18The Flick ~ an outtake about Rose and Emmett… and Poseidon.
Emmett POV
"How do you wanna play this?" Blondie wastes no time getting to it after Edward leaves with Bella for their 'car ride'.
"Listen, I know you probably meant well when you offered to help, but…" I laugh because I mean come on. She's human.
"Excuse me…" Awesome. She's offended. "I happen to have five years of tae kwon do under my belt, asshole. What are you laughing at?"
I can't even hide it. So I don't try. "You're kinda cute."
"Cute?" Her hands fly to her hips. "Seriously?"
"Well, I mean, in an annoying kind of way."
I crack my knuckles and size up the asshole Edward wants me to take care of. He's all attitude and no muscle. I can take this guy. Easy. Then maybe buy the blonde a drink to lighten her up, with time to spare.
"Stay here," I tell her, but she grabs my arm, and when she does, something weird happens.
I stop.
"Don't you think you should plan this out a little better?" she asks. It damn near seems like she's concerned but… that's ridiculous. Regardless though, I assure her it's all good.
"Unnecessary."
"Plans are always necessary."
I think about it. About everything Edward, Jasper, and I have been through over the years. Jasper's always been the one with the plans… and most of those failed. Miserably. "Mmm. Not really."
"But you—"
"Blondie..." I take a deep breath for dramatic effect—because you know - vampire—and let it out. Trying not to lose patience with her. "I'll be right back."
Before she can grab at me again, I'm off. And I step right up to the big guy who's apparently stalking the boss man—then tap him on the shoulder.
I'm polite about it. For now.
He takes a break from glaring at all our customers and peeks over at me with a confused sort of scowl on his face.
"Dude, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," I tell him with my aficionado voice.
He huffs. Irritated. At me. And then goes back to searching the bar. My bar.
Really? I don't think so.
Dick.
So I tap him again. This time, with my bouncer mode on.
"Hey."
And this time, he ignores me. So I take him by the arm.
"Dude, I said—"
And then… I'm not exactly sure what happens next. It's all kind of a blur, to be honest. He waves at me. I think. Or - flicks his wrist maybe? And the next thing I know, I'm flying through the air. Hurtling. I'm watching patron's surprised looks as I pass them by. My head clangs into one of the overhead chandeliers and then... I'm crashing into the back wall.
I bounce off of it like a rubber ball and hit the floor like a tractor-trailer.
Holy shit that hurt.
It really fucking hurt.
"Ow."
What the fuck?
When I land, a couple of bricks fall on top of me, but no one really seems to have noticed. It's almost like it didn't happen, except for the Emmett McCarty-sized indentation in the brick wall and the fact I'm writhing in pain and… someone did notice. Just one person.
Blondie.
Only she's not so much concerned anymore as she is amused. She saunters over to me with a pretty little smirk on her face. I squint up at her, standing over me like an overlord from the dark ages. Her blonde hair falling all around her like a halo. She puts her hands on her hips and cocks an eyebrow.
"You done?"
I cough out some of the dust from the wall.
"Because while you were over there, playing tough guy, I've been over here… planning."
I roll over and try to push myself up off the damned floor. I think I might have cracked a rib. And my ribs… they don't generally crack. Ever.
"Good," she says before I can stop her. "My turn."
"Blondie," I choke out, but she's already halfway to the douchebag. Not that I care. Much. But it wouldn't be good for business if a human got injured. All I need is for Ed to come back to low sales and a destroyed bar.
Yeah. I need to stop her. Before he hurts her. Because he's not gonna hurt me again. Fool me once, and all that.
"The fuck?"
Not only is he not causing her physical pain, but when she taps him on the shoulder, she gets a curious look. A smile even. At least I think it's a smile. It's more of a smirk? I guess. He kind of looks like he doesn't know how to do it properly. Not half as well as Blondie smirked at me.
Regardless. That's some sexist shit right there.
Blondie doesn't seem the type to put up with it. This should be good.
I force myself to a standing position, despite the pain in my back, and I wait for the show to begin. Only it doesn't.
"Hi," she says as she approaches him.
