Chapter 36
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
APOV
"Lesbians?!" I shrieked, discarding my attempt to sound as non-judgmental as possible out the window.
Oh, those windows. The amazing ceiling high windows with wonderful perfect view of the park, with grass so green and fresh it almost looked fake and the Starbucks and the quaint little French style bakery on the cobblestone road... I could get used to this city. I quite liked this city. And my skylights...
But lesbians? Really?
"Really," Edward confirmed, a shit-eating grin forming on his smug face. That boy was always too good at reading my mind. I missed this Edward.
St. Tropez did him well, whatever the fuck he was doing over there. He looked good with a bit of sun too, I'll give him that. His skin was ever so subtly bronzed, his hair in complete disarray as ever sticking out in every which way as if he'd been running his fingers through it for days (which I totally advocated against since it messes up the ph balance of the hair and contributes too many foreign oils to the scalp) and natural highlights and flecks of bronze were visible when the sun hit it at a certain angle.
I noticed he'd also gone shopping; he was wearing an expensive pair of dark-wash Rag and Bone jeans (I'd know the price since I tried to get Jasper to buy the same pair with zero success), and a basic dark grey t-shirt with a blazer casually thrown overtop (who makes blazers look so casual besides Edward?) and of course, his beautiful Rufus Gerard wristwatch.
At the very least I was happy to see my cousin back to the cocky SOB we were all so well acquainted with, rather than the woe-is-me walloward.
He began padding the front of his blazer down, presumably for cigarettes and oh hell to the no he is not smoking in my perfect, beautiful potpourri smelling loft. It would probably leave cinder residue on my freshly painted brilliant white walls too. Daddy suggested I get a decorator, one of the Profs from the school to design my loft and I was so happy I took him up on the offer because it turned out just stunning. "Modern Light" was the theme we went with; everything was white and pale lavender and with silver accents. It was divine. I even had my old ballet slippers hanging on one of the walls -- my laundry room wall, actually -- as an extra little accent.
"Edward, put those cigarettes away, or step out on the balcony," I demanded.
"Yah, you got a light?" he replied absent-mindedly, still padding himself down.
"Ugh, if you must, on the étagère," I said. He cocked his eyebrow, and I pointed to the large set of free-standing shelves toward the wall. "Over there." I gave him a judgemental look hoping to dissuade him from lighting up but he disregarded this and happily headed out the French doors and onto the balcony where he proceeded to enjoy his cancer stick.
"Well he seems better," I snorted, rather annoyed that he was off vacationing and living the high life while we were all picking up the pieces of crumbling mess he left behind.
Jasper shifted uncomfortably beside me and sort of grunted in agreement.
"Oui, mais Edward... he has lots of problems," the pretty blonde one – Gigi – said, sounding rather distressed.
"Edward has problems?" I repeated. "No, no I don't think so. I think Eddie here likes to over-complicate everything and if he'd have just stayed away from Bella in the first place like we all told him he'd have been able to stay in Forks and not be so bloody miserable for the past couple months."
Julietta's eyes widened at my mini-tirade over Edward and was just opening her mouth to rebut when he re-entered the room, reeking like smoke.
"You'll realize one day what those gross things are doing to you when you can't make it up a flight of stairs without having an asthma attack," I warned.
"I missed you too, cuz," he replied sardonically, wrapping his arm around me and poking me in the stomach.
"Ow, fool," I swatted him with my hand and he sauntered over to the kitchen and began raiding my fridge.
"So what are you enrolled in here at Brown?" I directed at no one in particular, not really caring, instead wondering just how long it would take Edward to dominate the school by owning the profs and colonizing all the female ass.
I heard clanking in my fridge as he shifted around some bottles then grabbed a Heineken. "Juli? Gigi? Can I offer you something?"
Well that was strange to hear from my cousin; him actually caring and acknowledging others around him. Even though he didn't seem to be throwing sexual innuendos the way of the girls in his usual fashion, it would be next to impossible for him to not be sleeping with these knockouts. No wonder he didn't ever want to return from St. Tropez. And here I was, thinking Bella was somehow actually different from the other women, that somehow she changed him for the better and made him into someone respectable. But I suppose he allegedly cheated on her too, so surprise, surprise.
