Telling Bella my feelings now wouldn't solve anything. Honestly, it would make things worse for her. I knew she relied on me a lot for support, and throwing in the feelings may make things weird. I wouldn't want her to ever feel uncomfortable coming to me or because she didn't know how I would feel about her issue. I wanted to be there for her, not cloud her head with confusion.
Plus, I was broke compared to Paul. I didn't have the money to give her the life she deserved. I was working paycheck to paycheck trying to make it with my photography. I would give it up for her and do whatever I could to make sure we had a stable income, but I knew Bella. She loved my photography almost as much as I did. She wouldn't want me to give it up. She was the one who encouraged me to go for it in the beginning.
It was hopeless. I would just have to let her go. At least I would still be her best friend. As long as she was still in my life, then I would be happy.
+TPR+
The ceremony was about to start and I was squished in the pew next to my oaf of a brother. His usual curly, brown hair looked ridiculous with the amount of gel he put in it, trying to have it lay flat. My mother always said I was blessed with a good head of hair, but I never realized it until that moment. I may not have been born with my brother's muscular build, but at least my hair didn't look like a Brillo pad.
"I can feel your eyes on my hair," Emmett hissed in a whisper as he scanned the room. "And just so you know, the ladies love it."
I rolled my eyes and looked forward. "They love it because they know they can talk to you about hair products and you are the only man that would be able to relate."
He scoffed and shook his head. My mom leaned over and gave us a questionable look. We just smiled, and she went back to talking with my father.
"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Eddie. I thought you were keeping that under wraps," he whispered so our parents wouldn't hear.
I glared at my brother and he laughed.
"Sore subject, duly noted. I thought you had come to terms with it by now." He shrugged his broad shoulders and shot some older woman a dimpled smile. She blushed and looked away.
"Well, yes and no. It's hard when I have to sit here and live it." I sighed and started fiddling with the green tie Bella bought me last year for Christmas.
"Maybe you and one of Paul's cousins can do the dirty. Get your mind off her?" He looked at me and I could tell he was trying to help. But he didn't get it. The idea of love was so foreign to my brother. The only thing he loved more than himself was his addiction to cheese curds at Culvers. I once saw him push an old lady out of the way to get the last of them at the restaurant when we were visiting Paul in Chicago with Bella. The police were called because the woman said she was manhandled. But Emmett got his curds so that's all that mattered to him. He was banned from the restaurant, but thankfully for him the other ones didn't know about his record.
"Screwing a random chick isn't going to solve the problem." He nodded his head in what I thought was agreement.
"Yeah, but it will help you loosen up." I punched him in the arm. He shrugged it off and went back to scanning the room.
I was ready to pull out my phone and pass the time with Angry Birds when the echoing sound of heels clicking on the tile floor started getting closer and closer. I looked over my shoulder and saw a frantic looking Renee scanning the pews. Our eyes met and her face lit up with a smile. She gestured for me to follow her.
"What's going on?" I whispered as I reached her.
"We have an issue." Her voice held the sharp hint of anger. She masked it well as she waved at everyone on her side of the church. My mother waved back, totally oblivious to what was going on, but my father shot me a worried look. I just smiled and followed Renee to the back.
She flung open the door and Bella was pacing the room, biting her lip as she scrolled through her phone. It took me a second to get my head in the game. Seeing Bella with her hair all done and in her dress shocked me. She looked amazing. I had never seen her look so angelic and beautiful. My heart hurt from looking at her and knowing she was getting farther and farther away from me.
"That bastard," Bella cried as she flung her phone. The room quieted as her lace covered shoulders shook with heavy sobs. I wasted no time in pulling her against me. I hoped she felt as comforted as I did while I held her tightly in my arms.
Her maid of honor, who was my sister Alice, and Rosalie, who was Paul's sister and also standing up for her, stared at her with sympathetic eyes.
"What's going on?" I asked as I rubbed her back.
Rosalie's eyes narrowed as she flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. "My asshat of a brother decided to disappear."
Bella's sobs got louder, and I tightened my hold on her. I kissed her head and couldn't help but feel my stomach flip at the welcoming scent of strawberries. "It's going to be okay. We'll find him."
Bella shook her head and buried her face in my neck.
Alice put her hands on her hips and shook her head at me. Her raised eyebrows showed her anger.
