EPOV
Alice is holding her head in her hands as she steps into the garage, the door to the house closing quietly behind her. Bella and I don't pull away from each other, but we do turn to face her together.
"What am I seeing?" Alice looks confused, like someone just asked her to solve for X if I bought twenty-eight watermelons and Bella's train left New York at 4PM. It's obvious she can't process anything because she's just gaping at us.
Deciding to put her out of her misery, I speak for the both of us. "You saw me kissing my girlfriend." Bella gasps slightly next to me, and I turn to look at her. "That's what we're doing, right?"
She grabs my hand, linking our fingers. "Yeah, that's what I want." Bella leans into my side, and I smile down at her.
"When did this happen?" Oh, yeah. Alice is still here. She's looking between us, waiting for an answer.
"It started—"
"It started after we came back from Granite Falls," Bella says, cutting me off. "Edward and I just sort of started talking and spending more time together."
"But … you two hate each other." She's got her hands on her hips, and I can hear the attitude creeping into her voice.
Bella looks up at me and smiles. "It's kinda fun to hate him and like him. We listen to each other, and we surprisingly know a lot about each other after a decade of being annoyed by each other."
"I wouldn't trade the last ten years, but I'm looking forward to whatever the future holds for us," I say, rounding out whatever there is left to say.
"Everyone is gonna freak out." Alice lets out a humorless chuckle. "I can't believe this. I was going to ask you to be my maid of honor again, and now I have to deal with this." She's basically spitting, and Bella takes a small step toward her. It takes all my willpower to pull her back and not let her loose on Alice.
"What do you have to deal with? This has literally nothing to do with you!"
Alice rolls her eyes. "Oh, please. You two will be at each other's throats in a week. There'll be a huge breakup, and everyone will have to pick sides. This is my time, Bella!"
Bella just starts laughing. It's a little manic, and I rub her shoulders to bring her down. "Because it's always about you, isn't it? Well, let me help you out, Alice. I will not be your maid of honor, and I will not be any part of your wedding."
"So what? You're just running out on me when I need you?" Alice's voice has gone up a few octaves, and I'm surprised that no one has come out to the garage or that the neighborhood dogs aren't barking.
"Alice, listen to yourself. You should be happy for us. This is exactly what you wanted." Bella steps back to my side, wrapping her arm around my waist. "We can definitely be in a room together without fighting now."
"Don't try to turn this around. I—"
"And you already took away the MOH duties. I'm not running out on you; I'm staying away. You haven't been the friend I've needed for a long time. I'm sorry that I'm just realizing it now, but we need some time apart."
"Unbelievable. Well, I hope you two are very happy for as long as this lasts." She huffs and opens the garage door, flinging herself back into the house, calling for Jasper.
"Holy shit," I say, and Bella sighs.
"Did I do the right thing?" Her free hand is up by her mouth, and she's chewing on her thumbnail.
"I think so." Turning her to face me, I pull her hand out of her mouth and kiss her thumb. "At the very minimum, she could have been confused but happy. She wants to make this all about her. She's toxic, and the fact that you even left the door open a little for her says more about you than it does about her."
She pulls me into a hug, and I hold her, swaying us gently. I don't know what we're about to face, but what I do know is that I have the fiercest champion on my side. "Let's go see what's what, shall we?"
Bella nods. "Okay."
When we walk into the house, no one is waiting for us. In fact, everyone seems to be outside, listening to Emmett tell a story about how drunk he got one time right after he moved to Seattle. Everyone is captivated and hanging on to his every word. "So, I'm in the yard, drinking Wild Turkey straight out of the bottle when I look over and see some ducks. I think I gotta make friends with these ducks!" All of our friends are cracking up. Of course, this is because they all know that the ducks in the yard are actually plastic flamingos, and not only did Emmett not make friends with them, but he would swear up and down that he was attacked by them.
I scan the group of a dozen people, looking for Alice and Jasper, and when I find them, off to the side in my small back yard, I can tell they're having a heated conversation. Nudging Bella, she looks over, and then back at me. Just as Emmett bellows, "When I woke up, I was surrounded!" and everyone starts laughing again. Alice storms past us and into the house.
