Summary: Edward will never understand how he ended up in a threesome with Jasper Hale and Bella Swan.
Carnal Desires
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Jasper had clearly been drinking since before Edward arrived, and greets him with an awkward hug. Edward regards him oddly. Bella strolls out of the bedroom, barefoot in a sparkling thigh-length dress, and latches onto Jasper after giving Edward a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. He watches them, unable to believe that they — high school sweethearts — are still together after all these years. And honestly, he isn't sure which he's more disgusted with. He'll admit that he and Jasper have a lot in common, but it doesn't mean that he likes the guy any better than he likes himself most days. Bella deserves better and she knows it.
"Let me get you a drink," she says, and it's all downhill from there.
Dinner is an awkward mess, from stilted conversations to pregnant silences to predictably tasteless jokes on Jasper's part, and the way that no one wants to look each other in the eye. Edward wonders why the hell he ever agreed to come. So he tips back another beer — he's lost count of what number he's on by this point — and digs into the slightly-overcooked pasta. He's amused by the thought of Bella as a housewife, slaving over a hot stove to make dinner for her man, and he doesn't stop the chuckle that rises to his throat. He helps them carry the plates to the kitchen when they're finished eating, then stands restlessly as they collapse onto one of the couches, side-by-side.
"I'm gonna head out," he says.
"No, don't," Bella rushes to say. "Stay. Please?" There's more meaning than he cares to discern between her words and her tone, and she glances to Jasper seeking agreement. He looks Edward up and down, glaring, but nods. Edward frowns, and remains rooted to the spot.
Bella stands. She wobbles slightly, but he catches her by the waist. She uses the opportunity to press closer, sliding her thin arms around his neck. "Stay," she practically begs. "Please stay." She licks a line up his neck to the base of his jaw, then waits hovering below his lips. She's waiting for him to make the next move, but he doesn't, so she makes it anyway. When she kisses him, he tastes the sting of brandy, but his tongue worms its way into her mouth and he kisses her until they can only taste each other. "Stay," she says again in the midst of a gasp of air. "Stay for me." It's the for me that does him in, and he allows her to maneuver him over to the couch. They collapse with her straddling his lap, and his large hands slide underneath her dress to cup her ass and squeezes.
There's a hand gripping his bicep. Edward pulls away from Bella's mouth, blinking in confusion, one of her hands is already on his neck, the other sliding across his stomach. The third, he discovers, belongs to Jasper, whose presence he had nearly forgotten about. Jasper is regarding them darkly, mouth slightly slack-jawed, and Edward goes for broke. He leans over, taking Bella with him, and kisses the other man.
Jasper groans into his mouth, and yanks Edward to him. Bella nearly goes toppling to the floor, and their arms reach out in unison to catch her. She giggles, from the alcohol and the feeling of both of them pressed against her.
"We should probably move this into the bedroom," she suggests.
It's more than a location change — it's the complicit agreement to be involved in this night of debauchery. Jasper leaps up giddily, waggling his eyebrows at both of them and backing into the bedroom, and Bella stands to follow him. She regards Edward with her head tilted to the side and the corner of her lip between her teeth. He wonders if she even knows she's doing it. "Coming?" she asks with a coy smile. He hesitates. But ultimately, he lets her take his hand and lead him into the darkened room.
"Yeah," he whispers. "I'm coming."