A/N: I received several requests to tell the "story for another time" referenced at the end of what I thought was a one-shot, "The Sun Came Out from the Clouds." As a threadiversary gift for the TSA Collective, I wrote this continuation, and I have permission from my Twisluts to publish it here. Please check out the Favorite Authors on my profile, and read their work. There's something for every taste, and they're all wonderful.
The Author's Note at the end has information on a couple of anonymous pieces I have floating in the fandom. Take a gander if you have the time.
Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and the characters described therein; I do not. No copyright infringement is intended. Oh, and this is mainly PW(very little)P, and it's rated M for a reason – if you're under 18, please flounce until you're not.
When I got the phone call from Bella, I wasn't sure how to react. Should I feel offended, used, abused? Was she just another James, viewing me as a convenient vessel rather than a person worthy of her respect and love? I mean, asking me to join her in a threesome, with the man she fell in love with while she and I were together? Who does that?
My Bella, that's who. And because I knew why, I said yes.
In so many ways, my Bella was still an innocent. Not sexually, not after everything she and I had done, but in how she viewed the world. Her stubborn optimism defined her. To Bella, sworn enemies were potential friends. Families could be cobbled together through love alone. Forever was possible.
And good friends who had been lovers for a while could be together again, just because. Because they wanted to, and because anything is possible when you care for someone. And Bella did care for me. Remember, I never told her that I had fallen in love with her. She never knew just how much our time together meant to me, how much she had changed my life. To Bella, I was her friend Victoria, a woman she liked, respected and admired. As an added bonus, I personified fond memories of a time when she experimented with her sexuality, a time when she was free and young and a little bit wild.
She wanted to be wild again. Who was I to deny her?
Surprisingly, I liked Edward. He and Bella invited me to their home, and after a bottle or two of wine, the three of us relaxed into dinner and conversation. Edward and I proved to be very much alike: He had a sharp, biting sense of humor, and we found ourselves trading anecdotes about the sanctimonious pricks who surrounded us in our chosen professions. Doctors and writers share a tendency toward pretentiousness, and Edward and I reveled in puncturing their bubbles over risotto and salad.
The three of us laughed and ate and got very, very drunk. We retired to the living room with our coffees, Bella sitting between us on the sofa. The air started to vibrate with electricity.
Edward and I shared a look over Bella's head as she hummed and swayed to the background music, and I knew I had to make the first move. I stood, and I asked my girl to dance. She put her dainty hand into mine, and I lifted her into my arms. She laid her head against my chest as we moved slowly to the music. I looked into Edward's eyes as I let go of Bella's hand and began my caress - from the back of her head, through her gorgeous hair, down the center of her back, then onto her ass. He watched my hand's descent, and I saw his lips part and his tongue dart out as I kneaded her flesh, pulling her closer and placing one of my legs between hers.
I looked down then, and I grabbed Bella's chin and lifted her gaze to mine. We stopped dancing for a moment, and I kissed her. We started slowly, with light, gentle pecks, our lips remembering each other gradually. But then Bella mewled and opened her sweet mouth, and my need to take her swept through me like wildfire. My hand dropped from her chin to her waist, and I took firm hold of her, lifting her slightly onto my leg. I swept her lips with my tongue, and she groaned, low and needy. I grabbed onto her hair, pulled her head back and to the side, and sucked on her neck greedily. She started to lift herself up and down on my leg, her hands massaging my breast and my hip, in perfect rhythm to her thrusts.
As I began to trail my kisses up her neck, I caught sight of Edward. He was standing directly behind Bella, his hands lifted out at his sides, tension radiating from him in waves. His jaw was clenched; his eyes were hard, green ice. He looked ready to rip me limb-from-limb. We stared at each other, locked in a possessive battle of cold and flame. As the moment froze, I noticed that in the room's flickering firelight, our hair was almost the same color.
I released Bella's hair and started running my hand up and down her back. I moved us back and forth to the beat, swaying slowly and inching us toward Edward with every step. When he was flush with Bella's back, I reached for his hand and pulled it around the two of us, until it was resting on my hip. And then I waited, staring into his eyes. Of course it was Bella who ended the battle. She lifted her head and her hand, twined her fingers through the curls at Edward's nape, and pulled him down to her for a passionate kiss. I saw their tongues slide against each other, and I began to enjoy the view. Their kiss was equal parts adoration and lust, and their connection was arousing.
