Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story or its dirty-talking Edward AKA; Masen, and his equally smutty Bella, AKA; B.

A/N: And we're back! I'm sorry I took some time away. Life calls but I'll never give up on these stories. If you're waiting for the next TMF chapters they are a work in progress. I've decided I won't update that story again until I have the remaining chapters completed and ready to go up within a day of one another, so it's taking some time to get all that done. As a brief recap, in the last chapter of A&A Edward and Bella had just shared their first sunrise above an old abandoned baseball field, just before getting caught in a rainstorm that was now sending them back home. If you're still reading, you've helped make my day, so thank you for that. Many thanks to my amazing beta, myonlyheroin! Now on with the story, *wink*.


Neighbor Boy Interrupted

Chapter 6

((.EDWARD.))

When Bella and I got back to our apartment complex, I casually instructed her to sit tight and wait in her seat for me to come around to her side of the car and let her out. This, was, of course, me attempting to play the gentleman's role, which I knew my neighbor would silently appreciate. The rain was still falling from the morning sky pretty relentlessly, but the power hadn't been affected in our building yet, bringing me some much needed and welcomed good news.

After jumping out from the opened driver side door, I slammed it shut behind me, then did my best to keep a fresh towel draped carefully over my head while my legs quickly carried me around the wet pavement to help Bella. Without thinking twice, I removed the towel from above my own head to carefully place it over hers, ultimately drenching myself all over again.

The White Knight chivalry points you'll receive thanks to this one single selfless act- all on its own, Cullen… priceless.

"This weather is absolutely insane!"

"Pft, this is nothing! Wait till we get a real hurricane. Now. that's insane!" I informed her with a sly grin escaping past my lips as the rain continued to fall hard all around us. Without hesitation, she linked her arm through mine and we both began running side by side towards the overhang positioned at the entrance of our building.

"Wait a minute, the Carolina's can get hurricane weather. Have you really never experienced one before?" I questioned, once we'd gotten ourselves safely out of the rain and under the canopy in front of the elevator doors.

"Nope. The one time it did happen, my dad drove us north and we made a family road trip out of it to see Niagara Falls. He's a worrier and an over-protector."

I laughed with a nod from my head, then reached forward to press the button on the lit up panel that would bring the elevator up to our floor. "I need to stop in at my place to get changed. You can come in if you'd like? I mean, I'm not sure what you'll be walking into over at your place. Especially since Alice and Jasper weren't expecting us back for at least another twenty minutes." I casually reminded her when the double doors opened to let us out. She thought my suggestion over for a few seconds while we began walking past all the other apartment doors headings towards our own, and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw her start to reach for her phone from her back pocket.

It surprised me when she stopped mid-tug at the device to instead bring her arm back through mine, "Okay. You're right. Let's go ahead and see your place, neighbor boy."

"I should probably remind you, I'm currently sleeping on the couch," I mumbled, still smiling to myself over her absolute independent decision to stick with me, rather than retreat to the comfort of her safety net back at her new home; AKA, her best friends watchful eye.

"And why exactly aren't you using the other bedroom in your apartment, Edward?"

"The only thing in there is exercise equipment and bookshelves. Nothing to sleep on. That being said, Jasper and I are supposed to go get an air mattress today to help change that." I inserted my key into the door's top lock, then pushed it open and carefully closed it behind us after flipping the switch beside the frame to turn on the hallway light.

"Yeah, you definitely live with a woman." She snickered, more to herself than to me, while scanning my well-kept place. One thing I could give Tanya credit for was keeping our shared space clean and tidy looking, almost like a model home from a small space living magazine.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'm just going to grab something from the bedroom real quick to change into."

That was when the heavily well-paced banging from the other side of the kitchen wall started.

"Jesus... that must be the exact location of Alice's bedroom," Bella grumbled with a devilish smirk before rolling her eyes and shaking her head in sarcastic disapproval. "Those two are going to end up well rode and raw before they even learn each other's last names."