I took a moment to examine these lesbians, or "twins" as Edward introduced them. "Mes cheries, my two lovely twins," I think were his exact words. UGH puh-lease. Give me a break.
They were both approximately the same height; both were taller, more slender, and overall had better figures than me. They were striking like models because of their statuesque height and figure, but cute enough to be girl-next-door commercial model worthy. Think Victoria's Secret Angels; a bit of Cover Girl natural beauty meets a lot of runway. Gigi had long, curly medium blonde locks that fell to her boob-line and had deep navy blue eyes that were really expressive and reminded me of water from a fresh, very cold lake. I could tell she was easily read like a book because of those eyes, and she had flawless, perfectly tanned skin that held the perfect amount of natural glow. She had the typical cheerleader-cute blonde girl looks without actually being a cheerleader, but the part of her that revealed her European modelesque were her elegant, long, slender limbs and the slight arrogant air she possessed. She came across as happy-go-lucky and was sharp on her feet, same as Julietta. They were both evidently very intelligent girls -- their responses were always quick and they spoke with eloquence and confidence. Julietta, as I could tell right off the bat, was the more domineering of the two, whereas Gigi was just along for the ride, and really was just that innocent. Julietta seemed almost protective of Gigi, whereas Gigi was always searching your face for signs of discomfort. She was extremely empathetic, whereas Juli was more attuned to what Gigi was doing, as if she were looking out for her. Julietta's sparkling blue devious eyes danced when she grinned, and when she looked up from her dark, long lashes it always looked like she was plotting something or up to no good. When she smiled, which was rarer than with Gigi who was always smiling, her cheeks formed perfect round apples that enhanced her heart-shaped face and drew your eyes to her natural pillowy lips. Julietta had the habit of furrowing her brows when someone spoke, which I hate to say, will eventually be the cause of inevitable wrinkling. Not like that would ever make her less beautiful though. Neither girl wore much (if any) makeup and had the whole organic and natural supermodel look down to a T.
And I was supposed to believe that Edward hadn't been sleeping with, or trying to sleep with, these freakishly beautiful two girls he just happened to stumble upon while in France. Right...
Edward returned from the kitchen carrying two bottles of Perrier for the girls and I decided it was high time I figure out just what kind of mischievous plan he was concocting without soliciting my help, or even so much as my advice, first.
"So Gigi, and Julietta," I began, rubbing my hands together in anticipation of all the dirt I'd weasel out of them at Edward's discomfort; "How do you know Edward?" Innocent enough question...
"We lived with him," Julietta replied matter-of-factly; "In St. Tropez. We were doing exchange there, in the program of anthropology and archaeology, and he was on vacation and let us inhabit with him."
Oh really, Edward. How very generous of you. You're practically a social worker.
"Is that so?" I replied, revelling in my own foreseeable game of make-Edward-feel-awkward by revealing his innermost darkest secrets as to what he's been doing the past half-year at the family's St Tropez digs. "Julietta and Gigi and Edward... inhabiting together. Sounds like a wonderful time, doesn't it Jasper?"
Jasper shrugged his shoulders, clearly not wanting to play any role in my fun. He fidgeted with his sleeves instead; disappointing me in his lack of sportsmanship in our game.
"Yes, well, these girls are quite the roommates, let's just leave it at that," Edward replied, distracted by the label on the Heineken bottle.
"Something wrong with the brew, Edward?" I asked, not really caring.
Quite the roommates? What could that possibly mean? He fucked them, obviously. That sneaky little bastard. He fucked these girls and left Bella in Forks in self-destructing mode.
He looked up at me from the label, stunned by my voice. "What? No, nothing. It's just weird... reading things in English. I think I know more French than I lead on," he replied. He knew more French? Was that an innuendo for "I fucked them"? Was that another way of saying "I colonized the French and Italian lairs of pleasure"? Sometimes he was just too subtle, even I couldn't pick up on it.
"Could use that for picking up chicks, couldn't I? Or would that be lame? Too clichéd?" he directed his question to the girls who were giggling over something and gossiping away in French. This so wasn't cool. I was supposed to be mademoiselle French Vogue and here they were, showing me up in the language as well as French Vogue fashions. I seriously needed to learn from these girls. Game playing stops now; operation Get-These-Girls-to-Teach-Me-All-They-Know-about-French-Couture starts now. Wait. Game playing recommences. I'll work both operations simultaneously. He can't not let me know if he's banged them. God it's tough living up to my deceitful expectations.
