A/N:
I just checked and it's been over 6 months since I updated this fic. It's always been a low-priority one, but damn _
But in that time, I've released 3 new fics, 2 of which are completed, and 1 which is updating regularly, so I hope you've been somewhat appeased anyway xD
But here is finally a new chapter, so enjoy!
Title: Three's a Crowd
Author: MarieCarro
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Bella and Rosalie are roommates and best friends. When the third friend of their BFF trio moves out to live with her boyfriend and her newborn baby, the girls need to find someone new, and it appears that someone just happens to stumble into their laps.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 8
Edward glanced over at his opponent and then back at his cards before a wide grin stretched across his face.
"Check this out," he said and laughed victoriously. "Three kings! Try to top that!"
"Oh," Emmett said with an exaggerated pout, but he couldn't maintain the expression for long when he showed his own cards. "Ha! Flush!"
Edward let out a frustrated groan. "Fuck. You only win because you're a cheat."
"Obviously, Ed." Emmett took a swig of the bottle of soda Edward had provided him with. "I mean, if I didn't get the odds in my favor, how would I end up?"
"I don't know. An honest player?"
"Nah. Honesty's overrated." He straightened up in his chair and stared intensely at Edward. "Speaking of getting the odds in one's favor, have you talked to that deliciously curvaceous girl in your class yet?"
Edward glanced at him and collected the cards, hoping to avoid the subject. "Oh, you mean Gianna? The Italian girl?"
Emmett rolled his eyes. "Duh, obviously I mean her. I'd like to give her something other than pizza dough to knead."
He winked at Edward, who tried his best to ignore him. He was yet to tell his best friend about his relationship with Bella because only one thing could come out of it and it would be Emmett blabbing about it. Eventually, it would reach Rosalie, and nobody knew how she would take it when she eventually found out.
"Just forget it, dude," he said, but Emmett wasn't about to let it go.
"No, man, c'mon, you gotta tell me."
"I don't want to talk about this."
"Ed, my man, get it together and just tell me."
Edward threw his hands out, almost knocking the soda bottles over. "There's nothing to tell. She's in my class, that's all. You're the one who's been obsessing over her since you first saw her."
"Can you blame me?" Emmett asked with a smirk. "You've seen how gorgeous she is, right? And it's not like you're taken, so what's the issue? Talk to her, wine and dine her, have a bit of fun, badabing badaboom! We can move on!"
"Then you do it!" Edward got up and grabbed the empty bottles to throw away. "Take her to a flashy club or something. I'm sure she'd like that." He disappeared into the kitchen, but Emmett just called after him.
"I would, but I can't even afford a McDonald's dinner date right now, so I'm living vicariously through you!"
"Damn, that sounds depressing even to my ears," he said when he came back. He sat back down just as Bella walked through the door and Emmett decided that was his cue to leave.
"Murrey's later? We'll shoot some pool."
"Sounds good. See ya!"
Emmett passed Bella and blew a kiss her way. "Ciao… bella!"
She rolled her eyes and gave him an unamused smile. "Bye creep."
It was all banter in good fun, but Emmett was the biggest womanizer on the planet—which explained why Edward was the way he was when he and Bella first met—and both she and Rosalie knew he'd love to get into both their pants…. simultaneously. Only reason he hadn't actually made any real attempt at pursuing them was because they were Edward's roommates.
Once Emmett was gone, Edward immediately reached for Bella and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him.
"Baby, I've had the worst day, and I need you to comfort me," he said half-jokingly and half-seriously as he wrapped his arms around her.
Bella let out a sigh. "Not now, Edward. I've wrangled too many idiotic customers today, and I'm starving." She untangled herself and headed for the kitchen, but Edward immediately followed her. "Seriously, I'm not in the mood to be sympathetic right now."
"But what if it's not sympathy I want?" He pulled her back against his body again and ran his nose up and down her throat, just the way he knew she loved. "What if I want wild and reckless love?"
An involuntary soft laugh left her because despite the bad mood she'd been in, her secret, unofficial boyfriend's silly antics always turned it around. She spun in his arms so that they were facing each other and wound her arms around his neck.
"I guess that changes things." They smiled at each other before closing the space between them and melted together in a kiss that made Bella forget all about stupid, entitled customers.
