AN:
As of right now everyone in my family is sick, hopefully taking a turn for the better soon. Please see the bottom for an announcement.
Thanks to Irritable_Grizzzly for taking time out of her wicked busy schedule to read my shit and tell me how to make it better!
As usual, SM owns Twilight, I just write stories and occasionally make fun of it.
"Oh my God," Jasper snickered.
I rolled my eyes and kept loading the dishwasher, trying to ignore his laughs and comments. He had been sitting behind his laptop at the kitchen table doing this for almost twenty minutes but refusing to tell Alice or me what he was looking at. When we did ask, he would shake his head and say he would tell us later.
I heard the dryer signal that it was done. Without a second thought I made my way the laundry room and started pulling out the contents. I closed my eyes and willed myself not to look at whatever it was that was lace and silk and small.
Why the hell didn't she have a housekeeper or someone to do this for her?
I asked myself that question multiple times a day for the past three days. Ever since she'd asked me to stay. It hadn't taken a minute for me to agree and lay next to her in bed, on top of the covers. The next morning I woke up before she did and made my way down to her kitchen, surprised to find Alice making a pot of coffee. Needless to say, she was surprised to find me there as well. I gave her a brief summary of what had happened and why I was there.
There was no way in hell I was leaving her side now. She was stuck with me whether she knew it or not. Hell, whether she liked it or not. Occasionally she would take a shower or change her pajamas, but she mostly stayed in her room, sleeping or at least in bed. Sometimes I would hear her cry softly and she would let me hold her, and at other times Alice would comfort her.
Alice had turned out to be less annoying than I expected. We still had arguments about her intrusive behavior, but we learned to work around it. We made several arrangements that allowed us to work closely together and it turned out if we could put our personal differences aside, we made a pretty good team.
We were now on the evening of the third day and I had all but moved into her house. Alice would cook - or whatever she called it - that involved almost burning down the kitchen. We were reduced to Jasper making breakfast and getting take-out for lunch and dinner. The three of us had moved from my place to hers and it was amazing how comfortable I felt so quickly.
I lugged the laundry basked to the family room and was about to start sorting it when Alice's laughter from the kitchen caught my attention. Apparently Jasper had let her in on the joke. I chose to ignore it until I heard Alice say, "Holy shit, Edward's gonna die."
"And what am I going to die from?" I said from the entryway of the kitchen.
"Remember a few years ago when you did those teen vamp movies?" Jasper asked.
"Yeah." I rolled my eyes. I could only regret doing those movies so much; they had launched my career, but I had to fight like hell to prove myself as a serious actor afterward. It took years.
"And remember when the fans started writing their own version of the movies?" he prodded.
"Vaguely," I said slowly. It was true. The movies I had done were based on a series of books. When the movies became popular, some fans had taken to writing their own stories with alternate endings and other scenarios. I had no idea it was even happening until it was brought up in an interview where I lied and said I did read them and how talented some of the writers were.
"Apparently they aren't just writing about your character anymore," Alice chimed in. She stood over Jasper's shoulder staring at the computer screen.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I moved over to the kitchen table and snatched his laptop away. It took me a moment to scroll to the top of the page and see what he was reading.
Holy shit. People were writing stories about me. And Bella.
"Go back a page and read the last couple of paragraphs," Alice suggested. "I think you'd enjoy what Bella's orbs look like while she's...you know," she cleared her throat and giggled.
"I can't read this. How the fuck do you find this shit, Jasper?" I handed him back his laptop.
"I Googled you." He shrugged at my surprised face. "It's part of my job to know what people are saying about you. Haven't you ever Googled yourself?"
"No," I lied. "I don't have time for that bullshit." I left the two idiots in the kitchen and returned to where I had left the laundry basket. I sat down and slipped into a rhythm, not paying attention to what I was folding or who was in the room with me.
I heard a throat clear behind me, and then "Edward? Why are you playing with my underwear?"
"Huh?" I spun around to see an amused Bella standing a few feet away. I looked down and saw a pair of white lace panties in my hand. I quickly dropped them in the basket in front of me.
"Why are you folding my clothes?"
I rambled to try and explain why I was doing her laundry. By the time I was done I noticed that Alice and Jasper had entered the room, making Bella smile wider, and I got flustered for no apparent reason. She made her way over to me and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Thank you," she whispered in my ear and gave me a lingering kiss on the corner of my mouth. It was in that moment, in the way she looked at me, that I could feel a shift in the way things were going to be.
"No problem, it's what friends do, right?" She nodded, pulling back and heading toward the kitchen.
"How long have I been...out of it?" She looked around the house, as if she was inspecting that everything hadn't gone to hell while she wasn't around.
"Three days," I said with hesitancy, not sure how she would take it.
"Three days? Alice!" She looked at her friend with wide eyes
"What?"
