Fuck with people's lives long enough, and some day, yours will be
fucked tenfold. – Sorry, that was just me…thinking out loud.
Sherlock Holmes's POV
I read this story once, about a private eye. He was kind of a dick, but deep
down, he was good people. He had a lot of things working against him
throughout that story, assholes screwing with him during this case he was
working on, trying to make him give up, attempting to make him think he was
going crazy…but ya know what? In the end…the good guy won AND got the
girl.
I had to believe that this line of reasoning would prove to be my saving grace.
So when Emmett was busy moving the last of his shit into our new living
quarters, I made some arrangements of my own for the party later that night
and just hoped and prayed that Bella would show and that I could make things
right with her…and that she'd realize that I'm really just a dumb ass, not the
cold hearted asshole that recent events might be making me look like.
"You guys okay here for a while?" I asked the two love birds as they were
getting the last of Em's boxes into his room…and a couple that looked like
Rose's, I noticed.
They paid me no mind as they made googly eyes and teased each other over
something having to do with a brand new California king sized bed they were
about to go purchase.
"I stocked the fridge, so…" I waved and then left to go pick up a karaoke
machine and some choice songs albums that would be appropriate for what I
was planning.
Once I got back from my errand running, the place had already been
designed.
I don't know how Alice did the things she did with the place, but I was quite
happy to know her for this occasion, that's for sure.
I should have expected it, considering the number of people she managed to
fit into Em's old apartment within very short periods of time.
Our new place was four times as big and she had twice as long to organize,
so when I saw the decked out, dee jay'd, catered….on my tab I might
add….spread she had goin' on, all I could do was laugh.
There were black lights, strobe lights, flare lights and every other kind of
lighting apparatus you could think of.
A chocolate fountain, champagne fountain, fruit bar and a bartender with open
bar…also all on my tab…
I was beginning to think this was part of her continued pay backs for my idiocy
earlier in the week.
It was all good though, if it got Bella there and talking to me again, I'd throw
parties ten times this size and twice as flashy.
There were drinking games going on and it didn't take long for someone to try
out the Jacuzzi hot tub. *cough* Emmett and Rose *cough*.
Hey, I couldn't blame them, it's pretty fucking awesome.
I just needed to remember to have it disinfected the next day.
"Dude, I've been thinkin."
Uh oh.
Part of me wondered if he was about to try and install a swing rope from the
rafters and have a Tarzan competition in our living room.
"Yeah?" I asked him, hooking up the karaoke machine to make sure
everything worked.
He eyeballed me, then the machine, then shook it off and kept talking.
"I think Jasper has a point, you know…with regards to James?"
"What do you mean? This is our chance to…"
"Dude…the more you fuck with that guy, the more you get screwed over…and
the further away Bella distances herself from you…is that what you really
want?"
I stopped what I was doing and sat back onto my ass, leaning my head
against the wall for a minute.
"No."
"I say let the guy sink his own ship, and if Bella does show tonight,
concentrate more on getting her back and not so much on making James look
like an ass."
Sometimes, Emmett was like, the Dalai Lama of the fucking television
industry.
"I hear ya, Em, thanks man," I said, fist bumping him.
He was right.
James was smarter than I was at every turn, and if I didn't stop screwing
around with trying to teach that guy a lesson, Bella would eventually not want
anything to do with me either.
He winked and then made his way over to the open bar and got us each a
drink.
"What the fuck is this?" I asked him, eying the shot glass of something looking
like water, only, smelling like…
"Tequila dude…liquid courage never hurt anyone."
And with that, we clinked our tiny glasses and threw back the first of the
evening.
Five shots and four beers later, Bella still hadn't arrived and I was getting
nervous when suddenly, I saw her.
At the door.
She looked unsure, and like she was about to run when I did my super secret
hand signal to Emmett that we'd agreed on earlier in the night and he shut the
lights off, telling everyone else there to shut the fuck up.
A single spot light shown down on Bella then, and she jumped, then protected
her eyes from becoming blinded as the karaoke machine started up and I
stumbled, almost falling on my face to grab the mic.
She turned and reached for the door as I began singing the Righteous
Brothers to her, channeling Tom Cruise at his best, in my opinion.
