Hi all, so the story received several hits and I even got two reviews! Not going to lie, I was giddy as a schoolgirl thinking about people actually reading what I wrote. I appreciate it and welcome any constructive feedback.

Chapter 2

BPOV

It surprised me how easily I fell back into my work routine. Early mornings, long days, correcting, planning, teaching, coaching, going through the motions.

Towards the end of my first week back, I had almost chalked up my collision with green-eyed Mr. Venti as imaginary were it not for the healing burn blisters on my chest and stomach—the only proof I had that seeing him was real, delightful, I thought. Why was this affecting me so? I had seen good-looking men before, heck; I had even embarrassed myself by stumbling or falling in front of them before, on numerous occasions, so why were those eyes plaguing my dreams? Every morning this week, I'd woken with a start and the only thing I could remember was a pair of emerald green eyes looking at me with such intensity that in scared me.

As a rule of thumb, I never let people get close. Even my truest friends had had to work, and work hard to break away little pieces of my wall. A lot of time and effort had gone into building my wall and it was a masterpiece. A veritable Fort Knox, that was impenetrable to most, so why was it that I woke up every morning feeling like those green eyes had looked through my wall as if it were nothing more than a pane of the thinnest glass?

What little bits of me I had let my friends see were a result of hard work and perseverance on their part; and although I didn't have many friends, those I did have, I cherished. I knew my feelings were reciprocated to the enth degree, even though some of them had a funny way of showing it.

I was brought back to reality by giggling girls out in the hallway. I checked though my email as I sipped my tea before first period—I hadn't been near that Starbucks all week, in fact, I was even taking another route to school to bypass the coffee shop all together for fear of running into Mr. Venti again, literally. Sitting there in my inbox was an Evite reminder for Peter's birthday BBQ tomorrow night. I had already accepted the invite, but wondered if anyone would notice if I just didn't show up. I hated those get-togethers with a house full of people trying to talk over the loud music and one another. These parties always left me feeling awkward and out of place. Just as I was mulling through my list of good excuses to back out of the evening all together, the schrill voice of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want To Have Fun began resonating out of my purse. Damn you, Alice! Stupid ringtone was embarrassing and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to change it.

Before I could even say Hello, a high-pitched squeal pierced my eardrum,

"Don't you even think about bailing tomorrow night!" she spoke sternly into the phone.

"What are you going on about, and why are you calling me this early in the morning and why is my phone even on?" I demanded, my voice rising with each question.

"I turned it on last night, silly, I knew you'd never have it on, it's a wonder you even know how to answer the damn thing." She said as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Damn it, Alice! You went digging through my purse to turn my phone on for me? Doesn't that seem a bit much to you?" I whined; I knew I wasn't winning this one. From the moment I answered that phone, my Friday night was planned out to a T.

"We haven't really seen you in ages, if you think you're going to bail on Peter's party, you are so wrong!" she stated.

"How did you know I was going to bail?" curiosity getting the better of me.

"I knew you'd second guess going as soon as you saw the Evite reminder, am I right?" it was more of a statement than a question, so I didn't bother trying to come up with a good excuse.

"So you're coming over before and you'll come with Jasper and me to the party." She said, again, not a question and no room for discussion.

"Fine, Alice, but I hate these things, I never know anyone and I always feel like a God damned pariah or a leper that no one wants to talk to, besides, the water is supposed to be super calm tomorrow and I haven't paddled all week…" I wasn't even able to finish voicing that thought before it was kyboshed.

"BELLA! You paddled all summer in that damned boat, practically forgetting that we even existed, there is no way in hell you are passing up a night with your friends for a fucking kayak!" she spoke with eerie calm, this was angry Alice and she didn't often come out to play. I knew enough to appease her or else…

"Christ, fine, Alice, I'll head over after work tomorrow and we can catch up a bit before Peter's, are you happy?" I whined, completely crumbling and giving her everything she wanted.

"Exstatic!" she chirped, eerie calm replaced by her normal singsong voice.

"Oh, and bring the blue top I gave you, you're wearing that and some skinny jeans tomorrow", she went on.

"Nope, not wearing that top, not tomorrow, not ever if I can help it", I mumbled the last part.

"Why the hell not, it's an awesome top and you'll look fabulous in it, for fuck sakes, I made the damn thing just for you" she sounded exasperated again.

"I had a bit of an accident with a hot cup of coffee on Monday morning and still have the marks to prove it, so I'm ixnaying the top", this was one I wasn't budging on, and no one would be seeing the results of my run-in with Mr. Venti.

"What? Are you OK?" she asked, worry clear in her voice, "and you don't drink coffee" she said.