I mean. Really? Hi? Like, she may as well have asked him how the fucking weather is.
"I saw what you did over there." She nods back toward me. Then she eyes him up and down. "You must really work out."
Ha!
The fuck is this shit?
No way is he falling for it.
Only. He is, apparently.
"Strong and silent type, huh?" she gushes when he doesn't answer her right away. "I can deal."
I guess I should be happy I don't have to step in for the time being, since my chest feels a little bruised. With luck, it's just bruised, anyway. And one of my eyes might be swelling shut. So I grab a chair and find a quiet spot at one of the tables. And I watch to see how this is gonna play out.
xXxXx
"You from around here?" she asks, stepping to block my view of the big guy. Maybe trying to give herself a little privacy, as well. I can still hear them, though.
"No."
"Northern California then?" She's moves closer.
"No," he says again. And I shake my head. Is this the only word the guy knows? Or….
"Las Vegas?" She is literally right next to him now.
He sighs. Bored. This is great.
Blondie nods. Like she just cracked a code of some sort. Proud of herself.
"I see. Wanna drink?"
She sways to the side and I can see—he won't look at her now, he's busy. Scanning the club again—for Edward. "No."
Yep. It's pretty much the only word he knows I'm guessing.
"On the clock, huh?" Blondie grins. He gives her a look like he has no idea what she just said, but she rolls with it.
"I know your type. There must be something really important to bring you out here and get you all riled up like this. You have better places to be, don't you? Better things to be doing than taking care of some silly bouncer at some silly bar."
He nods. "Yes."
Wow. Yes. We're branching out now. I'm impressed.
"I knew it. I could tell from the first time I laid eyes on you."
This gets his attention. "The first time?"
Holy shit, he knows how to put more than one word together.
Rose ducks her head. "Yeah, the first time. I may have looked... a couple times." She lets her long, blonde hair fall over her eyes and peeks up at him. "So, um, what brings you here?" she asks, then bites her bottom lip.
The big guy looks from Blondie, to me, then back to Blondie. He probably used all his words when he strung three together a minute ago.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"Cat?" he asks.
My entire body shakes as I chuckle at this idiot. I'm embarrassed for him to be honest. Does he not know what a feline is?
Blondie giggles and the big guy cannot look away. Truthfully, neither can I. Her hair bounces. Her cheeks are pink. Her lips… so plump.
She waves a hand at one of the bartenders while she watches him closely. And in a domino-type effect, the bartender eyes me. I nod, and they pour a couple of drinks for her. Some runner takes it over to her and she hands it to the big guy with a smile I haven't seen yet. She saved this shit just for him. It doesn't bother me at all.
I'm convinced he's gonna grunt or something similarly caveman-esque. But no… instead, he takes the drink, and swallows it down in one fell swoop. And he smiles at her. Full-on this time.
It kind of resembles the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. If the Cheshire Cat had a beard. And biceps. Anyway...
"So, about your work," she says. "What gets a man like you all hot and bothered?"
He crosses his arms. "It's family business."
Blondie nudges his shoulder. "I thought so."
His eyes go wide. "You did?"
"You probably have the kind of family an insignificant little bouncer wouldn't want to make angry."
Who is she calling little? The guy looks in my direction and glowers. "Not if he knows what's good for him."
Blondie shakes her head as she glances at me over her shoulder. "I don't think he knows much. He doesn't even make plans."
I glare in her general direction. She turns her back to me and giggles. I notice their arms are touching as she waves a hand at the bartender for another round of shots.
Did I mention their arms are touching?
Why does it even bother me? I decide it doesn't… really. I just don't want to have to swoop in and save her. Not while my head's pounding like it might explode.
"He does seem quite stupid, even for his species."
"Am I right?" Blondie says. "I mean guys are so predictable… not you of course. You're… unique. I could watch you brood like this all night long."
When she flips her hair to get it out of her face, something in the big guy's expression changes. Softens maybe.
"You remind me of someone."
He reaches out and touches her arm in a creepy sort of attempt at being affectionate, and dare I say, it appears to make Blondie, uncomfortable?