"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips."
She faced me again but there was no smile and I reached my hand out in
front of me as I walked over to her.
"And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips."
Her eyes darted around, fully aware that all eyes were on her.
"You're trying hard not to show it."
As I approached her and took her hand in mine, which, she let me do by the
way, I pulled her into me just a little.
"But baby, baby I know it..."
Everyone in the room chimed in for the chorus and Bella put her face into her
free hand, but I could tell she was laughing now and I knew...I was in.
SCORE ONE FOR KUHMASEN!
The rest of the song was way more fun as I twirled her around and even
dipped her once or twice, handing the microphone over to some other
drunken schmuck who wanted to get his Tom Cruise on.
I made a mental note to keep the karaoke machine and hold weekly karaoke
parties from then on.
I kissed Bella as I stood her upright and even though my head was spinning a
little bit, I could still think straight enough to say, "I'm really sorry, Bella, I've
been an idiot."
She sighed and I was smart enough to read the debate that must have been
going on inside of her head about what to do.
I mean, she did kiss me back, but I knew she'd been burned by my evil
predecessor and I didn't want her thinking she was gonna get burned again
with me.
Ever.
So I kissed her again, leading her slightly away from the crowd and more
toward the hallway leading to the back of the condo. She relaxed into me as
my hands slid around her and when her lips parted, I got the hint.
Her tongue was like home to me and we just stayed there, in the shadows of
the hallway, on the outskirts of the madness going on in the living area of my
new place, getting acquainted with each other once again.
I think I might have also whimpered once or twice.
I couldn't help it, she was...hell, she belonged there...with me.
When our kiss ended, I put my hands to the sides of her face,.
"You came," I simply said and she smiled. Not whole heartedly, mind you, but
it was there. "I did," she answered. "How could I not after that beautiful flower
you left me yesterday and that note...Edward...I..." she stopped and looked
down a little.
And there's no looking down in Edward's space. "When I didn't hear from you
last night..." I started, pulling her face back up to look at me, and then she told
me, "Yeah, I um...I guess you could say I was a little exhausted, I kinda
passed out at home and then today...I just...figured I'd see you tonight."
Then it was my turn to smile, because I could identity with exhaustion and it
didn't really matter anyway, I was just glad she was there.
"Hey," I said all giddily and what not to her. "Come have a drink with me, and
then later..." I narrowed my eyes, looking side to side. "Maybe we can figure
the rest out."
She genuinely smiled then and said, "I'd love to, just...let me freshen up and
I'll meet you."
I showed her where to go and then took a seat at the bar across the room,
ordering another drink.
As I took the tiny glass from the bartender, I made some mental notes to
myself. One, I was happy, two, I was content, and three, there was no way in
hell I was letting bullshit fuck things up with Bella again.
I sighed happily and took a sip of my shot.
"Edward," a deep, sexy voice sounded from behind me and I turned to see the
tall red head looming over me like she wanted to eat me.
Yikes.
I'd actually forgotten we'd invited her...and why.
"Victoria Shields, I presume," I said to her in my best Sherlock Holmes voice
and she smiled.
"Thanks for the invite sweetie," she winked. "Though I'm confused as to why
you'd invite me, I'm happily surprised, nonetheless."
She leaned in and whispered, "What James doesn't know, James doesn't
know, ya know?"
Her breath was hot on my neck but it didn't give me goosebumps.
Not like with Bella.
"Look, Victoria, I'm…" I put a hand to my heart, closing my eyes. "Taken."
She seemed to find that amusing and replied, "Isn't everybody, Edward? And
anyway, if you weren't interested in a little," she snuggled up to me. "Nookie
nookie…why'd you invite me to your little love nest tonight?"
I couldn't help myself, I chuckled as I sipped on my shot again, she was kinda
fucking cute, in her own, very creepy kinda way.
"Well, it's funny you should ask that, Vic…can I call you Vic?"
"Absolutely, jitterbug," she winked.
"Ya see, James is…"
Then I noticed Bella, she'd come out of the hallway from visiting the ladies
room and was just kinda standing there.
"Bella! Hey Bella!" I yelled over the loud music and obnoxious guests…I
waved to her but she had this look on her face, like…shock
or…horror…maybe both and I couldn't figure out why.
