Insider Trading: Outtakes from Hot Commodity - Chocolate Therapy

A/N: Hello again!

This is a little thank you for carrying Hot Commodity over 400 reviews. If I could dish out hugs and kisses to you all I would in a heartbeat! :)

Characters belong to SM, publicly recognizable locations, things, etc. belong to their respective owners. Everything else belongs to me.

- Chocolate Therapy -

Rose's POV

I slammed the apartment door behind me and stomped down the hall.

I was going to kill Edward Cullen. No, scratch that, killing him would be too easy. I was going to use a rusty kitchen knife to chop his balls off and then I'd shove them up his nostrils.

I slid into the back of the Lincoln and tossed my purse onto the seat next to me. I dialed Alice's number and waited impatiently for her to pick up. This situation called for reinforcements.

"Happy Saturday!" Alice's singsong voice only made me angrier.

"What are you doing?" I spat out. I couldn't see her, but I was fairly certain Alice jumped at my tone.

"I just got home from spinning class. What are you doing?"

"You need to get over to Bella's house right now." I sounded like a drill sergeant. I knew I shouldn't be so snippy with Alice, but news of Cullen's stereotypical behavior had completely dissolved any politeness filter I had.

"What the hell is going on? Who unleashed your inner bitch this morning?" Now Alice sounded irritated too. I closed my eyes and released a silent breath, willing myself to relax and direct my anger appropriately.

"Cullen pulled a fuck-and-run on Bella," I explained. Alice gasped.

"He didn't!"

"Oh yes – he did indeed." The car came to a stop and I got out before my driver could open the door for me. "How soon can you be here?"

I heard the shower turn on in the background. "Half an hour?"

"Don't be late!" I hung up and headed into the building. Years ago, Bella, Alice, and I had all exchanged keys. We didn't use them very often, but in situations like this, they definitely came in handy.

"Bella?" I called out, easing open her apartment door.

"In here," she answered. I followed her voice to the kitchen, where I expected to find her drowning her sorrows with a pint of Ben and Jerry's and a strong cocktail. Instead, the sight of my best friend punching her fists into a large mixing bowl greeted me.

"You're baking?" I did nothing to hide the surprise in my voice.

Bella nodded, wiping her face on the sleeve of her shirt. I couldn't tell if she was ridding herself of tears or flour. "I couldn't handle sitting here and dwelling on this shit."

"That's … good," I offered, choosing my words delicately. I stepped forward and dipped my finger in the bowl, scooping up a decent sized amount of dough and dropping it in my mouth. Bella nudged me away from the counter with her hip.

"Hey! None of that!"

"Does this mean the asshole is forgiven?" I pulled out a chair and sat down. Bella's back stiffened and she stopped mixing the dough.

"What's there to forgive?" She finally answered, resuming her punches. "It's not like he promised me anything. Besides, I was the one who brought him home, not the other way around. Should I really have expected anything else?"

"You absolutely should have expected something else!" I stood up and leaned my back against the counter next to Bella, crossing my arms over my chest. "He agreed to go out with you - on a date, Bell, not just for a good fuck. I'm sorry if I sound crass, but if that's all he wanted, then he should have been honest with you after the first night you hooked up."

She stopped mixing again and tucked her chin to her chest. I cocked my head to the side and tried to meet her eye. Fresh tears were tricking down her already blotchy cheeks.

"I feel like such an idiot, Rose." Bella motioned to the sink with her elbow and I turned the warm water on for her. She scrubbed the cookie dough off her fingers and reached for a towel. "He seemed so genuinely excited when I asked him to go. He even brought me truffles instead of flowers, Rose – truffles from fucking Paris!"

"Honey, you aren't the idiot – Edward is." I folded my arms across my chest. "Just because he tried to woo you with European delicacies doesn't make him prince charming."

Bella sank down onto one of the kitchen chairs and dropped her head to her hands. "Thanks for that, Rose. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"I'm sorry, Bella. I love you, but this guy is a dick, and I'm not going to sugarcoat my opinions to make it seem otherwise." I kneeled in front of her, resting my palms against my thighs. "He's a womanizer, sweetie, plain and simple. He knows all the tricks of the trade when it comes to getting what he wants."

When she made no move to speak, I continued. "And you … you're a good person, Bella. In fact, you're such a good person that you always try and find the redeeming qualities in others – even when they don't exist. Unfortunately I don't think you're going to find anything redeeming in Edward."

"Step off your high horse already!" Bella stood abruptly. Her tearful eyes met mine, and I was taken aback by the hostility in them. "Edward's not perfect, but he isn't total shit either!"

"I'm not on any 'high horse,'" I argued. I stood up myself, unsure of what to say. It had been years since Bella and I had an argument, let alone one over a guy. "I told you before, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. I care too much about you to stand back and watch in silence while you let some scumbag whose dick controls his brain walk all over you."

" Damnit Rosalie, you're supposed to be my best friend!" Her face was turning red and she was clenching and unclenching her fists at her side.

"I am your friend-"

"Then start acting like it and stop sitting here and lecturing me like I'm a fucking teenager!" She turned and stormed off down the hall. The sound of the bathroom door slamming echoed through the apartment.

"Bella!"

"I already have one overbearing mother back in Washington! I don't need another one here!" she yelled.

I padded down the hall and came to a stop in front of the bathroom, resting my forehead against the door. "I didn't come over here to fight with you."

"Then maybe you should leave." Her voice was heavy with tears. I didn't know what to say, but it didn't matter because the sound of Alice's knocking saved me.

"Thank God you're here!" I flung the door open and grabbed her wrist, pulling her inside. "This is not going at all how I'd hoped it would."

