Disclaimer: As my name is not Stephanie Meyer, I do not own Twilight or any of the related stories. No matter how much I wish I did.

Chapter 2- Bella Point of View

I finally allowed myself to sit at a stool behind the bar and pull my feet up. All of the customers had gone home, the bottles had been capped and put away, and the bars and tables had been wiped down. All that was left to do was take out the trash bags. But some of the other girls could do that. After all, hadn't the bar owner, Bruce, been telling me to delegate more?

I was about to provide just those instructions to the remaining girls, when I heard her annoying voice. As always, it was like nails on a chalk board. Victoria.

"You should have seen him. I swear he was the most gorgeous man in the place tonight," she told the other girls nasally. "And he couldn't keep his eyes off me. I mean he wasn't even trying to be subtle about it."

"Was he the big burly guy with the blonde girl at table eleven," one of the other girls asked.

"No!" she snapped rather rudely. Then she composed herself and pasted a fake smile on her face once again. "He was the tall and brooding one sitting at the back of table eleven. He kept sending his girlfriend away so he could beg me for my phone number."

Table eleven. I scanned the setup and mentally counted the tables until I found number eleven. 'Edward,' I thought. 'That's funny, I don't remember seeing him with a girl.' But as ashamed as I was to admit it, Victoria was right on one aspect of her story. He was gorgeous. I wouldn't have hesitated to say he had, in fact, been the most gorgeous man in the joint tonight.

It had been hard enough not to ogle him as he ordered drinks for his table. His bright emerald eyes had been mesmerizing, even in the dim, smoky bar. But I had to remain professional and set a good example. Unlike Victoria. But that didn't stop me from watching him as he walked away to see where he had been setting. I had hoped that he would come back for another round so I could talk to him again, even if it was only in a professional capacity. I had been more than disappointed when I finally caught a break in the action only to look up and find his table empty.

"I finally felt so bad for the guy that I slipped him my number," Victoria's ramblings brought me back to the present. "I'll probably hook up with him just to give him a good thrill." The girls around her giggled. It took everything I had not to be sick.

"Ladies, let's get all the trash outside so we can go home," I interrupted as I stood from my stool, not wanting to hear anymore. They all scattered to different areas of the bar, though I noticed the glare that Victoria shot me as she walked away. I could have sworn I heard her mutter something about me being an old maid. In any other area of my life, I would have been upset about her attitude toward me. But this was my job. I wasn't here to make friends. I was here to get work done and get a paycheck.

As the girls finished with all the trash, I opened the main register. All of the other cash drawers had already been combined with this one. It was my job at the close of each night to count the cash and split it. Half went into the bar's safe in Bruce's office, the other half was taken to the bank the next morning to be deposited.

By the time I had finished counting the cash and filled out the appropriate paperwork, all of the other girls had gone home for the night. After placing the cash in two pouches, I walked back to the main office and knocked.

"Come in," I heard Bruce call from behind the door.

"Hey," I said as I walked in. Luckily, Bruce wasn't one for chit chat. So I kept going past him to the safe in the back of the room.

"Good night?" he asked as he reviewed paper work at his desk. He was middle-aged and sported the beginnings of a bald spot in the middle of his dyed black hair. You couldn't help but notice because Bruce spent so much time hunched over a desk, worrying about the administrative dealings of the bar. I had hoped that by taking on extra work helping Bruce with the bar's paperwork and inventory that it would allow him some breathing room. Instead, he found other things to fret about.

"Yeah, even better than last Friday night," I answered as I locked one of the pouches in the safe.

"Cool," he said without even looking up. "Be sure Jacob escorts you home."

"Yes, Dad," I teased while I waved good-bye and walked out of the office. I heard Bruce chuckling from his desk. As if on cue, Jacob was waiting for me when I got back to the bar.

"'Bout ready, Bells?" he asked as he stood from the bar stool. It never ceased to amaze me just how tall Jacob Black was. Most guys hit their growth spurt around 17 or so. But it seemed that Jacob just kept on growing, even though he was now 21. Of course, it didn't help that I was no bigger than an overgrown shrimp.

"Yeah, Jake," I said as exhaustion finally began to set in. I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. "Let's go."

Jacob Black was the bouncer at the Blue Moon. He was also my best friend. I got him this job as soon as he turned 21 and was old enough to work at a bar. That was about 9 months ago, though it seemed more like light years. Since then his long, dark hair had been sheared close to his scalp. It was a requirement for his firefighter training. But I missed his long hair dearly. It was my Jacob.

