Imperfectpictures

6/1/2020

Episode One-hundred-thirty-two: Goaded

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Episode One-hundred-thirty-two: Goaded

We got up to reset for the next video. Everyone needed drinks. Especially for all the salty chips. These would be with Edward, Jasper, and I while Seth and Tyler filmed, but they would try them too. Everybody was excited. We were eating them and cookies for lunch, pretty much.

“I love that your fans know how much you love chips and send them to you,” I said as I took pictures of the bags and the sweets we would do next.

“I love when they do too,” he grinned, wiping down the table and setting up napkins and plates. “I’ll never understand why people enjoy watching me eat, but if they do… who am I to deny them?” His tone was so smarmy.

Our boyfriend’s face scrunched up a bit. He had been reading something on Edward’s clipboard with the schedule for the day. “You make it sound so dirty.”

“I bet for some of them it is,” I replied, looking at him over the camera. He smirked meanly. “Yeah, Daddy. Eat that chip,” I remarked as seductively as possible. Laughing, Jasper turned red in the cheeks. Then I glanced over at Edward. “I mean, I certainly know someone who enjoys watching people eat.” I tilted my head to the side slightly to make a point.

He stopped what he was doing to pout. “You know, you don’t have to call me out like that in front of our friends.”

Seth laughed to himself. “Oh, they’re going to gang up on you. This will be fun.”

“Yes, it is,” Jasper agreed, winking at him playfully. Then when he looked away, he definitely checked out his ass. I teasingly shoved him, making him chuckle.

“So, you’re gay?” Tyler blurted out suddenly while he adjusted a camera. He was looking straight ahead. His nose turned pink as he cleared his throat. “Obviously. We just did a video about it.”

He laughed. “It would appear so, yes. I’m not as open with it as Bella is, clearly. But I’d like to be. One day at a time. I think this is an excellent first step.”

“That’s cool,” he concluded mildly, nodding his head. He paused for a second, licking his bottom lip. “It’s good to be yourself. Um… anyway. So, if you’re single, my brother is actually gay-”

“Andy?” I asked in surprise. I didn’t mean to interrupt him. It was rude.

He brightened up. “Yeah. He’s single right now. He’s a good guy if you’re looking to date. I don’t know if you’re seeking a relationship or anything since you’re getting settled.”

I kneeled down with my camera to get the cookies from a different angle. “Oh baby, you know you’re hot when they keep trying to set you up.”

Jasper wrote something down on the clipboard. “I was thinking the same thing. Damn,” he chuckled. “Is he cute?” He questioned Tyler as he looked over his shoulder at him with a naughty smirk. He glanced next at Edward. His cheeks were sucked in, his nose wrinkled slightly. He was trying so hard to control his expression.

Our friend obviously didn’t know how to answer that question. He kind of gaped for a moment as his hands moved in front of him. “Uhhhh… I don’t know. We look just alike, so I guess he’s not bad looking. I’m not ugly, right? He’s a couple of years younger than me, too,” he explained. “So, he’s got that going for him too.” I pushed my lips together at Edward’s slightly sour expression. He didn’t like that Tyler was trying to hook up his nice brother with his boyfriend right in front of him. It looked like he bit into a lemon.

“Oh, well… you’re pretty cute. We’ll see. Not right now. As you said, I am getting settled. I figure I’ll wait awhile before I think about dating again,” he announced in a voice that was way too big. Our man rolled his eyes, leaving the room to get something from the kitchen. He had about enough, and he was having issues not talking smack. It was difficult for him to hold his tongue.

“Don’t make your boyfriend mad,” I jokingly mumbled under my breath, looking at him from the corner of my eyes. “You’ll get yourself in trouble by flirting.”

Tyler heard and took me seriously. “Oh, you’re already seeing someone? I’m sorry, I-”

“No,” Jasper laughed genuinely at his anxious reaction. He touched his arm, smiling with his whole face. It was so warm. “I don’t mind. It makes me feel nice. Sarah tried as well.”

Sitting down on the stool behind the camera, he let out a long breath. “I’m nervous about tomorrow,” he confessed all of a sudden. “We’ll have a real celebrity. Like, one-on-one. Here. We’ve done it with some out, but not in such a personal setting.”

