The Manstress [EdwardxJacob]

Hello Again 🥰👋

"Hello?"

Edward's hands tremble as he clutches his phone too hard. It's hard to breathe.

"Hello?" The voice repeats, sounding a little impatient. "Look, if this is a prank call—"

"Hi," Edward says shakily, cutting him off.

There's a pause.

"Who is this?" The voice—Jacob—asks, sounding like he already knows but needs to check.

"Edward," Edward says, apparently finding himself only capable of one word replies.

On the other end of the line, Edward hears Jacob inhale sharply.

"I thought you were married," Jacob says quietly.

"I am," Edward swallows, "I thought you didn't mind."

"I don't," Jacob says, "but you do."

Edward's lips tremble minutely as he tries to keep two months of emotion contained.

"Please," says Edward, voice scratchy, "I need to see you."

There's another pause, and then Jacob says, "Yeah, okay."

Edward feels relief wash over him.

"Thank you," he breathes.

Twenty minutes later, he's standing in front of the door to Jacob's apartment. He's a bit breathless, having run up the stairs to avoid waiting for the elevator. Edward imagines he must look rather silly and over-eager, but he can't help himself. Just hearing Jacob's voice over the phone lit something inside him, something he hasn't felt these two long months.

Edward feels alive.

His knuckles rap on the door, and he stands in the carpeted hallway, heart in his throat.

The door opens, and in the opening stands Jacob.

His hair is mussed and there's light stubble along his jaw, a loose white t-shirt draped over his broad shoulders and grey sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He's perfect.

"Edward—" Jacob begins.

Before he can finish, Edward steps forward, enfolding Jacob in his arms. He holds him tight to his chest and tucks his face into Jacob's hair, breathing uneven.

Jacob is tense at first, but it only lasts a moment. His whole body seems  to go liquid and he wraps his arms around Edward in return.

"Oh, baby," he says, voice gentle.

Edward wants to sink into him and never resurface.

"I missed you," he says, the sound muffled.

Jacob sighs a little and his grip on Edward tightens for a second before releasing him entirely.

"Come on," he says, tone still soft, "come inside."

Edward is reluctant to let go of Jacob, but he does, and follows him inside the apartment.

Edward hadn't had much of a chance to look around last time he was here, but as he surveys it now he finds that it's quite nice. It's an open plan apartment with a large, modern looking kitchen and several large windows which fill the space with natural light.

Behind him, Edward hears a click as Jacob closes the door. He turns around to find Jacob observing him quietly, his face pinched minutely in concern.

"Let's go sit down," Jacob says, and leads Edward over to the large grey couch.

Edward knows they've only met once. He knows he should sit on the opposite end of the couch and have a short, stilted conversation before apologizing for bothering Jacob and leaving.