Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.

A/N: Thanks for coming back for more and many thanks to my beta, Myonlyheroin.


.o0O0o._Roadies_.o0O0o.

By: xXTailoredDreamsXx

Chapter 3

Hit or Miss


...Bella...

Slowly, but surely, things are starting to change for the better. Edward still rides us whenever someone starts to slow down or screw around, but for the most part, he's almost pleasant to be around, until he's not.

When he's not pleasant, he's just… not, and there isn't much of a middle ground with him.

At least, not that I've discovered as of yet.

Emmett hasn't let up about how I've seemingly backed off completely from my usual trash talk regarding our boss, but I've also managed to redirect things each and every time when it happens to get brought up.

Cullen sent him and Jasper across town about forty minutes ago for a pick up at the nearest Guitar Center which was thirty minutes away.

He's done this at the last minute after I'd told him last night we were going to need a couple of things as soon as we made it into town.

Soundcheck is in thirty-five minutes, and we're currently short mic tape, some amp fuses, a new earpiece for Irina, and the lights are still set wrong at center stage.

It's incredibly hard for me to bite my tongue when Edward gets the call that the band will be on the stage in twenty minutes, but somehow, I manage to behave and refrain from telling him I told you so.

He seems to appreciate my willpower.

Besides, by the look on his face, he's already chewing himself out for not having listened to me in the first place.

Honestly, at this point, all I can think about is getting forty-eight hours off the bus, to sleep in a real bed again once we wrap things up tonight.

Getting two full days in Vegas is going to be an amazing break.

Especially now that I'm of age to party a bit more legally without having to look over my shoulder every minute.

"Got any plans while we're here?"

I look around, "Me?"

Edward smirks and nods, waiting for me to answer.

"Um… Yeah. Some of us got a couple of rooms over at the Hard Rock. I plan on getting tanked, losing a hell of a lot of money, and laying by the pool."

"Sounds fun."

When he says nothing else, but continues to stand there watching me, I stop what I'm doing, then let out a sigh, "Do you want to come out and play with us, boss?" I casually question, realizing he's possibly looking for an invitation.

"I dunno, they all seem a little peeved at me tonight."

"Yeah, well, maybe put the whip down and try talking to us like humans and not slaves?"

He cringes and lets out a huff, "I'm stressed."

"We can tell. It's also stressing us out. Go smoke a joint and come back once you've simmered down. I can handle things here."

He laughs, probably wishing he could.

I shake my head and look back down at the cords in my hands, then let out a huff before dropping them next to my knees, "Okay, fine. We will save the joint for later. For now, please just let me help you out a little. I know this venue. I'll have us done on time."

Edward responds with a nod from his head. He offers me his hand to help me up from the floor and smiles down into my eyes before extending his arm in front of him, gesturing for me to lead the way.

We start to walk the stage together, and I begin telling him what all still needs to be done and who the best people are for the side jobs that are left. A few of the guys are taking notice to this and also raising their brows with suspicion while shaking their heads in disbelief.

All it takes is a quick glare from me to get them back to work.

When Emmett and Jasper finally get back, I suit up and change the bulbs from the rafters, this time without dropping any, then finish swapping out the amp fuses with two minutes left before sound check.

Edward finds me leaning against the wall with a Coke Zero in my hand, appreciating all of our hard work, "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yup," I answer, avoiding his eyes, "Time management does wonders. I'm starting to feel like a broken record with you, but it also helps if you do the shit work at the end of the night instead of waiting until the next day since this lot is always so slow to get moving. If you make them work a little later, then they have less time to go get plastered, ergo they're less hungover the next day. Pro tip from my dad."

He nods and takes my can of soda from my hand to bring it up to his lips.

I raise my brow and smirk, watching him help himself.

"Jesus! That shit is disgusting, Swan."

His pretty green eyes are starting to get to me again.

I snatch my soda back from his hand and walk away before I can say something stupid.

I've saved setup, but the night isn't over. We still need to get through the actual show.

Then I would be able to celebrate all of our hard work.