It was apparent by his expression Edward heard what he said when he came back into the room. “What the fuck am I then?”

Our friend rolled his eyes dismissively. “You don’t count. I knew you when you were normal.”

Returning my camera to my bag, I went to sit at the table. “Stop insulting your boss.”

“I’m not!” He threw his hands up. “He knows what I mean.”

Jasper sat beside me. I would be in the middle. “I don’t. He’s never been normal.”

When he walked by, Edward pushed his head forward hard. It just made our boyfriend snicker a bit. They were both in a feisty mood. They were two seconds from wrestling like children.

I rested my cheek on my palm, staring at Tyler and Seth with a smirk. “I’m glad Sarah and Lauren are coming over tomorrow. I’ve never been around boys all the time like this before, and I need some estrogen.”

“Are you sick of them already?” Seth joked, picking up the boom mic.

Pretending to think about it, I scrunched up my nose as I tapped my bottom lip. “No. I love it. They give each other a hard time because they care about each other. They’re stupidly showing their love. Now... Who’s doing the intro?” I questioned Edward. He pointed to me. “Ugh, fine. I don’t know why you hate them so much.”

“Because I’ve done it ten million times.”

“Ready?” Tyler inquired, holding up the pen in one hand and the clipboard in the other. I nodded. “Alright, kiddo. Three, two, one,” he spoke in a whisper before pointing at me. The red light blinked on.

I beamed as I straightened my back. “Hi! My name is Bella! And Eddie, Jasper, and I are going to be trying chips from Baltimore today!”

“We had an awesome fan send them in, and we are super excited about tasting them!” Edward added with a big grin. “We love rating things you guys send us! So, if you ever feel the urge, the information for our PO box is down below!” He pointed to the table. “Please? I enjoy trying new stuff.”

Tilting his head to the side, Jasper looked at me curiously. “What’s different about chips from Baltimore? Sorry. I’m new here,” he said directly to the camera, putting his hand on his heart. “I don’t know if it’s a big deal or not.”

“It’s crab. Everything is crab flavored,” I explained a little too plainly. “Just everything.”

Pausing for a second, he seemed confused. He blinked several times. “They sent us a bunch of cookies, too. Should I be worried? Is this not going to be the good day I thought it would be?”

He was trying to make me break. “No,” I promised, laughing at his teasing. I couldn’t help it. “No, it’s the seasoning they’re famous for. They use it when cooking crab legs and shrimp. It’s Old Bay. It’s just a bunch of variations of that.”

“Ohhhh…” He drew out and then shrugged. “Okay. Still don’t know what that is, but at least it makes more sense now. Let’s eat!”

Jasper ended up liking the chips. I don’t think he expected to. The boys passed the bags around, enjoying them with a beer. I had been the only one to try them before.

Then we got to the cookies. Edward was really excited about them. There were four in total. Chocolate chip, sugar cookies, double chocolate, and Berger’s cookies that were covered in a thick layer of fudge.

Making himself a hot tea, Jasper brought me and our love a cup of milk. He absently pushed my hair away from my shoulder as he sat down, leaning over to kiss my cheek lightly. “There you go, dove.” I don’t think he even realized he did it. The guys didn’t really seem to notice as they adjusted equipment.

“Thank you,” I grinned, fixing his mustache. I twisted it at the ends, so it curled up. He leaned into it, his eyes sinking closed as he enjoyed the attention. His gapped teeth ran over his bottom lip, sticking between them for a moment. I wanted to kiss him because he was so cute and I hated I couldn’t.

“She’s going to steal your best friend,” Seth teased Edward. “He obviously likes her better.”

“No!” Jasper complained too loudly. “I’ve known Tony for almost twenty years, and no one could ever replace him in my heart. That being said, she feeds me lots and spoils me. Of course, I fucking like her.” I leaned into him as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “My sweet dove made it possible for me to be here right now.” He kissed my temple several times playfully.

