Chapter One – Old Friends
"People always leave… but sometimes they come back" – Peyton Sawyer, One Tree Hill
"Hey Bells." Emmett greeted me as he walked down the stairs towards us. When he reached the floor, he pulled me in for one of his bear hugs.
"I uh I take it you two know each other." Bryan pointed out joining us two in the foyer.
"Yeah. Bells and I here went to high school together. Although she really didn't give me the time of the day back then. She only had eyes for my younger brother but he didn't deserve someone as awesome as her. He kept trying to make her into something she wasn't, although I see she has changed since then." He looked me over in a way that made me feel bashful.
I was wearing a dark blue belted shirt and slim fitting jeans. I switched out of my high heels for my flats and pulled my hair up so it wasn't lying on my shoulders.
"Yes, well I haven't had a chance to look over what you wanted but since Bryan is the project manager, he'll be spearheading the renovation." I told him.
His face fell a bit. "Oh ok. Well word around town was your firm was the best and when I found out you were working there Bells, I just assumed you would be the one doing everything."
"Well don't worry, Isabella will be by my side the entire renovation and will personally handle all the procurements of the furniture, paints and other things."
Emmett nodded and started walking Bryan through the areas, talking about what he wanted the loft to look like. He had only recently purchased the loft so he was living here yet but was hoping to move in before the start of autumn.
"We can have everything done by then. I mean luckily for us most of the work has been done. And as far as taking out one wall to make way for a garage door, I know the perfect company. And we can even have them insert a double pane window to cancel out the noise and block out some of the cold weather and the heat." Bryan explained as I jotted down the notes.
"I can come by next week and we can go over some ideas for furniture and go through the look books we have at the office to design your place." I supplied.
"Well it's not going to need that much since it'll just be me here. This is gonna be my new bachelor pad."
I raised my eyebrow at this and looked to him for a further explanation but he shook his head and mouthed "Later". I nodded and finished up the measurements of the wall we were having taken out.
A few minutes later, Bryan handed Emmett the contracts and a few other papers while I packed up to leave. "Well, Mr. Cullen, thank you for meeting us and we'll be in touch with your estimate. If we need to set up a payment plan then just let us know. Isabella, if you don't mind staying behind and dropping off the paperwork at the office on your way home." Bryan nodded. I knew on Fridays he left early since he always spent the weekends visiting his parents in Tacoma.
I nodded and walked over towards the kitchen counter where Emmett was reading over the contracts.
"So this is gonna be your bachelor pad, huh? I thought when I saw you here that you would've been here with Rosalie."
Emmett faltered over the paperwork he was signing before clearing his throat to speak. "Yeah, no. Me and Rose aren't together…we broke up. Hence why I'm back in town. Alone."
"Oh. I didn't know. The last time I talked with Edward was a couple of years ago. He didn't mention that you guys were having problems."
"Yeah we've kinda been keeping it quiet but I couldn't handle it anymore. But the breaking point was her cheating on me."
"What! Wow, Emmett I'm so sorry." I pulled him in for a hug.
"Yeah you're the only one who really knows. Everyone else thinks that we're just taking a break, like you and Edward."
I pulled away and questioned him. I thought I made it pretty clear that we were over all those years ago on my doorstep. But apparently that wasn't what he was telling everyone else. Let Edward tell it, we were on a hiatus of sorts but would eventually find our way back to one another.
I remained quiet while he finished up the papers. Once he did, he asked if he could take me out to dinner tonight to "catch up on old times" as he put it.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided it would be nice to hang out with an old friend. "Sure. You can meet at this address at 10:30". I wrote out the address and some simple directions on a piece of paper and slid it over.
"Isn't 10:30 a little late to have dinner?" He asked.
I collected the paperwork and packed it all up before answering him. "Yeah I guess it is." I winked before walking out into the sunshine.