Edward moaned and tightened his hold on her waist, then stepped closer until their bodies were completely flush with each other. He was starving for her since opportunities for play between the sheets had been much too sparse in the last couple of weeks.
Rosalie had spent an unusual amount of time at home lately. And speaking of the devil… they could both hear her bedroom door open from down the hall, and they reluctantly parted.
Every day made it more frustrating to keep their relationship a secret, and even Bella had wavered on her stance a bit. Especially after Rosalie's disastrous date with Royce King and she got to see a side of her best friend she didn't appreciate at all, resulting in some tension between the two girls.
Dressed in nothing but a man's shirt and her hair looking like a bird's nest, Rosalie entered the kitchen with a yawn and stretch.
"Good morning!" she twittered, not even noticing Edward and Bella's proximity.
Bella checked the time on her phone. "Uh, more like afternoon. Did you just wake up?"
Rosalie shrugged, unbothered as she grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. "Yeah, it got pretty late last night."
"How? You were home all night," Bella pointed out and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, but then Brian texted and came over around two. He left just after you guys this morning."
"Brian?" Edward asked while Bella suppressed a tired sigh. "What happened to Royce? Thought you said you liked him."
"Couldn't stand him after that last date," Rosalie said with a scoff. "All he wanted to talk about was food and it was so boring, so I dropped him."
"Unbelievable," Bella muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Rosalie finished making her breakfast and then took it with her to the living room, leaving Edward and Bella once again alone in the kitchen.
"She's almost as bad as Emmett," he said and then turned to look at Bella with concern, as she was pacing. "You okay?"
She shook her head. "How is it fair that she gets to sleep around and do whatever she wants at every fucking hour of the clock? Inviting her boy toys over in the middle of the night while we're sleeping, but you and I can't even get one evening by ourselves for weeks on end?"
"Edward! Your phone's ringing! It doesn't say who," Rosalie called from the living room.
"Just ignore it," he called back and focused back on Bella. "Hey, baby, come here." He opened his arms for her and she gratefully stepped into his embrace. "I hate to sound like a broken record, but it doesn't have to be this way, you know." He tilted her head back and placed a short, sweet kiss on her willing lips. "We could tell her the truth. Just get it out there."
"What if she freaks out?" Bella asked.
"It's ringing again, Edward! Same number."
"So just answer it!" he snapped, annoyed at having the very important conversation interrupted. "Then let her freak out. What's the worst that can happen? She can't exactly demand we end our relationship for her sake."
"She could hate me forever for going behind her back. She could move out, and we'd have to find a new roommate who's okay with living with a couple."
"Or she might be fine with it. I've told you before, Rosalie and I are like siblings at this point. She and I aren't attracted to each other anymore, so she's got no reason to be mad at you."
Bella laughed with no real humor. "You really don't understand girl code rules, do you?"
"And what rule exactly are we breaking?"
"Edward, there's a girl asking for you," Rosalie said as she entered the kitchen with his phone in hand, but stopped mid-step when she saw Bella enveloped in his arms. "Is something wrong?"
He looked into Bella's pleading eyes and bit back a sigh. "Bella's having a tough day is all. I was just giving her some comfort."
"Oh," Rosalie said and gave Bella a look of concern before handing Edward's phone to him. "As I said, there's a girl asking for you. Said her name's Lily."
Edward grimaced in confusion. "Who?"
"I don't know. Just take it."
He brought it up to his ear, but kept his eyes on Bella and Rosalie, who remained awkwardly looking at each other. "This is Edward."
"Hi, Edward! This is Lily Randall."
The name didn't ring a bell for him . "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"
"Uh, I hope so. We went out on a date about a month or so ago."
"A date?" he asked, and the girls' attention was immediately captured. Rosalie appeared intrigued, but Bella couldn't even mask her incredulity. "No, you have the wrong guy. I haven't been on a date in months."
"Oh." The girl sounded disappointed in his ear. "So you're not Edward Cullen, culinary student at Udub?"
Edward couldn't figure out who the girl was, how she knew him, and why she claimed they'd been on a date. He hadn't gone out with a girl since before he and Bella started their little dance around the bush.
"That is my name and I do study at Udub, but I have no idea who you are. I'm sorry."
