AN: This outtake is written for my darling Rachael's birthday. She flatters me constantly with her love and support for this story, and so this is my present to her. I hope it meets your approval.
Also, I was under a time crunch, so this hasn't been seen by a beta. Any mistakes are my own, and I sincerely apologize for them.
Without further ado, Happy Birthday, Rach. All Campward POV for you. xo.
~Edward~
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I grinned as I saw my incoming text.
Meet you at the house in 30? Need to unload ASAP. My backseat looks like a bar. –MB
Chuckling, I sent her back a quick reply.
Already here, slowpoke. Hurry up.
My phone was buzzing again before I could put it down. Of course my Bella always had to have the last word.
Fucking cheater. It's YOUR house. Putting my phone down to drive now. xo.
Sighing, I lay back onto the soft recliner overlooking the sun setting over the Pacific and tried to be calm. It had been too long since Bella and I had spent any time alone like this, and I was only slightly nervous.
Okay, that was a huge fucking lie. I was terrified. I was practically salivating at the chance to have her in my arms again, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen this weekend.
As if he could hear the direction of my inner monologue, my phone vibrated again.
"Hey, Em!" I said, trying to sound as chipper as humanly possible. But of course, he knew better.
"How are you holding up?"
I paused and truly thought it over. Apparently that was telling enough because soon Emmett was babbling on, reiterating everything I already knew.
"It'll be fine, Edward," he began. "You guys are friends still, right? I mean, you see each other occasionally for dinner and movies and stuff and the apocalypse still hasn't come. I know it's only been a year since you guys broke up, but she's just trying to enjoy her twenties, man. She graduated less than a year ago, and she's just settling into a low level assistant position. Those days have come and gone for you, Mr. Big Shot Producer. And I get in tomorrow morning first, so I'll help break up the tension that's bound to be around you two. And it's going to be really fucking awesome. Even Rose is flying in for the weekend."
"I know!" I yelled back, exasperated, causing the disgruntled seagull on my patio to look over his shoulder at me with disdain. My fingers clutched at my hair as I sank further back into the chair. "You don't have to tell me this, Em. Really. I'm aware of the situation."
"So, you're not freaking out about the prospect of being in close quarters with her for seventy two hours, then?" My silence spoke loud and clear. "That's what I thought, Doucheward."
I groaned in acceptance. It was true, and he knew it. The longest Bella and I had been alone like this hadn't been since we'd broken up last year during her spring break. I'd known it was coming and had even been prepared for it, but it didn't take away the sting any more. But, she'd gotten her job working for William Morris Endeavor and I'd gotten promoted to the VP of Programming for FX, and we were clearly in two very different places in our lives. She wanted to go out to clubs and bars and concerts, and I was lucky if I made it out of the office by ten PM—after which I'd promptly head home and pass the fuck out. Yes, we'd stayed friends, but it was only for a movie here and there, a sporadic text, and an even more rare phone call. I couldn't even take off work to go see her graduate last May, and we'd both passed over my thirtieth birthday without any celebration. And fuck, I missed her.
This weekend, though, every one of our friends was coming in for CCR—our annual Camp Counselor Reunion—an epic weekend filled with drunken debauchery and ridiculousness. I'd finally have her again. Except I wasn't going to have her at all, really. Then again, she was helping me host since we were both still in Los Angeles, but everyone knew we'd broken up so I wasn't sure how this was going to play out. All in all, I was driving myself insane thinking of the possibilities.
"Edward…Edward?"
"Huh, what, yeah?" I shook my head and focused back on Emmett's voice. He'd clearly been droning on as I'd spaced out.
"I was just saying, if you'd fucking listen to me for a second, that you're going to be okay. It's all on your turf. You'll be at your house for the entire weekend. You've got the home advantage."
I was still pondering that when the doorbell rang, echoing throughout the first floor. My breath caught, and I felt like a little teenage girl, nerves and adrenaline coursing through my body.
"She's here," I whispered, although I was sure Emmett didn't need a play by play.
"Are you going to sit there and make her wait, or are you going to move your ass and be the gentleman I know you're not?"
"No!" I got to my feet quickly, stubbing my toe in the process and yelping out a rather loud expletive before hobbling from my patio back into the house.
Emmett laughed, presumably hearing the sound of my feet scampering across the bare wooden floor to the front door.
With a gulp, I turned the doorknob and pulled it towards me.
"Hey," she said with a soft smile. Her arms wrapped around my waist, and I went to reciprocate, only to realize I was still on the phone.
"What the…"
"Hey, LB!" Emmett shouted over the line. "I miss your fucking face and can't wait to do really inappropriate things to it!"
"Emmett!" I growled into the receiver. How dare he…
Bella reached up and grabbed the phone from my loose grasp and started jabbering away, her body still pressed closely against mine. "I'm sorry, Em, did you say you missed fucking my face?"