"You know I visit France quite often, girls. I go there for the summers," I began, coolly trying to sound like it was no big deal that I was actually a big deal.
The girls were still giggling and I was growing tired of their lack of interest in anyone but themselves and Edward.
"Alright everyone, I propose we go for a nice dinner. Compliments of me," I said brightly, clapping my hands together which earned the attention of les filles.
"Oh no, no, we couldn't accept such an offer as this," Julietta said, looking at me with those doe-eyes she'd mastered. "I know you're fucking my cousin, so don't look all innocent" I wanted to reply.
"Hahaa, oh no," I laughed dryly. "By compliments of me I really mean compliments of my father."
We agreed on an Italian place called Blue Grotto, which was recommended in the Providence Guide to Fine Dining. Upon arrival Edward must have done his trick of slipping a hefty bill into the waitress's hand while shaking it because not only did we receive the most attentive service in the entire place, we got the whole backroom to ourselves and endless refills of the restaurant's finest chardonnay.
I was well aware of Edward's get-in-her-pants tactics since I'd witnessed them my entire high school career at Forks High, but I was taken aback when he actually seemed genuinely interested in what these girls were saying, and even replied in French a couple times. It was nothing too advanced and he did it unobtrusively, throwing in the occasional 'vraiment' and what not, but he did it to show his respect for their language and tried his best to translate something to them when they didn't pick it up. It seemed almost... thoughtful of him. I didn't know what his deal was. And of course he pulled out their chairs and was the proper gentleman, and when we were finished and I was ready to ask for the bill the waitress said it had all been taken care of and refused to tell me who paid it. I wasn't an idiot though, and didn't have to think twice to know why Edward was laying on the chivalry extra-thick tonight. He must have been trying to get a threesome with the girls, and I swear to god I heard them say threesome once or twice over the dinner and Edward just laid back in his seat and chuckled, eyeing the girls but not like a piece of meat... eyeing them with great fascination and even, dare I say it, adoration for them. It was like France changed him, and not necessarily in a good way. He was more cunning in his courtship which was going to be just great for his time at Brown. College girls would find his chivalry and gentlemanly behaviours to be indicative of his upbringing (and for once in his life, he wasn't trying to reject the fact that he was American royalty and was beginning to behave as such) and would find this song and dance so refreshing that they'd be lined up out the door for miles in their bras and thongs waiting for a piece of him. As if he didn't dazzle women already without putting forth the least bit of effort, if any at all. It was all clear; he must have taken it upon himself to become a proper gentleman and actually come off as caring and listening when a woman opened her mouth rather than tell her he has something he'd like to fill it with if she doesn't shut it (true Edward line, no joke).
Well he wasn't going to get away with this nonsense. Not with me around. If he thought he could just waltz into Brown with these drop-dead gorgeous lesbians and try and talk them into sleeping with him then proceed to fuck the rest of the female undergrads he had another thing coming. Even though Bella was a blatant fool for acting the way she did, she didn't deserve to be dumped on by Edward.
And he wasn't fooling me. He was still being the same old cheeky bastard to my face.
"Ali, thanks for dinner," Edward said, lazily throwing his arm around my shoulder as we exited the restaurant. What I didn't fail to notice was how he winked at our attractive young waitress on his way out, causing her to fluster and turn beet red. I wanted to tell her not to waste her time, but that wasn't my place. When Edward Cullen was on a conquest, no girl who crossed his path was safe. He knew what he wanted and always got it, and then some.
"Yah no problem," I replied dryly. "I should be thanking you, douchebag. I said I was going to pay for dinner." I crossed my arms across my chest and did my best "humph" which usually resulted in me getting my way no matter what the circumstance.
He shrugged indifferently. "Your father's money was no good there, it was out of my hands, I'm sure you'll understand," he said, holding his arms up in a pathetic attempt of conveying defeat.
"Your generic, insincere apologies are sickening me. And instead of wasting your infectious wit and charm on me, why not babble with your two lesbian lovers," I snorted.
"And lesbian lovers they are," he added smugly.