It's like the air changed between them. I've seen the same look on Ed's face when something's gone wrong with his interactions with people. A long time ago, obviously but still, it's fresh in my memory.
Yeah, this guy wants to devour Blondie. "Tell me, who is your father?" he whispers in her ear.
"What?"
"Did Zeus put you in my path to taunt me?"
"Um…" She glances in my direction. You can plan all day, but plans don't generally cover crazy.
"Is he your mob boss?" she asks, and I have to grin. Nice recovery.
"I wouldn't call him my boss, exactly."
"And what would you call him?" she asks. Her arm's still brushing against his. He's definitely leaning in toward her. She sips her drink, as he seems to consider whoever this Zeus guy is to him.
"He's my brother."
She hums. "Family drama. I get it."
"You do seem quite intuitive," he notices, taking a hand and stroking the side of her face.
Now I'm angry. Because he's right, and because he said it to her first. Fucker. Plus. Why does he have to touch her like that?
"Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere and explore your thoughts a bit more on the subject."
I don't think so.
"Um," she laughs, nervous for the first time since I've met the woman.
I start to get up, despite the ache in my ribs, but then I hear Blondie and it seems to me, she's got this.
"It's not necessary." She takes his hand and lowers it. "But… I think you might be onto something."
He's barely paying attention. He's too busy being entranced by Blondie's charms. "Mmmm?"
"You know. Edward's not going anywhere."
"Edward," he murmurs, trapped by her stare. Bewildered by her lips. Overwhelmed by her everything.
I feel ya, pal.
"He'll be back," she tells him. "And when he is, you could confront him… elsewhere… You know, because there's really no need for you to involve all of these people in your problems with him, right?"
He takes a look around the bar slowly. Maybe counting?
"Perhaps you're correct."
"I'm sure your family wouldn't want to bring all this attention to their business. What would Zeus think?"
This Zeus guy must be a sore spot. The big guy looks like he might be afraid of him when she says his name.
Maybe not afraid, but at the very least, he doesn't seem to want the guy to get wind of what's happening here.
I can't help but wonder what Ed's gotten himself involved in. Maybe Blondie's right. Maybe it is the Mob.
"There's no need to involve Zeus in this," he says, pointing between the two of them.
"Exactly." She bites her bottom lip again, and I know I'm a vampire; I know I don't breathe—but she takes my breath away.
"Yes, yes, you're right. Of course. I don't know why it didn't cross my mind to begin with."
"It happens to the best of us." Blondie smiles as the big guy moves away from their table.
"Shall we?" he offers his arm.
She looks at his arm, then into his eyes. It's like she sees something behind them.
Something disturbing. She shudders, but tries to play it off like it's a good kind of shiver. It's not. At all. "Oh, no, you go ahead. I have some very important things to take care of."
"Nothing is as important as matters of the heart," he tells her without any hint of emotion behind his words. It's more like a business proposition.
I can't help but agree with his sentiment, though. And I can't help but think I would have said it differently. Sincerely. Which is strange. I mean, I don't even know her.
"It's got nothing to do with the heart but… it is something I'm going to have to take a rain check on," she tells him, hoping he'll take the hint. And when he doesn't, she adds, "Besides, we wouldn't want to make Zeus any more upset than he already is, would we?"
Wow.
Genius.
She is pure genius.
Big ugly jackass douchebag guy pulls away at the mere thought of this Zeus dude and nods, like reality just clocked him upside the head. If it all wasn't enough, Blondie sprinkles a little, "And I'm very persuasive you know. I think I can talk some sense into Edward for you. Make him see the light."
"You would do this for me?" he asks like a confused puppy dog.
I roll my eyes.
"Of course," she says. "I look out for my friends." And he seems satisfied. Somehow knowing… or hoping, at the very least, maybe he'll see her again. Since now they're friends and all.
Doubtful, though. Blondie's too smart to hook up with a guy like him. Now me, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'm just her type. But as I run a hand over my swollen, misshapen face, I'm not too sure she'd think the same.
xXxXx
As soon as he's out the door and out of sight, Blondie turns and breathes. She walks over to me with wide eyes and a damn near excited expression on her face.
