Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.
A/N: Back again and thanks so much for returning! If you reviewed the last chapter and didn't get the outtake please drop me a PM and let me know. I had to send my replies in two parts because of how long the outtake ended up being, *FP*. Not much more to say here except muchas gracias to my beta, myonlyheroin. Any and all mistakes are my own thanks to my twitchy fingers. Let's get to it then!
Birthdays Boats & Breathe
Chapter 9
.(.Edward.).
It was Friday night, and unfortunately, that meant I had to work. I really wasn't looking forward to going in because one; all I wanted to do was spend any and all of my time with Bella now, and two; I was going to have to have a talk with Aro about my schedule.
The latter being because I needed to take tomorrow night off for her birthday, but I also wanted to cut back on my hours, and possibly change to the earlier/later morning shift in order to help free up my nights again.
This was, of course, also for Bella, but I would leave that part out.
I had a feeling our talk wouldn't go over very well.
Especially since I'd barely gotten two full weeks in under my belt working for the guy.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw Emmett getting out of his shiny black Hummer and offered a brief wave from my hand. He nodded in recognition, then waited for me to join him before starting to head towards the building.
"How goes it, Mase? Enjoy your day off yesterday? Aro about had my head when he heard I let you pull a double so soon. He's worried you're going to get burnt out and quit on us."
I laughed nervously and avoided his eyes while scratching the back of my neck.
"Oh, shit! Are you quitting?"
"No! Not quitting… I… I just need to cut back a little. I've got some stuff going on that I need to devote my attention to. Family shit." I lied… but only a little, because truthfully, I did have plenty of family shit going on, I was just doing my best to stay far away from it.
"Oh, okay. That shouldn't be a problem. Although, you've been making Aro cream himself over the numbers you've been bringing in. I'll put in a good word for you, and I'll also remind him that you're worth the hassle, as long as you're not leaving us in the lurch completely."
I shook my head and pulled my phone out from my pocket when I'd felt it begin to vibrate.
It was my sister Rose again. I quickly sent her call to voicemail before stuffing the damn thing back into my pocket, feeling only a twinge of guilt for having avoided her again, but I was determined to not let it get to me.
"No way. I need this job. I need the money."
He grabbed my shoulder with his hand and gave it a firm squeeze, "Alright. Let me talk to Aro for you. What are you wanting to do four nights on, three nights off?"
"Eh, I was thinking more like the opposite, Three nights on, four off… me coming in Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I was also hoping to start doing the five to noon shift."
"Not as many calls come in during that shift, are you sure you want to risk it?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. At least for now. I also kind of need this to start today, so I can have tomorrow night freed up." I reluctantly added.
Emmett laughed to himself and shook his head in disapproval, "You're lucky I like you, Cullen."
I forced a nervous smile and told him I appreciated it, and that the feeling was also mutual.
Emmett really was a good guy. I could totally see us hanging out outside of work, and actually becoming pretty good friends. I still needed to make sure he'd be able to keep it to himself, though, how we'd met, and where we worked together before I'd go making any out of the office plans with him that would invite him into my real world.
"No promises, but I'll see what I can do and let you know before your shift is over. Let's get in there before we're late."
I nodded, then opened the door for us and followed him inside to the dimly lit room.
"See you at break." With that farewell, I made my way past our other co-workers, whom I'd barely gotten to know yet, then went straight into my 'office' to get started so I could get this night over with while also hoping Bella didn't make herself one of my callers tonight.
I'd successfully racked in another six hours of billable 'services', and only had twenty minutes left in my shift before I'd be able to clock out when a hard knock came from the other side of the room as soon as I'd ended my last session.
"Yeah, come on in."
A few seconds later Emmett's head appeared between the opened door and he greeted me with a grin, "I hooked you up big time bro, you owe me. Aro wants to see you in his office before you head home."
"Alright, I've still got twenty to go."
"Nah, it's cool, you've well surpassed your quota for the night. Which is fucking nuts, kid. Aro was right, it's no wonder you're looking to cut back. You're a damn madman in here."
I did my best to hide my smug smile by turning my back to him, then slowly started packing up my bag before putting my sneakers back on my feet to stand up and meet him at the door. "So, no hints about what I'm about to walk into?"
Emmett laughed and shot me a thumbs up, "It's all good. Really good. I'm actually a bit jealous myself, but Aro's got me doing more of the managing side of things now, so I can't really complain much." I'd actually picked up on that, but hadn't gotten a chance to ask him if he was permanently switching gears, or just taking a bit of a break from being so, hands on.
He continued walking with me down the hallway, then opened the door to Aro's office and silently gestured for me to enter. I was a little surprised when he closed the door behind me but remained in the room with us.
"Edward! My boy! Come have a seat. Emmett and I just had a talk and he filled me in on what the two of you discussed. I totally understand, family is important, and I know you're going through a hell of a time right now with yours."
This caused me to narrow my eyes and hold in my breath. How much did Aro actually know about me? Because I'd very purposely refrained from talking to anyone here about the drama that had attached itself to my last name.
"I do very thorough background checks on all of my employees before I hire them, Cullen. Don't act so surprised."
Still, I was surprised.
"Breathe, kid. We don't need to talk about any of that in here. I'm not your damn therapist. No worries, no worries. Family sucks unless they live far-far away and have very little to do with your actual adult life. I learned that long ago, just like you're learning now, I'm sure."
