a/n: This chapter was originally longer, but I decided to change around the second half and I realized I didn't have time to do that today, so I just put up the first half. The second half should go up maybe tomorrow or Tuesday. Another huge thank you goes out to starfish, who is simply brilliant at fixing my terrible grammar.
a/n2: It just wouldn't be right if I didn't thank everyone who takes the time out to review my story. You are all too kind!
The characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them in my happy fantasy land.
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EPOV
We were cooking dinner together. I was doing basically whatever she told me to do with my limited cooking skills. I spent hours researching how to cook a meal for her the one time I attempted it. I could make basic staples, but nothing impressive. We were drinking wine and laughing, when suddenly I was struck, hard, by the idea that what I had right now was probably the closest I've come to a normal life as an adult.
There were no press, no fans, no cameras, no need to look pretty and smile; only me and Bella, chopping up vegetables for a salad, laughing over inconsequential things. I leaned over and kissed her softly. "I am so happy you asked me to stay." Her smile was my response, which said everything with the brief drawing up of her lips and quick exhale of breath.
"Oh! I almost forgot to ask you. Angela called me today. I was thinking of having Eric and her over tomorrow to meet you; is that okay with you?" Bella asked.
"Of course it's okay with me, I look forward to meeting them. If you need me to run out and get anything, let me know; I can do it while you are gone tomorrow." My words were perhaps not as honest as they should have been. I would love to meet her friends, but the idea of meeting the brother of her dead husband was not exactly something I was looking forward to. I doubted I would live up to any possible expectation that Eric had for her as a replacement for his brother, in her heart or bed. I decided to just do the best I could for Bella, because I know how important the two of them are to her.
"I actually do need to make a liquor store run, but I can do that on my way home."
"Let me do it, it will make me feel useful. I can take a cab; just tell me where to find it."
"Actually I have an extra car. But...well, it's kind of a piece of shit. It was one of James' rehab projects that he used to work on with our neighbor's son before he moved away. They would spend hours on the thing – why, I have NO idea - but I never had the heart to get rid of it. I decided a few months ago when Jacob comes home that I was going to give it to him as a gift. I haven't seen Jacob since; he doesn't come around much anymore. I think he finds it difficult to see his father, who was once his biggest role model, in a wheelchair."
"Well, now you have to show it to me." I said intrigued.
She took me into the garage and next to her blue Honda Accord sat this gigantic red battered pickup truck. I laughed in spite of myself. "I'm sorry Bella, it isn't funny."
"Oh you can laugh, I never doubted it was a piece of crap, but they loved rebuilding it, so I let him have it. It's slow, and well, it's loud; but it does actually work."
"I think I'd take my chances in a cab. I mean, everything about this car screams 'notice me'."
"Good point." She laughed.
After dinner Bella spotted my guitar in the corner of her family room. "You brought your guitar?"
"I did; I need to finish writing a song, and really, I don't like being places for long periods of time without an instrument. I guess the creative side of me can't be dormant for too long without me getting antsy."
"Play something for me?" she asked with her sultry smile.
I thought about all of the songs I could play without the sheet music. As I flipped through my mental catalog it came to me, and I took out the guitar and started playing.
BPOV
He was strumming the guitar so softly. The music was something I didn't recognize, but found to be so serene and peaceful. Watching him play music was a treat; he looked so at peace. As I sat there listening to him, he surprised me further by beginning to sing for me.
Spring sweet rhythm dance in my head
Slip into my lovers hands
Kiss me wont you kiss me now
And sleep I would inside your mouth
Don't be us too shy
For knowing it's no big surprise
That I will wait for you
I will wait for no one but you
He locked eyes with me as he sang the last two lines. I knew they were meant for me, probably the reason he chose this song, by the look in his eyes. My whole body was tingling from the way he was looking at me. It said everything in simple words.
