A/N She should be using bolts, or at least screws, but I made her use nails for the story since they work better with frustration.

I also want to say thank you to those of you who have not only stuck with my story, but also left wonderful reviews. I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 21

"Damn it!" I snarled at the nail which had slipped in my fingers and gone into the wall at the wrong angle.

"Are you sure you don't want some help Bella?" Albert asked me, from the bottom of my ladder. I huffed and shook my head. It was his new piece that had me up here struggling, but frankly, I was in far too bad a mood to accept help from anyone at the moment. He wasn't deterred. "I can't believe how many of my pieces have sold already!" Albert beamed around at his shitty paintings with undeserved pride. Yeah, shitty was how I thought of them. Albert called himself a modern abstract painter, but really what he did was throw a bucket of red paint on a huge canvas, splash on some other colors for style and give it some emo name. It was "pop" art, but it brought in customers who wanted something to make their apartments look trendy. Usually I could convince them to look at the other artists while they were in here, which is why I put up with Albert's atrocious paintings.

And my opinion of his "art" had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'd been sleeping on the couch for three days now and my girlfriend was barely speaking to me. Nope, nothing whatsoever. But, that may be the reason for my having gone through four nails already, which lay bent and ruined on the floor.

When, at last, I got the nail in place, Albert helped me lift the canvas onto the wall. When I finally stood back and looked at it, I grimaced. It was swirls of black and yellow. It looked like bumblebee vomit.

"Looks good, huh?" Albert asked, smiling at me. I nodded silently, before bending down to put my hammer away. As soon as I kneeled, I heard the front door open and whipped my head towards it, hoping to see the black haired girl who had me at the edge of insanity. I was surprised to see Gemma, of all people, standing there. Albert looked between us, before throwing me a quick goodbye and heading out.

"Gemma? What are you doing here?" I asked, standing and brushing the floor dust off my jeans. Without answering she walked over and handed me a flyer. I glanced down at it and back up at her.

"The book carnival flyer?" Rosalie had basically taken over for me where the book drive and library charity stuff was concerned. It had been her idea to throw a neighborhood carnival, where admission was donating a book or two. Afterwards, I was going distribute them to libraries and schools in the city.

"Rosalie asked me to bring that by since I'm meeting Melanie at a party a few blocks from here." Rose, unfortunately, was at a bad point in her pregnancy, where nausea seemed to be her constant companion. I was going down to see her in a couple days to take care of her while Emmett was on a business trip.

"You didn't have to do that. She could have just mailed it or something. But thank you. That was really nice." I said, smiling at Gemma. She was such a nice person, that even at my moodiest, as I am now, I couldn't be rude. She blushed a little and looked down at her shoes.

"Actually, Rose sort of asked me to come by and see how you were doing. I heard you and Alice got into a fight." She said, biting her lip nervously as she looked back up at me. I scowled at the wall to the left of us. Rose shouldn't be blabbing that around! "Did you really call her a slut?" Gemma asked quietly and I gasped, my eyes narrowing.

"Of course not!" I yelled, feeling bad when I saw Gemma take a couple steps back. "Is that what Rose told you?" Gemma actually had the audacity to smirk a little, but still remained a few steps away from me.

"Umm, not exactly. I sort of…paraphrased." I glared at her, crossing my arms petulantly. I'd never call Alice a slut! …Well, except that one time at Victoria's house, but that was a long time ago and I was jealous!

"She said you said something like Alice was blinding you from seeing the truth by throwing sex at you?"

"That's not what I said." I grumbled.

"Oh? Then what did you say?"

"I said she was distracting me with sex." I remembered my exact words. They'd been haunting me for days.

"And that's different?"

"YES!"

"How?"

"It…IT JUST IS!"

Gemma actually chuckled under her breath, before looking me over.

"I take it that she's giving you the cold shoulder?" I nodded. "That's rough, but you deserve it, afterall." She said, with more confidence than I'd ever seen her carry. She met my eyes steadily, even when I set my worst glare on her.

"What do you know about it?" She scoffed.

"I know that if Melanie pulled what you did, I would have done a lot worse than no sex and the silent treatment."

Of course I regretted saying it. I'd been playing the scene over and over in my mind cursing myself for letting my impatience and temper get the best of me. Alice and I were both stubborn people. We'd been fortunate up until now to usually be on the same side. I sighed and sank down against the wall.

