CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jacob's POV

I rose early the next morning and checked the news websites while I ate my breakfast. The main news was the premier for Edward's movie, 'Defeated'. He was pictured on the red carpet in a sombre grey suit with his co-stars and Carlisle, a forced smile on his face and my heart went out to him. The articles I read indicated he had avoided making any comments on the situation with Bella and Sam, but I knew it had to have been hard for him, being bombarded by journalists and hordes of well-meaning fans with endless questions about Bella's cheating and the identity of the baby's father.

I stayed home until I knew he would be on the plane to New York, just in case he were to call me beforehand, but I didn't hear from him and I drove into Bridgetown at ten-thirty and stocked up on groceries. I purchased the latest available iPad too and then spent the afternoon setting it up with 'Aps' and so on, so that it would be ready to connect with Edward when he was free. I worked out that he would land in New York around three-thirty local time, which would be the same time where I was. Presumably he and Carlisle would go straight to their hotel, but it would depend on their schedule. All I could do was wait until he was able to contact me.

It was midnight when he called. I was in bed, reluctantly settling down to go to sleep when my phone rang and vibrated loudly on the bed table and I snatched it up quickly.

"Hey, Jacob. Sorry to call so late."

He sounded exhausted and he went on to tell me that he had only had time to take a quick shower in the hotel before he had to undertake an interview for a magazine and then appear on a chat show. The following day would be filled with more of the same and then another premier. We only talked for a few minutes before I told him to get some sleep. I knew all to well how gruelling promotional tours could be; endless interviews and appearances coupled with constant jetlag and with everything else that was going on in Edward's life, it must have been hell.

It was four days before we actually got to talk to each other properly. He was in London and had a full day to rest before flying on to Paris and he had decided to stay in the hotel rather than go sight-seeing and draw more attention from fans and press. He sent me a text message to say that he was online if I was free and I quickly switched on the iPad to try it out for the first time.

I wasn't particularly competent with technology, but eventually Edward appeared on the screen, a rather embarrassed looking crooked grin on his face. He had apparently propped his iPad on a table or something and I could see most of him where he sat on a couch. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that he had bought in Bridgetown, the watch I had given him on his left wrist, his hair wilder than usual as if he had repeatedly dragged his hands through it and his face looked almost gaunt, eyes tired and shadowed.

"Hey, gorgeous," I said.

"You're flattering me; I look like shit," he grimaced. "The jetlag's killing me. I don't think I slept properly since we left LA."

"I don't think I have either," I admitted. "Been thinking about you."

"Me too." He lowered his eyes and reddened a touch.

"How are you getting on?" I asked.

"Pretty much how I expected. More questions about Bella and Sam than the movie. Dad's not in the best temper. He's outwardly supporting me and cursing the whole mess the minute he's out of earshot of the paps."

"Where is he?"

"Out somewhere; they all are. I figured I'd just stay in the hotel and rest and catch up with you."

"I wish I was there too," I said. "You look like you could use a hug."

"Yeah. I'm ok, just tired, but I'm running low on hugs."

We talked for a couple hours. He seemed so low, but determined to put a brave face on it, gradually smiling more often as we spent time together with the aid of the iPads. We reconnected again at ten o'clock London time when I was soaking up the last few hours of sun and I switched on the small screen to see Edward sitting on a vast bed in another t-shirt and shorts, apparently ready to go to sleep, the room lit only by a lamp beside the bed. He looked a little better and admitted he had slept for almost four hours since we had talked earlier.

"Want me to tuck you in?" I teased.

Grinning, he got up and slid under the covers, holding the iPad precariously in one hand and giving me jumpy views of the room, the bed, and flashes of arms and legs until his face appeared again on the pillow. He balanced the screen somehow and gazed into it, the effect making it seem as if he were looking into my eyes. We talked a few more minutes until his eyelids were drooping and then I said goodnight and closed the connection with a sigh. Seeing him like that had only made me miss him more, but I guessed it was a lot harder for him.