Suddenly, I wanted them both.
Bella turned to her left and ran her hands up and down our arms. Looking back and forth between us, she blinked and sighed and then breathed, "Should we go to the bedroom?"
Edward closed the door behind us, turned on the burgundy-shaded, bedside lamp, and then he sat down in the rocking chair in the corner, facing the bed. Bella smiled and walked up to me, pulling my head down for a kiss. We undressed each other slowly, limpidly: As I peeled off her blouse, I teased her nipples through her bra, and then I licked and sucked them through the lace. When we were completely bare, we lay down on the bed facing each other, kissing and touching lightly, relearning each other's curves and crevices lazily. I reveled in the sweet, heart-shaped curve of her ass; she mapped my freckles with her tongue. I marked that sensitive spot on the left side of her neck, and she tickled circles on my right hip. We rubbed against each other as we kissed, our breasts brushing and grazing and tightening. I hitched my leg over her petite frame, capturing and pulling her firmly against me, needing to feel her heat closer, closer, closer. Coiling her hair around my fist, I invaded that sweet, soft mouth, taking control of our kisses as I burned.
Urging Bella onto her back, and I propped myself up on my side and began to explore her fully. I ran my fingers through her hair as I feathered kisses all over — onto her closed eyelids, her flushed cheeks, under her chin. I sucked and bit her earlobe as I tweaked and rolled her nipple with my fingers, pulling and pinching and running it along my palm. Ghosting my hand down over the curve of her waist, I began a gentle circuit over her soft, soft skin — from breast to hip, up and down, up and down, up and down. Bella sighed and stretched and grabbed a fistful of her own hair, her hips starting to undulate in time with the thrusts of my tongue into her velvet mouth.
Reaching down, I stroked my way along Bella's thigh until I felt myself petting the inside of her knee: I curled my fingers around, and then I pulled her leg up and over, opening her completely. Glancing at Edward, I saw that he was breathing heavily, and that his pants were pooled around his ankles, his shirt unbuttoned and half off, and his hand wrapped around his fully erect cock. He was stroking himself in time with his breaths, and he was gorgeous in his attempt to keep control. Bella was bare, and I luxuriated in the feel of her, warm and honeyed to my touch. I thrust two fingers into her quickly, and she gasped and keened in pleasure. I moved in and out of her frantically, massaging her clit with my thumb as I fucked her with my fingers. Her hips started to lift up from the bed, so I pinned her down with my body, working her with my hand as I sucked her nipple into my mouth, licking and biting and teasing it with my tongue.
Bella came hard, her chest arching off of the bed, her chin tilted up as she heaved and moaned. I couldn't pull away from her gorgeous face as she climaxed, but soon I caught a glimpse of Edward. He was standing next to the bed and gazing down at Bella, his jaw clenched, his eyes burning, his breathing labored, his cock fully erect and weeping. Fuck, I knew the man was good looking, but naked he was stunning. All hard edges and angular ridges of alabaster flesh. Bella smiled up at him, mouthing, "I love you." And then she turned and rolled on top of me.
She attacked my lips, kissing and licking and biting until I thought she'd draw blood. Then without any warning, she dove into me, pushing my legs apart and driving her tongue into me with more force than she'd ever shown. The pleasure was extraordinary, and as she started to suck my clit between her lips, I felt her moan around me. Looking up, I saw Edward behind her, pounding into her with abandon. He had her lifted almost completely off of the bed, and he was kneading her ass with his long, long fingers as he pulled her back into his thrusts. He bent over, and taking her hands into his, he drew them up and placed them on my breasts. Together they pinched and pulled and rolled my nipples as he continued to fuck her, hard, and she kept after me with her sweet mouth.
Bella fucked me with her tongue in time with Edward's pummeling, and I felt her every groan and grunt right to my core. Edward and I stared into each other's eyes the entire time, and as I watched his strokes become more frenzied, more urgent, I felt my climax build. We broke together: I saw him throw his head back as he groaned Bella's name before the orgasm hit me in waves. I panted, "Bella, Bella, Bella" as I spasmed, over and over and over again. When I looked down, Bella's head was on my chest, her hand twirling a piece of my hair in her fingers. Edward was draped atop her back, and he was trailing kisses along her neck and shoulders, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Edward lifted his head and looked me in the eye, and I knew that he knew. He knew that I was in love with his Bella, and for the first time since the dance, his eyes warmed as he gazed at me. He conveyed it all to me with that one look — his understanding, his compassion, his gratitude. We were kindred spirits in that moment, united in our love for the beautiful girl sandwiched between us.
