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12/19/2019

Blurry Images: Episode Three: Hot

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Episode Three: Hot

After the incredible snack that Bella provided for us, we started playing video games again. We were too full to do anything else. She made a feast, and we destroyed it. Everyone was a little tipsy and relaxed, having a good time.

Tony sat on the floor in front of the couch so that Bella could have a comfortable spot beside me. She was so close that I could smell her perfume. Her legs rested over his shoulders, her knees right by his ears. Giggling and smiling, she chatted away with everyone. The girls especially liked her, I could tell.

“Oh, by the way! I just love the picture of yours that Tony sent to us when we moved into our new place! It’s so beautiful! Everyone compliments it when they come over.” Lucy brightly praised.

“Thank you,” she grinned before turning her attention to her boyfriend. Frowning, Bella leaned forward and popped him on the back of the head like a naughty puppy. He twisted around to look at her in shock.

“What did I do?”

“Ask for the stupid code when you get things from the shop. You don't have to pay full price, idiot,” she snapped, though she wasn’t actually that annoyed with him. “I’m not going to tell you again.”

He tried to play innocent, but he wasn’t that good at it. “I forgot! And it was late, and you were asleep.”

“It can't be both,” she called him out. They both made a funny face and just stared.

Huffing, he turned around to focus on the game that he was trying to play. He had been winning until she smacked him. “You underprice them, anyway.”

She scoffed. “Okay. Well, if you want to be in charge of how much I sell my shit for, please go right ahead.”

He shook his head a little, rolling his eyes. “First off, don't call it shit. Because it's not. It's art. You are an artist. You have put hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into practicing your art. You have a degree from a top American school in said art. You should be regularly showcasing your work in galleries and selling them for a price that reflects your skills. And I would be more than happy to arrange that for you. I realize you lack the confidence in your work now, but I have no doubt that one day you will be in the museums you so love to visit.”

Her eyes got a little wider as her lips parted, taking in a slow, shaking breath. Tony was just speaking off the cuff, telling her how he felt. Nothing but love reflected in her expression. She quickly wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his hair. He smiled to himself, only turning his head to the side a little to kiss her bare knee. She laid her head on top of his as she watched him go from last to second in a surprising comeback.

Though he had been good to Tanya, he wasn’t like this with her. He was gentle, kind, and encouraging. It was part of what made me fall in love with him in the first place.

Lucy began to play-act as if she was about to burst into tears. “Aw, Tony! When did you become such a sweetheart?”

“Oi, I've always been. You're just all assholes,” he joked.

He leaned back to look at Bella, his head between her knees on the cushions as he gazed up at her. “You know, I kind of like the idea that it's just for me.” When he stuck his tongue out in answer, it made her softly laugh. “I think you're extremely sweet, though. Alice thinks so too. And Demetri. So, I know it's not just for me,” she concluded as she began to pet him. Obviously enjoying it, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his lashes fluttered.

“You look really happy,” Peter offered with a smile.

He looked over at him with a proud and almost cocky smirk. “Well, let's see. I am madly in love with an incredibly smart, talented, sexy woman. Who is going to make very fat. My career has already gone way beyond what my dreams were. I live in sunny, beautiful, California, in a gorgeous home that overlooks the mountains. Away from my crazy mother. Yeah. I think this is what happiness is,” he said before his head fell back so that he could look at her again lovingly. “And in a few weeks, I'll be able to wake up every morning with you. I don't think it could actually get any better than that.”

“I don't think that's true. Then what else would we have to look forward to? We're just getting started,” she countered wisely. This was where Bella showed how much more mature she was. He had so many romantic ideas, but she seemed to be far more realistic. Tony needed someone to ground him, though.

“Mm, I know a few things that might make it better. But-”

She covered his mouth, interrupting him. “Shhh. We will not speak of these things in front of your friends. Or, your family, for that matter.”

This didn’t stop him, and he just kept mumbling behind her tiny fingers. “When you agree to be my lovely little bride, and we have-”

“Shh…” She hissed as she began to flush. But Bella was smiling just a little.

“Good lord, Anthony. If she doesn't want to have your babies, I will,” Lucy said with a laugh. Her fiancé didn’t like that, smacking her leg. She wasn’t bothered though and just giggled at him. “Well, then you talk to me that way. You don't want babies, anyway.”

Lee tilted his head to the side, looking at our friend as Tony threw his controller to Felix, so he could take his spot in the match. “How do you know he was talking about babies?”

“I kind of figured he was talking about threesomes but, I mean... That's just me,” Bella deadpanned, looking as bored as she could be. Tony was usually a prude in front of people, and unsurprisingly, his cheeks began to fill with color. Instead of saying anything, he brought her leg up to his mouth and began to bite her. It just made her giggle again. “Between a baby and a threesome, one of those things is a lot more likely to happen. Stop, it tickles,” she whimpered at the end.

He twisted around so that he could look at her, his smile massive and playful. “I was actually talking about getting engaged. Getting Married. Having a family. You know, those sorts of things. I wasn't actually being a pervert, love.”

She leaned forward to cover his lips again to keep him from speaking. “Shh… Don't rush. It's too soon. Be a pervert instead.”

“When will it not be too soon?”

She pursed her full lips, tilting her head to the side as she considered the answer carefully. “At least a year.”

That would kill him. He knew that it was too soon to ask her, and he was going to at least wait until after she moved in and got more comfortable. But a year was a long time, especially to an impatient man like him.

“A whole year? From now or from when we started dating?” He tried to act as if he wasn’t too bothered, but I could tell.

“I'll go with dating.”

That was a little better, in his mind, at least. I doubted he could wait that long.

He nodded his head, pulling out his mobile to jokingly save the date. “I'm going to hold you to that. October fourteenth, outlandish proposal,” he mumbled to himself as he typed.

Bella looked so unimpressed. “First off, nothing outlandish for the love of God. Second, we didn't start dating the fourteenth. We started dating the twenty-second.”