Tyler looked over at Edward. “So, you know she’s the best you’ll ever get, right? She literally convinced your best friend, your Seth, to move to another damn country. For you.” He nodded in answer, smiling at his biting words and tone. It was slightly crooked and to the side. “When are you going to put a ring on it? We all know you’re mad about her. You truly want her to have your babies. What the hell are you waiting for?”

“Hey! First, that’s rich coming from a man that didn’t marry his girl until he knocked her up… Seven years into the relationship! Second, I am very ready to put a ring on it, thank you. I’ve got it right here.” He turned around to pick up the Plexie statue.

I grabbed his hand. “Okay! Okay! Please don’t be goaded into pulling it out right now.”

“That’s what she said,” Jasper whispered under his breath. Edward reached over and swatted him, making him dissolve into laughter.

“Can we just have some cookies, please?” I begged. One of them pinched my side, but I couldn’t tell who because it was from behind. My head snapped from left to right. “I will smack both of you,” I warned seriously. “And I will do it on camera, too.”

“Kinky,” Jasper taunted, then squeezed me hard enough to make me squeak. I swatted his arm. “I could just pick you up and walk off with ya. Come at me, little girl.”

“I’ve seen her kick a guy twice your size unconscious,” Edward reminded him. “You could try, but I don’t think you’d get very far.”

“Oh shit, that’s true,” he mused. “I’m doing the intro, yes?” Jasper boomed, getting his mask ready for the camera again. The man beside us rolled his eyes and shook his head. Our boyfriend reached behind him, pinching his ribs, and earned a hard slap. “Owww,” he laughed and whined at the same time.

“Just do the fucking thing,” Eddie snapped at him mischievously. “I want a goddamn cookie too, and you’re purposefully drawing this out now.”

“Yup, sure am,” he quipped. “Alright, three, two, one,” he counted down for himself, pointing at Seth to turn on the camera. “Hey, everyone!” He practically roared, throwing his hands up to his sides. “My name is Jasper, this is the beautiful Bella, and that bastard with a right big gob is Eddie,” he continued in the thickest Australian accent I had ever heard him use. He was attempting to make everybody laugh, so we had to do it again, and would take even longer for him to get him a treat. “And we’re eating cookies from Baltimore!”

“These were sent from a fan, and we’re so excited to try them!” I beamed at the camera, trying not to fall apart just for Edward. It would be funnier too if that was the intro. His accent was stupid, and he knew it. “I’ve never had any of these,” I pretended everything he was doing was normal.

Seth passed me the sugar cookies to open. They were in a red paper bag with a little window in the front. Inside I could see them neatly in a row, all in different shapes as if they were homemade. Pale yellow, they were thin and light.

I pulled out a heart and held it up to my nose. “It’s so cute.”

Jasper took it from me and snapped it in half. I drew in a fake horrified gasp. He put one half of it into my open mouth. Laughing, I bit down as my hand quickly went up to catch it.

“Shit,” I mumbled through a mouthful of cookie. “It went down my bra,” I tried not to giggle. “Mmm, it’s good, though.” Picking up the bite that had fallen, I popped into my mouth. “Oh! This would be perfect with tea. You made an excellent choice.”

He finally lost it, putting his face in his hands as he laughed. Edward snatched the bag away from the center of the table and got himself one. He was still struggling to be serious. “You’re both a mess. I know I’m one. But so are you two.”

I threw the last crumb in his general direction. Then Jasper followed behind a comic half-second later. Our boyfriend was trying so hard not to give in to our stupidity. This is what he wanted, dumb videos, and this is what he would get.

And he obviously loved it. His eyes were practically glowing.

He popped the entire star-shaped cookie in his mouth in one go. It crunched loudly as the bits went all over his face. “Oh, yeah. It would be good with tea,” he agreed, nodding his head. It was a struggle not to give him what he wanted and laugh again.

The whole thing went like that.

My favorites were the Berger’s cookies, the ones with the fudge on the top. I loved them so much Edward promised to order me more online. They were also quickly added to the list of copy-cat recipes I wanted to try as well. For the first time, I went back to have a whole one despite how rich it was during the video.

The sugar high amongst the entire group could not be understated. We giggled our way through cooking, and the Baltimore barbecue and wing sauce ranking videos. It was a perfect first day of work with Jasper.

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading this episode!

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