Ok, so I honestly wasn't expecting so much action on this story so quickly. Other sites that I've posted stories on before take forever to get reviews and favorites on, so this was definitely strange haha. Thank you to all of you who reviewed and favorited and followed this story. It is much appreciated. I'm really excited for this story, but it is a work in progress, so chapters won't always be consistent. I'll try to stick to about three chapters a week from here on out, but don't hold me to that. I'm in school and working currently, and I'm trying my hand at time management. We'll see how that goes.
This hasn't been edited, besides my skimming every few paragraphs, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. I try my best to get it right the first time around.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I do not.
CHAPTER 2:
BELLA POV
October 2015
"Bella, you're going to be late to class if you don't get your ass up right now!"
My eyes sprung open, and I groaned as I light flooded into my vision. I swatted my hand at Alice, who was sitting on the edge of my bed, her hand laid on my shoulder. She snickered at me as I glared at her. I hated being woken up, especially by Alice's always peppy voice. She was much too excited to be waking me up.
My gaze shifted from the smiling face of Alice to the alarm clock on my bedside table. It was forty-five minutes before the start of my first class of the day. Mondays entailed my harder classes: physiology and physics. Tuesday and Thursday I was able to relax a little with my writing class and a research methods class. I had a lab for physiology today after class, as well.
"Come on, sleepy head, you can't be late," Alice admonished. She was very adamant about punctuality, so my indifference to when I showed up to most of my classes was irritating to her. At this point, it was a daily argument between us that I think we both looked forward to having.
"Fine, fine," I acquiesced, "I'm getting up."
Alice smiled at me as I threw the comfy blankets off of my body. "Good, I have coffee going for you and Rose brought home donuts this morning." She stood off my bed and flitted to the open door of my bedroom, closing it behind her as she left.
Rose worked at the club last night until four, and there is a donut shop on the way back from there that is opened twenty-four hours. We stopped in whenever we had shifts that ended in the early morning to bring back to everyone in the apartment.
Rosalie, Alice and I began living together a couple months after Rose and I met, and the spring semester was over. Alice and I were roommates together at the college our freshman year, and we were fast friends, even though we couldn't be any more different from each other. I met Rose in one of my GE courses that year, and we sat next to each other in class. We got along really well, and we ended up spending a lot of time together outside of class. The three of us liked one another so much, we decided to get a place together off-campus when the school year was over. We moved in together after the summer, when we had all gotten back from visiting our families for break. We've lived together ever since, and Alice and I just entered our junior year, while Rose was now a senior.
I heard the rain thudding against the roof of our building, since we were at the top on the fourth story. I sighed, opening a drawer of my dresser and grabbing out a pair of my well-worn jeans. I slipped those on before throwing on a sweater with PSU's logo on it. I wasn't big into fashion, which annoyed Alice and Rosalie to no end. They didn't understand how I could be so eye-catching and sexy at work, but couldn't carry that into my everyday wardrobe. I'd explained to them many times that I had no real interest in dressing up everyday when I was just going to sit in a classroom for seven hours of it.
I traveled into the hallway that separated our three rooms and into the bathroom that Alice and I shared. Looking in the mirror, I noticed the bags under my eyes from the lack of sleep I'd been getting lately. We were a month into the fall semester, and I was already sleep deprived. I hadn't worked last night, but I still had only gotten about four hours of sleep. Because I was a biology major, and I was in my junior year, I was working continuously on my research project. Besides twenty-four hours a week I sat in class, I also spent about fifteen or twenty hours a week in the lab, as well as another countless number of hours working on homework and studying for all my classes.
Last night, I had been up until nearly 3 am working on a draft of a paper that was due today in my physiology class and studying for a quiz in my physics class. The paper was a collaboration between me and another girl in my class, and she hadn't gotten me her portion of the draft until 10 pm last night. That would have been fine if it wasn't riddled with the most elementary mistakes that I had to spend a good hour and a half finding and fixing so it didn't sound like a second grader wrote it. It always amazed me that people could make it this far in life without having some form of writing skills, especially in a major that required quite a bit of writing.
Searching through my makeup bag, I found some concealer to pop underneath my eyes and mascara to coat my lashes real quick. I never put much effort into my makeup when going to class, due to the fact that I had to spend so much time on it when getting ready for work. No look was complete without dramatic eye makeup and a sculpted face. It was also a way for me to put on a mask that prevented customers from possibly recognizing me in public. Rose had always told me that I looked so much different with makeup on at the club as opposed to my natural face.
I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled it up into a ponytail, knowing it would get frizzy with the rain anyway. I had no patience to deal with the length and curl in it today. I just wanted to go to class, go to the library to get some work done, and then come home to pizza and beer before crashing in my bed, hopefully earlier than I did this morning.