I nearly wheezed in shock until I saw the mischievous glint in her eye. You'd think after four years of being with her, I'd be used to her foul mouth, but it still took me by surprise every fucking time. Emmett's sputtering could be heard over Bella's infectious giggles, and I couldn't help but smile back. Maybe Emmett was right. This weekend was going to be fine.
"Yeah, yeah," Bella said with a roll of her eyes. "Yup, we'll see you there, Em. Love you, too." She ended the call before pressing her cheek against my chest and squeezing her arms around me tighter. "Hi."
"Hi." I exhaled slowly and brought my lips to the top of her head. We stood in silence for a prolonged moment, and I enjoyed the feel of her warm body against mine. Finally, I let my arms drop, and she pulled away with what I thought—more like hoped—was a sad smile.
"Help me unload the car?" she asked, and I nodded with a big grin. My feet faltered as I took in the sleek navy Audi taking up space in my driveway. I'd been expecting her hulking piece of shit truck.
"Whoa," I said, running my hand over the hood. "Where did this come from?"
"Graduation present from the chief and my mom. Audi A5 Cabriolet in navy. It's a three year lease, so I don't own it or anything, but…unf."
Her moan went straight to my cock, and I ran to open the back door to cover it up and calm myself down. This really wasn't the time or place for this. But, come on—hot girl, hot car. The present state of my cock really couldn't be helped.
"It's, uh, nice," I said, my throat suddenly dry and squeaking like a pubescent boy.
She raised her brow at me, and I felt as if she could see right through me in that second—that she could see how lost I'd been, how I'd let my job take over my life because staying on set until all hours was better than coming home to an empty house and a cold bed.
Her second groan caught my—and my cock's—attention, but I immediately regretted looking in her direction. Bella had bent over, sticking her jean-clad ass into the air, to lean down and pick up a case of beer. Her wife beater slid up slightly as she grasped the large box, exposing a small sliver of her back, just enough for me to see the two small dimples at the base. Jesus Christ. Her little noises were getting me so hot and bothered that as soon as she was turned around, I immediately grabbed the case from her hands and booked in back into the house.
Calm the fuck down, Cullen. Acting like a lunatic isn't going to make things less awkward, okay?
"Where do you want these?" Bella asked as she held up handles of Jose Cuervo and Absolute. Wow, this weekend was going to be a complete shit show.
"Uh, freezer?" I nodded my head in the direction of my massive stainless steel appliance.
"Wow. I don't think I've ever been inside your house before…it's…wow."
I cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the uncomfortable knot that'd formed there, and turned to face her. "Yeah, well, Kate found it for me through one of her realtor friends after, um…"
She flushed, a light pink tinge spreading over her ears and cheeks as she filled in the blanks. Bella and I had been talking about finding a place together. After all, she'd be graduating and wanting to move towards Hollywood as opposed to the slum that surrounded USC, and it was a little embarrassing for a twenty-nine year old man to still be living in the same hovel of an apartment he'd had since he first moved to LA. Also, when she broke things off, the last thing I wanted to do was continue to live in the same apartment we'd been sharing for the past two summers and most weekends for the past four years. Plus, I definitely had the money.
"My only requirements were that I could move in right away and overlooking the ocean. And I won't lie, Malibu living isn't too shabby. Plus, Santa Monica is right around the corner."
Bella smiled and meandered through the room. "Well, it's beautiful," she said, looking over her shoulder.
"It is," I said with a wink. Her blush deepened, and her front tooth came down on her bottom lip, chewing nervously.
I still made her nervous, and that made me smile.
"So, what else do we need to set up?" she asked.
A few hours later, we were sitting on my living room floor, eating chips and guacamole and drinking mass amounts of Coronas with lime. It was perfect. The night hadn't been awkward at all. We'd made a grocery run, cleaned up the house, and planned several activities for the weekend, all without too much forced conversation or discomfort—well, with the exception of her catching a peek of my bedroom and noticing that my king-sized bed was the same one I'd had for the past four years, the one we'd slept in and lounged in and fucked in and…
Anyway, that was pretty uncomfortable, especially when her chest had started rising and falling more rapidly and her eyes kept darting down the hall in the direction of my room.
"So, who comes in at what time tomorrow?" Bella said as she munched on her tortilla chip. "We should write out all the flight numbers and times on one paper, so we don't miss anyone like fucking Emmett did last year." She shook her head with a laugh, remembering how at last year's CCR in Chicago, Emmett had forgotten a very pissed off Alice at the airport for over an hour because he'd forgotten she'd changed her flight because of classes. Oops.
Chuckling, I shuffled through the itineraries everyone had sent me and handed them to Bella. As she began to write, her eyes pensive and her cheeks flushed, my cock sprang to life…again. This was ridiculous. How many boners was I going to have to squash this weekend? Also, I was starting to get a little warm and tipsy. I tried to count the number of empty bottles on the floor, but there were far too many. How many Coronas had I really had?
