Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Thank you to the lovelies evelyn-shaye & dreamergirl87 from PTB for their beta skills!

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EPOV

After hearing the "customer is always right" speech from my boss about thirty times, I was finally able to leave work. It was past three o'clock in the morning, and I was exhausted. I took the bus home, which was a calming routine for me, since I would always get off one stop early to smoke a cigarette while I walked the last blocks home. The streets were quiet as I walked and smoked. That was rare; there was always something going on, someone screaming, some loud music playing, someone fighting… just one of the perks of living in the ghetto part of town. Having been born and raised in this neighborhood, it was all I'd ever known, and I hated it, passionately. It didn't matter though, because one day, I would get my family out of here.

I opened the door to my house carefully; Tanya and Mandy were surely sleeping by now. I walked in, dropped the keys silently on the table, and strolled towards Mandy's bedroom door. I opened the door cautiously and edged closer to her bed. There, sleeping like an angel, was my little girl. Her long curls were spread all over her pillow, and her legs were tangled with the sheets. Ever since she was little, Mandy wrestled her way through her dreams, kicking and turning fiercely the whole night. At the beginning, we thought she might be having nightmares, but she always woke up so happy, never remembering what the dreams were about. Later on, we came to realize that my little princess was a fire cracker and had more energy than she was able to spend on a day, so she was most likely running around playing games in her dreams as well.

Kneeling in front of her bed, I brushed some of her hair behind her ear. She turned around, and I could see her face, her eyes closed, her little mouth open in an "o" shape, and still sound asleep. A small chuckle escaped my lips as I saw the stuffed soccer ball she was clutching under her arms. I gave her a little peck on the cheek as I got up.

I left Mandy's room rubbing my neck; my whole body was screaming at me to lie down for a while. I searched my pants' front pocket for my ring. The last thing I needed was for Tanya to notice I wasn't wearing it; I would never hear the end of it. I had tried to explain to her, many times, how the other bartenders told me no ring equaled better tips. I didn't think much of it and doubted it would work, but hey, on the chance of increasing my tips, I did it. Truthfully, I never really thought it would make a difference. I would never cheat on Tanya, despite our crappy life together. And yes, I got hit on, frequently, but only by senseless drunk college girls looking for a one night stand.

Not wearing my ring hadn't been an issue, really, until Bella. I couldn't lie — I liked Bella. I would never act on it, of course, but it was still true. Since that first night she walked into Earl's, wearing skinny jeans and a hoodie, I couldn't get her out of my head. I suspected she liked me too, but she was different than the other girls. She wanted to get to know me, wanted to talk to me. I still didn't comprehend why a girl like Bella would be hanging out with me. She was too beautiful, too smart, and too good to be hanging out at Earl's. Tonight had been nothing but proof of that, with that fucking old pervert wanting to get in her pants. Bella had tried to deal with it her own way, but it ended up on me. To make things worse, I had snapped at her, raised my voice at her. I hoped to get a chance to apologize to her.

I was still pissed off as I lay on the bed and set the alarm clock. Even though I was careful not to wake Tanya up, having turned the lights off and closed my eyes, I felt her turn around and put an arm around me. I was asleep soon after that.

…

I was one of those people that got up on the first beep of the alarm. I couldn't afford to snooze, ever. I was always rushing for something. Rushing to practice at six in the morning, rushing to job number one, rushing to job number two. Rush, rush, rush. Tanya and Mandy were still sleeping as I left for soccer practice. We practiced every morning, except Sundays, from six-thirty to nine. It was intense, but I loved it. Playing soccer was the only time I felt good at something. I didn't mind getting two hours of sleep; I wouldn't miss this for the world.

After practice I would always go back home, to eat, shower and get some rest before job number one. As I got home, I noticed the little head of long, soft, blond curls running around the yard, trying to catch a squirrel. I tossed my cigarette quickly before I walked to her.

As soon as my princess saw me, she came running to me, squealing. "Daddy!"

"Hi, sweetie!" I smiled at her, picking her up and going inside, while she rambled in my ear about the squirrel's tail size.

I smiled at Tanya, who was in the kitchen fixing me breakfast.

"Daddy, are you gonna teach me how to ride my bike today?" Mandy said as I put her on the floor.

"Amanda, you know your dad has to leave for work at eleven. Let him go to sleep." Tanya said from the kitchen. Mandy was looking up at me, full pout on.

I crouched to face her and ran a hand through her hair, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'll teach you tomorrow, okay?" I whispered against her forehead, giving her a little peck before heading to my bedroom. These were the moments when I regretted going to practice, even though it was the only thing I did for me. Being so tired all the time was really cutting on the time I could spend with Mandy. I wish I didn't have to sleep. It would be so much easier. With a groan, I face-dived on my bed to try to catch some sleep, but I could hear Amanda sobbing outside.

"But he promised," my baby girl sobbed to her mother, and it crushed my heart.

"Sweetheart, you know your daddy works a lot so you can have everything you like, like that bicycle."

"I don't want a bike if I can't ride it!"

I looked at the clock. It's ten anyway…

My baby's face lit up as she saw me coming out of the bedroom. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do to put a smile on that pretty little face of hers. "Let's go, Baby. Go get your helmet."

"Yayyyyy!"

I chuckled as Mandy ran to her room and rushed back out, helmet on, clasping herself on my leg. She wrapped her arms around my thigh, her legs around my ankle, and started giggling as I lifted my leg up. I walked outside with my little spider monkey wrapped on my leg.

…

Job number one was cleaning pools at another neighborhood. It was easy work that didn't require me being fully awake. Mandy was napping when I came back, so I was able to get a couple hours of sleep before having to leave to Earl's.