Walking into the kitchen, I could immediately smell the coffee that Alice had prepared me. I saw a travel mug sitting on the kitchen counter with my school bag propped up next to it. I walked over and took a sip out of it, sighing in appreciation of the way Alice prepared it for me. She learned very quickly the way that I took my coffee when we started living together.
I spotted the box of donuts sitting on the kitchen table and plucked a chocolate old-fashioned from it, quickly breaking it into pieces and tossing them into my mouth. I moaned at the taste closing my eyes to enjoy the flavor.
"Is Bells shooting a porno in there?" Emmett's booming voice came from the living room.
My eyes snapped open and glared at the back of his head. Like he could feel me, he turned around from his place on the couch and laughed at me. His dimples were prominent in his cheeks, his grin stretching wide across his face. He looked much too bright-eyed for seven-thirty in the morning on a Monday. His light brown hair was in a bit of a disarray from sleeping on it, but otherwise he appeared well-rested. His brown eyes sparkled with mirth as he winked at me.
Emmett had moved in here about six months after we did. Rose and him had been dating for about two years at that point, so they decided it was appropriate to move in together. It really made no difference to Alice and me, considering Em basically already lived here anyway. He rarely went back to his own place during the week, and he sometimes even stayed and hung out with Alice and I when Rose was at work. Nothing really changed once he had officially moved in, except for our rent going down a couple hundred bucks, since it was now being split between four people instead of three, and I wasn't complaining about that.
"It's too early for jokes, Em," I told him, angrily shoving another piece of donut in my mouth. "See me after I get home from class."
He held his hands up in surrender, chuckling as he turned back around, facing the TV that was playing some stupid home renovation show on it. Emmett has a weird obsession with all these home improvement shows. Whenever he's home, you can be sure that HGTV is the channel that the TV is playing. I don't mind too much, since he's usually at work when I get home from class, and I'm typically working or getting studying done during the weekends.
Em works as a mechanic at a local auto shop, which is where he met Rosalie when she was seventeen. Emmett was nineteen at the time and had been working there as a way to pay for college, even though his parents are pretty well off, from what I've heard. Whenever I asked about it, he grumbled something about wanting to do this on his own and ended the conversation there, which was very unlike him. Em was a pretty open guy, and he had no problem telling things how they were and laying all his cards out on the table. His family situation seemed like a pretty sore subject, and he never really talked about them, except for visiting them every once in awhile.
When I had asked Rose about her boyfriend's parents, she told me that they just didn't really approve of the career path that he had chosen to go. Even though Em worked at the auto shop, he attended and graduated from PSU with an engineering degree. He was currently interning at an aircraft engineering place just outside of town that he was guaranteed a position at once his year internship was up, which was in just a couple weeks. It was a well-paying job, from what he had said about it, and it seemed like something any parent would be proud of.
Apparently, Emmett's parents weren't exactly fond of his degree choice. Rose mentioned that his mother was a doctor, which was a common career path in her family, since her brother-in-law, and both of her parents are all doctors, and his father was on the board of trustees of the hospital his mother worked at. So it seemed being in the medical field was a family business, so to speak, and Emmett had chosen a completely different path for himself. God forbid his family ever discovered what Rose was doing to put herself through PSU and, eventually, law school. I could imagine his mother having a heart attack.
"Hey, did you guys maybe want to go out for drinks this weekend?" Alice asked, appearing from around the corner as she emerged from her bedroom, looking primped and ready for class.
Alice was a business major with a minor in fashion, as she wanted to create and sell her own clothing line one day. She was beautiful as well as extremely smart. Her dark brown, almost black hair, was cut close in a cute pixie cut, and she always wore headbands or bows to accessorize. She was very petite, coming in at about five-foot-one and weighing a max of one hundred pounds soaking wet. She had very delicate, fairy-like features, and her cerulean blue eyes contrasted greatly from her black hair and lightly tanned skin. Alice is from Southern California, so she gets nice and tan when she goes there to visit for holidays and breaks.
I shook my head, my heart breaking at the sight of her pout. "Sorry, Ali, I have to work Thursday, Friday, Saturday night again," I told her.
The past four weekends I had shifts on the same three days, which was both amazing and awful. I made a lot of money those days, given that it was the weekend, and a lot more customers came in those days. It was awful because I was down to really only seeing my friends, beside Rose, on the weekdays, when I was typically busy doing school work.
I had also not seen my very well-paying customer, Edward, since that one night that he came in. Last weekend, I hadn't seen him in the club as I was walking around offering lap dances. At first, I thought maybe someone else had snatched him up, which made my heart hurt a bit for the money I was losing. But, when I asked Tanya if she had seen him, she shook her head and told me she would've let me know if he came in. I didn't hear anything from her Friday or Saturday night, so I cut my losses and went home a little dejected.
