As per usual…
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Chapter 10 – Just Friends?
Love is friendship set on fire. - Jeremy Taylor
BPOV
"Hey Edward, we're going to get outta here so we can start getting ready. You guys want to meet us at Bella and Rosie's by say eight? Our reservation is at nine." Alice said as she ushered me out of the restaurant towards her car. Rose followed behind us after we had pulled her tongue out of Emmett's mouth.
"Alice, what's your rush? We still have plenty of time before our reservation. Chill!"
"Bella, do you not realize what just happened back there?"
"Um, we all decided to go out to dinner together?"
"Bella, you just got asked out on your first date with Edward! I think I deserve a little credit for waiting this long to pull you out of there!"
The girl was damn near bouncing out of the drivers' seat.
What?
"No, he didn't. You are absolutely delusional."
"I don't know, Bells. I think the little Pixie may have something there." Rose added, picking at the cuticles in her fiery red nail beds.
"Bull shit." I said as I watched the city lights going by much faster than they really needed to.
Edward had asked me if I wanted to "get a bite to eat." Yeah, I know it, I was there. Big whoop. Friends go out and share meals all the time, right? Why would this be any different than all of the other times we had had food in each other's company? My head told me that I was right, prudent even. This was just like any other day.
It was a Friday night out, but nothing special. We would eat, we would talk, and we would laugh. Knowing Rose, we'd hit a club. He'd get hit on by some fabulous, busty blonde. I'd get hit on by some drunk, desperate loser. Just another day in the life.
The butterflies floating and flitting about in my belly, on the other hand, were telling me something altogether different. I knew about those damned butterflies, though. They were all pretty and appealing at first glance but, if you looked at them closely, they were really just slugs with a nice outfit on. The butterflies couldn't be trusted and never turned out to mean anything good when they came around.
At least they hadn't so far.
I ignored them and went back to watching the streetlights.
xxCxx
Once we were in our apartment, Rose and Alice both tried shoving me into the shower while I tried to talk some sense into them.
"Ok, ok. Geez. I know I worked all day, but I can't smell that bad. And don't forget, I was there. I heard it all for myself. Going out to some fancy place for dinner wasn't even Edward's idea. It was Emmett's."
"That all makes sense, but you do realize that he could have objected if he wanted to, right?" Rose asked.
"Yes, and he also could have objected to all of us doing something together, but he didn't." I countered.
"True, but he's not stupid, either. Maybe he liked the idea of us being around. You know, to take some of the pressure off?"
"But I thought that's what most guys wanted. The more 'pressure' we can apply, the better?" I laughed, making my voice all breathy like Marilyn Monroe.
Rose gave me spirit fingers before heading towards her room. "That was a good one, Bells."
Alice stomped around us like a child.
"This isn't funny Bella! And you can't make a joke out of this just to make yourself feel like it's not a big deal. Hurry up and shower so Rose can do your hair and I can get your make up done before they get here. I'm gonna jump in Rose's shower once she's finished."
"Alice! I know you're Sgt. Slaughter's sister, but calm down! It's not a big deal. It's just dinner!"
Alice stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly turning serious. The mood in the room went from playful and teasing to contemplative and somber in less than a second, causing me to take a pause myself. She had tossed half of my closet onto the bed and had a white sweater dress with a deep cowl neck in her clutches.
"You guys really do think that this is more than a normal night out, don't you?"
"I do!" Rose yelled from down the hall.
"Shut up! You're not helping!" I yelled back. She wasn't standing here taking in the earnest look on Alice's face the way that I was.
"You don't realize how serious this is, do you? Edward doesn't ask girls out. Hell, he's never had to!"
Her arms flailed around wildly as she grew more and more animated and agitated before pulling me down to sit with her on my bed.
"Call me a romantic lunatic if you have to, but Bella, I've never seen that look in his eyes before. I've never heard him even come close to asking a girl on a date. People thought he was just stuck up when we were younger, but that wasn't it at all. He had every right to be, but he's really kind of shy and reclusive once you get to know him. What I saw today was him stepping out of a shell that he has always been closed up in, for whatever reason. He's starting to feel comfortable with you, Bella. You did that. He got blocked by Emmett, but he meant for tonight to just be you and him. I just know it!"