"Not my coffee and it's a long story," I say as the warning bell rings and students begin to file into class, "Alice, I have to go, that was the bell", I say.

"Rain check on the mishap, and I'll expect you tomorrow after work, bye sweetie!" she yells as I hang up.

I hang up and have to ask a student how to turn the damn phone off. I get a few snide giggles at my expense, whatever, I think to myself, and then roll my eyes at the fact that I'm even beginning to inner-monologue in teenager language.

I don't get much down time until I'm headed home at the end of the day. My walks down to the train station are my favorite time of the workday, sometimes, it's the only time the sun hits my face during the day. I usually put my ear buds in and find a song I'm in the mood for as I make the 20-minute trek down to the station to catch my ride home. I tend to zone out into my own little world, daydreaming, or scratching things off my mental to-do list. Lately, however, I've spent the majority of those walks daydreaming of green eyes. It's a good thing I have headphones on because as I catch myself mumbling a one-sided conversation, I pretend that I'm just singing along to my music. Seriously, what would I say to him if I ever saw him again? I mean really, the guy probably has no freaking clue who I am and that I've been obsessing about him since Monday morning. I mean it's not like I'm a standout or anything. Ahh, blessed reality check, how I missed you.

Friday morning I am jolted awake from yet another restless dream. Those God damned green eyes are haunting me now. I look over at my clock only to see that it's 4am and I'm so rattled that I know I won't be falling back asleep. Maybe an early morning paddle will help clear my head. I smile as I get up to check the weather conditions in the bay.

Standing on the canoe club dock at 4:45 in the morning is humbling. As I place my boat in the water and slip on my life jacket, I take a deep breath and relax quite possibly for the first time all week. This past summer, Rose and Alice suggested I sign up for paddling classes at the canoe club as a way to meet new people. It had been a toss up between kayaking and dragon boating and I went with the former because they said it would be much more of a workout in my own boat. I had laughed at their logic, seeing as neither one had ever set foot in a boat, much less on a dock. Besides, I knew their endgame; they were hoping I'd meet a guy.

If I said I took to kayaking like a fish takes to water, well, I'd be lying my pants off. Balance had never been one of my strong suits, and kayaking was all about balance. I spent the entire first month falling out of and climbing back into my boat. My instructor even asked me if I wanted to switch to dragon-boating as she was sure I'd get more out of it. Hell bent on proving her wrong, I worked my ass off to stay in my boat, class after class. Although tipping my slender and me sopping wet were common occurrences at the club, I managed to finally get it, one month into the three-month program. By the time July rolled around, I had graduated from a slender to a viper, which was much faster and easier to tip—not that I had tipped in a couple months. Kayaking had become my thing. I was good at it. I fell in love with it. Much to Alice's chagrin, her "get Bella to meet a guy" plan had backfired. If I wasn't at home sleeping, I was down at the canoe club or off somewhere paddling. I mostly paddled alone, unless I was working out on the cardio circuit, and I enjoyed my solitude.

As I quietly slipped into my viper and paddled away from the dock, a loon calling out joined me. As I cut through the mirror-like water was mesmerized by the peace and tranquility of the morning. I did my best thinking on the water and this morning was no exception. I had to come up with a way of putting Monday's accident behind me. There was no way I would ever be seeing this guy again. I mean realistically, there were over 4 million people here, what were the odds that I would ever meet him, let alone bump into him again?

How do you get your mind off a guy, regardless of whether you know him or not? According to Alice, you replace him with another guy. As long as there is a guy there, your subconscious doesn't care whether he has the most incredible eyes ever or not. Logical right? Alice was brilliant, but brilliance did not imply logic in my book. Maybe Alice was right though; maybe I should finally go on one of those dates she was always itching to set me up on. I'd meet someone incredible and forget all about incredible eyes, right? Something incredible canceled out another incredible every time… right? After an hour-long paddle around the sound, I headed home to get ready for work.

By noon, I was seriously regretting my morning jaunt on the water. I even resorted to locking my classroom door—something I never did, just to take a 20-minute power nap. I was looking less and less forward to tonight's festivities and I honestly had no idea how I was going to make it to Alice's let alone Peter and Charlotte's. At least I had had the foresight to pack my things for the party and bring them with me so that I could head straight to Alice's from work, otherwise, a pit stop home would have most definitely signaled the end of my day.

Alice was sitting, waiting on her front stoop for me like a puppy waits for its master to return home from work. Although her smile faltered slightly when she took in the dark circles under my eyes and my unacceptable attire, her squeal of excitement was genuine when she threw her arms around me for one of her special "mama-hugs".

"We are going to have so much fun tonight, I just know it!" she exclaimed.

"Seriously, I have a feeling this is gonna be one for the history books…" she continued despite my skeptical look.