"Edward, what's going on?" Bella asked. The part of the conversation she could hear was freaking her out. But all Edward could do was give her a shrug in response. He had no clue what the conversation he was having was about.
"Okay then," Lily said sadly. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I must have the wrong number."
"It's fine. I hope you find who you're looking for. Bye." He hung up the phone and Bella asked him loudly with her eyes what that was. "She was looking for a guy who apparently shares my name and also studies Culinary Arts at Udub," he said honestly, even though it sounded completely absurd even to him.
Rosalie snorted, clearly thinking the same. "Yeah, that sounds likely. Shouldn't you have heard of a doppelgänger at this point? If he existed, I mean?"
"There are hundreds of students studying culinary arts at Udub, Rose," Edward said bitingly. No matter how incredible the coincidence was, he didn't like that she was implying he was lying and subsequently going on dates behind Bella's back, even though Rosalie had no knowledge of the last part. "She could've gotten the name wrong from the guy she met or anything like that. All I know is that I'm not who she was looking for."
She held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. If you say so. I hope she finds the right guy. It sounded quite urgent when she asked to speak to you personally."
Rose went back to the living room to finish her breakfast, and a tense silence filled the kitchen until Bella tentatively broke it.
"If you went out with this girl, just tell me." He met her gaze and immediately started shaking his head, but she continued. "I know I was acting all hot and cold for a long time, so I totally understand if you went on dates. I won't be mad about it. I just want the truth."
"I am telling the truth, Bella," he insisted. "I've no idea who this girl is."
She wanted to believe him, and she mostly did, but there was still that small, insecure voice in the back of her mind telling her that coincidences were rarely that amazing. But she still gave him a smile and nodded.
Edward could read the uncertainty in her expression, but he didn't know what else to say, so instead of talking more about it, they left the kitchen and parted ways.
~~TAC~~
"Have you been practicing in secret or something?" Edward asked and hung up his pool cue on the wall again while Emmett grinned widely behind him, counting the money he just won off his best friend. "I can't seem to catch a break today."
"Hey, some days are just not your days," Emmett said and pocketed the bills. "And I don't allow myself to get distracted, either. Just look at how I played despite having that Lauren issue hanging above my head."
"That 'Lauren issue'?" Edward gestured to Felix, who nodded and tapped up two glasses.
Emmett grimaced. "Lauren? You know Lauren. That girl I hooked up with a while back. Blonde—well, fake-blonde—bombshell. Long legs. Gorgeous. Only problem was her mouth."
"Let me guess," Edward said with a tight smile, all-too familiar with Emmett's tendency to toe his way onto chauvinistic grounds. "She talked too much?"
Felix placed the beers down on their table and Emmett took a swig while shaking his head.
"Not at all. I enjoy a bit of banter. The problem was that the only word she seemed able to say was 'no.'"
Edward rolled his eyes. "And here I thought you were irresistible."
"I am," Emmett said with full confidence which caused Edward to snort incredulously. "She obviously doesn't know what's best for her, right? Poor soul." He shrugged. "Anyway, so I told her I appreciated the time we had together and gave her my mom's wedding ring to remember me by before leaving for good."
"Hold on!" Edward was grateful he hadn't been drinking during Emmett's revelation or he would've ended up with a lungful of beer to cough back up. "You gave her your mom's wedding ring?"
"Sure."
"Why?"
"Oh, you know, it was an invaluable, sentimental heirloom"—he reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain riddled with gold rings—"I always make sure to have a few to back me up." He placed them in Edward's hand with a grin.
"You're out of your mind, Em." He laughed and looked closer at the rings. They were even engraved. "Things like this should be illegal.
Emmett took back the rings. "Absolutely not. One rule I religiously follow is to always leave them happy and satisfied. Do you know what Lauren said to me just before I left?" Edward shook his head and Emmett looked deep into his eyes. "Oh, Tyler, I will never take it off or—"
"Tyler?"
He nodded seriously. "Another rule of mine." He scanned the pub and around their table to make sure no one was close enough to hear before he leaned closer to Edward. "Don't ever—and I mean, never—give them your real name."
"Why not?"
"Oh my god, Ed, dude!" He scrubbed his face with his palm. "Do you have any idea how much I could teach you, my young padawan?"
