AN: Ok, so this chapter was over 20 pages, so I split it up into two parts...this is part one :)
Thank you to everyone who left a review for the last chapter—I had to turn my blackberry to silent last night because all the emails I was getting about people favoriting, alerting, and reviewing were blowing up my phone…so, MANY MANY thanks!
BPOV
I counted my steps on the concrete as I went for my daily morning run, trying in vain to get a particular number out of my head.
24.
.
24.
.
24.
It had been 24 days since I last slept alone. 24 glorious nights of sharing a bed with the most incredible, talented, and sexy musician I know.
I could still scarcely believe how fast Edward and I had become inseparable. It seemed like after that first afternoon apart, we could not stand to be apart again. I had never become best friends with someone over night, but it seemed to happen that way for Edward and me. It was absolutely bizarre, but I wasn't going to question it. I knew that I could tell him anything (I mean, let's be honest—five days ago, I moved my tampons into his bathroom cabinet, and he still hasn't mentioned anything), and he would tell me anything—well, of course with the exception of the extreme sexual tension we felt every moment we touched or locked eyes—no, we never acknowledged that (heaven forbid, right?).
We developed an incredibly unhealthy habit of constant companionship. I mean, not that I was complaining by any means—I love spending time with Edward probably more than anything else (well, with the exception of performing, but I got to do that with Edward, too, so there…).
Although our days varied with the addition of gigs and practices (we performed at the bar on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and had practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday), we'd developed a structured daily routine. Our days would go as such:
Wake up next to the most delicious piece of man I have ever seen…
Go for a half an hour run down the street in order to attempt to work off all pent up sexual frustration
Shower (and if the run couldn't cut it…some ialone/i time)
Breakfast (made courtesy of either Edward or Emmett)
Lounge around and be ridiculous
Practice or get ready for gig and gig
Drink and socialize with the rest of my friends (I was really loving Rosalie more and more each day…and the more time I spent with Emmett, the more respect I had for her—seriously, she's a saint)
Pillow talk :)
Back to bed at Edward's.
The reworking of the set meant hours of extra practice time, which left little time for anyone but the band (and their significant others, of course).
Yup. Such was my life, and I absolutely loved it.
Ever since Alice and Jasper had come out of the "closet they'd been fucking in" as Edward so kindly referred to it, it was pretty terrible at my apartment. Who knew that a little girl like Alice could scream so loud? Man, does that girl have a set of lungs on her. And Alice, being Alice, preferred to be at our apartment because that's where all her "stuff" was. Seriously.
I pretty much lived with Emmett and Edward now. Emmett no longer slept on the couch because some how Edward and I had convinced him that I was just as much of a sister to Edward as Alice was. He figured that now that Alice was…otherwise occupied…Edward needed me to fill that "sisterly" role. Ha! If only he knew the lascivious dreams I had while sleeping in bed next to Edward—they were NOT sisterly, to say the least. Anyway, living with them wasn't bad at all; I actually had grown so much closer to Emmett over the past few weeks.
Especially on day 13. …oh, day 13.
FLASHBACK
I was exhausted from my latest run, and I was still sweating as I approached Edward's room.
"Bella!" I heard Edward shouting to me from the shower with the water still running. That was odd…
I opened the door a crack, going against my urge to swing the door open fully, to see what Edward wanted. "Yeah?"
"Oh, good, you're back! Can you grab some shampoo from Emmett? We already ran out and my hair REALLY needs to be washed today."
I laughed, knowing that he was probably only washing his hair because I told him he was starting to look more like a homeless person than an edgy and cool rock star.
"Sure," I hollered, "I'll be back in one second."
I walked down the hall and opened Emmett's bedroom door without even thinking. This was clearly a mistake because after opening the door, I was accosted by the sight of a completely naked Emmett getting ready to (I shudder to even think the word) penetrate an equally naked Rosalie. I paused for a second too long before slamming the door shut and turned back to the hallway, breathing heavily. Emmett opened the door and stuck his head out.
"Bella?" I spun around, completely embarrassed and probably as red as a tomato.
"Oh my God, Emmett—I'm SO sorry. I thought you were at Rosalie's, otherwise I would have never…"
"It's okay," he chuckled. "Did you need something?" How did absolutely NOTHING faze Emmet? It was like he was incapable of being embarrassed.
