Rating M

Disclaimer – Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight –
I just like to get weird with her characters.

Much love and thanks to my beta love, Carrie ZM, and my wonderful pre-readers,
Planetblue and Robsmyyummy Cabanaboy for all the time you've put into this fic.
Writing with you girls is always a blast!

"Wake up!" Rose pushes on Emmett's forehead before squishing his cheeks up and down. "Get up," she tries again and blows a raspberry on his face.

I grab his hand and drop it right on his nuts. Other than a small wince and a muttered 'you're the devil', he rolls his boxer-briefed-ass over on the couch. "Lame."

"So lame," Rose agrees, clearing the shot glasses from the coffee table. "It was his idea to play Flip, Sip or Strip."

"The boy will do anything to see a boob."

"True. You'd think he'd quit once he realized that neither one of us were stripping."

"I'm starving," I whine, staring at the empty popcorn bag beside me.

"Me too!" she shouts, doing that two finger thing and making the crazy eyes at me. "You know what I've been craving?"

"Please say something normal like Cocoa Puffs or Cheez Whiz and not something weird like sprouts or quinoa."

"Tacos."

"YASSSSSSS!"

"Enchiladas."

"I'm so down."

"Burritos." The word comes out in a reverent whisper.

"Three blocks away there's a LaBamba. Burritos as big as your head girl, let's go."

"It's two in the morning." She twists her lips to the side and sways a bit. "Do they have guac?"

"They have the best guac ever." That's a lie. Nobody has better guacamole than Uncle Julio's Hacienda.

"This is a bad idea."

"Totally bad," I agree, grabbing her arm and my purse, "but the more you say it, the more I like it."

She laughs. "I know. Me too!"

Three blocks, two cat calls, and a near injury after misjudging the curb later, we're both standing at the counter squinting up at the menu.

"Can I get," Rose pauses, bracing herself against the back of the register, "an order of nachos, a beef burrito, two bean and avocado tortas, a side of guac and a bottle of water, please?" She flips her hair over her shoulder to look at me. "What are you having?"

I love this girl. "Same."

"This feels gluttonous," Rose says, dropping her tray on the table and plopping down in her seat. "I feel like I should pray that I don't shit my pants on my run tomorrow."

"Eh," I shrug a shoulder, "I've got nothing going on tomorrow. I'm fine with watching Netflix and shitting my brains out. Maybe I'll drop a few L-Bs and finish the second season of Supernatural."

"That does sound like a fun little Saturday. Mmm!" She sucks some sour cream off her thumb. "Before we throwdown on all this food, let's get a picture." Two poses and nine pictures later, we agree on one that requires the least amount of face-tuning for each of us. "This is our Insta-debut. We need an epic hashtag."

"Like Amber Rose epic?"

"Girl nothing will ever be that epic."

"Agreed."

"I've got it!" She speaks as she types. "Hashtag tacos before vatos."

"Perfect."

"So, I hope this isn't weird, but …" Here we go. The whole I-hope-this-isn't-weird-but-are-you-into-my-boyfriend line of questioning. "I've been meaning to ask …"

"Not weird at all," I interrupt her, opting to head the awkwardness off at the pass and nip it in the bud. "Lots of his girlfriends have asked about this." Clearing my throat, I go into my well-practiced response. "Em and I are just great friends. We never hooked-up, but we did kiss once and we both agreed it was Game of Thrones level incestual, but not in the let's keep doing it kind of way. Yes, I've seen him naked. It's an unfortunate consequence of living with him. Plus, I filmed his audition tape for Survivor. He thought being nude with cleverly placed props would impress producers, but he's obviously still waiting on a callback. Sadly, he has seen me naked once too, but that was due to an unfortunate shower slip. It was mortifying, but yeah … We're just friends, so—"

My spiel is cut short by a loud snort, followed by a questionable chortle. She's covering her mouth and shaking her head. "That is SOOOO not what I was going to ask."

"You weren't?"

"God no, who asks that? You know what, never mind," she says with a shake of her head. "I don't even want to open up his crazy ex-files, but I do want a copy of that audition video."

"You got it."

"Anyway, I wanted to know how things are going with you and E.C.?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Esme said you two looked awfully friendly at the investor dinner."