Her eyes glistened with all of the truth and sincerity that she felt in what she had said. Tinker bell truly believed. All we were missing was some fairy dust and a musical number. But this wasn't a fairytale and I didn't believe in magic. I wasn't Cinderella or Snow White.
"Alice, Sweetie, I love you, but you are a romantic lunatic." I said, high tailing it to the shower before she could catch me.
"Ok, be like that. But just know that I can show you way better than I can tell you. Put these on, you buzz kill!" She said as she threw a black thong and a push up bra into the bathroom behind me.
xxCxx
I stepped into the shower, letting the warm spray soothe my aching muscles and my jumbled brain, coating my hair with shampoo. I shook my head as I thought of Alice and her cute, albeit irrational, level of optimism. That girl could find even the thinnest silver lining around something, just so long as it was sparkling. She seemed to be so certain about her brother and I. Little did she know that I burned inside from the very idea that he could want me the way that I wanted him.
I lathered up and backed out of the direct stream of water for a minute so I could shave.
She was right about some of the things she had said, though. I could tell that he was introverted and reticent when it came to certain situations. He was completely oblivious to much of the attention that he got from my co-workers and patrons at Clarity. We won't even get started on the double takes I've seen occur in public. Even as a woman that has entertained her fair share of salacious thoughts about the man, some of the things that I'd seen were downright shameful. But who could blame them for literally throwing themselves at his feet? On the outside, he's simply fantastic.
What intrigued me, however, was what was starting to ooze from the inside. I was starting to see the parts of him that he only seemed to reserve for his inner circle…a circle that he had allowed me into. It wasn't easy or pleasant at first, but he had. It became wider as the relationship between Rose and Emmett blossomed. Jasper and Alice thought they were really being stealthy as they played intrigue and espionage around their own budding little relationship. I think it was just a turn on for them, being secretive. And then there was me. If it weren't for Edward, I'd be a fifth, sixth or seventh wheel or something. How did I fit in and where did that put him?
No…it couldn't be possible.
Could it?
My loofah and lady shaver fell out of my hands as it dawned on me. Logic put us together, that much was obvious. But…what if there was more to it than that? What if the two of us fit because, normally, we wouldn't? I could feel myself starting to shake even though the water was still warm.
What if he had been making a move to change our social standing in the group tonight? What if it really wasn't about the group at all? What if he really was trying to put the funny shaped pieces of the puzzle together? What if he was asking me out, but got sidetracked by Em and his grizzly bear appetite? What if he was taking the chance that I was much too afraid to?
You know the one. The one that you take when you're playing the Sims and you flirt and wait with bated breath to see what kind of reaction your Sim gets in response? That one.
What if he was asking me out and I undercut him by suggesting that we all go out together instead? Why didn't I listen? What if he had gone out on a limb and took the risk but, for all intents and purposes, had received a rejection from me?
I frantically thought back on everything that had taken place after our dinner plans were made: We pooled our tips, I got some dirty looks from Jessica and Gianna separately, but that wasn't anything new or noteworthy. I caught his eye as I made some plans to meet up with Bree on campus to go over some of the notes that I had taken in our women's study seminar the other day, but then Alice scooped me up and shoved me into the Beetle.
Shit…
This whole situation had just turned a corner and I was already out of breath. Things would have to be handled even more delicately than before. I just had to pay better attention from now on. I had to read the signs in front of me. I had to play the game if I wanted to get the prize at the end. But this wouldn't be a hand of poker. Maintaining my poker face is what got me into this fucked up position in the first place. Now I was playing catch up. No, I'd have to approach this the way you approach a game of Jenga…
With kid gloves.
My mind was telling me no. But my body? My body was telling me to get the hell out of the shower before I turned into a prune and get that thong on so I could do some research. As I rinsed the conditioner from my hair, I changed my mind about arguing with Alice over the dress that she had picked out for me. That may be a decent way to get the proverbial ball rolling. I could figure things out in my own head while being intently aware of what I had been missing, but had everyone around me certain that Edward and I had something that was worth exploring. I would pay attention to the small stuff, something that I hadn't truly been doing. I was too focused on the bigger picture. The bigger picture would always be me getting hurt in the end, just like all the other times. The only way that I could prevent that would be to gather all of the Intel that I could and walk into this, whatever it is, with my eyes wide open.