He didn’t say anything. They both smiled, making funny faces and leaning their heads to one side until finally, she made him break. He cleared his throat quickly. “I know, but that's when I fell in love with you.”

“Aw!!” Kelly, Melly, and Lu all did it in unison like an American high school movie. Tony brought his hand up and gave them the bird without breaking his gaze with his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You are so full of shit. It was not ‘love at first sight.’ You're so damn dramatic.” Well, she was right about one thing.

“You don't believe me. But I've got the receipts, baby.”

I decided to help him along some. I couldn’t imagine any girl wouldn’t be impressed with it. “Oh… You know, I remember that night. I've still got the texts. Wait a sec,” I mumbled as I pulled out my phone. I gave a quick search, finding what I was looking for. “Ah, here it is. ‘I think I just met the person I'm going to marry.’ Then I called him a dramatic bitch because obviously, we agree. Asked what the fuck he was on about. ‘The photographer is here, and she's the hottest woman I've ever seen.’”

She gasped a little, laughing as her face turned a bright scarlet. Tony’s matched. “No,” she giggled as she took my phone. As Bella read, she began to laugh harder. She glanced over at me with a wicked expression. “How are my tits?” She wiggled her amazing rack at me. “Do they live up to the hype?”

“Yeah, they're a bit of alright,” I replied in a funny voice. She grinned up at me as she laid her head on my arm. She was surprisingly comfortable with me. But I was glad, though. I knew that we were both going to be in his life for the rest of ours, so it would make things much easier if we got along. And I enjoyed our closeness, I had to admit.

“You creep. Showing my tits to your best friend,” she pretended to be offended when she saw the picture that he took the very first evening that they were together. Bella looked great in it, especially for traveling all day and being exhausted.

Tony tried and failed to look innocent again. “It was my contact picture for the first week. Now it’s the gold lipstick one.”

“Your contacts, indeed. It is a good picture.”

She bit her lip as she continued to look, obviously enjoying this little insight that I had given her. Lingering on a picture of herself from Halloween, she smirked. She was standing outside by some decorations, looking over her shoulder at him with an impish grin that was perfect for her costume.

“None of them do your eyes justice,” I told her honestly. She just shook her head and gave the phone back to me. Or tried to. Tony ripped it from my grip before I could put it in my pocket. He was the only one that I would allow to take my mobile like that, even if it was dangerous.

“So, here is my question, Jasper. How much has he shown you? I mean, I tell Alice everything, so it's only fair that he has you to talk to,” she continued to fuck with him, enjoying his mild discomfort at being teased in front of his friends. He had brought something up that she didn’t want to, so she was going to get him back, and Bella was doing a fantastic job at it.

“Oh, he's always been very respectful,” I went along with her.

She tilted her head to the side just slightly. “Of me and my tits? And ‘that ass.’” She looked over at me slowly. “Has he shown you the book yet?”

“Oh, no-no, no,” Tony began to panic.

He loved that goddamn book more than anything else in his entire house. He kept it in the safe with his ‘valuables.’

“I have no idea what you're talking about, dove,” I joked loudly. Tony looked horrified that I was about to get him in trouble, so I decided to behave. “I've been informed of its existence, but I have not been allowed to see its contents.”

“Aw, that's a shame. I look great in it,” she proceeded. He was displeased at being mocked in front of everyone, but it was playful, and they both knew it. I loved that Bella enjoyed giving him a hard time, too. “Well, you’ve obviously shown him some interesting ones. Alice has seen your nudes, too. Seems fair.”

“I’ve never sent you a nude,” he returned quickly.

“No, but I’ve certainly taken them.”

He stopped, thinking about it hard for a long second. And then it dawned on him. He laughed awkwardly. “Oh, in New York. Tell everyone our business, yeah?” She just smirked at him in a challenging way. “I see how it is. Trying to embarrass me. Very nice.”

She looked at him seductively, pushing his shoulder with the tip of her toe. “You like it when I'm a little mean.” Tony grabbed her leg and leaned down to kiss the very top of her sock-covered foot. Her breathing picked up just a bit, her bottom lip going between her teeth.

They were both so hot. Their expressions screamed sex. I thought about what it would be like to watch him kiss further up her bare legs. It made me want them both.

Stupidly, I leaned over, so I could whisper in Bella’s ear. “Whenever you're feeling really mean, I'd love to see those pictures.” I would take any photos either one of them wanted to give me. I couldn’t imagine how she got some nudes of him.

Giggling a bit evilly, she took my hand again so that she could give it a light squeeze. I realized then that not only were Bella and I going to get along, but we were going to friends as well.

“Oh no, what did he say?” Tony demanded.

I decided to see if I could goad him into another wrestling match. He was already peeved, and it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge, I imagined.

“I was offering her pictures of a real man.”

Getting the reaction that I wanted, he began to reach for me, but Bella quickly threw her hands up.

“Wait, wait. I need to get up. You two can be stupid in a minute,” she squeaked before she hopped off the couch to rush to the loo.

He frowned some. “I was hoping that she felt better, but I’m guessing not,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Hey, I want to go sit on the beach,” Lucy interjected after a moment, looking at her partner with a grin. Their match was wrapping up. “I don’t know why we’re inside when you literally have that,” she continued as she motioned towards the sand.

Tony scoffed a little. “Yeah…” He looked towards the bathroom, trailing off anxiously. “Yeah, we can go out for sure. I just want to check on her real quick.” Everyone got up to go, but I waited behind. “Love…” He called through the bathroom door. She had hurried into the guest one. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she called meekly, the water running.

“We're going to the beach.”

“Oh, okay,” Bella called back. “Um, I think I need to lie down for a few minutes.”

He frowned again, leaning his head against the door. “Do you need anything?”

“No! I’m fine!” She promised though it was a lie, and we both knew it.

Sighing, he walked towards me in the living room. “She’s more stubborn than you.”

“Aw, poor darling,” I teased gently as I rubbed his shoulder. “She’ll be fine in a day or two. Don’t worry. Go outside, and I’ll join you in a moment. I have to run to the loo myself.”

