Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own a vintage Casablanca movie poster and a brand new LG Shine.
Chapter Eight
EPOV
I pushed open the door to Alice's office very, very slowly. It barely made a sound on her plush carpet, and I knew she'd have to have vampire hearing to catch it. I quickly looked back over my shoulder to make sure no one had followed me, darted inside, and shut the door just as quietly.
I took a deep breath. It was sad I was reduced to this, digging through my sister's office like a freaking spy, just to get a phone number! A girl's phone number, no less- I hadn't had to work for one of those in about ten years. Or maybe never.
I crept over to her massive desk, which was strewn with renderings of her new line, fabric swatches, and detailed requests for an original Alice Cullen. Her computer in the corner flashed a slide show of family pictures, and as one appeared of the two of us hugging in front of the Eiffel Tower, I felt an attack of conscience. I wouldn't like it if Alice were snooping around my office, so I shouldn't do it to her.
Then the little devil on my shoulder reminded me it was her own fault. She was purposefully hiding Isabella's number from me! If she wanted something like that from me, something that wouldn't hurt anybody if I gave it to her, I would hand it over in two shakes. That's what siblings and, more importantly, best friends do for one another.
I started carefully searching her desk, moving things only slightly so it wouldn't look as if I'd been here. Her calendar under a green, garish tropical fabric only showed appointments and events, no contact information. Her rolodex was filled-to-bursting with strictly business cards, and since I wasn't sure how she knew Isabella, I knew looking through there would be a waste of time.
As I started to sit down in her giant leather office chair to snoop through her computer, I realized where the number would be. Alice knew I was looking for it, I'd begged every day for the last two weeks, and she would know I would become desperate. That left only one place it could be.
"Are you looking for this?" I heard a very familiar voice ask. My head snapped up and there was Alice in the doorway, holding up her infamous black pocketbook. The place she stored everything important to her. It never left her side, even while she slept. Of course she would hide the number in there.
I sighed. "Unfortunately."
She shook her head at me. "Edward, I'm surprised at you. You know that I don't ever let this baby leave my sight."
"You aren't mad that I was ransacking your office?"
She laughed and came around the desk. "It looks exactly the same to me. So props on being a good snooper, if you ever decide you want to try being James Bond. And no, I'm not mad. I figured it was only a matter of time, honestly."
I leaned my head back onto the headrest of the chair. "Why are you torturing me? Nobody has to know, I can pretend I'm just really good at using the phone book."
She smiled and sat in my lap, and I put my arms around her as she laid her head on my shoulder. The chair didn't even squeak, she was so light. "Oh, Edward, it's so nice to see you're human."
My head
snapped back up. "What does that mean?"
"I've never seen
you so worked up over a woman. Even in middle school when you had a
crush on Stacey the head lifeguard at the YMCA, you were cooler than
this. I was beginning to think you were a robot without any feelings
and I would never get any nieces and nephews to spoil because no real
woman would put up with you!"
I grimaced. "Don't jump to conclusions here. I just want to see her again."
She looked at me knowingly until I relented.
"Okay, okay, I do feel this crazy… draw to her. Like she has a magnet and I'm just a big piece of metal," I admitted uncomfortably.
She bounced on my lap in excitement. "I knew it! You should your face, when you're not glaring at me for withholding her number, you're glowing like somebody lit a match inside you."
"Really?" I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that. I'd only known Isabella for one night, how could she have had such an obvious effect on me? Though I guess I'd gotten to know her pretty well… parts of her, anyway.
"Yeah, Emmett's been trying to convince me to give you her number, just to see what kind of girly victory squeal you'll do."
I smirked. "I am never girly, Ali." I sobered then. "Maybe you're right, and I shouldn't call her. I'm beginning to be like one of those guys on To Catch a Predator or something already, and I haven't even seen her again."
Alice looked at me with a curious look in her eyes, one I couldn't place. "Don't give up just yet, my friend. I have a feeling about this."
I rolled my eyes at her. Alice and her so-called feelings. "Where's everyone else?" I remembered suddenly that Rose, Emmett, and Jasper weren't with us.
"They're downstairs, waiting on us to start a movie. I told them to hold on until I ejected you from my office." She smiled at me.
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We were halfway through the movie when Alice received a phone call. She looked at the number, her eyes grew wide, and she hurried from the room before answering. Odd.
"What is that all about?" I whispered to Rosalie, nodding my head toward where Alice had been.
She looked at me. "I don't know," she said, too innocently. Something was up.
I waited until Alice reappeared several minutes later. "Ali, who was that?" I asked, trying to appear uninterested.
"Oh, just another client that wants their dress a week earlier than originally," she said, waving her hand. I knew her well enough to know she was lying.
"Oh yeah? What kind of outfit do they want?"
Her eyes shifted, a sure sign she was searching for a lie. "Um, a new kind of dress, with bangle sleeves and a scoop neck… it's really hard to explain to nonfashion people, Edward."
I smirked at her. Fine, I'd let this one go. I needed to stay on her good side if I wanted Isabella's number.
About an hour later, when the movie was ending, Jasper was stretching. "I bet Bells would totally love that movie."
Alice and Rosalie looked alarmed. I was intrigued. Who was Bells?
"I mean, I know she hates Jack Black, but first, she's a teacher, and second, she loves any movie with music in it. We should have invited her."