"Okay, so, Em gets in first at eleven, then Jake, Jasper, Alice, and Rose at quarter after twelve. Then, Seth and his two roommates, Billy and Paul, at two, so we'll have time for lunch at In N Out between those pick ups. And then, Emily and Riley don't come until six, which will be major suckage for traffic. And that's it for this year. Sadface. Small reunion," Bella rambled as she finished off her bottle of Corona, putting it aside with the plethora of empty bottles scattered on the floor.
"That's okay," I interrupted. "LA is far, an expensive flight. And it'll be more…intimate." My voice lowered, and I couldn't believe how cheesy I sounded. I must have been significantly drunker than I previously thought. "So, you're not bringing anyone this weekend? No roommate, or um, boyfriend?"
Suddenly, Bella was on her feet. "I think it's getting warm in here. Can we open a window or something?"
My stomach sank. That was the least subtle diversion tactic I'd ever seen. Apparently Bella had a boyfriend. Fuck. And I'd been the sad sap who'd been celibate for nearly the past year because I couldn't handle going back to random hookups—especially not with actresses or anything. Not after what we'd had. Plus, I was a little on the old side to be picking up girls in bars.
"Sure." I pushed myself to standing and walked over to the patio door, pushing it wide open to let the cold sea breeze into the apartment.
Behind me, I could hear her cracking open another beer, and I wondered if she thought she was driving home any time tonight. Or maybe she'd just have her boyfriend pick her up. Maybe they were living together. The knot in my stomach tightened further.
"What's his name?" I asked, still staring past my patio and into the vast blackness.
"Huh?"
"Your boyfriend?"
There was a long pause, and when I heard her voice again, she was standing next to me. "Are you seriously fishing right now?" she asked, and the corners of my mouth turned upward in a small smile.
"Maybe." I heard her take a slow sip of her drink, and I suddenly wished I had some more too.
"Edward, do you really think I'd be here with you if there was someone else?" My smile widened, and I didn't even have to look at her to know she was smiling too. "What about you, got a new girlfriend for me to be insanely jealous of?"
"You?" I scoffed. "Jealous? No way!" Sarcasm dripped in my tone, and I knew I was being a bit of a douche bag, but I couldn't help it.
"No? You're not secretly having an affair with Kate Bosworth or Neil Patrick Harris? I bet he'd get you to play for his team. He seems pretty convincing. I know they're starring in your newest show…"
"First, that's ridiculous. You know brunettes are my type. Also…been keeping tabs on me, have you?" I asked with a smirk, finally allowing my eyes to drop and gaze at her.
Her eyes flicked towards mine, fire burning in them as she frowned. "I work for the agent who represents you, Edward! It's my job to keep tabs on you."
Well, that certainly caught my attention. "You're Julie's assistant?"
She nodded and crossed her arms and took a swig from her beer, pushing her cleavage towards her face and distracting me momentarily.
"Then why haven't you ever taken a call from me, and why have I never seen you at the office?"
My mind was reeling.
"I just got promoted, like, two weeks ago from the mailroom to man her desk. I would have told you, but I wasn't sure if you'd think it was me being a creeper or not. It's not like I asked to get put on her desk, and I don't know, it just felt awkward or something. Imagine that, hm? Us? Awkward?"
"Bella!" I gasped and hugged her tightly. "That's amazing. Most people don't get promoted from the mailroom for a year, and you've only been there, what…six months?"
She looked up at me and smiled. "Yeah."
With her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright and her smile just for me, I couldn't fight my instincts any more. The next thing I knew, my lips were on hers. It felt like coming home. After nearly a year of not just being physical with her, but physical at all, my body was greedy for contact.
My hands trailed from the small of her back to grip her ass, finally getting her to respond. Her arms went to wrap around my neck, but I suppose we'd both forgot she was holding a new bottle of Corona in her hand. The bitter liquid spilled down the back of my shirt and onto the hard wooden floor. We were like two high schoolers getting caught making out on the basement couch with the way we jumped away from one another.
"Fuck, Edward!" she said. "I didn't mean to—" She flailed her hands, seemingly flustered at the small pool of beer on the floor, but I was too busy staring at her flushed skin and overflowing cleavage. "I'll get a towel and clean it up."
She began to walk towards the kitchen, but I didn't want her lips out of my sight. Feeling resourceful, I pulled my sticky t-shirt off and balled it up on the floor. I pressed my shoe on top of it, wiping it up successfully. Ah, the life of a bachelor. Done and done.
I spun around and pointed towards the newly cleaned spot as Bella returned to the room with paper towel in her hands.
"See?" I shrugged. "Not a problem."
"Uh, I beg to differ," she said, slowly placing the paper towel down on my coffee table. Her eyes were wide and almost looked, dare I say, frightened? Really, spilling beer wasn't an issue on hard wood floors. I had no idea what she was going on about. "It's a huge fucking problem."