Emmett finally took a seat in the chair beside mine, and for whatever reason, that helped calm me a little. He felt like someone I could trust, whereas Aro… well, Aro felt like someone I needed to keep at a distance.
"Look, I've been wanting to branch out a little, and be a little more flexible with some of my more… talented employees. Emmett and I both think you're the right guy to get things started for us before we dive headfirst into a major operational change here."
I was confused. It was as if he'd jumped into the middle of the conversation, or I'd been daydreaming during the first half of it and had just come to.
"How would you feel about working from home?"
Finally.
Something that actually made a little sense.
"Like do what I do here, at my apartment? I can do that? That's an option?"
"Yes, it is! Now, I understand you live with someone, so you're probably thinking that could potentially make things a little difficult, but you don't need to worry about that. Emmett here can come over to your place and do a simple soundproofing of your room for privacy. I'll handle all the costs, and get you a nice little set up to work from. All I'll ask of you is that you pull in twenty-five billable hours of service a week, for the time being. Once things have calmed down for you, we can talk about increasing those hours again. The best part about this deal, those hours can come at any time of the day, whenever you want. No set times. Ever! You'll just sign into the system like you do here, and work your magic. How does that sound?"
I thought over everything he was saying, but it all just seemed a little too good to be true, so I was having a hard time actually taking him seriously.
"I wouldn't have to come into the office anymore?"
"Just to get your paycheck twice a month, and clean out your laptop, what do you think? Does this sound like something you'd be interested in doing? Personally, I think we'd both come out as winners. If things work out I can downsize, get rid of this office space and just have all of you working from the comfort of your own homes, which would be absolutely ideal from a business standpoint. It would save me a hell of a lot in overhead. We're talking a whole new business model, and you'd be the pioneer behind it all. I have to say, I'm pretty damn excited about this! You're the perfect guy for the job. I truly believe that, Edward. You've got what it takes, and I knew that from the moment you walked in for your interview."
I laughed nervously and crossed my arms in front of me, while I took a second to think over my response. It seemed like an easy enough answer, but there was this voice in the back of my head that wouldn't stop whispering that I should probably take a day or two to think things over.
"If you say yes, you can have the rest of the weekend off."
"Yes. Okay, I'm in."
The words had left my mouth before I'd even fully processed what he'd said.
"Excellent! Emmett will come by your place in a couple of hours to get things set up after you've had a chance to get some sleep. Will that work for you?"
Aro wasn't messing around.
Although, a part of me knew his desperation to get things in motion was really just his way of making sure I couldn't easily back out of it after I'd had some time to really think all of it over.
"Yeah, I guess. Tanya, my roommate should be at work today until at least three. Come on by around noon, will three hours be enough time to get it all done?" I questioned, turning my attention to Emmett.
"Yeah, plenty. I'll bring us lunch." He replied with a sarcastic wink from his eye.
I mean if they were actually able to soundproof my room, and he provided everything for set up, what did I honestly have to lose? In actuality, it sounded like a pretty sweet opportunity, and I'd be a fool to turn it down.
Why then did I feel like I'd be regretting this in ways I'd yet to even imagine?
"Alright, you can start up Monday after Em here has shown you the new ropes. If you have any problems, shoot me a quick call. Here's your first paycheck, you broke all kinds of records, Cullen. No one, not even Emmett here made this kind of money during their first two weeks on the job. You should be proud. I'm excited to have you on board with us. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, kid. You've earned it."
I reached out to take the check from his hand and my eyes went wide when I saw the amount that was printed on it.
I'd made almost three grand, after taxes, in two weeks time literally sitting on my ass for a few hours a night talking dirty to a bunch of faceless women.
Well, mostly faceless.
This was insane. Irrefutably insane.
"Nice little piece of the pie, am I right?"
I nodded silently, still in shock over the check I was holding in my hand.
"Stick with us, kid. Sex is money, and in our world, money is like sex. Gratification all the fuck around until your weak in the knees!"
I didn't know what else to say, so I stuttered out a quick 'Absolutely', then thanked him for the opportunity and began to stand myself up.
"See you at noon, Mase," Emmett called out after me just before I'd crossed through the door, still feeling slightly dazed.
All I could do now was hope for the best, and trust that I hadn't just been talked into something that would eventually send my ass back to the classified ads and on the road to homelessness.
When I'd gotten home, I'd passed out almost instantly and slept a good solid five hours since Bella was busy working this morning herself. I'd woken up to pounding coming from the front door and it took me a few extra seconds to come to and realize what time it was, and then what was going on.
After leaping up from my air mattress, I quickly made my way to the front door, still rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands.
I had no idea how Tanya would take me doing a total remodel of what was supposed to be the spare room of our shared space, but I didn't really care either. Especially now that I'd received my first substantial paycheck, giving me some money to throw at her if she gave me any shit about rent or pulling my weight.
"You're punctual, Emmett."
"And you're a lazy sack of potatoes, Cullen."
I laughed at his words and opened the door further to let him in with his cart of stuff. "Do you ever sleep?"
"Nah, I'll sleep when I'm dead. Now, where's the room we will be transforming into your love den?" He asked, then stopped dead in his tracks after noticing a framed picture of Tanya and I that was still hanging on the wall. Why she insisted on keeping it displayed was beyond me, but I wasn't about to claim it as mine by removing it so that's where it had stayed.
"Is that your roommate? Damn son! She's hot as hell!"
