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Chapter Four
Once they got to the door, he'd backed down, looked away from me.
Punk.
In an attempt to shake off the aggravation, I opened the fridge to make myself something to eat. But then I heard someone shout, "Masino!"
Knitting my brows together, I looked to the front door again.
"AY-O! Masino!" A deep voice boomed.
Slamming the refrigerator closed, I walked to open the door and stare out.
"Yo!" Some huge motherfucker shouted from a decked out IROC-Z convertible. Jake and Bella were situated in the back seat already, and a blonde knockout sat shotgun.
I laughed, knowing that was Emmett. "What's good?" Barefoot, I left the house, while he jumped from his car.
"Yo, Money . . ." He hugged me tightly.
"Jesus." I squeezed his bicep. "What the fuck do you bench press? People?"
"Sometimes." He chuckled. "You know how it goes."
I really didn't. "How have you been?"
"Good. I'm hangin' in . . ." He looked me up and down. "You're not doing too bad yourself. You could probably knock a few around."
"If need be . . . hey." I shrugged, looking to Jake.
Emmett followed my line of sight. "We're gonna hit up Coney Island . . . Come with us."
"Uh . . . I'm cool—gonna lay low today."
"Come on." He punched my shoulder. "Haven't seen you in forever. There's room." He gestured back to his IROC.
I nodded, knowing I could hop on a bus if I didn't like the scene. "Lemme change."
"Bet . . . take your time." He turned away.
I ran into the house to get ready, and then I had to search for the set of keys Jasper gave me yesterday. I found them fast and did a once-over on the mirror. Since I didn't have a bathing suit, I just wore an undershirt—a white tank—and a pair of jeans. My construction boots were going to have to do, and I kept my dog tags on.
"Shut your mouth and get back there!" Emmett shouted.
There really wasn't that much room in the back. Emmett's chick, Rosalie, had to give up her seat, and she gave me a dirty look as she got in there. "Sorry," I mumbled, getting into the car.
"It's cool," Emmett said to me and turned back to his girl. "Why don't you take a Midol?"
"Fuck you."
"Promise?" he laughed.
"Can we just get to the fucking beach?" Bella hollered.
"Listen to the mouth on you . . . fuckin' broads, right?!" Emmett asked me.
Laughing, I just sat there as we peeled away from the curb.
"We have to pick up Alice," Rosalie said.
"There's no room. Let her small ass take the bus."
"Emmett!"
"All right, I'm goin'. Christ." Those two fought the entire way to pick up this other girl. She didn't live far, only two blocks over.
Of course, as she made her way down her steps, I checked her out. She was a cute, tiny thing with jet-black hair. She was a bit on the thin side and wore huge hoop earrings. All I could focus on were those earrings, which had her name in the middle, Alice, in gold. Her house was big and looked familiar.
Placing it in my memory as the Colleoni residence, my eyes widened. Alice was Mary Alice Colleoni, and I definitely remembered her. She's older now, but just like Bella, she was this teeny thing years back.
"You're Edward Masino."
I turned to the back seat. Bella was now sitting on Jake's lap so they could all fit. "Have we met?" I asked, pretending I didn't know her.
"Years ago. I remember you." She touched my shoulder. "Wow. You're solid . . . The Marines, huh?"
I wondered why everyone said that. "Yeah," I laughed. "You're Alice...?" Again, I knew who she was.
She shook my hand, and I noticed she wore a gold ring that bore her name as well. "That's me. Alice Colleoni . . . I bet you remember my brother?"
"Always hafta name drop," Emmett said under his breath.
Alice still heard him. "I'm just sayin'. Damn . . . CJ's older; he might know my brother."
"I don't," I said, only ever associating with the Colleoni kids at family gatherings. There were age differences between Carlisle Jr., Alice, and myself, and they went to different schools—Catholic school. Well, Junior went to Catholic school. I had no idea where Alice went.
My father was never religious; public school was it for me.
And that all seemed like an eternity ago.
They all might as well be strangers.
"He knows you," Emmett commented.
I didn't reply because I wasn't too sure how to.
"How long are you staying?" Alice asked. "And why didn't Jasper come?"
"He had to work," Bella answered, looking to me. "Between work and school, he doesn't have time for much else. But don't worry, I won't—"
"B, please." Alice cut her off. "What'd you say?" She looked back to me.
"I didn't say anything," I said.
"Like Bella said. We won't let you be lonely. We'll show you the ropes." She rubbed up my shoulder again, and I let out a laugh.
These chicks seemed relentless.
"Oww. Why'd you hit me?" Alice shouted.
My head whipped to the backseat, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, besides the two chicks in a stare-off. Then I watched as Alice pinched Bella's thigh. "You evil little bitch!" Bella shrieked.
Alice looked smug as she turned her attention to me. "So, how long…? How long will you be here?"
"Uh, I'm not sure how long I'll be around. I'm looking to settle down." I shrugged. "Wherever . . ."
"Settle down?" She seemed very interested in what I said, leaning on the center console. The girl was practically in my face, and I was able to see down her shirt...and there wasn't that much to look at . . . I looked anyway.
"Get off . . . It's hot." Rosalie pushed her, and I wondered if she was on the rag. That bitch had the only attitude.
Alice ignored her. "What do you mean by settle down?"
"You just met the guy, Ali," Emmett laughed. "Give him a few months before he proposes."
"Whoa!" I moved toward the door, away from her. "I meant settle down, like live somewhere long-term." My explanation made Jake and Emmett crack up.
"Damn . . . no need to get all . . . like that." Alice sat back, and she didn't talk to me for the rest of the ride, although I wasn't sure what I had said to offend her.
However, after Emmett parked the car and we all left it, Alice linked her arm to mine as she put her sunglasses on.
"So happy the sun is out . . . it's been gloomy this week." She smiled.
I grinned back, thinking she was cute . . . overall. "You look pretty tan already." And she did. Her skin was almost a caramel color with an orange hue.
"Alice gets her tan from a bottle." Bella chuckled, passing us by.
"Fuck you." Alice flipped her off. "Get out my conversation!"
"You two don't get along?" I asked.
"Who? Me and Bella?" she giggled. "Bitch is like my sister—we're this close." She crossed her fingers and brought them up to show me.
"And youse talk to each other like that?" My eyes went down her shirt again, only this time she caught me.
She sighed. "You—you're—wow."
"Thanks." I took that as a compliment.
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