BPOV

As I dismissed my kindergarten class to recess with the other classes, I noticed an oddly familiar silver car in the parking lot.

No.

There was no way that was Edward's car. He doesn't know that I work as a part-time teacher here. But…since he's so influential and powerful, who knows what can of information he could get access to? Oh my god, what if he has a whole file on me? What if he knows everything there is to know about me? Calm down, Bella. It's not like he's a stalker or anything. I'm just getting paranoid since I've seen him so much lately…and he's been on my mind a lot lately…ugh I'm screwed.

I sat down at my desk in the empty classroom, trying to not think of him and enjoy the silence. Although I love working with children, it's not exactly pleasant to hear shrieks and cries constantly. I was reaching for my lunch bag when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

I didn't look up because I figured it was another parent coming to thank me for making the tree houses. Not that I didn't appreciate their gratitude, but about 20 parents have already interrupted my chaotic class to say thanks. I can't blame them though. With the Cullens' professional help, the houses turned out better than anyone could imagine.

As I took a bite of my sandwich, expecting the same comment, I was surprised by a velvet voice.

"What the hell are you eating?"

Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen was standing in my classroom.

I looked up slowly. "It's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Do you not know what that is?"

He was wearing his usual business attire, minus the suit jacket. His tie was loosened and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbows. I grimaced. I can't figure out why that is so attractive to me.

"No, I know what it is. I just haven't had one since elementary school."

I gestured around me. "I am a kindergarten teacher after all. Speaking of which, how did you know I work here?"

"Alice, of course."

Phew. So, he isn't a stalker. "Then, why are you here?"

Edward leaned across my desk and he was so close that I could smell his cologne. "I'm taking time out of my insanely busy schedule to accompany a lovely lady to lunch."

"And what makes you think I'm going to agree to this?"

He picked up my poorly made sandwich and dropped it in the trashcan. "Because I want to know you better."

I frowned at him and said bitterly, "Don't you have files that you could just pull out that'd tell you everything about me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I prefer the old-fashioned way."

"I have no idea what this place is," I said, getting out of his extremely nice car. "How do you even pronounce that name?"

"Schlotzsky's," he said slowly, "and it's the best sandwich place in the world! How have you never ate here before?"

"I don't go out to eat much. I'm more of a stay-at-home-and-cook-terrible-food-person."

Edward held the door open for me. "Ah, I see. That needs to change then."

I was about to object when I was engulfed in a delicious smell that reminded me how hungry I really was. "Shall we?" Edward led me with his hand on my lower back to the cashier.

"I'll have a median chipotle chicken on sour dough bread with no lettuce or tomatoes. Add cheddar and southwest sauce too," he said without skipping a beat. I could tell he ordered here a lot.

The cashier noted this all down and then both of them looked at me expectantly.

"Ummm..." I looked at the menu behind him, not knowing what to get. "I'll have the same thing he's having."

Edward quickly paid and feeling guilty at spending his money, I shook my head. "I can pay you back."

"No need. It wasn't that much anyway," he said with a tone that meant it wasn't up for debate.

We slide into a booth in the corner and Edward smiled at me. "Following my lead, aren't you?"

"I figured you know what's really good here. So, don't disappoint me."

He laughed. "I would never. So, tell me a little about yourself."

I fiddled with the hem of my blouse. "There's nothing really to know about me."

"How about your parents? You said your mother likes going to Vegas."

"Oh yeah. Well, my parents divorced when I was 12 and they left on pretty bad terms. My dad lives alone in a small town called Forks. He's happily the sheriff there. And my mother...well, after they split, she was really heart-broken. Everyday, she wishes that she did something to keep their marriage going; she wishes that she didn't give up. And of course, because of her huge pride, she can't beg my dad to take her back. So, she's doing the next best thing. Getting completely wasted and knocked up in Vegas, where she can drown out all her bad feelings."

I looked at Edward and shockingly, his eyes were filled with sorrow. "That must be really rough on your mother...and yourself."

