All Chapters of Lovers In Disguise: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Viewing things under this light also explains why he hasn't done anything to backstab me over thesummer. Why he hasn't sicced Charlie at me at Bella's birthday party, why he has tried several timesto strike up a light, meaningless conversation without trying to make me look like an ass - and alsowhy he has never defended himself when I've gotten into his face like the defensive little fucker I'vebeen acting like. All that doesn't make up for the damage he has caused - but at the same time I'mfinally able to accept a fact that has been weighing me down for a while now - as much as I want topunch him in the face for how he has made me feel, I just don't have it in me anymore to hate him. Hemight be a manipulative asshole, but he has also been my best friend since college, and while I'llnever be able to forget what he has done, I can maybe start to forgive him."I take it that's a good thing as you're not living inside a Monty Python's movie?""I'd say yes," I retort. R

He nods, appropriately wary."If you know what's up, sure.""Of course I know what's up with her." I don't even try to hide the scorn in my voice at the implicationthat I have no idea why my girlfriend is acting weird. Then again I'm not about to tell him just for thesake of gloating, not to make it easier for him to deal with her, but out of a certain amount ofvindictive glee. If my revelation today with Rose has been right, I have every reason to rub his face inthe fallout of the shit he has caused - and has probably not even realized exists.Rolling my empty bottle between my palms, I stare at the green glass for a moment before I catch hisgaze, steeling myself against trudging into a topic I haven't expected to be discussing with him ever."Remember your little prep talk that you gave her the week after our colossal fuck-up?" I can be fair,he's not the only one to blame for it all.Jazz nods, and I have to hold back a chuckle at the way he's suddenly all tensed up

the fuck out of here!"My words come out flat and hollow, and after another stutter of something unintelligible Jazz finallygets the hint and walks out backwards, the sound of the door closing behind him echoing through theroom with a final quality to it. My head snaps around back to Bella, and her gaze is defiant when Icatch it."I think it's obvious that we really have to talk," is what she finally says, frustration heavy in hervoice. And fuck, I'm really starting to hate these words. I think it's obvious that we really have to talk."I hate those words, but I know that they are true. We have to talk. We have to, but I don't want to.That's the only thing that my racing mind seems to agree on. Silence stretches between us, until Bellafinally extricates herself from my lush grip. She ends up lying next to me on her back, and I can feelher gaze heavy on me, but I just keep on staring at the ceiling."Edward?"Her voice is raspy with emotion, but something in me imme

Jazz blinks, then clears his throat again."Guess not. But it's a start to try to explain that I'm not out to break the two of you up with my mostmalicious schemes, or some shit like that. Because I'm not. And there are no schemes."Seeing him ramble nervously like that strangely eases me, and while neither the anger nor frustrationgo away, I feel a little less apprehensive about this."Just tell me what Bella thinks I need to hear. Because clearly the Cerberus huffing in the living roomdownstairs won't let either of us out of here if we don't get this over with.""Easier said than done," he retorts."Always is."Jazz falls silent for a moment, then leans back against the wall next to the towel rack, probably in anattempt to either look casual or assume a more comfortable position, but tensed up as he is it doesn'tseem he achieves either. I take another sip from my coffee before I sit down on the counter, notexactly coincidentally where I've last fucked Bella without

tipsy by then. Second option, she doesn't take him serious and laughs her ass off – bad for his ego, butthe way she was looking I couldn't imagine he would mind that much if it raised her spirits some. Butmore likely was what really happened – he told her straight out what he did, asked her if she wantedto try – and one look at her face and I knew he had her. Of course them being them they couldn't justseal the deal then, they had to spend the whole night avoiding each other while so obviously wantingthe exact same thing, but they can be a little slow at times."'Later, after she went home he was all, 'Oh noes, she'll never say yes!' but I didn't even get to tell himto stop moping because right that moment she called, and, guess what, of course she was interested.One would have thought that he would have been excited about this, but no, he got all anxious, startedbabbling about how he didn't want to scare her and stuff, at which point I joked that if he felt heneede