"Did you see that?!"
"Did I? You were fucking brilliant."
"What WAS it even?"
She's shaking a little. She needs another drink. I wave at the bartender for two.
Okay, four.
As soon as they're set down, she takes one and chugs it. I think I'm in love.
Wait.
What?
"Careful there, Blondie, it's… tequila." Never mind. It's gone.
"I don't even know what I was saying, I just…"
"Dude, was I imagining things or were you impersonating Jessica Rabbit over there?"
Blondie playfully puts a hand on her hip, purses her lips, and winks at me.
"Works every time," she murmurs in an exaggerated, husky voice. "I mean, you were hanging on my every word."
She finishes the second drink, and starts on the third. I might need to order a few more.
"I certainly was, Blondie."
"The name's Rose, by the way. I'm more than a hair color."
Damn right she is. "And I'm not a little bouncer... FYI." I don't flex my muscles. Not right this moment, anyway.
"Duly noted." She looks me up and down. If I were human, I would have broken out in a sweat.
"So, Rose." I take a drink for myself, enjoying the sound of her name when I say it. "What's next? Take down the Las Vegas mob network? Steal some gems from a vault maybe?"
She laughs.
"I think I've had enough dangerous liaisons for one night, thank you very much."
Damn.
The disappointment must show on my face because she's biting her lip again and it's making my very non-existent heartbeat race like a motherfucker.
"It's not to say I wouldn't enjoy something a little less Neanderthal, and a little more comfortable—like vegging out to Netflix? Maybe?"
Wait. Did she just ask me to Netflix and chill?
"Are you inviting me into your home, Rose?"
"It depends. Are you saying yes?"
Holy shit.
Am I saying yes?
To a night alone… with a human?
Suddenly, I'm starting to understand why this shit makes Ed so edgy. I'm pretty sure I can handle the bloodlust. But the other kind of lust? Blondie's beautiful, and I sure wouldn't want to accidentally break her in two.
"Hello? It's not very polite to hesitate when a girl asks you out, Emmett."
"No," I tell her. And she looks confused. Disappointed. Maybe?
I shake my head. "I mean yes."
Her brow shoots up. "Um, which is it going to be?"
"I mean, no. I'm not hesitating… and yes, I'm definitely saying yes. To Netflix. And … chilling."
Way to play it cool, McCarty. Why can't I stop smiling?
"Oh my God, you're such a dork." Rose laughs, and I can't look away. "I can get you some Ibuprofen and I think I have a steak in the freezer."
"What for?"
"For your eye. It's somewhere between green, purple, and black."
I don't need either of those things, but the idea of playing doctor with Rose at her place does things to me.
Abnormal, exciting, dangerous things.
"Sounds great," I tell her. "Let's go."
I step away from Rose for just a couple of minutes while I leave instructions with the bar and the front door. I hand the keys over to Jasper on the way out. And make him promise not to have any raves after hours again like last time he was supposed to lock up.
He swears he won't. I'm not sure I believe him, but hey, you only live once right?
For hundreds of years, apparently. But still.
xXxXx
"Sooo… this is… nice."
This is nice? Really? I mean, her apartment is nice, but you're not supposed to say those things out loud. I should say something smart and funny about the paint color, or her curtains, maybe.
"Oh my God, relax." Rose hangs her keys on a hook next to the door as we enter the apartment. She slips her shoes off and places them meticulously on a shoe rack sitting on the floor, just under the key hook.
"Have a seat," she tells me as she disappears behind a bedroom door, then her voice floats out to me like a dare. "Make yourself comfortable."
Yeah, like that's gonna happen. Also, what does she mean? I look between my shoes and the shoe rack, but decide against taking them off. I sit on the couch, and I feel stiff. My chest still hurts, I can only see out of one eye, and my neck needs to be stretched out for about a week, but I have to admit, being here, with Rose, helps somehow.
When she comes back out into the living room, she's in sweat pants and a tank top, and I am definitely not comfortable.