I consider this over a mouthful of burrito as thoughts of that night flash through my mind. The innocent brushing of his fingers on my shoulder as his arm rested over the back of my chair. The soft smiles and quiet laughter shared over snarky remarks and easy banter. Just the nearness of him and the way he looked at me. Even the awkward goodbye.

"We're friends." I shrug. "So yeah, we're friendly."

"Friends as in pals?" She does Emmett's air quotes thing. "Or friends as in pals who should be fucking?"

"Well we're definitely not fucking, so I guess we're just pals."

She grins. "But you totally want to."

"I'm not opposed to the idea, but I'm not willing to risk a sexual harassment charge to find out where he stands on the issue."

"What do you mean? He totally made the first move by asking you on a date."

"No," I wave a nacho chip in her direction, "he invited me to a business function."

"Did it feel like you were at a business function?"

Her question gives me cause for pause, because nothing about it felt like business and apparently I take too long to answer.

"I didn't think so." She bites into her torta, smiling smugly as she chews.

"Sometimes he's just so hard to read."

Shaking her head, she puts down her food and wipes her mouth with her napkin. "Men are easy to read, you're just over thinking it."

"Maybe you're right."

"I usually am, but in your case, I think it's pretty obvious."

"There's an attraction there for sure, I just don't want to assume it's more than that."

"Let's explore this shall we?" She sways a bit in her seat and tries to unscrew the cap on her water. "Start from the beginning. How'd he greet you?"

"Greet me?"

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, like was it a hearty handshake, an ass out hug, a pat on the shoulder? Work with me here, woman!"

"Okay, um," I stutter, staring at the ceiling trying to remember the details. "I was running late from work so I told him I'd meet him at the restaurant." Thoughts from that night come back to me of him standing outside beneath the streetlight with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress pants. "He was waiting for me when I got there."

"Annndd?"

"And I rushed over and apologized for being late, but he was so sweet telling me it was fine and that he was glad I came."

"So, no touching?"

"Well …"

"I knew it!"

"He did this weird like half-hug kind of ushering me to the door kinda thing." My cheeks heat at the memory of his whispered words as he held the door. "Told me I looked beautiful."

Rose straight up squeals and clasps her hands together. "See," she drags the word out, "I told you."

I smirk. "Carlisle told me I looked beautiful too. Let's not get nuts."

"Whatever, keep going."

"Where was I?"

"Weird half-hug at the door."

"Oh yeah, so the restaurant was crazy busy …" I begin, recounting the story and letting my mind wander back to that night. As I speak, flashes and moments from our evening together come back to me so vividly that I can almost feel the gentle push of his hand splayed across my lower back and the nearness of his lips at my ear when he murmured his apologies for the boring night of shop talk ahead.

"These things tend to drag, especially once Carlisle gets going. You might regret agreeing to it," Edward teases, his hand moving from the small of my back to lightly grip my elbow.

My lips curve upwards when he pulls me to him to avoid a near-collision with a waitress. "There'll be no regrets."

"I hope not," he says with a laugh, "but I had Carlisle order a few bottles of wine for the table just in case."

"Only a few?" I sneak a glance at him and he eyes me oddly. "I mean, aren't all of your investors coming? I think you'd need more than a few."

"No, it's just a small group tonight. We're only meeting with those who have connections in the industry."

"Connections?"

He nods and ushers me into the room where everyone is already seated and getting acquainted. Carlisle and Esme both stand once they spot us.

"There she is!" Carlisle booms as Esme rushes over and pulls me into a hug.

"I'm so happy you made it!" she whispers with her cheek pressed against mine.

"Everyone, this is Bella," Edward begins, motioning to the first couple at the table, Jenks and his date.

Jenks reaches over and shakes my hand as we exchange pleasantries. There's none of that smooth hand smooching he did last time we met. I suppose it's because he's under the watchful eye of his date who he introduces as his associate, Rachel. She gives me a tight-lipped grin and a polite nod.

Jake and his fiancée, Leah, are the next to greet me. Jake's welcome is warm, but his fiancée is a bit frosty. The only thing more severe than the expression on her face is her handshake. I'll bet that chick could tear phonebooks in half with her bare hands.

We get to the last couple at the table, a portly older gentleman named Demetri and his much younger arm candy, Irina. Demetri is very formal, standing to kiss my hand before introducing himself. He looks down at his wife adoringly, her name sounding beautiful as he says it in his thick, Russian accent. She doesn't speak or shake my hand. Instead, she toasts me with her champagne flute and smiles brightly.