"He's a dick, Edward. Even his own sister agrees." Renee and Rosalie nodded their heads. "He started an argument with Bella last night when she found out he was trying to get rid of her roses. He threw insult after insult at her at dinner and left in a huff. We thought he was drunk and sleeping it off. But turns out he hopped on a plane to France because he didn't get his way."
"What?" I shouted. "That's a crock of shit! Over flowers?"
Bella nodded her head as her sobs started to change into sniffles. I was glad, sniffles were easier to handle than the sobbing.
"I should have let him have his flowers. But my father had already put so much money into the ones I picked out. I didn't have the heart to ask him for more. You know this whole wedding was costing him more than he could afford," Bella said as her tears started wetting my suit jacket.
The women looked at her with pity in their eyes.
"No." My voice was firm and Bella pulled back to look at me. Even with reddened eyes and streaks of makeup running down her face she looked beautiful. My heart lurched.
"No. This is your day, Bella. You shouldn't have to change the things you want. And he shouldn't make you feel bad about it. He should have been willing to move mountains for you, and he didn't. Don't you dare cry over him." Everyone watched me as I ran my hands down her delicate arms.
"But, he loves me, Edward." Her voice was small, and we both knew she was trying to fight a losing battle.
"Bella, that's not love. And if it is, it isn't the love you deserve. You deserve someone who is willing to do anything they can for you."
"Someone like you?" she asked, her eyes locked on mine. I felt my heart rate picking up and my palms getting sweaty.
"Yes. You deserve someone like me."
We stared at each other and everything else vanished. It felt like we were the only people in the room. My hand went out and traced her cheek as I pulled her bottom lip from her teeth. My thumb traced where her teeth left indents in her soft lip, and I felt my body start to heat up. The pull I felt toward her was stronger than ever. But this time, it felt like there was a magnet attached to my lips that was attracted to hers. I couldn't stop the pull.
"I know this isn't the right time and I know this might confuse you, but I always thought Jack was a pussy for not manning up and demanding Rose make room. So this is me, manning up, just like Jack should have." She looked at me with questioning eyes, but I didn't let that stop me from leaning down and pressing my lips to hers.
I felt a jolt of electricity flow from my lips down to my toes. It seemed to go all over my body and fill me with heat, almost like someone had lit a flame in my veins and the warmth was flowing through me.
I pulled back first and saw that Bella's eyes were still closed, so I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on the freckles sprinkled on her nose. Our eyes met as I pulled away.
The room was silent as we stared at each other, her lips forming one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen from her.
I was going to lean down and kiss her again when I heard clapping. I turned and saw my sister bouncing up and down, her dark bangs falling over her blue eyes as she smiled at us. "Finally."
Renee and Rosalie smiled too, and I felt Bella bury her head in my chest.
"Pay up," Alice said as she pointed at Renee. Renee didn't lose her smile as she handed Alice a twenty dollar bill.
"What?" I asked, and Rosalie laughed.
"We were betting on when you were going to share your feelings with Bella." Renee smiled.
"I even bet, and I didn't even know you that well. I bet before the wedding, Alice said the wedding and Renee said the divorce." Rosalie laughed, and Bella's head snapped up. She looked over at her mom, her face fallen.
"You thought my marriage wasn't going to last?" Bella asked. Her eyes held the sadness I was used to seeing since she started dating Paul.
"Oh honey," Renee said as she wrapped Bella up in a hug. "You lost who you were. You became some opposite version of yourself. With Edward, I see that you can be yourself, and I see the way you both look at each other. Plus I never liked Paul anyway."
Renee looked over and Rosalie and gave her an apologetic smile. "No offense, dear."
"It's okay, I don't like him either. The only good thing about him was Bella. He's terrible and only thinks of himself. Your mom's right, Bella, when you were with us, you seemed so much more relaxed. And when you talked about Edward, your face lit up." Rosalie said as she affectionately patted Bella on the arm.
"Edward doesn't treat you like shit, Bells," Alice added.
"Oh, and I read your diary when you were younger so I know about the dreams you had with him in it. It was unavoidable," Renee said with a shrug.
That was the moment they all remembered I was in the room. Bella looked over at me with a red face, and I lifted an eyebrow in question.
"Mom," Bella hissed, but Renee laughed.