"Hey Rose? Do you think I could borrow your black knee boots? The suede ones?" I yelled.
xxCxx
EPOV
Dinner at Howard's was fantastic. It really was one of the best steak houses in the city. We all ate and drank as conversation flowed effortlessly around our table. Jasper even met up with us outside of Rosalie and Bella's apartment building.
I wonder how that happened.
When we arrived at Rosalie and Bella's place, I wasn't sure what I had expected to see. The apartment wasn't huge, but it felt like they had made this house into a home. They were still undergraduates after all, so I was truly impressed. Things were orderly, but lived in. It was a cozy blend of their personalities, a mesh of their very different personas. The walls were a natural cream color, bringing butter pecan ice cream to mind. The couch and chairs were a neutral grayish color with bold crimson and orange pillows and coordinating striped throw rug. The lamp shades on the two lamps sitting on their end tables were a deep crimson color, covering the room in a warm, celestial glow. Adorning the walls were multitudes of candid shots all framed in a rainbow of shapes, colors and designs.
I learned a lot from those pictures.
Most of them were of Bella and Rosalie or just Bella and some of her friends or Rosalie with some of her own. They both did pee wee cheerleading and played soccer together by the looks of things. Rosalie hung out with the jocks and the cheerleaders in high school while Bella was more in tune with the individualized, bookish crowd. She and Rosalie had truly grown up together.
I had to chuckle.
Still, most of the pictures were of them together. Many of them were pictures taken with what I could only assume were their families, showcasing them during various ages and stages of awkwardness. I was immediately drawn to the little brown haired girl with braces and a king sized pink banana clip in her hair. There was a man standing behind her with one of the meanest handle bar mustaches I had ever seen, at least aside from my dad. That had to be hers. Plus, I think I remember her saying he was a cop.
"You see something interesting up there?"
I turned around and was met with a real, live, breathing angel. Her dress was simple and white, textured like a sweater and wrapped snugly around her body like an early Christmas present to me. She was ethereal in both her beauty and appeal. Luminescent. Her hair framed her face, long and loose, curled just slightly on the ends, her make-up light and complementary.
The black suede boots, however, made her look like an angel straight from the depths of hell considering the hellacious nature of my thoughts at that moment.
"Yes, yes I do actually. In fact, I'm intrigued. I love the banana clip, by the way."
Her smile gave the glowing lamp shades a run for their money.
"Ah, you found the money shot. That's a picture that Rose put up after I had lost a bet."
"Really? I would have never figured you to be a gambler. What was the bet?"
"What? You can bet on any and every thing. I actually recommend it. Keeps things interesting." She said with a wink.
I loved a playful Bella.
"You, my dear, are deflecting. What was the bet?"
"Let me think. There's a long list that goes along with that question. I think this particular bet had something to do with how long it took Charlie to trim down the 'stache.'"
We laughed together loudly, Rosalie winning the bet because her dad hadn't trimmed his moustache down in the 90's like Bella had bet. Oh no, he had actually waited until we were well into the next millennium and that was just a damn shame. We were laughing so hard, Bella had grabbed onto my arm to keep from falling over.
"Hey Bella, can you come here for a sec?" Rosalie called out, bursting our little bubble.
"She probably wants me to see what shoes she should wear tonight. I don't know why she always asks me, I'm a train wreck when it comes to shit like that," Bella said.
"No you're not. I think you always look nice," I said, feeling extremely bashful and exposed all of a sudden. "I mean, you shouldn't doubt your fashion sense. Rosalie doesn't, anyway."
The slightest bit of blush saturated her skin before she mouthed a quick thank you and turned toward the others in the room.
"If you guys will excuse me," Bella said as she wandered down the hallway with me watching each and every sway of her hips as she went.
Emmett had his entire upper body stuffed into the refrigerator while Jasper leaned against the breakfast bar, watching me with the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips.
"What the fuck are you staring at?"
"Me? Nothing. I was just waiting for you guys to kiss or fuck or something and be done with it already."
