Is ff not working on firefox for anyone else? I've been so confused this morning. I could read updates on my phone (chrome) but when I went on my laptop to post, couldn't get on. Finally had to download chrome to update. Must be Monday. So, because it's Monday, I'lll shut up and let you get to it.


Chapter 9

EPOV

This was not working. I desperately needed to make some headway on this project; a fun lighthearted game geared towards preschoolers and featuring a talking frog. It should have been an easy payday. However, the music that flowed from my fingertips across the top of my piano was soft, romantic and maybe a little melancholic. It was a direct representation of my current inner turmoil. She'd made me the most delicious dinner and for a moment as we ate together I almost forgot that we weren't a couple. Then the sting of my cracked knuckles brought me back to reality and I'd had to try really fucking hard to hide the hatred for James that began to bubble to the surface once more. I was full of anger and rage but also longing, sadness, love, and adoration and it all came out in the music I played but all of it was wrong for the title I was working on.

After an hour and a half, I had nothing more than I had when I'd sat down and decided that a break was in order. I cracked my back and stretched a bit before heading to the kitchen for a beer. On my way there my eyes drifted to the living room, immediately falling on the couch where Bella lay fast asleep. The beer remained safe in the fridge as I veered into the living room instead.

As I neared her sleeping form I noticed the book, lying open and face down across her chest bringing a smile to my face. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I'd found her in a similar position over the years. Careful not to wake her, I picked up the book and found a scrap of paper to mark her place before setting it on the coffee table. She was particular about her books. Once in junior high I'd folded the corner of a book I'd borrowed from her to mark my place and it was months before she let me hear the end of it.

Knowing full well that Bella deserved a better place to sleep, I slipped my arms underneath her and lifted her tiny frame from the couch. She moaned lightly and nestled her head against my shoulder as I carried her to my room. I laid her gently on the bed and was struck yet again by how beautiful she was, how beautiful she'd always been. I let one finger caress the side of her cheek, my heart aching with the realization that I was destined to be close to her but never close enough. These stolen caresses were likely all I would ever have. Knowing that I was just torturing myself, I shook my head, hoping to clear out those thoughts and stood to leave.

"Don't go," a small voice whispered in the dark.

I turned and searched for her face in the dark. Her eyes were still closed, and she appeared to be sleeping soundly. I stood frozen in place, watching her until she spoke again.

"Please," she begged quietly, "don't."

I knew she was sleeping, that her pleas were a result of whatever dream she was having and not directed at me personally but that didn't stop me from sitting on the edge of the bed and placing a hand on her small shoulder.

"I'm here, Bella," I said softly.

"Need you," she murmured, tugging at my t-shirt. "Don't go. I don't want to be alone."

"Alright alright, scooch over." I said, conceding defeat.

She wiggled a bit but didn't really go anywhere. I just sighed, wondering what I really expected from a sleeping woman as I pulled free from her grasp. She moaned a bit and reached out as I hurried around to the other side of the bed.

Thankful that I was wearing a loose, comfortable pair of basketball shorts instead of jeans, I slipped into bed and pulled her to me. Bella nuzzled into my chest, placing her hand over my heart. She gave a contented sigh and wordlessly slipped back into a deep sleep. I let my fingers play with her silky soft hair as I stared up at the ceiling. I felt more at peace than I had in years and I allowed myself to pretend, just for one evening, that she was mine, that it was really me that she needed, that she'd been calling out for. It didn't take long until I fell into a contented sleep as well.

When I woke the sun was streaming in through the windows and I was completely alone. Shit. I'd been hoping to wake up before Bella so I could slip out undetected. Now there was sure to be an awkward conversation about how we ended up in bed together. I considered pulling the covers over my head and delaying that conversation but the clock on the nightstand told me it was nearing noon. Damn! I had not slept that well in a long, long time.

After a pit stop in the bathroom, I stepped out of my room and found Emmett dragging a mattress through my living room.

"Well, good afternoon, sunshine," he grumbled. "How 'bout you make your lazy ass useful and grab the other end."

I didn't respond but dutifully picked up the back end of the mattress and helped him carry it down the hall to Bella's room. Surprisingly, she was nowhere to be found.

Em saw me looking around for her and let me know she'd gone to pick up some lunch while he unloaded the pieces to her bed frame. I helped him assemble the frame while he filled me in on some of his twins' new antics. However, Emmett Swan was a sneaky fucker. He waited until I was relaxed, laughing and trapped in the corner before he lowered the boom.

"So, that shit James said to you yesterday? What's that about?"

"Man, I already told you and Jazz what he said when we were at the gym."