Oh please lover lay down
Spend this time with me
Together share this smile
Lover lay down
Spend this time with me
Walk with me, walk with you
Hold my hands your hands
So much we have dreamed
And you were so much younger
Hard to explain that we are stronger
I stared at him, almost hypnotized; watching him play, letting his voice wash over me. I had heard him sing on my iPod, but hearing him like this was intoxicating.
A million reasons life to deny
Lets toss them away
See you and me we
Lay down look see
She and he
By my lovers side
Each others tears to cry
Together share this smile
Lover lay down
I started feeling overwhelmed with emotion, just as I had the last time I'd heard him play. To watch him pour so much of himself into the music, to play for only me, was tender and yet completely erotic all at the same time.
Oh please oh please
Please lover lay down
Oh please lover lay down
And you weep lover lay down
Cause its over lover lay down
Say love, say love, say love, say love, say love
Could I love you
Could you love me
Could I love you
Could you love me
Could I love you
Could you love me
Could I love you
Could you love me
The tenderness with which he sang those lines to me, combined with the slight smile on his lips and the complete intensity of his gaze, was enough to make the tears start spilling over.
Darling it's all the same
All the same
Til' we dance away
Til' we dance away
Til' we dance away
Til' we dance away
Chasing me all around
Leading me all around in circles
Chasing me all around
Leading me all around in circles
Say.......
The words finished, and he continued to play out the final notes on his guitar. His eyes still had never left mine.
"That was beautiful, Edward; I've never heard that song before, and it was just lovely," I said, while wiping away the tears that showed him I was once again overcome with emotions. So many of them rushed towards me while he sang: love, lust, passion, respect, need and desire. "I'm just speechless, really."
"It's "Lover Lay Down" by The Dave Matthews Band; one of my teachers was a big fan of his music and made me learn this because of how the melody sounded out of an acoustic guitar. It has always been one of my favorite songs to play, because of the tenderness and sensuality of the song. Of all of the songs I know off the top of my head, this seemed the most perfect for you."
I removed the guitar from his hands and kissed him, climbing into his lap as I did it. "It was perfect." I whispered as I continued my kisses, my fingers working to take off his shirt.
The alarm woke me far too early in the morning. I heard Edward groan next to me in bed; I quickly turned it off so he could go back to sleep. I went to hop out of bed and I felt his arms around me pulling me back in. "Just one more minute," he begged.
"Please go back to sleep, I know for you it's only three in the morning."
"I have all day to sleep. I just have to make your liquor run for you."
"I'll be home earlier today, probably around 3:30, to get dinner started. I don't have any meetings and can sneak out by then."
"I look forward to it," he said planting kisses on my shoulder.
I got out of bed and into the shower, and finished getting ready for the day. As I came out I saw he had fallen back to sleep. I stood for a moment taking him in, asleep in my bed, peaceful and serene. I blew a kiss in his direction and went off to work.
EPOV
Looking at the clock, I realized I must have fallen back to sleep. It was already noon. I've slept six more hours? Technically I had only slept in until nine in the morning my time, but I felt lazy nonetheless. The good news about my laziness was that it would only be a short time until Bella returned home.
I went downstairs to put on some coffee, to keep the inevitable caffeine withdrawal headache from happening. I didn't want to be useless for the rest of the day because I didn't properly caffeinate myself. I ate a small bowl of cereal while flipping through the Entertainment Weekly magazine that had come in her mail yesterday. I always laughed when I saw these magazines, because while this one was better than most, it only really reported what people wanted them to report. Every story was crafted by a team of publicists to either make us look good or someone else look bad. These magazines represented everything that I enjoyed being away from, the constant lie I had to live. The constant lie I was living now in many ways: hiding my love from the world, for fear of how she would be treated if I were to go public with our relationship.
I showered and dressed. Picking the proper outfit for meeting the brother of your lover's dead husband is no easy task. I sat there for a while trying to come up with something that didn't look too expensive, but also didn't look like I didn't give a shit. Given the lackluster state of my wardrobe, this was going to be a problem. I decided to just go simple with jeans and a t-shirt, figuring it was better to be casual than coming across as a show off.