Really?
"Wow. Well, that's an awfully smart mouth on a guy holding an inexplicable garment bag with a fucking red dress in it." I said.
He immediately lost the smirk.
"Oh this? Umm…"
"You're slacking on your pimpin' there, sir," Emmett laughed around the apple he had found.
Jasper had turned an interesting shade of blue, his expression a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. And maybe just a splish splash of anger.
"No, I'm not. Alice asked me stop by her place on the way, so ya'll can kiss my ass."
His accent usually got more pronounced when he was worked up. He couldn't hide the nerves that had crept up into his normal cool, southern swagger.
At least not from me he couldn't.
"Ok. But Alice came here straight from the restaurant, right? How'd you get in, Jazz?"
"Umm…I…" He stuttered, trying to come up with a believable response.
Emmett coughed loudly, either choking or masking his guffaw. No doubt it was the latter.
Poor, poor pathetic, misguided Jazz.
He had to have it pretty bad because we usually talked about everything. Not to go all celebrating the moments of our lives or anything, but this was the first time in a long time that there was a topic that we didn't just hash out between us. No basketball game or anything.
I wouldn't push him or my sister, though. They both knew me better than anyone in the world and they had to put their heads together at some point. I couldn't wait for the day when they would give up on this stupid thing.
Super spies, they are not.
I don't care if they're together, but Jasper and I will need to discuss. Period. There was no denying it and there would be no avoiding it. He knew it and she sure as fuck knew it. It's my prerogative as a big brother. But I was in a good mood, so I let him off the hook.
"Please just tell me my sister isn't wearing that." The dress was a bright, fire engine red. Let's just say that the belled out sleeves of the thing were longer than the damn skirt.
"Of course I'm wearing it, Edward. I doubt you'll be paying that much attention to me anyway." Alice said as she came into the room wearing a robe that was way too big on her.
We all tried to hold back our laughs.
"It's Rose's and I'm short, shut up!" She squealed, grabbing the hanger and rushing back toward the holy of holies in her hooker red pumps…the bedrooms.
"And stop popping up like that when the grown-ups are out here talking. It's creepy, with you being so little." I said.
I had been teasing her with that line since we were kids.
"Fuck you, Edward," she yelled.
She'd been responding that way for just as long.
xxCxx
We arrived at Howard's just in time for our reservation. The hostess took a few minutes to ogle Jasper and then took a few more trying to get me to look at her cleavage. Once she decided that she was fighting a battle that she couldn't win, she asked us to wait a moment while she made sure our reserved room was ready. I watched Bella as she and the girls went to the powder room.
"Edward, are you sweating?" Emmett asked.
"What? Hell no. Why would I be sweating? We just came in from outside." I said. I was nervous as fuck, but he didn't need to point it out.
"Are you gonna pull the stick out of your ass at some point? This is supposed to be fun and I'm hungry."
I glared at his silly ass.
Like I gave two fucks about him being hungry.
"How long are you gonna be mad at me? I didn't cock block you on purpose, Bro, I swear. If I knew that you were actually asking her out on a date, I would've just taken Rosie to the Steak and Shake."
I wanted to be pissed at him, and I was, but the more I thought about it, in the car, in the shower, over a beer, in the car on the way over here, he may have done me a favor. Moving slow didn't mean asking her out on our first date at work and in front of God and country.
"Don't worry about it, Em." I said.
The girls joined us and we were shown to our private room.
xxCxx
Rosalie decided that a club up the street from Howard's called Cliché would be a good place to get a night cap or whatever we were looking for after filling ourselves on dinner.
"Corny," I coughed out once she told us the name of the place.
We pulled up in the two taxis that we had hailed for transportation. Jasper and Alice got into one and the rest of us in another. We walked in without any trouble from security at the front door, thanks to the beautiful ladies that accompanied us, no doubt. The baseline was bumping and the atmosphere was upbeat and festive. A party themed song was playing, getting all of the patrons in the mood to have a good time.
"Now a party ain't a party 'til it's ran all through…"
I recognized the song. It was an oldie but goodie.