"Excuse me, but was that a bit of country twang I just heard sneak out of you?" I had to tease her a little. More importantly, though, I had to facilitate the belief that it had also been the first time I'd heard the southern girl sneak out of her, even though I'd already noticed it several times during our late night calls.

She let out another sarcastic laugh, then followed it up with a rushed breath from between her pursed lips before shaking her arms out at her sides. An obvious chill running down her body and across her exposed limbs. "You hush right now, city boy. How about you earn yourself some good neighbor points and get me one of your largest t-shirts? I don't think it's safe for me to venture back home just yet, and I'm starting to feel like a wet cat that's been hung out to dry."

I wasn't really ready to share Bella's attention anyway, so if I could keep her over here, with only me, for just a little while longer, that would certainly be ideal. It was abundantly obvious that she seemed more comfortable when it was only the two of us and we were all alone without any other sets of eyes silently judging or over analyzing our ability to just be.

When Alice had been around last night, Bella seemed distant and much more guarded. Almost as if she were out to prove something that didn't, but at the same time absolutely did, involve me.

"Where's your bathroom, Mr.E?"

"Same place as yours, Ms. B-eella" I teased, catching myself just in time, and also causing her to force another exaggerated roll of her eyes as she bit down nervously on her bottom lip.

She was gone in seconds, so I made my way into the bedroom to find us both something dry to change into before I went back out into the living room to set up our less than healthy breakfast from the Golden Arches down the street. Once that simple task was complete, I knocked on the bathroom door to hand Bella one of the many UM shirts I'd caught at a football game over the last few years. She cracked the door open and extended only her bare arm through the narrow opening to snatch the t-shirt from my hand, then quickly locked herself inside again.

Two minutes later, she was stepping out from the bathroom wearing nothing but my extremely large t-shirt to cover her extremely flawless body, its fabric hanging off of her in all of the right spots.

Her hair was still damp, but she'd dropped it down from the messy bun she'd wrapped it up into when we'd been caught in the storm back at the field. I watched her smile into my eyes, then nervously look away towards the glass balcony doors before crossing her arms protectively in front of her stomach.

"That shirt looks so much better on you than it does on me."

"Good. I'll keep it then. My first souvenir from Florida." She teased back before slowly beginning to make her way across the room towards me.

We were standing barely two feet apart in the middle of the living room, and my heart felt as though it were about to skyrocket right from my chest with nothing but silence remaining between us.

It truly was surreal just how gorgeous one human being could look after being caught in a torrential downpour with not an ounce of makeup left on their face and their hair looking as though it hadn't seen a brush in days, but there she was, proving the impossible, unfuckingdeniably possible right before my very eyes.

"Souvenirs are for people who visit without any plans to stay. I really hope that's not your plan, neighbor girl. I'm really rooting for you to stick around for awhile."

She looked me dead in the eyes again, her own eyes now wide as she processed my words, and we stood there silently, neither one of us apparently knowing what to say next.

"I um," she cleared her throat, then redirected her gaze down towards our bare feet where the tips of our toes were almost touching now, "I'm um… I'm starving. Let's eat." Her legs swiftly moved around me, but I couldn't help but notice the way her shoulder had grazed my arm when she'd had plenty of space to get by without actually touching any part of my body.

Tip-toe here.

Time to take it down a notch or you'll send her running.

She wants to let you in, but she needs to find her own way to let you in and at her own pace, Cullen.

This cannot be rushed.

I nodded to myself, agreeing with the cautious voice in my head, and quickened my pace to catch up to her, so that I'd be able to guide her towards the kitchen table, but not until after I'd placed my hands ever so casually over her shoulders. When she didn't flinch in reaction to my touch, I continued moving her forward around the couch and then behind the Lazy Boy chair before reaching the kitchen where we would share the first, of what I'd hoped, to be many morning breakfasts together.

...


...

After finishing our meal, and sending our best friends a quick text letting them both know we were safe and sound next door, Bella and I settled in on the couch. She'd purposely kept a small space between us, but by the time we'd gotten comfortable her bare thigh had found its way to press itself against my own leg and I was once again feeling that much more victorious in the amount of progress we were seemingly making.

