A/N: I feel like I'm always thanking people for follows and reviews, but truly THANK YOU! I love reading what you think of the story.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight characters. I just take their clothes off.
Chapter 14 - Mr. May
"Come on Bella, Rosalie was only trying to help," pleaded Alice. She hated that her two best friends weren't speaking again and was trying to convince Bella to give Rose another chance.
"It's insulting, Alice! What makes her think I need her help? I can do this perfectly well on my own." Two days after Bella discovered Rosalie had basically asked Paul to give her a sympathy screw and she was still fuming. Alice had to keep telling her to be careful as she angrily set up her photography equipment for the Mr. May shoot.
"Really, Bella? You have to admit your strike rate hasn't been that hot so far. Rose was just giving you a helping hand."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Alice," Bella replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Look Bella, you know we only want you to be happy. I know Rosalie thinks sex is the best medicine, but maybe you should consider calling the whole thing off. I'm not sure a quick fuck with a total stranger is going to fix everything. You've been so hurt, Bells. Maybe you should think about dating again. Someone who deserves and respects you." Alice reached out to give Bella's arm a sympathetic rub.
"No, Alice, I told you – I'm not ready for another relationship! Just because you and Rose think I can't do this-" Bella shouted.
"Do what?" It was Edward, arriving at the studio with a round of coffees. He took in Bella's aggressive stance, Alice's defensive body language. "What's going on? Is everything okay with you guys?"
"Everything's fine," said Bella through gritted teeth, turning her back on Alice and taking her vanilla latte from Edward. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Now Alice was pissing her off almost as much as Rosalie. She knew the pair of them had lost faith in her ability to land one of the calendar guys and she was determined to prove them both wrong. But she needed to chill out if she didn't want to scare off Mr. May with her scowl.
Frustrated, Bella took a sip of coffee and noticed a smiley face scrawled under her name on the cup. Her mind raced back to the other day, to Edward sitting pant-less on her couch, wiping away her tears. She wondered if he'd asked the barista to draw this. She felt her anger dissipate and allowed herself a secret little smile. Bella looked up to see Edward watching her. She raised her coffee cup to him in thanks and he grinned.
One look at Edward's crooked smile and her dream came back to her in a flash. She blushed and quickly turned away, terrified that Edward would be able to see what she was thinking.
The studio door buzzed. Bella looked at her watch. Mr. May was early. She opened the door to find, instead of a cute male model, a delivery girl holding a huge bouquet of flowers and an ornately wrapped package. "Delivery for Bella Swan?" Gobsmacked, Bella signed for the gifts and brought them inside. A thought crossed her mind. Could these be from Paul? He had said that he wanted to see her again. He could have easily gotten the studio address from Eclipse magazine or his agency. Maybe his attentions at the hotel weren't just prompted by Rosalie. Maybe he really did like Bella.
Alice and Edward looked just as surprised as she was. "Wow, somebody's popular!" said Edward.
"Oh, they're beautiful!" squealed Alice, her argument with Bella quickly forgotten in the face of some pretty pink flowers. "Quick! Open the card and see who your secret admirer is!"
Bella ripped open the tiny envelope, her heart racing. Mike had never brought her flowers in the whole time they had been dating. "Guys only buy flowers if they're cheating on you," he'd always said. Well, he never even bought me flowers then, thought Bella.
She scanned the words on the little card and her face fell.
BELLA, I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! LOVE YOU! ROSE XOXO
"They're from Rosalie," she told the others, throwing the bouquet to one side and marching off. Alice opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again abruptly. She knew there was no point flogging a dead horse.
Edward looked puzzled at Bella's reaction. "Did I miss something?"
"Don't ask," muttered Alice, picking up the flowers and looking around the studio for something to put them in.
"O-kay," said Edward to himself, with a raise of his eyebrows. "Oh, hey Bella, she sent you a gift as well. Are you going to open it?"
"You open it," Bella called dismissively across the studio.
"All right," shrugged Edward, starting to untie the elaborate ribbons.
"I'll take that, thank you!" said Alice, snatching the present from Edward's hands. "Rosalie has a reputation for giving us rather, um, unusual gifts. I wouldn't want you to get a nasty surprise, Edward."