"What is?"
"Edward!" she groaned. "I mean…fuck!"
I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes, as if my new angle would help me decipher the ways of Bella's mind. I really had no idea what she was so upset about.
With little preparation, Bella flew at me, her arms and legs wrapped around my body and her lips back against mine. I stumbled backwards but was able to maintain my footing and put my hands back where they belonged—on her ass. Heaven.
"Your pants…" kiss "…why…" kiss "…are they…" kiss "…still on?"
Oh! Ohhhh. Well, you may be thirty, Edward, but you've still got it. Score.
"I could ask you the same thing," I mumbled against her lips.
Bella pulled back suddenly, her lips already swollen from the force of our kissing. "Less talking, more walking, Edward," she groaned, digging her heels into my ass, not really leaving any room for interpretation. My erection woke the hell up and ground back into her warmth, and I could feel my heart beating, pulsing through every inch of my body.
She was a little drunk, and I was definitely drunk, so I wasn't all that sure of how great an idea this was, but I wasn't going to stop it either. As Bella's tongue made its way down the column of my throat and across my jaw, I walked as quickly as humanly fucking possible to my bedroom. The only light was from the moon, filtering through my blinds, but I couldn't be bothered to remove my hands from Bella for even the millisecond it took to flip on the lights.
I dumped her onto the fluffy comforter and she bounced slightly, giggling happily. I could listen to that sound all night.
When I looked down next, she'd taken off her jeans and was starting to work on mine. Clearly, this wasn't going to be slow. It was going to be sloppy and drunk and quick and aggressive, and I was a hundred percent okay with that.
My jeans pooled at my feet, and I kicked them off quickly, incredibly glad that I hadn't done laundry in enough weeks to run out of underwear. Bella seemed pretty enthusiastic about that, too, in fact.
"Oh, Edward," she moaned as she took my cock into her warm hand. "I have missed you."
I laughed. "I'd believe that more if you were looking at my fucking face when you said it."
"Shhh," she said, holding up a finger towards my face. "I'm not talking to you right now."
"Is that so?" I pushed up the sides of her wife beater and forced it over her head, tossing it on the ground with everything else.
"Mhm," she agreed, licking her lips as her eyes traveled my completely naked form. I did the same. My eyes slowly perused her body, taking in each curve and committing it to memory, just in case this was some drunken accident on her part. Which I hoped to God it wasn't.
"God, you're beautiful," I whispered, almost unable to believe she was really naked and in my bed again.
"So are you."
As her eyes lifted towards mine, she smiled a slow smile and bit her lip, and I cracked. I lifted her and dragged her back towards the towers of pillows propped up against the headboard before crawling on top of her.
With her pinned beneath me, everything fell back into place. It was as if my world aligned in that moment, and I was having some out of body experience. I let my mouth fall to the crook of her shoulder and relished in the way her hands tugged at my hair, keeping me close, as I knew she would. My hands trailed down her sides, one stopping to spend time massaging the soft curve of her breast and the other finding the slick warmth between her thighs.
She whimpered loudly and widened her legs as her own hand reached out for my cock. Rational thought left the building, and I entered her quickly.
"Fuck," we moaned in unison, and it would have been comical had it not been the most amazing feeling of my life—well, at least the past ten months. I was hard as a rock and throbbing for some friction.
I flexed my hips, thrusting hard and fast, and she responded in earnest. It was as if we were both in some kind of race for release. Mid-thrust, she lifted her leg to rest on my shoulder, letting me slide in deeper. We both panted in thanks.
As we continued, it was clear our bodies knew exactly what to do. Being with Bella was like riding a bicycle. A really hot—way more flexible than I remembered—bicycle.
Her nails dug into my shoulders, and I could feel her clenching down on me, a clear sign she was almost there. I'd pretty much been ready to go since my first thrust, so this made me exceedingly happy. Plus, the sounds she was making weren't exactly hurting my ego either. Not by a long shot.
"Yes!" she screamed. "Almost…there, Edward…so…close."
Needing to help her along because I was way too close to loosing it, I let my thumb rub across her clit. Her moans skyrocketed, getting progressively louder, and I could see every muscle in her body tense and shake as she came. Finally, I let myself finish, climaxing hard as I stared into Bella's eyes.
Exhausted, I collapsed onto her chest, which was damp with the efforts of our quick but intense fuck. I couldn't resist sticking my tongue out to lick it and enjoy the taste of her salty sweat.
Her fingers ran through my hair and scratched at my scalp as I listened to her heartbeat slow from racing to normal. It had always been our post-coital routine, centering us, and it felt good to slip back into it.
The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by the annoying buzz and ringtone of my phone. I reached out to shut it off, but was only met with soft skin.
Holy fuck. Last night really happened, didn't it?
I cracked my eye open and immediately shut it. Sun streamed through my blinds and straight into my eye. Not exactly how I wanted to wake up.