"You've let me sleep for three days? What about work? I had calls I needed to return, I had plans with Al-" She stopped her rant, running her fingers through her hair and paced back and forth.
"Bella, calm down." Alice placed her hands on Bella's shoulders to get her to stop moving. She finally stopped her pacing and sat on the edge of the coffee table.
Alice explained to her that she'd taken all the necessary measures to clear her schedule and that everything had been taken care of, all while Bella stared at the carpet, nodding occasionally. When Alice finished talking, Bella looked up and she seemed like she was about to cry.
"Do you have any questions?" Alice asked gently.
"Just one." She looked up at me and quirked an eyebrow. "I still don't know why you were touching my panties."
In the moment I did what any second grader would do when in trouble and pointed at Alice and said, "She made me do it."
Bella chuckled and shook her head. "I really appreciate everything you guys have done. I'm gonna go hop in the shower and get dressed. Let me take you all out to dinner, it's the least I can do." She stood quickly and made her way to her bedroom without waiting for an answer.
After she was out of earshot, Jasper came up, patted my shoulder and announced that he and Alice were going to leave to spend some time alone. He said Bella was all mine and wished me luck and to enjoy her orbs. Alice sprinted upstairs to presumably tell her that she was leaving. Since I couldn't hear their conversation, I could only assume that everything was okay because Alice came bounding down the stairs, gave me a quick hug, and was out the door.
I stood there speechless, watching my best friend and his girlfriend pull out of the driveway. I was genuinely nervous and excited at the same time. It seemed as though there were a million things I wanted to talk to her about, but mostly there were only a few minor things I could think of. The anxiousness that I was feeling was clouding my thoughts.
I heard the shower turn off and Bella's footsteps above me, moving from room to room. I'll admit that I didn't put much effort into not thinking about the fact that Bella was upstairs, wrapped in a towel with wet hair-fuck! No! I did need to stop those thoughts. Instead I focused on making sure all her clothes were put back in the laundry basket and the basket was tucked away.
I couldn't think of anything else to do to stay busy so I went into the kitchen to clean. but Alice had already taken care of that. I moved back to the family room and sat on the couch, trying to talk myself into calming down. I was having an adrenaline surge, but I still wasn't sure why. Three days ago we were on good terms, I think? Maybe she was just being polite by asking me to stay and I wasn't supposed to? But she did seem genuinely happy I was around.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard her calling my name.
Bella Swan
My heart pulled for him a little as I watched him fidget on the couch. I was afraid he was going to need hair plugs by the time he was thirty if he kept doing that.
"Edward?"
No response.
"Edward?" I asked again a little louder. He turned around and stood up. I felt his eyes assess my appearance and I suddenly felt self-conscious about what I was wearing.
I shook off the feeling and slowly approached him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Where are we going?"
I quickly found my keys but remembered something. "Do you want to drive? You know, portray the whole couple image thing?" I offered.
"Actually, I need to talk to you about that." He looked at his shoes.
"Okay…" I let my voice trail off.
"Could we talk about it over dinner? You drive." He looked at me and offered a small smile. I wordlessly led him to the garage. My stomach was in knots. For the first time I was nervous about being around Edward. He had more than stepped up to the plate for me in the past few days and the feelings I felt for him before he left were starting to resurface. This time they were stronger than before and while I was excited, it scared the hell out of me at the same time. I realized that maybe we could be more than friends and that if he continued to prove he was trustworthy, then things could work out for us.
I wasn't sure what was happening to me anymore. I always liked to think I had things under control. That I would always be able to make sure the outcome of any situation would turn out in my favor. It's why I was so good at my job. But these feelings of being confused and giddy and happy were throwing me for a very unexpected loop.
"Bella?" Edward asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Could we go now?"
"What?"
"We've been sitting in your driveway for four minutes."while you stare off into space."
"Oh, yeah. Okay." I threw the car in reverse and headed toward one of my favorite places. The car ride was spent making small talk and Edward apologizing for touching my panties.
When we arrived at the restaurant Edward looked out the window and back at me with a skeptical eyebrow. "Gloria's Taco's?"
"You said you didn't care where we went and I want fish tacos and these are the best." I shrugged and got out of the car. We walked in and I was thankful that the place was empty. We placed our orders and ignored the whispers of the staff as they milled around, pretending to look busy.
"So what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
"The whole pretend relationship thing; you don't have to worry about it." He avoided looking at me, just as he'd done at my house.
"So what's the new game plan?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink.
"There isn't one."
"I'm confused. What's Irina got up her sleeve?"
"I have no idea but I'm sure what she wants to do isn't very appealing." He was being cryptic and it was starting to piss me off.