"What do you mean 'unusual'?" said Edward, intrigued.
"Let's just say, as the resident 'Sexpert' at Eclipse magazine, Rose gets sent a lot of freebies that she likes to share with us." Alice winked, ripping open the hot pink wrapping paper to reveal a small box. She opened the lid and peeked inside, apprehensive at what she might find. "Oh. This isn't too bad." She pulled out a pair of pink fluffy handcuffs and waved them at Edward with a bemused smile. At the bottom of the box was a handwritten note:
Bella, please accept this as a peace offering. These should help you keep hold of the next guy, whatever happens... Joke! ~ Rose xoxo
Alice swiftly pocketed the note. She didn't think Bella would see the funny side. The buzzer went again and Alice dumped the package and its kinky contents onto the table by the door. Mr. May had arrived. "Hi! Come on in. You must be Felix."
oOo
"Alice, I'm telling you now, I'm taking a rain-check on this one," whispered Bella.
"What? But he's so big!" giggled Alice.
"Exactly!" Bella hissed. "It's terrifying." The girls - and Edward – had been stunned from the moment Felix had ducked his head and walked in the door of the studio. The guy was a giant. Their jaws had collectively dropped even further when he'd undressed, revealing that big feet didn't only mean huge shoes.
At first, Bella had flirtatiously welcomed Felix into her studio. As she'd gazed up at his strong jaw and kind brown eyes, she couldn't help imagining how she'd have to stand on tippy-toes to kiss him. The thought had made her smile. There was something so romantic about reaching up to kiss a guy. And, as Rosalie would say, everyone's the same height when you're lying down.
Bella had felt a flush of desire when he'd pulled off his shirt, revealing a broad chest and massive arms. She'd found herself wondering what it would feel like to be crushed under the weight of him. Not at all unpleasant, she thought.
But when Felix had pulled down his boxers, it was all she could do not to gasp out loud. She'd exchanged a shocked look with Alice and noticed that even Edward's eyes had widened. "Bella, where did you get this guy? The set of Boogie Nights?" he whispered to her.
Now Felix was working a selection of gym equipment in front of the camera, his muscle-bound body angled in an attempt to protect his modesty. Except it didn't – there was too much to protect.
"Sorry Felix, this isn't really working," said Bella. "I think we need to rethink the positioning. Let's take five."
"Sure, no problem," he smiled. Edward tossed over a white towel to Felix and the guys started talking about the previous night's game, Felix towering over Edward.
"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here," sang Alice under her breath, mimicking one of their favourite movies, The Sweetest Thing. Bella mimed a 'cut it' motion, stifling a laugh. "Seriously Bells, aren't you intrigued? It's huge! Don't you want to know what it feels like?"
"Alice, if you're so curious, go for him yourself. I told you, I am out of this one!"
"No thanks. You know one night stands aren't my thing."
"I know, I know. You're waiting for The One. Blah blah blah," Bella playfully yawned and rolled her eyes. Alice had always been the most romantic one of the three friends. She'd been almost as heartbroken as Bella when Mike had done the dirty with Jessica; it had rocked her belief in true love. She dated, she certainly wasn't a virgin, but she was convinced Mr. Right would come and sweep her off her feet, and she didn't want to waste time kissing too many frogs before her prince came along.
"So what are you going to do about the photo," asked Alice. "How are we going to cage the beast?"
"Hmm," pondered Bella. "I think I have an idea. Felix, can you undo the towel and hold it in front of you?"
"Like this?" he asked, settling back into a pose.
"That's perfect," said Bella, walking back over to her camera. She knew she should have been mad at herself. She'd been so desperate to prove a point to Rosalie – not to mention the fact that she was insatiably horny. But throwing herself at Felix just didn't feel right, and not only because he was terrifyingly huge. Maybe Alice had a point. Maybe she should be looking for someone to date. She just didn't know any more.
Oh well, thought Bella. Tomorrow is another day… And June is another month.
A/N: For those of you who don't know the song Alice sings, look up 'The Sweetest Thing You're Too Big' on YouTube. It's insane.