"I know, dude. I'm talking about that other shit, about being too much of a pansy to tell her something."

I tugged at my hair in frustration. "Em, I have no idea. James and I barely spoke to one another and when we did it was never about anything more serious than the weather. I sure as shit didn't confide in that bastard so how the fuck would I know what he's talking about."

"Jazz seemed pretty quick to shut him up though."

"Then fucking ask Jazz!" I cried, knowing I could trust Jasper to keep his mouth shut. "But you know anything James has to say should be taken with a big ass grain of salt because he's a lying, cheating piece of shit."

"Sorry bro," he said, backing down. "You're right. I'm just being overprotective but that's my baby sis, you know?"

"Of course, man."

"I just don't want anyone else hiding shit from her or throwing more fucking surprises her way. I'm not sure she could handle it right now."

Fuck me. Now I gotta worry about Emmett beating my ass when this whole thing blows up in my face. Though, if I lose Bella…if I hurt her, well, I'd happily let him finish me off.

"Em, you know I'd never do anything to hurt your sister."

He nodded, knowing I was speaking the truth. "Hell, maybe part of me hoped he was right." I stared at him confused. "About you two hooking up," he clarified.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I mean, maybe not this fast and not on his porch cause that's just fucking weird but you two are perfect for each other. Everyone sees it but you two stubborn assholes."

"Emmett…" I started, so stunned by his approval that I was on the verge of confessing everything to him but he put up a hand and interrupted me.

"I know, I know. It's not my business. Rosie told me to butt the fuck out cause you can't force feelings and some other Dr. Phil bullshit. I've just seen all the shit you've done for her over the years, after Jake, after that other dickhead and now and I guess I'm just feeling sentimental or something. Must be getting my period," he joked.

"Well, I'm sure Bella has some tampons around here somewhere," I teased, feeling like my moment to confess had passed but relieved knowing that at least I had his approval.

He finished screwing in the headboard and then we heard some noise from the kitchen along with the mouthwatering smell of burgers and fries.

"Edward," Bella called as we entered the kitchen, "Double bacon cheeseburger, no pickles, right?" I nodded as she set a paper wrapped burger on the table followed by a container of fries. "And a Dr. Pepper?"

"You know me well."

"Some things never change"

"And some things do," I muttered under my breath.

She handed Emmett his lunch and he tucked into it immediately. Emmett was one of those things that never change. He still had a bottomless appetite like he had when we were children. God help anyone who got in between a hungry Emmett and his meal.

However, I noticed that Bella was just quietly pecking at her salad. She looked contemplative and a little sad though I supposed, given the events of the last few days, that was to be expected. I may have been thrilled to have her back under my roof but I also knew that this was not the way she was expecting to spend her summer.

I felt helpless. I wanted nothing more than to fix everything for her, to make all her problems go away. I could give her a place to stay, I could put her to bed when she drank too much and distract her with photos and memories but at the end of the day, I couldn't erase the pain in her heart. Not only had her wedding been destroyed, but she'd discovered that her fiancé had been cheating and the man she'd spent the last three years with was a completely different person than she'd believed him to be. It was a pain that I couldn't even imagine and it was something she'd have to work through on her own and that killed me.

After lunch, Emmett and I hoisted the mattress onto the bed frame and then he left to spend the rest of his day off with Rose and the twins. Now alone, Bella and I worked quietly to put the rest of her room in order. She made the bed while I assembled the desk she'd bought. I was just pushing the completed desk against the wall when Bella finally spoke.

"You ever gonna tell me how I fell asleep on the couch and woke up in your bed?"

"I carried you in there."

"Duh. But why?"

I sighed and threw up my arms. "I don't know, B. I saw you sleeping on the couch and I just couldn't leave you there while I went and slept in a comfy bed. It seemed, I dunno, ungentlemanly."

"Oh, you were being a gentleman?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. I knew her well enough to sense an attack was coming. "I am capable of it on occasion."

"Interesting," she mused, toying with me. "So, were you just being a gentleman when I woke up with your hand on my tit and your morning wood rubbing against my ass?"

I froze, my jaw went slack, and my blood turned to ice in my veins. I was so fucked. However, she hadn't gone screaming for the hills. She didn't have Emmett turn around and take her bed back to her parents' house. I just needed to tread very carefully.

"Um, probably not?"

"Well, it was kinda sweet," she said, a ghost of a smirk flashed across her face before she clamped it down. But I caught it. She was toying with me!

"Sweet? My unconscious molesting of you was sweet?"

"Maybe not the groping, but when I got up you pouted like a sad little boy and called out for me."