_.o0O0o.O.o0O0o.O.o0O0o.O.o0O0o._


It's well after one in the morning when we get the last of the gear loaded up onto the trucks. Half the guys have already taken off to head to the hotel, but Emmett, Jasper, and a few others have stayed back to get the heavier equipment secured and locked up.

Finally, we're finished, and I can breathe.

"I'm uh, going to invite Cullen to come with us."

"What's that? You're going to get laid by Cullen tonight?" Emmett quickly taunts while we walk shoulder to shoulder toward our bus.

"Seriously. Shut up."

"What?! You two have been weird since Austin. The sexual tension is off the charts. Everyone's been talking about it tonight—"

This causes me to freeze in panic. I turn my head to glare in his direction and clench my fists down at my sides, "No, they are NOT!" I growl.

"Whatever you say, Birdie. We're in Vegas, let's raise the stakes a little. Two-fifty says the two of you finally fuck before we pull out of Sin-City."

I press the button on the side of the bus to open the door and start to jump up the steps after Emmett, "Easiest bet I'll ever win, McCarty. You might as well give me the two-fifty now. I'll even buy you a couple of drinks with it." I shoot back, pushing past him to get to my bunk so I can gather my things.

"What are you two betting on now?"

Edward's snuck up from behind me scaring me half to death.

Emmett starts laughing but says nothing before grabbing his own bag and trotting off to catch up with Jasper and the others.

"Same old. Are you coming out with us tonight?"

Cullen's smiles with a tilt of his head, and then he crosses his arms.

As far as I can tell, we're the only two people left on the bus.

He seems to notice this and takes a step closer, "Do you want me to?"

My brow raises, but I only shrug in response.

He smirks after leaning against the frame of my bunk, keeping his stare locked with mine, "I'll text you later. I've got a couple of things to take care of before I head out."

"Oh, I bet you do." I tease with a sarcastic wink that swiftly turns his cheeks a bright shade of pink, "Tell Irina she did great tonight! Hopefully, she still has some energy left to give you a half decent blow job. If not, I'm sure you can find one for pretty cheap down at the bar tonight." I quip before slinging my bookbag over my shoulder to leave him behind.


_.o0O0o.O.o0O0o.O.o0O0o.O.o0O0o._


Upon checking into our hotel, I take a long hot shower and even opt to wash my hair with both shampoo and conditioner.

Once dry, I change into an actual dress I'd picked up at a thrift store a few stops back and smooth it down in front of me.

It's short, black, low cut, and tight in all the right places. Nothing fancy, but I'm hoping it will get me at least a few drinks paid for throughout the evening.

When I come out of the bathroom, Emmett lets out a loud whistle and prompts me to do a spin for him in front of the king size bed he's currently relaxing on with his hands positioned behind his head.

Instead, I blow him a kiss from my middle finger, then fall into Jasper's waiting lap.

"Sucks, it's so late already."

It's after two in the morning, but the night is still young.

Especially in this town.

"Don't stress! We have the next two days to party hard." Emmett reminds me after standing up to put his shoes on. "Ready to head out? Some of the other guys are already downstairs getting things started at the bar."

"Yeah, Cullen just sent me a text. Let me tell him where we will be."

I remove myself from Jasper's lap and see them both exchange a look that instantly forces me to roll my eyes.

They're obviously determined to give me a hard time about this.

Which is fine, because I'm determined to ignore them.

Instead of answering my text like a normal person, our boss actually calls me.

"Swan, here."

"Hey, you're absolutely sure it's cool if I tag along? I don't want to make things awkward for everyone."

"What, were you afraid I'd show everyone your text asking if it was cool you were tagging along?"

Emmett and Jasper cover their mouths to muffle their laughter, and I toss a pillow in their direction from my freed hand.

"No, Bella. I'm old fashioned. I don't do text messages."

A scoff leaves my lips and I let out an impulsive huff, "Yeah, it's fine. We promise to play nice. All of us." My finger points at my two buddies and I narrow my eyes, motioning for them to shut the hell up. "Meet us downstairs when you can. We're about to head to the bar before hitting the casino."