He had told me that he would come in, and, honestly, I was pretty interested in getting to talk to him. He looked pretty young, probably in his early to mid twenties, but he was obviously rolling in cash, so I was curious as to what he did as a living. He was in a very expensive, very well-tailored suit that night, so maybe he was in some sort of business, which would be impressive for someone his age. Or at least the age I was assuming that he was.
"Damn, they're keeping you busy at that restaurant, huh?" Emmett piped up, not bothering to look back at me over the edge of the couch.
Emmett thought I worked in a fancy restaurant across the Willamette, which wasn't an absolute lie. I did work on the other side of the river that ran through Portland, but it wasn't in a fancy restaurant. The lie held well enough, considering Emmett had no need to travel to that part of town, since his internship and his job were both on this side of the bridge.
"Yeah, it's beginning of the semester, you know?" I shrugged. "There's a big influx of students this time of year." That wasn't a total lie, either. I did see a lot of college age people coming in more and more, some of them even donning a PSU sweatshirt. Luckily, I didn't recognize any of them from my biology program when I got close enough to see them. Plus, the newer girls were usually the ones to swoop in on the frat boys first, seeing as they were young and typically attractive. I learned very quickly, though, that if you wanted to come out in the black at the end of the night, you go for the guys that already had a career, not the ones that were still getting educations.
"Damn, I hope it starts to mellow out a little bit, B," he said, a sympathetic tone in his voice.
I shrugged. "It's cool, the more people there are, the more money I make." Alice giggled and shook her head at me, knowing exactly what I meant. I winked at her before checking the time on my phone.
"Ready to get going, Al?" I asked her. She nodded and grabbed her bag off the table. I grabbed my bag and coffee as I slipped my shoes onto my feet. Alice grabbed her keys and opened the front door for me.
"Tell Rose we said bye and to have a good day," I called to Em. Rose had afternoon classes during the week, and she would leave before Alice and I got home.
"Will do, sweet cheeks," he cracked, throwing me a thumbs up over the back of the couch.
I rolled my eyes at his nicknames before slipping out the door, Alice right behind me, chuckling.
"Fuck Jessica Stanley," I huffed, slamming my bag down onto the table top. Alice stared up at me, her wide eyes staring back at me with concern. We were in the dining hall after classes, grabbing lunch before heading back to the apartment.
"What happened this time?" she asked, already accepting my outburst. Jessica was a popular subject of discussion this past month.
"That bitch didn't email me her part of the rough draft until 10 pm last night, which I then had to edit the shit out of because her dumb ass doesn't know how to use spell check, apparently," I rolled my eyes, plopping down into the seat across from my friend. "I spent over an hour and a half on that shit. An hour and a half that I could have been sleeping, Ali!" I looked at her adamantly.
Alice placed her hand softly over my clenched fist, urging me to go on and offering me support. She knew how much I loathed this bitch. This wasn't the first time I had complained to her about Jessica.
"And then when we get into class today, you know what she did?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Alice waved me on with her hand. "This chick had the fucking audacity to tell me that our rough draft sounded childish and not well thought out. Like it was my fucking fault that I had to string together her incomplete sentences and half-assed paragraphs!"
I knew I was yelling at this point, and I got a few weird stares from people seated near us and passing by.
"What? Do you wanna say something?" I demanded, looking those that were staring at me in the eye, daring them to speak up. No one did, and they all turned back to their plates and conversations. "Mind your own damn business."
"Sheesh, Bella, a little angry today?" Alice joked, a smirk playing on her painted lips. Alice enjoyed experimenting with makeup, and usually, like today, it went well.
"I'm sorry," I said, rubbing my eyes that were stinging. "I'm so fucking tired. I've been getting no sleep lately. Plus, that dumb fuck didn't make my mood any better."
"I know, hon," she told me, rubbing my arm sympathetically. "Do you wanna go home and take a nap before you have to study. I can make you some tea to help you sleep." She smiled at me.
I gave her a small smile back. "Thanks, Al, that sounds great.
The school week quickly came and went, taking with it some stress. By the end of the day on Wednesday, we had a breakthrough with the research project that I was working on, allowing us to progress with our work, instead of running the same tests over and over again, scanning everything to search for something that we possibly missed. I stayed late in the lab that day, excitedly documenting our results, glad for a break in the monotony the last few weeks had brought.
Thursday was slow at the club, a result of the cooling weather that was occurring here in Portland. I left my shift early, knowing there was no point in sticking around. Even the DJ was itching to leave, with just a couple customers coming in the entire four hours that I walked around. I made fifty bucks that night, which was nothing compared to what I had been making.