"Dreams?"
"Shut your mouth, Edward Cullen!" Bella said, and I shot her a smile.
She wasted no time in running back into my arms, right where she belonged. I held her close and smiled. This felt right, even if the situation was all wrong.
"I'm glad you didn't pussy out like Jack," she mumbled into my chest.
"Ah ha! I knew you agreed with me." She stuck her tongue out, and I leaned back down to capture another long overdue kiss. This time we didn't hold back and she grabbed the hair on the back of my head as she pushed my lips closer to hers and added her tongue to the mix.
I wasn't complaining.
After some throat clearing we pulled away.
"I'm sorry I laid this all on you when you needed me to be supportive. I just didn't want to miss the opportunity. I came here today ready to let you go, but honestly, I don't know if I would have sat back and watched the wedding happen without objecting. I tried to pull a Jack move and give you the life you should have, but I can't." Her eyes filled with tears, but from the smile on her face I knew she wasn't sad.
"Edward, to be honest with you, I don't know if I would have let you not object. This whole relationship with Paul felt more like a duty than anything else. I thought it was expected of me. Growing up meant giving up those silly dreams of love and happiness for something more realistic. But I wasn't happy. The happiest I've been was while planning this wedding, and that's because we planned it together. I would let myself pretend it was you, not him, I was marrying. I know it sounds silly and childish, but that was my dream. Ever since I walked out of that theatre, it's been you. Probably way before that, but it's been you."
My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest after her confession.
"Thank God for the roses, huh?" I smiled and everyone laughed.
"Thank God!" Alice said.
"The only thing that isn't ours is this ugly dress," Bella groaned, and I laughed.
"You don't look ugly in it though, you look amazing." I cupped her face in my hands and she smiled.
"But it isn't our dress. I couldn't marry him in our dress."
"That's why you put it back," I realized, and she nodded her head.
There were so many thoughts running through my head. Thoughts of missed opportunity and thoughts of the future, and most importantly, thoughts of Bella. I knew I had come so close to never reaching this point with her. I almost lost her before she was ever really mine. I didn't want to risk that again.
"I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out," I said as I dropped down to one knee. I heard the room fill with gasps, but Bella's smiling face was the only thing I could focus on.
"I've lived my life safe. That's what I've always done. And I've tried to make the right choices in life and realized you know what is right for me. You were the one that pushed me in every right direction I needed to go toward, and you were the one that gave me the strength to do the things that weren't always the safe options. But this time, I want to push both of us. We almost never got to this point, and I know I would have lived my life with regret. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to hold on to life and see where it will take us. I know I don't have the money Paul has and I don't have the house he was promising you or the life you thought you were getting. But I know I have the love you deserve and I know, without a doubt, I will never let go. We planned this ourselves, the way you wanted it, and the way you envisioned it. Please, let's finish your dream. I love you so much. Bella Swan, will you promise to never let go and marry me?"
Tears were falling from her chocolate-colored eyes as she nodded her head yes. "Yes, yes, yes, yes! I love you too, Edward!"
She threw herself into my arms, nearly toppling us over, and kissed me with such passion, I was sure everyone in the room felt it too.
"I thought you would never ask," she said in between kisses, and I had to agree. I didn't think so either. But I manned up and had Bella make room for me in her life the way we both needed. Take that, Jack.
+TPR+
2 Years Later
Bella and I got married that day. Paul's family, and mine, were a little shocked when they saw me standing there instead of Paul, but it was always our wedding. My mom gave me her mother's wedding ring to give to Bella after, and thankfully it fit perfectly. So we got married using ring pops. Cheesy, but all that mattered was that Bella never stopped smiling.
She also borrowed Rosalie's dress she had packed. She didn't want to marry me in the hideous dress, she said. So instead she wore some shorter, white dress which would have made many an eyebrow shoot up in disapproval, but everyone realized it was short notice. Plus, her legs looked amazing, so I didn't care what people thought.
We ended up living in my studio apartment for a year, Bella working on her designs and me continuing working on my photography. We didn't have a lot of money, but we were happy.
Thankfully Paul did one endearing thing when he decided to contact Bella a year after the wedding, and that was to pass along some connections he had. Without his help I wouldn't have gotten the show I needed to get my foot in the door of the photography world, and most importantly, I wouldn't have my wife.
