A/N: Hello, my doves. Let's see what our sweeties are up to, shall we?
"No!" Bella threw her head back, she was laughing so hard. "It can't be anything from a movie."
"Why not?" Emmett couldn't help but grin. He didn't even care what they were talking about; not really. He just liked to see her smile like that. She had a great laugh. The sound of it made him happy. "I mean, we're obviously shit at coming up with our own plan. Why not steal one?"
She raised her head from the back of the loveseat in the small break room, still grinning. "Have you ever actually seen those movies? It never works out. It all goes to hell."
"But it all works out in the end." He went over and dropped into the seat next to her.
She paused, her laughter dying, but her smile still quirked. Emmett was suddenly very aware of why it was called a loveseat. It was only big enough for two. Two people who liked each other, and Emmett… Well, he was aware he was kind of a big guy. Broad.
They were close. He could feel the heat of her body so near his, and that did things to him. Her face was close too. Her lips, her pretty smile, were kissably close. A wave of vertigo washed over him, and he tilted his head just a fraction of an inch. He heard her breath catch, and froze in surprise when her eyes darted down to his lips.
Ah, hell. She looked like a woman who wanted to be kissed. Or was it that he wanted to kiss her? No, scratch that. He knew he wanted to kiss her. For a second, he thought he was going to.
Thinking things through didn't come naturally to Emmett. He wasn't the type of guy who held back, too afraid to make a fool of himself. He took his pleasures where he could get them, and kissing Bella? Well, that would please him. Maybe he could figure out this hum, this vibration just under his skin. It was distracting.
And, yeah, he just wanted to.
Her eyes flicked up to his, and that buzz got louder. He balled his hands into fists as he crossed his arms over his chest. Oh, hell. Her eyes were dark and—
Bella looked forward, untucking her hair from behind her ear so it fell across her face. She cleared her throat. "It doesn't have to be nefarious."
Emmett blinked. His brain hadn't snapped back on yet. "What?"
"The plan. It probably shouldn't be so complicated."
"Oh, yeah."
Bella turned her head to look at him. This time, she looked amused. "You're tired. It's getting late, and don't you have school in the morning?"
"School," Emmett said scathingly. The word was enough to throw cold water over him. Right. He was a school kid in Bella's eyes, even if she was only five years older than he was.
And, she was his boss. They were friends by now. They genuinely enjoyed each other, but she was his boss, and he couldn't forget that.
"It's not that late anyway. But you know what we should do?" Emmett grinned. "We should feed me. I'm starving to death."
She snorted. "Oh, yeah. I can see you just wasting away as we speak. Just withering to nothing." Her eyes traveled the length of his body.
Emmett shifted, trying not to think about things he shouldn't be thinking about. Why the hell had he brought up food anyway? There were too many jokes he wanted to make about what he could be eating. "Want to go get some dinner? Out, I mean." That was fine. He could go out to dinner with a friend. He and Jasper did it all the time.
Bella crinkled her nose. "I shouldn't. I have paperwork to finish."
"Oh, that's such bullshit, Bella. You always finish your stuff a week in advance at least. Carlisle told me all your books are pristine. And besides, it's after hours. Work is over."
"There's always work to do."
"You know what they say about all work and no play."
She huffed and looked away. "When have I ever given you the impression I'm an exciting person?"
He grabbed her arm and brought it toward him. "If you won't feed me, I'll have to take matters into my own hand," he said, lifting it to his mouth.
Bella smacked his shoulder with her free hand, laughing. "Hey. What the heck. If you're going to go zombie on me, I'll have to defend myself. Let go."
"Zombies eat brains, Bella. You don't have to worry."
Her eyes went wide. She yanked her arm free. "I see how you are. Calling me brainless."
He grabbed her arm again. "I'm just saying, I'm not trying to eat your brain. Therefore, I'm not a zombie." He lifted her arm to his mouth again and gummed her wrist.
She squeaked, writhing now, though he held her arm fast. "You're just a cannibal. Stop gnawing on me. We'll go get some food. Christ on crutches."
Emmett set her arm down with a triumphant smile. "Good, because you don't have nearly enough meat to feed my appetite."
At that, she covered her mouth, smothering another one of those rare and awesome giggles. Emmett replayed the words, realizing only then how they sounded. "Wait. No. Food. Food. I'm talking about food."
Bella nodded sagely. "Sure you are. Don't worry. I don't judge." She stood up. "Come on. Let's find something that'll satisfy your craving for meat."
~0~
"You think you're so funny." Emmett shook his head.
"Looks aren't everything." Bella patted his arm. "I just wanted you to be comfortable."
She's taken them to a place called Dog Haus which specialized in gourmet wieners, of course. It was hilarious, but it was also a potential embarrassment waiting to happen. Christ, was he really going to have to sit across from Bella while she consumed a phallic object?
Well, hell. Maybe it would be just the thing he needed. These were the kind of hot dogs made to be eaten with a fork and knife. That ought to put the wrong images in his head.
"Sorry," Bella said. It occurred to him that she looked uncertain. Her cheeks were pink. "That was probably an inappropriate thing to say. This was a dumb idea. I'm really sorry. I was just teasing."
"Whoa. Wait. What?" He reached out, automatically brushing her arm with his fingertips as she stepped backward, away from him. "What are you talking about?"
"I keep making non-work appropriate jokes with you."
Emmett looked around. "Neither of us work here."
"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."
He grinned. "You don't have to worry about offending me." He tapped his forehead. "This right here is full of nothing but double entendres, action movies, and sports trivia."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. You're a walking stereotype." Her expression softened. "I just don't want you to think you have to take it from me."