"Bella!" I called again, laughing, but she looked away, grabbed her coat
and…left.
I scowled, pulling my neck into me, confused.
"Why is she leaving? We didn't even get to the makeup sex yet."
At this point, I figured it was something I did, or…said…or, something…I
mean, how could it not be? After the week I'd just had.
I was sure it would all make regrettable sense to me at any moment, but the
more important thing that was going on for the time being was that I could no
long hold my head up.
I dropped it down onto the bar hard and thought, man, that's gonna leave a
mark, but didn't really much care.
I just let the pain sink in.
"Bella? As in, Bella Swan?" Victoria asked.
"Yyyyyyyep," I answered, waving a hand behind me and over my head.
"Oh, boy...honey, I'm…really sorry," Victoria said, raking her hands through
my hair.
It felt nice and…motherly.
I rolled my head to the side and started to tell her how much I truly liked her as
a person, despite my first, oogly boogly impression of her…when I noticed
something.
Odd.
I blew it off.
"It's not your fault, Vic," I said drunkenly but she curled her eyebrows a little
and said, "Well, ya see, actually, it kinda is."
That didn't sound good.
"What do you mean?"
When Victoria told me what she told me about how she knew Bella, I got the
feeling that all the alcohol in my stomach had started to plot its revenge by
planning on a retreat in the worst kind of way.
In other words, I thought I was gonna be sick.
"You're…"
"The other woman…or rather…was the other woman, you could say."
"Oh fuck."
My head hurt.
And Bella came out of the restroom, witnessing
me…seemingly canoodling…once again, which isn't bad enough, but she saw
me seeminglycanoodling with the woman who James had cheated on her
with.
Not good, folks.
Not good at all.
I let out a very long, painful sigh and slammed my forehead back down onto
the bar again.
Yeah, definitely leaving a mark.
Victoria patted my back and then ordered herself a drink.
"Maybe we can wallow in misery together, sweet cheeks."
I laughed.
A little.
She talked funny.
"Why's that?" I asked, lifting my head just long enough to order another shot
of…whatever the hell it was that Emmett had gotten me earlier.
"I don't know why I stay with him, ya know."
"James?"
She nodded slowly.
Me either.
"He's never going to make our relationship public…not after the cluster
fuckery with your girl."
She rolled her eyes. She clearly was jealous of Bella, which, I couldn't blame
her, but it wasn't like she didn't have her own…positive points.
As I stared blurry eyed at her, looking for something positive to say to her to
cheer her up a little, I noticed the oddity again, and just couldn't hold back like
I normally might have, had I been sober but seeing how I was drunk off my
ass, I asked about it.
"Vic…"
"Yeah, honey?" she asked, looking at me sideways, drinking her pink drink.
"Did you know you have a five o'clock shadow goin' on?"
She spit her drink out and held a hand up to the side of her face.
"Shit," she said in a very deep, surprised voice.
Wait.
My eyebrows enclosed in on each other and I couldn't quite keep my head
from moving as I watched her pull her makeup case out of her shoulder bag
and start fucking with her makeup.
"I thought I took care of that before I came over here…it must be stress."
She laughed, and her voice was back to normal.
I was wondering exactly how drunk I was to have imagined her voice going
that deep.
"Vic….?"
She avoided eye contact and went back to drinking her foo foo drink.
I reached over and touched her face.
"Don't start anything you're not willing to see through, sweetness," she
warned, laughing nervously as my hand slid down her neck, to the…
Adam's apple.
Further, I let it go, unable to stop myself because, well, curiosity DOES kill the
cat, you know?
When I got to her waist, I hesitated, but figured, what the hell as I descended
further until my suspicions were confirmed.
"Dude!"
I jumped off of my stool and finished off the damn shot, because….well fuck.
"You're a…."
"Don't say it, honey…not here," she warned me.
I whispered, leaning in as far as I could.
"You're a guy?"
"Mmmmmmm Hmmmmmmm," she…he answered and winked, putting
his…her finger up to her lips, insinuating I needed to keep that shit a secret.
"How did you…how does no one…"
Wait.
I shook my head. "Wait, James is…gay?"