"Why did you do it? What was the fight really about?" Gemma asked curiously, taking a seat next to me on the floor.

"Rose didn't tell you?" She shook her head, her kind eyes waiting for me to continue without judgement. I liked that about Gemma. She gave her opinions, but still listened to other point of views respectfully. I ran a hand through my hair, letting my head fall back against the wall. "I sort of…flipped out, I guess. She was teasing me about liking younger girls and…" I pulled my knees up to my chest, folding my arms across them and resting my head. "I let my fears get to me."

Gemma put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Fears about what? You're age difference?" I nodded into my arms. "But that's so silly!" She said, causing me to jolt back up and stare at her.

"No it's not!" I argued. "She's barely out of high school! I'm a pervert! I…I seduced her."

Gemma gave me a look that plainly said, I don't believe you.

"The way I hear it, Alice was the one doing the seducing." She said, and I tried to fight off my blush. "You don't actually think of yourself that way do you? You love Alice and she loves you. There's no perversion in that. Alice is young, sure, but she's much too smart, and you, too sweet for your relationship to be anything but genuine."

I knew her words were true. I suppose I didn't actually think of myself as a pervert, rather I thought that I should think myself a pervert, and not thinking so only made me more of one.

"You're right. I don't see myself that way, but maybe I should. Other people can obviously see it. Strangers pass us on the street, take one look, and I can see the disgust in their eyes. They're thinking I'm some sicko who preys on young girls." I choked back a sob trying to escape and covered my face in my hands.

"That's absurd." Gemma stated simply. "I think you're only seeing what you're afraid to see. For one thing, you only look about twenty-five, maybe twenty-six. Melanie thought you were in your early twenties when she first saw you at the party." She said, rubbing my back soothingly. "For another thing, this is New York City. People don't look at each other here, and if they do, they'd hardly care!" She giggled and I couldn't help but smile a little. She let the silence hang for a while, letting me think over what she said. I wanted to believe her, but my insecurities still clung on, making me doubtful.

"You want to know what I thought when I first saw you and Alice together in bed that morning?" She smiled wider as I blushed at the memory. "I thought you made a really cute couple. You were both sleeping soundly, all wrapped up in each other, completely at peace. But when I saw your faces…" She was staring out at nothing, seemingly watching the scene in her mind. "…I felt bad for Edward." I choked on my saliva and she turned to me. "Yeah, I felt bad for him. Because even in sleep, the love and happiness on your faces was so obvious. There wouldn't be anything he could do." I tried to hide the grin that was slipping out in my arm, but Gemma caught me anyway. "Then later, when I saw you guys interacting...It just confirmed it for me. You're absolutely perfect together. I never saw older and younger, I just saw two women, in love." She emphasized staring me down.

"You're the exception, Gemma, not the rule." I rebutted, flicking a piece of lint off my elbow.

"Even if that was true, would it really matter?" She asked, and I turned to her, confused. "What I mean is, isn't Alice more important to you than what other people think?" When I didn't respond, she shook her head, "But since you didn't answer right away, maybe your ego is most important." I returned my glare to her.

"Of course it's not! I love Alice more than anything!"

"You're not doing a very good job of showing it."

She was right. She was totally right! I was acting like a self-absorbed idiot! I can't believe I would sully the love Alice and I shared with such disgusting thoughts!

And as if she'd timed her entrance with my epiphany I heard the front door again and saw the beautiful girl I was lucky enough to call mine. She started across the room, before stopping and looking at Gemma in surprise.

"Hi Alice." She greeted from beside me.

"Hey Gemma. Are you staying for a while?" She asked, the usual energy was missing from her voice and I noticed the same dark circles under her eyes that haunted mine. Even her usually pristine clothes were ruffled.

"No, I wish I could, but I have to meet up with Melanie. I just needed to drop something off for Rose."

"Oh." Gemma looked between the two of us as the awkward silence continued before finally standing, which pushed Alice into action. "Well, I'm sorry I didn't get to visit with you more, but come by again soon, okay." Alice said, giving a smile to Gemma before quickly walking into the back, never acknowledging my presence. When we heard her feet on the floor above us, I finally stood as well and Gemma swatted me upside the head, none to lightly I might add.