"She's my ex, but yeah, we still live together," I muttered under my breath after walking past him to head back towards my room. "Do you want a water or something?"
He walked up behind me and dropped his toolbox by his feet, "Nah I'm good on water, but I'll take a beer to go with the burgers I bought for us."
I smirked at his response, then left him in the room to head into the fridge to grab us both a can of Red Stripe.
"So, this will probably only take me about two hours to do, if you help measure and hang all the pads on the walls, but if you need to go continue your nap on the couch I'll understand," my co-worker further teased after cracking his beer opened and taking a long gulp from it.
"No, I'm good, thanks. Just tell me what to do."
We spent the next hour stapling what looked to be egg crate looking mattress pads onto the walls of my room, and the back of my door, then I helped him with the wiring for the wifi box and recording gear he'd brought in to track my sessions with clients.
"Aro had me get you this MacBook, do you know how to use an Apple computer?"
"Yes. I guess you forgot I'm a writer and a college student when I'm not getting people off for a buck ninety-nine a minute. I know how to use an Apple computer, thanks Em." I sarcastically replied while I continued to staple the last pad onto the farthest corner of the room.
"Alrighty then, rules. You're only allowed to use this laptop for work purposes. I have a program set up that will record anything and everything you do on it, so just a heads up on that. No secrets will be kept on this machine. Everything works exactly the same as the computer at the office once you're online. Same passwords, same screen-name, same time logs, avatar, same everything. The difference is the freedom you'll have getting to do it all from your bedroom at any hour of the day. Now that you've seen your first paycheck, you understand the kind of opportunity that's here for you, so I hope you'll take all of this seriously because I've really stuck my neck out to make this happen."
I fell back onto my bed and let out a huff, "After getting that first paycheck, I'm sold man. It's pretty crazy, right? That we can make that kind of money off of a some whispered phone calls and a couple of online chat sessions." I asked, then laughed to myself while looking up at the ceiling in dazed disbelief.
"People have been paying for sex since the beginning of time. It's literally the oldest industry in the history of the world. It's something everyone wants, needs, and daydream's about. We get to provide a legal service that most people will never understand, but the same people who can't understand it are usually the ones that end up dialing our number. I told you before, I've dabbled in the porn world and even did a little escorting. This is, by far, the best way to make money, without feeling like too much of a complete scumbag."
"Yeah, I haven't told anyone except my best friend about any of this. I figured the less people know the better."
"Good call, Mase."
I coughed nervously into my fist, then sat up to look over at Emmett, "That being said, can you do me a favor and not call me Mase outside of the office?" I asked with my brow slightly raised.
Emmett laughed and nodded his head. "Yeah, man, sorry. I'm usually a lot better about that. It's just because we're talking shop. I won't ever throw you under the bus like that. Promise."
Just then, another knock came from the front door. I checked the time on my phone and saw that it was just past two thirty. Bella didn't get off until three so it couldn't have been her, and Tanya would have used her key.
"One sec." I slowly stood myself back up and made my way out of the room to walk down the hallway towards the front door. Before I could look through the peephole a familiar voice was already shouting through the locked door.
"Ding dong, mofo! Open the hell up!"
It was Jasper.
I opened the door and narrowed my eyes, wondering why he was here so early when I wasn't supposed to pick him up until later with the girls. "Alice kicked me out so she could actually take a nap in prep for tonight without me poking her with my dick while she tried to sleep."
"Did you sleep there again last night?"
I was seriously starting to hate him.
"Hell, yeah I did. I had to call in sick today, so I'd be able to rest up for tonight myself. The woman sucked the life out of me, in all the right ways until the sun came up this morning… and then again at lunch. Oh sorry, I didn't realize you had company." I turned around to see Emmett standing at the end of the hallway with his hands pushed into his pockets and a blank expression on his face.
"Emmett, this is my buddy, Jasper. Jasper, Emmett. We work together."
My best friend was already grinning ear to ear, "Another lucky fuck! Nice to meet you, man." I watched them slap hands and felt the sudden urge to roll my eyes, but somehow managed to keep my honest reaction to myself.
"Jasper is the one I told you about who knows."
"Ah, gotcha. Yeah, life is good. What can I say?" Emmett answered back, also grinning now with a devious smirk on his face after giving my buddy a firm nod from his head and another slap to his hand.
I quickly filled Jazz in on what was going down with my job, and the sudden change of location, which ultimately triggered a loud whistle from between his lips in apparent disbelief and admiration, "For someone who had been drifting in Shit Creek for the last couple of months, things have certainly turned around for you, E! Maybe it's time you play the lottery again?"
I smirked and nodded in agreement with him, then gave a slight shrug from my shoulders before tossing my empty beer can into the garbage bin at the end of the counter we were all standing around, "So, whats up?"
"Nothing, just checking in before heading back over to my place. Alice is still trying to lock down the whole boat thing for tonight, so that's up in the air, but she said if it falls through, we'll just stick to the original plan and head over to South Beach to hit some spots, so she's requested that we dress accordingly."
"Boat thing?" Emmett suddenly asked, joining our conversation after leaning himself over the countertop in front of us.
"Oh, yeah, the reason why I needed time off tonight in particular… a girl I'm kind of seeing, it's her twenty-first birthday. Her best friend was trying to charter a boat to take us out for the night and dock again in the morning, but I guess she isn't having much luck."