What the hell was going on?
Did Bella know this?
She laughed at me. "Oh I don't think so honey."
"Bi?"
The he/she just shook his/her head and smiled.
Oh my god.
This was priceless.
"He doesn't know you're a dude…does he?"
Victor...or, Victoria...whichever...curled his fingers around and looked at his
nails. "I have my ways of hiding things." He eyeballed me. "If you know what
I'm mean, sweety."
Oh no…no no no no no…this was just…
"OH my god…I hope I remember this in the morning."
"I hope you don't," she…he said, downing the rest of his…her pink drink.
"Do you…" how does one put this? I almost gagged saying it.
"Love…James?"
He let out a sad sigh. "I only wish I didn't, Edward."
My eyes clasped shut involuntarily and I shook my head for a minute. "But
he…"
"Is not really talking to me about it much, but I like to think he
feels something for me…" she kinda trailed off and then started packing her
things up.
"I'm…" at a completely loss of words right now. "Really sorry, Vic…"
Then I got an idea.
"But...maybe I can help."
I smiled, thinking of the possibilities as Vic put her bag down and we talked for
a while longer until the night was winding down and she said she really did
need to go, finally.
That was when Emmett found me.
And he didn't look too happy.
"What the fuck, Edward? I thought tonight was about getting Bella BACK, not,"
he waved a hand at the door Vic had just walked out through. "Fuckin' around
with the red head."
I smiled and picked up the tequila bottle from behind the bar and poored it into
my shot glass.
"Did you know Victoria was the same woman James cheated on Bella with,
Em?"
He raked his hand over his face and peeked up at me through his fingers.
"Which makes fucking around with her all the more…FUCKED. UP,
Edward…do you know Bella's been crying to Rose over the phone for the
past…" he looked at his watch. "Half hour?"
Oh.
"Well, shit…that's not cool…" I started to say when he cut me off. "You're
goddamn right it's not cool, I was about to get a back of the house party blow
job while all this shit was goin' on out here, Edward….do you know what
interruptus blow jobbikus does to a dude's ego?"
I tried not to laugh.
"Well…I'll make it right with Bella, she'll get it once I talk her, I'll just…"
"It's too late, man, she's gone."
Huh?
"What do you mean, gone?"
"I mean, like, she called Rose from the station's private jet, she's goin' home."
"What do you mean, she's going home? What the fuck is THAT supposed to
mean? Where's HOME?"
I was freaking out now, I mean, shit, from her point of view, I got it, but fuck, I
needed to talk to her, explain, and…
Fuck!
"Is she coming back? When is she coming back?"
He shook his head and shrugged. "I dunno man, she didn't say, she just, told
Rose she needed to get outta here."
Double fuck.
And then, for the third time that night, I let my forehead fall against the bar.
"What were you thinkin', Edward?" he asked and I remembered, I still hadn't
managed to tell him my news yet.
"You're not gonna believe this, Em…"
"I mean, I thought we discussed this, and you weren't gonna fuck with James
anymore."
"Yeah, but…"
"It's just not worth it, and now, Bella's gone and you've blown it…again."
"Em."
"What?" he asked, annoyed, pounding his fist down onto the bar.
"Information about Victoria may or may not have fallen into my lap tonight that
could seriously fuck with James and yeah, I know, we said we weren't
gonna…but this is kinda hard to pass up, dude."
He looked at me all cockeyed and questioningly and I said, "James isn't dating
on the side who he THINKS he's dating on the side."
I chuckled a little but still got nothing from Emmett.
"Victoria has a little secret."
Still nothing.
So I let it all out.
"Okay, let me put it this way," I started and then leaned in a little for secrets
sake. "She doesn't exactly embody muliebrity to its fullest extent."
I winked.
"Huh?"
"She's not a woman, dude."
Emmett's face froze, like the information had shocked his system or
something and it was processing its way through the blood stream until it
finally made it to his brain.
"You mean, James is gay?" he asked quiettly.
"Not exactly," I answered, much like Vic had said to me, just a little while
before and then I proceeded to explain the sitch to Em and then get a lock
down on where Bella was, exactly.