I'd just turned the TV on when I heard the front door open and close with a loud slam from behind us. Our heads quickly turned around, and I felt all the oxygen leave the room when Tanya came waltzing in without a care in the world on her well made up face at barely eight in the morning.

When our eyes met and she noticed I wasn't alone, she dropped her overnight bag at her feet, as well as her jaw with her chin to the floor.

"Well now, this should be fun." I heard Bella mumble from beside me with a nervous laugh following her softly spoken words. Her hands were already tugging at the bottom of the t-shirt she was wearing.

My t-shirt that she was wearing.

A t-shirt I knew Tanya would easily become alerted to before introductions would even be made.

Bella was clearly trying to cover up more of herself than the cotton fabric was capable of doing.

"Yeah. No. This is about to be really awkward, Edward." My new friend warned through clenched teeth after she'd reached over to pinch my arm.

I didn't even know what to say.

It wasn't as if Tanya had walked in on us fucking.

You know, the way I'd walked in on her a little over two weeks ago, but still, only an idiot would believe this situation was entirely innocent with no other intentions taking place.

The silence was deafening, but no matter how hard I tried to form actual words, I remained mute and frozen.

"Hi! You must be Edward's roommate. I'm Bella. My best friend Alice and I just moved in next-door. Edward and I got caught in the rain when we were out getting breakfast this morning, so I'm just drying off over here until it's safe for me to head back over to my place, because well, Alice, my best friend and um… Jasper right?"

I nodded in response, but words were still MIA from my tongue.

"Yeah, Jasper and Alice. Well, they're over at my place making noise, um… unpacking boxes and stuff-."

The rate of speed which those words had just flown out of her...

She was in full panic mode, and for some reason, it was somehow calming me down but also turning me on.

My eyes had gone wide while I'd listened to my new neighbor-friend take control of the situation. I'd failed to take the reigns and instead remained both frozen and silent while sharing a heated stare with my ex who looked as though she currently wanted me dead and bleeding on the floor.

Tanya, of course, said nothing, because that's the type of game she plays.

Instead, she let out an exasperated huff and dramatically stomped herself into the bedroom, instantly slamming the door hard behind her.

Moments later, we both heard the obvious sounds of things being violently thrown and tossed all around. Shortly after that, the muffled screams began, which she'd no doubt released into one of her many unnecessary decorative pillows while attempting to suffocate her perfectly made-up face.

"I guess she's not entirely over the breakup then? Bless her heart." Bella teased with another nervous laugh leaving her lips to effortlessly find my ears. I looked down and felt my shoulders relax at the sight of this girl totally brushing off everything that had just transpired as if it had been no big deal at all.

"She made her bed and she will remain in it… all alone. You should probably go. She's in there building up her defense to come out swinging once she's had time to script all of her asinine lines. Can you do me a favor and let Jasper know I'll text him later?"

I was more than pissed that Tanya had ruined my extended one-on-one time with Bella. Especially, since things had been going so well, and she didn't seem to be in a hurry to get away from my company anytime soon.

She actually looked just as disappointed as I felt.

For what it was worth, that made me feel a hell of a lot better over the awkward situation that had been forced upon us.

"Do you have any plans for later?" The words had flown out of my pathetic mouth, sounding so embarrassingly fuckboy-like, that I wanted to smack myself in the face right there in front of her.

"Not that I'm aware of… but you, my friend, might." She teased back after another fresh bang and crash came echoing down the hallway from the master bedroom.

"Pft, she can clean up her own messes. Not my circus, and I don't ride in that rodeo anymore."

She smiled smugly, then tilted her head to the side, causing some of her honey brown hair to fall in front of her face, covering her left eye in the most adorable of ways. "Then maybe I'll see you later and become a part of your plans?"

I couldn't help but also notice her own elated tone over the possibility of us continuing… this… sometime in the very near future.

"Maybe you will, neighbor girl." I offered her a soft smile and watched her step out of my apartment where she provided me with one last purposeful glance from over her shoulder before closing the door, ultimately leaving me behind.