I'd only been a little bit annoyed when Alice had shared her idea with me, but that was because it was perfect, and I'd wished I'd been the one to think of it. Then again, I certainly didn't have the money for such a thing, but we'd all agreed to chip in on it to make it a little easier to swallow down the cost and also help make Bella's night all the more memorable.
Emmett was instantly smirking again and taking his phone out from his back pocket. "I can totally hook you guys up, man!"
This should have of course shocked me, but for some reason, it didn't. Emmett seemed like the type of person that had friends in all the right places, and if he didn't, he knew people who at least knew people in order to get to those places.
"How's that now?"
He had my attention.
I had to bite.
"A buddy of mine owns a couple of sweet ass boats. They're docked over at the 5th Street Marina. He charters them out for parties and deep sea fishing excursions. I'm sure he'll have at least one free for the night. How many people are you talking about, less than a hundred?"
I laughed out loud over his absurd estimation when it came to the size of my circle of friends, but then stole a quick glance towards Jasper.
He was already bobbing his head in excitement.
When I remained silent, Jasper quickly jumped in for me, "We'd only planned on there being like nine of us, I think. At last count. So we don't need anything huge. We were hoping to get a boat with at least two private cabins though, if at all possible." My best friend quickly informed him, just like the sex-obsessed nymphomaniac he was.
"No problem at all, just give me five minutes. I'll even get you our work discount." Jasper and I watched in shock when Emmett swiftly turned himself around to head out onto the balcony to apparently make a call.
"Bro, this is awesome! You should invite him to come out with us. Maybe he can help keep Kate busy, and out of your hair while you work Bella." My buddy whispered with a devious smirk and wink from his eye before throwing a solid jab to my shoulder.
I could barely believe what he'd just said, "You- you invited Kate to come out and celebrate Bella's birthday with us? What the hell were you thinking? You saw how she was the other night!" This obviously annoyed me, but I knew he'd already picked up on that. I also knew that my instant annoyance was why he'd done it in the first place.
"What? I was just thinking that if Bella gets to bounce herself all around, then so should you. Fair is fair, my man."
"It's her damn birthday Jasper!"
"I'm not telling you to bend Kate over in front of her, I was just trying to provide a backup plan. You know, in case her boyfriend makes another random appearance, so you don't end up on the sidelines all pathetic like plotting his murder."
He was still messing with me, but as much as I hated to admit it, he also had a fairly valid point. I hadn't even considered that point as an actual possibility, but in all actuality it was, and if it did happen, I would be royally screwed.
There's no way Jake would show up again… not so soon… or would he?
I mean, it IS her birthday.
Fuck.
Thankfully, Emmett came back inside, breaking me from my current minor panic attack by proudly informing us that everything was all set. "I got you a beauty of a boat. Full kitchen- just BYOB. It's got three private cabins and a big enclosed sitting area with lots of lounge space, a sixty-five-inch movie screen and state of the art sound system. Oh, and a hot tub on board, as well. Duke said you guys can leave any time after seven, and he'd have you back just after sunrise to dock. Sound good?"
I was in absolute shock.
Stuff like this didn't happen to me.
Not these days.
At least not in a good couple of months.
I also couldn't ignore the fact that my second thought was the price tag that would be coming with the kind of boat my co-worker had just described, because I knew, from experience, it would be a hell of a lot more than what Alice and I had talked about.
This was Bella's twenty-first birthday though, and I wanted it to be special for her.
I'd figure out a way to cover the cost. Even if it meant I'd be sitting in my room with the door locked for the next five days, morning-noon-and-night 'working' from my new work laptop.
I would make it worth it.
Jasper was right, though, I needed to at least invite Emmett to come out with us, especially after he'd hooked us up, and on such short notice. "It sounds perfect. Someday I'll find a way to thank you for coming through like this, but for now, why don't you come party with us tonight. It will be fun."
Emmett appeared to consider my invitation for a few solid seconds, then clicked his tongue and nodded his head, "Maybe. Any single ladies gonna be there?"
"At least two, and I could probably get a few more now that we've got ourselves an awesome venue for tonight's festivities!" Jasper spoke up, already taking his own phone out from his back pocket.
"Ok, cool. I think I might be free, and it definitely sounds like a good time. I'll send you a text a little later. Happy to help either way. The boat's name is Carpe Diem. I'm going to get out of here before it gets too late. Time is money, and I've got a long list of shit to do!"
"Time is money," I scoffed, "You sound like Aro."
"Well, he is my mentor." Emmett laughed, " I'll take that as the best compliment you've given me thus far, Cullen!"
I smiled with him and slowly began walking us towards the front door after he'd given Jasper his own farewell, "So um, how much are we looking at, with the boat I mean." I had to ask. I knew I'd need to mentally prepare myself before finding out later on once we were all there, and already onboard.
"It's covered, just make sure you guys tip the captain at the end of the night. He owes me a favor. A few actually." Emmett must have sensed the shocked look that had taken over my face, and then the slight suspicion that subsequently took total control of it, because he was smiling ear to ear when he turned himself around to face me, "Stick with me, Edward. I can open all kinds of new doors for you in this city. Doors you didn't even know existed." He extended his arm out to clasp his hand with mine then pulled me into him to bump my shoulder with his, "We'll talk more later."
Once he was gone, I quickly went back inside to find Jasper in order to stop him before he'd sent out a mass text to every contact he had in his phone.
