A/N: Thanks again for all new follows & reviews! This may be the last chapter for a little while as I have some RL stuff coming up, so hope it will keep you going. Please R & R - reviews will get teasers!
Mr. April will make an appearance in the next chapter. Who do you think it will be?
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
Chapter 9 – Spartans (cont'd)
"Ladies!" called Emmett, swaggering over to their table. "You just can't keep away from me, can you?" Bella managed a weak smile as Emmett scooped her up in a vice-like hug. She could feel her cheeks blushing red at the memory of their last encounter, no doubt clashing horribly with the blue of her dress.
"Emmett, hey. Um, good to see you here." Not.
This was beyond awkward. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Alice and Edward knowingly raising their eyebrows at each other. When he'd arrived at the studio for his second shoot, Edward had wasted no time telling Alice all about her 'hilarious' brush with Little Mr. January. Of course, Bella had already regaled her best friend with all the cringe-worthy details, but that didn't stop Alice having a good old chuckle about it with Edward. The little pixie traitor.
"Hey Alice," said Emmett, crushing her in another bear hug. "And, er, Edmund, isn't it?" he asked, holding his hand out in greeting.
"It's Edward, actually. And I'm Rosalie Hale. We spoke on the phone the other day?" Rose had jumped up from her seat and was currently thrusting her impressive cleavage in Emmett's face. Bella didn't think she'd ever seen anyone move that fast.
"Oh hey, Rosalie! Wow, it's really great to put a face to the voice. Especially when it's such a beautiful one." Rose smiled and lowered her eyes demurely at the compliment, in stark contrast to the shameless way she reached out to place her hand on Emmett's bulging bicep.
Bella had to do a double-take. Was Rose actually flirting with the guy she'd failed to cop off with just days earlier?
"Oh, stop!" giggled Rose, giving Emmett's big arm a squeeze. "Bella told me you looked good naked but she didn't tell me how hot you looked with your clothes on."
She was! And Emmett was lapping it up by the look of things.
"I need another drink," said Bella to no one in particular, knocking back her glass of champagne and getting up from the table. She walked past a dozen waiters carrying trays of free drinks and headed straight to the bar. After three disastrous attempts at getting laid, she wasn't quite ready to sit by and watch Rosalie succeed exactly where she'd failed. At least not without copious amounts of alcohol to help her get through it.
She reached the bar and tried in vain to get the barman's attention. Ugh, great, thought Bella. Just what I need – to become completely invisible when I'm in desperate need of a drink. She stood up on tiptoes and leaned onto the bar, wishing she'd worn her new miracle-boost bra. Or naturally had a killer cleavage like Rosalie, who probably had Mr. January's face buried in it right about now.
"Could I get a Cosmopolitan, please?" asked a male voice to the right of her. What?! There was no one there a second ago and now he was getting served before her? Already fuming, Bella turned around, ready to unleash her rage.
It was Edward.
"Didn't Leah just get you a beer?" she asked, crossly.
"She did. This is for you," he said, nodding at the cocktail that the bartender was making. "You look like you need a drink. Is everything okay?"
Bella sighed. She wasn't about to tell Edward what was going on. He'd already caught her in the act with Mr. February – the last thing she wanted him to know was that she'd been interested in Emmett as well. Edward had said he wouldn't tell his aunt about her and Riley, but she wasn't sure he would keep his mouth shut if he knew she was in the habit of seducing her models.
"It's just… I…" she stammered, trying to think of something to say.
Edward was more intuitive than she gave him credit for. "Wait – does this have something to do with your friend Rosalie throwing herself at that guy?" Bella bit her lip. "Oh my god, it does, doesn't it? Don't tell me you like that idiot! He's such a poser!"
"I- Well… No. No, I don't like him." Bella was surprised that what she thought was being told as a lie actually turned out to be the truth. Edward was right. Emmett was a bit of an idiot. She felt she owed Edward more of an explanation. "It's just… I thought he might like me, you know? He seemed pretty interested at the photo shoot. Then he takes one look at Rose and his eyes pop out on stalks and his tongue rolls out of his mouth like some cartoon character. It just made me feel pretty shitty, that's all."
"Bella, don't beat yourself up over it. The guy is clearly more interested in himself than any girl. Maybe Rosalie is into that sort of thing, but, personally, I think you've had a lucky escape." He took the Cosmo from the bartender and pushed it along the bar towards Bella. "Now drink up and forget about it."
"Thanks Edward." She gave a begrudging smile. Why did he have to be so nice when she just wanted to dislike him?
"Don't mention it, boss," he grinned. "So Leah and I are planning on getting out of here soon and heading on somewhere else. Why don't you and Alice come with us and leave the lovebirds to it?"
"Hmm, tempting," said Bella. "This place blows."
Edward laughed. "I won't tell my friend you said that about his bar. But only if you don't tell him I agreed with you!"
"Deal," said Bella, holding out her hand to shake on it. "C'mon, let's go and see if Alice is ready to leave, too."
They headed back to their friends, where Rosalie had somehow managed to wind up sitting on Emmett's lap. She was laughing ostentatiously as he whispered something in her ear. Bella noticed his hand resting gently on Rose's bare leg. Jeez, these two weren't wasting any time getting acquainted!
"Hey Bella," shouted Alice over the thumping music. "Leah was just telling me that her and Edward are going to a karaoke bar later. Do you want to come?"
"Karaoke, huh?" said Bella, looking at Edward with an arched eyebrow and a wry smile. "Well, aren't you just full of surprises tonight, Edward Cullen?"
"Hey, don't knock it until you've heard my amazing rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart." Edward started singing badly into his beer bottle. "Turrrrn around! Every now and then I get a little a little bit lonely and you're never coming round…"
Bella and Alice looked at each other with bemused grins. Leah started egging him on with whoops and cheers.
"Turrrrrn around! Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears…" Edward jumped up onto the banquette and continued to croon in a mock falsetto: "Turrrrn around, bright eyes! Every now and then I fall apart!"
Alice, Bella and Leah had collapsed into fits of giggles at this stage, and even Rose and Emmett had stopped ogling each other for long enough to watch Edward's impromptu performance.
They weren't the only ones. A small crowd had gathered round their table and Bella spotted a security guard walking over with a grim expression on his face.
Through tears of laughter, she reached out to grab Edward's leg and bring him down from the banquette before he got into trouble. He was so caught up in his rendition of the song that Bella's action took him by surprise. He spun round and managed to lose his footing, knocking over the table full of drinks in the process and crash landing on Bella. She squealed.
His weight caused Bella to slip out of her seat and land on the sticky floor, where Edward slid down on top of her. As she fell, Bella heard an uncomfortably loud ripping sound. Her dress!
Undeterred by the fall, Edward lifted his head and continued to serenade Bella with a ridiculous grin on his face. "Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart. Nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heeeaaarrrtt!"
Credit: 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler / written by Jim Steinman