A/N: Happy Sunday. I'm going to attempt not to get out of my pajamas today! So. We got some truth to spill.
Emmett prided himself in not being one of those oblivious assholes. It wasn't as though emotions were particularly difficult to figure out. It was easy to see when he'd pushed his teasing with Alice too far and she was getting upset. He knew how to read it when his mother felt inadequate; when she came home dead on her feet from working too hard and too long but still insisted she had to cook for them or do whatever she could. He knew he had to sit back and let her.
It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out that Bella had been spooked by something. Competitive Bella was a sight to see, full of zingers and cocksure smirks. When she'd clung to his neck, her hot breath on his skin, well...his dick had had a thing or two to say about that, was all.
Maybe Bella had sensed it somehow. But hell, she had to know he didn't have control over those things. A guy had absolute control over what he did with his dick, but no control over what his dick did.
The woman confused him; that was all. But anyway he sliced it, she seemed upset and that bothered him. He didn't want to see her upset for any reason, but if he'd caused it somehow… He may not be oblivious, but he wasn't immune to saying or doing something stupid. In fact, some days he was pretty good at it.
Emmett waited long enough for Alice to get through telling him about the newest craft she was attempting and how she wanted to go by the crafts next before he decided Bella had been gone long enough. "Hey, Mom," he said, looking easily over Alice's head.
His mother turned away from Carlisle to arch an eyebrow at him. Emmett allowed himself a brief, internal fist pump before he got to business. "You okay here? There's something I want to check out. I can meet you in the craft section."
"I got this, kiddo," his mother said.
He bet she did.
Emmett headed off in the vague direction Bella had disappeared in, scanning the booths and aisles as he did. He considered texting her, but couldn't figure out what to say. It wasn't like it was his business that she went anywhere. It was Carlisle she'd ditched, not him.
He found Jasper before he found Bella. He was sitting at a table in front of the coffee shop across from another man. Emmett headed his way to ask him if he'd happened to see Bella. It took a second for him to realize Jasper and the other man were arguing. He was about to make an about-face when he heard his name.
"I don't know how many times I have to tell you. Emmett is my roommate. That's it."
"Save it, sweetheart. I'm done listening to you," the man sitting across from Jasper sneered. "You just got called out by your boyfriend's fag hag. Be a man about it, and admit you're a fucking lying dog. I can't believe I let you sweet talk me."
"Peter, come on." Jasper tried to reach for the man as he stood.
"Don't touch me. Fuck off." With an impressively graceful pivot, Peter stormed away. Jasper let out a groan and collapsed back into his seat, his elbows on the table, and his fingers tangling in his hair.
Emmett blinked. What the ever loving fuck was this about and what did it have to do with him? After a minute of trying to piece it together for himself, he walked over and dropped into the seat across from Jasper. His friend's head snapped up, but when he saw Emmett there, he slumped again. "Fuck, where were you a minute ago?" Jasper grumbled.
"What the hell happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened. After I've been working for weeks to get Peter 'Once Bitten Twice Shy' Damon to trust me, your damn boss came over here and accused me of cheating. On you."
Emmett balked. He repeated the words several times in his head but they didn't compute. "Wait… What?"
"Your honor was quite vehemently defended. Christ on a cracker, she was railing at me about what a great guy you are and how I've got to be the world's biggest asshole," Jasper said wryly. Luckily, he knew Emmett's 'I'm not getting it face.' He huffed. "She thinks you're gay, jackass. Specifically, she thinks you're gay with me."
"The fuck?" was all Emmett's brain could come up with after a few moments of gawking.
At that, Jasper looked at least a little bit amused. "Maybe you look too at home in that frilly, pink apron."
Emmett narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Do you know any gay men who own a frilly, pink apron?"
"No." Jasper actually cracked a smile. "I do know one who owns a Harley Quinn apron. It's quite fabulous."
"Fucking stereotypes." Emmett wiped a hand over his eyes, repeating the words in his head. Bella thought he was gay? Why? How? What the actual fuck?
It wasn't that he had a problem with being gay. Like he gave a fuck if anyone thought he liked men. That didn't matter. What mattered was that Bella thought he liked men because she wasn't a man.
Well, fuck. Okay. There was that thought running around his head. And an itch under his skin like he needed to set her straight—literally—right the heck now. He didn't really know why it was so important. There were still all kinds of reasons why her thinking he liked guys wasn't any of her business, but, well… Yeah. He kind of wanted to make it her business.
Emmett stood up. "I gotta go."
Jasper grabbed his arm. "Uh, yeah. You gotta go with me after Peter and inform him I'm not cheating on your big, dumb ass."
Any other day, Emmett would have his best friend's back in a heartbeat, but he needed to act. It wasn't even a question. It needed to be done yesterday, and it was driving him to distraction. "That's not a good idea," he said to Jasper. "He'll take one look at this"—he gestured up and down his body—"and think you're lying anyway. Who wouldn't want a piece of this?"
"Emmett—"
"Dude. Seriously, give him a bit to calm down. I promise I'll be right back." He turned tail and hurried off, ignoring Jasper's curse.