Saturday was the worst day of the week, with the whole weight of the week plus the accumulation of hours of no sleep; I was pretty much a zombie on Saturdays. Tonight, Earl's was going to be especially bad. It was the stupid anniversary of the place. At least I hoped Bella would be there, so I would get a chance to apologize for last night, to talk to her. I enjoyed Bella's company. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

…

As expected, Earl's was packed tonight, and I was struggling to keep up. I felt like an octopus juggling bottles and glasses back and forth. It wasn't until around eleven that I saw her. Her hair was down, long and brown, flowing freely over her uncovered shoulders. A black strapless dress clung to her body and ended on her thighs. I gulped when I realized that the hot brunette who'd just walked in was none other than Bella. Her black Converse shoes were what gave her away. The sound of the beer bottle smashing on the floor snapped me out of my trance.

Shit…

After cleaning the mess I'd made, I approached Bella, who was already sitting at my section.

"Hello, Bella. I didn't think you'd come," I said lamely.

What a load of bull.

I did think she would come. I hoped and wished that she would.

"I came here with my friend," Bella announced, pulling a guy by his sleeve and sitting him beside her as if to make a statement. I risked a glance to her side and recognized him immediately. He was the huge guy that had come to pick her up the other night when I first met her. She was sad that night and drank more than she could handle. Still looking at the guy, I felt a groan building in my chest, and my hands were turning into fists. I had told Bella to come with a friend, but I had meant a girlfriend.

What the hell is my problem? Why do I care who she brings?

I needed to get a grip on myself. Maybe it was because I was exhausted, or maybe it was because of what Bella was wearing tonight, but I couldn't coax any rational thoughts into my head. I wanted Bella away from her friend. I wanted Bella alone with me so I could talk to her, ask her about school and apologize for yelling at her last night.

I glanced at Bella, who was smiling broadly at me, her eyes beaming with excitement. Her shoulders straight, in a pose that seemed unfamiliar on her, but that emphasized her collarbone and her chest. I had to swallow hard again. Bella was going to be the death of me.

Unable to speak without probably embarrassing her and myself, I looked around the bar, searching for an out. Luckily, reason prevailed, and I turned around to go attend to other people that were waiting for drinks.

…

I couldn't get Bella out of my sight tonight; it was a miracle I didn't cut my hands cleaning the three more beer bottles I dropped. My eyes were on her constantly, wishing I could just sit and talk to her for a bit. Her friend had left her alone and was now entertained dancing with a girl. As soon as he was gone, some guy approached Bella and asked her to dance. Bella looked up at him in consideration, while she smoothed the skirt of her dress, and I thought I might have to clean another shattered bottle of the floor, but luckily, she turned him down.

I sighed in relief, realizing I had been holding my breath, as I debated with myself whether to approach her or not. This was so wrong, on so many levels. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to regain some control, but then I looked at her and the way her black dress highlighted the ivory color of her thighs, and my brain just lost the fight.

"Hi," I said lamely, leaning on the counter.

Bella looked at me, and her eyes brightened as she smiled. "Hi."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think it was going to be as packed as it is."

I wiped with a handkerchief the sweat from my forehead.

"Yeah, I know." She dropped her eyes from my gaze, and I could tell she was already disappointed in me.

"How can I make it up to you?" I offered.

"I want to dance," she replied, looking back up at me.

Shit… That would be tricky.

"Let me see what I can do, okay?"

"Really?" she asked behind me, but I was already gone. Acting on an impulse, I walked to Ian and asked him to cover for me. Bella looked at me uncertainly as I walked around the bar and back to her.

"Want to dance?" I extended my hand to her, and she smiled broadly. With her hand in mine, I walked to the back of the dance floor, hoping that no one would see us.

As soon as we were in the back, a slower hip hop song started playing, making me freeze on the spot. What the hell was I doing? I still had her hand in mine but had no clue how to proceed. She looked at me expectantly and smiled.

Bella was a friend. I could dance with a friend. Right?

I spun her around, and she started giggling, but when I pulled her close to me, she stopped. I couldn't describe what having her body so close was doing to me, but it was clearly clouding my thoughts. My hand lingered in the small of her back, aching to move lower, as she swayed her hips in front of me. She was so much shorter than me that my chin barely met the top of her head, which was unfortunate, because the scent of her hair —vanilla with a hint of something else, maybe coconut?— was driving me mad, and I had to swallow hard.

This is so wrong…

I tried to get my hands to release her and get some space between us, but my hands were having none of that. They lingered on her body as my breathing was rapidly getting out of hand, and I tried in vain to control it. We kept on dancing, and she closed her eyes, laying her head on my chest.

Jesus… I like her… so much… I am fucked.

The song ended too soon, and the bass of the new song was loud enough to snap me out of my daze. My hands dropped to my sides as I took one step back away from her. As soon as I let her go, my arms were already missing her touch. I tried to take a deep breath but realized too late that I was already having trouble breathing. I glanced up and saw Ian looking for me.

Shit…

"I'm sorry."

"You got to go. I know," she said disappointedly, looking down. Her hair cascaded forward, hiding her face, and she ran both hands to pull some of it behind her ears.

"I'm so sorry," I tried again, but air just wasn't getting in my lungs. "It's just that…" What could I say really? How could I explain when I couldn't even speak?

"It's okay," she said, her voice full with sorrow. I wished I could have stayed and tried to explain, but I really had to leave. My breathing situation was getting out of hand.

…

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A/N: This is my first story ever! So I would love to know what you think!

Thanks for reading! :)