Alice, bless her soul, had a pitcher of sangria with some munchies waiting for us as me made our way into the living room and plopped down on what I thought were the world's most comfortable couches. I sighed in anticipation of the grilling I knew I was about to get. Might as well just get it over with, I thought as I was trying to figure out just how much information I wanted to share. Before I could even get a sound out, she handed over a glass filled to the rim with sangria and fruit.

"I don't want to hear anything until that glass is empty" she stated as she got up and left the room.

Well, if I didn't have to talk until I finished my drink, then I would nurse the hell of this beverage and not have to speak all night long. I mean, how is that different than any other night I go out with these guys? I wondered. Between Alice's pixie-like positivity, Rose's no bullshit, tell-it-like-it-is mentality, and Emmet's boisterous, nothing-ever-gets-me-down attitude, I rarely was expected to lead the discussion let alone contribute. In fact the only one that was anywhere near my level of quietness was Jasper, and I think that was just to offset Alice's intensity. Besides, Jasper was intense in his own way; it just happened to be the opposite of what Alice was.

I was brought out of my reverie by a sudden case of the hiccups. When I looked down to my glass, it was still pretty full. Wait a minute, I thought as I tried, and failed to focus on the amount of sangria left in the pitcher. Sure enough, I was feeling rather buzzed and mellow as I realized that I had drank almost an entire pitcher of sangria to myself in a little over an hour. Although I disagreed with her methods, Alice always knew how to get me to unwind, and today, her chosen method was truth serum itself—and she wasted no time commencing the interrogation.

"Are the nightmares back?" she asked in a quiet voice, sipping a glass of red wine.

"Greenest eyes…" was my muffled reply.

When she realizes that I hadn't even heard her question, she tried again, "You never mentioned green eyes before, since when have they been a part of it?" curiosity clear in her question.

"Wait, what? No, not nightmares again, I haven't had one in a couple months" I clarify.

"Then why do you look like you've decided to forgo sleep, and what's this to do with green eyes anyway? We don't know anyone with green eyes..." she prods on.

So I steel myself, take a deep breath, and recount everything to her from the collision in the cafe, to the burns, to the dreams, leaving nothing out. Alice remains utterly silent, not even attempting to interrupt once, and I am too invested in the baring of my heart and soul that I miss a golden opportunity for some serious mockery. I finish off the rundown of my week detailing my Ah-ha moment on the water this morning where I'm finally willing to let her set me up with somebody in hopes of meeting my someone interesting.

Taking another deep breath when I finish, I wait for the high-pitched scream that will not doubt come at any moment as I've finally succumbed to Alice's dream of playing matchmaker for me. Any moment now, I cringe in anticipation. When the silence becomes uncomfortable, I peek up only to see Alice starring at me with tear-rimmed eyes, "You got burned again, how bad? Are you alright?" she sputters. At this I close my eyes and silently curse my luck that she would clue into the one section of the story I was hoping I had glossed over.

"Not too bad, just hot coffee, and nothing compared to what was already there" I state without emotion.

"That's why you won't wear the top I made you isn't it? It's too revealing right?" she guesses. Brilliant and perceptive, if not entirely logical—that's what Alice is, and I'd be best not to forget it I chide myself.

"Yeah, too much skin for my liking Ali, sorry, I didn't have the heart to tell you. The shirt is beautiful and if I wasn't so… I might try to do this little creation of yours justice", I whisper.

"I figured as much, but I thought I'd give it a try, because, well, you are beautiful and beautiful people need beautiful things" she states in a matter-of-fact kind of way. From anyone else, that comment might have come off as conceited, but Alice is anything but.

"And", she continued "because I know you better than anyone else, I made this one for you too as a back up, with a little more material" she says as she throws another shirt my way.
My smile is instantaneous as I admire her newest creation.

"Oh, Alice, it's perfect!" I gush as I get up to go change. Unfortunately, I momentarily forget about the pitcher full of sangria I have just consumed and as I stand, I manage to go over my ankle and tumble back down onto the couch. I have mentioned how damn much I love those couches, because I believe that bears repeating.

After what feels like a roller coaster ride of emotion during our "chat", Alice takes control of the evening as only Alice can. She dresses me and makes me up and declares me perfect. Maybe it's the booze, or the beautiful cobalt, shimmery shirt she's created for me, but for the first time in a long time, I'm inclined to agree. Not bad, not bad at all, I think to myself. My buoyant mood can't even be sunk when she tells me that one of the guys she's desperate to hook me up with will be at Peter's birthday party.

Felt like the right place to end it. Please review and let me know what you think.

Next chapter will be EPOV and they'll finally meet (I'm a little excited about this).