It wasn't too hard to find his family. Alice was beside herself. She'd found a potting station. Apparently, there was a whole subgroup of people who did themed potted plants. There was an Alice in Wonderland set that Alice was, of course, ecstatic over.
Somehow, Emmett managed to tamp down his impatience to placate his sister. "Buy the toys. I'll figure out the rest," he told his mother.
That was when he noticed that Carlisle was staring at his phone with a furrowed brow. "What's up?" Emmett asked. He had the weirdest feeling it had something to do with Bella.
Sure enough, Carlisle shook his head. "Bella begged off again. She said something came up with some kind of delivery at work, and she took an Uber to deal with it. She's being vague." With another grimace, he returned his phone to his pocket. "It's been a long time since she's done something other than work on a Sunday." The shop was closed on Sundays. "It's progress, I suppose."
"Why don't I go over?" Emmett asked, probably too quickly. "I can offer to help her. If there really is something going on, we'll get it done twice as fast. If there isn't, maybe I can get her to come back."
His mother gave him a look. "Maybe she needs to be left alone for whatever reason."
"Maybe." Emmett squirmed a bit. He really didn't think that was it, but he couldn't explain that to his mother. "Just to make sure everything is okay. I won't push her."
Carlisle made a face. "I should go."
"No. No, it's cool." Emmett took a step closer to the man so he could talk in a voice low enough for Alice not to hear. "You'd be doing me a favor, man. I don't have the patience for this potted plant stuff today. I'd owe you one."
Carlisle studied him a beat, but nodded. "Check on Bella, and we'll call it even."
Real smooth, Emmett thought. Carlisle wasn't exactly crying about spending more time with his mother. Emmett had no doubt his concern for Bella was genuine, but the situation wasn't exactly an emergency.
This was what Emmett kept telling himself. No reason to drive fast. It was just plain dumb that it felt so urgent to him. It was like the pieces were all there, but he couldn't figure out the big picture. As he parked in the back, memories of the last hour or so zinged around his head. Bella grinning at him. How he couldn't stop himself from tickling her. Her playful smacks. The way her hand kept brushing his. And she was the one to jump on his back.
There was something about what she did to Jazz, too. That she'd gone on a tear about Jasper being an idiot because Emmett was such a great guy.
He let out a huff of air before he pushed the door open.
As Carlisle had suspected, there were no deliveries to deal with. Instead, he found Bella in the front of the store, leaning with her back against the front counter. She'd been staring off into space, but when he entered, her head turned to him and her eyes went wide. "Emmett."
Just like that, the air around them changed. He was just so damn aware of her. Aware of the shape of her—curves, a great ass, and legs for days. She'd let her hair out of its ponytail, and it fell off one shoulder, all wavy and maybe just a little messy. Even though they were across the room from each other, he had to press his hands to his sides firmly. He had this urge to touch.
He didn't bother to keep up the pretense that she'd come to deal with a delivery. "I saw Jasper earlier."
Her features darkened, and she looked down, pushing off the counter as she did. "Did he—"
"He's not my boyfriend," Emmett blurted.
She looked up, obviously confused. "What?"
"Bella...why the heck would you think I was gay?"
Her eyes went wide. "What?"
"I'm not gay."
She opened her mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. She ran a hand through her hair and paced a few steps forward. "Oh, shit." She gasped. "Shit. Your poor friend." She furrowed her brow. "But you said you were roommates."
"Yeah. We're roommates. We share a room. Not a bed."
"I thought… You know. I thought you were roommates."
"It wasn't a euphemism."
Bella had begun to pace a few steps forward and back. "Yeah, I'm getting that. Oh, man. I totally messed up his game. Shit."
"I don't get why that would make you think I was gay, though?" And honestly, Emmett didn't know why that point was so important. Maybe it was just easier to stick to this subject than others that were zinging around his head, especially seeing as his feet kept moving him closer to her.
"I guess… Hell, I don't even remember. It was something you said during the interview. Something about how you wouldn't know what played well with girls."
Emmett had to think about that one. "I don't go out with many girls because I have work, school, and Alice. Not because I like guys."
"Yeah. Like I said, I'm getting that now." She paused in her pacing and looked to him. "Damn, you know what they say about assumption. I feel like a tool right now. I'm sorry."
Emmett crossed his arms over his chest.
"Don't be angry at me," she pleaded, her look strangely vulnerable.
"I'm not angry." He needed to get control of his hands before he did something stupid, that was all. "It's just… Look, this is the wrong reaction, okay? Speaking of stereotypes and assumptions. I know it's not the right reaction, but I can't help it. I'm just feeling this powerful desire to prove my manliness right now."
She laughed. It was a small laugh that she cut off quickly. "Sorry," she squeaked. "It's just...look at you." Her eyes raked up and down his form, which really didn't help matters any. "And how does anyone prove their manliness anyway?"
He froze for all of one second before his impulse control snapped. Fuck it.
