A/N: Let's see how this goes!
"Dude." Emmett threw himself down on his bed, across the room from Jasper's. He stared up at the ceiling. His grin was so wide, he was going to have to start making fun of himself soon for being a goober. "I'm going to have sex with my boss."
On the other side of the room, Jasper chuffed. "Ego much? Nothing is a done deal. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."
Emmett rolled over onto his side, looking at his friend. "No lie. This whole date thing is a technicality. She was up for it. She said it herself. I literally turned her down." He screwed his face up and banged his head into the pillow. "Shit. I turned down sex."
Jasper cackled. "That was probably a dumb move. What do you know about dating? She's going to realize she made a mistake letting you kiss her, but you know what? She can't take those memories away from you."
Emmett glared at him. "Whatever. I'm going to have sex with my boss."
"Stuck on that, are ya?"
"Come on. How many porns, gay or straight, are about banging your hot boss?"
"Well, let no one say Emmett McCarty isn't a gentleman."
"Did you miss the part where I turned down sex?"
Jasper let out a sigh and looked up from his computer, studying Emmett with that look, like he was reading him like a book. "Why did you pass up sex?"
Emmett sighed and rolled onto his back. "I dunno."
"Uh huh." Jasper's tone suggested he didn't believe him, and Emmett could feel his eyes on him. "This thing with Bella is a big deal, isn't it? I mean, a really big deal. You passed up sex because whatever's going on between you, it feels bigger than anything else?"
Emmett scoffed. "Hey, what's bigger than my—"
"Em."
He grunted, propping his hands behind his head. "Yeah. It's weird."
"And awesome?"
Emmett grinned. "Dude. I've kissed people before, right? It never felt like that."
"Yeah, you're gone." Jasper chuckled. "It's cute."
Emmett rolled over again and flashed him a grin. "So you'll help me plan something?"
Jasper grimaced. "You realize your girlfriend isn't my favorite person, right?"
"She'll win you over. Anyway, do it because you love me."
Jasper leered. "There are plenty of things I'd do because I love you, but she'd get in the way."
Emmett flung a spare pillow at his best friend. "Isn't your undying love of my sexy body what got you in trouble in the first place?" He sighed. "You'll like her when she doesn't think you're cheating on me."
"Yeah. Yeah." Jasper took the pillow Emmett had thrown at him and shoved it behind his back. "Okay, fine. I'll help."
~0~
Emmett had realized the night before that any date would have to wait a few days—until the day after his birthday to be exact. Between work, school, the fact he'd agreed to supervise Alice on Tuesday night, and the expectation of his family that he'd be spending the evening of his birthday with them, he had no down time until Friday.
But his schedule, and hers for that matter, was what it was. No changing that. What Emmett was more concerned about, as he pulled his car up in front of the shop, was what his work day would be like. He was eager to see Bella, but he was also nervous. Like, squirming in his seat nervous. It took him a minute to realize he was finger-combing his hair in his rearview mirror.
Irritated at how damn weird he was being, Emmett got out of his car. He took a steadying breath, reminded himself that he had a kickin' bod, adorable curly hair, and a panty-dropping dimple he could bust out if things got really dicey, and he headed in the door.
Bella was the first thing he saw. He stumbled, momentarily forgetting how to walk.
She'd done her hair. It was all sleek and shiny. She'd done her hair for him, and that made him all kinds of crazy.
But when she saw him, before he could remember how to make his legs move again, all the color drained from her face. She ducked her head, looking furtively between him and Carlisle who was standing beside her at the register.
Mid-conversation, Carlisle didn't seem to notice the look on her face. He didn't notice that she stuttered over her words for a few beats as Emmett came in the door. Or that she shifted on her feet and pushed her hair behind her ears.
Emmett looked down at his feet, a pang of hurt going through him in spite of himself. He understood. They hadn't talked about the rules, and she'd already told him she didn't know what Carlisle and his family would think.
He got it. He really did. It had to be weird. Still, it didn't make him feel good.
Whatever. He'd show her he was there to work. Not like he'd been expecting to come in and take her over the register counter.
Although…
Yeah, best not to think about all that when he had shelves to stock and the usual Monday rush of two to three customers in a single hour. Emmett got down to his normal Monday morning work. He was just going to have to ignore how weirdly aware he was of Bella just then. He didn't want to know where she was at any given moment—how she was holding her body or if she was looking at him. It didn't change the fact he didknow the answer to those questions.
Yeah, this was all a little strange. Not bad necessarily. Just more complicated than he was used to.
