Hello, I'm Gay
Chapter Five
Alice was serious about offering me to fix Bella's truck because on a foggy Saturday morning I heard the monster roar into our parking garage. I raced down to see what the deal was, and to keep Bella away from my cars. She may intrigue me, but if she so much as scratched the paint on one of them, it's over.
I find her, Alice, and Emmett in the garage chatting. "Rosalie, just who we needed," Emmett calls me over and I reluctantly enter, wondering what is going on.
"Alice said you agreed to fix my truck today. Thanks, I owe you so much. But I'll be helping out, so it won't be just you doing all the work," Bella laughs, looking excited as she sets down her tool bag. She's got on overalls and a black shirt underneath, hair pulled back into a ponytail.
I glare at Alice because in no way was I prepared for this. Nor had I agreed to it. She flashed me a winning smile like I wouldn't kill her about this. "Have fun you two. Emmett and I will bring some refreshments soon."
Fun. Right.
The door closes behind them, leaving the two of us alone.
"You're going to fix the car in that?" she gestures to my casual outfit of slim fitted jeans, white crop top, and open vest thrown on top.
"No, I'll just appraise it," I tell her, needing to cover my own ass because of Alice's lies. A heads up would have been great. But if I had gotten one I probably would have not agreed to this. I circle around the car, hand on chin. I open the hood, check the cab. I even peek under it, before deducing my evaluation. "I think it's best if you just throw the whole car away and buy a new one."
"I can't do that. I don't have the money for a new car."
Would it be too weird if I just threw a wadful of bills at her so she could buy her own car just so she could leave? I didn't need Alice forcing me to be with a human, no matter how pretty she was. I nearly choked on my own thoughts and did a cough to try and get them under control. Pretty? I thought she was pretty? I surreptitiously looked at her, as she frowned at her truck, muttering that I didn't mean what I had said to it as she petted it in reassurance.
She did have soft brown eyes. So wide and trusting. And her chestnut hair was pretty too.
And her body...well I had seen it first hand and it did send hot coursing through me when I thought of touching her, or kissing her all over.
Damn. Maybe Bella was a succubus. It seemed almost too easy how I was so interested in her. Stop that, I told myself. I didn't need to become paranoid like Edward. I was just feeling lonely. That was it. I had gone a long time without taking a lover. I needed to find one and asap. I just had to stop being so picky.
"What can we start working on today?" Bella asked me. She was intent on fixing this car. I wasn't, but whatever.
"If we're actually going to fix it, we need to buy a lot of parts for it and replace the insides because that is where most of the damage is."
Her face fell a bit. "Oh, it's going to be expensive, isn't it?"
"Like I said. Better to save up the money for a new car."
She twisted her lips up, looking sadly at her truck.
I felt bad. I knew what it was like to have a bond with one's vehicle. "Look, we can do this. I can go to my contacts and find some cheaper parts for you. And I'll buy them for you."
She whirled around so fast I nearly missed it. "You would do that? Buy them for me?"
"I'm not exactly short on money, so I don't mind. I'd barely notice it-"
"I could pay you back. I wouldn't feel right making you pay for everything. You're already helping me with the truck repairs, so..." Bella was coming off as humble and a bit shy; this was the first time I had seen her like this. It seemed she took matters of money seriously.
"Bella, honestly, it's fine. I have money. I don't need yours," I told her. We had so much we didn't even know what to do with it sometimes.
She licked her lips, looking me up and down. "Would you like me to pay it back in another way?"
I felt a jolt bolt through me. "Eh, what?" I got out before I could stop myself.
"You know...anything I could do to repay you, without monetary value?" She quirked up a brow as she leaned towards me, puffing her chest out.
I drew in a shaky breath, turning around quickly. "It's fine Bella. I'm going to go change." I hurried out of there, and rushed right to Alice. Alice who was in the kitchen making homemade drinks.
"Everything going as planned?" she asked innocently.
"Alice, what the hell! Why would you sign me up for something without my consent?" I growled at her, Jasper showing up, hands up. "Easy there, tiger," he told me and I snapped my teeth at him. He needed to butt out or it would be his neck I'd wring too.
"I know it was wrong of me to do, but seriously, Rosalie. Don't be so cold and withdrawn. I care for you and I want to see you happy," Alice resumed her stirring. Suddenly a light bulb went up over my head.