Emmett stalked forward. Bella's eyes went wide. She walked backward until her back came up against the counter. Emmett kept coming, and he caged her between his arms, his hands on either side of her on the counter. Her head was tilted up, her eyes dark on him.
His head was loud. Despite his size, he really wasn't one for alpha male bullshit. But she wasn't scared. Stunned, yeah, which made two of them. But not scared. He waited for her to ask him what the fuck he was doing, but she didn't. Her eyes darted down to his lips.
And he was done. He stopped thinking—it wasn't getting him anywhere anyway—and kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that was like being at the top of a long, steep hill on his bike and letting go of the brakes. He was instantly breathless but exhilarated. He cupped one hand at the small of her back, pressing her closer to him at the same time he pinned her against the counter.
She whimpered into his mouth. The good kind of whimper. Her hands came up and her fingers tangled in his hair. Her lips moved with his, fervant and hard.
Hell, her body was just so good and right in his hands, against him. He couldn't get enough. He pressed forward and she tilted back like she was about to lie down on the counter, and that put all sorts of delicious ideas in his head. Then it was him who whimpered into her hot, wet mouth. She hitched one leg up to keep her balance, and he caught it under her knee. Christ, he loved the feel of her.
That was when he had to stop. He had to take a step backward because there was too much he wanted to touch. He wanted to know what it felt like to cup her ass in his hands. He wanted to slip his fingers up under her shirt and feel her skin. And, sure, he needed to breathe too. That was a little more important once he took a step away and couldn't feel the heat of her anymore. He licked his lips, still tasting her.
For a minute they both just breathed, the sounds loud in the quiet shop. He was at a loss for what to do. There'd been other girls. But not like this, not like her, and this...This was complicated. Emmett wasn't the kind of guy who minded messing up. He did. A lot. And learned from his mistakes, but he didn't want to mess this up.
Of course, he was probably messing things up by being quiet and not looking at her. The fact he'd turned to the side as soon as he'd broken that amazing kiss was probably the wrong thing too.
He laughed. He couldn't help it. It was a high-pitched, strangled, giggle of a laugh. He hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck and holding his breath as he tried to get a handle on himself.
"What?" Bella asked. She didn't sound mad.
He looked at her cautiously. She didn't look mad either. She looked… Well, fuck. She looked like sex. Her hair was wild and her cheeks were red and unlike when she'd been competing with him at the street fair, there wasn't anyone around. He looked down again, losing the battle over his laughter.
"What?" she demanded. She stepped toward him and shoved him. It was a playful shove to his shoulder.
He looked up at her and grinned. "Man, I have no fucking idea," he said, choking on the words because he couldn't stop laughing. "You got a playbook, coach, because I'm just not that smooth."
She'd been biting her lip, fighting a smile, but at that, she laughed too. Her hand was still on his shoulder, so when he turned back toward her, it was was as easy as breathing to take her back into his arms. He caught the last of her laughter with his mouth, feeling it vibrate against his lips as he kissed her again. This was a much softer kiss. It wasn't like before, when some part of him had needed to surround her, needed to spend all this energy that buzzed between them.
This was different. Yes, he was attracted to her. He'd always known that, but there was something else to this. There was that enormity he'd never felt before. There was just more. He cupped her cheek as he let his tongue feel along hers. She sighed, pushing up onto the balls of her feet. One hand rested still on his shoulder, the other played with the curls at his nape, sending chills down his liked this too—all soft and sweet.
When they had to stop again, he didn't turn away and didn't let her go. She ducked her head, hiding her face at his neck. He could feel how fast her heart beat with his hand splayed as it was over her back.
He still didn't know what the heck he was supposed to do now. Talking? Probably. It wasn't his forte on his best day. Right then, his brain was full of, "Ubba, duh, wha?"
Yeah, he needed a minute.
"We need—" Nope. Try again. "I need to find Jasper."
Bella raised her head. "What?"
Suddenly, Emmett remembered how this had all started. That sounded a little gay without context, proving his point that words weren't his friend right now. He cracked a grin. "No, I mean, we...I have to fix this thing with the guy he likes. If it's the same guy he hasn't shut the hell up about for weeks, he's kind of important."
Bella made a face. "Oh, hell. I should be the one to talk to him. That was all kinds of messed up."
"It's okay. I'll do it."
Despite his words, neither of them moved. Bella had a strange look on her face.
Complicated, right. Probably in ways he couldn't begin to understand how. She needed a minute, and he needed a minute. And probably he needed some advice from Jasper if his friend was still talking to him.
"Can I, um… Tonight?" he asked with perfect and utmost eloquence. He grimaced. "Fuck, that sounded wrong. I mean, we can talk. Tonight. Or whenever. Whatever." He grunted, rolled his eyes, and gave up.
Bella giggled. It was a short, small one, and her look was almost shy as she met his eyes. "Yeah. Come over. Just text me."
"Right."
"Right."
They still didn't move. Not until she pressed up onto her tiptoes and kissed him once more. A small kiss, but a good one. One that reassured him that maybe it wasn't too complicated.
Maybe.
A/N: So.
That happened.