Fuck. I gulped audibly. "Did I?"

"Sure did."

I was mentally kicking myself. Why the fuck did I climb in bed with her? Why didn't I just go sleep on the couch like I intended to? Now I was afraid that I'd told Bella of my feelings while unconscious. Of all the possible scenarios I'd gone through imagining how I'd declare my love to her, I never once expected to be unconscious.

"What exactly did I say?" I asked and then held my breath, feeling as though my entire world was hanging in the balance.

She stifled a giggle and my heart skipped a beat. "You said 'Come back, baby doll, you feel so good.'" She had lowered her voice to impersonate me and held out her arms as if reaching for me but it was such a laughably bad imitation that neither of us could maintain our composure.

"Is that it?" I managed to choke out once I'd caught my breath.

"Mostly. You also called me 'sweet girl' and told me you needed me. The rest was all mumbles and moans."

I exhaled in relief. It didn't sound like I had called her specifically by name so I could have been talking about anyone. For all she knew, I could have been dreaming of Scarlett Johansson. I was in the clear and she was simply teasing me as any good best friend would. Well sweetheart, two can play this game.

"Interesting," I replied, a smile slowly creeping across my lips. "Sounds awfully similar to what you said to me last night."

"What?" Her head snapped up and with that the shoe had landed on the other foot.

"When I put you to bed last night, you also called out."

"I did?" She groaned. "What did I say?"

"I don't remember it word for word but you specifically told me not to go. That's how I ended up in the bed with you."

She exhaled loudly and chuckled a bit. "Well," she finally breathed, "aren't we a fine fucking pair?"

"We sure are, baby doll."

She chucked a throw pillow at my head but I caught it easily and tossed it back. "I don't suppose you'll tell me who you were dreaming of?" she asked quietly, placing the pillow back on the bed and smoothing it over with her hand.

"I could ask the same question," I remarked and then immediately regretted it. It was pretty obvious in her case and I kicked myself from bringing him up, even indirectly. "Truthfully, I don't remember any of it," I added quickly.

"That's a shame. From what I could gather, it was a very nice dream. Nicer than mine sounded."

"I'm going to have to trust you on that. Like I said, I don't remember it."

I could see in her eyes that she was heading into full Bella-recon mode. When she wanted to, the girl could dig for information like nobody's business and I was not falling into that trap. "Alright well, I didn't get any work done last night. I should probably go give it another shot."

"Really? What was that you were playing last night? It was really beautiful."

"I don't know. I guess it was just stuck in my head but it's all wrong for this project so it's back to the drawing board."

"Sounds like you were inspired by something…or someone."

"Maybe," I conceded. Part of me was screaming, dying to tell her that she was my inspiration, my dream, my everything. "But, I better get inspired by talking cartoon frogs if I want to get my bills paid this month."

"Well, I won't keep you then. But if inspiration doesn't strike, don't worry about the bills. You know I'm not a mooch. I intend to pitch in."

"B, that's not neccess…"

She cut me off with a raised hand. "Stop it. Don't baby me, ok? Shit happened and I had my pout, but I can't fucking wallow in it. I'm an adult and I'm going to move on with my life and that includes paying my half of the fucking bills, alright?"

She was right. The world doesn't stop for heartbreak or sorrow and as much as I wanted to swoop in and save the day, I knew she'd feel better when life regained some sense of normalcy. "You got it, B."

I headed for the door but she cut me off, wrapping her arms around my waist and laying her head against my chest. "Thank you again, for everything. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'll always be here for you, B. You know that. Forever and ever."

It took an hour of swearing, watching game footage, and fucking around at my piano but eventually I stumbled onto the right sound for the game. Even Bella agreed. After she finished setting up her room, she listened to what I had prepared so far and gave it her stamp of approval. Then to my surprise, she announced she was going out to meet up with her friend, Angela.

After she left I dove in headfirst and was making some serious headway when my phone rang. I wanted to ignore it but a glance at the screen let me know it was the project manager.

"Hello, Kate."

"Hi. So, I know you're dealing with some kind of personal crisis this week but I just wanted to touch base with you and see how things are going."

Kate had been incredibly sympathetic when I'd called her Saturday morning. I didn't give her all the gory details; just that I was helping a friend through something important. She let me know that I didn't have any meetings lined up this week and just asked that I keep her informed of my progress since the deadline was looming.

"You know, I was actually just working on it and I think it's coming along. If you want I can get some samples recorded tonight and send them to you?"

"Actually, I am in your neck of the woods. If it's not a huge inconvenience, I'd love to stop by and hear what you've got."