It had been the kind of glance that made me want to run after her, throw her over my shoulder, and head straight into her bedroom for the rest of the day.

I couldn't do that though.

No.

Not yet.

This morning had been good, progress was indeed made, but I still needed to play more rounds before moving up to the next level in her obviously well-guarded life.

This was our shared reality now, and it was a reality worth tiptoeing around if it meant a more permanent win at the end of all of my plays.

...


...

I'd spent nearly all day avoiding being in the same room with Tanya after B had left me behind to fend for myself against the she-devil I was being forced to share these walls with.

Once Jasper knew my ex had slithered her way back home, there was no way he'd risk showing his face here, not first thing in the morning anyway. Because of that, and his nine to five work schedule, we'd yet to actually speak since last night. Instead, we'd only exchanging a few short texts to lock down plans to meet up later this evening once he was off the clock.

You would have thought my best friend had been the one who had dated Tanya, and wasted years of his life on her, the way he'd reacted when I'd first told him what I'd walked in to find going on in my apartment that night.

He'd never trusted her though, so in theory, I shouldn't have been too surprised when he went off the way he did the first time they'd shared a room together after everything had been exposed and brought out into the open.

"Are you going out tonight?"

I slowly looked up from the book I'd been reading to find the man-eater herself standing over me in nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around her glistening wet body.

"I am. Not that it's any of your business."

"With her?"

"Seriously, Tanya?"

"WHAT?! I think I have the right to know if you're going to be fucking our goddamn neighbor, Edward!"

I was so done, and we'd barely even gotten started.

My legs lifted my body up from the sofa and my eyes were already scanning the room for my keys.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!"

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned myself around to stare her down, "You have zero rights! ZERO, woman! What I do or do not do does NOT involve you ANYMORE!"

When her doe-like eyes met mine again, she looked as though I'd just tossed her across the room and pulled out her heart from the center of her well-endowed chest.

"Don't look at me like that, Tanya." I snarled.

She sucked back a few deep quivering breaths, then brushed her opened hand brashly under her moistened nose. "How should I look at you? I still love you, Edward. You know that, and I know you still love me! I messed up, but if you'd just give me one more chan-"

"You didn't just mess up. You cheated on me in our own home. You were the one who stepped out. Don't act like it was something else that caused this. We're done. There are no do-overs from that. What I do on my time, and who I do it with, is none of your goddamn business."

She let out another pathetic sounding sob, then dramatically turned her back to me, this time to look out the porch window while her shoulders shook with her tears. "You act like you've never made any mistakes."

"WELL, I SURE AS HELL NEVER FUCKING FUCKED SOMEONE ELSE!"

I was absolutely irate at this point and ready to punch something.

Talking to her was pointless. It always was. This was the same exact conversation we'd have every damn day when she'd finally corner me with her apathetic stare and manic-like finger wringing.

"I can't be here tonight. I'll probably crash at Jasper's. Don't bother waiting up." My trembling hand reached down to grab at my keys, just as she released her usual grand finale of an ear piercing- 'woe is me, my ex won't take me back after he saw me being fucked in the ass by some baboon looking greased up juicehead in our shared home.' sob.

My hand slammed the front door closed and my balled up fist met the center of the wooden frame following immediately after. I didn't even bother to bring my key to the lock. It was time for Tanya to learn to fend for herself because she was no longer my responsibility, and I was no longer her caretaker. The more I stuck to our old routine, the harder it would be for her to accept that things really were one hundred and ten- fucking- percent over between the two of us.

Once I was in the elevator, I instantly found myself wishing I'd had the foresight to ask Bella for her phone number before she'd run off. If I had, I'd likely be taking a few extra seconds to send her a quick text to see if she'd want to go get lost with me around town for awhile until Jasper got off work.

The idea of just going back up to our floor and knocking on her door seemed a little too… fuck-boy-ish for me, and I was not looking to earn that title.