"Keep it low key, would you? It's supposed to be B's night. I want it to be special, not an evening of Animal House moments on the water with a bunch of people she hardly knows."
Truthfully, I wished I'd had the balls to just keep the evening shared between the four of us; me, Bella, Jasper, and Alice, but I didn't want her to feel like I was already pressuring her with over the top 'dates' right out of the gate, even if it was for a special occasion.
He instantly waved his freed hand at me without looking up from his phone, "I got this. Only our non-asshole friends. That narrows the list down considerably," he joked, "No worries. By the way, did you get her anything?"
Shit.
I hadn't even had the chance to since I'd been working so much while she'd been hiding out from me.
Not to mention, I'd been broke up until a few hours ago.
When I didn't say anything in response, Jasper finally looked up from his phone again and smirked right before shaking his head in taunting disapproval, "What would you do without me? Put your shoes on. Alice might have mentioned something she's had her eyes on."
My friends were apparently full of surprises today, and I wasn't about to question what I'd done to deserve it.
I did as Jasper said, then grabbed my wallet and keys from the desk beside my bed. After scribbling a quick note for Tanya, I stuck it on the fridge and locked my bedroom door from the outside before following Jasper out of the apartment. The last thing I needed was my ex snooping around in my newly renovated space before I'd gotten the chance to even mention anything about it to her.
"I can't believe you actually get to work from home. I seriously hate you. I just need you to understand that."
My hand smacked the back of my best friends shoulder hard two times, then ran itself into his hair to send it in a million different directions.
"When you hit rock bottom, the only place to go is up." I eventually got out, then dodged his own thrown fist to beat him to the elevator.
"I don't know how you got this done, Edward, but I have to say, I-am-Impressed and you have earned many many points in my book! This is seriously, so much better than what I'd been able to find on such short notice!" Alice cooed beside my ear after linking her arm through mine as we all made our way down the sidewalk that ran against the intercoastal towards the massive one-hundred and fifty-foot yacht we'd be spending the evening on.
Our group of nine had ended up turning into a slightly larger group of thirteen. Which, including Emmett, who had also decided to join us.
Especially once Jasper told me there would be at least three other single female friends of ours, not including Kate, coming out tonight to celebrate someone's birthday whom they hadn't even met.
Jasper had failed to mention who three those ladies were, but I didn't really care, just so long as Bella would be there on my arm most of the night- that was literally all that mattered to me.
Not until we'd pulled out of the parking lot of our apartment complex had I been able to really start to relax.
In the back of my head, I'd obsessed over the possibility of Bella's boyfriend making another unplanned appearance at her doorstep after Jazz had brought it up earlier in the day.
It had stressed me out so much, I'd actually practiced my reaction in the fogged up mirror of my bathroom when I'd gotten out of the shower, for almost ten goddamned minutes- before mentally slapping myself and shouting out several obscenities at my pussified reflection.
When we got to the boat, Emmett was already on board in his tan Bermuda shorts and white button down dress shirt looking suave as hell with what looked to be a bottle of Cristal raised in his hand. "You guys made it! Come on up!"
Kate, I'd noticed was already eye fucking my co-worker like crazy. As were our friends Irina and Cora.
This would not bode well for poor Mike and Riley this evening, but I was too busy internally laughing to myself over that fact to feel too badly for either of them. Especially, after all the shit they'd put me through the other night at the bar when we'd all been out together the last time.
Bella had been unusually quiet since the moment she and Alice had met me outside of their front door to head over to the pier. She, of course, looked gorgeous as always, so I'd had an incredibly difficult time keeping my eyes off of her during our drive over here. Even more so once I'd noticed the black string bikini she'd tied off around the back of her neck, which was hidden under the short black and red beach dress she'd also donned for the evening.
"Everything okay?" I softly questioned, once the two of us were alone on the wooden planks of the pier after everyone else had stepped aboard the ship.
"Yeah, it's just a little weird. I mean I know you, and Jasper, and a few of your friends now, but everyone else… I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling a little homesick... like a fish out of water," she joked with a nervous smile, "This is still amazing! Don't get me wrong! Like beyond my wildest dreams for my twenty-first birthday… My dad and brothers are going to totally flip, and I'm so so thankful I won't have to worry about any naked little people trying to give me a lap dance tonight." She quickly added after taking my hand into hers to give it an affectionate squeeze, and then a slight wink from her eye.
Be damned the butterflies she'd just catapulted right into the pit of my gut in the most calculated of ways.
"I get it, but my friends are your friends. Most of them are even cool." I toyed after dropping her hand to bring my own to her hip, so I'd be able to hold her in place in front of me for a little while longer. "Even most of the girls, believe it or not, but none of them have anything on you, birthday gi-" I'd stopped speaking because my eyes had just set themselves onto something I could barely even register, let alone accept as being a reality.
"He did not bring her."
But he had.
Behind Bella, I'd noticed my cousin Riley walking up with someone standing beside him, and that sight had instantly drawn all of my attention onto the two of them.
My evening had just hit a major wall, and I was officially fuming.
"Who- who is that? Another ex of yours?" Bella asked teasingly, once she'd noticed where my eyes had set, and that it had been on the woman my cousin was currently walking with, heading straight towards us.
"No. God no! That's- it's my- my sister."
"Wait… Riley brought his female cousin as his date to my birthday party? Okay, that's not weird at all."