I went through Bella's liquor supply to determine what I needed to get, and then decided to make a big batch of cosmopolitans and margaritas for the night. I know Bella had enjoyed them in California, and she'd mentioned that she and Angela would often drink them. I called a cab, taking the liquor-shopping list I'd made.
I could feel the nervousness creeping over me again at the thought of meeting Eric. I decided to just get into a character if I had to - I'd done it plenty of times. I know Bella wouldn't like me feeling like I needed to pretend, but I wasn't sure how I would react if I could sense tension in the room. By the time I got home and set the bottles down on the counter, I heard the garage door open and her car pull in. I checked the clock and it was only two-thirty. I smiled, realizing she just couldn't stay away from me, any easier than I could stay away from her.
"You're home early," I said, kissing her as she came in.
"I couldn't stand being there anymore without you," she responded. "What time did you wake up?"
I looked down, embarrassed. "Noon."
She let out a girlish giggle. "Lazy bum."
"You sap all my energy, Bella. I need my rest if I'm to have any hope of pleasing you in the manner in which you have become accustomed," I said mischievously.
"If I had to guess, I would say you could probably do that unconscious, you're so proficient at pleasing me," she came back, with an equal amount of mischief in her voice. She pulled me closer to her by the waist and locked me in a deep kiss. "Remember that tonight when our guests have left."
We were preparing dinner when I heard the doorbell ring. As she went to answer it I took a deep breath to calm my nerves again. If I was this worried about meeting her friends, what would I be like meeting her parents?
They entered the house and I came over to greet them. Angela had warm and kind eyes when she greeted me with a silly grin. Eric was looking away from me and seemed more stiff and formal in his greeting.
"What do you guys want to drink? Edward has made cosmos and margaritas; we also have wine, beer and the usual assortment of liquor," Bella offered.
"Do you need to ask, when cosmos are involved?" Angela replied.
"I think I'll go for a beer. Real men don't drink fruity designer drinks," Eric said.
I stiffened a bit. I wondered if that was in fact a dig at me in some way, because I made them. Don't read too much into small shit, Edward, I thought. Bella and Angela didn't seem to notice the remark, so I kept reminding myself I was probably just worried or overreacting.
We stood around in the kitchen as Angela and Bella dominated the conversation. It was easy to see why they were friends because they complimented each other so well. Eric and I stood leaning around the island just listening, nodding and occasionally laughing.
"So Edward, what kind of car do you drive?" Eric asked, surprising me. The girls didn't seem to notice we were talking, so I answered only Eric.
"I drive a Volvo S80 R," I responded.
Eric almost spit out his beer. "What's so funny?" Angela asked, hooking her arm in his.
"I just asked Edward what kind of car he drove." Eric laughed.
"Ah yes, the Volvo," Bella responded. "I had to admit I laughed too when I saw it, but it is equipped with every option known to man and then some. The sound system is enough to hear for the car coming for miles."
"I prefer to blend in. The less noticed I am, the better; so I went for a less flashy car choice," I explained.
"Less flashy, that is putting it mildly. I mean you have how many millions and you drive a mom car, dude? Seriously, I can't believe your friends didn't talk you out of that," Eric grumbled. "At least tell me you have a cribs-worthy house on the beach or something?"
"Mmmm, no, I have a two bedroom rental apartment in Los Angeles," I replied.
Eric just shook his head. I was trying to rationalize his responses by thinking he probably walked in here with all sorts of preconceived notions about me and I wasn't living up to his expectations of what a Hollywood star should have or act. I had to try to give him a pass for being annoying.
"Edward lives pretty modestly; there was really nothing flashy in his apartment either, other than the recording equipment which looks expensive," Bella added.
"What do you do with all of the money you have then?" Angela asked.
"I spend it on plane tickets and hotel rooms," I joked, smiling at Bella.