*Emmett*
At 9:30, I started getting ready. After leaving the loft, I headed back to the hotel I was staying at in the interim. When I told Carlisle and Esme I was moving back, they offered me the old house. I didn't think that was such a good idea, as there were too many memories there. I lucked up in finding the loft and was happy to learn that it wouldn't take too long for the renovations to be completed.
But the most pleasant surprise was the way Bella looked now. I figured after all these years she would be the same, but when she walked in, my jaw dropped. Her hair was still the same but the rest of her was different. She dressed like a woman and carried herself as such. If I wasn't careful I would find myself wanting her in the best/worst way.
After I showered, I looked online the name of the address she sent me. It was a small bar located in Port Angeles called "After Hours." I couldn't find much information about it but it seemed to be a pretty nice low key bar about 45 minutes away from here.
I quickly got dressed and headed out making sure I programed the address in my GPS before pulling out of the hotel parking lot.
The drive to After Hours was a quiet one. It felt weird being back. The last time I was here, it seemed all my time was consumed with being Rose's strong but silent boyfriend.
When I pulled up in front of the address, I looked to see a pretty packed parking lot. I couldn't imagine that many people were in such a small out of the way bar but I would soon discover just how popular After Hours could be.
As soon as I walked in, the first thing that caught my eye were the walls. They were chalkboard filled with graffiti, random hand drawn photos and quotes. The next thing I saw was the chairs. There didn't seem to be a matching set anywhere. There were ottomans, chaises, bean bags, rockers, wicker and a few booths. I walked through pass the small alcoves and the circular bar that took up a couple of feet of floor space.
"Emmy! Hey over here!" I heard someone shouting. I turned and saw Bella standing on a table, waving me over. She was sitting in one of the alcoves that resembled a booth from a 50's diner.
"Bells? Hey I thought you wanted to get some dinner? Why did you suggest this place?" I asked, engulfed her in a hug.
"Because this place has the best food for practically nothing." She smiled. I was beginning to love that smile. I didn't get to see it that often when I was here the last time but when it did come out it was like I had found a special treasure.
After we ordered her dinner, she shocked me by ordering a couple shots of tequila and something called the house special.
"Since when do you drink Belly?" I asked a bit shocked.
She threw her head back and laughed. I didn't understand the joke but I laughed right along with her.
"I guess there are a lot of things you don't know about Me." she winked.
"Yeah so tell me about you. I want to know all about this new life that you've built for yourself." I asked.
"Well Charlie is still the police chief and Renee is enjoying being a Floridian with Phil. And for the first time in my life, I've actually been enjoying mine."
As soon as the food and the shots arrived, she tossed back two before passing the rest to me. "So tell me about you. Outside of everything with Rosalie, how is everything else?"
I shrugged and explained the situation that I left behind. "Well Alice and Jasper are as in love as they were before. Carlisle and Esme were sad to see me leave but understood why I felt the need to do so. And as far as Edward, well, he left before Rose and I called it quits. The last I heard, he was living on the east coast somewhere.
After I told her about Edward, I looked at her to gauge her reaction. It didn't seem to really affect her. I was pleasantly surprised that she didn't appear to be broken up or upset over the absence of Edward in her life.
We finished off our food just as the house special arrived. Apparently the house special was 10 mini cupcakes infused with alcohol. As the waiter explained what popular drink the cupcakes represented, I looked over at Bella once more. It was just such a shock to think that this was the same chick Edward left behind.
"Are you ready?" She called to me before shoving a cupcake in my hand.
"Yeah. What is this?"
"I can't remember but if you feel like you can't handle it…" She teased me.
I told her I could handle anything. She smiled again and asked me to make a toast.
We toasted to our new lives and whatever the future held for us. I ate about 4 cupcakes before I began to feel the effects of the alcohol. I passed the plate to Bells, surprised that she finished the rest of them rather quickly.
"Come on, we're going to dance." She announced, pulling me out of the booth with some difficulty and leading me to the loft above the bar I missed when I came in.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay up here?" I asked as we walked through the fire escape door to the rooftop where all the dancing seemed to take place.