The moment we sit down, it's all business, though not the business I'd expect. This meeting isn't about the dispensary; it's about the Cannabis Cup.

"Last time we spoke, we tossed around some ideas on how we could promote the strain leading up to the Cup. A few of you knew some folks who've participated as judges before, were you able to get in contact with them?" Carlisle asks, looking around the table.

Jenks leans forward. "I've got a couple. My boy from Philly. He judged in Cali and in Denver. He's also got a blog where he reviews strains and product—"

"How's his following?" Carlisle interrupts with a jerk of his chin.

"Solid. He's got a lot of hookups on the East Coast. If he gets down with E.C. Kush, New York won't be far behind."

"And the other?" Edward asks, sliding back in his seat and resting his arm across the back of my chair.

Jenks smirks. "An old friend from Cali. She judged in Denver last year and Amsterdam a few years before that."

"Tanya?" Jake asks, looking down at his drink.

Jenks nods then looks to Edward. "The one and only."

"She's a good one to have in our corner," Jake says quietly, still staring at the table. I can't help but notice the massive eye roll Leah gives him - or the small chuckle that falls from Edward's lips.

"She's got great connections," Jenks adds, "Real respected in the cannabis community. She'll do right by us."

"I've got a couple who're interested, too." Jake clears his throat, looking up at Carlisle. "ATL Ali from the Peaches and Herb blog is down to review the strain. And J-Blunts from Houston is in as well."

"Good work," Carlisle says, nodding approvingly from the head of the table. "E.C. has secured Rosebud Labs to verify the strain quality and THC percentage for the group. I've also been in contact with someone I'd like to participate." Out of the corner of my eye I see Edward shaking his head slightly before downing the last of his wine. "He's young, but his YouTube channel has over 200,000 subscribers."

"Who is it?" Jenks and Jake ask over each other.

"His name is Seth. He runs the Green Scene channel."

Jenks and Jake both groan, and Edward gives Carlisle an I told you so look.

"What?" Carlisle widens his arms. "The kid's a tough sell, but I think he'll like our product."

"That kid's an asshole," Edward mutters under his breath.

Jenks furrows his brow. "Is that the one always vaping in his mom's basement?"

"That's the one," Jake answers. "Pasty-ass vap-ire."

Carlisle looks confused. "Vap-ire?"

"Doesn't go out in the sun." Edward smiles. "Hangs around vaping all day."

"With his vitamin D deficient ass," Jenks mumbles, motioning for the waiter to get him another drink.

"He can vape outdoors," Carlisle argues.

Edward shakes his head. "He doesn't do the portable vapes. Only uses the home vaporizers. Desktops and corded."

"Then we'll have a vaporizer on hand," Carlisle's tone has a note of finality in it.

The food comes and the conversation shifts to sponsorship. This appears to be Demetri's area of expertise since he and Carlisle do most of the talking. Edward's very attentive to me as we eat, making sure my wine glass is full and that I'm enjoying my meal. He gives me a taste of his risotto and steals a bite of my chicken parmesan. The moment the food is taken away his arm is back over the top of my chair, his fingertips gently grazing my skin every now and again as he and Carlisle wrap up the business portion of the evening.

When the dessert cart is wheeled out, I feel Edward's lips at my ear. "Dessert?"

"Of course." I pull my teeth over my lip, trying not to salivate over the choices. "I can't decide."

"Which ones do you want?"

"All of them," I sigh, "but I think I either want to order the bomboloni or the pistachio-filled cannolis."

"Get them both. We'll share."

"I thought you don't share."

"I don't." He grins. "But I'll share with you."

Turns out he's an excellent sharer. The kind of sharer who lets you eat off his plate and doesn't look at you funny if you accidently moan when the mixture of the vanilla gelato and salted caramel sauce hits your tongue.

"Good?" he asks, staring at my mouth, watching me pull the fork away slowly.

"Mm." I nod, trying to chew and swallow without embarrassing myself. "So good."

He licks his lips then looks down at his plate, swirling his spoon in the gelato. "I'm really glad you came tonight."

"Me too."

"The reviewers are flying in next week to do the smoke session at my place; do you think you'd want to come to that too?"