When the elevator doors finally opened, I stepped out and quickly scanned my surroundings. The ground was wet, but the rain had stopped. Even the wind seemed to finally be dissipating. As I approached my car, I noticed there was a slip of what looked to be an index card tucked securely under one of my windshield wipers. This, of course, caused me to quicken my pace. Unfortunately, due to the rain, the card was soaking wet, but the writing was still legible, and because of that small victory, I was able to find my victorious smirk again.


You forgot to ask me for my number. No worries. Now you can't say you've never gotten anything for free in life. 'Till later Mr. E

-Neighbor Girl


Across the bottom of the card was her nine-digit cell-phone number.

I instantly took my own phone from my back pocket and plugged her information into my contacts list, then carefully folded the card back up to store it safely in my glovebox like some twitterpated chump in need of my own souvenir.

Once at Jasper's, we'd plan a simple, but memorable evening for Alice and Bella. Jasper was just as good as I was when it came to going above and beyond in order to impress someone worth impressing.

Before I got there though, I needed to prepare myself for all the ribbing I would be receiving from my best friends once I'd explained to him how B and I had actually first met. Jasper would no doubt have a field day with that bit of information, but he needed to understand why it was profoundly paramount that he not let on to what my current line of employment actually entailed.

If he outed me before I was ready, it would be game over before I'd even made it into the second inning. No matter what it took, I couldn't allow that to happen.

...


...

I'd been lounging on my best friend's couch in the middle of his small studio apartment for the last seven minutes, patiently waiting for him to get out of the bathroom. He didn't know I was here yet, so listening to him talk to himself in the mirror had turned out to be more than just a little bit awkward, but also very much gratifying and entertaining.

Poor guy was already falling hard for Bella's bestie, but at least he was giving me some ammo for when I dropped the bomb on him that my newest neighbors had been my first ever call to pop my cherry at work.

Alice's best friend had literally taken over my every thought, so I could understand Jasper's situation, with his own self-inflicted obsession, to an extent.

He'd of course already rounded his bases. Several times in fact, and likely played more than a dozen innings, so a part of me hated him.

"Dude, what the fuck?! How long have you been here, dipshit?"

"Long enough to listen to you growl and moan over the memories Alice blessed you with last night going into this morning."

Jasper chucked his dirty work shirt at me, but I ducked before it could make contact with my face and then quickly sent it back towards him.

"She's got you hooked, huh?"

He shrugged, trying to play it cool, then made his way over to his Bob Marley poster to turn it around and add a fresh new tally mark onto his row of female conquests. "Let's just say she's someone I'd like to keep around for awhile, so don't fuck this up for me by scaring Bella away and making things awkward. She's pretty serious about her boyfriend. Alice was giving me the scoop between our bed bouncing sessions. She hates him. He sounds like a real prick but he's got some kind of hold on the one you've got your eyes on."

"You have no idea."

Jasper paused to look at me, "And what idea do you have? Did Bella actually discuss the douche and their chaotic relationship? What exactly did you two do this morning? Alice was freaking the hell out when we woke up and she saw her the text that you'd kidnapped her best friend. Heads up, she's quite the momma bear."

I smiled to myself with a shrug from my shoulders and casually told him that I'd taken Bella over to the baseball field to watch the sun come up until the rain ruined things, before grabbing some fast food and enjoyed some one-on-one time on my couch, strictly G rated, up until Tanya showed up.

"Smooth, my man! Pulling out some big stops right out of the gate! Sounds like you made some nice progress yourself, for having just met last night."

I laughed and cleared my throat with purpose, which ultimately let my buddy know I still had much more to say.

He swiftly stopped what he was doing and turned to look at me, his brow now raised with peaked interest. "What?"

"What?" I repeated after him, hiding my smirk this time.

"I know you. Spill, Cullen."

When you've been best friends with someone for as long as I had been with Jasper, eventually they started to know you better than you knew yourself sometimes.

"So, okay" ...Long awkward pause... "My first night at work, remember I sent you that text that my first call had been amazing, and the girl had done things to me that I didn't even know were possible with just the sound of her voice?"