Angela seemed to bubble up with glee at this answer. I saw Eric roll his eyes.
"I invest most of it. I have no idea how long this will last so I want to be prepared. Because if it weren't for this, I have no idea what I would do for a living," I answered honestly.
"Must be nice," Eric responded under his breath.
I exhaled. If I were being myself, I'd say something sarcastic to put his guy in his place. That wasn't going to be good for anyone. So I decided to do two things. The first was step into the role of the doormat that puts up with this shit from some dick; and the second was to get myself so drunk I couldn't make sense of what he was saying anyway.
"Is dinner almost ready Bella?" I asked, trying to get the subject off of me and back to someone else.
"Yes, it should be ready in about 5 minutes," she replied.
"I'll set the table, then," I offered, and busied myself putting out the place settings. I could see Angela grabbing her arm and whispering something into her ear, and Bella smiling. I exhaled again. Clearly I was just overreacting.
"Can I get you another beer, Edward, or are you going to nurse this one for the rest of the night?" Eric asked, holding up my beer that had the smallest amount remaining.
"I think I'll have wine with dinner, thank you," I answered. "I bought a few bottles today – they're over there on the counter. Choose one."
Dinner was uncomfortable. Angela was asking me loads of what I consider to be interview questions. Questions I am asked on an almost near constant basis. The more she asked me, the more I could see in Eric's body language, lack of responses and amount of alcohol consumed, that he was not happy. I kept hoping Bella would change the subject, but she never did. On the contrary, she was actually beaming. I could see how much it meant to her that her best friends were here with me; that was enough for me to smile and answer them all as curtly as I could without being rude.
When we finished dinner we were all feeling warm from the alcohol consumed, and they decided to play Guitar Hero. I'd heard of the game, but had never actually played it. I was never a big gaming type of person. House rules were that the loser in a head-to-head match had to do a shot. Eric challenged me to play against him. I thought the chances of my losing were high; but at least I would get drunk faster and as such, not care about him acting like such a dick all night.
I had assumed that I would be good at this game because I play guitar. I was wrong. It was nothing like playing a guitar, and I was miserable at it. Eric took great pride in berating every time I screwed up. "Dude, you have to hold the button and then strum when the dot gets to the circle. DUDE, you keep missing it!" Eric kept repeating while laughing at me. "Do we have to set it on beginner for you? I thought you played the guitar, dude."
If he called me "dude" one more fucking time, I was going to explode. Yet after each song he would challenge me again, to help me "get better". So I just kept taking more shots, and eventually I could tune him out and didn't give a shit how bad I was.
"Dude, you suck. Bella, get over here and show your little boy toy how it's done," Eric said.
Boy toy. Fucking prick. I thought.
"I haven't played in forever," she feigned.
I happily jumped up and handed her the guitar. "I would like to see you play for me this time, Bella," I whispered in her ear.
"Go Your Own Way?" he asked her.
"Let's rock," Bella replied.
Bella was actually very good. I don't think she missed a note for the first half of the song. I kept calling out in encouragement for her and it would cause Eric to mess up. So I kept doing this more often to annoy him; it gave me a perverse sense of joy to put him in my shoes for a minute. When she beat him soundly, she raised her arms up in the air and shouted a large, "Wooohoooo!" It was adorable.
I filled up the shot glass and handed it to him. "Bottoms up, Eric," I smirked. He snatched the shot angrily out of my hand as I smiled down at him.
"Best two out of three, Bella," Eric said. She beat him again.
"Bella, you've been holding out on me. Perhaps I need to teach you how to play bass, and then we can form a band," I said as I came up behind her and took her in my arms. I saw Eric get up and walk away and do the shot he owed for losing, plus another while staring at us. I decided not to push it and just stepped back.
Bella looked really happy. She and Angela had polished off my pitchers of drinks, and now were finishing off the bottle of wine. The two of them had been huddled together all night giggling. I tried to focus on that and once again remind myself that this night was for her, that everything I did was for her and her happiness.