"Yeah I'm not the uncoordinated bundles of nerves that you remember." She winked before moving to the music. She moved so easily, letting it flow around her and guide her hips.
She pulled me into the mass and sways in front of me, dancing on me, just letting go and allowing herself to just be. It was the new and improved Bella and I was loving it.
At 1:45, 15 minutes before last call Bella and I decided to call it a night. When we got to the parking lot, I asked her where her car was. She pointed it out and after stumbling a little bit she made it there safely.
"Emmy, I think I may have overdone it just a bit tonight." She giggled, pinching two of her fingers together to emphasis her point. Even though I drove here, I knew Bella was in no condition to drive home. I figured I could drive her back and make sure she got home safely and come back to pick up my Jeep in the morning.
After making several attempts to get a coherent answer out of her, I just looked through her GPS and followed the route to her apartment. When we arrived, Bella had seemed to sober up enough to point out her correct door and fished her keys out of her purse before tripping over the door jam and almost face planting in her foyer.
"What was that you said before about not being an uncoordinated bundles of nerves?" I chuckled, guiding her to the couch.
"Sorry Emmy. I don't usually get this drunk. I blame it on the cupcakes." She giggled once more.
I nodded and grabbed her some water from the kitchen. She guzzled it down, seeming to become a bit sober.
"Are you feeling better now?"
She nodded and pushed off the couch. "Yeah, thanks for not letting me drive. I doubt I would've been able to make it here in one piece." She called out over her shoulder before heading up the stairs.
I turned on the light and looked around. Her place was decorated pretty nicely. Her couch and loveseat were both a light grey color and pushed against the wall leaving the floor open for her black coffee table and end tables.
Hanging on the wall across from her sofa was her television, with her DVD player on a small entertainment center underneath. Then a bit away from her sofa was a simple desk which housed a nice touch screen desktop computer.
All over her walls were different awards she won and photos of her and Charlie; her, Renee and Phil; and several of her with a dark haired muscular guy.
"What do you have there?" She asked, announcing her presence.
"Who's this guy?"
She joined me by my side and looked at the photo I was holding. She and the dark haired guy were hugging each other on a beach somewhere, Bella in a bikini and the guy in swim trunks.
"Oh, that's Jacob Black, my boyfriend. We took these during spring break my junior year."
"You didn't tell me you were dating someone." I mumbled a bit dejectedly.
"Sorry. We've been dating since my sophomore year. But we've been friends since the sand box days." She smiled fondly looking at the picture.
We stood there in awkward silence for a bit before I decided it was time for me to leave. "Well it was nice to see you. I'll call you on Monday to set up a time for you to come by the office and decide on your layout so I can begin the orders."
I was sure she could hear the disappointment in my voice. She placed the photo back on the end table and walked me to the door. I opened the door before changing my mind pulled her in for a hug.
"I'm happy to see that you're doing all right Bells. I have to admit, I thought about you all the time while I was gone. But I wasn't expecting to find this person in front of me" I told her, looking into her eyes.
They were such a beautiful shade of brown. I was getting more intoxicated, just looking at them. Then before I knew what I was doing, I leaned down and kissed her lips. Her skin felt a little hot but her lips tasted of toothpaste, sugar and rum.
"God Bella," I heard myself moan into her mouth. Her kisses were causing me to get a bit riled up. I knew that she had a boyfriend but I knew that I would regret it tomorrow if I didn't kiss her right then.
Bella broke off the kiss, a shocked look on her face.
"I'm not sorry Bells. I would love to say that I did that because I was still feeling a little bit buzzed or that I wasn't thinking but that would be a lie."
"It's fine. It'll be our little secret." She said before pushing me out the door.
AN: Should Bella keep the kiss a secret? Or should she tell Jake? Is Bella Emmett's reason for moving back? Lots of questions, I know.