I'm so worried with each chapter that I post and each review I receive ahe then I receive all of the responses. I am so grateful for all of my wonderful readers.

Thank you for your patience with this slow burn.

Same disclaimers as usual :)

BPOV

Friends.

Edward and I were friends.

And I made sure it remained that way. Edward was a flirt. I realized that, but thankfully, he stopped telling me we were meant to be together or get married. He seemed to be on board, but Rosalie. Ugh.

Because of her, I still had the dreams.

Or dream, really.

The one of Edward and me seemed to be on repeat, which was beginning to take its toll on my sanity.

Especially since last night, when I woke up with my hand in my pajama pants. And my head was in the textbook I had been reading. I looked like I got off on school work.

So I needed Rosalie to stop. I needed her to stop talking up Edward to me on a consistent basis. I needed her to stop pointing out his qualities that, according to her, appeared to match up with my own. And I needed her to stop trying to get me to picture him naked.

I was meeting with her today to have a talk with her about what she was doing. We weren't at Masen's, fortunately, because after last night, I wasn't sure I could look Edward in the eye. Instead, we were just getting coffee since that was all I had time for. I took a sip of its heavenly caffeinated goodness, pushed down the guilt of splurging on the drink, and checked my phone.

Rosalie was running late.

Two guesses.

When she arrived with disheveled hair and her top wrinkled, I knew my answer. She had been with Emmett.

"Have a nice morning?" I asked. She grinned and walked over to the barista to order her drink.

I had exactly 46 minutes before my shift started, so she needed to hurry the fuck up.

Two and a half minutes later, she was sitting directly in front of me.

"What's up?" She asked. I stared at her for a moment, trying to come up with the best way to broach the subject.

"I need you to stop trying to hook me up with Edward. He gets it. I'm not interested. But you-you need to knock it off right now." Apparently the best way was just diving right into the topic. I didn't really have time to beat around the bush.

Rosalie took a sip of her coffee and set it down, drumming her fingers on the table for a moment.

"May I ask you a question?"

"You may."

"Why are you with Mike?" I furrowed my eyebrows, confused by the question. "I mean, are you planning on being with him for a very long time or is this just going to be a short-term thing."

"I've been dating him for almost a year," I responded. "I don't consider this a short-term thing."

She waved me off. "You know what I mean. Do you plan on marrying him?"

"Jesus Rosalie," I snapped. "I'm still young. And no, I don't plan on marrying him because I don't believe in marriage. He's completely okay with that."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow. "Does Mike love you?"

"I-yes."

"Do you love him?"

"Well, yeah. I've been with him this long, of course."

"And you just plan on...being together."

"Yes."

"And Mike is okay with this," she repeated.

"Yeah, what are you getting at, Rose? Spit it out."

And spit it out, she did.

"I think you and Mike are with each other because it's safe. I think that the reason that you and Mike don't have a problem with not getting married is because you don't want to get married to each other."

When I finally wrapped my mind around her words, I shook my head.

"No, that's not true."

"You're telling me that you don't think you will ever get married, share benefits, children, a house, everything. That you won't want that with anyone."

"No," I answered automatically. "I mean - marriage just seems to have lost its meaning for me, you know?"

She knew I meant my own parents.

"I think that if you found the right guy, you'd want to marry him. That if the right guy wanted to marry you, you would do it." My mind briefly went back to Edward, but I cut it off before anything else could happen. "I think your problem isn't with marriage. It's with Mike."

I was beyond frustrated.

"You think wrong," I stood up. "I have to go. And honestly, my views of marriage shouldn't bother you because I'm not trying to force them upon you." I grabbed my purse. "And I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to set me up with Edward. That is the reason I brought you here. Stop trying to force that to happen."

"Bella-"

"Rose, I swear-" I punched the bridge of my nose. "I swear-if you try one more time, I'm not going to go out with you any more. It's unfair. I don't want to date him and he doesn't want to date me, so please stop."

"Well-" I gave her a pointed look. She sighed. "Fine. Our friendship is more important than Edward Cullen."

I exhaled. "Thanks, Rose. I'll call you later."

"You're ditching me?" She pouted.

I laughed. "I have to work. I don't get to have sex all morning."

"You could, you know," she wiggled her eyebrows. "With Ed-"

"Hey, you said you were done," I snapped.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "But friend to friend. Just an observation...he's very attractive. And Emmett told me that he and Edward lived together a few years ago in an apartment-not at their parent's place. And...well, their walls were thin...and I mean, unless those girls were faking-"

"Okayyy," I laughed awkwardly, trying to get that image out of my head as I felt my cheeks heat up. "So you were trying to hook me up with a manwhore. Well done, Rose."

