Chapter Two: Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Twilight.

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BPOV

After the shop had closed for today, I went home to freshen up before going out for an early dinner with Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Embry and Sam, my friends that I've known for years other then Eric and Tyler.

The rest of the day at the shop had gone well, despite having to listen to Oops and Uh-oh talking about Edward, the poor man and how his heart will be broken again tonight as he delivers his 'girlfriend', Tanya, those roses.

I'm content with who I am. I don't need a relationship. I just need romance and friends. Both of which I have.

Just as I was about to walk out of the house, my mobile rang. I looked at Caller ID and noticed that it was my mother.

I took the call as I began to walk towards the Burger place where I was meeting my friends at. My mother, Renee, raved on about how I should come over for dinner soon and that she would make, what I call, substitute chicken. It didn't look much like chicken, and didn't taste like chicken. But my mum insisted it was chicken.

That's how she is. Always trying out new things as substitutes for anything from foods to exercise. Eccentric was what she was. After her and my father divorced, she never got into the habit of dating again, and so always wanted me as company, which I couldn't do too often while I had to run my own shop.

I walked into the diner and immediately saw my friends. I plopped down next to Alice, still on the phone, and nodded hello to everyone. I noticed they were discussing something about soap, mud and cleaning.

"Alright, I got to go mother. Yeah, bye. Yeah, bye. Bye-bye," I said as I finished the conversation with my mother.

I put my phone in my purse and looked around at everyone.

"What are the plans for Valentine's Day?" I asked everyone with a huge smile.

Emmett and Rosalie replied that they would spend it together in their apartment, in their own romantic bubble.

Sam groaned and said, "It's too much pressure!"

"It's the celebration of romance," I stated to all of them.

"Not if you've been single since adolescence," Embry said, rubbing his forehead with his palm.

"How are you going though Sam?"

'... I bought a girl at work some chocolates."

"That's really sweet," I said sincerely.

Alice came bounding in at that moment, "Hi, hi. Sorry always late, I know. There was this pair of shoes." Alice turned to me and said, "Java drink guy asked me out."

Rosalie sighed, "Oh, you already went there?"

"Yep." Alice said, ripping open a tomato sauce packet to coat her fries with.

"Have you already googled him?"I asked. Alice was always forward and planning her future with every guy she meets. Then she proceeded to tell that guy which always frightened them off.

"Uh-huh. He was a total chubster in middle school but then he played football in high school and lost the weight and his mum's a teacher and his dad sells used cars. I went back and told him his best friend's name in high school and that it would be a perfect name for our first child."

We all looked at each other silently. Alice looked at us and then me, "Weird?" she asked.

"If 'weird' means 'spooky'."

Rose added her advice, "Okay, you have to wait to be wooed."

Alice went on, "Anyway, we have a date tonight. And i really don't want to mess this one up."

I grabbed a hot chip, "Oh, then don't text him 82 times between now and then."

"Yes and wait to be wooed," Rose repeated.

"And then you have five dates and that's all," I stated.

Alice replied, "Okay... just tell me what to do one more time."

This is where my strict format comes in. I know exactly what to do on each one of the dates.

"Alright. Date one, breathless flirting. Date two, tummy flip-flops. Date three, the adventurous date. Date four, be fun and fabulous. Date five, make it the best date ever. And then you say goodbye. When the romance is gone, it's time to move on. He'll only remember you with sweet, soft memories and you... you will never be hurt again."

"Okay. I'm totally doing it your way."

"And keep those knees together," I said sternly.

"Ding," Alice replied.

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Today was Valentine's Day! The best day of the year. I hurriedly got dressed in a red dress, black coat, and my black knee high boots and grabbed my red bag full of little heart chocolates I hand out on my way to work.

Walking down the street I said "Happy Valentine's Day" to everyone I come across. One guy even said, "Does this mean you love me?" But nothing could put me in a bad mood.

I came up to my shop and noticed approximately ten males looking in my shop window deciding what to buy their Valentine's and had waited to the last minute to do so.

I came up behind them and said, "Happy Valentine's Day."

One turned around and said, "Help!"

The guy that mouthed off to me yesterday at how Valentine's Day sucked was also waiting. So I made it a point by going up to him and saying, "Welcome back" to which he replied "this sucks."

I opened up the shop and watched around fifteen to twenty men push in the door in a fluffy. Today was going to be a busy, busy day.

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EPOV

After I walked in on Tanya in bed with another man last night, I had been sulking quietly by myself in the old shop I had bought yesterday morning before heading into that flower shop down the street where that nice, young woman helped me.

But now, I was sitting alone in the dark shop on an old antique stool, flipping small pieces of metal into a tin can.

I heard a door open and my friend, Jacob, comes around the corner, "How are you, Edward? Happy V-Day, buddy."

Jacob proceeds to look around, "Wow, look at this place. Big mistake," he said as he pulled up a stool next to me.

