Disclaimer: This is where your advice comes back to bite you in the ass.
ooo
"Hey, you've got my voicemail. Leave me a message." I swore under my breath and pressed the "end call" button on my phone, tucking it back into my pocket. I had arrived home from the studio around 5 a.m., and called Bella, ending up getting her voicemail. I had shrugged it off then, figuring she simply wasn't by her phone, and had immersed myself in a book. However, as 8 o'clock, arrived, bringing with them a two-man work crew to replace the broken granite counter, she still hadn't answered.
And now, it was 10, and I had gotten her voice mail for the fourth time this morning. Ridiculous. Was she ignoring my calls? Upset with me that I had asked her to talk to Edward? I know she was reluctant to, but would she go so far as to blatantly avoid me in her anger? I couldn't answer that question myself. Bella could be rather unpredictable, I had learned.
Tucking the phone back into my pocket, I wandered back into the house, headed toward the kitchen. Everything was in order, the broken countertop removed and a fresh one in its place, no questions asked. It was one of the perks of private contractors; they did the work without wanted to know what happened. Even the dust and dirt was swept up, leaving me nothing to do. Restless, I walked around the island, tapping my fingers against the counter top. The kitchen itself was ridiculous; I couldn't use the stove; what was I going to cook? I couldn't use the fridge—was I going to store blood in it?
My house is not a blood bank.
At the thought of blood, my throat burned, and I swore lowly, my voice raspy. I hadn't fed since the night before I met Bella. It was amazing the difference a week could make. My usual method of feeding had become obsolete in a way. I needed to eat, but I couldn't go about my usual seduction methods.
My house is not a blood bank…
The thought clicked in my mind, and I strode out of the kitchen and down the hall, in the direction of my study. It was time to do a little research.
ooo
Bella's POV
Peeking out the door, I looked right, then left, in the direction of the staircase. No one was on the landing; good. Turning, I gave Edward a quick peck on the lips, and he pulled me closer, his still nude body pressed against mine. He returned the kiss, deepening it possessively.
"Ed-waaaard," I sighed, pulling back slightly. "I should get back to my room." He frowned slightly, disheartened. "But, c'mon. It's right next door. It's not like I live in another state."
Edward peered down at me through his bronze lashes, pouting. I kissed his nose, and then pulled away, darting out the door and into my room. Closing the door, I turned around, only to find Alice sprawled out on the oversized armchair. Her feet dangled over one of the arms, as she flicked through a magazine. Tossing it down, she smiled widely at me.
"I told you I wasn't playing with your future. If you hadn't put it off, it wouldn't have been as…intimate." She informed me smugly, as I collapsed onto the bed, burying my face into the mound of pillows, smelling Jasper's sweet-spicy scent on them. I moaned quietly, hiding from the grey morning light streaming through the window.
"Shut up, Alice." I whispered, so low it was barely more than a wisp of air escaping my lips. She leaned forward, straining to hear. "Edward's in the next room, dammit." She danced over to the bed, settling down next to me.
"Well, excuse me." Alice whispered back exaggeratedly. I lifted my head enough to direct a glare at her, before burying my face back into the pillow. We sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the house, the TVs, shuffle of papers and low hum of chatter; in a time when a normal family would be winding down, ours was preparing for the night. Next door, Edward's door opened, and then closed. His footsteps sounded down the hallway, as he whistled. From the front of the house, I heard the front door open, the slam shut.
"Can't use that excuse anymore, now can you?"Alice said cheekily, rocking my shoulder. I ignored her. "In all seriousness, Bella. I care about you, and I care about Edward, and Jasper…I don't want to see any of you hurt. That's why I told you not to put off talking to Edward. Had you talked to him earlier, it would have been so much more different." She said soberly. I rolled over, resting my head in Alice's lap, and hugged the pillow to my chest, still breathing in Jasper's scent.
"I feel like a whore." I said in a small voice, and Alice stroked my hair. "I bring your ex-husband into the house one day, and then hook up with Edward the next? Man, I know women are supposed to be liberated in their sexuality, but this is too much." She shushed me, frowning.
"You're hardly a whore. We've told you time and time again, it's natural for you to feel what you feel for Edward. As for Jasper…" She trailed off, her eyes glazing over slightly.
"As for Jasper, you can't validate that one, can you?" I replied bitterly, as her eyes cleared. She smiled down at me brightly, and motioned for me to sit up.
"Actually, yes I can. But, I'll let you figure it out for yourself; it appears to be that I've meddled in your affairs one too many times today." Alice said, rolling off the bed. "By the way, you're phone's going to ring in three minutes she said, scooping it off of my desk, and tossing it at me. I caught it, checking the screen; four missed calls, the last one an hour ago, all of them from Jasper.
"Dammit." I swore softly, fiddling with the phone as Alice closed the door.
As she predicted, the phone rang exactly three minutes later. I answered immediately.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Kitten."
"Jasper," I breathed into the phone, biting my lip.
"What's wrong, Bella?" He asked, picking up on my distress. I froze, my mind running into overdrive. "Bella?"
"ItalkedtoEdward." I said in a rush. "Andthenwehookedup, and I'm really stupid, and an idiot, and-" Jasper cut me off, his tone amused.
"You hooked up with Edward? Does that mean he finally got the balls to feel you up?" He asked, catching me off guard. Was he actually…enjoying my shame?