"Ow! What the hell?" I said, glaring at her retreating form. She held up both hands as she backed towards the door.

"That was from Rose. She made me promise to tell you that you're not allowed to visit her until you fix your problems with Alice." With that she scurried out the front door. I sighed, staring longingly at the stairs.

"Easier said than done." I mumbled quietly to myself before trudging towards the back. What do you say to fix calling your girlfriend a slut? Because Gemma was right, that's bascially what I did. Not to mention, I dragged our relationship through the mud.

Completely spacing out on the stairs, I was surprised to suddenly find myself in our apartment, but there was no sign of Alice. I called out for her quietly, but didn't get a response.

I checked the kitchen. Empty. So I hesitantly made my way to the bedroom, which had been Alice's domain the past couple days. I only went in to get clothes. I guess it was sort of a self-imposed banishment. I couldn't bear to see the hurt and disapointment in her eyes when she looked at me, so I avoided it. But now it was time to face the consequences of my stupidity. I had every intention of fixing this.

The bedroom, too, was empty, but the bathroom door was closed and I heard the shower running. I thought about joining her and begging forgiveness, which would hopefully lead to shower sex, but I quickly dismissed that idea. Instead, I sat on the bed, nervously awaiting her presence and contemplating just what to say to her.

Before I had come up with anything promising, the door opened and Alice emerged from the steam with a small pink towel wrapped around her. She froze in the door way, and we locked eyes. For a moment, I hoped that my apology would come across as I gazed upon her, but it wasn't to be.

She blinked once before turning abruptly and heading towards the closet. Idiot! Think Bella! Do something! Say something!

"I WAS A CUNT!"

Okkkayyyy, not exactly the elegant apology I was aiming for, but at least she stopped.

She didn't turn to face me, but I knew she was listening, which was more than I deserved.

"Alice, I'm sorry…I know that isn't enough…" I hastely added when I saw her shoulders tighten, "but I'm so so sorry." I cautiously took a couple steps towards her, and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't move away.

"I was stupid. I didn't mean what I said about you, or about us. I got caught up in my own insecurities and I lost sight of what's important." I said taking another step closer.

"What's important?" My heart jumped gleefully when I heard her whispered response.

"You are, Alice." The absolute truth of the statement ringing out in my voice. "You are the most important…no you're the only important thing in my life. I love you." I had moved so I was barely a foot away from her now, and when she turned, the tear marks on her face were clearly visible. I wanted to reach out and brush them away, but didn't want to overstep the boundaries too soon.

"You really hurt me, Bella."

"I know." I whispered, but she flashed over to me and covered my mouth with her hand.

"No. I'm talking now." She said fiercely, waiting for me to nod before taking her hand away. "It's because I love you that you were able to hurt me so deeply. And maybe for that same reason, I should have known about your feelings." I wanted to interrupt, but I knew she'd just get mad at me for doing so. "But that's an excuse I'm not willing to give you. I'm not psychic Bella! I don't read minds! If you were having doubts, you should have just talked to me, but instead you held it inside and let yourself explode, taking both of us with you as casualities?" She walked away from me, pacing back and forth between me and the closet door. "We need to deal with these issues or this isn't going to work." She stopped pacing and turned to me, her expression broken, like my heart. "Are you ashamed of us…of me?"

I couldn't stop myself this time. I pulled her into my arms, squeezing her tightly, while I stared down into sorrowful blue eyes.

"I will never be ashamed of you." I told her, and I immediately saw a rebuttal forming. "I think maybe I was ashamed of myself, for stealing your youth or something." I said, smiling when I saw Alice roll her eyes. "The truth is I was stressed out from dealing with Edward and you brought some of my lingering fears to the surface…I lashed out at you and I'm sorry." Alice leaned into me, and I let my fingers run through her hair. It was wonderful being able to hold her after days apart. "But you're right. I needed to deal with my issues." I paused for a minute trying to figure out my phrasing and I felt Alice stiffen against me.

"And?"

"And I have." I told her, kissing the top of her head as she let out a shuttering breath into my chest. "I realized how stupid it is to care about what other people think of me. I wouldn't give you up for anything, certainly not to appease a few close-minded idiots. But more importantly, I'm proud to be with you, Alice. You're amazing and I feel absolutely spoiled to have the love of someone like you…" The rest of my praises were cut off by a perfect pair of lips.