"Hey," I heard her say, and suddenly my view on waking up was changing rapidly. Bella sighed and tangled her legs with mine as she inched closer somewhat tentatively. And, well, I just couldn't have that.
"Hey," I replied before leaning in to kiss her softly. What was meant to be soft and slow morning kisses turned rapidly into our passionate ones from the night before. Her fingers tugged at my hair, making me groan into her mouth, ignoring the fact that we'd both been drinking and had intensely bad hangover breath.
My already hard cock was starting its descent between her thighs when my phone started fucking ringing. Again.
"Dude," Bella said exasperatedly as she pulled back to search for the cause of our interruption. "Where is it?"
"Ignore it." I tried to capture her lips again, but she wasn't having any of it. Instead, she hopped out of bed and followed the annoying ringtone to the floor by the end of the bed where it was burrowed within my crumpled pile of jeans.
She picked up the phone and tossed it to me before putting her clothes back on, making me a sad, sad boy.
"This is Edward Cullen," I stated into the phone. It was a workday, and I was nothing if not professional.
"Jesus Padme-fucking Christ, Edward! Where the fuck have you been?" Emmett's voice rang clearly through my bedroom, causing both Bella's and my eyes to widen in shock.
"What?" I asked, rolling out of bed and starting to put on my own clothes. If Emmett was already calling me and here…that meant…oh, shit.
"You were supposed to be here an hour ago, man! I mean, fuck! Where's my welcome wagon?"
"An hour ago?" I glanced at the clock next to my bed, and sure enough, it was already noon. "Ah, fuck, Em. I got a little drunk last night and forgot to set an alarm."
That was almost the truth.
"Oh," Emmett sounded apologetic. "Things were that bad that you had to drink yourself to sleep? I'm sorry."
He sounded so genuine that I felt like I should tell him what actually happened, but I kind of wanted to have that conversation with Bella first—and there really just wasn't enough time for that anyway.
"Yeah, so am I. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, Em."
"Yeah, yeah." I could practically see him waving me off. "You'll get here when you get here. I'll be the one enjoying the beautiful seventy degree weather in January and standing in the sun somewhere."
"Later."
I clicked the phone off and headed out of the bedroom and towards the garage, knowing Bella would just follow.
"Whoa," I heard her breathe softly behind me as I hopped into the car we'd be taking to the airport. "An Escalade, Edward? Aren't you gangsta."
"Shut it, Swan. Or I'll bust a cap in your ass."
She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't suppress her smile. As soon as her door clicked shut, we were off. I sped as fast as I could without being in danger of getting pulled over. That would really just be the cherry on top of this clusterfuck sundae of a morning.
We probably should have talked on the ride to the airport. I still had no clue whether what happened last night was a one-time drunk thing for her or if it meant something more. Were we getting back together? Or could we do that whole friends with benefits thing? And holy shit, I hadn't used a condom. Was she still on the pill? Had she slept with other guys without condoms? Could I have contracted an STD? And what the fuck was wrong with me that I couldn't find the words to ask her? Why did I always regress into my seventeen year old awkward self around Bella fucking Swan?
By the time we arrived at the airport, I'd worked myself up, and I was pretty sure Bella could tell. After all, she could read me better than anyone else. Looking at the time, we decided to park in the parking structure because Jake, Rose, Jasper, and Alice were all landing in the next few minutes and would probably need assistance with bags and crap. Plus, LAX traffic cops were absolute fucking Nazis when it came to standing cars in the pickup lane.
"Em!" Bella yelled as soon as she spotted him, flinging herself into his arms much the way she had to me last night. Although I really hoped her intentions were different with him.
"LB!" His voice was muffled from her neck and hair covering his mouth. When he placed her down, a sly smile appeared on his face, and he gave me a cursory nod. "Edward."
"Missed you, Em," Bella said, snuggling into his side.
Emmett snorted and pinched her side. "Sure you did. But not as much as you missed having sex with Edward, apparently."
Silence. Drop dead silence.
Well, not really, since LAX was pretty fucking loud, but it was all white noise to me.
"I…what?" Bella sputtered as she removed herself from Emmett's grasp and stepped closer to me.
"First, it's really fucking obvious. You're both wearing morning after clothes, your hair is a mess," he said, pointing to Bella's hair, which she promptly pulled up into a messy bun. "And you didn't bother to set an alarm to pick up your best friend from the airport, even though you haven't seen him in over a year, so I'm assuming something else was taking up your time. Also, you reek of sex, LB. You couldn't be bothered to shower, really?"
My laughter couldn't be controlled and slipped from my lips loudly as Bella's cheeks pooled with blood.
"I do not," she mumbled, discretely sniffing her bare shoulder.
Emmett grinned as his eyes darted back and forth between Bella's and my faces. "So, what does this mean?" he asked curiously. "Are you two back together again?" Silence. "Or was this a random occurrence?" More silence. "Have you two not talked about it yet, and I'm making it really awkward?"