"Okay." I slapped my palm on the table, his eyes shot to mine at the sound echoing through the restaurant. "Spell it out for me, apparently something has happened in the past few days, and since I wasn't entirely conscious for it, you're going to have to fill me in. I'm not a damn mind reader." I took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Jesus, calm down. What I'm trying to tell you is that I fired Irina and hired Alice." He began playing with his napkin and started tearing it to shreds.
"Wow, a lot happened in the three days I was out. So I guess you guys patched up your differences enough for you to hire her?" He nodded sheepishly. "That's great, I think you'll be happy with her." I meant it. Alice was not well known in the PR business but she was damn good at what she did. She was the only one I trusted after fired all the assholes Renee hired. She was my best friend and would always have my best interest at heart.
"You're not mad?" He looked surprised.
"Nah."
Cue the awkward silence.
Edward Masen
Just do it, idiot. Ask her!
I wanted to ask her, so badly. I didn't want to press her, but how do you subtly tell someone that you're worthy of more than friendship so they should now let down their guard and agree to more?
I cleared my throat and asked, "So what are your plans for the rest of the week?"
"I have no idea. I would have to ask Alice."
"Have dinner with me Friday?" I blurted. Her eyes grew a bit wider, so I added, "please?"
"I don't know…" her voice trailed off.
"You still don't trust me." It wasn't a question.
"It's not that...it's just...what if things go well?" She was looking at anything but me.
"Isn't that the idea? To maybe see where things can go?" I prodded. "Look, I don't expect anything. I want to spend time with you, but I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want. I'm a patient person but don't expect that when you finally come around I'll still be waiting for you." I couldn't stop the words as they were coming out. Could diarrhea of the mouth be considered a medical condition?
"Is that what you think? That I'm playing around with you?" Her voice was a little louder than it should have been. I glanced over to see the majority of the staff was listening.
"I'm not going to discuss this with you anymore, at least not here. Just let me know what you decide." At that moment our food arrived. We ate in silcens for a few minutes.
Finally Bella said, "Okay." Her voice was so low I barely heard her.
"What?"
"I said, 'okay,' as in I'll have dinner with you," she clarified.
"Okay."
I didn't push or offer to discuss details. I figured we would talk about what we were going to do when the time came; she was fragile enough as it was. We talked a bit about Chicago and her upcoming trip to New York.
After the bill was paid and we left, I was surprised to see the parking lot was empty. The staff at Gloria's Tacos had more class than the ones at the Ivy. For a few moments I took in the feeling of what it would be like if we didn't live our lives in the public, or rather the public didn't have their weird fascination with Bella and I was still an unknown. It was nice.
We drove back to her house in silence. She seemed lost in thought and I wasn't about to push her. If I'd learned anything, it was that she needed to move at her own pace and come to conclusions all on her own.
We pulled into the garage and she turned off the car, then leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. "So if you wanna come in and watch a movie, we could do that, but you've been babysitting me for a few days and I'm sure you're anxious to get home," she sighed. "Ignore me, you should go home and get some rest."
"Is that what you want?" I asked gently. I took a chance and took her hand and laced our fingers together.
"No."
"Okay then." I kissed her knuckles and released her hand, got out of the car, and waited for her to join me before I just walked into her house like I owned the place.
We settled on the couch, ignoring the pile of laundry and stared at the previews as they played across the screen.
"Why did you stay?" she suddenly asked.
"What?"
"Why did you stay," she repeated in a slower speed.
. I turned to her and grabbed her hands. "You needed me. You were upset and finally breaking down your defenses. All of them, Bella and not just the ones I created. The last thing I wanted to do was give you a reason to put them back up. I wanted to prove that I could be better for you and this was my chance.
Was it a bit selfish? Absolutely, but I would do it again in a second because it has me here, with you, alone, and I think we both know that we're more than just friends. It should be pretty obvious by now that I would do just about anything for you." I avoided looking at her, instead played with the ring on her index finger, waiting for her to speak.
"Edward?"
"Yeah?" I could feel the couch cushions shift around me.
"Would you please look at me?" I raised my eyes to meet hers, surprised to find her face closer to mine than I expected. "Thank you," she whispered and before I knew what was happening, her mouth was on mine. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't kissing her back. So I did.
All the fantasies and memories I had of what it felt like to kiss her paled in comparison to the real thing. She moaned and ran her nails up and down my back, making me shiver. I kept my hands on her thighs, squeezing occasionally to keep myself from groping her. I was going to let her take the lead on this and I sure as fuck wasn't going to push her further than she wanted. I leaned forward to gain a better sense of balance when she angled her body backwards.
I was lying on top of her now, and my hands had moved to one being in her hair and the other going anywhere she'd let me. It was currently cupping her ass since her leg was hitched around my hip.