"Among other things." I whispered, and for a minute, all I heard was his breathing, slightly harsher than usual, which evolved into chuckles, and then a full out, hearty laugh. "Jasper, this isn't funny! I feel like a whore!" I hissed, and his laughter continued.
"Oh, but it is, Bella. You just have to see it from my point of view." He choked out. "Tell me what happened, I've got time." Jasper said, and, taking a deep breath, I launched into the story.
Ooo
Jasper's POV
I redoubled my grip on the ice cooler, and gave my reflection in the side mirror one last look, making sure there wasn't any identifiable part of myself exposed.Climbing out of the car, I beeped the alarm, and took off at a brisk jog to my destination, eight miles away. In this situation, when breaking and entering was involved, I preferred to have my car far away from the scene.
As I jogged along, I chuckled to myself as I thought back on my conversation with Bella earlier. She had revealed the intimate details of her night with Edward. Her words were quiet, hardly more than a whisper, and she sounded horrified almost. Had it been any other guy, I think I would have been less than amused…but knowing that it was Edward just helped to boost my ego; other than me, Bella had only been with virgins. Hardly any competition there. And Edward's inept fumbling wouldn't be on her mind for long; as per our agreement, we made arrangements for her to fly out to L.A.X. this weekend.
Bella's horror at her actions was probably one of the strangest reactions I have ever heard to a vampire's first sexual interaction with their sire. Had she been human, I had no doubt she would have had a panic attack. Chances were it wouldn't get any better, with continued interaction. Bella wasn't mated, and because of that, she'd still feel that draw to Edward as her sire, even if she felt guilty post-hook up.
The idea made me pause mid-stride, before I picked up speed again. Would Edward and Bella end up mated once they had sex? If Bella was Edward's la tua cantante, that would probably make them a lot more likely to be mated. And when they were, game over. Bella wasn't going to want to see me, much less have sex with me. Mating was shit; utter devotion to their mate.
What the world needed was more open relationships. Especially for vampires.
I slowed as I rounded the corner to my destination, staking out the street. Empty, except for a portly security guard. He wouldn't be a problem, unless he decided to interfere. If that was the case, he looked like he'd make a good snack.
Still unsure of my plan, I looked up at the placard on the door: Red Cross of California Blood Bank—Employee's Entrance.
Cold blood. Disgusting. But, until I developed a…less sexual way of hunting, it would have to do. I knocked my fist against the industrial-grade lock, and it broke, falling out into the building. Reaching for the handle, I looked around, before slipping into the building.
ooo
I smell a change in the air. Or maybe it's just caramel sauce. Either way, things are about to get a whole lot more complicated from here. So, I know that more than one of you are undoubtedly going "WTF is Bella's malfunction here? Now she's all sad, when before, she was aching to bone Edward?" Perfectly reasonable explanation for that. She's mated to Jasper, but they aren't around each other, which means that full-fledged mating "I only want to be with you" bond hasn't formed. It's like a normal relationship almost; they're still in the get to know each other phase almost. But, she also wants Edward, and it's that stupid sire/spawn bond that is probably gonna make me regret writing it in later on. So, those two bonds are warring, the loyalty to her mate, and the loyalty to her sire.
Before anyone things it: No threesomes. The thought crossed my mind for like two minutes last night, and I had a mini-panic attack haha. I'm still having some issues with lemons. I don't know if I could work with slightly dominate Bella, sex-god Jasper, and fast learner/inept fumbler (depending on if you like Bella or Jasper's description of Edward's sexual skills xD) Edward. It would be too many personalities and sexual styles to make happen all at once.
We get to see Bella and Alice's friendship more in action; I feel that in the books there simply isn't a friendship, despite Meyer claiming they're "best friends." Bella is far too wrapped up in Edward, and I can probably count the amount of direct, one-on-one interaction between the two that wasn't forced because of James' impending attack/ Bella's cliff-diving/Edward's bribery to keep Bella away from Jacob/Renesfail's existence on both hands. Or hell, maybe just one. So, I'm working on that. I see Alice as living a bit vicariously through Bella when she was a human, because she doesn't have any human experiences to fall back on herself, but beyond that, they have a close friendship. They can comfort each other when they're down, and there's just that ease and comfort that comes from having a close bond. Am I doing it right?
But, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It was harder for me to write this chapter today, because I didn't know where I wanted things to go once Edward entered the frame, lemon-wise. I was initially aiming toward jealous Jasper, and then I went "But Jasper's badass. He knows that he's got amazing skills over Edward, who's most likely using techniques that practically only exist in porn. Jasper's gonna bust a lung laughing at him."
Also, this may be the last chapter update for awhile. Last night, while washing dishes, I broke a glass. Which cut my right thumb to the bone—including severing a tendon 80% of the way. It wasn't fun. So, my thumb is now in a splint for the next six weeks and I'm facing some sort of hand surgery, and I can't really update, because typing is kind of difficult. My thumb is so used to its normal movements when I'm typing that it tries to do them automatically, and it pulls the stitches both internal, (on the tendon) and external, so even typing this is killing me :(. Maybe once I get it looked at and have a course of action planned I'll be able to return to typing, but not for awhile. And I really want to finish this story, so it makes it twice as bad. But I swear on everything I'll finish it!
Enjoy and review :).