I wanted to literally kill him. After everything I'd told him just a few days ago, he went and decided to do this without so much as sending me a single text message to at least give me a heads up.
He was going to regret this.
"Hey- hey, little brother, you look surprised to see me." Rose greeted us with a smirk. "I don't know why. I've only been trying to track you down for the last two weeks."
"You're barely two minutes older than me, sis, and I've been keeping myself busy for a reason, or you wouldn't have needed to track me down." I swiftly reminded her through clenched teeth, while narrowing my eyes to look directly into hers.
"Wait, you guys are twins?! Edward! You didn't tell me you were a twin."
"I'm surprised he told you about me at all." Rose snickered after giving Bella the once over with her signature fake smile.
"Bella, why don't you go ahead and board the boat while I talk with my family here for a minute." I hadn't looked at her when those words had left my lips. I was worried she would see the absolute rage building in my eyes, and I didn't want to start our evening with that as the springboard.
"Um, okay. I guess I'll see you guys on the boat." She did a slow pivot on her heels, and then left the three of us silently standing there. I watched her get further and further away and waited until she was far enough out of earshot before asking Riley what he was doing bringing my sister here like this.
"You two need to get past all of this. A party with all of our friends is a good place to do it. No pressure. Let's all just have a good time. Like the old days."
I continued to glare at the both of them but said nothing.
"Come on, Edward. I just wanted to see you. It's been over a month. I've been worried. Especially after hearing about Tanya. We don't have to talk about dad or mom. Let's both just forget about it all for the night? I think we've earned an evening of carefree fun."
All the words that were fighting to leave my tongue would not have been kind, so I sucked them back and swallowed them down, then took in a deep breath while silently calming myself over the backstabbing my cousin had just performed right between my shoulder blades.
"Whatever. You bring up any of that bullshit and I swear, I'll throw you both overboard myself with nothing but a single lifesaver."
Rose smiled and nodded one time, then extended her hand out where she presented me with a small pink gift bag. "For your new girlfriend. She seems adorable. Upgrade for sure."
"She's not my damn girlfriend, we're just…"
It was pointless to say anything else. Rose knew me better than anyone. Even better than Jasper.
It's why I had to always keep her at an arm's length.
"Like I said, she seems adorable." My sister smirked, "I can't wait to get to know her a little better. Now, let's get on this beautiful boat before it leaves us behind, shall we? I can't wait to post some pictures on my Facebook. I'm sure Tanya is going to flip the hell out when she sees what you've been up to little brother!"
I let out an annoyed huff from between my lips and snatched the bag from her hand to take it up the ramp with me where Jasper, Alice, and Bella had all been standing by pretending to not be watching us.
This night had barely begun, but it had already been full of even more surprises.
Unfortunately for me, these were the types of surprises I didn't like to entertain, but they were also the type I'd recently gotten all the more used to.
The boat had been moving at a fairly timid pace for the last hour or so when it finally began to slow down completely. When it came to a stop, the captain made an announcement over the intercom letting us know that he would be dropping the anchor and he'd see us in the morning unless some type of emergency occurred.
We looked to be less than five miles from the beaches of Miami, with its tall city buildings twinkling behind its shoreline in the distance, and the full moon now shining above our heads.
All of the girls had gone down below to change into their swimsuits with plans to try out the large hot tub on the back deck, while all of us guys had remained in the sitting room area talking about football, craft beer, and fine pieces of ass.
My eyes kept stealing quick glances to where the lit-up stairs were located across the room.
Focusing on anything else had proven to be damn near impossible.
You had to take the stairs to get to the private rooms down below, which was where the girls had disappeared to about ten minutes ago. As twisted as it was, I could barely stand being away from Bella. Especially when I knew she was so close, and likely feeling the same way based off the signals she'd been sending my way.
Prior to Alice talking her into going downstairs with them, Bella had barely left my side. Even when Kate had joined us and attempted to steal my attention from her. She'd stood her ground and remained beside me with her arm either linked through mine, or her hand stealing swipes at my fingertips from inside my pocket.
"Did you bring something to change into?" Jasper suddenly asked after appearing at my side with Emmett in tow.
"Yeah, I did, I brought extra stuff too because I knew all you'd think to bring was a box of condoms." I joked, causing him to release a rushed sigh of relief.
"This is why I love you! You're always taking care of me and my needs!" Jasper grabbed my head and pulled it down to plant a sarcastic kiss at the top of it, then released me with a light shove from his hands and booming laugh from his opened mouth.
"So your sister, what's the story there? Is she single?"
The glare I'd just sent Emmett's way made his eyes go wide and his smile pause, "Alright-alright, I'll take that as a- I don't owe you that much and back off."
I felt my shoulders drop before releasing another huff, realizing this likely wouldn't just go away, so I'd at least have to answer his question. "Yes, she's single. At least she was the last time we talked a month ago. She's high maintenance though, and she definitely won't like what you do for a living." Truthfully, I didn't even think he'd have a legitimate chance. Rose usually stayed far away from the muscled-up jock types, and instead gravitated towards the business savvy Hedge Fund creeps, like our father.
"Dude, the only people who like what we do for a living are the ones who call us when we're there, and guys like your best friend here who wish they could do what we do, and get paid for it." Emmett joked right as I noticed movement coming from the lower deck. It was only Cora and Kate though. "Don't worry I have a side job that's not a total lie to cover my ass. I just wanted your blessing before I went in for the kill."