"Best three out of five then, Bella?" Eric asked again.
"You may as well just bring that bottle over here, because you'll be downing the next shot in about 5 minutes," Bella teased. To be exact, four minutes and forty three seconds later, he was drinking another shot.
I decided to pour another for myself. I was most definitely drunk by this point; everything was sort of hazy and fuzzy. It truly relaxed me for the first time all night. I was glad Bella took over the game and put him in his place; a little bit of humility was good for him.
"I think that has been enough humiliation of the men in the house, don't you think, Angela?" Bella laughed. They sat down on the couch with the last remnants of wine. I got Eric and me another beer from the fridge.
"I still can't get over that I'm sitting in a room with Edward Cullen!" Angela said. Her drinking had gotten the best of her and she wasn't hiding the fact she was star struck. The look on Eric's face told me he did not appreciate his wife mooning over me, any more than he liked his sister-in-law doing it.
"Tell me what your favorite scene was to film in the second movie? I can't believe it is coming out in two months! Is there anything else we should know before we see it?" Angela asked excitedly.
Eric let out a grunt. "Ang, why do you keep assaulting the man with questions you already know the answer to? You read every entertainment blog out there every night. I have to rip the laptop out of your hands." If I hadn't have been picking up on his body language all night, I may have passed that off as teasing, but it was very clear to me that it was a 'shut the hell up' sort of statement.
Angela's face turned a deep crimson. I tried to smile at her reassuringly to tell her it was perfectly fine. Bella was looking at Eric with a furrowed brow.
"Silly boy, Angela is merely trying to ferret out if Edward gives real answers to the press or just what they want to hear. Some of his answers tonight are different than what I have seen in interviews," Bella recovered for her friend. Angela smiled at her; Eric rolled his eyes again.
"Why would you do that though? Lie? I mean, just say what you want to say - who gives a shit?" Eric asked, his voice not hiding his disdain.
"It is complicated." I started taking a deep breath. "There are things they want me to promote for example, such as discussing parts that have not been seen in the trailers to pique interest. There are parts they want me to discuss that perhaps bring up something that differs between the book and movie, so the fans aren't shocked when they see it. The press tours aren't about promoting me; they are about promoting the movie. So I need to help them with whatever they want. Questions about my personal life are left up to me to handle as I feel necessary. Sometimes I have to lie, or at least conceal the truth, to protect the people I care about," I said looking at Bella.
"So what you are saying is, you're just told what to do every day by other people, and don't get to live your own life?" Eric sneered.
I decided joking was the best route to go. "Yeah, pretty much when I am on a press tour," I said in a joking voice, nodding my head. Angela and Bella laughed, but their laughter had a tinge of being uncomfortable. Bella looked at me and mouthed "sorry" with a small frown. I knew then that I wasn't making up the fact that Eric was being a dick.
"Why do you need to protect Bella?" he asked outright.
Before I could get a word out, Bella answered. "Eric, I've seen what happens when Edward is spotted in public. He's swarmed by people, and it was terrifying. Edward is very concerned with how everyone will react if I get put in the public eye and how that will impact my life."
"So, in other words, he is ashamed of you. I see. How very noble of him to protect you, Bella," Eric snarled, his voice full of sarcasm.
"ERIC!" Angela blurted out, standing up incredulously.
Bella started to speak, and I cut her off, summoning all of the calm I had to give. "Eric, I understand that you're concerned for Bella. I can assure you that if I thought that they wouldn't follow Bella everywhere and make living a normal life virtually impossible for her, I would have gone public with her when we were in California. It if were only about publicity or my image, my publicist assures me that being seen with a mystery girl would be great for my image, as everyone would be trying to determine her identity."
"How do I know you aren't just using her?" he sneered.
"What, exactly, am I using her for, Eric?" I asked, my voice growing angrier.
"Oh, I don't know; from the things I hear from my wife, sex and lots of it," he spat.