I still don't know if Bella and Edward had agreed on parameters beforehand, or if some things were just unspoken and understood, but Edward never touched me that night, nor during any of the nights together that followed. Not for a second. Not even when I sucked that glorious cock, twirling my tongue around his head and tasting the briny tang that was uniquely Edward's, did I ever feel his hands in my hair, or his fingers on my skin. Any pleasure he took from me was always at Bella's request, and any part of him I was given was always still hers, somehow. He thrived on her gratification, glorying in every moan or gasp or sigh that came from her pretty little mouth. He loved watching me play her body, and every time she orgasmed, his face shone with bliss.
They were connected to each other in a way I had never seen. He was hers, and she was his. Completely, and on every level. Each minute of joy was shared equally between them.
And they were always touching, seemingly unconsciously. It was as if they were incapable of not touching, as if their bodies were drawn to each other by an undiscovered law of nature, or physics. Bella loved to watch me on my knees in front of Edward, him standing on display with his muscles taut and his head thrown back, but no matter how many times she started in the corner chair, she'd always make her way over to us within minutes. She'd end up either behind him with her hands and mouth on his shoulders, his back, his ass, his thighs; or behind me, leaning over to kiss and fondle and rub every part of him she could reach.
He was the same way, with her. If I was fucking her, pounding into her with whatever toy she had chosen, he was over her, or under her, kissing and sucking and holding her gaze in every way that he could. He loved to turn her head and lunge into her mouth as I worked her pussy, knowing that whatever I coaxed from her down below she'd give right back to him. We still battled, Edward and I - fire and ice vying for her attention, even though it was a fight I was doomed to lose. But I figured, what the hell? Edward was sexiest when he was riled up and possessive, and we all benefitted from his jealousy in the end.
But at our affair's end, it was my jealousy that froze our passion.
Strangely enough, seeing Bella and Edward together and experiencing their connection intimately helped me to get over my deepest feelings for our girl. I had loved Bella, yes, but never at the level they did each other. I could only marvel at their love, knowing that I had never experienced anything close to the same. Their love was so viscous and present and vital, it hovered around them like an invisible shield - a pocket of air so tight, it burned up all the oxygen and snuffed out my desire for Bella as though it were nothing but a weak flame. My fire couldn't hold a candle to their conflagration.
But still I burned, this time with a need to have what Bella and Edward had. I was no longer content to settle for warmth, or even heat. I wanted the inferno.
Fueled by wine and fervor, I explained everything. I confessed to Bella that I had loved her, but that my love had been a pale imitation of theirs. I told them I could no longer settle for sex and fun, and that although I regretted nothing, I was done. I didn't want to do this anymore, I said, whatever 'this' was. "I want more," I declared. "I want what you have."
Edward and Bella smiled at each other, and then they turned and stared remorsefully at me. Bella leaned over and took my hand, holding it firmly between her own.
"Victoria," she said, "we want that for you too. Very much. Whatever else we are, whatever else you and I have been, I started as your friend. I am your friend. And I know Edward feels the same way."
"We want you to be happy," she said. "I'm so sorry if your involvement with us got in the way of that happiness. I just assumed that you weren't looking for anything serious, and that you were enjoying our time together as much as we were. It's the most selfish thing I've ever done; can you forgive me? Can you forgive us? We care for you, Victoria. We want to stay your friends, if you're comfortable remaining in our lives. Please, Vic? Please forgive us? You brighten our days. Please don't leave us out in the cold."
We cried and kissed and held each other, the three of us tangled together on their sofa, sloppy and emotional and slightly drunk. I realized that we were ending our affair the same way we began it, high on too much wine with Bella in the middle, and that realization made us laugh. Edward even touched me, hugging me to his chest and kissing my forehead. Bella was inconsolable, even though I told her over and over that she had nothing to regret, nothing to feel guilty about. Her tender heart couldn't accept that she wasn't to blame, even though I told her that I was a big girl who had made my own decisions and who took full responsibility for my own happiness. And pleasure, although they already knew that.