Emmett did his best not to dwell, and it was a surprisingly busy morning. A bratty kid wreaked havoc on his shelves, so that had to be dealt with. Bella was on the phone for an hour trying to track down a shipment of new tips that had been ordered over three weeks before.
He had an interesting conversation with Carlisle who was debating the merits of buying the empty space next door to theirs.
"It would be good to have a bigger space for the classes," Carlisle said, tapping on a pen against his clipboard.
"Yeah, I noticed the classes are getting more popular," Emmett agreed. "They spill out into the aisles sometimes."
Carlisle looked up, amused. "You know why that is, don't you?"
"People like fancy cupcakes?"
"Women, and more than a few men, like watching a young, handsome guy like you teach them how to make fancy cupcakes." Carlisle chuckled, shaking his head. "That's one of the reasons I'm debating the merits. You won't be around forever. What happens when you move on from us?"
Emmett laughed, a little incredulous. "I mean… It's not like it's me they come to see. When they come back, they always talk about how they made the cupcakes to impress someone. They're using the skill."
"Well, it's a nice byproduct in this case." Carlisle put the clipboard down, folding his arms over his chest and considered Emmett. "You really haven't noticed the trend?"
"Trend?"
"The people who come back almost always bring a friend. They're coming back to gawk."
Emmett blinked, and then he laughed. "I mean, I know they think it's funny…"
"The whole thing works. The get up." Carlisle gestured to his ridiculous apron. "Your personality. I know you laugh it all off, and they eat that up. And yes, of course, it's an interesting skill to have."
He rubbed a thumb over his chin for another moment before he looked up at Emmett again. "This is all very cart before the horse, but if I do make more room for classes, I'd like to talk about you doing the classes as your one and only job. In fact, It would be a promotion for sure because you'd be responsible for constructing the content."
Emmett stared. What the hell was happening right now? "That's like...a legit job." He flinched and shook his head. "I mean, not that this isn't a real job."
Carlisle put a hand up, stalling his babbling with a smile. "I know what you mean, and you're right. It's the kind of thing that looks better on a resume than cashier. You're making us money, Emmett. You have an appeal." He shrugged. "And people do like fancy cupcakes.
"Anyway, don't worry about it now. There's still a lot that needs to be sorted out. Why don't you take a break? I can manage out here for fifteen or so."
"Weirdest day ever," Emmett muttered to himself as he headed to the back.
And, it got weirder. As he passed the storage area, a hand shot out, wrapped around his wrist, and hauled him behind a shelving unit. Caught off guard, he crashed forward, only barely catching himself on another shelf before he squished Bella.
"Sorry," she said, palms up as though she could stop him from falling. "Sorry. I...Sorry."
"It's okay." There was this weird hum in the air. He fought the instinct to pull her into his arms. He'd been dying to kiss her all morning, but he wasn't at all sure what she wanted.
She sighed and rested her hands tentatively on his chest, looking up with pinched uncertainty in her eyes. "I know I acted weird when you came in this morning." Her fingers played along the strings of his ridiculous apron. "It's not you. I don't want you to think that I'm ashamed of anything." Her eyes met his. "I'm not ashamed of you."
Whatever small hurt he'd felt, it dissipated with her words. He smiled easily and pressed his hand over hers against his chest. He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. It was so cheesy, and yet he liked doing it. He cupped her hand in both of his. "It's okay."
"I just need a little time. I just need to figure things out."
"Bella." He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer. "It's cool. I get it." He tilted his head down, resting his forehead against hers. "Besides, this is all kinds of sexy. If you want to keep tugging me into dark corners to make out with me, it's only going to make me more interested in you. Something about intrigue and the forbidden or something. I don't know. They make a lot of movies about it."
Her lips twitched, and she tilted her head up. Her fingers tickled his sides. "I'm not making out with you."
"I can fix that." He tilted his head down, catching her lips with his. He sighed with content, licking the inside of her bottom lip. "Mmmm." He kissed her again, stroking his tongue along hers. "Lemon cream."
"Breakfast of champions."
"I haven't had breakfast yet." He took her face between his hands, licking the taste from her mouth.
She laughed and then moaned, melting against him. Her little kisses were sweeter even than the remnants of cupcake he tasted. "This is okay?" he asked, breathless and weirdly shy. "If we're careful?" He kissed her again. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"I'm not uncomfortable."
"So I can kiss you at work?" He pecked her lips. "In the dark?"
"If you must."
~0~
A few days later, at exactly midnight, there was a soft knock on his bedroom door. He grinned, setting his laptop aside, and hurried to open the door.
"You know, it's creepy to stand around in a dark hallway, waiting for midnight to roll around."
His mother smirked. "So. Here it is. You've been a pain in my ass for twenty-one years."