What a creep. I knew he was screwing them.
Jasper, Gigi and Julietta were walking ahead of us, laughing happily and enjoying each other's company so I took it as an opportunity to lay some guilt on my cocky cousin. The fact that he didn't feel remorse for any of his actions weren't good for anyone, including himself, and if he wasn't going to take care of his actions I would because karma would bite him in the ass and I wouldn't sit back and watch that. Essentially I was doing him a favour.
"Wow I'm really lucky Bella's moved on in her life to not have to put up with you anymore," I began, choosing my words strategically and carefully. "I mean ya we miss her and all, but we had to let her go so she could be the fun-loving one-night stand party girl she wanted to be." Not to mention she's at fucking Brown.
Edward stopped in his step and eyed me curiously as if he'd heard my internal thoughts, but then quickly shrugged off any sign of caring or sincerity so he clearly didn't. I mean he wasn't a mind reader, right? "Yah, well, her loss," he said, his voice vacant of any emotion.
How the hell could he just up and leave Bella, the "love of his life"? All I knew was there was a reason he was screwing these lesbians and there was a bigger reason he went to St. Tropez than to get away from Bella. I needed to know the truth, and I had a funny feeling Jasper knew more than he lead on.
"Oh Jasper darling! We need to talk."
JPOV
Dinner was fuck-my-life awkward. Only I knew the reason why Edward actually left Forks once and for all but the whole time I had to sit here and listen to Alice bitch and complain about what an asshole he was being and how "what goes around comes around" and karma and all this weird new age shit her mother was feeding her.
"Coming darling," I said dryly, my lack of enthusiasm evident in my tone. My lack of wanting to be alive evident too, for that matter. And apparently, even though I'm a trustworthy, loyal, never-cheat-on-you kinda guy, Alice was convinced I screwed with Edward's twins while in St. Tropez.
I knew this not because she verbalized these concerns, but by the way she was acting hostile towards everyone, but especially the girls; granted they wouldn't be able to tell, because Alice acting hostile actually comes across as the opposite – super friendly. But I knew her well enough that the sugary sweet Alice was death and she would cut you deep.
Aside from that, she was acting considerably icy toward Edward, which I imagined had something to do with a combination of his bringing the twins into her life, and him leaving Bella for the only reason known to her, that being Bella was sub-par for Edward's rigorously enforced criteria in girls.
It was super decent of Edward to put me up for the year at his place though, I'll give him that. I knew he was kinda resentful of me since I was left behind taking care of his girl when he was in St. Tropez "wallowing," though I'm not sure how much of that he actually did in the past couple of months. He looked great for someone who was supposed to be in a deep state of depression. Hell, I might go as far to say he looked better than he ever did, and the fact that he had two smoking hot supermodels on either side of him at all times only helped him look good and superior and really added to his already cocky air.
Man, I had chill times with him and Emmett in St. Tropez, and don't get me wrong, those chicks were bomb to hang out with too. They were funny, giggly, always found something to gossip about between each other, super in-love and never feared to display it to everyone, and were just cool, laid-back chicks in general. They were basically perfect for Edward who just wanted the company, 'cept it was fuckin hilarious because they kept offering him this threesome and made something of a game out of this attempt by prancing around wearing lingerie, or lounging on the couch making out right in front of him, or skinny dipping in the pool right outside his bedroom window... shit like that. So it became a game between them on how to seduce him and constantly trying new ways to get him to crack but he never did. Not once. Emmett and I certainly enjoyed sitting back, cracking a beer, and watching them traipse around in next to nothing.
But aside all this cool shit, they weren't Alice. And for some reason, I saw the side of Alice that was so rarely exposed that I was all over it when it was, and I did everything in my power to hold onto it. She let go more often now than she did in the past, to the point where this version of Alice was almost an everyday occurrence. And I told her I loved that side of her but she still felt the need to put on this high fashion "haute couture" appeal, which if you ask me, I think was her comfort zone.
Now I was tagging along behind Alice who was madly and rapidly texting away on her BlackBerry, a habit of hers which I supremely despised because it always had to do with plotting and Rosalie, two things that almost always went hand-in-hand.