I mean, I am comfortable. But I'm not comfortable. Not with her looking so… comfortable. I mean, I don't think she's even wearing a bra. Not that I'm looking.
Jesus. Stop looking.
"You okay?" she asks as she passes me by to get to the kitchen. Her chest is eye level. It's not my fault, really.
"Breasts."
"What?"
"I mean rest. It's nice to… rest." I clear my throat. "I'm fine."
Fuck.
"Well, you don't look fine."
"What?"
"Let me get you something for your eye. The douche really did a number on you."
"I could have taken him."
"Ohhhh kay." Her side eye is killer. She comes back to the couch with a bag of frozen vegetables and a glass of water. "No steak." She shrugs and hands me the veggies.
"What?" I ask.
Rose rolls her eyes and leans over, then presses the bag of veggies gently over my swollen eye. I can't help but sigh. It feels amazing. And the view from my other eye? Also amazing.
I take over holding the frozen veggies, freeing her up to pick up the remote and turn the TV on. She pulls up a Netflix watch list and clicks the first one there.
"Have you ever seen this one? The lead guy kills me in such a good way." Rose does this throaty kinda hum and bites her bottom lip… And I'm jealous of the actor on the screen. And the mob boss from earlier. And the remote she's pressing between her fingertips, if I'm being honest. She plops down onto the couch, tucks her feet under her, and leans up against me.
Definitely no bra.
Dammit. Just two little straps and some cotton between me and the twins. I could tear it off her before she even blinks. But I won't do it. Because I'm supposed to be human. And nice. I mean, I am nice. I think. Would a nice guy think like this?
No.
Yes.
Shit.
How am I supposed to watch anything with her sitting next to me like this?
"Why do I get the impression you literally never unwind? It can't possibly be your full-time job to serve and protect Edward Cullen." She hands me a couple Tylenol, and even though I don't need them, I take them from her. Then she hands me the glass of water to wash them down.
They taste like shit.
I place the glass down onto her coffee table and she picks it back up, puts a coaster down, then sets the glass onto the coaster.
Weird human.
"What were you, raised in a barn?" she asks with a little laugh. One that shakes her chest. Not that I'm looking.
She seems to wait for an answer, but I'm not sure what to say. It's been so long, I don't really remember where I was raised.
"I'm not just there to protect him you know. He's my friend."
"And Bella is mine," she reminds me.
"I know."
"I don't want her getting hurt by getting caught in the crosshairs of your friend and the… guy… or guys…The mob, of all things."
"Listen, Ed wouldn't hurt a fly if he could help it."
"He better not let anything happen to Bella, or I'll have his ass."
"He won't. And anyway, I wouldn't let him. I like Bella."
Rose smiles. "Well, it makes me feel a little better. Knowing she's got you in her corner."
"Only if I can, um, be in your corner too."
Way to sound corny, McCarty. Did I even make any sense?
"My corner. My couch. Either or," she says as she grabs my knee. "As long as we're there together." And I swear to fucking hell, the sultry sound in her voice right now is making me forget where we are. Who I am. What was I saying?
"I'm pretty sure you could ask me to be anywhere right now and I'd do you."
She lifts an eyebrow.
"It. I'd do it. Anything you wanted."
Fuck.
"Anything, Emmett?" she asks. She bites her bottom lip, and that's when it hits me. She's Jessica Rabbiting me. This is seduction. Shit.
This was not smart on my behalf. I have to say.
Coming here. Being here. Alone. With a human.
No. Not a human. I couldn't care less about most of them. It's her. It's Rose. Since the moment she burst her way across the damn bar looking for Bella with that fiery look in her eyes, like she'd legit murder anyone who told her she couldn't.
The exact way she looked at me when I did tell her she couldn't.
It doesn't matter, I decide. None of it does. Because Jessica Rabbit or not, I'm in.
"Anything," I assure her.
She smiles. "Then… kiss me?"
Well, she's starting on the easy side of anything. Because, if I'm being honest, it's what I've wanted since I watched her touching the dickwad's arm back in the bar.