Bella smiled then, and Edward winked at me in thanks. The relief I felt at that moment was palpable. I knew then that the three of us could move forward, that the warmth of our affection would carry us into a new relationship based on friendship and trust, and a different kind of love.
And that's exactly what we did. We were friends, Bella and Edward and I - true friends. We still joked our way through risotto dinners and too much wine; we had game nights at my apartment. Bella and I still watched chick flicks and dozed off on her couch; when he got home, Edward would cover me with a blanket and carry her to bed. He and I met for coffee at least once a week, and I savored having my first guy friend. Getting the male perspective without worrying about sexual tension or awkwardness is a gift for a single gal. Edward kept me from wasting my time with more guys than I can count, and even with some of the girls. It was like he could pluck the bad intentions right out of their heads: he had a form of jerkdar that never failed.
Bella and I were as close as ever: We walked the trail at the park at least three times per week, and not a day went by that we didn't check in with each other. We talked and shared and laughed all the time.
They loved me, the real me. Basking in their care, I felt truly happy, perhaps for the first time in my life.
So here I am, in a rare burst of radiant goodwill, attending the fundraiser Edward's mother is throwing for the hospital's Free Care Fund. Bella insisted that I get all dressed up, so I'm wearing a red satin gown, and my feet are killing me in these fucking shoes. I'm at the bar and at a loss, because other than Bella and Edward, both of whom are nowhere to be found, I know no one. I sip my Manhattan and survey the room, trying to look simultaneously hot and unapproachable. These middle-aged golfers and charity doyennes do not interest me.
I see Edward coming toward me, but the woman on his arm, laughing up into his smile, is not Bella. She's tall and thin and gorgeous, with honey-blonde hair in a short, messy style and a tight, athletic build that's showcased perfectly by her shimmering, silver gown with a neckline that plunges almost to her navel. I hear her deep, throaty laugh, and I'm both aroused and alarmed. Surely not, Edward? What is going on?
Then they're in front of me, and Edward's smile is wide and almost … smug? "Victoria," he says, "I'd like you to meet a friend and a colleague of mine. This is Dr. Riley Biers. Riley, this is the dear friend of ours I've been telling you about. Meet Victoria Hegira."
"A pleasure," she says, holding out her hand, "I've heard such wonderful things about you, Victoria."
I stare into her green eyes and take her hand, and a jolt of desire shoots from my fingertips down to my stomach. Her eyes widen, and I feel flushed, stunned. It's as though we're all alone, and I can't see anyone but her, can't hear anything but her quickening breath, can't move my hand from within her grasp. I don't even realize that I've moved closer to her until I hear Edward chuckling. In slow motion, I turn my head slightly and see him standing next to her, but it's not until he raises an eyebrow at me that I drop her hand and take a step back. I'm still tingling, and I finally remember to breathe.
Riley's smile is incandescent. I've never seen anything more beautiful.
"The pleasure is all mine, Riley," I say, and I crook my elbow so that she can take my arm. She does, and her touch spreads across me like wildfire.
"May I buy you a drink?" I ask.
A/N: As far as I know, this is the end of Victoria's story. But then again, I said that last time ….
"The Sun Came Out from the Clouds" received an amazing review from fngrcufs on the L'amour Des Femmes blog. These same, wonderful gals recently hosted a For the Love of Woman contest, and voting is now open. The contest is anonymous, so all I can tell you is that I have an entry posted. But I can also tell you that if you're a fan of femmeslash, or even just an open-minded lover of good fanfiction, you won't be disappointed if you read the 24 terrific stories found here: http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2626072/fortheloveofwomencontest Please check them out, review and vote! Voting ends 2/21/11.
And speaking of the TSA Collective, my darling gals also hosted a contest, and voting is now open. This contest is all about Hot Lemons, so believe me when I say that gusset dampening is guaranteed! Again, I can tell you that I have an entry posted, and that all of the stories are definitely worth your time and attention. VOTING CLOSES SUNDAY, 2/13/11, SO HOP ON OVER NOW: http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2600429/TSA_Hot_Lemons Please read, review and vote – it'll cure what ails ya!
Thank you again to everyone who has read, reviewed, voted for and favorited this story. Your feedback has been inspiring and thrilling. Once again, special thanks to my Twinbrain Conversed and all of my Twisluts, without whom I would write nothing but PTO minutes and checks. Flove my lovelies, HARD.
Dawn