I stared back at him with just as much sadness. "It is. I can't watch her all the time, but I manage to keep tabs on her."

We sat in silence for a while until a waitress bought our sandwiches to the table. They were already cut in half since they were so big.

Apprehensively, I picked up a half. Edward nodded his head at me, encouraging me to take the first bite so he can gauge my reaction.

I took a huge bite and sweet baby Jesus, I was not ready for how it would taste.

"Oh my god...this is soooo good!" The bread was unbelievably soft and warm and the sauce just complimented the sandwich. I just about melted on the spot.

Please with my reaction, Edward started eating his own sandwich. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"It's more than amazing. It's like heaven in a sandwich! It's so orgasmic."

Edward choked on his bite, alarmed. "Orgasmic?"

"Yeah. That's how Alice and I describe all delicious food. It's so good that it's pleasurable."

"I guess you're right. Then I agree! This sandwich is very orgasmic!"

"Shhhh! Don't say that so loud!" I scolded him, giggling like a school girl.

We continued to eat our little pieces of heaven and I kept laughing because he was making silly faces at me. How could someone who looked so sexy be so dorky?

After I stopped my giggling fits, I continued my story, "Even though my mom makes pretty horrible choices, there's one piece of advice that she's always given me."

Curious, he asked, "And what's that?"

"To find a man who respects me like a sea captain respects the sea. A man who looks at me with awe and reverence, but knows I'm a force of nature."

Edward was quiet for a while before saying, "I like that."

"Me too. You see, my dad respected and loved her a lot, but she threw it away, so she doesn't want me to do the same."

Edward tossed me one of his lopsided grins. "You'll find him. In fact, he might be sitting right in front of you."

I nudged his foot under the table playfully. "Maybe."

He nudged back. "I'm not that big of an asshole."

Right then, the restaurant door chimed open and Mike and Jessica sauntered in like they owned the place. Oh hell no. Now is not a good time to deal with them.

"Speaking of assholes..." I trailed on. Of all the people I could have run into, it had to be them.

Edward's head snapped around as Mike's baby blue eyes caught my glare. A devious smile formed on his face and he led Jessica over to our booth. When I saw her at the museum last week, her hair was still a natural brown color, but now it was golden blonde. I sighed. Mike did say he preferred blondes over brunettes. I would've never changed my hair for him.

"Bella. I didn't expect to see you here. You never went out much when we were dating."

Nice. No greetings, just accusations.

"Well. Here I am," I replied lamely.

"How are those rotten kindergartners of yours?"

"Fine."

Seeing that I was holding my resolve, he tried another tactic. Mike pulled Jessica closer by her lower waist and she giggled. I think I'm going to puke. Don't think about the memories. Don't think about the memories. Don't think-

"You remember Jess, right?"

"Yes, of fucking course I remember the bitch you screwed in the bathroom at Alice's party. Actually, I think everyone remembered because you two weren't exactly quiet! How could I ever forget a girl like that?" And boom goes the dynamite. Each word was filled with more and more anger. I didn't want to created a scene in front of everyone, but I was damn furious. Weeks of holding back my frustration were about to pour out.

I was utterly humiliated at the party. Everyone knew what was going on and I was looked at with pity the whole time they were banging in that tiny bathroom. Finally, Jessica stumbled out, with messed up hair and clothes out of place. Mike was right behind her and saw me and then he had the nerve to yell at me. I shook my head, nothing wanting to think about that anymore. Don't think about the memories.

Mike smirked-not sexy Edward smirk, but creepy smirk-because he knew that he was getting under my skin. My blood was boiling and I'm sure my face was red.

Unable to handle him anymore, I was about to get up and leave when suddenly, the strangest thing happened. I felt a calmness settle over me. Edward had reached across the table and grabbed my hand.

"It's okay, babe. You got me now."

At first, I was alarmed, but then I realized: he was pretending to be my boyfriend. I glanced at him, hoping that he won't make this situation worse.

Mike was startled, but then said mockingly. "Oh, you're her boyfriend?"