The next two weeks were very long. Some days Edward was either too busy or too tired to talk to me and the times that we were able to spend with each other, I noticed he was looking more and more wrung out. I found it difficult to stop myself continually expressing my concern for him, especially when I had been reading what was going on in the news and seeing not only the interviews he was being subjected to, but also Bella's efforts to regain public affection by stating that she desperately loved Edward and wanted them to reconnect when he got home; hopefully to be able to be a proper family because she knew in her heart the baby was his. He skilfully avoided questions on the subject himself, but it was obviously taking its toll on him.

In any other circumstances, I would have been tempted to tease and flirt with him through the iPads; tell him how much I wanted him, how I couldn't wait for us to be together; perhaps try to coax him out of his clothes for a little bit of virtual intimacy, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. It was completely inappropriate given the way things were for him and I kept my thoughts to myself, merely repeating that I missed him and loved him every chance I got.

Finally he arrived back in LA and I saw the photo of him and Carlisle in the airport before I got the chance to talk to him. He was wearing a baseball cap backwards and dark glasses, a short-sleeved shirt and cargo pants; Carlisle wore a suit. Edward looked as if he had lost weight and the press of course had been keen to jump on the observation, commenting that he was clearly suffering from heartbreak over Bella, not eating or sleeping, unwilling to take care of himself without her. Somehow public opinion had turned in a different direction and decided that he would be happier if he was with her, working together to forget about Sam and look forward to their baby.

I hated reading all of that shit, knowing it to be completely untrue, but it was only what was expected. They wanted to sell as many copies as possible and while nothing particularly exciting was happening, they would make it up. I switched my laptop off in disgust, not wanting to read any more. It was early evening and I was sprawling on my bed, the iPad switched on and propped against a pillow just in case Edward should want to talk to me when he got back to his hotel. I glanced at the blank screen and then suddenly it flickered and a hand appeared, the picture moving around.

"Hey, Jacob, are you there?"

The screen jolted and then stilled and Edward's face appeared, sideways as he laid his head on a pillow. He looked ready to pass out from exhaustion, but his smile was brighter than any I'd seen since he left.

"I'm here. How are you?"

"I'm home, thank God. Well, if you can call a hotel home." He grimaced slightly and then the grin returned. "What time is it there?"

"Seven."

"At night? I'm completely fucked up, I don't even know what day it is."

"It's Thursday and it'll be four in the afternoon for you," I told him.

"Can we talk later? I really need to get some sleep, but I want to catch up with you properly. I know I've been lousy company the last couple of weeks."

"Edward, don't worry about that, I know how tiring tours are normally without all the other crap you're dealing with. I'll be here; I'll leave this switched on. If I'm asleep when you come back, just shout at me."

I was glad that he seemed in better spirits already and I finally managed to do some writing while he slept, hammering the laptop keyboard until amost ten before I put it aside and took a shower, then returned to the bed in just my underwear, sprawling out on top of the covers while I waited for Edward to wake up, assuming he didn't remain dead to the world for the rest of the day.

"Jacob! Hey!"

My eyes snapped open and I grinned as I watched Edward's fist approach my screen and knock loudly. I glanced at the clock and noted that it was past two, stifling a yawn as the fist disappeared and his face came into view.

"Sorry, you said shout if you were asleep. Do you want to leave it until tomorrow?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "I'm awake."

"Only just."

He smirked and tugged a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. His face was dusted with stubble, I noticed and he seemed to be wearing a fluffy bathrobe, probably one of those provided by hotels. He moved the iPad a little further away and the rest of him came into view, to the knees at least. He was lying on his side on the bed, the same way I was and I moved my own screen further away, quickly checking first to make sure my cock hadn't escaped from my shorts to cause me embarrassment. Typically it was half hard as was often the case when I first woke and I moved the iPad only far enough to capture my upper body.

By the time we had chatted about Edward's flight home from Sydney, Australia and the last of his appearances, I was fit to be seen and I moved the iPad again, wondering if I ought to try what I had been thinking about ever since I bought the tablet. It was an unusual situation because we had only had a brief kiss before he left Barbados, but things could go on this way for months yet without us being able to see each other in the flesh so it was worth testing the water. Perhaps it was still too early; sex was probably the last thing on his mind, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

"What are you thinking?" Edward prompted and I realised I'd been staring thoughtfully at the comforter for far too long. I grinned up at the screen.

"I was just thinking I wish you were here - or I was there."

"I'd rather be there; your place is so peaceful." He sighed and stretched, causing the robe to gape open and give me a glimpse of his chest.