Thankfully, the rest of our pack interrupted us before we could head any further down that road. And by God was I happy about that. This wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with an audience. Not at all.
"Good lord, I hate flying," Rosalie whined from behind a giant pair of sunglasses. "The things I do for y'all. I must really love you or something."
"Or something," Bella joked as Alice and Jasper sandwiched her in a giant hug.
Jake sauntered up behind me an went to jump on me when he shouted out, "Honestly, Edward, you couldn't have showered after fucking whatever floozy of the week you're on? You smell rank."
I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore the flash of concern I saw in Bella's eyes. "As do you, dickwad."
"Yeah," he retorted. "But that's part of my charm."
"Okay, dudes, I'm starved!" Emmett spoke up, and we all headed back to the car.
Two hours and an amazing double double with cheese, animal fries, and a chocolate milkshake later, we'd acquired the next three guests. And that's when I realized that Bella and I were supposed to have done two separate pickups, because technically the Escalade could only hold eight people. And we were now up to ten. Motherfucking shit.
"It's fine," Rosalie assured us. "Jake can sit up front with Edward, and they can hold hands and rekindle their bromance. Alice can sit on Jasper's lap, which I'm assuming they'd do anyway, and B can sit on Seth's."
"Aw," Jake cooed, sliding into the passenger seat. "How bromantic!" I sighed and hopped in myself. No use fighting. I just really could not get pulled over. Everyone got situated quickly, and I repressed the urge to kill something when Bella sat on Seth, tilting her head back with raucous laughter as he whispered into her ear.
After taking everyone back to the house and dropping off bags, we decided to show the quintessential Los Angeles to our guests and headed to Hollywood Boulevard. We wanted to check out the stars at Mann's Chinese theater and walk around the Kodak center where the Oscars were held.
All I really wanted to do was get Bella alone for a few minutes. Thoughts of our night together were weighing on me heavily, so much that I couldn't concentrate on anything. I'd be mid-conversation and suddenly see a flash of her hair spread out on my pillow, eyes clenched shut, and mouth in a small 'o.' But I couldn't get her alone for the life of me. We'd had to take separate cars to Hollywood, plus, we were surrounded by our best friends and hosting their stay. It wasn't as if we could just let them roam by themselves. God only knows the trouble they'd find in Hollywood without a chaperone.
By the time nighttime came around and the rest of our party had arrived, I was seriously itching to talk to her, like a junkie looking for his next fix. Alice had made several pitchers of margaritas and pizza had been delivered, so Bella got up to tell everyone about our evening activities.
"I'd like to welcome everyone to CCR: LA," Bella began, raising her glass in a toast. "CCR—Camp Counselor Reunion, for those amongst us who are a little slow—is a long standing tradition where we counselors can commune and debauch without the peril of being caught by campers or administrators—sorry, Riley." We all laughed, seeing as how Riley was now being groomed to take over the camp for her parents. But, she'd still party with us. Hard, too. "For those of you who haven't been to a CCR before, we welcome you. Tonight's activity is a getting to know you game, naturally. Because we're so mature, we're going to play truth or dare."
I shook my head as Bella took her seat on the couch next to Alice. "I can't believe I'm thirty and playing truth or dare."
Bella's mouth dropped. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're thirty!" she cried and then slapped her hand over her mouth.
"Thanks, MB. I really appreciate that."
"Aw, it's okay, Edward. I think I have a cane that I used as a prop in my dance show this year if you need it," Alice offered.
"And if you're thirty, how old is Em?" Bella giggled, the effects of the tequila starting to show. "Like fifty?"
"And on that note," Emmett said, narrowing his eyes at her. "LB, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Pussy," Emmett mumbled under his breath. Which, in turn, made me think of Bella's pussy and how fucking wet and tight and hot it was last night, and how it was perfect and how badly I wanted to taste it.
And now you're hard in a crowded room. Good job, Edward.
"Who in this room have you ever thought about having sex with?"
Bella scrunched up her nose as her eyes scanned the room slowly before coming back to rest on Emmett. "Thought about how? Like, a passing – oh, that'd be fun?"
Emmett shook his head. "No, I mean full on day dream, imagined sex. Or sexual act, I guess."
"Um…" She bit her lip and slow scanned the room again, but I thought her eyes paused on me for a second longer. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. "Edward, Seth, Alice, and Jasper," she answered quickly before downing the rest of her margarita quickly.
"My turn," she started again, but the rest of us were not having any of that.
I mean, I'd figured me and Seth, even Alice a little bit. But Jasper? No. No fucking way.
"Me?" Jasper squeaked, his entire face the same shade as the strawberry margarita in Alice's delicate hand. "I…I…"
"What?" Bella tried to blow it off as if it were nothing, but she must have seen my face because she suddenly felt the need to defend herself. "I walked in on you and Alice having sex that first summer at Long Lake and overheard you talking about having a threesome with me. Is it so weird that I'd imagine it?"