Emmett was nodding his head. "Yeah, and I haven't seen her since the club last week. She looked so good-" Emmett was cut off by Rosalie smacking him on the head. "Ow, Rose! What was that for?"
She sent him a death glare, and he still looked confused for a second, but then his eyes widened. He looked at me, then quickly looked away.
"What?" I asked. Who was this girl, and why had I never met her? They go out to clubs with her, without me?
Emmett immediately jumped up. "I gotta go pee." He darted from the room.
Rosalie snorted. "Smooth."
I turned to Jasper. "Who is Bells?"
He looked at Alice apologetically, who looked like she was about to burst in anger. "Um, Alice's college roommate. You've heard us talk about her."
I thought for a moment. I vaguely remembered Alice talking about her best friend from college, but I'd been away at medical school on the east coast for most of that time. I'd only recently come back to Seattle. It made me a little sad, though, that someone so important to my beloved sister was a stranger to me. Now that I was back, I needed to do a better job of keeping up with everybody. Geez, even Emmett had met her, and he'd only been with Rose for two weeks now.
"I guess. You guys went to the club without asking me?" I was a tad hurt.
"Oh, Edward, I knew you'd just got off a 24-hour shift at the hospital," Alice jumped in. "I knew you'd come if I asked, but I wanted you to get your rest."
It sounded like a logical enough explanation, but something still seemed off. "Why haven't I met your old roommate, Ali? Do you guys still hang out often?"
She looked nervous again. "Yeah, sometimes." She brightened as she thought of something. "But she'll be at the dinner party Jasper and I are having in two weeks. You should come, too."
Jasper looked at her funny. "We're having a dinner party?"
She slapped him on the arm. I doubt it did much damage, she could barely swat a fly with her little hand. "Yes, I just haven't told you yet."
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. I knew Alice, and she probably had planned a whole fiesta and already lined up a caterer without ever alerting Jasper. Poor guy most likely wouldn't even know he was getting married until she shoved him into a tux and told him to meet her at the church.
The weird feeling I'd had since Alice's earlier phone call hadn't dissipated. Something was definitely up with these guys. It was odd I hadn't met this Bells person yet, if she meant so much to them. And who was calling Alice that was important enough to lie for?
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
Alice was throwing me a surprise birthday party!
Everything made so much sense now. Everyone being so awkward around me, Alice's secretive phone call, the sudden made up dinner party… The only thing that didn't fit was not meeting Alice's old college roommate. But maybe she was a part of the surprise. Leave it up to my crazy sister to think introducing me to a girl she thinks I'll like at my surprise birthday party is a good idea.
Ah, there it was. More light bulbs went off. Alice thought I would like her old roommate! And it would only up the drama for Alice if she introduced her at a big shindig. Alice sure loved her drama.
I sighed, sure to disappoint her. Though I'm sure this Bells girl was a nice girl, if Jasper and Emmett liked her so much, I was currently in pursuit of a very exciting, very mysterious woman. I couldn't focus on anyone else in the past two weeks, and believe me, I'd tried. I would never admit it to the guys, but I hadn't even had sex with anyone since Isabella. And that was a long ass time for a guy like me.
Just the thought of her, and sex with her, caused my little man to begin to stir. I sighed again in frustration.
I needed to find her again, and quick.
APOV
"Whew, that was a close one," I said to Rosalie after Edward left.
She nodded. "No thanks to Tweedle Dumb and Dumber over there," she added, jerking a thumb at the boys playing Rock Band.
"I know! I couldn't even come up with a good lie."
"You're never good at lying to him, Alice, don't beat yourself up," Rosalie assured me. "But we're having a dinner party?"
I clapped my hands. "We are now! After a few more weeks of building Bella's confidence, she should be ready to face him. It will be just the six of us, so we can focus on making them see how great they are together."
"I
don't know." Rosalie was unconvinced. "We haven't even seen
them together! What if it really was meant to be just for one
night?"
I shook my head vigorously. "You haven't been
talking to them, Rose. Bella is crazy over him, can't talk about
anything but how amazing he made her feel, and Edward is driving me
crazy trying to get her number! I've never seen him like this,
he's always sat back and waited for women to come to him."
"Exactly. I don't want Bella to be hurt by your manwhore brother. No offense."
I grimaced. "I know, I know. I don't want her hurt either. But she's been different ever since that night, in a good way, and I think it was because of my idiot brother. He's changed, too. Besides, I have a feeling about this. It's gonna work out."
"I sure hope so," Emmett chimed in from across the room. "Edward needs to get some, and fast. I don't think he's gone so long without sex since he lost it to that slut Tanya in the backseat of his Volvo."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Rosalie said, holding up her hands. "Edward… is going without?"
Emmett shook his head grimly. "He hasn't said anything, but I recognize all the signs of a serious case of blue balls."
I grinned. "Good! Maybe that will motivate him to move even faster, once he sees her again. He'll need all the help he can get, if Bella still can't get up the nerve."
"I just hope Bella is ready to be fucked on the dining room table, then," Emmett said.
"Emmett!"
He looked at us innocently. "What? I'd be using any flat surface available if I'd gone a whole month, too." He shuddered and Rosalie rolled her eyes.
I smiled widely. After all Bella had told me, she just might be up for it.
AN: You guys asked for Edward's search, and here you go! Ask you and shall receive… most of the time! :) Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!