She moved her mouth away from mine and started nipping at my neck, biting a little harder as she got closer to my ear. When she bit me right under my ear, my hips reflexively thrust into hers and I swore I heard her say "Yes!. To test her again, I moved into her again and was met with an enthusiastic response.
I reached to the bottom of her shirt and snaked my hand underneath when she stopped me.
"Bedroom," she breathed heavily.
I paused. The moment I'd been wanting so long for and I froze. The timing wasn't right.
"We don't have to do anything you don't want to," she assured me. I looked at her with wide eyes. Wasn't that the line most guys used?
"It's not that." I shook my head.
"What is it then?" She was wearing a look mixed of nervousness and lust.
"I just...I really want you to trust me. You've got too much on your plate and I won't be a distraction while you work everything out." I hoped that she understood what I was saying.
"What if I want a distraction?" she prodded
"What if I want more?" I shot back. Now I was pissed. I had thought I'd proven myself to be enough, but would I ever really be? "If you want a distraction, call Alec or someone else. I'm better than that and I'd hoped you would have at least noticed some of that by now." I straightened my clothes and went to search for me keys.
I found them in the kitchen and took a deep breath to compose myself. I came back into the family room and saw her curled on the couch, her shoulders shaking, her arms muffling her sobs. I'm such an asshole.
"Bella, come here," I said quietly. I stood in front of her and pulled her into my arms.
"I always fuck it up, don't I?" she cried into my chest.
"Not always." I kissed the top of her head. "You always tell me to think about what it is that I want, but it goes both ways. You know that I want you and I don't just mean for sex, right?" She nodded. "Good. You want me for more than that too, right?" She nodded again. "Now, we established we are both going to be incredibly busy for the next six weeks. Why don't you work on you and I work on me and in six weeks, when I'm done with my location shoot and you're done in New York, we revisit this, okay?"
"Six weeks?" She pulled back and looked...insulted.
"It doesn't have to be, but it sounds like a good amount of time. We'll see each other a lot, I promise. Just no more of this." I motioned toward the couch.
"Not even a little?" She eyed me as she ran her fingertips up and down my chest almost making me lose my resolve.
"Why don't we go day-by-day on that, okay? Maybe work toward it?"
"I can do that," she agreed.
"Good. On that note, I think I'm going to leave and uhm…" my voice faded as I subtly shifted to try and readjust myself, causing Bella to giggle.
She led me to the front door and I gave her a few innocent kisses before I left. I was halfway home when I replayed what had just happened and our agreement to take it slow. One thing I needed to talk to Bella about was Alec. I couldn't get rid of him unless I wanted to be fired and that sure as shit wouldn't work. I inhaled sharply and slowly exhaled. Bella was a big girl, and she could deal with him on her own. I would have to trust her.
Bella Swan
After he left, I stood in my family room taking in the silence. Everyone had let me be for the past few days, but now the silence was deafening. I didn't want to bother Alice, and I obviously couldn't call Edward. Jake would be busy with Sam and I didn't even want to think about Emmett. That left one person and on the one hand it felt completely inappropriate to call him, but on the other I felt comfortable calling Alec. He was my friend above all else, but at this time of night, I would be afraid he'd get the wrong impression.
I picked up the pieces of trash around the bottom floor of the house. What everyone had done for me had been amazing and I would be eternally grateful for their efforts. When Edward told me his reasons for why he stayed, he blew me away. I expected him to say that it was because I had asked and leave it at that. I learned a valuable lesson: Don't judge.. He did admit that he was being selfish, but if I had been put in a similar situation I would have done the same thing. I would have even done his laundry.
I noticed the white panties sitting on top of the pile and smiled. I carried the basket to my room, but didn't put away any of the clothes. In a way, it was as if some part of him was still around me. I wished he hadn't left when he did, but I understood why.. That act really showed me he was serious about wanting to be a better person. That he wanted a real relationship. I know how hard it must have been for him to stop.
Edward Masen was quickly becoming a permanent fixture in my life and now that I had him, I wasn't going to let him go.
I changed out of my clothes and into a pair of clean pajamas. After switching out the dirty sheets for the clean ones Edward had folded, I slid into bed with a book. I couldn't focus on the words on the page and decided to give up. I could only muse to myself how quickly things had changed in less than a week.
Okay, epic AN:
First, what did you think? I know I've essentially cockblocked these two from the get-go, SO to make it up to you, instead of a teaser for chapter 22, I have something better. It's an alternate to the ending of chapter 2. It's a full out nice lemon for you. So review and that's what you get!
Mad props to nerac, stephk0525, and kisvakondok for pre-reading the lemon I'm sending out. If anyone knows how to write smut, it's those three.
There have been so many amazing stories I've found the past couple weeks.
Fic Recs:
Cullen, Unscripted- FL95
The Unaccompanied Soul - JMCullen09