"ERIC!" Bella was standing now. I stepped in front of her to direct his anger away from her and back onto me.
"Sex? You think I need to fly across the country for sex? What about my life don't you understand, Eric? I can have plenty of sex in Los Angeles. What else do you have for me?" I spat at him.
"Well, given all of this sex you seem to have available, I'm sure you are probably sticking it in every other woman in Hollywood, when you're not with her," he sneered.
I laughed in his face. "Yes, that's exactly right Eric; you're so perceptive. I am so glad you brought this to light. In fact, I flew home on Sunday night only so I could spend the day Monday fucking countless others. Then I flew back here on Tuesday, simply because I wanted more sex with Bella; when I could easily have made up excuses to stay there if that's what my motive was. I'm a machine, really. What else, Eric?" I was trying as best as I could to hold it together and not punch him in the face. My anger was clearly showing in my voice. I did want him to get everything out of him, whatever it was that he was holding against me.
"You are a pompous ass. You think you can just have whatever and whoever you want because you're 'famous'. You'll break her heart, and leave us to pick up the pieces," he said.
"Oh, I'm the pompous ass? Me? You know, the one who spent the whole fucking evening being either put down or made fun of by you? The one who put up with your bullshit because I love Bella so much I didn't want to hurt her, knowing how important you and your wife are to her. Think about that again; who here is truly the pompous ass?" I had stepped closer to him and knew it wasn't going to take much more before this ended badly. "I know you won't believe this, because you clearly made up your mind about me before you ever laid eyes on me; but I will do everything in my power to make sure that Bella is happy."
"Whatever, Dr. Phil. Angela, let's go. Call a cab; we'll wait outside," Eric said, turning to leave.
"Eric, what's your problem? I have no idea where this all came from," Angela pleaded; she was crying. From the sounds behind me, so was Bella.
"Of course you don't know, Angela; you were too busy mooning over him all night, to see what an asshole he is," he turned on her.
"ENOUGH!" I heard Bella choke out.
"Bella, you aren't thinking clearly. You're just rebounding, and I don't want you to make a mistake," he pleaded with her.
"The only mistake I've made lately is in thinking you could act like a civilized human being when you feel threatened. You're just like your brother in that regard," Bella spat.
"Don't you dare talk about my brother to me," Eric shouted as he crossed the room, filled with rage.
"Leave Bella and Angela out of this," I said, standing in front them. "Your problem is with me, not them. They don't deserve to be treated this way. Go home and sober up. I'll call you a cab; Angela is welcome to stay here if she would like." I took control of the situation because I wasn't going to let him take out his anger on either of them.
"No, I'll go as well; I'll be fine," Angela said softly. She went over to hug Bella and they both held on tight for a few minutes. I saw Angela look up at me and softly shake her head, closing her eyes.
Without another word, Eric grabbed their coats and left in silence waiting for the cab. Bella started sobbing on the couch immediately, releasing all of the emotions she was holding up inside. I sat next to her to comfort her. "Bella, in his defense, I do think tonight was very hard on him. The alcohol probably didn't make matters better. I'm sorry I lost my temper; I know that wasn't the appropriate tactic to take with him."
"Edward, you have nothing to be sorry for. I've never seen him act like this before - ever. He was never one to act out like that; that was more…" She couldn't finish before breaking down again into sobs.
"Bella, I'm sure once he calms down, he'll call you to apologize. You've known each other too long. Let's go to bed and get some sleep, and we'll figure this all out in the morning." I picked her up and carried her upstairs. She cried in my arms for about twenty minutes before falling off to sleep.
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a/n: I know Eric sounds like a dick, he isn't always going to be a dick, he just has some issues to deal with.
a/n2: In case you didn't figure it out, "Lover Lay Down" was the soundtrack for most of this chapter. It has a tenderness and kindness to it that seemed to fit perfectly. The whines of my children was the inspiration for Edward's annoyed state. ;-).
a/n3: Reviews make me want to give more information about Eric's motivation. :-)