"Just stick with what I told you. If she asks, we work at an I.T. place doing tech support. That's what I've told all my other friends." I quickly instructed him under my breath.
"I keep trying to tell him Rose isn't worth the effort, or the headache, but he won't accept it. Some guys have to learn through experience." Jasper chimed in with a smirk.
Unfortunately, he would know, seeing as though my sister was one of those tally marks of conquests on the back of his damn Bob Marley poster.
"Go for it, just don't say Jasper and I didn't warn you." My visual attention swiftly refocused itself on the other side of the room again when I'd noticed the other girls were finally starting to reappear.
While everyone else had changed into their swimsuits with towels wrapped around their waists, Bella had apparently opted to keep her sundress on. I was disappointed by this, but also a little perplexed.
"Everyone, gather round! Gather round! It's time for our official toast in honor of the honouree before things start getting too cray-cray up in here! I'd like to first thank you all for welcoming Bella and me into your lives here in Miami. You've all helped make us poor little southern girls feel right at home in this great big city world of yours! Now Bella, honey, can I have you up here, front and center?"
Bella looked like she wanted to kill her best friend, but at the same time, you could see how much she actually adored everything about her and the bond they shared.
Alice was the kind of person you had to like. It was why she and Bella mixed so well together, and I'd already begun to realize and also appreciate that.
I made my way closer towards them and continued to watch on smiling as Bella began pouring Fireball whiskey into a dozen or so plastic pink shot glasses lined up on the bartop. Alice had, of course, pulled out a double sized bedazzled glass for the birthday girl herself, then sent her best friend a playful wink from her eye and mouthed the word, 'love you'.
Kate and Rose began passing out all of the shot glasses to everyone and we stood in a group to shout a loud toast to the girl who had managed to take over my world when she'd randomly stumbled into it almost two weeks ago.
I lifted the pink plastic cup to my mouth and swallowed its warm liquid back, but kept my eyes set on only Bella, whose cheeks had instantly turned a bright shade of pink the very moment she'd lowered her own XL shot glass down from her lips to playfully slam it upside down onto the marble countertop.
"Alright, then! Let's party!" With that call to action the music turned up and most of the girls, including Alice, quickly trotted over to the hot tub just outside the large glass double doors of the main room. Bella lingered back though, and when I'd noticed that I took it as my cue to make a move.
Before I could reach her, Kate had stepped right in front of me, instantly blocking my path like any perfect cockblock would.
"Hey, you."
I did my best to not show my annoyance by forcing a smile, but I was pretty sure my true feelings had made themselves more than obvious when I'd looked down into her eyes, "Hey, yourself, having a good time?"
"I am! Thanks again so much for inviting me."
"Yeah, well, Jasper was in charge of the guest list, but it's nice to see you here."
She grinned and took a step closer towards me, "I really hope you mean that." Kate always knew how to lay it on extra thick. Subtlety was not a strength of hers, and I suppose that was one of the things I usually liked about her, "Do you think maybe, we could go talk for a minute? Alone somewhere?"
Typically, I would have no problem with this, but I'd already observed Alice noticing our conversation from the hot tub, and Riley had now swooped in to corner Bella across the room.
I wasn't looking to go get cornered myself.
"It will only take a minute," She added, just above a whisper, when I'd said nothing in response. "I won't steal you away for too long. I promise."
I felt myself force another smile and then gestured with a swift nod from my head that she should follow me outside towards the side of the yacht.
Once we'd gotten away from everyone else, Kate linked her arm through mine and pulled me further around the outer deck of the boat to begin leading me towards the front of it.
No doubt looking for absolute privacy.
"This is really nice, what you and Jasper were able to pull off for your new friends. You've without question made Bella's twenty-first birthday truly memorable."
"Yeah, it all kind of fell right into my lap to be totally honest. My buddy Emmett, he's the one that actually made it happen for us."
"Well, it's all about who you know in this city. We both know that." She let out a nervous laugh, and I narrowed my eyes realizing we were more than likely about to have a rather awkward conversation.
"So, what's up Kate? Whats on your mind?" There was really no sense in beating around the bush. The quicker we got this over with, the quicker I could get back to Bella.
She stopped moving once I'd posed my question, and then slowly unlinked her arm from mine to lean her body against the rail in front of me. I watched her smile and felt my own anxiousness rise with the look she was now sending my way. "To be totally honest with you... You've been on my mind, Edward. For a while, actually. Years, even. I guess I just wanted to get that out there, off of my chest, now that you and Tanya are finally done, before… before I missed my chance again."
Yup, this was hella awkward, and I was floundering in front of her while I tried my best to come up with something to say that wouldn't make me sound like a total insensitive asshole. She surprised me when she pushed herself away from the rail so that she could drop her arms over my shoulders and look me dead in the eyes, "I'm not looking for anything serious. I just want to have some fun. Like we used to. Back in the old days." And now her fingers were in my hair, and my anxiety was sounding all the alarms.
I honest to God did not have the time for these games. If Bella or Alice happened to catch any part of this it would send me back a good couple of paces in all of the progress we'd made, and I was not about to let that happen.
"Kate, I'm… I just don't think that's a good idea right now."
"Everyone needs a good rebound, Edward. Wasn't that our motto back in the day? The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else?"