"Uh…yeah, um, shampoo?" I stuttered, realizing that Edward was still waiting for me.
Emmett disappeared for one second and then threw some shampoo back out into the hall for me.
"Please apologize to Rosalie for me, too, Em!" Emmett just rolled his eyes and flashed me his mega-watt smile and closed the door behind him. God, I was glad I was getting into the shower soon; it would drown out Emmett and Rosalie's noises…ew.
I laughed again, realizing that I had seen so much more of both Emmett and Rosalie than I'd bargained for that morning. Oh, well…the hazards of living with brothers, I suppose.
Now that I was thinking about it, Edward had been nothing less than a gentleman for the past 24 days. It still baffled my mind. I had seen girls pining over him while he was on stage, and he never looked their way. Here I was, constantly in a state of arousal just being around him all the time with no means for release. Hell, I hadn't been touched in far too long. I was starting to crave the overwhelming sensations of strong male hands gripping my body, playing me like their favorite instrument…
Good God, Bella, stop it! This fantasizing about Edward is NOT helping the sexual tension level by any means.
Although, due to day 23 (yeah, yesterday morning), I knew without a doubt that Edward was definitely getting his release.
FLASHBACK
I had started my run, per usual, but I was just too stressed out to really get into it. After only 10 minutes, I decided to head back to the apartment and relax in front of the TV instead of half-heartedly going through my run. Walking to the refrigerator for a bottle of water, I heard the familiar, "Bella!" coming from the bathroom.
God, could that boy be more needy? …just kidding, it made my heart swell knowing that he needed me.
I called out, "Be there in a second," hurriedly and dragged my feet to the bathroom door.
Me, being me, of course, tripped over my dragging feet and accidentally pushed the door farther open than I had intended. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but it certainly was not what was going on in the bathroom.
Edward, hand still stroking his dick, head thrown back, and eyed closed, came all over his hand and the shower floor.
I knew it was wrong, but I could not tear my eyes away. I started to breathe heavier, blood flowing to all the right places, as my eyes raked his wet and naked body. The water poured over his head and onto his shoulders and chest, sliding down his defined abs and onto his hand, which was conveniently still wrapped around his VERY large cock.
Oh, God! Would that EVER fit inside me? I mean…Jake wasn't bad sized, at all, but…whoa, there.
Before the fantasizing about the size of his cock could continue, I came to a quick realization: he had called out my name as he was releasing. Did that mean what I thought it meant?
I closed the door quietly, before Edward could come to his bearings and catch me ogling his naked body.
The counting of my steps was not doing what I needed it to. I needed to push thoughts of Edward and me out of my mind. He may have gotten off thinking about me, but we were best friends now—he would never act on it, right?
But, what if you admit to him that you loved him more than just a friend? Would he still fail to do something about it then?
My wondering wasn't getting me anywhere. On top of everything, tonight was going to be our first night sleeping apart in weeks. Edward was not pleased about it, but Jake had planned to drive four hours to Seattle for his fall break from University of Oregon, and I don't think he would be too pleased if I blew him off to go sleep over at Edward's. I constantly reminded Edward that Jake was my oldest friend, and that I needed to spend time with him when he came specifically to visit me.
Edward simply grumbled unhappily, "Is he friends like we're friends?" I don't think he meant for me to hear, but I couldn't help the implications of his statement. In fact, Jake was going to be a bigger problem than I had originally anticipated.
Jake had noticed that I had been particularly busy over the past month, obviously. He had been my best friend since before I can even remember, so naturally when I started missing our daily phone calls, he started suspecting something was up. I told him that I was simply just becoming close with my band mates. I'm pretty sure he bought it, however Jake's presence was going to be difficult with Edward in the picture now.
Yes, Jake and I broke up a little over two years ago. It was fine, actually. I loved him, but he wanted to be able to go to college and experience it without a long-distance girlfriend. I completely understood. That didn't exactly stop us from having some benefits on the side of our friendship, though. In fact, for the past two years I had been doing some extra-curricular activities with Jake for every break we saw each other. Tonight, though, I didn't know what I was going to do. I know that Edward and I weren't together, per se, but I couldn't help but feel like doing anything with Jake would be betraying him. However, I didn't think Jake would see it quite that way…
In fact, Jake had been hinting all week long about how excited he was to finally have me to himself for a weekend…and although we always flirted, he seemed a little more aggressive than usual.