After going quickly, I saw that their bedroom door was opened just a crack. Bella was lying on her side, her body curled up in the fetal position with her arms around her belly. She was trembling.

“Oi, dove. You alright?” I asked, pushing the door open some.

She shook her head. “My stomach.”

I went to the side of the bed, almost automatically drawn to her. I wanted to take care of her, though I couldn’t explain why. Just hours before I intended to loathe her for taking the man that I loved away from me. She wasn’t really and obviously made him very happy. I knew that if I cared for him, that I would want whatever gave him joy. And that was Bella.

Feeling for a fever, I touched my palm to her soft skin. She was a sticky moist with perspiration, but she felt normal otherwise. “You don't have a fever. Poor thing, you're covered in sweat. Can I get you something?” Tony had offered, and I didn’t know what I could do to help, but I would at least try.

“No, I took something. It'll be fine. It'll pass,” she murmured.

We were quiet for a moment. “I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable earlier. I was just joking,” I blurted out suddenly as I thought about how I flirted with her over the photos. Tony knew how I was, but she didn’t. I knew that I was loud and aggressive, and I probably said a lot of things that I shouldn’t have.

“No, it's fine. I brought it up. I thought it was funny. I think we have a similar sense of humor,” she said with a slight smirk.

“Sometimes, I have a hard time not taking it too far. Please let me know if I do,” I admitted. This was never a conversation that I ever had with Vicky. She hated my guts, and the feeling was mutual. I didn’t want that with Bella, though.

There was a noise, distracting us both. Tony was trotting along with an armful of drinks for everyone who was lounging out in the sand. We could see him through the big window. He was laughing, his smile bright. His ass looked so good when he ran, too.

“Oh,” she squeaked.

“What?” I questioned. She was looking up at me as if she saw right through me and knew all of my secrets.

“I'm not the only one you think is a snack,” Bella answered a bit sassily.

Damn, she did know them. I had never been called out so quickly before. I thought I was pretty good at hiding my attraction to men, especially around my friends.

“What?” I blurted out. “I-? What? No! I...” I panicked, knowing that I had been fully caught. “Please, don't tell him,” I begged, terrified though I tried to keep it out of my voice. “I shouldn't have said anything earlier. Please. I don’t mean anything by it.”

“I won't,” she swore sweetly, reaching for me. “You should talk to him, though. He's very understanding. He'd be very supportive if you decided to come out.”

“No, I couldn't do that. We've been friends for so long. I'm not going to ruin that.” If I told him the truth, I would have to confess my feelings as well, and there was no way that I could do that.

Confused, she looked back at him. “What? I don't think that would happen.” If she only knew the truth.

“What would I do? What would I say? I don't even know how he feels about someone being gay.” Yeah, sure he thought his girlfriend being into girls was hot, but that didn’t mean he would be comfortable around me. “It's not exactly the easiest thing to-”

“I'm pan,” she interrupted me before I could rant. “Edward knows and is fine with it because there is nothing wrong with it. Almost all of my friends are gay, and he's amazing with them. He came to a charity show we did for LGBTQ youth, donated a shit ton of money, and went to a gay club with us afterward. You should trust him. He's a good man,” she reminded me as if I didn’t know.

“I know he is,” I agreed. Looking down into her pretty eyes that were wildly different colors, I felt drawn in. Suddenly, I did something that I had never done before. “And... Me too. I mean... yeah, I'm pansexual too, actually.” Nervously chuckling, I adjusted in my spot. “That's really weird. I don't know if I've said it out loud before. Or if I’ve even talked to someone else who was as well. I'm still trying to figure out all of this. I thought perhaps I was gay for a time, but...” I rambled some before I caught myself. Swallowing hard, I looked into her eyes again. “What do you think he'd say?”

“That he will be your friend always.”

My emotions overwhelmed me. I didn’t mean to come out to her, especially while ill, but here she was. Trying to comfort me as if we had been friends for decades. I wanted to hug her but resisted the urge.

“You don't even know me.”

“Mm, not yet. But I know how Eddie talks about you, and I know how he feels about you. And I know him,” she spoke in the kindest voice. Her fingers twisted with mine, holding my hand comfortingly in her own.

“Shouldn't it upset you that I have sexual feelings towards your boyfriend?” I inquired, sniffling a little.

Scoffing, she glanced over her shoulder back at the beach. “Um, have you seen his ass? Besides, it's not like we're the only ones who think he's hot.”

“Yeah, that's true,” I chuckled. “He's in such good shape right now. He was really doughy in the middle when I first...” fell in love with him, I almost said. I stopped myself, smirking. “I liked him before he started doing any of this shit on the internet.” When he was about eighty pounds overweight, unable to speak because of shyness, and too beaten down by depression to do anything but read books, watch movies, and play video games.

“I bet he was still cute as fuck all chubby,” she giggled for a moment, but then Bella frowned. Her eyes nervously glanced up at me. “I hope it doesn't bother you how lovey-dovey we are.”

I… I didn’t know what to say. Or feel. She cared about hurting me, even though he was hers in every way. I had never seen a man more in love.

“No, dove. It's nice, he's so happy. I am a bit jealous, but I know nothing will ever happen there.”

“I don’t know. He’s always surprising me,” she joked.

“Me too, honestly. I don't know. I think I'd like to kiss him just once at the sheer curiosity at this point. I've thought about it so many times in my head,” I overshared stupidly. After I had admitted one thing, I just kept going. I shook my head at my shame. “I shouldn't tell you that. I'm sorry. I've probably drank too much. You're his girlfriend.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand. Well, if you ever have a chance, go for it. I won't stop you,” she deadpanned. “Please take pictures.”

God, we were alike. He was fucking a hotter, big-titted, American me.

“I have your permission then? Good to know.”

Bella laughed to herself. “I mean, I'd like to be there for it. You could do some more of that wrestling thing you did earlier, but maybe with no shirts this time first...” She looked at Tony again, pouting out her pretty lips. “Aw, I turned myself on, and I feel too terrible to do anything about it.”