"There's something you're not telling me," I stated and when she gave me an innocent shrug, I knew my suspicions were confirmed.
"Alice, what are you not telling me?" I asked, crossing my arms. Jasper watched the exchange, worried I'd make an attempt on Alice's life. I wouldn't, not when she held secrets.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she maintained her front.
"Alice, you had a vision, didn't you?"
"Why would you assume that?" Her levity was starting to piss me off.
"Seriously, Alice, tell me now, or the Birken bag gets it," I threatened her. She gasped, rolling offended eyes towards me. "You would not."
"I would. So spill."
She saw my measured look and the determined set of my jaw and figured I was not bluffing.
"Fine!" she threw her hands up. "I had a vision."
"About?" I pressed.
"About you and Bella." She said begrudgingly.
"And what was in the vision? What happened?" I pressed.
She gave another sigh. "Rosalie, I don't think I should tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because...well you might not like it. And I don't want to piss you off or to change the future. You might do something rash."
"Alice, you know I hate not knowing," I told her, relaxing my arms and leaning against the counter as she squeezed some more lemons.
"I know that. I really do. But trust me when I am helping you. I wouldn't do it if it was something bad," she told me sincerely.
What about Bella could be in that vision of her and me? Was it...romance? Because I knew Bella was openly interested in me and Alice was open to the idea of us being together. So it most definitely had something to do with that. The only issue was that I didn't think it would be smart for a human and vampire to date.
"I'm not going to date Bella. How many times must I say she's human? And I'm not!" I pointed out. "And, I'd like it if you'd stop trying to push us together on account of a vision. If anything is going to happen between me and Bella, it's going to happen organically."
Alice just shrugged. I stormed off at this, going up to my room to speedily change. When I came back wearing an oversized shirt of Emmett's he had burned two holes in, and some loose jeans, I found Bella humming under her breath as she stared dreamily off into the distance of the window.
"Hey," I told her, because I had come in quietly.
"Hey!" she spun around, smiling to see me. I could feel my chest squeeze at her smile. Ugh. Not how I wanted to feel. I tried to ignore the sensation. "I was thinking..." she began and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was never a good sign when humans thought. Especially not teenage humans. "I could take you to an amusement park as a thank you for buying me the parts."
"I didn't buy you them yet," I told her dryly. It did not deter her enthusiasm.
"But for when you do-"
"Focus on one thing at a time, Bella," I said sternly. I walked over to her truck. "Today, we're just going to do some cosmetic fixes. How long can you be here?" I touch a dent in the side of her truck delicately.
"However long you need me for," she winked at me and I rolled my eyes when I turned my back on her.
Thankfully, she was a diligent worker when it came to her truck and she stopped fooling around long enough for us to focus and make some important changes. When two hours had passed, Alice stopped by, smiling like she had only just made the lemonade and not like it hadn't been ready for forever by now.
"I figured you girls might be thirsty so I brought a little something," she said, coming in with lemonade and animal blood in a shaker on a tray.
Bella's eyes sparkle on the sight of the silver mysterious shaker. "Oo, what's this. Looks cool," her hand snatches out before any of us can react, and she tips the shaker to her mouth as I watch in horror. Instead of her doing a spit-take, she simply frowns as she swallows down the mouthful. "Gross, is this cold tomato juice?"
"Yea, and it's my drink." I take this chance to snatch it out of her hands. A bit protectively. "The lemonade's yours."
"Right," and Bella chugs it to get the taste of blood from out of her mouth. Alice looks shocked like she had not seen this coming at all, but she and I sigh soundlessly in relief that Bella could not tell it was blood. Alice takes her leave. "Seriously, who drinks tomato juice?" Bella pulls a face at me when she finishes her lemonade. "What are you, sixty?"
"People drink prune juice at that age," I scowl at her, finishing my drink too. I feel less tempted by her scent now and turn back to her truck. "You want this fixed or not?"
"Yes mam," Bella intones and we get back to work.
I unfortunately find myself have an agreeable time in her company, happy to finally have someone who understands and loves vehicles like I do. And when she roars out of the garage that evening, her truck a bit quieter than normal, I can't help but think this wasn't all that bad.
Alice has appeared next to me with a knowing smile and I kick her in her shins to wipe it off her face. "You are so juvenile," Alice frowns, hissing in pain.