Rosalie immediately took to the dance floor and the girls quickly followed. I was just glad to see everybody relaxed and having fun. There were a few close calls at the table during dinner where either Jasper or Alice should have or could have fessed up to their supposedly secret relationship, but they didn't. The same went for me and Bella, though, if I were being honest. In all fairness, the comfort in which we handled ourselves with each other was telling, at least to everyone sitting at the table with us.
I watched the girls dancing and enjoying the night outside of our usual spot, mindful of the assholes that could be found all around them. They were all drooling. Thirsty and predatory. Watching and waiting.
Waiting for a chance to get all up on my girl…
No, I couldn't do it myself without raising a few eyebrows, Bella's especially, but I'd be damned if any of them would get a chance to. I would allow the girls to enjoy themselves, but as far as I was concerned, Emmett, Jasper and I were all on security detail tonight.
I was situated on a bar stool taking the first shift when Emmett came up next to me, whispering hot and wet into my ear.
"What do chicks drink?"
I stuck my pinkie into my ear and twisted. I know I heard him correctly over the music, but I wanted to be sure without him giving me a damn swimmer's ear.
"What?"
"Man, what do chicks drink? I want to get the girls started on some drinks when they come off the dance floor. Chivalry and shit." He said.
I looked up at him because, frankly, he couldn't be serious.
"Are you for real?"
He looked back at me with a blank expression.
"Yes? I wanna be suave tonight, so I need to order a drink for Rosie. "
I didn't want to laugh at him. Really, I didn't.
"I'm not a girl. How the fuck should I know? Order a tray of apple martinis or something." I said.
"But how the fuck do you not know? You bartend. You've had girlfriends before. Stop being a dick and help me!"
Jasper laughed at us as the bartender approached.
"May I have three Cosmos with top shelf vodka, please?" He said.
Emmett looked at him as if Hugh Hefner had just walked into the building.
"It's not that hard. Go with pretty and fruity. Sophisticated is good, too. Chicks love Cosmos cuz of Sex and the City. Alice loves that Carrie broad."
I lifted my eyebrow while he continued on with his lesson.
"I tend to go with top shelf, clear liquor myself. It keeps you from being sick in the morning if you stick with it and you don't reek of it for the next two days."
Emmett could only nod, mentally taking notes by the way he moved his lips.
"Jesus," I said as shook my head at dumb and dumber.
I continued to watch the dance floor while the song blended into another one with a similar party beat. Some people went out onto the floor while others came off. It still felt a little clichéd, but there may actually be something to the themed business model this place was following. Everybody here was clearly having a ball.
"Whew, I need a drink," Rosalie said as she fanned herself with her hand.
"Already a step ahead of you, Princess." Emmett answered as the bartender placed the three drinks on the bar.
"Please," I thought to myself.
Emmett was anything but smooth, but I guess I couldn't fault him too much. He had his girl. Speaking of, I looked over and Bella was sipping on her drink while she spoke softly with Alice.
Wonder what that's all about?
"Everything ok? You having a good time?" I asked once Alice had stopped bending Bella's ear.
"I am. How about you?"
"Nice place, even though the name's a little corny."
"Yeah, I caught that. You have to cut the competition some slack. They can't all be fabulous like Clarity."
I smiled at how she knew exactly what I was thinking. "True, very true."
She leaned over the bar stool next to me instead of sitting in it, which struck me as odd until she started speaking so closely to my ear that I could feel her warm breath caressing my ear lobe. Unlike Emmett, she could come as close to me with her hotness as she wanted to, swimmers ear be damned.
"Howard's was an excellent choice for dinner. Thank you for taking me." She said, stepping back, almost as if she wanted to see my reaction.
It was so out of the blue; it caused me to choke a little on my own drink. Had she picked up on my true intentions? Did she know that I had been attempting to create a sort of casual dating situation?
She pulled her phone out of her small, black suede clutch and looked at me knowingly.
"What?"
"Smile," she said before snapping a quick picture.
Yeah, she knew…
"May I?"
She nodded while handing it to me.
I took her phone just as Rosalie poked her head over and wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulder. They both smiled, so I took that as the universal sign for 'take a picture, stupid.' I looked at the screen and the image was breathtaking.