"We're not teenagers anymore, Kate, and to be totally honest with you, I didn't make all of this happen tonight because I'm looking to only be friends with Bella." I firmly told her, without breaking our stare so she would know I was being serious. Unfortunately, she didn't stop playing with my hair or remove her torse from pressing itself into mine.
"Yeah, I picked up on that, plus Jasper filled in some of the gaps for me after you left the bar the other night. He told me you two are talking, but taking things slow, and not jumping into anything exclusive. If that's the case, then why can't you and I have a little fun, too?"
It was official.
I was going to have to murder my best friend.
"Don't be mad at Jasper. He was drunk, and we shared an Uber home the other night. After getting him cornered, I got him to spill his guts."
"Is that all you got him to spill?" I couldn't help but ask. Anything to take some of this awkwardness away in hopes of redirecting it someplace else.
"Don't be daft!" She laughed and smacked my chest with her hand, "Besides, Jasper is way too hung up on Alice. He barely takes his love-drunk eyes off of her. Don't get me wrong, I love it. The guys finally met his match, and I for one am looking forward to seeing it all implode, with him being on the other end of it for once."
I had to smirk because she was right. My best friend was playing with fire and already entranced by the flame. It was only a matter of time before he got burned. That would not be a role Jasper would know how to play since he was the one who usually carried the can of kerosene around this city with a box of matches in his pocket.
"Stop changing the subject, E. What's it going to take to get you to loosen up and revisit the past with me?"
My mouth released a flustered sigh and I slowly dropped my hands to my sides from where they'd been holding her at her hips, "Kate, look, while this might be an option for us further down the road, right now it's just not something I'm looking for." I tried my best to explain, "Plus, this is Bella's birthday party. It's her night. She's clearly going to be my priority."
She didn't look mad.
Nope.
Not at all.
In fact, she looked almost jubilant over the way I'd just very passive aggressively turned her down.
"So then- you're not saying no?"
I couldn't help but laugh a little. I mean this entire conversation was a huge fucking ego boost. Not to mention, Bella would be putting me on hold, from time to time, whenever her damn boyfriend rolled into town. Jasper was right, why shouldn't I have something to fall back on, when those time-outs would be called and I'd need a distraction?
"I'm saying we can see what happens further down the road, but for right now I need to get back to the party."
Before I could get another word in she was grabbing my face with her hands in an impulsive attempt to press her lips to mine. Thankfully, I'd managed to take a brash step backward and also push her off of me, "Woman, I said not now! Christ!"
She giggled and playfully shrugged her shoulders, "You can't blame a girl for trying. You'll come looking for me... eventually. You'll see." With her last words she turned herself on the heels of her bare feet and walked away, leaving me standing there in the dark feeling completely dumbfounded, and even though I didn't want to admit it, slightly aroused.
I began shaking my head in disbelief, then let out a nervous laugh before pushing myself off the wall of the ship to start making my own way back over to the main room to find the rest of my friends.
Once there, I spotted Bella still talking with Riley, only they'd moved themselves to one of the sofa's, and he was sitting incredibly close to her while they shared their conversation.
This bothered me, but it was also typical of my cousin, so I refused to let it bother me too much.
It was time to make my first purposeful move of the evening, and I was determined to make it count.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to steal Bella away for a few minutes." I slowly moved my arm forward to offer her my hand, and she instantly followed my lead by placing her fingers over mine, so I could help her up from where she'd been sitting.
"Let me guess, you were starting to feel withdrawals weren't you?" She teased with a devilish smirk once she was standing in front of me, apparently forgetting all about Riley. "Fun fact, this is the first time I've ever been on a real boat that didn't require the use of at least one paddle."
"Well, I'm glad I could provide you with another first, and yes, the withdrawals were absolutely setting in." She smiled up at me and tilted her head to the side keeping her gaze locked on my eyes only, and nothing else, causing the damn pussified flitter flutter in my stomach to perform another aerial act.
Focus, Cullen.
You came over here with a plan.
Execute the damn plan!
"Since you already got to check out the lower level of the boat, why don't you give me a private tour?" I casually suggested, with a slight nod from my head moving towards the staircase on the other side of the room.
She didn't even take a second to think over her response. It was almost as if she'd been waiting for me to finally present the opportunity to be stolen away, "Sure, I mean, I definitely don't want you getting lost down there. Let's go be mischievous together." Without saying anything else, or even giving a verbal goodbye to my cousin, I took her hand back into mine and turned us around to leave the area where all of our friends had continued to throw back their drinks while having a good time laughing together, lost in their own memory making moments.
Once we were down below, and finally all alone, away from all of the distracting noises, and mayhem, my thoughts effortlessly began moving at a rampant and unforgiving pace.
I had to silently remind myself, more than once, to calm down or I'd never be able to enjoy this quiet, one on one time, Bella was finally about to gift me.
"So, are you going to tell me where you and Emmett really work? Or are you going to keep pretending, Mr. Cullen?"
… And now I couldn't breathe.
A/N: It's been a while since we've had a good cliffy, EEP! No worries, the next chapter is more than halfway complete so I'll be aiming to update within the next 7-8 days. I'll share here what I shared with the readers who reviewed the last chapter; I understand your frustrations with Bella's inability to just cut Jake out of her life, but she has- what she believes to be- a sound reason for that, and you'll be getting some absolute answers within the next 1-2 chapters, I promise.
*Reviews make me smile and as thanks for making me smile;*
*I'll pay it forward with an outtake from Bella's POV when she sees Edward go off with Kate.*
