Beta: Frannie
Prereaders: Jill, Pearly, and Ariel
My heart: Full if love for my readers and reviewers.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear; the FBI doesn't bust down the doors of every person that's ever uttered the words "I'm gonna kill him/her." Don't you think you would know about us if we did? Honestly, who hasn't said that at some point?
That's not what's filling me with dread right now. Something tells me I'm about to find out exactly how I failed Bella. Something went wrong between the time I left her and now, and whatever it was, it could have been avoided.
Likely by me not following her on her date, to begin with, but I digress.
Bella buzzes around her apartment in a flustered frenzy, grabbing a towel, a new change of clothes, dripping all over the place in the process. Alice is running behind her, trying to dry up the mess she's making as she goes.
"Bella, baby, I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath, and start from the beginning. What exactly happened?"
Yes, please, Alice. You're an angel; I could kiss you.
Bella shoots a glare at her friend that isn't fully aimed at her, mostly at the situation, gathering her hair up and motioning for Alice to unzip her.
My eyes drop to my desk immediately, both to give Bella some privacy even if she really has none and to keep myself from losing my fucking mind on the off chance this is the first time I see her fully naked.
"I'm still not entirely sure what happened. We were having a great time, things were heading to the 'hey, come back to my place' territory, and next thing I know, I have a whole tray full of drinks all over me. I guess some dude knocked into them and spilled them? Anyway, I was annoyed that a literal cold bucket of water had been thrown on my date and the dude runs off without even apologizing, and then Jake just starts going the fuck off."
As she's been talking, I've heard her zipper being pulled down, fabric rustling, and when I think it's safe, I finally look back up to see that she's dressed now, her towel wrapped like a turban on her head, a ratty old Forks High School T-shirt and a pair of fuzzy pants with Harry Potter emblems all over them. She didn't have any business looking as enticing as she did dressed in some comfy PJs.
"Why was he going off? Was he mad about the drinks being spilled?"
"No, he thought I knew the guy. He claimed he was crouching behind a booth or some shit. He got all jealous and possessive and stormed out, leaving me with a tab I can't afford, a phone that won't turn on, and a long walk in the fucking rain." Bella huffs and flops back on her couch.
"So, you didn't know the dude?" Alice asks, sitting next to her.
"Never seen him before in my life, but don't try and tell fucking Jake that. Who is he to talk, anyway? He's been with more women than Zeus, so even if I was fucking old dude, what's it to him?" Bella crosses her arms, scowling, and I chuckle. Atta girl, you don't need to answer to anyone about your sexual habits.
"Was he cute?"
"Who, Jake?"
"No, the dude that spilled the drinks."
Me? She's asking about me? I gotta admit, I'm a little curious to see what Bella has to say...
"No, Alice, cute doesn't even begin to cover it. If Jake whores around more than Zeus, this dude is Zeus. God-like, I'm telling you. But that doesn't change the fact that he ruined my date."
God-like, huh? I mean, I never considered myself to be ugly, but God-like? I smile for a second and then wipe it right the fuck off my face because she shouldn't even know I exist, let alone find me God-like.
"Sounds to me like Jake ruined your date," Alice grumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Well, true. But crazy-hot dude was the catalyst."
"I think he did you a favor. I think you need to hunt him down." The crazy pixie shrugs as if she has the answers to the whole world.
I have to laugh out loud at that. She couldn't hunt me down if she tried, and I just so happen to be sworn to protect her, not fuck her. Conflicts of interest can be tricky things that I'd rather not involve myself in.
"Are you insane? Have you actually lost your mind? What if Jake is right and this guy is stalking me?"
Oh, baby girl, you have no idea. But it's nothing creepy; I'm paid to.
Okay, that doesn't make it any less creepy. Again, I digress.
"He's not stalking you. He probably just saw you from across the restaurant and was hypnotized by your fine ass, so he couldn't help himself but to get closer."
Not entirely off the mark, but I was only making sure the boy's advances were welcome. Bella being pretty doesn't change the fact that she's my job, and he was being a Class-A creep.
"Oh my God, this needs to stop. It doesn't matter. I'm not interested in crazy green-eyed-stalker-man."
My eyes widen, shocked that she noticed such a mundane fact about me in the one look we shared. That doesn't bode well for my desire for her to forget me.
"So you saw him for, what, five whole seconds? And you know his eyes are green," Alice smirks.
"Alice, just stop."
Yes, Alice, stop. You're taking us both down a road we can never explore.
"I'm still mad at you for not calling me."
"My phone wouldn't turn on, I told you. I couldn't even order an Uber. I'll have to go down to the Apple store tomorrow and figure out why."
Something else I would have known if I had been doing my job and paying attention. Fuck. Way to go, Cullen.