"If you orgasmed from it…yes!" Jasper shouted.
Alice winked at Bella and squeezed Jasper's thigh in an attempt to calm him down but it really only made him squeak louder, and everyone finally burst into laughter.
"Okay, Jasper," Bella said with a pointed stare. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth," he answered nervously. Yes, I'd be nervous, too.
"Why Alice?"
Jasper relaxed and smiled, as if that were the easiest question in the world. To be fair, to him it probably was.
"She's my other half. She's beautiful, in that dark haired brunette Megan Fox kind of way. Although she's classier than that, but thankfully just as kinky." That got him an elbow to his ribs, but he wasn't deterred. It was actually really refreshing to see him still love her as much as he did from that first summer five years ago. "She's talented and everyone she meets can't help but fall in love with her a little bit, as you know," he said with a wink. "I'm a better person when I'm around her. My weird found her weird and we call it love. I can't imagine my life without her."
"Aw, baby," Alice cooed, leaning in to kiss Jasper quickly.
Bella nodded at his satisfactory answer, and I think I even saw her push away a stray tear.
"Alice," Jasper continued.
"Dare," she said happily, her eyes sparkling. That was the spitfire we all knew and loved. No more pussyfooting around with this truth business.
"Will you marry me?"
Didn't see that one coming.
"What?" she asked as her margarita slipped from her hand, splashing onto the floor. "Right now?"
Jasper smiled and reached into his pocket before pulling out a small box. Holy. Fucking. Shit.
My eyes flicked to Bella, and she was beaming like a proud mama. She'd obviously been in on the plan and told Jasper about our activity for the evening.
"Shit!" Jake bellowed. He never did learn the art of subtlety.
Jasper popped the box open and grabbed the ring from inside, slowly pushing it onto Alice's finger. She wasn't moving. In fact, I didn't think I'd ever seen her this still or this silent. Ever. In all ten years I'd known her.
"Will you?" Jasper asked again.
Bella leaned over and pinched Alice's side and whispered something into her ear, and finally Alice took action.
"Jasper Clancy Whitlock, you little shit!" she cried, springing up from the couch. However, she did it too fast and forgot that she'd spilled her drink on the floor and ended up slipping back into Jasper's lap.
"That's a yes, right?" He laughed, pushing her dark hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.
"Of course," she half-laughed, half-cried before latching her arms around his neck and pulling him into a way too vigorous kiss for public.
"All the guest bedrooms are upstairs," I told them as I made my way to the kitchen to grab some paper towel. Thank God for hard wood floors. They were taking a beating this weekend. "Or the bathroom's down the hall if you can't make it that far."
I laughed as Alice hopped off Jasper's lap, grabbed his hand, and sprinted upstairs.
"We should probably vacate the premises," Riley said with a chuckle as we heard a door slam.
"That is an excellent idea," Emily agreed. "Edward? Does your house lead out to the beach?"
I nodded and bent down to wipe up the sticky red liquid. "Yup. As long as you don't start a fire, you guys can even drink out there if you want."
"Perfect!" Rosalie cheered, grabbing the abandoned pitcher of margs before leading the troops outside, the patio door sliding shut behind them. I shook my head and laughed to myself as I continued to clean up. That was not exactly how I saw that game going. But I was happy for Alice and Jasper. They really deserved to be happy. And boy oh boy was that wedding going to be a shit show. I could not wait.
Standing up, I realized I was not alone in the living room. Bella stood before me, chewing on her lip yet again.
"Hey, um, can we talk?"
"Of course," I said as I walked to the kitchen to dump the soaked paper towels into the trash.
I returned to the living room and motioned for Bella to sit on the couch. We both took our seats and turned towards each other. Everything felt awkward, and I didn't like it at all.
"So, about last night…" she began. "It was…um…"
I couldn't bear to hear her use the words "a mistake" in conjunction to what happened with us, so I blurted out, "We didn't use a condom," instead.
"What?" she asked, surprised by my turn in conversation.
"Yeah, uh, I realized it earlier today that I didn't use…and I don't know if you've been with…and…uh…"
She blushed again and her eyes widened. She knew what I was asking, and she didn't want to tell me. Fuck.
"I have," Bella explained, and it cut my stomach, even though I knew it was coming. Of course she had. Wasn't that the point of us breaking up? She wanted to shop around, and I knew she was it. I wanted to know everything about the guy or potentially guys she'd slept with. And then I wanted to kill them. "But none without a condom. Ever. And have you…?"
She trailed off, her face telling me she was feeling just as uneasy about this conversation as I was.
"There's been no one else," I said softly.
"Really?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?" I was almost hurt. Did she expect me to go back to who I was before I'd been with her? She had to know that wasn't who I was anymore. At all.