'Cause per mental note number three as drunkenly noted above...she wasn't
getting away from me that easily.
fucked tenfold. – Sorry, that was just me…thinking out loud.
Sherlock Holmes's POV
I read this story once, about a private eye. He was kind of a dick, but deep
down, he was good people. He had a lot of things working against him
throughout that story, assholes screwing with him during this case he was
working on, trying to make him give up, attempting to make him think he was
going crazy…but ya know what? In the end…the good guy won AND got the
girl.
I had to believe that this line of reasoning would prove to be my saving grace.
So when Emmett was busy moving the last of his shit into our new living
quarters, I made some arrangements of my own for the party later that night
and just hoped and prayed that Bella would show and that I could make things
right with her…and that she'd realize that I'm really just a dumb ass, not the
cold hearted asshole that recent events might be making me look like.
"You guys okay here for a while?" I asked the two love birds as they were
getting the last of Em's boxes into his room…and a couple that looked like
Rose's, I noticed.
They paid me no mind as they made googly eyes and teased each other over
something having to do with a brand new California king sized bed they were
about to go purchase.
"I stocked the fridge, so…" I waved and then left to go pick up a karaoke
machine and some choice songs albums that would be appropriate for what I
was planning.
Once I got back from my errand running, the place had already been
designed.
I don't know how Alice did the things she did with the place, but I was quite
happy to know her for this occasion, that's for sure.
I should have expected it, considering the number of people she managed to
fit into Em's old apartment within very short periods of time.
Our new place was four times as big and she had twice as long to organize,
so when I saw the decked out, dee jay'd, catered….on my tab I might
add….spread she had goin' on, all I could do was laugh.
There were black lights, strobe lights, flare lights and every other kind of
lighting apparatus you could think of.
A chocolate fountain, champagne fountain, fruit bar and a bartender with open
bar…also all on my tab…
I was beginning to think this was part of her continued pay backs for my idiocy
earlier in the week.
It was all good though, if it got Bella there and talking to me again, I'd throw
parties ten times this size and twice as flashy.
There were drinking games going on and it didn't take long for someone to try
out the Jacuzzi hot tub. *cough* Emmett and Rose *cough*.
Hey, I couldn't blame them, it's pretty fucking awesome.
I just needed to remember to have it disinfected the next day.
"Dude, I've been thinkin."
Uh oh.
Part of me wondered if he was about to try and install a swing rope from the
rafters and have a Tarzan competition in our living room.
"Yeah?" I asked him, hooking up the karaoke machine to make sure
everything worked.
He eyeballed me, then the machine, then shook it off and kept talking.
"I think Jasper has a point, you know…with regards to James?"
"What do you mean? This is our chance to…"
"Dude…the more you fuck with that guy, the more you get screwed over…and
the further away Bella distances herself from you…is that what you really
want?"
I stopped what I was doing and sat back onto my ass, leaning my head
against the wall for a minute.
"No."
"I say let the guy sink his own ship, and if Bella does show tonight,
concentrate more on getting her back and not so much on making James look
like an ass."
Sometimes, Emmett was like, the Dalai Lama of the fucking television
industry.
"I hear ya, Em, thanks man," I said, fist bumping him.
He was right.
James was smarter than I was at every turn, and if I didn't stop screwing
around with trying to teach that guy a lesson, Bella would eventually not want
anything to do with me either.
He winked and then made his way over to the open bar and got us each a
drink.
"What the fuck is this?" I asked him, eying the shot glass of something looking
like water, only, smelling like…
"Tequila dude…liquid courage never hurt anyone."
And with that, we clinked our tiny glasses and threw back the first of the
evening.
Five shots and four beers later, Bella still hadn't arrived and I was getting
nervous when suddenly, I saw her.
At the door.
She looked unsure, and like she was about to run when I did my super secret
hand signal to Emmett that we'd agreed on earlier in the night and he shut the
lights off, telling everyone else there to shut the fuck up.
A single spot light shown down on Bella then, and she jumped, then protected
her eyes from becoming blinded as the karaoke machine started up and I
stumbled, almost falling on my face to grab the mic.
She turned and reached for the door as I began singing the Righteous
Brothers to her, channeling Tom Cruise at his best, in my opinion.
"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips."