"Hey I didn't say he was a manwhore. Don't judge. But-whatever, go to work and earn yourself big bucks."

"Okay." I shook my head. "So we are good here?"

"We're good," she nodded and raised her coffee.

"Okay, love you girl. I gotta go."

Work was frustrating and boring.

Well, at least until a very attractive older couple came in and sat in my section.

It wasn't the fact that they were an adorable couple that caught my eye, but rather, how they treated each other.

He pulled out her chair for her. She kissed his cheek. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. And she him. They touched hands, and every time I went over to check on them, I felt as though I was intruding on something very intimate. But they laughed at my corny jokes and appreciated my attention. And they also informed me during small talk that they had been married for over 25 years.

I went in the back to check on their food and thought back to what Rose said. If marriage was like that, where they could enjoy each other after that many years...I shook my head and grabbed their tray.

When I walked back out, I smirked at what I saw. The perfect couple was arguing. It seemed intense.

I sighed. My views on marriage remained unchanged.

As I moved closer with their food, I caught the tail end of their hushed argument.

"We need to tell the kids, Carlisle. They need to know. It's not-"

"I'll tell them when the time is right, okay, now let's enjoy the rest of our evening." He saw me and quickly looked back to his wife. "Please."

Awkward.

"Here is your burger," I set down the plate. "Medium-well with no mayo. And here is the BLT. Can I get you anything else?"

"Actually, Bella, I have a question for you," the man grinned. If he was younger, I probably would have swooned.

I smiled back. "What's up?"

"Do you have a husband?"

"No," I responded slowly. "But I do have a boyfriend."

He laughed. "That's a shame. Our son would probably adore you."

His wife smiled warmly. "He would, wouldn't he?"

I smiled politely and told them that I'd be back if they needed anything.

Another person trying to hook me up with a different guy. Like I was somebody special or something. I shook my head.

Marriage was for that couple and probably their son, too, but not me.

Later that evening, I headed to the store to pick up some groceries for the long day ahead of me. I would habe class from 8 to 2 and work from 6 to 1 in the morning, only to do it all again the following day. I hated the hours I got for waitressing. I was exhausted.

The days I was working at the library were a hell of a lot easier on me. I sighed and continued browsing through the aisles.

I frowned when I realized my favorite brand of coffee was, yet again, not on sale. I hadn't been able to buy it in almost a year. I grabbed the off-brand.

Coffee was a luxury for me. But it was also a necessity to get me through the day. I briefly wondered when things would get easier.

And if that couple-the one from the diner-ever dealt with a similar situation.

Do they get to buy brand names? Or are they struggling too? They probably had it together.

I also grabbed a bottle of wine because, well, even though my budget was tight, I needed to drink.

With the most generic food and toiletries, I began to head to the checkout. I pulled out my wallet and sorted through the coupons I had planned on using when I heard my name. I looked up and saw Edward standing before me.

"Edward," I gasped. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled and held up the two items. I tried not to stare longingly when I realized he had my favorite coffee in one hand.

Of course Edward would be able to buy good coffee.

"I see you're getting some shopping done, too." He nodded to my cart.

"Today is the only day I will have time for shopping," I admitted. "My work and school schedules don't give me much leeway."

He frowned.

Shit. Why did I tell him that?

"But I mean, you have to do what you can to pay the bills, you know. Even if it means you're losing sleep," I laughed awkwardly. Shut up, Bella!

"Your job doesn't work with your school schedule? Where are you working?"

"No, they do! I just have to work late at night if I want to be able to have a break for class in the morning." I shook my head and smiled. "I think I need to get a new job, ha. And quit complaining. I mean, I'm not the only one working and going to school."

He narrowed his eyes. "Have you looked for other jobs?"

I huffed. "With what time?" I moved past him. "I have to get going."

"I think you need another job that works with your school schedule."

I swallowed down my annoyance. "Well, let me know if you find a job that flexible."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I will."

"Oh, and I had a talk with Rosalie. She won't be trying to hook us up anymore."

He grinned. "That's nice. Have a good night, Bella. Sweet dreams." He winked and continued his shopping.

Sweet dreams?

He couldn't know, could he?

No. No, there was no way.

Thanks for reading!

See you next Wednesday!

-Bravery