She was a funny little thing, even though she felt terrible. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Do you want me to get you anything?”

Quickly shaking her head, she looked back at me. “No, it's okay. You can go hang out with them. I'll be fine.”

Being with her like this was the most comfortable that I had truly been all day. “I quite like hanging out with you,” I admitted. “I do hope we'll be good friends.”

Her answering grin was so sweet. “Yeah, I think we will be.”

“I want you to know something,” I leaned down some as I lowered my voice. “He has adored you from the very first moment that he saw you, with all of his big heart. I don’t believe in love at first sight either, but Tony means it. And I can definitely see why.” Then I winked at her. Bella giggled, giving me precisely the reaction I wanted.

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12/12/2019

Blurry Images: Episode Two: Realization

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Episode Two: Realization

Showing off a little, I put my hand on my heart as I looked Bella up and down. “I'm Jasper, Anthony's best mate, and you are... just stunning. Absolutely stunning,” I introduced myself. Her eyelashes fluttered against her blushing cheeks, her nose scrunching up some at my compliment.

Tony finally came out of the kitchen with our drinks. I knew what was about to happen because I had seen the stupid look on his face many times before. With a melodramatic thwack, he popped the hat off the back of my head. It flew perfectly off, doing a small spin as it landed on the floor by my feet. He had done it a thousand times before.

“Don't flirt with my girlfriend,” Tony joked in an earnest voice.

I glanced back at him over my shoulder with a smirk. “Oi, I already know she likes Aussies with facial hair. I thought I'd give her a chance with a real man,” I threw back in the tone that I knew that he thought was funny. His face twisted up in amusement. I was wondering how quickly I could get him riled up enough to play fight. I never started it, but he was easy to egg on.

“Twat,” he threw back before diving over the end of the couch, giving me exactly what I wanted.

Tony was such a big man in every sense of the word. His weight was so heavy on me. It was a little overwhelming. His scent filled my mouth, and I wanted to taste him. The desire to kiss him was so strong. Instead, I slapped him hard. He didn’t hold back, smacking me as well. I could feel his skin underneath my palms, soft and warm.

“So, if I said I'd have sex with the winner,” Bella used a joking tone with a small amused smirk on her lips. “How much chaos would ensue, exactly?”

We stopped to look at her in surprise. He was a little befuddled by her words, but I quickly realized that not only did she think we were funny, but she was also willing to play into it. I grinned and laughed loudly. “Oi, I like her. She's funny,” I blurted out.

He didn’t seem amused, looking at me with a slight pout. He pushed me back roughly onto the ground. “She's only saying that because she knows I would decimate you.”

Bella was watching the scene intently with her lip between her teeth. So, I decided to show off for her some more, lifting the idiot up with one arm while curling the other into a muscle. She was smirking prettily.

“You see that,” he shouted in my best mate’s face. “Look at these guns, Tony. Yeah, bitch, you ain't the only one hitting the gym.”

Her cheeks flushed a little, her crooked smile pulling to one side. His eyes went over us, lingering on his ass hungrily. It was enough to distract me, allowing Tony to get me to the floor. We were throwing our all into it. It had been so long since we had played like it, and it was apparent that both of us were having fun.

He pinned me down, all his weight on me. His massive body was pressed fully against mine, his heat coming off of him in waves. His open and panting mouth was only a few inches away from mine, and I could smell the sweat that was beginning to form around his temples. It was too much, and I had to change it, taking control. I pushed him down into the floor, pressing his hands over his head. We were both huffing and puffing, flushed as we looked at each other.

“Okay, now I see why you like to watch Alice and me,” Bella spoke again up in a devilish voice as she stole Tony’s beer. She took a slow sip, still smirking to herself.

“Who's Alice?” I asked automatically. I couldn’t remember the name off the top of my head.

“My kinda sister,” she explained. That I did remember.

“Oh, my god. That's so hot. Is she a sun-kissed goddess like you?” I babbled out, flirting with her some more. In response, my best friend smacked me across the face. “Oi, cheeky cunt!”

“Bells is adopted, you dirty fucker,” he replied, even though he knew that I knew that already. “Alice's a natural blond actually,” he continued as I tried to slap him back. He was holding me back by the shoulders, his arms too long. It protected his pretty face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bella. “Black hair right now, though. Super hot, too. Freckles, big blue eyes. Great tits,” she continued, putting her hands up to her chest and pretending to give them a great squeeze. I couldn’t help but gawk. It didn’t hurt that her nipples were hard.

Tony saw his shot and pushed me off to the floor before hopping up to his feet.

“I wasn't going to say that,” he replied before she handed his bottle back. “Cheer, love,” he grinned before taking a gulp. His eyes flicked down to her breasts, looking down her shirt a little.

“Wait, so you wrestle around with your sometimes blond adopted sister who has nice tits?” I questioned as I flopped down onto my back. “Have you seen this in person?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head a little. “We don't wrestle, really.” All the while, Tony was smirking and nodding his head, mouthing that he had behind her and that it was so totally hot. She caught him, and he smiled at her innocently. “You've never seen us actually wrestle around before. Alice loves wrestling, though, but she likes it rougher than I do.”

I finally jumped up. “She hits too hard?”

“No, she wants me to hit harder. It hurts my hand. I mean, I guess that's what her belt collection is for... But I'm always afraid that I'm going to hurt her,” she said as if she was bored, shrugging one of her little shoulders.

Ah, this is what Tony meant when he said that she had my sense of humor. She was clearly screwing with him, her face as straight as it could be.

He took a big gulp of his drink, considering her. “Are you joking or not?”

“I've had way more sex with Alice than I have with you, my darling.” With that, she gave him a little pat on the cheek before turning to me with the biggest grin. “Nice to meet you. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get dinner started.”

Shit, I really liked her.

She left us gaping, going into the kitchen right behind us without another word. I couldn’t help my laugh, looking over at Tony as his eyes got a little wider in shock. Then I realized what she said.

“Wait, is she serious?”