She faced me again but there was no smile and I reached my hand out in
front of me as I walked over to her.
"And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips."
Her eyes darted around, fully aware that all eyes were on her.
"You're trying hard not to show it."
As I approached her and took her hand in mine, which, she let me do by the
way, I pulled her into me just a little.
"But baby, baby I know it..."
Everyone in the room chimed in for the chorus and Bella put her face into her
free hand, but I could tell she was laughing now and I knew...I was in.
SCORE ONE FOR KUHMASEN!
The rest of the song was way more fun as I twirled her around and even
dipped her once or twice, handing the microphone over to some other
drunken schmuck who wanted to get his Tom Cruise on.
I made a mental note to keep the karaoke machine and hold weekly karaoke
parties from then on.
I kissed Bella as I stood her upright and even though my head was spinning a
little bit, I could still think straight enough to say, "I'm really sorry, Bella, I've
been an idiot."
She sighed and I was smart enough to read the debate that must have been
going on inside of her head about what to do.
I mean, she did kiss me back, but I knew she'd been burned by my evil
predecessor and I didn't want her thinking she was gonna get burned again
with me.
Ever.
So I kissed her again, leading her slightly away from the crowd and more
toward the hallway leading to the back of the condo. She relaxed into me as
my hands slid around her and when her lips parted, I got the hint.
Her tongue was like home to me and we just stayed there, in the shadows of
the hallway, on the outskirts of the madness going on in the living area of my
new place, getting acquainted with each other once again.
I think I might have also whimpered once or twice.
I couldn't help it, she was...hell, she belonged there...with me.
When our kiss ended, I put my hands to the sides of her face,.
"You came," I simply said and she smiled. Not whole heartedly, mind you, but
it was there. "I did," she answered. "How could I not after that beautiful flower
you left me yesterday and that note...Edward...I..." she stopped and looked
down a little.
And there's no looking down in Edward's space. "When I didn't hear from you
last night..." I started, pulling her face back up to look at me, and then she told
me, "Yeah, I um...I guess you could say I was a little exhausted, I kinda
passed out at home and then today...I just...figured I'd see you tonight."
Then it was my turn to smile, because I could identity with exhaustion and it
didn't really matter anyway, I was just glad she was there.
"Hey," I said all giddily and what not to her. "Come have a drink with me, and
then later..." I narrowed my eyes, looking side to side. "Maybe we can figure
the rest out."
She genuinely smiled then and said, "I'd love to, just...let me freshen up and
I'll meet you."
I showed her where to go and then took a seat at the bar across the room,
ordering another drink.
As I took the tiny glass from the bartender, I made some mental notes to
myself. One, I was happy, two, I was content, and three, there was no way in
hell I was letting bullshit fuck things up with Bella again.
I sighed happily and took a sip of my shot.
"Edward," a deep, sexy voice sounded from behind me and I turned to see the
tall red head looming over me like she wanted to eat me.
Yikes.
I'd actually forgotten we'd invited her...and why.
"Victoria Shields, I presume," I said to her in my best Sherlock Holmes voice
and she smiled.
"Thanks for the invite sweetie," she winked. "Though I'm confused as to why
you'd invite me, I'm happily surprised, nonetheless."
She leaned in and whispered, "What James doesn't know, James doesn't
know, ya know?"
Her breath was hot on my neck but it didn't give me goosebumps.
Not like with Bella.
"Look, Victoria, I'm…" I put a hand to my heart, closing my eyes. "Taken."
She seemed to find that amusing and replied, "Isn't everybody, Edward? And
anyway, if you weren't interested in a little," she snuggled up to me. "Nookie
nookie…why'd you invite me to your little love nest tonight?"
I couldn't help myself, I chuckled as I sipped on my shot again, she was kinda
fucking cute, in her own, very creepy kinda way.
"Well, it's funny you should ask that, Vic…can I call you Vic?"
"Absolutely, jitterbug," she winked.
"Ya see, James is…"
Then I noticed Bella, she'd come out of the hallway from visiting the ladies
room and was just kinda standing there.
"Bella! Hey Bella!" I yelled over the loud music and obnoxious guests…I
waved to her but she had this look on her face, like…shock
or…horror…maybe both and I couldn't figure out why.