I admit that the shop needed quite a lot of work, but now I would have time to restore it, seeing as I have no girlfriend to hog up my time.

"Where are we taking it tonight?" he asked.

I turned around and punched his arm. Jacob jumped, "Oh! What's with that?"

"You were the one that set me up with Tanya, that flight attendant."

"Yeah! Let's score me some flight attendants."

"I just got dumped by one."

"One what?" Does Jacob every listen?

"A flight attendant. The one you set me up with."

"How'd that go?"

I sighed and decided to speak my thoughts, "Do you ever listen?"

"Well, then I'd have to hear you, buddy."

I sighed again, 'She said my actions let her know that we weren't exclusive. I thought we were exclusive."

Jacob huffed and looked down at his phone again, "So?"

I crossed my arms over my torso and hunched over, "so it's my fault once again for not understanding the game."

"No there's no game tonight."

There he goes again. I wish he would get off that bloody phone. I sighed for a third time and hang my head.

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BPOV

Tonight was date number one with Mike Newton. He took me to a lovely romantic restaurant and here we sit, discussing relationships.

"Well I don't think long-term relationships work,' I expressed.

"I haven't had a relationship in a year," he answers back.

"Well... you seem like a fun guy," I smile. My mobile phone began to ring.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Please excuse me. I just want to take this. It's my friend. She keeps calling and I'm a bit worried about her. I'll be right with you."

The whole time I said this Mike kept side smiling at me

"Hi, Alice. Are you okay? Aren't you on a date? Hello?"

I heard sniffles from the opposite end, "Oh, God," Alice replies. "I downloaded coffee guy's yearbook photos and I made him a scrapbook and he flinched and ran out."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." More sniffles on the other end, and then I heard that very familiar TV show music. "You're watching 'Jerry Maguire' again."

"No."

"Listen to me. Nobody completes anybody. Alice, you're the best. I'll call you when I get home. Turn off the TV."

"Okay."

I close my phone and say hi again to Mike with a smile.

He continued to have that smile on his face and if he did not get rid of it soon, I was tossing up whether or not to slap it off of his face, "So, wait, wait. Let's get back to what you were talking about. You don't want a relationship?"

"Yes. I do not want a relationship." I think I knew where this was going. "They're just an emotional cage that sad couples peek from behind the bars of, looking at all us happy, single people, wondering what fear of being alone made them say, 'I do'."

Mike took a toothpick and began to bite on it, to be seductive, "So you're saying... you're kind of a swinger?"

I straightened up, "What just happened?"

He replied, "Mm-hm."

I exhaled sharply. Oh god.

--

The day after Valentine's Day. I quickly ended the date with Mike and went home. Now Tyler, Eric and I were taking down the decorations from yesterday.

"Oops."

"Uh-huh." Eric had bumped the step ladder that Tyler was standing on.

I decided to go and visit Edward's new restaurant down the street. Walking into his shop I noticed him in a button down shirt. I quietly walked up behind him as he was nailing shelves on the wall, behind what looked to be, a half assembled bar.

After greeting each other and making polite conversation about when he was going to open his restaurant I cut to the chase, "I was thinking I would like to provide your floral arrangements."

He looked down, "Oh, well, uh, I didn't put flowers in my budget."

I was shocked, "I'm sorry. I thought you just said that you didn't put flowers into your budget."

"I did."

"Take it back."

"What?"

"Edward, with all due respect, you're making a huge mistake. A new restaurant is not just about the food. It's about ambience and soul. Now flowers provide a salve to our senses because aesthetic beauty calms us and soothes us which means customers will feel good here. They will linger. They'll order more wine. Which means they'll have dessert and they will leave happy. And they will go home and they're going to make love. They will wake up in a great mood and then tell everybody about the fabulous new tapas restaurant they just went to."

Edward looked thoughtful for a minute and smirked a trademark smirk, "How much?"

I smiled widely, "Not much."

"You're good."

"Who told you?" with that I took my leave and walked back out.

Walking home, after talking with my mum again, I checked my voicemail. Only one... from my father. "Hi Bella. It's your dad. Just calling to say hi, to see what you're up to. Give me a call sometime." I closed my phone, sighed and kept on walking home.

Tomorrow I'm helping Edward with his floral decorations.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. I'm actually estimating this story to only be around 10-15 chapters. Bella is 27 and Edward is 29. Jasper also does not really feature in this story until the last few chapters. Sorry for all those Jasper lovers. That's just how it was in the movie and I'm keeping it very similar to the movie. Also Rosalie and Emmett are not major characters either.

Thanks for all the favourites, alerts and reviews. Your opinion matters to me. I'm posting this a day earlier because I will be at a concert tomorrow during the day. I'm going to Soundwave to see Paramore, All Time Low, Jimmy Eat World, etc.

Reviewers will get a sneak peak of chapter three.

Chapter three should be posted on Thursday about 7am (Australian Time) but I may be persuaded to update earlier if I get quite a few reviews – hint hint.