"I don't know…with what Jake was saying before about the floozies, I thought for sure someone would have scooped you up." Her fingers pulled at a loose tendril of her hair, wrapping and unwrapping it like a nervous tick.
"MB," I sighed. "I'm scooped." I laughed at the ridiculousness of my statement. "I've been scooped."
"Really?" she asked with a brilliant smile.
"Stop fishing," I said, returning the sentiment she'd told me last night.
"I'm not," she said, shaking her head. "I just…well…I miss you."
"You could call more often, you know," I chastised her, only quasi-joking.
"It's not just that, Edward, and you know it. I miss everything. I miss your crappy jokes and puns and having movie marathons until we pass out and Saturday brunches at The Rose Café and running into Al Pacino and doing that God awful Scarface impression."
My stomach tightened with each thing she listed. Last night wasn't a fluke. Last night was real. It had to be.
"I miss having you as my roommate. Living alone sucks. Guys in Los Angeles talk to my boobs, not my face, and none of them know enough about Star Wars. I miss our long showers and you shampooing my hair for me. And backrubs. And sex with you. Like, I really miss it."
"Really?" I said with a wink.
"Now who's fishing?" She laughed and inched closer to me, closing the distance on the couch so our knees were resting against each other's. "Seriously, Edward. When J-Town was telling me all about the ring he got Alice and how excited he was to propose—" she paused "—don't freak out, but I was so fucking jealous."
I grinned. I couldn't fucking help it. "So, last night was…?" I paused and laughed. "And I'm fully aware I'm fishing, Bella."
She rolled her eyes before settling them on mine. "I don't want to be with anyone else, Edward. I have loved you for ten years. No one else can possibly compare. Now, can we go shower or what? Because I'm starting to feel a little gross, and also, I want you naked and wet right now."
Without another word, I lifted her from the couch and walked down the hall to the bathroom. I turned on the water with one hand and finally placed her down. We removed our clothes in silence as steam filled the room, both of us grinning.
A year apart hadn't killed us. We didn't fall apart or stop our lives. We could manage. But with each other, everything was so much better. It was just right.
Once in the shower, I placed my hands on both her cheeks and tilted her head up. "I love you," she whispered, sending my heart and cock soaring.
"I know," I whispered back.
Slowly, I leaned in and kissed her. Our lips slid against one another, wet and warm from the shower. Tongues met and melded lethargically. Her soft body pressed against mine, and I let my hands skim down her back. She leaned past me and reached for some shampoo, squirting a large dollop in her hands.
"Down, please."
With a smile, I knelt in front of her and let her work the shampoo into my hair. I couldn't help but groan and place small kisses on the silky skin of her abdomen. It felt so goddamned good. After she was finished, she tilted my head back under the stream of water and rinsed it away. Usually, I would stand and reciprocate immediately, but her glorious cunt was legitimately in front of my nose, and I couldn't resist sliding my tongue out to taste her.
"Edward!" she cried out, surprised.
I would have responded, but I was too busy licking and sucking at her flesh to be bothered. I savored every second—her hands clenching in my hair, her moans echoing off the tile, and the steady thrum of water pelting against us.
By the time we'd exhausted ourselves, taking turns at bringing the other to the heights of pleasure, the water was starting to cool.
"I love you, too," I murmured against her lips before wrapping her in my towel.
As Bella went to grab clothes from her weekend bag, which was still in the living room, I went and pulled on pajama bottoms and my "Hello My Name Is Inigo Montoya" t-shirt. Old habits die hard, obviously.
When I returned to the living room, I was shocked to see that it was still only Bella, sprawled out on the couch. I loved seeing her on my couch, and I wanted to see her underneath me again…immediately.
So, I jumped her.
"What are you doing?" she said, giggling loudly.
"I want to make out with you on my couch."
"Yeah, okay," she agreed seriously.
I was rounding second base when I heard the patio door slide back open and drunken chatter begin to fill the house again. Bella sat up quickly, nearly knocking heads with me, looking abashed.
Emily smiled wickedly before holding out her hand. "Everybody pay up!"
"God damn it!" Jake yelled, pointing an accusing finger at both of us. "You couldn't keep it in your pants for one more night?"
"I…"
"Or the entire weekend? Come on!" Rosalie said, somewhat disappointed.
"Actually," Bella said, sighing loudly. "We got together last night. For good."
I had no words. Or maybe that was just because all the blood that was supposed to travel to my brain was currently flowing to my cock, but whatever.
"Ha, bitches!" Emmett cried out. "I fucking told you so."
Grumbling, everyone pulled out money and started handing it to Emmett.
"Gotta love CCR," Seth explained to his buddies. "It always starts out with a bang."
"Yeah it does," I said, holding out my fist for anyone to bump. Bella groaned and leaned into my shoulder, hiding her face away as both Seth and Emily hit fists with mine.
Got to love CCR in-fucking-deed.
Chapter End Notes: Hope you enjoyed. Love you all, my darlings.