Circling my way back to the apartment, I thought more about how to handle this particular situation. I wasn't coming up with anything. What I really needed was an outside opinion, but I couldn't ask Jake, and I certainly couldn't ask Edward what to do. Where are impartial friends when you need them?
The apartment smelled delicious as I opened the front door. Edward was standing at the stove making cheddar cheese omelets…my favorite. He turned around and flashed me a small smile, which didn't seem to reach his eyes.
"So, when does Jake get here?" he asked. Ah, so that's why the lack of enthusiasm.
"He'll be here by 3:00, but I gave him my home address, so I've got to head back there around 1:00 in case he's early. He drives like a maniac…kind of like you." I winked. Edward grimaced. He was already holding grudges against Jake, and he didn't even know him yet. Today was not going to end well. I could feel it. "Alright, I'm getting into the shower," I said. "Don't start eating without me, please! I'll be quick."
"But, they're ready now! If you shower first, they'll be cold, and not as good…and you know it."
It was true. I went straight for the omelet, which helped calm me down a little. Who knew that Edward could cook? I mean, of course he could—the boy was good at everything, apparently.
"How am I going to sleep without you tonight?" Edward whined. His lower lip stuck out ever so slightly when he pouted, and I just wanted to kiss the look right off of his face.
"You'll be fine, Edward. Hey—you could even bring a girl home tonight," I joked with a mini gasp. Edward looked appalled by my suggestion.
"What? Bring home a girl? I don't think so. I don't do that, remember?"
"I didn't say you had to bring her to your bed," I nudged.
Why was I doing this? Why was I pushing another girl onto Edward?
…maybe because if you know he's with another girl tonight it'll make you feel less guilty about being with Jake tonight…
"Uh, thanks, but no thanks. I'm done with the random sleeping around, thank you very much," he retorted adamantly.
"Sure you are." I rolled my eyes. Edward give up sleeping around? Who does he think he's fooling?
Well, Bella, since you've been with him nearly every second for the past month, you should know better than anyone that Edward HASN'T slept around recently.
Yeah, recently…
Ugh—you're hopeless.
Just then, my 98 Degrees phone ring pulled me out of my insecure self-bashing. Edward quirked an eyebrow at me, knowing that it was Jake on the phone.
"Hey, Jake, what's up?"
"Bells? Where are you?" he asked excitedly.
"Um, I'm home, Jake," I lied. He really didn't need to know that I had been sleeping at Edward's.
"No, you're not, Bells," he laughed. "I'm standing in the middle of your living room with your roommate Alice and her boyfriend, Jasper? And…they said you were out, so—when are you getting home, I miss my favorite girl…"
My face must have noticeably paled because suddenly Edward put his hand on mine and looked fairly concerned. "You're already here?" I squeaked, "but you weren't supposed to get here for another four hours, Jake!"
"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't sleep, so I just woke up and drove here. I thought I could surprise you. Now seriously, Orlando is still sitting in front of your apartment, so where are you? I'll come and get you"
"No, no, no!" I interjected. "I'll be home in 10 minutes, I'm already on my way. Sorry I wasn't there to greet you. Bye!" I looked up, and Edward was already grabbing his keys and heading out the door. I grabbed my purse and followed quickly.
Per usual, Edward drove like a maniac, and we were standing outside my apartment door in 7 minutes flat. I opened the door and was immediately lifted out of the Volvo and into Jake's warm embrace. I vaguely heard other sounds around me, but Jake was crushing me to his chest so tightly that all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. Suddenly, I felt wet, sloppy kisses being placed all over my face. I hated when Jake did that. I told him that it reminded me of being greeted by a dog, to which he simply laughed at.
I pushed at his chest. "Ugh, stop slobbering all over me, you dog!" I protested.
"Like you're one to complain. You smell, Bells." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. I shoved off of him completely.
"It's not my fault that you came early and interrupted my morning run!"
It was then that Jake's eyes finally took in my body in its current state. I'll admit, my running clothes were a bit revealing for me, but I always got too overheated in anything else. Now, I was standing in the cool October air in just a sports top and shorts. Just then, Edward cleared his throat loudly behind us.