"Bella!" I called again, laughing, but she looked away, grabbed her coat
and…left.
I scowled, pulling my neck into me, confused.
"Why is she leaving? We didn't even get to the makeup sex yet."
At this point, I figured it was something I did, or…said…or, something…I
mean, how could it not be? After the week I'd just had.
I was sure it would all make regrettable sense to me at any moment, but the
more important thing that was going on for the time being was that I could no
long hold my head up.
I dropped it down onto the bar hard and thought, man, that's gonna leave a
mark, but didn't really much care.
I just let the pain sink in.
"Bella? As in, Bella Swan?" Victoria asked.
"Yyyyyyyep," I answered, waving a hand behind me and over my head.
"Oh, boy...honey, I'm…really sorry," Victoria said, raking her hands through
my hair.
It felt nice and…motherly.
I rolled my head to the side and started to tell her how much I truly liked her as
a person, despite my first, oogly boogly impression of her…when I noticed
something.
Odd.
I blew it off.
"It's not your fault, Vic," I said drunkenly but she curled her eyebrows a little
and said, "Well, ya see, actually, it kinda is."
That didn't sound good.
"What do you mean?"
When Victoria told me what she told me about how she knew Bella, I got the
feeling that all the alcohol in my stomach had started to plot its revenge by
planning on a retreat in the worst kind of way.
In other words, I thought I was gonna be sick.
"You're…"
"The other woman…or rather…was the other woman, you could say."
"Oh fuck."
My head hurt.
And Bella came out of the restroom, witnessing
me…seemingly canoodling…once again, which isn't bad enough, but she saw
me seeminglycanoodling with the woman who James had cheated on her
with.
Not good, folks.
Not good at all.
I let out a very long, painful sigh and slammed my forehead back down onto
the bar again.
Yeah, definitely leaving a mark.
Victoria patted my back and then ordered herself a drink.
"Maybe we can wallow in misery together, sweet cheeks."
I laughed.
A little.
She talked funny.
"Why's that?" I asked, lifting my head just long enough to order another shot
of…whatever the hell it was that Emmett had gotten me earlier.
"I don't know why I stay with him, ya know."
"James?"
She nodded slowly.
Me either.
"He's never going to make our relationship public…not after the cluster
fuckery with your girl."
She rolled her eyes. She clearly was jealous of Bella, which, I couldn't blame
her, but it wasn't like she didn't have her own…positive points.
As I stared blurry eyed at her, looking for something positive to say to her to
cheer her up a little, I noticed the oddity again, and just couldn't hold back like
I normally might have, had I been sober but seeing how I was drunk off my
ass, I asked about it.
"Vic…"
"Yeah, honey?" she asked, looking at me sideways, drinking her pink drink.
"Did you know you have a five o'clock shadow goin' on?"
She spit her drink out and held a hand up to the side of her face.
"Shit," she said in a very deep, surprised voice.
Wait.
My eyebrows enclosed in on each other and I couldn't quite keep my head
from moving as I watched her pull her makeup case out of her shoulder bag
and start fucking with her makeup.
"I thought I took care of that before I came over here…it must be stress."
She laughed, and her voice was back to normal.
I was wondering exactly how drunk I was to have imagined her voice going
that deep.
"Vic….?"
She avoided eye contact and went back to drinking her foo foo drink.
I reached over and touched her face.
"Don't start anything you're not willing to see through, sweetness," she
warned, laughing nervously as my hand slid down her neck, to the…
Adam's apple.
Further, I let it go, unable to stop myself because, well, curiosity DOES kill the
cat, you know?
When I got to her waist, I hesitated, but figured, what the hell as I descended
further until my suspicions were confirmed.
"Dude!"
I jumped off of my stool and finished off the damn shot, because….well fuck.
"You're a…."
"Don't say it, honey…not here," she warned me.
I whispered, leaning in as far as I could.
"You're a guy?"
"Mmmmmmm Hmmmmmmm," she…he answered and winked, putting
his…her finger up to her lips, insinuating I needed to keep that shit a secret.
"How did you…how does no one…"
Wait.
I shook my head. "Wait, James is…gay?"
What the hell was going on?