What also seemed to go hand-in-hand was ill-fate and Bella. Bella fuckin Swan, the girl we tried to cut loose for life (for her own good, too, might I add) was now here, in Providence, studying god knows what at Brown University of all places. Why the fuck she wasn't back at Harvard – the whole reason this damn godforsaken "union" began between Edward and Bella – was beyond me. I mean, come on. The only reason they were attracted to one another was their fierce competition over some stupid scholarship so they could both go to Harvard... well actually it was so Edward could go to Harvard and continue to feed his increasingly expensive blow habit, whereas for Bella it was so she could go and become some successful feminist divorce attorney, and fuck my life, neither of them went to fuckin Harvard. What was with them? Was Harvard chopped liver all of a sudden? And here I was, fuckin trying to get a decent (read: drama-less) somewhat enjoyable life started with Alice away in blissful Rhode Island... a whole hour away from Harvard and the mess that would be Bella, and they decide to invade mine and Alice's space once again and just live here.
So my project went from being "do well in school" to "keep Bella's presence unknown to Edward and keep Edward's presence unknown to Bella as well as keeping the aforementioned presences unknown to Nessie (who was a fuckin pill and a half) and then on top of it all keep Alice away from plotting something devious where they all meet up as a result of some 'unbeknown' freak coincidence."
Fuck. I just wanted to become an architect – of buildings – and now I was becoming an architect of fucking keeping people away from other people and all this jazz.
Before I could continue with my internal struggle, Alice whipped around to face me, and stopped dead in her tracks. I noticed Edward and the girls were quite far ahead of us now, which meant there was the possibility of me being interrogated right about... now.
"What the fuck do you know about Edward? Hmm? I know you KNOW more and you're not telling me all you know – I know you know this and how I know you know more than you're letting me know you know is because you're acting WEIRD!!!" Alice exclaimed, throwing her arms up furiously.
Dear god.
"Alice, please... I have no idea what you're talking about." I know exactly what you're talking about.
"Don't even try that shit on me. I read your face like a book. Now give it up. Or I won't give it up, if you get my drift," she sneered, and damn it all, was she really pulling that one out of the box this time?
She looked ahead to Edward and the girls who were now stopped outside of Alice's apartment, likely waiting for us to get there to let them in so they could get their frickin dog.
She shot me a warning look, and because she could read me like a book, noticed my relief when I caught a break by them, which only earned me a look of disapproval.
"We're not done yet, mister," she muttered under her breath.
"Alice I've got plans tonight, please stop holding me up and let us grab the frilly dog," Edward said, earning a bout of laughter from Gigi and Julietta who were clinging onto him.
I knew Edward had good intentions with those girls, but I wasn't quite sure what their deal was. They were desperate to sleep with him and if you ask me, I'm pretty sure they wanted to for their own benefit, not his. He wouldn't budge though, no matter how much seduction was involved.
"Cullen, does it work for you if I move in tomorrow? I'll crash at Alice's for the night?"
Edward shot me a fierce look instinctually, before taking a breath to calm down a bit at the thought of me actually sleeping over at Alice's, but I wasn't asking his permission anymore. He had his own shit to deal with.
As Alice fidgeted with the lock and Edward mumbled something under his breath, a girl walking on the other side of the street with some random dude struck my attention, and I swear to god it was Bella.
Bella fucking Swan... walking across the street from all of us.
Please don't look this way, please don't look this way...
It was most definitely Bella; the way she fidgeted with her sweater cuffs was a dead give-away, and if she looked this way, fuck I don't even want to know what Edward would do if he saw Bella with another dude. They were presumably on a date, or so the body language indicated. The guy was walking closely toward her but she was subconsciously steering away, and as a result she was right on the edge of the sidewalk. She seemed into him, but her body language indicated she wasn't ready. You don't gotta be Sigmund Freud to get that reading from the scenario. Regardless, if they fuckin looked this way...
Edward was crooning his neck and stretching it out, something he did when he was impatient, and such was the case with Alice's Guinness Book of World Record's slowest lock operation ever.
It was only a matter of time until his gaze met her...
A/N: Next up is BPOV. As the plan stands, this story is ending at 45 chapters, so we're almost there.
Leon entered a story in the Forbidden Love Contest. It's called 'Affair in Training.' If you could all head over to his account to read it, review it, and possibly vote for it, that would be great!
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