So einfach_mich and fr333bird were talking about this story on twitter yesterday, which reminded me of all the unfinished scraps and outtakes I have... I finished this up today.

This is EPOV, before the story begins, when Edward is just starting to become aware that his feelings towards his best friend are not entirely platonic. It's not particularly smutty but I think it's an interesting little snippet.

Thanks to donnersun for giving it a read-through. 3

The night I met Kate, she walked up to me at a club, shoved a lime into my mouth, downed a shot of tequila, then sucked the lime while it was still clenched between my teeth. She's pretty much the coolest girl I've ever met. Definitely a free spirit, not the kind of girl I'd be able to count on and have a stable relationship with, but I never miss a chance to hook up with her when she calls.

That was the case earlier tonight-I'd been having drinks with Jake and his friend Seth when my phone lit up around midnight.

"Gotta run, fellas," I told them, clapping Jake on the back. "There's a lady who requires my assistance."

"Requires your dick," Seth muttered, taking a swig of his martini.

"Exactly, Seth. Glad you understand." I threw a twenty dollar bill on the bar, then offered another to Jake. "You guys need cab fare?" I felt obligated to offer, since I had driven us all to the bar.

"We can walk," Jake said, just as Seth reached over my shoulder and snatched the bill from my hand.

"Bitch, please. You can walk. These are brand new Gucci loafers."

I laughed as Jake rolled his eyes and offered me his fist to bump. "Have fun, man."

"You too," I told him, bumping his fist.

I met up with Kate at her apartment, where she answered the door wearing only a tiny black thong.

"Took you long enough, Cullen," she said, pulling me inside by the lapels on my jacket.

Kate's really sweet when she's sleeping, soft and small and nuzzled into my chest. It's quite a contrast to the wild, sexy girl who rode me like a bucking bronco earlier.

The thing is, even though it's nice to have a warm body pressed against mine, I always have trouble sleeping here. Thankfully she understands, doesn't mind waking up alone as long as I don't leap out of bed the second we're done fucking.

I push a few strands of her blonde hair away from her face and kiss her forehead before gently rolling her onto her back. She hums and fumbles for the sheets, pulling them up as I slide off the bed.

"You taking off?" she whispers, barely awake.

"Yeah, but call me tomorrow, okay?" I ask, knowing that she won't.

"Yeah, 'course," she says, blinking up at me. She won't call until she's drunk and horny again.

"Thanks, babe." I bend down and kiss her sweetly, and she smiles before turning her face into the pillow and curling up under the covers.

I let myself out, taking care to lock the door behind me. I check my phone in the quiet hallway, wondering if it's too late to meet up with Jake again, but it's after three. He'll definitely be home sleeping... or he won't come back until the morning. Jake's not one to hook up and then sneak out in the middle of the night.

It kills me that Jake can't seem to find a nice guy. His last boyfriend, Paul, was a tool of the highest order-he was manipulative and just generally shitty the entire time he was with Jake. Even though he was a douchebag, Jake was devastated when he caught Paul cheating on him.

It was a really rough time for Jake, and honestly, it was bad for me too. Jake's been my best friend for years, and it killed me to see him so brokenhearted. First I wanted to kick Paul's ass, but Jake talked me out of that by tactfully reminding me that Paul had fifty pounds on me. Then I tried taking Jake out, hooking him up with guys, but I turned out to be a pretty terrible gay matchmaker. I was pulling out all the stops until Jake finally stopped me a few weeks ago.

"Dude," he said one night, putting his hand on my forearm. I was trying to drag him off the couch to go out to a happy hour to meet one of my co-workers, a reasonably good-looking guy who was maybe (probably-almost certainly) gay. "You are an awesome friend, and I appreciate you trying to, uh, get me back out there, but you gotta stop fixing me up."

"Are you not ready yet?" I asked, tilting my head in concern.

"No, you're just really bad at this," Jake said, a shy smile on his face. He punched at me playfully, then dropped back onto our couch. "Seriously, the last guy you tried to introduce me to was like, a carbon copy of your dad."

"So?" I teased, flopping down on the opposite end of the couch. "My dad's awesome. You could do worse."

"Yeah, but do I want to be thinking about your dad while I'm having sex?"

I winced. "Yeah, okay. No more interfering in Jake's love life." I pulled at my tie, loosening the knot, and kicked off my shoes.

"You're not gonna go to the happy hour?"

"Nah," I told him, unbuttoning the top button of my shirt. "I'd rather just hang out with you."

Truth is, I'd rather hang out with Jake than almost anyone. That's part of the reason I never stay over with Kate or any of the other girls I hook up with-I'd miss breakfast with Jake and swapping stories over the newspaper.

I'm quiet as I approach our apartment and let myself in, exhausted and conscious of the hour, and I shut the door softly behind me. Jake's shoes are sitting by the door, as are Seth's (clearly not Gucci) loafers. I expect the find the little sneak asleep on our couch, so I tiptoe around the corner, only to be stopped in my tracks.

Seth's on the couch, but he's not asleep; he's straddling Jake's lap.

Seth's hands are resting on the back of the sofa, and Jake's hands are fucking everywhere-he's cupping Seth's ass, then stroking his back, gripping the back of his neck and sliding into his thick black hair. They're kissing, the kind of drunken, sloppy making out that looks ridiculous but always feels overwhelming and sexy.

