Chapter Six

***2nd update of the day

Emmett handed Edward a beer as they settled in his backyard a few hours later. His cousin was leaving the next morning for a month to film in Australia and Edward wanted to spend some time with him before he was gone. Despite different last names, most wouldn't know they were cousins by looking at them. Emmett's hair was much darker than Edward's natural color and he was far bulkier.

"So what did you think of Bella?" Emmett asked, typing out a text on his phone. "Rosalie says hello, by the way."

Edward couldn't help but smile as he pictured Bella hard at work in her studio. "She's perfect." He knew a few artists and how, when they were focused on their work, they lost track of time and sometimes forgot to eat. Jasper would spend days holed up when working on new music. He should check on her; there was nothing wrong with a friend having concern about her wellbeing.

"Fuck, you've got to be kidding me," Emmet groaned in the lounge chair beside Edward. "Rosalie will kill you if you pump and dump with Bella. She likes her."

Edward shot his cousin a glare. "First, gross. You know that I stopped doing that shit years ago."

Admittedly, he had fallen into some bad habits those first few years of fame. He'd slept around more than he had during his college years, but he wasn't exactly proud of the fact, like most men. But he had always treated the women with respect and made it clear he wasn't interested in anything serious.

"Maybe, but you still haven't had a real relationship since high school."

That was true, but it wasn't for the lack of trying. Real was hard to find among his peers. "It's hard to have one in our business." His bullshit radar wasn't always working and he'd been burned a few times.

Emmett nodded, knowing the truth of his words. He wanted it all with Rosalie, but her past kept coming back to haunt her, and often sent her running scared. Edward knew he loved her too much to ever truly move on, but he hoped it worked out. No one deserved it more than Emmett, who had managed to keep his head screwed on right when fame came knocking on his door.

"Maybe she shouldn't work for you if you plan on asking her out."

"She wants to work on this costume. She's been wanting a project like this for a while. I can't take it away from her." Emmett looked surprised, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "I can be patient."

"Yeah, you're so good at waiting." Emmett laughed. "All I'm saying is please be careful with her."

"How well do you know her?"

Emmett shrugged. "Not as well as I'd like. She's come by Rosalie's several times when I'm there. She's cool, but kind of cautious. Let's just say, Rosalie had seen what happened with that dick, Howell." Something dark fell of his cousin's features. "Rosalie doesn't like when a man won't take no for answer. You know what had happened to her."

Everyone knew what happened to Rosalie six years before; it had been all over the news and social media for months. When all the press seemed to move on, it started all over when her kidnapper/stalker plead not guilty to the charges.

Imagining Howell's pudgy, ruddy face anywhere near Bella made his fist clench. "Remind me never to work on one of Howell's projects." He never worked with the man before, and hoped it would never be suggested that he should. Producers weren't the only ones capable of blacklisting in the business. There were plenty of actors and actresses who refused to work with certain people.

"When are you seeing her again?"

"Wednesday, she needs to make a mold of my arm and shoulder for the metal arm piece."

Emmett started to laugh, pretending to shave his armpit. "Don't forget to shave."

"I'm never going to live that shit down, am I?" Edward flipped him off, deciding it was time to head home.

"You mean about how you screamed like a fucking banshee when they pulled off your chest hair in makeup?" Emmett was having too much fun at Edward's expense. "Not fucking likely. They warned you to shave before they put on the prosthetics."

"I'm leaving." Edward rose to his feet, leaving his neglected beer, and headed back inside the house.

"Aw, come on!" Emmett followed him through the house and walked him to his car outside as Rosalie pulled up behind him. "Hey, babe."

Rosalie Hale was, by Hollywood's standards, the most beautiful woman in the world, but she did absolutely nothing for Edward. She reminded him way too much of his Aunt Kate on his father's side, with the same blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Edward, Bella called me a while ago."

Shit. Was she going to give him the same warning Emmett had? "And?"

"She said to call her, there's a problem." He reached for the phone he bought just for Bella, but it wasn't in his back pocket.

"Shit, I lost the new phone." Unlocking his car, he started to look for it. "Did she say what was the problem?"

"No," Rosalie said, but Edward heard her whisper to Emmett. "Should I be worried?"

"He actually likes her, so not yet."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, assholes." Edward found the phone and checked his messages, all from Bella. He pulled out his usual cell phone from the console and groaned. "Fuck."

"What is it?"

"Jake knows I'm going to Comic Con."

Emmett started to chuckle, but it grew into great big, belly laughs that seemed to echo down the driveway. "Good luck with that." He pulled Rosalie close, nuzzling her temple—she only smiled.

"What? You're throwing me to the wolves?" The fucking traitors walked hand in hand inside the house, leaving Edward alone.

He had to talk to her. "Hey, Bella," he said as soon as she answered. "I just got your messages, what happened?"

"Jake knew you were here, apparently, and wanted to know why. I told him you were interested in some art pieces, as we agreed we'd say if you were seen at my house. He didn't buy it. Did you know Jake has GPS on your ass?"

No, he didn't. But it would explain the fact that Jake's big ass, red truck was charging up Emmett's driveway. "I do now."

"He's there?" Bella whispered. "I'd run if I were you."

Edward widened his stance, rolled his head a few times to relax and ready himself. "I can take him."

"He figured out that you want to get into my pants." She had explained her life-long friendship with Jake, despite the failed attempt at anything more. He was one of her best friends and he protected her as he would one of his own sisters.

He could see the murderous look in Jake's eyes as his truck neared. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Probably. Send me a text later if you survive."

"Wait," he said, taking a few steps back. Not because he was scared, not at all. "How did he figure out I want to get in your pants?" He'd address the phrase she kept on using later, Jake was already parking. Bella didn't answer though. "Bella?"

"I blushed and giggled like fucking fangirl okay!" Her confession made his day, despite his pending demise. "Oh come on, now you go silent on me, Cullen."

"Bella just in case I don't survive this, I want you to know something."

Jake was exiting his truck.

She seemed to sense he was being serious. "What is it?"

Jake was stomping his way over to him. Edward had mere seconds to tell her. "If your self-portrait is an honest representation of you, then you have the most beautiful set of…"

"Edward? Edward." Bella looked at her phone and saw the dreaded "call ended" phrase on the screen. She tried calling back, but it went straight to voicemail. His incomplete answer would keep him on her mind for hours. She looked at a sketch of Edward as the Winter Soldier, realizing mere curiosity wasn't why he would stay in her thoughts.

He was most certainly the hottest man she'd ever had the pleasure to measure. She certainly hoped she could do some more measuring in the future.

Wednesday suddenly seemed too far away.

AN: We get to meet Jake the Jerk Off, and guess what happens next? Shirtless Edward, lol