Luckily, things picked up Friday night, the club becoming full once 10 pm rolled around. The bar was full in no time, customers chatter and the music coming through the speakers filling the room. Rose was here with me tonight, and I cheered her on as she danced her set up on stage. I sat with Marcus and we watched, waiting for her to finish.
Rose joined us in the booth, slipping in on the other side of Marcus as he handed her a ten dollar bill that she happily shoved in her bra. She slung her arm around him and hugged him into her side.
"Did you want a refill on your drink, Marcus?" I asked him, noticing his empty glass. He had just had some bourbon on the rocks, reminding me of the drink Edward had while I was dancing for him two weeks ago.
"If you wouldn't mind, dear," he told me, nodding. I smiled as I stood and grabbed his empty glass. He handed me a twenty, telling me to split what was left over between the bartender and myself as a tip. I hated taking Marcus's money for something stupid like taking his empty up to the bar, but he always insisted that I take it. I tried to explain many times that I did it as a friend, not as a worker, but he still refused to let it go.
"Can I get another one of these, James?" I asked the guy behind the bar. James had worked here as long as I had, his pony tail, just getting longer in length as time passed. He was a good enough guy, even though he had a tendency for asking me out, despite being seven years older than me and not knowing my real name.
"Sure, Bambi." He took the empty glass and the twenty I handed him, quickly making a new drink. When he handed me the new drink and the change, I counted out half and left it on the bar, shoving the rest of it into the strap of my bra.
I had gone a little more provocative tonight, hoping to finally have another private dance with Edward. I could only describe the outfit I was wearing as lacy lingerie. It was definitely a black teddy a picked up at Victoria's Secret a few months back that I never really wore because it was so pretty and I didn't want to ruin it. It had garter straps attached to it to hold onto my black sheer stockings. It looked really good against my pale skin, and Rose had helped me with a smokey eye to go with it. I didn't say it often, but I kept saying it to myself tonight when I passed in front of a mirror.
I look damn hot.
I turned and walked toward the booth Rose and Marcus were still at. I looked up briefly to look around the room, and that's when I saw him. He had just entered the door of the club, smiling at one of the girls, Bree, AKA Lola, who greeted him.
He looked just as attractive and put together as last time, but with a wool coat added, due to the cold. His suit was black today, his shirt a crisp white even in the dim light of the club, and his tie was navy blue. He shrugged off his coat, hanging it over his arm as he walked further into the room. He turned around as another girl who I couldn't recognize got his attention. For the first time, I noticed the way his slacks hugged his ass.
And what a nice ass it is, too.
I shook my head at that thought, surprised that I was actually checking out a customer. That hadn't happened to me, ever.
He ran his hand through his hair, affirming my suspicion as to why it was always in a state of disarray. He seemed to be speaking to the girl, and she nodded, smiled, and proceeded to glance around the club. When her eyes caught mine, her smile brightened and she nodded toward the man in front of her. I realized the girl was Irene, or Blondie, one of the newest girls at the club. She was a year older than Rose, but she had just moved here from a small town outside of Portland looking for work.
She said something to the customer and gestured toward me. He turned and when he saw me, he smirked, the move curling his lips on one side and making him look cocky as hell.
Not that I mind. He looks really fucking hot.
Jesus Christ, Bella, stop it!
I smiled at him, gesturing for him to come over.
I can't believe it. He was actually here. He was keeping his promise.
He strode over to me, looking hot even when he walked. I could imagine the way his ass looked as he sauntered over.
Oh my God, stop thinking like that!
I really had to pull myself together. Yeah, he was really attractive, but he was a client. I client who was older than me and had no interest in anything besides what he paid for.
Yeah, but what if he's interested in more? I mean, look at the way he's looking at you….
He was looking at me like I was something to eat, his green eyes dark as he stalked closer.
I'm a sex worker, of course he's looking at me like that.
But no customer had ever looked at me like that before. Usually there was lust, and typically a gross lick of the lips. But it had never been like this. Never this...sensual and...primal.
He finally reached me, stopping as we were only about a foot apart. I could feel the confidence coming off of him in waves. There was something different about him from last time. He seemed so reserved and stoic the last time he was here. Now he was loose and almost arrogant. I wonder what had changed?
"Bambi, so nice to see you again," he finally said, his voice sounding smooth and delectable.
Delectable? Really, Bella? Who says that?
"Edward."
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know things are a little slow, but I promise things will pick up and get exciting. I just really needed to get background of the characters in there. We will see more into everyone's lives as we go on.
Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see out of this story, suggestions for future chapters, stuff like that. All reviews and critiques are welcome.
See you all next time!