They were once again heading into dangerous territory, and Edward didn't know how to deter his friend about his mastery at picking up women without alerting Emmett to the fact that he was in a relationship.
He cleared his throat and tried to look unbothered, but also interested. "Yeah? Like what?"
"The rings for example. Giving them out means I can escape the breakup without having to endure any heartbreaking conversations, and the name protects me when they try to find a Tyler Crowley or Michael Newton or whatever."
"That's genius and evil. Remind me why I'm hanging out with you again?"
Emmett smirked. "Because you're the chosen one."
~~TAC~~
"Rose, we need to talk." Bella leaned against the open door to Rose's room and crossed her arms.
"About what?" Her tone was tense.
"You know what about."
"I don't know. Do I?" She got up from her bed and sat down by her desk, opening up her laptop. "'Cause you're the one who's been shutting me out lately."
Bella grimaced. "Shutting you out? What are you talking about? All I want is for you to apologize—and mean it—to Edward and me for what you made us endure on your date with Royce. And on top of that, when he had the gall to insult Edward, you took his side and just left. What kind of friend does that to someone who's slaved in the kitchen all day for them, and didn't even receive a proper thanks for it?"
"That's what this is about?" Rosalie turned to her with an incredulous expression and her jaw hanging open. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Obviously, I was grateful for all he did, but everything happened so fast at the end I didn't really know what was happening." She knitted her eyebrows together in thought. "But why are you so upset about it? Why isn't Edward talking to me?"
With a sigh, Bella sat down on Rosalie's bed. "Honestly? Because he thinks you're self-centered and can't help your behavior, but I know better, Rose. We've been best friends for a long time, and I love you so much, but every life in this apartment can't revolve around you. You understand that, don't you?"
Rose bent her head down and studied her hands in shame. "I'm not that bad, am I?"
"It has gotten worse lately." Bella shrugged. "I don't know why, but you're partying more often, new guys almost every week, sleeping all day, and I know you've declined shifts at your job, which we can't really afford." She could sense Rosalie's low energy from where she sat and stood up to give her a hug. "If there's something going on, just tell me."
"I don't know," Rosalie said softly. "I guess I've felt a bit left out around here lately. Like there's some secret I'm not in on or something."
Bella had to force herself to not react too strongly. "Why do you think that?"
She shrugged. "I always find you and Edward laughing together or just talking among yourselves."
"Well, I—" The doorbell rang and Bella took the opportunity to flee. "I'm just gonna get the door. We'll talk more later." She hurried to the door and opened it only to find a blonde woman her own age standing outside looking nervous and scared. "Hi. Can I help you?"
"Uh, is Edward home?"
"No, he's out."
"Oh. Okay." The woman blinked really fast and her bottom lip trembled. "That's fine. It was nothing important anyway." She backed away from the door, but as soon as her back hit the opposite wall, her exposure broke and she started crying. "Not important at all."
Bella immediately ran out to her. "Oh, honey, it's fine. You're okay." She looked over her shoulder back into the apartment. "Uh, Rose?"
"What? Who was at the do—oh my, what happened?"
"I don't know." Bella turned back to the woman. "You can come inside and sit if you want."
"No, I'm fine," the woman wailed and buried her face in her hands.
"I insist. Please, come inside for a bit." Bella tried to help the woman, but she unexpectedly flipped her mood and glared at Bella.
"I said no," she barked and pushed Bella away, which caused her to stumble back into the door.
Rosalie stepped forward. "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Bella only tried to help you."
With another wail, the woman pushed away from the wall and fled into the apartment through the still-open door and threw herself down on the couch, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook.
Bella and Rosalie exchanged a look and slowly followed the woman inside, cautiously keeping their eyes on her as they approached the couch.
"Uh, are you not feeling well?" Bella slowly asked her, but the woman barely raised her head to answer.
"No, I'm fine."
"Yeah, you said that," Bella muttered before trying again. "Would you like some tea, perhaps?"
She sniffled and lifted her head. "Yeah, that would be nice."
Rosalie tapped Bella's shoulder. "We're out of tea, remember? I wrote it down on this week's shopping list."
"Shit! Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
The woman let out a frustrated groan and smashed a pillow against her face.