“Uh... you know, who knows. Probably. Actually, I don't really know,” he mumbled quickly in embarrassment. “We’ve had lots of sex at this point.” He turned a shade of scarlet.

I turned to him with a smirk, finally picking up my own beer. “I would hope so. She’s hot as hell.”

Keeping a straight face, he popped the back of my head again. I just smiled and raised my bottle before I took another slurp. He snorted softly. “Wanna play a game?”

After about fifteen minutes, a strong, delicious aroma filled the room. I looked over at Tony. “Damn, that smells great. I wasn’t even hungry before.”

“Mm, I know. Her food is better than any restaurant that I’ve ever eaten at,” he breathed, shooting someone behind me in the game so that they couldn’t take me out. He didn’t even look up from the screen. “Everything she does impresses me.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” I teased lightly. Tony rolled his eyes a little at my words. “She’s a real looker. The videos and pictures don’t do her justice,” I whispered so that she wouldn’t hear. “Those eyes and lips. And tits. Damn.”

“Every part of her is like damn,” he smirked. “I can’t wait for everyone to meet her. They’re going to love her. She’s going to fit right in.”

And even if I hated it, I smiled for him. “Yeah, I think so, too. Good for you.” She was perfect.

Not long after, there was a heavy knock at the front door. He paused the game and tossed the controller to the side so that he could go answer. Tony jogged over to it, grinning wildly. Everyone was about to be really happy.

As soon as he opened the door, Melly screamed, throwing herself at him. “What did you do to your face!?”

“Um, I’m growing a beard for a minute,” he laughed, hugging her to him. “I think it makes me look more mature.”

“It’s sexy,” she praised, scratching her fingers over his cheeks playfully. He wrinkled his nose and smiled as he got petted. “What does the little lady think of it?”

“It was her idea.”

Lee walked past with a smile, patting his arm. “Looking good.”

“Thanks! You, too! Come in!”

Tony took turns hugging all of our friends, even the guys. Kelly grasped his waist as she put her chin on his chest. She seemed small next to him, looking up with a smirk.

“So, where is she?” She started right away in a tiny whisper. “We want to meet her.”

He chuckled softly. “She’s-” He began to say softly and turned his head towards the kitchen, but she was standing in the doorway, watching with a little smile.

She quickly let go of him and hurried over to her. “You must be Bella!” Kelly hugged her tightly, towering over his little girlfriend. “You're so tiny!” She giggled.

“That's because she's a snack.” I flirted, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

Bella rolled her eyes playfully, shaking her head. “Baby, I'm a five-course dinner.”

Tony laughed at her words, rushing up to her to pick her up. He could do so easily since she was so little. He lifted her up in the air so that her head was above his, his arms wound around her thighs. “Yes, you are,” he remarked before kissing her. He looked happier than I had ever seen her before with her giggling in his arms. “Everyone, this is the woman I've not shut up about in months. Bella, this is Kelly. Melly. Lu, Marcus, and Felix in the back there. James. Peter. And this is Lee,” he introduced everyone so quickly that surely she wouldn’t remember anyone’s name. I rolled my eyes to myself, smirking. He was too excited and talking in a rush like he did when he was riled or nervous.

“Hey, along with half the planet,” she quipped to Lee when Tony finally put her floor.

“Right? It's so annoying,” he complained. He hated his boring name with a passion. He told me that mine was memorable, at least.

“Something smells good,” Peter said a bit too loudly. He never knew how to control his voice around pretty women, and it showed when he spoke to her. I could see Tony smirking some to himself as he noticed as well.

“I'm making nachos. I should go finish those up. They'll be out in about twenty minutes,” she shyly replied.

“Do you need any help?” Tony asked, almost innocently. She grinned as she touched his cheek, her eyes shining up into his.

I realized then as they looked at each other like no one else in the world mattered, that they were truly and totally in love with one another. It wasn’t just one-sided, as I sort of hoped for and feared at the same time. He had found an amazing woman, and she gazed at him as if he was her personal superhero.

Jealousy surged through me, and I hated myself for it.

“No, I got it,” Bella answered.

“Okay. Let me know,” he responded as he closed his eyes for just a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he looked at all of us. “What I will do is get everyone some drinks, yeah?”

Tony went off into the kitchen with her to get everyone something. They sort of watched in wonder and looked at each other as he did. Finally, Kelly opened her mouth and whispered, “wow.”

“She must be a doctor to so successfully remove that stick from his arse,” James teased as he plopped down on the loveseat across from me.

“Be nice,” Lucy chided, sitting beside her future husband. “She seems lovely. A bit shy.”

“She’s so fit,” Peter breathed then cleared his throat. The group kind of chuckled. “Well, she is. You all think so, too.”

“Yeah, but only one of us is going to get to bang her, and I’m pretty sure that’s Tony,” Felix quipped. Just as he said his name, he came out with one armful. He was going to have to make more than one trip. “She’s adorable, mate,” he said to him in a low voice.

“She really is,” he grinned in agreement. “She is sick as she can be right now and trying really hard not to let it show, so please be nice to her. She’s had a stomach thing for days but is refusing to go to the doctor,” he muttered as he rolled his eyes. “She’s so stubborn. Here. I’ll be right back. Feel free to put something on the telly,” he finished before going back into the kitchen for the rest of the drinks.

It didn’t take long for Bella to quietly start bringing things out. Everyone was so wrapped in the game, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her for so many reasons that made me hate myself.

First and foremost, I despised how much I liked her. I was fully prepared to hate her guts properly, and she has to go and be an angel. Second, I realized that I would have gone after her, as well. Maybe not to date, like him, but for a night or two, at least. She was gorgeous. Though I had seen her pictures and videos, it was nothing compared to in person. I found myself wanting to actually flirt with her and not act a fool as I always did. For some reason, I wanted to charm her so that she would smile like that to me, too.

Of course, I would never do such a thing to Tony. I would never even for a second consider stealing his woman. Not that I thought it was at all possible. She was obviously mad for him, just like I always would be.