In a bold stroke of inspiration, I programmed my phone number along with the new picture she had taken of me into her list of contacts. I may have also, possibly, forwarded along the snap shot of them to myself. She looked at me with a question covering her gorgeous face until the reality of what I had just done dawned on her.
I smirked because I wasn't done just yet.
I then put her phone to my ear after dialing my own number, letting it ring a few times before hanging up.
"Smile," I said, taking the liberty of snapping a picture of my own of her.
She punched my arm lightly, but I could only shrug in response.
"Hey, it's only fair that I have one, too."
Once I made certain that I had her phone number stored and secured, I handed her phone back to her and attached her name and adorable picture to my brand new, most prized possession.
I leaned into her this time so she could hear me over the thumping music, the heat of her body radiating directly into mine. I resisted the urge to skim the column of her neck with my nose, but it was hard. Sort of like other things at the moment. She smelled just like fall, vanilla and lilacs, rich and warm.
"I just figured, since we usually talk through one of the others when we're all making plans or whatever, it makes sense that you have my number…and that I have yours…just in case you need it or need me or need something or…"
Fuck, now I'm rambling.
Smooth, Edward, you've talked to girls before, remember? Get it together. Besides, she's smiling, so I couldn't have fucked up too bad.
"…look, I'm rambling. I just figure, we're friends by now, right?"
She nodded again, still leaning into me and tucking her thick brown locks behind her ears. She was waiting to hear what else I had to say.
Ok, here goes…
"I know it might seem strange, especially since we've all been hanging out for awhile, and let me know if I'm out of order. Look, I'm not trying to pressure you or anything like that, but Bella, I'm really feeling like you and I might…"
"Bells! There you are!"
Are you fucking kidding me?
"Come on Bella, we have to dance! This is one of my favorite songs!"
And just like that, the Tiny Terror had come in and swooped on what might have been a huge moment, a leap forward, dragging Bella back out onto the dance floor.
…Cuz I'm not tryna pressure you
Just can't stop thinkin' bout you
You ain't even really gotta be my girlfriend.
I just wanna know your name
And maybe sometime
We can hook up, hang out, and just chill…
She was bumping and grinding with Alice on the dance floor while I watched on, helplessly, from a distance.
Just friends my ass.
What happened next still feels like a blur to me.
One minute, I'm sitting and feeling super satisfied at the progress I had made. Even with Hurricane Alice stepping on my toes, I had taken that first step, well, one of a few first steps really, but I did it and got what I wanted. I got a solid confirmation that maybe we could be more than what we were.
Even while my heartbeat started getting back down to its normal pattern, Bella was making eyes at me, at me, as she moved with her hands in the air, down her body, winding them through her hair. She was working that little, tight frame of hers, worry and carefree to the bass line. I could tell that the vultures were still circling, just waiting in the wings, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was doing it all for me. She couldn't possibly know that she already had me.
Still, her eyes never moved away from mine and I was hypnotized. Maybe I could cap this good night off and join her for a dance or two? I usually made it a rule that dancing wasn't my thing, but in this case, I could consider making an exception.
I turned towards Jasper as he came back into the club from having a smoke. He knocked me in the shoulder and ordered another beer. I was gonna tell him to go fuck himself cuz, as it turned out, I wasn't a complete pussy after all.
Everything was everything.
The next thing I know, some punk is all up in Bella's face, way too fucking close for my liking. She seemed to know him and he damn sure thought he knew who she was. You could see that she was trying to play it cool, tried not making a scene, but he wouldn't be deterred. She pushed him away, tried dancing around him towards Alice who was hot on his heels, yelling and trying to pull him away from her. He kept putting his scummy hands on my Bella, grabbing at her arms, tugging on her waist.
I immediately saw red.
Before I could react, Rosalie strode past me, cool and calm as you please, pulling her earrings out and tucking them into her handbag as she made her way through the thick crowd. Emmett wasn't too far behind, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck, loosening his shoulders up.
I shot a look at Jasper. He took a long pull on his fresh beer and we were out of our seats in a flash.
Shit…
What's this now?
Reviews are awesome, but I'm just glad if you're still hanging out with me. X's and O's to you all!
Playlist is updated. I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures of the gang's outfits. I'll post them on my profile as soon as I do.