"Uh, yeah, that would be fine, great actually. I'm kind of in the zone and would love to hear your thoughts sooner than later in case I'm going down the wrong road."

"Oh, I'm sure it's perfect but I'll be there in fifteen to tell you so in person."

True to her word, Kate arrived on my doorstep in a matter of minutes with a six pack of beer.

"I figured if I was going to intrude, I ought to bring a peace offering."

"Peace offering implies that I'm upset or something. I really don't mind. It's not like I had anything else going on tonight."

I took the beer from her and she followed me into the kitchen. "Really? What happened to your friend?"

"She is out with another friend, trying to get back to a normal life," I said, taking two beers out of the case and setting the rest in the fridge.

"Back to a normal life? That sounds…sad. What happened, if you don't mind me asking? You were kinda vague on the phone."

"Uhh."

"Sorry, it's none of my business. I'm just being nosy."

I'd known Kate long enough to know that she wasn't the gossipy type but the details of Bella's life weren't mine to discuss. "It's fine," I said, handing her a beer. "She just got out of a long term relationship that ended really badly and so she moved in this weekend."

"Aww, who knew you were such a sweet guy!"

I chuckled and popped the cap of my beer. "I'm not, but she's been my best friend for twenty years so…"

"Twenty years? Wow," she mused, "that's incredible."

"I guess," I shrugged. "Come on, let me show you what I've got so far."

With Kate's insights I was able to nail down a good chunk of the project and now that I had the right sound figured out, the rest would come easily. We probably could have gotten a lot more finished if we drank less but eventually our conversations turned from actual work to discussing some of our colleagues. Game designers are an interesting sort after all.

So, when Bella arrived home she found us bent over Kate's phone howling with laughter over a picture one of the artists had sent her. Eric had developed a bit of a crush on Kate and had decided to declare his love by drawing a portrait of Kate…as a superhero…complete with obscenely large breasts and very little clothing. Needless to say, Eric never got the date he'd been hoping for.

"Um, hello?"

Both of our heads snapped up to find Bella standing in the doorway, looking at us with a confused expression.

"Oh, hey," I cried, jumping to my feet. "Bella, this is Kate. She's the project manager on the game I'm working on. She came over to listen to what I had so far. Kate, this is my friend, Bella."

"It's very nice to meet you, Bella." Kate said, stumbling slightly as she rose to her feet, the three beers she'd consumed were beginning to take their toll. Apparently, Kate was a bit of a lightweight.

Bella took Kate's hand politely but dropped it quickly. I didn't understand why she was being so standoffish. That wasn't like my Bella. "Well, you guys look very busy so I'm just going to head to bed. It was nice to meet you," she said quietly and then turned to leave.

Something was definitely off with her. I put up a finger to let Kate know I'd be right back and quickly followed Bella down the hall.

"Hey," I said, catching up to her at her doorway. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she lied. Bella had always been a horrible liar. "Don't let me keep you from your guest."

The way she spat the word 'guest' through me for a loop as I realized she was upset with me though I had no idea what I'd done. "B, what is going on? You can talk to me."

"Nothing to say, Edward. I'm just tired and going to bed. Kate seems nice. Don't keep her waiting on my account. Good night."

With that, I was dismissed. I walked back down the hall to find Kate gathering up her things. "Taking off on me?"

"Yeah, I should get going. I've got to get up early. Not all of us get to work from home, you know," she said with a playful smile.

"Did you drive?" I asked, knowing she'd had a little too much to drink to safely drive home.

Kate shook her head. "Nah. I had dinner with some friends at that little Italian place down the road. They drove but then they ditched me to go to some club and that's just not my scene. So, I called you, because I remembered you lived nearby. I've already called a cab. It should be here soon."

I walked her to the door and thanked her for stopping by, promising to get the project finished up and back to her by the end of the week. She hesitated when the cab pulled up and I suddenly realized that her visit might have been more than just a professional one, or maybe even more than a friendly one. Oh, I was such an idiot. I didn't even notice the way she'd sat right next to me, leaning in close while I played the piano, laughing at jokes that weren't all that funny.

"Good night, Kate," I said, politely but firmly and while keeping my distance. "Thanks for stopping by, I'll call you in a few days when I get this all done, ok?"

She smiled and gave a little nod but I could see the disappointment in her eyes. "Good night," she said and hurried down the steps and into the cab.

Somehow I'd manage to unwittingly disappoint or piss off every woman who'd crossed my path that evening. Before I could do any more harm, I locked up the house and headed to bed. I was suddenly very tired and decided I could wait until tomorrow to figure out what I'd done wrong.


Boy is just stepping in it left and right, isn't he.