I also hated how much I had in common with her. I was going to play dumb for as long as possible, but I wished there were things that we could speak about someday. But I doubted that I would ever feel that comfortable with her. And anything I told her, I knew she would tell Tony. As she should.

Finally, Felix noticed what was going on. He lifted his head and took a long sniff. “Ohhh, look,” he pointed to the table. “I am so hungry now. God, do you hear my stomach?”

Smirking a little, she swung her hips as she went back for more. She glanced over her shoulder. “Edward, would you get the plates for me?”

No one called him that. We thought it was funny that it was his stage name. We had all known him at Anthony in school, or Tony when we were screwing around. Sometimes it was hard for us when we did the videos with him. So most of the time, we just avoided saying his name altogether.

James smirked at me, his eyes growing a little wicked. “Yes, Edward. Could you,” he called in a childish voice. I just shook my head. For some reason, he had always been very jealous of Tony. I don’t know why, though. They never competed for anything or even had the same interests. Honestly, he was just kind of a twat, in my opinion. He was closer to Felix and Peter.

“Shut it,” Tony grunted as he stood. “You're just annoyed you don't have a girlfriend.”

“I get plenty of women! You’d be bloody surprised!” He growled back angrily. He could never take what he gave, but Tony was usually an easy target.

“You live with your sister,” he quipped with a mean chuckle. Everyone quietly laughed at the burn.

“Edward is a prissy ass name!”

Tony didn’t say anything, his mouth tight as he stomped into the kitchen to get away from him. A second later, Bella shouted, “you know, it doesn't sound prissy when I'm moaning it every night.”

Everyone began to laugh louder, snorting and snickering. She wasn’t about to allow him to take her man down. And there was nothing he could say to that, no comeback. James crossed both of his arms over his chest and pouted like a bitch.

I didn’t like that he was trying to take the piss out of him either, so I decided to join in. “Explain to me how Edward is a prissy name, but James is somehow not.”

“Right?” Melly agreed, leaning into me some. “Edward is just a little old-fashioned, but it’s a great business name. I mean, obviously, it’s working for him,” she continued, holding her hands up to make a point. We were in a private cabin by a private beach in one of the nicest areas of Sydney. The rest of us were just in shite flats or living with our families still.

“Oh, let’s see what we have here,” Felix said, deciding to ignore the drama to check out our food selection for the afternoon. He was virtually always thinking with his stomach. Almost everyone decided to get up to follow except for James and me.

Glaring at him, I put my empty beer bottle on the table in front of me. “Pull your head out of your arse. We’ve only got him back for a minute. Don’t be a prick and ruin it.”

He just rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the couch. “Stop being so sensitive.”

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12/5/2019

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Episode One: Like a Band-aid

I was the first to arrive by fifteen minutes. I was too anxious not to. That was a lie. I missed him too much not to. I knew him, though. Tony hated being late for anything and arrived only five minutes after me. I saw his huge form coming from the parking lot, his camera equipment bag slung over his shoulder and bouncing at his side with his two American buddies following behind him. The moment he saw me, a broad smile spread over his face, and he doubled his speed. He actually jogged to me.

Within a minute, I was in his arms, and Tony was hugging me so tightly that he was lifting me off the ground a little. I was holding him back just as desperately, my face shoved into his shoulder. His smell was different from the last time that we had embraced several months before when his newest niece was born. It was sweeter, the aroma of coconuts wafting from his hair. Maybe he had changed shampoos. There was also the smell of her perfume on his clothes.

I dreaded meeting Bella, his new girlfriend. She seemed lovely from her video footage, which made me want to hate her more. Deep down, I knew that she wasn’t taking him from me. Not really. And Tony was so happy with her. I was going to fake it and put on a brave face for him. It was near impossible with Vicky, the last bitch, especially the last year or so. I watched him desperately try to hold that crumbling relationship together while she treated him like a child. She mistreated him like his evil cunt of a mother actually, and I think perhaps he felt if he could fix his relationship with Victoria, it would magically mend the one with his mum.

In my honest opinion, both women desperately needed an appointment with an exorcist.

“God, I've missed you terribly,” Tony breathed against my neck, the warmth tickling my skin. It smelled like fresh mint as if he had just brushed them. If I turned my face just a little, I could have been kissing him. His cheeks, his soft pink lips, his smooth forehead. Willing myself to stay still, I swallowed back my desire. I wouldn't let go, though.

“Me too, darling,” I whispered in return. I could have held him forever. I let him decide when to pull back. The embrace lingered for a long minute before his fingers curled against my back as he slowly brought me down. His nails dragged along the fabric of my cotton t-shirt, creating tingling in their wake.

He put his giant hands on my shoulders, keeping me at arm's length to examine me. “You look good. Just fantastic.”

“Thank you! So do you!” I said automatically. He looked better than good. I had never seen him so muscular. He was practically glowing, his eyes and his bright smile.

“Ah, thanks,” he grinned, patting my shoulder before finally letting his arms drop to his side. I instantly missed his touch.

“So, uh… Where’s that girl of yours?” I asked, looking around to see if maybe she was trailing behind somewhere. Knowing her face well enough that I thought that I would have been able to spot her, I glanced behind him. I probably knew more about her than I liked, though I would pretend otherwise, just in case Tony didn’t want her knowing that I had watched literally all of his footage. He also told me all of her secrets, not that he really meant to. Things about her husband, her anxiety, and the details of their sex life.

To say that I was addicted was an understatement. I was dependent on the footage of Tony. I knew that it was a problem, but I couldn't stop myself. Since he had moved, I needed as much of him as I could get… even if it was mostly the fake version. The face that he created to deal with his low self-esteem and confidence. The videos he made with his new girlfriend were terrific, though. They were different. He might have been a little bigger and louder, but he really was that joyfully happy in them. When she was by his side, he was truly the most euphoric that I had ever seen him on film.

I wanted to make him feel that way. That was a stupid dream, though.