"What's it to you?" Edward questioned, gripping my hand tighter.

"I just thought you were paying her to sleep with you. She could never get someone as wealthy as you to be with her unless it was for sex."

I felt like I had just been slapped in the face. My vision turned red with fury. But, Edward stood up and I swore steam came out of his ears. He looked enraged. He stood in front of Mike, towering over him by a few inches. Mike backed up a few steps. He paled in comparison next to Edward.

Edward glared at him and I was little frightened myself. "If you want to live, don't ever talk to Bella like that again or you'll have to face me and that won't be very pleasant." His words were threatening and filled with malice.

He held out his hand or me to talk. "Come on, Bella. We have better things to do."

Mike and Jessica stared after us, shocked and irritated.

To my surprise, Edward leaned over and kissed me on the head. Then, he intertwined his long fingers with mine and all I could think about were his gentle touches, warm and comforting.

Edward walked me back to the classroom, no longer holding my hand, but I didn't want to admit that I missed the contact. We didn't talk about Mike and Jessica in the car. Instead, we sang obnoxiously loud to catchy pop songs. I surprised him by flawlessly singing all the lyrics to Taylor Swift's latest single.

"What? The girl writes good songs."

"No, I agree. You just never cease to astonish me. You're amazingly sexy one moment and completely dorky the next. I like it."

The way he looked at me made me unwillingly blush. The way he looked at me was like he respected me.

There was a whistle blown, which meant the kids were about to come in from recess. I quickly started to clean up the mess they had made before they come back in. I was too distracted on my lunch date with Edward to notice the time.

He stood around uncomfortably with his hands in his pockets.

"Uh...thanks for helping me out back there," I begin, "I'm sorry you had to meet them like that."

"Although he pissed the hell out of me, it was nice to learn more about your past, even the ugly parts."

I sighed. "Yeah, dating him definitely wasn't the smartest move I made."

"I understand why you kissed me when you saw him then."

Pausing, I said, "Now that was smart move. Weird, isn't it? All that happened just last week."

"And now, we're going on dates."

"Unofficial dates. Showing up randomly to take me out doesn't count," I added.

"Don't worry. I'll drag your cute little ass on an official date even if it kills me." He winked.

I rolled my eyes and after a moment, I asked quietly, "How do you do it? Be so cool and confident?"

He leaned back against my desk. "I've trained myself to be controlled and I actually know what I'm doing. Plus, I deal with people like Mike all the time-and worse too. But, I ask myself this question: why would I want to put my self-esteem in the hands of complete assholes?"

I was dumbstruck for a minute. I had never thought about it like that.

He grinned, "Pretty good advice, isn't it? Carlisle told me the same thing."

"He's really a smart man."

"Your mother seems wise herself."

All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the hallway. "Uh oh, the little ones are back."

Edward frowned. "I'm not really good with children."

The door opened and they came piling in, chattering loudly, stomping their shoes, and bringing with them the smell of sweat.

One of the little girls skipped up to me, her curly pigtails bouncing behind her.

I bent down and asked, "What is it, Anna?"

She giggled in my arms. "I got you a flower, Miss Swan!" Anna handed me a yellow tulip, obviously picked from one of the flower bushes on the playground.

I gave her a tight hug. "Why, thank you, Anna! It's beautiful!"

Then, she gasped like she just noticed Edward's presence and whispered, "Who's that? Is that your Prince Charming?"

Edward's eyes lit up and he smiled, so I couldn't help smiling back. "No, he's just a friend."

Anna peered suspiciously at him. "Are you super sure?" I nodded. "Well, okay! But, he's really cute." With that, she ran off to her waiting friends.

I stood back up and saw that Edward started to help the kids settle down in their chairs.

Yeah, he really is cute.

Sorry for being MIA! I started school again and it was crazy. But, now it's all settled down and I'm back!

I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter and before you ask, I think Schlotzsky's is absolutely amazing and so is Taylor Swift. Leave a review! Reviews motivate me to write the next chapter and trust me, it's gonna be good.

-Alexis