Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews; I appreciate it a lot.

Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

Two

Truth, it wasn't the first time I'd ever seen her.

The first time was at a bookstore; it was raining and she came in with a newspaper over her head. Her dark blue sweater was damp and it clung to her skin in a way that became impossible to forget. The newsprint had smudged onto her fingertips, but she didn't seem to mind. She went to the fiction section and browsed the entire thing, head to the side, for almost an hour before picking out one book. Nobody talked to her and she didn't talk to anybody. There was something about her, a sort of resigned loneliness; a look that said she'd accepted her fate.

I couldn't bring myself to say hello; I didn't want to bother her. And I figured someone like her would want nothing to do with me.

I brushed off seeing her and went back to my life; I went to Dubai, but for reasons I'm not clear about I couldn't quite get her face out of my head. Here was a woman I'd seen once; I didn't know her name, the way she sounded when she spoke, but I felt like a man obsessed. After a while, I forced myself to tune it out.

The second time I saw her was at a movie theatre. They were doing a midnight showing of Vertigo; a movie a friend of mine said my life wasn't complete without seeing. I went and settled in my seat, getting comfortable for the first time in weeks when I saw her come in. She was with another person, a shy, quiet looking girl that held the popcorn. They sat two rows directly in front of me. Needless to say, I couldn't tell you the plot of the movie if my life depended on it.

After the movie was done, I lingered near them, trying to hear her speak. Her voice was light, with an undercurrent of dryness that I found attractively amusing.

The third time I saw her was in the elevator. At the moment it stopped moving, I decided I couldn't ignore things any longer. It was like "they" were pushing us together, whoever "they" were. I was consumed with a woman I'd never met, I was thinking fate wanted us to be together and I was seriously beginning to doubt my sanity. But sitting in that elevator; I was just happy to be in her orbit. The fact that I actually got to speak to her, touch her, was another matter entirely.

In the end, I decided not to take it any further. I couldn't imagine her wanting to be around me any more than she already was. She had looked so relieved to be out in the lobby.

The day before I was scheduled to leave for Peru; I changed my mind about her. I'm not sure what made me do it. I was going through all my travel papers when I started thinking about how Bella would probably enjoy this trip; everything there was so rich with history and culture. I also had a feeling she didn't do much traveling. Would she go with me? No, that's ridiculous; she'd think I was a lunatic. At the very least I could talk to her again, if I could find her before I left. She'd remember me, wouldn't she? I didn't know, but it was worth a shot.

The problem was I had no idea where to find her.

My packing finished, I made a stop at The Herald. I went to the third floor and asked for Bella, but the receptionist said no such person worked there. The paper was my only idea really. After that, I wandered around on foot hoping that dumb luck would help me. It was beginning to get dark when I gave up and started heading toward home. I made a quick stop to get a cup of coffee; Bella was in line, two people ahead of me. Naturally. I cursed myself for being suddenly nervous; this was what I'd been hoping for. I left my apartment to look for her, remember? As I worked up the nerve to talk to her, I realized that she wasn't alone. A man approached, tall with blonde hair on the longer side; he touched her back in a way that told me they weren't just friends.

I felt stupid for staring, but that's all I could do.

I watched them interact and noticed something strange. Bella didn't seem comfortable. She would only look him in the eye for quick moments before training her gaze back to the floor and she made no move to touch him back. I also saw that she seemed to lean just slightly away from him. The guy, on the other hand, was totally at ease. He leaned into her space, keeping a hand on her at all times. I couldn't tell if it was possibly a first or second date, or if they were fighting and the guy had yet to realize it.

They ordered their coffee, paid, and then moved out of line to wait for it. As I moved up a space in line, I was close enough that I could hear them talking. It sounded like they were going to a party or something; it was hard to tell.

"I thought I'd wear the blue one, it's warmer and we'll be outside all–"

"Wear the black," he touched her cheek lightly. "You look so beautiful in it."

"But it's strapless –"

They were interrupted by a woman behind the counter telling them their drinks were ready. I had just ordered and was standing at the pick-up counter trying to be inconspicuous, but they would have to walk right up to me in order to get their coffee. I could tell she recognized me right away; she looked brighter. Could I have made her-? I brushed the thought off before I could finish thinking it. Cup in hand, she smiled and took a step toward me. Her whatever-he-was glanced in my direction before trailing behind her.

"Edward, hi," her smile was genuine; it made me feel warmer.

"Hey Bella, how are you?"

"Good, I thought you were leaving the country?" She seemed oblivious to the guy she was with.

"I am tomorrow," the guy cleared his throat.

"Oh, this is James," she said in a rush. He put his left arm over her shoulders.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Edward," I put my hand out to shake his; his grip was just this side of being too tight, like he saw me as a potential threat. He smiled and nodded once.

The moment became awkward and I was a little relieved when the barista called my name. I quietly excused myself, saying that I hoped we'd run into each other again when I got back in two weeks.

I didn't realize how overcome I was until after I saw her walk away. She was with someone else. Any real hope I had, no matter how farfetched, was gone. I was suddenly grateful that I was leaving.

The flight from my Pacific Northwest home to Lima, Peru is long, about fourteen hours long. Made even longer by the prison of my mind. I went through all possible scenarios, even the most irrational ones…especially the most irrational ones. It was doubtful that it was a first date, judging from the part of the conversation I heard, they knew each other at least marginally well. I thought of what they were talking about; they were going to some sort of party I was pretty sure. Something struck me as off about the way he talked to her. It wasn't exactly controlling, but it was like he already knew she would do what he wanted. I didn't have much experience with women, but I've never told one what to wear; so I couldn't tell if that was normal or not anyway. And then there was the way she looked when she saw me. I could swear the whole room got a little brighter. However, my mind was now probably exaggerating things to an epic level. I knew one thing for sure, she wasn't comfortable with him. I saw her in the elevator on the edge of a meltdown and then I saw her relaxed, or what I hoped was her relaxed. What I saw at the coffee shop was not the same Bella I'd seen a few days before; she seemed uptight which didn't suit her at all.

I decided then that I was going to find out what was wrong. At the very least, I could be a friend.

Couldn't I?