"You like me."
"I do." His mother wrapped him in a tight hug. "Happy birthday, baby boy."
Emmett rocked her a few times. "Thanks for making me, Mom."
"I almost never regret it." She ruffled his hair. "Now come on." She gestured with her head over her shoulder.
He arched an eyebrow. "We're going somewhere?"
"You're twenty-one. Where do you think we're going?" She peered around him into the room. "And where's Jasper, by the way?"
"He's out with Peter. Wait, so we're going to a bar? Now?"
She looked bemused. "Let that be your first lesson about bars. They're still open at midnight. Now, come on. I want to buy you your first drink."
"Mom, you gave me my first drink when I was sixteen."
"I still can't believe that was your first drink. Late bloomer." She shook her head. "I want to buy you your first legal drink."
"Well, only if you insist."
~0~
Only a few minutes later, they were two blocks away from their house. Almost as soon as they sat down, Esme did her best to make him feel comfortable.
"I just came in to buy my son his very first drink," she said, too loudly.
"Oh, shit." Emmett covered his face with his hands. He heard a few whoops from the people nearby.
"That's adorable," he heard a woman say, and his face got so hot.
The bartender, who looked way too amused, started doing something behind the bar. "Well, first shot's on us, then." He smacked down a full shot glass of something pure white in front of Emmett. "Go on then, little boy. Shot. Shot. Shot."
With the bartender to egg them on, soon what had to be most of the whole bar joined in. His mother looked downright gleeful as she pounded the bar right along with them. Emmett hung his head a second, stared at the drink, then shot it back. He almost gagged.
"That...was milk," he said, coughing once.
"You have to walk before you run." The bartender flashed him a shit-eating grin as his audience laughed. "Okay, okay. How about a round of Happy Birthday, everyone," he shouted out to the crowd.
Emmett had to laugh. It was the most warped version of Happy Birthday he'd ever heard, sung by twenty or thirty people drunk off their asses. But as they sang, the bartender set a tall shot glass in front of Emmett. Using a spoon to make the layers, he poured first Kahlua, then Bailey's, then topped it off with Grand Marnier. He set the concoction on fire just in time for the last, "Happy birthday to you."
After he'd blown out the flame, Emmett obligingly took the shot, a B 52 he learned later, with a wince only for show. He grinned and bowed his head at the round of applause that got.
"Flaming drinks. Now that's something you maybe shouldn't have introduced me to," Emmett quipped after he'd gotten the drink he really wanted—a simple Jack and Coke.
Esme smiled at him. "Try not to burn the house down trying to figure out how they did it."
"Oh, I'll try."
Maybe it was the alcohol or the atmosphere. Either way, when his mother asked how things were with him, the truth he'd been nervous to tell her came tumbling out.
"There's a girl. A woman. And it might be serious."
He watched as his mother's happy smile faded first to shock and then a more careful, wary expression. She looked down at the table, obviously searching for the right words. "Might be?"
Emmett laughed, a nervous little titter. "It's complicated. Not horrible complicated. Nothing bad. Just not simple."
His mother's smile was wry. "Isn't that the way it always is." She made an effort to keep her tone light. "So your first serious girlfriend. How did this happen? I mean when? You're so busy. Is it a woman from school?" She squinted. "Please don't tell me it's a professor."
"Are you going to write this story for me or what?" He finished off his drink. "I can't tell you the details yet. Not because it's bad. Just, we haven't had time to sort things out. I just don't like having secrets from you."
She tilted her head, studying him. "Why are you so nervous about talking to me about it?"
He shrugged. "You always told me the last thing I should be serious about at my age is a relationship. And that made sense. I don't get to be as young and stupid as you think I should be." He looked down. "You worry about me too much."
"That's my job, Em." She reached across the table, peeling his hands away from his drink so she could squeeze them. "This is your life. You're the only one who gets to say what it's supposed to look like. I'm your mother. I'm the one who gets to worry because you do too much for me and your sister. You're going to make your own mistakes. I just get to worry you'll make my mistakes because I didn't give you a better example."
"Mom—"
"There's no right answer. I know that. I wasn't serious about your father." She winced. "And you were the one who had to rescue all of us from Charles." She shook her head and smiled. "I want a better life for you. I want the best for you, but for all my mistakes I have a beautiful, bright little girl and a sweet, handsome young man to show for it. God knows, I trust your judgment in these things more than I trust mine. You'll be okay, and I'm going to be here for you."
"You're a good mom, Mom."
Her grin widened. "Well, I did a few things right."
A/N: Okay, okay. Date time next chapter. I promise.