Seriously? Another work function? "Ahh,"I keep my eyes on my plate and dab the corners of my mouth with my napkin, hoping he doesn't notice my scowl, "for Awarify, you mean?"

After an awkward beat of silence, he shifts in his seat beside me, and I can feel a lone fingertip dusting softly across my shoulder, brushing my hair away from the skin. His voice drops and his words come out in a low murmur, "For me."

When I turn to him, his eyes are still watching his finger move over my skin before flickering to mine. I smile. "Then it's a date."

The evening comes to a close, and we all walk out together as a group, exchanging our goodbyes, except for Esme. She kisses my cheeks and squeezes me tight, blatantly ignoring my three-pat hug rule. Thankfully, Carlisle cuts in and pulls his wife off of me with an awkward chuckle.

Smirking at the exchange, Edward holds his arm out for me to take and dips down to speak quietly, "Sorry about that."

"Don't be. She's great." I link my arm with his and lean into him as we stroll to the cab stand nearby. "Tonight was fun."

"It was. You saved me from being bored to death."

"Stahp." I gently slap my free hand to his chest letting it linger there long enough that he grabs it and holds it to him.

"I'm serious." He shifts his body so we're standing face-to-face and he's staring down at me, eyes intense. "I'm really happy you came."

The sound of footsteps nearing jars me from his gaze. I glance over and notice Carlisle and Esme watching us as they walk. Esme's smile is practically splitting her face in half whereas Carlisle's expression is unreadable. Curious, maybe? Amused? I can't tell.

Edward's thumb swipes gently over the soft skin of my hand, my palm still pressed tightly to his chest. I look up just in time to see him step closer with his tongue peeking out to wet his lips.

A throat clears from beside me and the cab stand guy slaps the top of the taxi. "You guys coming or going?"

"NOOOOOO!" Rose shrieks, bringing me out of the memory. "What a cockblock!"

"I know, right?" I slump back in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest. "I totally panicked. Threw my arms around his waist and gave him a great big bear hug."

"Stop it right now, you did not! Did he hug you back?"

I nod. "He did, but you know what the funny thing is?"

Her brow lifts slightly.

"I swear I felt him kiss the top of my head."

"AWW!" The table shakes when she bounces in her seat. "Like a forehead kiss."

"Sure, exactly like a forehead kiss, only it's like three inches behind my forehead."

"No, I mean like a sweet little peck."

"Well he wasn't licking my scalp."

"This is huge! I think I can safely say you're out of the friend zone."

"Maybe. I don't know, the whole job thing makes it weird." I scoop up some guac on my finger and suck it off with a pop. "If it weren't for that, I'd have no problem making the first move."

"Pfff, girl please, that man is begging you to make a move."

"You think?"

She taps her temple. "I know. Guys like him are too laid back for their own good. They need to be handled in a certain way."

My mind goes to a weird place where I'm dressed in latex and twirling a crop like a baton while Edward waits on the bed for his spanking. "Uh, I'm not so sure he'd be down for kink."

Tipping her head back, she laughs and laughs. "Oh honey, no. I'm not talking about kink. I'm talking about you being direct. A little show and tell always works for me."

"Show and tell?"

Her words come out slow and deliberate. "Show him and tell him exactly what you want."

"That's it? Just being direct?"

A slow smile spreads across her face and she tilts her head. "You show him once," she winks, "and you won't have to tell him again."

A/N: *Carrie ZM turns up her boombox and Lay sways to Cypress Hill and Sonic Youth's I Love You Mary Jane* Who's ready for a little smoke session?

Huge love and thanks to TLS for the rec and to Random Rita from Rob Attack for featuring Kush! Make sure you check out TLS on Saturday - our girl, Planetblue has a surprise for you, fandom!

So last week I took a little Laycay and this week Carrie took a craycay, so we didn't get a lot of WIP'ing done - BUT - we're all about that salty sea air and sun kissed hair, so here are some Summer Lovin' fics we adore:

Scorched by Cosmogirl7481 *Lay closes eyes and crosses fingers for an update*
The Prettiest Regret by TheFicChick (this fic is like a funnel cake - it hits the spot every time)
Summer of Salt by lolapops (can we get a witness)

What are the summer lovin' fics that you can't get enough of?

Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, fav'd, rec'd, tweeted or lurked this fic! I'll see you next week!