He frowned and sighed. “She’s still feeling a little gross. She decided to run to the market and fetch the supplies for this afternoon. Bella still insists on cooking for us,” Tony smiled a little when he said her name. “I hope that she’s feeling better tomorrow. I want us to all film together. I’ve been looking forward to it for ages.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m sure that she will be soon. And we’ve got nearly a month. I’m sure that we’ll film at least a few videos together,” I assured him with a pat on the forearm. “Gentleman. Nice to see you again,” I nodded to Seth and Tyler. They had allowed us our reunion quietly. I liked them well enough. I could see why Tony would be friends with them. “So, what are we filming first exactly?”

“So, I hope that you're fucking hungry because this place is supposed to have these crazy…” He continued on and on excitedly, rambling as we walked towards the entrance of the restaurant where we would order whatever he wanted. I didn't mind, though, because I trusted his tastes.

Of course, it was delicious, and I had a great time. Tony always knew how to pick them, though. He had a talent for finding these little hole-in-the-wall places doing different things with food.

We filmed three different videos very quickly. We all worked very well together. The rest of our little childhood gang would be joining us at the cabin that he had rented for their stay. I had taken an Uber to the restaurant because I knew that there was no way that I wasn’t going to get sloshed to get through the evening. I was better at being confident drunk or stoned any day of the week. It wasn’t healthy, but I wasn’t going to deny myself this coping mechanism.

I was going to spend the night drinking my emotions away. My frustration, my sadness, my jealousy, and anger. And I would do it with a smile on my face. It made me hate myself just a little more.

Tony sat in the backseat with me in the big rental SUV that the two men had gotten for their time in Australia. They did so that they could have space for all of their camera equipment.

“So, are you joining us tonight?” I asked the two men in the front seat. We had been pretty focused on our work because Tony wanted to get back to the cabin as quickly as possible.

Glancing back at me for a moment, Tyler smiled understandingly. “Nah, we’re going to let him have time with his friends.”

“We’re going to a comedy show,” Seth chimed in. “Thanks to the boss.”

“Ah, you're welcome. They were gifted to me, actually. You'd be amazed how much free shit people give me now that I don't need it.” He shook his head a little to himself. “I re-gift so much of it. It's great for Christmas presents for my sisters, though.”

“You can keep giving it to us, too,” Seth joked with a laugh in his voice.

“I planned on it,” Tony chuckled warmly.

Tyler looked at me again, pouting a little. “I’m kind of sad that we’re missing Bella’s cooking, though,” he sighed. “You’re in for a real treat. What is she making?”

My best friend grinned excitedly. “Nachos.”

“Aw,” Seth whined. “I like her Mexican so much.”

“She makes all the stuff from scratch,” Tony explained proudly to me. “She acts as if it's nothing when honestly, all of our idiot friends would be impressed if she popped open a jar of salsa. She has been half dead for nearly a week, and this morning she's going on about how she's ‘just’ going to make two kinds of salsa, guacamole, sour cream, beans, and three types of nachos.”

“She doesn't do anything halfway,” Tyler asserted with a grin. “My wife, Lauren, is a vegan, and Bella always makes sure that she gets a ton of good food, so she doesn't feel left out. She's still talking about that meal she made when we filmed the spit videos.”

Seth snickered a little. “Spit videos.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, Tony widened his eyes for a moment. “Oh, fuck those DNA tests. I’m so ready for those stupid results to be back,” my best friend complained as he laid his head back against his seat. Anxiety pulled at his cheeks, dragging them down. It made him look like his father.

“Why?” Seth asked him curiously. “You’re just going to be white.”

He rolled his eyes hard. “Not for me, asshole. For Bella. She acts so strong, but I know that this will be hard on her, no matter the results. I know that she wants to know, but she’s terrified to find out. She could have done this sooner if she really wanted to.”
“What is she scared that she’s going to learn exactly?”

Pausing for a moment, he chewed his words for a second. “I… I don’t know precisely. There is just so much there to unpack. First, her childhood wasn’t good. At all. I’m pretty certain that she suffered some sort of abuse connected to that, perhaps even from her own family. It’s probably painful to dive into that. I also think that it might be easier for her to ignore the insults. They’re all wrong because she doesn’t know what the slurs should be either.”

“I still can’t believe that motherfucker in New York,” I interjected with a sigh. It was hard to imagine the scene playing out, even if I had seen it on the security footage. I could give him that his girl was a tough one. And she was protective of him.

He pushed his fingers into his hair. “God, you have no idea how much time I've spent talking to my therapist about that fucking trip,” Tony mumbled to me before shaking his head. “I still feel like a rubbish boyfriend, and she's like ‘let me at em,’” he said the last bit in a high-pitched voice, making me laugh. He snorted, looking over at me. “She is so feisty.” He shook his head again, smirking a bit. “Seriously, you're going to love her.”

“Yeah, you fucking lucked out,” Seth called to Tony loudly, playfully. “Hot, funny, smart, cute, and a little creepy. Mm, just how I like them.”

He looked so unimpressed. “You couldn’t handle her,” he replied dryly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s not like you can,” his friend teased right back.

“No, I can’t,” Tony’s laugh turned a little dirty, his smile growing wicked. “It’s probably a good thing that I’m nearly a decade younger. I need all the energy that I can get to keep up with her as it is.”

“Don’t women peak sexually around forty?” I joked with him, pushing his arm with my elbow.

He flushed bright pink, ever being the prude, but he was also grinning wildly. “Goddamn, I hope so! I'm going to take that whole year off and just take her to whatever new and exciting places that she wants to fuck whatever brains that I have left by then out if that's the case. Frankly, it's amazing that I still have the ability to speak at this point as it is.” He blushed purple when he realized what he had rambled out. He was in a good mood and around his friends, so his mouth was just taking over. Smirking to myself, I pushed my lips together as I looked out the window. I liked it when he was like this. He was hilarious.

“You can frame it like a gift for her,” Seth teased. “Yeah, baby. We’re going to spend the year traveling, just celebrating your birthday!”

“That would definitely be a gift for both of us,” he sighed. “And the thing is… I think she’d totally indulge me if I wanted to do that.”

“Uh, yeah?” I snorted. “What downsize is there for her?”