"Dude, are we really going to talk about how you jerked it to a speaker box?"

I rolled my eyes and shot him my middle finger before continuing. "It was B, Jasper! Bella, I mean. My first caller that night… it was her, and then she called again last night, right after I'd left her place. She called because she was feeling frustrated because of ME, the real me, and I got to help her out with that frustration all over again, only now, she's my fucking neighbor with a boyfriend, and there's all this bullshit keeping me from making it all come full circle in goddamn actual real life."

Jasper's mouth was now wide open and his hands were clutching the hair at the sides of his head while he processed this absurdly insane news.

The look on his face was exactly what I'd imagined when I'd run through this very moment in my head.

"Does she… does she know it's you? That you're the guy on the other end of the call?"

"Hell, no! For one, I could lose my job if it ever got back to my boss, but two- I just froze, man, what could I have said? 'Oh, I know you! I just got you off over the phone a few hours ago for a buck ninety-nine a minute. Nice to meet you, neighbor!' COME ON, man!"

Jasper was now laughing hysterically.

"This is- too good… too goddamn good! I can't even believe this is your life right now! What are the odds!?"

I shook my head, not knowing how to respond.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"No! I mean not yet. I can't… don't get me wrong, I realize I probably should. I mean truthfully, what I should do is quit my damn job, but I'm banking serious money in just a couple of hours a night. I'd be stupid to quit right now. I, at least, need to make enough to get into my own place after the holidays, and then I can reevaluate the situation."

"So, then you're just going to keep stringing her along? I don't know, man. That sounds a little dangerous. Even for you."

I let out a huff and fell back further into the sofa behind me, "No, not stringing her along. I have intent. I like her. She's different. Special."

"Oh, she's special alright. She and Alice are a rare breed. So, what do we do now?"

My mouth raised itself into a slight smirk before I took in a deep breath and cleared my throat, "Now, we plan an evening that will make them question everything about their future and what it could be like having us be a part of it."

Jasper laughed and nodded his head, "I'm game. Let's make it happen and see where it takes us. Just like the old days before Tanya dug her claws into you and made you her love drunk puss-boy prisoner… I mean uh… cough... anchor in life."

"Eventually, fate finds the way."

"Oh, Jesus, save the lame lines for the ladies and your creative writing, E." Jasper scoffed, instantly earning himself a sofa pillow to his head. He caught it with both of his hands, then took his phone up from the coffee table to, no doubt, start scrolling for ideas. "How about we take them to Bayside?"

"Nah, too thirsty with tourists."

"Uber over to Wynwood then, take in some art and hit up some bars with live music before heading back here to my place for a stroll on the beach? I've got some sparklers somewhere, and the turtles have been out like crazy laying eggs. It won't feel as lame because it's technically my backyard."

I thought his suggestion over. It could be good enough. Especially if we really caught some turtles out on the sand. I had a feeling Bella would love that. Plus, some quiet time on the beach at night could lead to more open dialogue that would open the door for Bella to feel that much more comfortable around me.

"Okay, sounds good. I'll send B a text and set it all up."

"Ohhhh, you better not call her that in person, my man," Jasper warned with a wicked smirk and wag of his pointer finger. "It could be the trigger pull to end it all."

There was no way I'd accidentally mess this up.

No way in hell.

My next plan of action, however, had to involve finding a way to limit the calls Bella would make to my one-nine-hundred number. I already knew the guilt would inevitably start to build up with every minute I kept her on the line. My main goal now had to be giving her just enough of me in real life, in order to keep her from seeking attention elsewhere- via other more expensive and unnecessary outlets.


A/N: Thanks for reading! Lots more to come with Edward and Bella's second inning out for a night on the town with their best friends in tow. Will it go smoothly, or will Bella come in with her guard back up and a fresh new line in the sand? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

**Reviews make me smile, and as thanks for making me smile I'll pay it forward with an outtake from Bella's POV taken from the moment Bella goes back over to her apartment after leaving Edward behind with Tanya.**