I feel like a creep, standing here staring at them, but I'm kind of fascinated, too. Jake always goes for big, masculine guys, and Seth is just... well, neither of those things. I've teased Jake before about dating Seth, and he just rolls his eyes and laughs at me.

I start to move past them, hoping I can slip by undetected, but Seth pulls away from the kiss, laughing, and opens his eyes.

"You are a terrible kisser, Ja-oh, Jesus!" he shouts and jumps off of Jake's lap as soon as he sees me. "You scared the shit out of me, Edward," he says, his hands pressed to his chest.

"When did you get home?" Jake asks, straightening his rumpled shirt and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His lips are red and swollen, his skin flushed, and it looks like they've been at it for a while.

"Uh, yeah. Just now. Sorry, I didn't know you guys were..."

"We're not," Jake spits out. "We were just fooling around."

"Yeah, I can see that," I tell him. As soon as the words come out, I wince-why do I sound pissed off? I swallow hard and try to even out my tone. "It's cool, sorry I scared you, Seth. Goodnight, Jake."

Seth shrugs and moves to crawl back into Jake's lap. As I pass by, heading straight for my bedroom, I catch a glimpse of Jake shoving Seth off to the side.

I don't really breathe until I close my bedroom door, and then it all comes out in one heavy sigh. There's something tight in my chest, like I pulled a muscle, and I stretch my arms out over my head as I stumble to bed in the dark. I can hear the muffled voices of Jake and Seth talking as I unbutton my shirt, and Jake's bedroom door closes a few seconds later.

I wonder which side of it Seth's on.

I unzip my pants and push them down, leaving them in a pile on the floor, and climb into bed in my boxers.

It's three thirty in the morning, and I nearly fell asleep on the drive home, so there's no reason for me to be wide awake right now. No reason for the adrenaline flowing through my veins, no reason I should be clenching my fists. There's definitely no reason I should be pissed at Seth, but I am. I want to go out there and kick his ass out of our apartment.

Lying in bed with my eyes wide open, I tell myself that I'm just feeling protective. That Jake's been hurt, and Seth's not right for him, isn't going to take care of him like... like someone else could.

The sharp sound of a knock startles me, but before I can say anything I realize it's someone knocking on Jake's door, not mine.

"Jakey, I need another pillow," I hear Seth whine. "Your couch is lumpy and I have a delicate spine."

That weird tightness in my chest eases up a little.

I hear Jake yell something that sounds like "fuck off," and Seth complains about the couch again, knocking louder. I grab an extra pillow, jump out of bed, and stride over to the door. When I peek my head out, Jake's door is open too, and Seth is arguing with him in a hushed voice.

"You need this?" I ask, holding up the pillow.

"You, Edward, are a gentleman," Seth says, taking the pillow from my hands gratefully. "'Night, boys."

Jake watches him walk down the hall back to the living room. I watch Jake watch Seth.

"Everything alright, man?" Jake asks, turning back to me. He has one thick eyebrow raised and his head cocked to the side. There's just enough moonlight spilling out of his bedroom for me to see a hickey blooming on his neck.

Just for a split second, I see myself crossing the hallway to his doorway, pushing him inside, and fitting my lips to his neck. Making my own mark there, dragging my lips up to his, kissing away every memory he has of Seth and any other guy he's ever kissed.

"Yeah," I say instead, gripping the doorframe to stop myself from moving. "All good."

"Cool," Jake says, turning back to his bedroom. "'Night."

As soon as he's gone, I close my door and dive back into bed. My cock is half hard in my underwear by the time I'm under the sheets, and I can hear the loud thumping of my own heartbeat. I close my eyes and try to think of Kate, the way she looked on top of me earlier tonight, and I let myself reach down and push my boxers down over my hips.

Kate. I'll just think about Kate, and her perfect tits, and the way her mouth feels on my cock, and that will be enough to erase the weirdness of the last half hour.

I spit into my palm and start stroking myself in earnest, focusing on my memories of Kate, ignoring the way my traitor of a subconscious keeps slipping images of Jake in with her.

I even grab my cell phone from the nightstand and pull up the nudes Kate's texted me, keeping my eyes locked on her smooth, pale skin while I bring myself off.

I try not to close my eyes until Kate's image is burned into my brain, until I know I'm about to come.

But when I do close my eyes, when I let go, all I can see is Jake. Possessiveness and pride and lust surge through me and I'm coming harder than I did when I was with Kate tonight. Harder than I have in a long time.

Fuck. This is... not good.

I catch my breath, then reach for a t-shirt to do a half-ass job of cleaning up. I'm suddenly exhausted, barely able to keep my eyes open, and I glance at the clock. I woke up early today-before five-to work out before going to the office, and I've been awake for almost twenty-four hours.

It must be sleep deprivation-that's the only explanation for my emo state and fucked up sexual fantasies.

I throw the t-shirt back in the direction of the dirty laundry and roll over onto my side, closing my eyes. I'm still feeling something I can't shake-guilt, maybe, or just confusion-but sleep is quickly taking over.

The sooner I sleep, the sooner it will be morning, and I can have coffee and read the paper with Jake.

Everything will go back to normal.

This is the story I still get the most comments about, even though I don't have much time to write anymore. Thanks to einfach_mich, fr333bird, and everyone who PMs/tweets/emails me about these boys almost a year later.