"Where is she?" Alice whispered. She dropped the Dean and Deluca bag she was carrying on the kitchen floor and took off her coat.

"She's in the bathroom." I placed one hand on my hip and used the other to gesture down the hall.

"Bell?" Alice said softly, tapping her knuckles against the door. When there was no response she tried the knob, but it was locked as I'd expected. "Honey, please come out and talk to us."

"I have nothing to say to Rose," Bella spat back. "I don't need any Edward intervention from you either."

"I'm not here to give you an Edward intervention." Alice glared at me and mouthed, what the fuck? I looked down at my feet and pointed at myself, mouthing, I might have been a bit of a bitch. Alice just rolled her eyes and gave me a look that said, "I-want-to-choke-you-but-I'm-too-nice-to-do-that-here."

"Is Rose still out there?"

"Yes, but I promise she'll keep her lips zipped." Alice gave me a stern look. "Isn't that right Rose?"

"I promise I'll shut my big mouth," I said, taking the hint. A minute later the door eased open and Bella joined us in the hall.

"Sweetie, look at your face! Have you been crying all morning?"

Bella nodded and headed for living room, settling down on one of her cushy armchairs and pulling a pillow into her lap. "I shouldn't be this upset. It was one date – one fucking date! It's not like we 

were engaged or something."

"Aw, that doesn't matter, Bell, you obviously have feelings for him." Alice perched herself on the edge of Bella's chair and wrapped her arm around our friend's shoulders.

"Which is exactly what I promised myself wouldn't happen!" She leaned her head on Alice's shoulder and blew out a long breath. "I knew going into this there'd be some set of unspoken rules that I needed to follow. I mean, didn't one of Emmett's buddies say he had some ridiculous rule about girls that came home with him?"

"In after the sun goes down, out before it comes back up." I whispered. My words made Bella wince.

"Rules exist so they can get broken," Alice argued, tossing a glare in my direction. "All it takes is for the right person to come along and that can change everything."

"I just don't get it." Bella pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. "I've had one night stands with guys like him before – you both know that. They don't stick around and spend the night, they don't spoon after the deed is done, and they sure as hell don't let you make them breakfast the next morning. They get up, get dressed, and go home."

"Which is why I think Edward feels something for you," Alice said. "All those little details you just described are things a couple does, Bella. He's obviously breaking his rules specifically for you."

"If he felt something for me then why on earth would he run away like he did this morning?"

I chewed on my lip, unsure of whether or not I should say anything. I still owed Bella an apology from before, but now was clearly not the right time to give it.

"You know what I think?" Alice finally said.

"I'm guessing you're going to tell us regardless of how we answer?" I joked. Bella cracked a small smile and I knew then that I would be forgiven for my bitchiness.

"I think that Edward is scared." Alice ignored my jab. "I think that you're the first woman he's met that makes him feel something real, and as a result, he's scared shitless of you."

"I doubt that's the case, Alice." Bella cocked her head so her cheek rested against her knees. "If he felt anything positive for me he wouldn't have bolted out the door like white lightning."

"Did you hear a word I just said? Bolting out the door is completely typical behavior for a man that's scared of his feelings!"

I decided now was as good a time as ever to pitch in. "She has a valid point."

Bella looked over at me and narrowed her eyes. "So now you're on team Edward?"

"I never said that," I said, shaking my head. "As far as I'm concerned, scared or not, he should have sat down and talked to you instead of up and leaving like he did. But, Alice is right, leaving with no warning would absolutely be something to do if he was scared of what he feels."

"So what do I do then? I can't exactly call him up and ask him if he's scared."

"I think you should sit tight and wait for him to call you." Alice stood and started pacing the living room. "There's no reason to get all worked up at this point. Now, if you haven't heard from him in a week, then you might want to call him and see what the hell is going on."

"I'll see him for work on Wednesday and Thursday." Bella stretched her legs out in front of her. "Do I say something or do I act like nothing happened?"

"No, no, no, don't say anything." Alice came to a stop in front of Bella's chair and placed her hands on her hips. "Leave your personal baggage at the door and be on your best professional behavior. If he doesn't text or call you – for reasons not related to work – by Friday, then it's time to call him. We can even come over and hold your hand while you do it."

Bella looked pointedly at me. "What are your thoughts?"

"I'm keeping my opinions to myself. They only seem to get me into trouble."

"How about you try to keep your opinions in the tactful range and share them with me, please."

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, that's all." I looked down at my hands and wrung my fingers together. "You saw what I went through with Jacob. It took my giving him ten too many second chances before I realized that people should have to earn them from me, just like they have to earn my trust."

"Rose, please, Edward hasn't done anything to Bella that's even close to the caliber of what Jacob did to you." Alice sat down on the edge of the armchair once more.

"That doesn't mean he won't in the future," I mumbled.

"Emmett could hurt you in the future too, just like Jasper could hurt me. Have we given up on them?" Sometimes Alice made the worst comparisons ever.

"Neither of them has given us a reason to give up, Alice." I held my hands up in surrender when both girls glared at me. "I'm done chiming in here. Just be careful, that's all. I don't think Edward deserves to get off the hook without doing his fair share of groveling."

"Then it's settled! You give Edward a week and then we can decide if we need to inflict bodily harm or not! Now, who wants cake?" Alice jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen.

I swallowed my pride and prepared to apologize. "Bella, I'm sorry. I honestly wasn't trying to be rude earlier."

"I know you weren't." We stood up at the same time and she gave me a hug.

"C'mon ladies!" Alice appeared in the doorway holding three forks. "Chocolate therapy awaits!"

What Alice didn't realize was that no amount of Dean and Deluca chocolate would erase the worry that had settled itself in the pit of my stomach.