"Is this really what you want, Edward?" I asked. "Me, I mean?"

"Of course I do!" he said at once. "I love you. I know what I want. I wish I could just walk away now and be with you..."

"It's ok, I can wait," I smiled. "I had an idea, that's all, but I don't want to embarrass you or freak you out if it's not really where this is heading."

"Tell me." He lowered his eyes and smirked slightly and I wondered if he guessed what I was thinking.

"Well, we can hear each other and see each other; we just can't touch, so..."

Edward let out a small giggle and rubbed a hand over his face, his cheeks glowing red.

"Sorry, I'm being stupid. I've never done anything like this..."

"Nor have I," I put in. "They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I'd like to give it a go."

"You're not old," Edward said at once. "But I'm ridiculously self-conscious..."

"Have you got shorts on?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"So take the robe off. It's no less than you had on when you were roasting yourself in my yard."

"I guess." He sat up suddenly and I saw a blur of white fabric and then it was gone and he was lying down again wearing black jersey shorts, similar to the grey ones I had on. He was definitely thinner than when he'd visited me, but at least he looked happier than he had on the tour.

"You're beautiful," I said.

"Don't."

"I'm serious. I always thought that. Remember when you were eighteen..."

"Of course I remember. I dreamed about it often enough afterwards."

"Me too. I was thinking about it when you were here. You were lying on a rug on my lawn reading your script and I couldn't keep my eyes off of you."

Edward grinned and tugged his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes lowered. He looked sexy without intending to and I felt my cock twitch.

"I was wishing you were over Bella...that you wanted me..."

"I am now and I do want you," Edward whispered.

"Later, after we talked on the boat, I had this fantasy..."

His face flamed and he rubbed a hand over it again awkwardly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

"Yes..."

"Close your eyes. Forget about the camera; imagine I'm next to you."

"Ok." He closed his eyes and breathed out loudly.

"I imagined you were lying face down on the rug," I remembered. "I came over to put some more lotion on you. I started with your shoulders and then your back, massaging it into your skin."

I slid my hand down my body as my cock grew eagerly, pushing at the fabric of my shorts. Not only was I thinking about the story I was telling him, but I was also imagining he was with me now, that I could feel his skin under my hands, that he was becoming as aroused as I was.

"I moved down to your legs and you spread them open. I wanted to touch you and I put my hand there between them, under you...you were so hard...you rubbed yourself against my hand..."

Edward's chest rose and fell rapidly and I noticed movement in his shorts, his cock lengthening and straining against the fabric the way mine was doing. I suppressed a groan as I slipped my hand into my underwear and wrapped it around my aching erection.

"I asked you to turn over and when you did, I took your shorts off. I was dying to touch you...taste you..."

"Fuck..." Edward hissed.

The hand that I could see was clenched on the mattress in front of him. I changed things slightly, shifting from the fantasy to the present.

"If I was next to you right now, would you let me touch you?"

"Uh...yes..."

"Let me see you."

His eyes flew open, but they were angled downwards and I imagined he was looking at what my hand was doing rather than at my face. I pushed my shorts down a few inches, exposing myself, gripping my cock tightly again in my fist. His lips parted on a gasp and I watched as he slowly turned onto his back and wriggled out of his shorts, tossing them away somewhere before he rolled over to face me again. I quickly pushed my own further down and kicked them off, then grasped myself again and let my eyes slide down Edward's body to his cock. It was rigid, curved up against his belly, the head glistening with pre-cum. He was cut and I was unable to stop the groan that forced its way out of my throat as I looked at him.

"Jesus, Edward," I whispered. "You have no idea how much I want you right now."

I began to move my hand, realising that I was so close already I was probably going to come all over the bed in minutes. My balls were tight against my body, my cock throbbing in my hand as I pumped it slowly. Edward's eyes were almost closed again, but I could sense he was watching me. I could hear him panting quietly and at last his hand slid lower to grasp his shaft, holding it for a moment before he began to stroke it in time with my own movements.

"You are so fucking sexy," I groaned.

He raised his eyes slowly and looked into the camera.

"I love you."

The words made him smile and he repeated them to me, ending on a low moan. His breathing quickened and he began to jerk himself off faster, his groans and whimpers coming to me clearly through the small screen in front of me.