Bella, Alice and Rosalie opened up a boutique, and Bella got do what she was passionate about, designing clothes. It made her happy and they were doing fairly well for just starting out.
We had agreed that we would renew our vows, and this time it would include rings and the perfect dress. We were waiting for our five year wedding anniversary for that. Bella didn't want to be pregnant for it and we both agreed that we wanted to start trying as soon as possible.
And what better place to start trying than on our second wedding anniversary?
I had felt bad about not being able to afford a honeymoon, so I had saved up to take Bella somewhere nice. She was so surprised when I told her we were going on a cruise for our two year anniversary.
She was even more surprised when we opened our stateroom and there were pink rose petals all over the bed in the shape of a heart.
"Oh, Edward," she said, her emotions shinning in her eyes.
"I love you, Bella," I said as I scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Her eyes held mine as I set her down and watched as her hand went for the strap of her sun dress. Her eyes held love and hunger as she started undressing for me.
"I love you too," she whispered as she got her dress off and left me to my favorite part.
My hands went for her bra, and I pushed down the cups so her peaks were on full display and attached my mouth to her soft skin. I swirled my tongue around her, and she moaned as she grabbed my hair.
I knew how to get her going and was very happy to find her panties already wet as I traced her slit with my finger.
My mouth didn't stop its attention on her breasts as I slid a finger under her underwear and pressed myself inside her. She groaned as I searched for her favorite spot and was rewarded with a loud gasp as soon as I found it. I didn't slow down until I felt her tense around me and watched her silent scream as she came undone.
Once she had floated back to Earth, her glassy eyes set on mine and she smiled.
"Clothes off, Mr. Cullen." Her voice was husky and low, making my dick twitch.
"Of course, Mrs. Cullen." I wasted no time in following her demand and I finished taking her clothes off too.
I let my eyes consume her and I held back a groan. "You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen."
She smiled at me and then pulled me down on top of her.
"You aren't too bad yourself, Edward," she said as she kissed my ear. I felt my stomach jump, and I knew I couldn't wait that long. Thankfully, we were on the same page.
"I want you."
That was all I needed. I lined myself up with her and then set my eyes on her face. She looked so happy, and that in turn made my heart swell.
"I love you," I said as I pushed into her warm heat.
"I love you too," She moaned as I pushed myself all the way in.
I loved this connection. Feeling her wrapped around me in such an intimate way was something I would never get tired of.
She groaned in my ear as she pushed my body down against hers, almost as if she wanted me to consume her. I didn't complain.
"You feel so good," I panted as I thrusted as far as I could inside of her.
"Oh yeah?" she taunted.
"Yeah," I said with a harder thrust, emphasizing my point. Her eyes rolled as she arched her back, pushing her tits against my chest.
I pulled myself back so I could handle them in my hands. I rolled her nipple between my fingers as I continued on with my relentless movements. Her skin flushed with pleasure as she clawed at the sheets.
"Oh please, please." she chanted, her eyes closed as she embraced our connection. But I knew what she wanted, and with the tightening feeling in my balls, I knew I had to give it to her soon.
My hand left her breast and traveled down to her clit, applying just the right amount of pressure on it. She cried out my name and I knew she was close. I started rubbing in the same rhythm as my thrusts. It didn't take long until she clenched herself around me, screaming out in pleasure.
I felt myself getting there and my motions became erratic as I tried to meet the finish line. One look at her bouncing breasts did it for me, and I felt the release I was working toward. The tingling sensation from my orgasm covered my whole body as I wrapped myself around her. Her hands played with my hair as I tried to even out my breathing.
"That was good! Now I know why Rose was so enamored with Jack. It's cruise sex." She giggled.
"Well lucky for us, we have seven full days where we can have cruise sex whenever we want." I kissed her cheek smiled.
"Silly Edward, I can have cruise sex with you more than seven days. We have the rest of our lives to go on cruises and have as much cruise sex as we can."
I smiled at her and nodded.
"But of course."
She gave me a shy smile. "So, when will you be ready to go again?"
We spent our vacation embracing the joys of what Bella deemed "cruise sex." We didn't get the full benefit of it until nine months later when we welcomed Jack Dawson Cullen into the world. And just like we taught ourselves, we taught him to never let go of the things most important to him.