"Alright, I'm almost to my room."

"Your room?"

"Yeah, I decided to indulge a little, too."

I smirk because most nights he ends up on Irina's bus, and she has a queen size bed with a fancy memory foam topper.

"Alright, see you in a few."

I drop my phone into my purse and nod my head toward the door after applying some red lipstick to my lips, "Let's do this."

"What's Cullen up to?" Jasper asks on our way out.

"He'll meet us downstairs. He's checking into his room now."

Emmett's hands are at my hips as he leads me to the elevator with his lips beside my ear, "You might as well give me that two-fifty now. Once Cullen sees you all dolled up, he's going to make it his own personal mission to have this dress on his floor tonight."

"The only place this dress will end up is on the floor in our own room. I cannot wait to cuddle with your lame ass tonight, ya dope. So, no hookers until tomorrow!" I tease back, giving him a quick kiss to his cheek just as the elevator door opens from behind me with a loud ding.

Jasper is shaking his head in awe of the relationship my bestie and I have, but then I notice his eyes go wide after his stare sets in on something behind me.

I turn to look and find Edward getting off the elevator with a small bag in his hand and a devilish smirk on his face.

Of all the floors in this hotel, he ends up on ours.

Go-the-fuck-figure.

His eyes are moving up and down taking all of me in.

He doesn't even attempt to hide this.

"You sure do clean up nice, Swan."

"Boom! Told you!" Emmett instantly barks, earning my fist to his shoulder.

"Yup, thanks. See you downstairs, boss." I start pulling both of my friends by their arms to get onto the elevator but don't say another word.

Once the door shuts, I smack them hard with my opened hands.

"Hey! What did I do?!" Jasper wails, rubbing at his arm.

"First, I'm too mean to him, now I'm too nice? You're impossible to please."

They laugh in unison, and Emmett pulls me in under his arm, sending me in search of my balance on the red heels I'm wearing.

"Aw, come on Birdie! You know we're just ribbing you like we would any of the other guys. If you decide to get your pussy licked by Master Cullen, so be it. I'll be that much richer, and maybe then you'll lighten up a little. You've been a ball of anxiety ever since seeing Liam, and not getting your licks… I mean, kicks in."

I don't bother arguing. He's right. I have been a little more 'frustrated' with life since leaving my ex-fiance behind in Austin.

"Just have fun, kid. We have two days to do whatever the hell we want without answering to anyone."

With his last word, the three of us start walking toward the bar. Once there, I order my first official drink of the night, and a guy two seats over pays for it then sends me a smile and wink from his eye.

"That might be a new record for you," Emmett whispers into my ear, before pinching at my cheek. I shove him away from me and try to hide my grin, but it's impossible.

I love this town.


_.o0O0o.O.o0O0o.O.o0O0o.O.o0O0o._


An hour later, I'm three hundred dollars in the hole, but only two full drinks in when Edward sneaks up on me at the Roulette table.

He places a four hundred dollar bet on black, sets his chips beside mine, then smiles after taking the seat next to me.

"Jesus, you just jump right in."

"Yup, I do." He answers, "Even more so when I know what I want."

The way he's said that, and the look he's giving me….

Christ.

I'm in trouble.

I need Emmett.

Jasper.

Tyler.

Mike.

Anyone.

When the ball lands on black, Edward smirks, takes his winnings, then splits them with me.

"Since it was your little black dress that inspired me, you get a cut."

Thanks to him, in ten seconds time, I've now won back almost all of the money I've lost.

And just like that, I'm back to being a very happy girl.

"Thanks, boss!"

He cringes and forces a smile, but I don't apologize because I'm determined to keep up somewhat of a wall.

"Where's everyone else?" His eyes start scanning the busy room.

"Dunno. I was on my last fifty for the night, so I've been roaming solo and mostly watching. Now it looks like I'll get to play a little longer." I smile shaking the chips he's just given me in my hand.

"Glad to be of service."