"Emmett?" she asks.
Oh, right.
I turn my body so I'm fully facing her. I find the rest of the coasters, line them up on the coffee table, and put the frozen vegetables on top. She's waiting. She's smirking. And I want nothing more than to kiss the smirk right off her face, only I'm completely lost on how this should work. I don't know how Edward does it with Bella. I don't know why I'm wondering how Edward does it with Bella.
That's weird.
So I focus back on Rose and take a deep breath I don't need.
What? It steadies me.
And I lean in.
I remind myself to be gentle as I cradle the back of her head in my hand. Her hair's like strands of silk, probably. I don't know the last time I touched silk, but it's super soft. She sighs, and with the rise and fall of her chest, I remind myself for the millionth time to look in her eyes. I'm not a letch.
"It's okay. You can look," she says, and thank god. But I really need to kiss her. Because I could literally gaze at her chest forever, and it would get us nowhere.
"In a minute," I tell her, and as I close the space between us and our lips touch, it's like an atom bomb explosion of thirst, and hunger, and want, and need. But especially need. How could I possibly need something so badly, but have never known it until just this second?
Our lips part like we're sync'd, and if I thought her lips were soft, it's nothing compared to the way her tongue feels against mine. Her hands slip around my shoulders, then she fists my hair. With her breasts pressed against me, I can feel her nipples against my chest, and I want nothing more than to rip away both our shirts so we're skin on skin. I try not to growl, because humans generally don't growl, but she's climbing onto my lap, and I'm letting her because it feels so good. Better than I could have imagined.
My heart drops when she pulls away, but then her lips slide along my neck, leaving a trail of kisses lingering like fire, and her hands work their way under the edge of my shirt.
"You're so cold," she whispers, as she kisses behind my ear. One hand slips lower, beneath the waist of my jeans.
"You're warmer than I thought you'd be," I mutter back. Breathless.
"Is that your way of saying I'm hot?" she asks with a low chuckle. And having Rose shake on my lap, it's impossible to string words together to answer. She looks into my eyes and I'm lost in the deepest blue ocean, in the sunniest skies. "I'll take that as a yes," she says.
"What?" I ask.
"You're cute, you know that?"
"And you're so fucking beautiful."
Her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink I've ever seen, and the thirst, hunger, want, and need is back, times about a million.
I'm so completely and unapologetically lost in everything she is, I'm not paying attention to where this is going. And I'm certainly not prepared for her to slide her hand down between us like she is.
When said hand reaches my dick, her eyes get a little bigger and her mouth falls open. Just a tad. Her plump lips glisten.
"Big boy," she murmurs. And this is about to turn ugly if she's doing what I think she's doing.
She's definitely doing what I think she's doing. My head falls against the back of the couch as her hand runs over the length of me. I hear a strangled sound. It may or may not have come from my mouth. I need to stop this. Fingers graze purposefully along my fly.
I'm a dumb ass.
I am such a dumb ass.
Because where exactly did I think this was gonna go?
Church?
I mean, a confessional, maybe. But—
"Emmett," she rasps. "I think we should move this to the bedroom."
And I shake my head. "That's… not a good idea, Rose." Which is impressive, because a very big part of my brain thinks this is the best idea I've ever heard. And some other parts of me too.
"I disagree," she tells me under no uncertain terms. Something I really fucking like about her. Love about her even. Love? Fuck. "You don't have to be a gentleman. I'm a grown woman. I know what I'm—"
"No." I take her by the hips and stop her despite every nerve in my body telling me I'm a fucking idiot for doing it. "You don't." I shift and move her hand off my dick.
"What's the matter?"
I swallow down a mouthful of venom and the urge to say fuck it, and whisk her up and take her exactly where she wants to go. And make a couple stops along the way. The kitchen counter. The wall. The floor in front of us.
"You know, my head is really killing me. I think maybe I should go home."
Jesus. Could I be more crushed by the look on her face right now?
Welcome to the Emmett McCarty show everyone. Lame ass excuses for not having sex with the hottie who's invited me back to her apartment for the night.