He pursed his lips and shrugged. “She has to have him on top of her for fifty percent of the trip?” Seth sarcastically added from the front seat. I barked out a loud laugh and looked back out the window.

“Ah, well, I'm going to defend my mate. I've lived with him for close to half a decade as an adult, and I don't think that the ladies have too many complaints. Sometimes annoyingly. Goddamn, Vicky was a loud bitch,” I muttered.

“And that’s why we tried to fuck at her place,” he replied with a laugh. “I’m not going to lie, I like them loud. Bella has her moments, but she can control it when we need to, at least. But she obviously likes it when she can be.”

“Like when your mother heard her screaming out your name yesterday?” Seth laughed evilly.

Tony threw his hands up in frustration, making a little growling noise as he clenched his fists and his nostrils flared. He made a motion like he was strangling someone. His mum.

“Do you know how good of sex that she ruined?!” He seethed before pouting a bit like he was a teenager again. “Who the fuck doesn’t knock when you hear your adult son fucking? Then Dad made a joke about my good performance and how it must run in the family, too.” He fake gagged. “That couldn’t have gone any worse. And she has the audacity to be mad at Bella because she walked out in the middle of our fight.”

“She was always going to hate her because she didn’t pick her,” I mumbled then sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. Shaking my head, I frowned at him. “Poor girl. I don’t envy her that.”

“The girls and the grands love her already. Fuck Esme,” he said her real name like he did when he was furious with her when we were kids. He felt ‘mother’ was a title earned. His sisters and his nannies were more a mum to him. They were the only reason that he turned out as kind a man as he was. I shuddered to think of what he would have been like if he turned out like her instead.

We pulled up to the vacation house where he was staying with his brand-new girlfriend that he was very much in love with. My stomach twisted with nerves. I wasn’t ready to meet her.

The men dropped us off, and together, we walked to the seaside cabin silently. It was quiet when we came inside.

“Hm,” he hummed, taking the camera equipment that I had from my shoulder and storing it to the closet for later. Tony went into the kitchen, just peeking inside before glancing out onto the back deck. “I’m guessing that she’s laid down. I’m going to check on her. If you want to play...” He pointed to a large television screen that took up one wall along with his multiple systems.

“Yeah, cool,” I replied, going to pick up a controller and a set of headphones to mess with. It would give me an excuse to not talk to her as much if anything else and something to do with my nervous hands. When I turned it on, my profile from before was still there. I smiled to myself.

Tony was gone for a good while. He came back out with a small frown on his handsome face. He was clearly worried about something.

“Everything okay?”

“She’s so damn stubborn. She keeps saying that she’s getting better, but-” he shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. She’s better than she was. I’m just impatient.”

“Is it a bad time? Should I go?” I didn’t want to leave him, but I also wasn’t ready, so I started looking for any excuse. I wanted to meet her like ripping off a bandage, quickly so that I could deal with the sting all at once. This was like yanking it off one hair at a time.

“No. No. Everyone else will be here soon, and she says that she's going to power through. Um, anyway, you want a beer?”

“Yeah, sure. What have you got, darling?”

“Fucking everything,” he chuckled cheerfully. “I went overboard.”

“Surprise me. You know my tastes.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve got something that I want you to try that I think you will really love,” he said excitedly before heading towards the kitchen. He went in, the door swinging shut behind him. Tony was in there a while before I heard him mumble. “Now, where the fuck is the bottle opener…”

Chuckling to myself before putting my headset back on, I resumed the game. I hadn’t been playing another two minutes when I saw her out of the corner of my eye.

I had seen this woman in a hundred different videos, but that didn’t prepare me for how tiny she was. She crept along the wall with her sock covered feet quietly padding on the hardwood. Despite obviously not feeling very well, she was still breathtakingly lovely. The film didn’t prepare me for her eyes, big, bright, and beautiful. One of her overly full lips was between her teeth.

The moment that I saw her, I realized that I could never hate her. I knew what kind of person she was from the videos, and from the evident happiness that she brought to my friend. Tony spoke about his mask often, but I had my own. I knew that I had to try my best to treat her like I would any of my other friends because I knew that’s what would make the man that I was in love with happy.

So, I did what I was best at. I flirted with her.

Smiling stupidly, I greeted her with, “well, hellooo there, gorgeous.”

A little color came to her round cheeks, a smile forming on her lips. Her mouth wasn’t perfect, one side messed up and slightly uneven from the car accident that took her junkie mother. It only enhanced her beauty somehow. I could see the faint silver line of the scar just curving under her cheek to nearly her ear. Wild shiny inky black curls framed her sweet face, making her olive skin seem very light.

Tony had once described her as unexpected. He was right.

“Um, hi,” Bella giggled, looking down and then back up at me charmingly through her thick black eyelashes.

Oh, no, my brain screamed in annoyance at my heart, and it's swift and startling emotions. I already like her.

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This Episode goes with Episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

Click to read episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

What scenes would you like to see from Jasper's POV? Put them down in the comments below!

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Imperfect Pictures/Perfect Snapshots Companion pieces.
Jasper's Point of View

Rated M for mature. Intended for an adult audience only. 18+ Reader discretion is advised.

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This episode goes with episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

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Episode Two: Realization

This Episode goes with Episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

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Episode One: Like a Band-aid

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Blurry Images

Imperfect Pictures/Perfect Snapshots Companion pieces.Jasper's Point of View

Rated M for mature. Intended for an adult audience only. 18+ Reader discretion is advised.

Blurry Images: Episode Three: Hot

Episode Three: Hot

This episode goes with episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

Blurry Images: Episode Two: Realization

Episode Two: Realization

This Episode goes with Episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

Blurry Images: Episode one: Like a Band-aid

Episode One: Like a Band-aid

This Episode goes with Episode forty-four of Imperfect Pictures!

What scenes would you like to see from Jasper's POV? Put them down in the comments below!

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Imperfect Pictures/Perfect Snapshots Companion pieces.
Jasper's Point of View