"But I could go out and get some if you're really that thirsty," Bella said, and finally the woman removed the pillow and looked at them with an eerie sort of calm.
"I'm not thirsty," she said. "I'm pregnant."
"What!?" Rosalie exclaimed, but Bella's intelligent functions had stopped working, and she just stared at the woman, completely frozen as she tried to process the information.
"Yeah. I'm two weeks late, and yesterday I was… n-nauseous." She started crying again, but Bella still couldn't quite grasp what was happening, so Rosalie had taken over the conversation.
"And you're here because Edward's the...?" She didn't finish the sentence since they were all thinking the same thing.
"I haven't seen him for such a long time," she moaned. "At first I didn't think too much about it because he said he would be very busy at school, and I understand that. If you're gonna be the greatest chef in the world, you need to focus on your education."
"I assume Chef Cullen hasn't been in touch since?" Rosalie asked through clenched teeth.
"No. Not a sound. He promised he'd call, but he never did."
"Of course not." Rosalie's anger was thinly veiled, and she looked at Bella for some agreement.
Bella was slowly thawing as her anger started boiling, but she wasn't yet ready to speak. The woman had to be the same one Edward had denied knowing just a few hours earlier, and she wasn't sure what she was more angry about: him lying, or the fact he'd gotten a girl pregnant.
"Fuck, I never should've come here!" the woman, who had to be Lily, suddenly exclaimed. "He'll only believe I just want to get him in trouble."
"I certainly hope so," Rosalie said. "And if you won't do it, I will. He should know about the mess he's made."
"No, please, don't!" Lily shot up from the couch and backed away toward the front door. "Don't tell him I was here. Don't tell him about anything. Thank you for the tea, but I gotta go." She threw open the door and ran out, leaving Bella and Rosalie stunned in her wake.
They sat in silence for a moment before Rosalie finally broke it. "Can you believe that? Knocking a girl up and then just disappearing? He won't even talk to her on the phone. What an asshole!"
Edward opened the door almost as if on cue and smiled at them both for a greeting. "You two finally talked to each other, huh? That's nice to see."
Bella glared deep into his soul before she stood up and stalked to her room. She had to place some distance between them before she did something she'd regret, but she slammed her door for good measure.
Edward looked after her in confusion. "What was that? Is she angry with me?"
"You bet your ass she is," Rosalie said and narrowed her eyes at him. "And I am, too!"
"Why? What did I do?"
Rosalie crossed her arms. "I just had a very interesting talk with your girlfriend."
"My girlfriend?" Edward couldn't figure out what game Rosalie was playing. Did she know about him and Bella? Was that why Bella had fled into her room? But if she didn't, he didn't want to accidentally reveal something either. "Could you back up and tell me what exactly you're talking about?"
She got up and threateningly closed in on him. "Oh, I will tell you exactly what I'm talking about, you disgusting little pig!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Edward said and backed away from her. "Seriously, what have I done?"
Rosalie punched him on his arm, hard. "You've knocked her up, you idiot!"
"What!?" He looked down the hall toward Bella's room. "She's pregnant?"
"Yeah, and you better step up and take your responsibility in all of this, or believe me, you're out of here," Rosalie said before she also disappeared into her room.
Edward could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the sweat bead on his forehead, but he knew he couldn't push away the conversation he and Bella had to have. Apparently, Rosalie already knew, so he didn't even attempt to be quiet or sneak as he approached Bella's door and knocked.
"Go away, Edward!" Bella yelled in response, obviously already knowing it was him.
"Bella, I really think we should talk about this."
"I don't want to talk to you right now. Just go."
He sighed. "I don't want to, either, but we have to, and you know it."
It took a moment, but then finally Bella cracked open her door. "Edward, really, I'm not in the mood right now. I'm angry, and I'm hurt, and I don't know what to feel about all of this, so please, give me some time, and we can talk later, okay?"
He nodded despondently. "Okay. If that's what you want. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."
Bella didn't know how to answer that, so she just closed her door again.
A/N:
Oh, what a mess! Such a mess!
So, what do you think actually happened here? And how will they solve this crazy situation they've found themselves in? Poor Edward! XD
Since this ended on a cliffhanger, I will do my absolute best to not leave you hanging for another 6 months :P
Stay Awesome!