The kiss quickly became more heated and through our movements, Alice's towel was lost to the ground, leaving her exquisite naked body to the mercy of my plundering hands.

Our frenzied motions led us towards the bed, but when my legs hit the mattress I forced myself to pull back.

"Alice…" When our lips parted, she had moved to begin sucking on my neck and causing her name to come out as a moan. I leaned down a bit further , so I could whisper my plea into her ear. "Let me make love to you." She groaned, but didn't answer, instead nibbling on my shoulder. "Please Alice. Let me love you." I begged again, seeking out the spot below her ear that I knew she loved, while letting my hands tease her backside. Finally I got a response.

"Mhmm." She moaned softly.

"Yes?"

"Yessss." She confirmed with a hiss when I trailed my nails down her ass, pulling her tighter against me. Not wasting any time, I gently laid her down. She grabbed for my shirt, but I moved back, standing and locking my eyes with hers as I slowly undressed before her, watching the love and lust swirl in her eager gaze as I revealed more an more skin. It was incredibly erotic to watch my naked lover squirm in pleasure, eyes roving over my body and making me so hot I shivered with need. I felt so sinful and desired and I couldn't help arching my chest outward as I pulled off my shirt, listening to the soft mews of the girl laid out before me.

When at last I'd shimmied out of my tight jeans and panties, I kneeled on the bed, taking her in once more before sliding myself on top of her like a snake, dragging the fleshy mounds of my chest up her soft body, letting the nipples tease her delicate skin. I dragged the tip of my tongue slowly through the valley of her breasts, until I finally came face to face with gorgeous blue eyes. She groaned as my chest pressed into hers, our nipples rubbing against each other. It was heavenly.

"You're so beautiful." I whispered, before capturing her mouth in another kiss, this one tender and slow. Our tongues danced perfectly together while I continued to rub my body against hers.

She wiggled beneath me causing my thigh to fall between hers and directly onto her wet heat. She moaned, lifting her hips to press further into my leg. I lifted myself slightly, taking in her face as I slowly began to rock my hips into her. Her eyes were closed and she was biting on her bottom lip, just slightly. The rosy blush on her cheeks made her even more gorgeous. I leaned down, burying my face into her neck and lining up our clits before rubbing back and forth over the whole expanse of our bodies. The feel of our sticky hot flesh against each other had me swimming in desire. The soft panting and gasps in my ear picked up, telling me Alice was close.

"Bella." She whispered hoarsely. I leaned back, and she quickly manuevered us into a new position. Soon I found myself sitting on the bed with Alice in my lap. Our legs were wrapped around each other, but interspersed so that our centers were lined up completely. Alice didn't waste any time getting right back into things. She wrapped her arms around my neck, capturing my lips again as she began to bounce rhythmically on my lap, her slippery pussy sliding up and down against my own juicy core and causing me to moan deeply into her mouth.

My arms twined around her waist, pulling her tighter against me and aiding her in the steady movements. We were both panting heavily after only a few minutes. I pulled back from the kiss, searching for breath, and finding darkened blue eyes staring back at me with such intensity I almost gasped. Alice looked almost in pain as a whimper escaped her lips, followed by such a soft whisper I only caught the last word. Cumming.

"Oh, yes baby, that's it. I love you so much. Cum for me." I whispered back to her, all the while increasing the speed of our movements. I myself was so close, I thought I'd help us both over the edge and took the perky nipple bouncing in front of me into my mouth, sucking on it lovingly and causing Alice to release a high pitched sound somewhere between a squeal and a scream. Her movements became erratic as her body started to twitch with her oncoming orgasm. Watching her face contort in pleasure would have been enough to send me soaring right along with her, but a well placed thrust into my engorged clit and I exploded, Blissful tremors wracking my body. I held her to me as tightly as I could, waiting for the weightless tingles flowing through my limbs to dissipate.

Eventually we collapsed back onto the bed, our legs still tangled and our chests pressed as tightly together as ever. I could feel my eyes droop, a heaviness starting to take over my body. Alice was watching me with sleepy eyes herself, and a happy smile.

"I love you too, Bella. So much." She said softly, kissing me once more on the lips before nuzzling her head into my neck as we both fell into a peaceful slumber.