"Imagine that's my hand," I said softly.

"I am."

"Come for me, Edward."

It took only a few more pumps and then he was shooting his load onto the sheet in front of him, a little of the thick white fluid dribbling over his fingers as his hand slowed, teasing the last few drops from himself.

"Holy shit," I breathed.

My own orgasm took me and I was spurting onto the bed, emptying myself with a loud groan, stroking through it until I became too sensitive and released my cock reluctantly. I was panting for breath, my heart racing. My eyes had slid shut as I came and I opened them again quickly, watching as Edward sat up and grabbed something black - his shorts probably - and the screen blurred with rapid movements as he presumably used them to clean up the mess. I pushed myself upright and quickly did the same, wiping my cock and the sheet before I lay down again.

"Now I have no idea what to say to you." Edward laughed softly, flushing.

"I wasn't sure if it would be too soon," I admitted. "If we were together I'd have been kissing you; seeing what happened..."

"It's not too soon." Edward grinned wider. "Take away all the shit that's been happening - misunderstandings, you trying to do what was best for me, all of my crap, and it's taken us seven years to do this."

"Well, when you put it like that..."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You know after our movie when I came to your room? If things were different and you hadn't been thinking about my career or whatever...what would have happened?"

"Are you sure you want to go over that now? We can't go back."

"I know that, but I really want to know. Now I know that it wasn't because you didn't want me, I want to know what you would have done."

"I'd have made love to you, if you'd have let me," I said.

"I'd have let you do anything you wanted. I imagined you doing it after my birthday." He smirked suddenly. "I'd never jerked off so much in my life."

My cock twitched again at the thought of him lying alone in his room, thinking about me and making himself come.

"Stop it, you're going to get me going again," I grinned. "Let's leave that for next time."

"Thank you," Edward murmured.

"What for?"

"This. I needed it. The last couple of weeks have been...trying. Some of the times when I couldn't talk to you, it wasn't so much that I was busy or tired or whatever, I just...I thought I'd crack up and I didn't want you to see that and worry about me."

"Aww, Edward," I groaned. "You should have let me be there for you."

"I knew you were, but I wanted to get home first."

"I love you," I said. "I wish I wasn't so far away. These tablets are good in that we can talk and see each other and...play...but I can't hold you and that's what I want most. I'd be there like a shot if I thought it wouldn't make things difficult for you."

"I didn't think you'd want to be seen in LA."

"I don't care about that; there's nothing the press can say about me any more that would bother me. When I walked away they pretty much beat it to death. But if I'm seen there after they already speculated about you visiting me, it's not going to help you."

"If it was just about me, I'd say I don't care," Edward said slowly. "But as much as I'm not looking forward to making this movie, I want it to be a success. Rosalie's pretty awesome and me making my last picture her first, I guess it'll be a launching pad for her. There's enough gossip about me already. Obviously you've been reading the latest. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I am when I read that they want me and Bella to work it out. What's that about? Suddenly they feel sorry for her?"

"They're just trying to sell copies, Edward. They haven't had much to write about while you've been touring. Concentrate on the movie - that'll be the headline as soon as you start filming and Bella will take a back seat again."

We talked about it a while longer, Edward telling me that filming started in two days. The hotel he was staying in wasn't too far from the studios and he planned to have Marcus collect him each day and drive him to his trailer. Some of the other members of the cast were going to be staying in the same hotel - his friend Jasper, which I was glad about and Alice Brandon who was to play his girlfriend. The young actor playing the teenage Martin Fuller would also stay there with his father during the time they filmed his scenes. The majority of the movie was to be shot in the studio with only a few scenes on location in New York, although those would be done after everything else was complete.

It would be four months and then the usual promotional interviews and so on, then it would be over for Edward until he was called back for the premier and a final tour of appearances. He told me that he had planned with Leah to do a press conference when filming ended before any of the interviews, to announce his intention to leave acting. Not only would this make the movie a must-see, but it would also have the effect of the following interviews concentrating on the reasons for his departure rather than Bella and her baby. He seemed much more positive about everything and although it was still months away, I guessed he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and I would be there for him through it all, even if I could only do it through the small screen in front of me.