Did Bella know this?
She laughed at me. "Oh I don't think so honey."
"Bi?"
The he/she just shook his/her head and smiled.
Oh my god.
This was priceless.
"He doesn't know you're a dude…does he?"
Victor...or, Victoria...whichever...curled his fingers around and looked at his
nails. "I have my ways of hiding things." He eyeballed me. "If you know what
I'm mean, sweety."
Oh no…no no no no no…this was just…
"OH my god…I hope I remember this in the morning."
"I hope you don't," she…he said, downing the rest of his…her pink drink.
"Do you…" how does one put this? I almost gagged saying it.
"Love…James?"
He let out a sad sigh. "I only wish I didn't, Edward."
My eyes clasped shut involuntarily and I shook my head for a minute. "But
he…"
"Is not really talking to me about it much, but I like to think he
feels something for me…" she kinda trailed off and then started packing her
things up.
"I'm…" at a completely loss of words right now. "Really sorry, Vic…"
Then I got an idea.
"But...maybe I can help."
I smiled, thinking of the possibilities as Vic put her bag down and we talked for
a while longer until the night was winding down and she said she really did
need to go, finally.
That was when Emmett found me.
And he didn't look too happy.
"What the fuck, Edward? I thought tonight was about getting Bella BACK, not,"
he waved a hand at the door Vic had just walked out through. "Fuckin' around
with the red head."
I smiled and picked up the tequila bottle from behind the bar and poored it into
my shot glass.
"Did you know Victoria was the same woman James cheated on Bella with,
Em?"
He raked his hand over his face and peeked up at me through his fingers.
"Which makes fucking around with her all the more…FUCKED. UP,
Edward…do you know Bella's been crying to Rose over the phone for the
past…" he looked at his watch. "Half hour?"
Oh.
"Well, shit…that's not cool…" I started to say when he cut me off. "You're
goddamn right it's not cool, I was about to get a back of the house party blow
job while all this shit was goin' on out here, Edward….do you know what
interruptus blow jobbikus does to a dude's ego?"
I tried not to laugh.
"Well…I'll make it right with Bella, she'll get it once I talk her, I'll just…"
"It's too late, man, she's gone."
Huh?
"What do you mean, gone?"
"I mean, like, she called Rose from the station's private jet, she's goin' home."
"What do you mean, she's going home? What the fuck is THAT supposed to
mean? Where's HOME?"
I was freaking out now, I mean, shit, from her point of view, I got it, but fuck, I
needed to talk to her, explain, and…
Fuck!
"Is she coming back? When is she coming back?"
He shook his head and shrugged. "I dunno man, she didn't say, she just, told
Rose she needed to get outta here."
Double fuck.
And then, for the third time that night, I let my forehead fall against the bar.
"What were you thinkin', Edward?" he asked and I remembered, I still hadn't
managed to tell him my news yet.
"You're not gonna believe this, Em…"
"I mean, I thought we discussed this, and you weren't gonna fuck with James
anymore."
"Yeah, but…"
"It's just not worth it, and now, Bella's gone and you've blown it…again."
"Em."
"What?" he asked, annoyed, pounding his fist down onto the bar.
"Information about Victoria may or may not have fallen into my lap tonight that
could seriously fuck with James and yeah, I know, we said we weren't
gonna…but this is kinda hard to pass up, dude."
He looked at me all cockeyed and questioningly and I said, "James isn't dating
on the side who he THINKS he's dating on the side."
I chuckled a little but still got nothing from Emmett.
"Victoria has a little secret."
Still nothing.
So I let it all out.
"Okay, let me put it this way," I started and then leaned in a little for secrets
sake. "She doesn't exactly embody muliebrity to its fullest extent."
I winked.
"Huh?"
"She's not a woman, dude."
Emmett's face froze, like the information had shocked his system or
something and it was processing its way through the blood stream until it
finally made it to his brain.
"You mean, James is gay?" he asked quiettly.
"Not exactly," I answered, much like Vic had said to me, just a little while
before and then I proceeded to explain the sitch to Em and then get a lock
down on where Bella was, exactly.
'Cause per mental note number three as drunkenly noted above...she wasn't
getting away from me that easily.
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