We grew up together in a small town south of Seattle. Our dads had been best friends, too. Jacob was two years younger than I and always had the stereotypical crush on the older girl. We tried once during high school to make a go at things, which my dad loved. But I just couldn't look at him like that, he was too much like a brother to me.

Jacob was a member of the Quileute tribe back just outside my hometown. His father had hoped that Jacob would remain on the reservation and assume his natural position as tribal leader when he came of age. Instead, he moved to the city when I came three years ago. I couldn't stay in that little town anymore after… well, it was just time for a change. And while I wanted Jacob to have a life of his own, I was secretly happy that he came with me so I wouldn't be totally alone.

As we stepped out into the cold night, I paused to lock the employee entrance behind me. There was no telling how late Bruce would be and since Jake was leaving there wouldn't be any other security. I looked at my watch. 4:30am. Of course knowing the actual time makes it more real. The exhaustion that had been slowly creeping in was now full blown. My limbs felt suddenly heavy.

"Want me to drive you home?" Jacob asked from beside me. He always was able to pick up on my true feelings.

"Nah," I replied immediately. "I'm good." Besides I really didn't want to have to figure out the logistics of getting my truck home tomorrow.

"Did you hear about that girl from Volterra?" he asked. I thought for a moment and then shook my head.

"Is that the new night club over by Pike's Market?" I asked back.

"Yeah," he answered. "One of their cocktail waitresses was attacked in the parking lot on her way out last weekend." I couldn't help but shiver. Of course, Jacob noticed and put an arm around me. Grateful for the support, I leaned into him. But I still had to guard myself. I wasn't entirely sure how much of Jacob still wished for a more romantic relationship with me. And I didn't want to hurt him by being misleading.

"Promise me you'll be extra careful when I'm not here," he said as he squeezed my shoulder. "That's the third attack in two months."

"I will Jake," I said and tried to reassure him. "You know, something could just as easily happen when you're here as when you're not." Ok, so maybe that wasn't the most reassuring thing I could have said. But it didn't affect Jacob. Instead, it seemed to lighten the mood as he laughed.

"Yeah right," he scoffed as he puffed his muscular chest out a bit. "I'd like to see someone try to get to you through me." Glad he was taking this so seriously. We were now at my old Chevy truck and he opened the door for me after I unlocked it.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Yeah, I traded shifts with Jenny, so I'll be working," I answered and looked back up at him. He gave me his signature smile, his perfectly white teeth in stark contract with his russet colored skin.

"Alright then, goodnight. Drive careful and remember I'll be right behind you," he said as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. The gesture was sweet, but I didn't return it, afraid he might misread my intentions.

I started my truck after he closed my door and I waited for him to start up his own car, an old Volkswagon Rabbit. Once he pulled up behind me, I started the trek home to my apartment. This was our nightly routine. Jacob would escort me to my car and then follow me home and watch to make sure I got safely inside. We went through these motions at Bruce's insistence. After all, I was carrying around quite a bit of cash. But I had the feeling that Jake would have done it anyway. The recent rash of attacks on young females in the city had made him even more overprotective than he usually was.

As the light I was sitting at turned green, I was again reminded of Edward and his startling beautiful eyes. He had seemed so kind, and my jealousy of Victoria's rant surprised me. He deserved better than her. But the truth was that I really didn't know him at all. He might actually like that type of girl. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about the type of man that would like Victoria. Surely, Edward wasn't like that.

I sighed as I pulled into the parking space at my apartment complex. Jacob had followed me through the gates before they closed, as he did every night. He stopped his car in the road behind my truck and watched as I jogged up the stairs to the second floor. After I unlocked my apartment door, I gave him a quick wave before stepping inside and shutting the door behind me. As I locked it, I heard the Rabbit zooming away.

I took another breath and felt a strange emotion. It was almost like despair. Was it? If I didn't know better, I'd almost think that I was sad about declining Edward's offer for a date. I mean it had been quite some time since I had gone out with anyone. But I never had time. And I wasn't one for casual relationships. If I was going to be with someone, I wanted to give it my all. And I couldn't do that until things calmed down. Plus, there was the whole not dating the customers thing. Professionalism. Right.

I had all the reasons in the world not to date. And none of them made me feel any better. I couldn't help but feel I was missing out on something really special. But it was too late now, I'd probably never see him again. And with that, I went to bed with tears in my eyes.

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