Why you ask?
Oh, just a little thing called vampire thirst and …the murderous aftermath which tends to follow.
She sits up a little. Taken aback, I think.
"Seriously?"
"And, um, well I really like you," I try. It's the truth. "I don't know about you, but I don't want this to be a one-time kind of thing." Also the truth. If I kill her back in her bedroom, this isn't likely to happen twice.
"Wow. You like me. That's…" She blinks a few times, processing what's going on. And she doesn't like it. I'm guessing she doesn't usually get turned down.
"Rose. I want to see you again. Often. I'm just... This is a lot."
She slides off my lap. "Okay, well I'll let you get yourself together."
Fuck. That look. I can't take it.
I definitely blew it. But hey, at least she'll live to see another day. You've got to take the good with the bad sometimes.
She's quiet as I get up and straighten myself.
She's quiet as I make my way back over to the door.
She's even quiet as she pulls the door open to let me leave her.
But I can't leave it like this.
In the hallway, I turn around and face her. And hopefully, without sounding like I'm begging too much, I make a request.
"I get it. You're mad. And I really am sorry about…" I nod to the couch. Then I meet her eyes again. "Just… don't be mad forever. Okay?"
Fuck it. I beg. I admit it.
I can't remember the last time I begged for anything.
She leans against the door jamb and lets out a sigh. "I don't understand you one bit, Emmett."
"Welcome to the club, Rose."
She gives me a disappointed look and only a half-smile as she steps back into her apartment to close the door, and I take my time getting down to the street.
I've never once wished I were human again since getting turned. Especially once I found my place with Ed and Jasper. It's been too much fun having no concerns or fears, or to worry over stupid things like feelings and … least of all, commitments.
Tonight. For the first time in nearly a century, I wish for it.
And it kills me—because I know it'll never happen. Seriously, what I wouldn't give to take her hand and take her back to the bedroom. To slide her thin little tank top over her head, to pull her down onto the bed with me, and to take her with full fucking abandon. Then do the same tomorrow night, and the night after that. Without killing her.
In this moment, I'd give just about anything. I'd give up never needing sleep. I'd give up the money that came with Ed's business savvy. I'd give up the muscle—I mean, what good did it do me tonight? I'd give it all away if it meant I could kiss her again. If she could gaze into my eyes again, with all the want, all the need. Like she felt it too. Like she wanted it too. And maybe, maybe she did. And I'll never know.
Unless.
If I were human, I'd be out of breath when I made it back to her door. I'm not, but I might as well be. Because my chest is rising and falling with anxiety, and I'm more nervous than I can remember. I shift from foot to foot as I bring my hand up to knock on her door. But just as I'm about to knock, the door opens, and there she is.
She looks as surprised as I am, but she regains her composure quickly.
Then she holds a piece of paper out for me.
"What's this?" I ask her as I take it.
"You should call me when you get your head squared away," she says, and goes up on tiptoe and kisses my cheek.
"You sure?" I ask.
"You want me to take it back?" she asks, reaching for the paper. But it's in my pocket before she has time to blink, let alone get it from me.
"Hell no."
"Good to hear," she says, biting that bottom lip. I'm sure it's just for me. Seduction. Nice. Game on. I just have to figure out how to play. No problemo.
I grin. "See you around, Rose."
"See you around, Emmett."
And yeah, I look. Because she said I could. Sue me.
A/N: HEY THERE. We'd like to officially welcome you to the joint account. Thank you so much for reading! And if you found this outtake and have no idea what it goes to - please read the two puzzle piece type collaboration stories: "Hades, a love story - sort of" (Hades/Edward POV) & "Friend of the Devil" (Bella POV) by fictionfreak95, and belladonnacullen. Both links are in our faves.
Song choice you ask? "He Kissed Me" by The Crystals. *smiles*
Many MANY sincerest, deepest, darkest thanks to SereneinNC & Midnight Cougar for beta'ing this outtake last minute for us. You ladies are the bomb-diggity for taking the time to help beautify our words.
Happy Holidays from both of us to all of you. See you after the new year for more fun!