Emmett had to press his tongue against the roof of his mouth. She just wasn't going to help any. "I'm not too bad at standing up for myself. I mean, don't get me wrong. You're all kinds of intimidating, boss, but I think I can take you."
Apparently, he wasn't going to help himself either.
Bella smirked. "You wish."
He did, but that was beside the point. Or right on top of the point. Whatever.
"Come on. Let's order."
He got an Old Town Dog. A smoked bacon wrapped dog, caramelized onions, pickled jalapeños, chipotle aioli, and cotija cheese. Bella opted for a bratwurst called Another Night in Bangkok—because again, she hated him. It was a spicy thai currywurst, thai peanut sauce, haus slaw, and crushed peanuts. They split an order of chili cheese tots.
"This would be a horrible place to take a date," Bella said, tilting her head back to pop a tater tot in her mouth.
"Really big wieners smothered in...stuff? How do you go wrong with that? It'd be an awesome date."
"Maybe for you. Not everyone's date would be impressed watching them choke down a weiner."
Caught off guard, Emmett choked on his soda. He coughed and sputtered around a somewhat maniacal laugh. When he looked up, she was laughing too, her cheeks pink and her eyes sparkling.
It was good to see her like this—relaxed and joking. Not that she was uptight. Sad, sometimes. Too serious, sometimes. Maybe it was just seeing her out here in the real world, away from the shop, that was so different. He liked it. He wanted to see it again.
"Hey, so. I have an idea," he said when he'd wiped the remnants of his soda. "About Mom and Carlisle, I mean."
"Do tell."
"I think we've been over-thinking this. Well…" He winked. "That's the problem. Thinking is not my forte, and, as we've already talked about before, you're a horrible liar."
"I could lie about this. I could lie for Carlisle." She furrowed her brow. "Everyone can lie. You're exaggerating." She straightened up and pointed a fork at him. "I'm bringing a pack of cards to work tomorrow. We're going to play poker, and I'm going to bluff the hell out of you."
"Big words, Swan. We going to play for real money?"
"Sure. Let's go nuts."
"Excellent. I'll have extra money so I can get really drunk on my birthday. After work, anyway."
She looked confused. Then her eyes went wide. "It's your birthday in a week and a half." She gasped, her eyes going wider. "And I scheduled you to work. Oh, Emmett. Why didn't you remind me?"
"It's not a big deal, boss." He shrugged. "You know I need the hours. Anyway, it's on a Thursday."
"No one should have to work on their birthday."
Emmett scoffed. "I've worked every one of my birthdays since I was fifteen. I think Mom got her birthday off once when I was a kid."
Bella ducked her head. "You're right. It was kind of a spoiled thing to say. They always insist. The Cullens, I mean."
Whoops. "Fuck, remember how we talked about how I should put my talent for sticking my foot in my mouth on my resume?"
The corner of her mouth turned up, and she looked at him from under her eyelashes. He smiled back at her, hopefully reassuring. "It's really not a big deal. To work on my birthday, I mean. It's not like I have anyone to hang with that day even if I did have it off. Mom's working. Ally is in school. Jazz is working."
"What about your friends? You have friends. I know that."
Hadn't he already mentioned Jazz? Emmett shrugged. "Sure, but we already established we're friends, right?"
Bella's lips quirked again. "Right."
"So, I am spending the day with a friend. And I get cupcakes. Now who's spoiled, huh?"
"All right, all right. It still sucks, though."
He flashed her a grin that was all teeth. "If you feel so bad about it, you could always buy me dessert today."
"I see where your sister gets her habit of extorting your boss." Bella shook her head. "You were saying about Carlisle and Esme."
"Oh, right. As far as movies go, I think we should go more Beauty and the Beast."
"Uh, I'm pretty sure your mom would freak out if Carlisle kept her prisoner in his house."
"What? Ew. No. Not like that. I mean the part where there's a whole castle-full of people who want them to get together, and they don't really scheme. They just encourage both parties, right? Beauty and Beast fall for each other because they spend time together. And really, it makes sense for Mom and Carlisle to spend some time together because maybe we're both off our rockers, thinking they're good together."
"So what are you thinking?"
"Maybe we can arrange for them to be in the same place at the same time. Like...outside the shop."
"How would we do that? Like, if Carlisle were to show up at one of Alice's activities?" Bella scrunched her nose.
"That would be kind of weird. I mean, I don't know. The grocery store? Something like that."
"Hmm." Bella pursed her lips, thinking. Then, she brightened. "There's a street fair going on this weekend. I could get Carlisle to take me." She smiled fondly. "He's always telling me I don't get out enough. I bet he'd be happy to go with me. He thinks I don't interact with enough people."
"Ally and Mom like stuff like that too."
Bella nodded. "So we could accidentally stumble across one another."
"Damn, we're good," Emmett said, smugly satisfied.
"If we do say so ourselves." Bella laughed. "Do you think this counts as a business meeting?"
"Are you trying to put it on the expense account, and charge Carlisle some kind of setup fee?" He shook his head. "Only two people who work with cupcakes would have a business meeting over weiners."
"About trying to get our mutual boss together with your mother."
"We're going to have to figure out how to spin that for my resume."
Bella put on an expression of fauc hurt. "Are you trying to ditch me?"
"Naw. You're stuck with me for now, boss."
A/N: I'm out celebrating my mom's birthday. Let's see if I can sweet talk Mina into posting for me. Mina! You're the most beautiful person in the whole wide world!
Mina: You owe me x2