Right, Edward is here. Shit. Motherfucking God damned shit.
"Sorry, Jake, this is my favorite band mate, Edward," I joked, smiling at him. He still looked tense. "Edward, this is my best childhood friend, Jake."
Both men looked at each other appraisingly. Taking them in side-by-side was incredibly weird. It was like watching Superman and Bizarro—the same person to me, but totally opposites in everything else. Jake towered over Edward. Then again, Jake towered over everyone. At age 16 he went through a huge growth spurt and didn't stop until he reached about 6' 7". Jake was incredibly tan with black cropped hair, the product of his Native American heritage and playing football for U of O (they made all of their players cut their hair). Edward looked positively ghostly white standing next to him, and his mop of bronze hair was in its natural state of disarray.
Jake was the first one to crack. He smiled slightly and stuck out his hand. Edward took it hesitantly, but then shook it firmly.
Oh, God, boys. Just take them out and measure already! This is ridiculous.
"Alright, now that we've had our introductions. How about we go inside and decide what we're going to do with the rest of our day?" I looked to Jake, who was still maintaining eye contact with Edward. "Jake?"
I walked into the apartment and realized that both boys were still glaring at one another. Oh, boy. This day was NOT going to go well, and it just began. Inside the apartment, Alice looked at me with that particular mischievous glint in her eye.
"Bella, why don't you get into the shower super quickly, and I'll entertain the boys. Oh, and by the way—I borrowed your shampoo, so if you wanted to shower in my bathroom that's fine!" Alice chirped.
Wow, leave it to Alice to diffuse an awkward situation. Of course I had to use her shower…all of my toiletries were still at Edward's. I had rushed out of there so quickly that I forgot that most of my life was still in his apartment!
I took the quickest shower I possibly could, not even bothering to dry my hair, and hurried back out to the living room. I caught eyes with Edward, who smiled my favorite smile in return. I had learned that Edward had a smile he reserved just for me, and I loved it. It made my body temperature rise a few degrees and my insides turn to jelly in the best way possible.
I walked to the couch to sit next to Jake, but apparently that wasn't close enough for Jake. Instead, he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. Nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck, Jake inhaled deeply. "Mm, you smell much better now, Bells," he said lazily. He kissed my neck softly and ran his hand down my back.
Edward stiffened noticeably, and my favorite smile disappeared completely replaced by my least favorite Edward expression: the scowl. Normally Jake's actions would be more than welcome, and hell, we'd probably end rolling around in bed together for a few hours. However, today, I couldn't do it. I loved Edward, and Jake simply didn't feel right anymore.
Jake is here to see you, I chanted to myself. You've missed him, and he drove four hours to spend time with you.
"So, what should we do today?" I asked.
"Can't we stay here for a little bit?" Jake smirked with his puppy dog eyes.
"Jake!" I reprimanded. Please, because this day couldn't get any more awkward.
"What? It's been almost three months, and I've missed you," Jake said as he placed his other hand on my knee. I think he was trying to be subtle, but Jake and subtle just don't go together. I was wrong, this day COULD get more awkward.
Edward shot up out of his seat and yelled something about seeing us at practice later and then bolted out of the apartment. It was reminiscent of the first day we met when he bolted out of the audition, but I had a feeling that his thoughts were heading down a different path.
"What the hell is HIS problem?" Jake scoffed. Jasper rolled his eyes.
"Oh, that's just Edward. He PMSes with the best of them. Bella knows—the two of them have been nearly inseparable lately," Jasper laughed. Alice's eyes sparkled again, and I wondered what the hell she was planning for me. No good can come out of that look in Alice's eyes.
"Okay, come on," I said as I pulled Jake off the couch. "Let's show you Seattle, and then you can come watch my band practice. Bye, guys," I waved to Alice and Jasper. "See you at practice in a few!"
Jake and I hopped into Orlando as we embarked on our Seattle adventure. I could only hope that Jake's trip would take a positive turn in the very near future, otherwise the next three days were going to be painful.
Chapter End Notes:
I love you guys SO much! Review, so I can put up part 2 of this terrible, horrible day soon :)
Reviews = Love, and i have lots to go around this week!!!!