Jasper doesn't follow her. Instead, he walks over to us slowly and sighs. "Allie's heading home."
"She doesn't have to." Bella reaches out to grab Jasper's hand, but he shakes his head.
"I think I'm gonna go too." He locks eyes with me. "It's weird. I … I don't know, man."
"Didn't you guys want this? Or didn't you suspect that maybe there was something deeper here?" I ask my best friend, and he shrugs.
"Look, if you guys are happy, then … good for you. I'm happy for you. Alice—" He scoffs. "I don't know what to say about her. I need to wrap my head around it."
"You can do that here. We want you here—both of you." Bella nods as I all but beg him to stay.
"I appreciate it. Um, there's a game this week. Let's go?" he offers, and I shake his hand when he extends it. I know this is the most I'll get right now.
"Sounds great. Thanks." I pat his shoulder as he starts to walk away.
"Jasper?" He turns at Bella's voice. "I don't want to hurt Alice, but I have to take care of myself."
"You've been taking care of her since you were fifteen. I think you're due for a break." He winks and ducks inside the house, disappearing out of sight.
Our friends are laughing and mingling as Emmett's story winds down, and I see Rose whisper something to her friend, Siobhan. Her eyes go wide, and she blushes deeply as Rose laughs. "I should go clear the air," Bella tells me, and I watch her walk away to her friends.
The rest of the afternoon is spent eating, laughing, and playing games with friends. With our busy schedules, it isn't often that we can all get together like this. The last time was the engagement party for Alice and Jasper.
If anyone has any questions about our new relationship, they don't ask. In fact, everyone seems to think it was about time that Bella and I finally hooked up and put everything behind us. They're all supportive, and no one bats an eye at our PDA.
The sun is setting, and a lot of people are leaving for the night. The party started early, and they have other commitments; a few even have kids they need to get home to. Rose and Bella are cleaning up the kitchen while Emmett and I light the fire pit and enjoy the quiet of the early evening.
"So …" Emmett says after a few minutes, and I roll my eyes.
"Yes?"
"What's up with Bella and Alice?"
I laugh. "I was not expecting that." I tell him what I can: common knowledge, what was said today. "Bella told her she needs some time apart."
"Friend breakups suck." Emmett winces and drinks from his beer bottle. "I broke up with my best friend from high school, Royce. He was just … stuck in high school, ya know? He never grew up and was a bully. I couldn't deal with him anymore."
"What happened? I mean, have you spoken to him since?"
"Nope. We're Facebook friends." He shrugs. "His second baby mama was the head cheerleader, and she sells Tupperware. He still works at the Dairy Queen."
"Any other questions?" I glance back to the house to see Bella laughing as Rose gestures around wildly.
Emmett leans forward and grins. "You guys wanna go to Great Wolf with us next month?"
I have no idea what he's talking about, but he's grinning like a fool. "What are you talking about?"
"Rose has never been to a water park. Long story, but her family never had any money when she was growing up, so she missed out on a lot. I've been taking her places to make up for it. We're going for a long weekend—Thursday-Monday."
"I'll have to check with Bella and work, but it sounds like fun." I lean over and clink my beer bottle with his. "That's actually really cool of you."
"It makes her happy … that makes me happy." He smiles a toothy grin just as the girls come out, taking seats next to us.
"I'm wiped," Bella says as I pull her legs over my lap. "I've had too much people today."
"I think that's our sign, Emmett." Rose slaps his thigh, standing and smiling.
Bella and I speak at the same time with monotone voices. "Oh, no, don't leave."
"Okay, that's creepy." Rose leans down to kiss my cheek. "Cute, but creepy. We'll see ourselves out. Thanks a lot, you guys. See ya."
"Bye! I'll call you this week!" Bella calls out as Rose and Emmett walk through the kitchen, and then we're alone.
We're silent until the sun disappears and night settles in, the small fire glowing in the darkness. Everything seems calm and right as Bella snuggles into my side. I can see more nights like this, more days spent together with friends.
"You okay?" Bella asks, and I drop a kiss to the top of her head.
"Yeah, I am. You?"
"She turns in my arms and smiles. "Yeah. I'm ready for bed though."
"I thought you'd never ask."