"I'll consider it my bonus for helping you out tonight," I whisper, with an impulsive wink.

He smiles and nods, then moves in a little closer, "You seriously saved my ass tonight. You've actually done it more than once over the last couple of weeks. I owe you those chips and more."

I shake my head, disagreeing with him, then give his shoulder a light shove from my hands, "We're a team. I would never let my ship sink just to spite someone I hate."

As soon as those words leave my mouth, I'm back peddling, "I mean… I didn't mean it like-"

"It's cool. I get it." He starts to walk away, but I move after him to grab at his arm.

"Stop! I speak without thinking and I do it a lot. If we're going to be friends, you need to get used to that, and not take it so damn personal all of the time."

Now he's smiling.

"Are we going to be friends, Bella?"

His smile is making me smile.

"I guess we will have to wait and see how the night goes, Edward."

He nods again with a smirk, then turns to walk away without saying anything else. My eyes narrow watching him go, but then Emmett is suddenly grabbing at my hips, causing me to smack at his hands on impulse.

"Jesus! Don't do that!"

"Jasper's girlfriend is here. Come meet her. I think you two will click. Plus, you could use some female influencing."

I roll my eyes and start to follow my best friend around the Blackjack tables to head the bar at the back of the casino, then spot Jasper sitting at a booth with a very pretty girl.

Her smile is sweet.

I like her blue hair.

She even has a few cute tattoos and a ridiculously sexy Monroe piercing above her lip.

Maybe we will be friends.

I can't even remember the last time I had a female friend.

I think I might have been fifteen. No… maybe twelve.

Yup, it's been awhile.

"Hi! You must be Bella!"

A smile finds its way across my lips and I nod, then slide in beside her.

"Alice, right?"

She grins and tilts her head onto Jaspers' shoulder, "Oh, good! So you have been talking about me."

Jasper laughs nervously and shrugs.

Truth be told, he's flirted with me more than once since the start of the tour, but it's always happened late in the evening after he's had a few drinks. Because of that, I've never docked any points from him for it, nor have I entertained the attention.

When he's sober and not working, he's always texting or face timing with his girl, and we actually tease him relentlessly about it.

She was obviously someone special. It's just hard being on the road. It gets lonely. This is why I refuse to ever date anyone who isn't part of the crew. I know I'd never be able to control myself. Not long term.

Speaking of which.

I've now noticed a pretty handsome stranger smiling my way a few tables over.

He nods his head one time when our eyes meet and I smile back.

Emmett laughs noticing our exchange, "Uh-oh… Birdie found herself a worm."

I kick him from under the table, and he lets out a loud yelp, then leans over to rub at his leg, "Jesus woman, pointy-toed heels hurt!"

That's when I see Edward coming into the bar with a sexy looking blonde under his arm. My stare narrows, and I feel the pace of my heart kick it into high gear.

Cullen works fast.

Emmett follows my stare, and I hear him laugh again and click his tongue several times. "Let the games begin!"

Jasper turns to see what's going on. When he spots our boss getting his hair played with by his bimbo looking piece of eye candy, he laughs hard with my best friend, then leans over to pat me on the head three times.

I literally want to kick them both.

Poor Alice is trying to catch up and starting to look like a fish out of water.

"That's our boss, and these two morons think I want to fuck him," I lowly explain.

Jasper's girlfriend smirks and nods after looking over at Cullen, "I mean, I can see the attraction. He's pretty friggin hot."

"Hey, now!" Jasper's fingers are instantly grabbing at Alice's hips, causing her to leap into his lap and kiss at his cheek.

Just then, the stranger from a few tables over gets up and starts to walk toward us.

His blue eyes are set on only me, and his smile is kind of yummy.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

He's clearly not looking to waste any time.

"How do you know she's not with me?" Emmett asks, using a rather serious tone after leaning back and crossing his muscular arms in front of his chest.

I raise my brow and wait for the stranger to respond to my friend's question.

His smile raises and his shoulders shrug, "If she is, then I'll assume you're both looking for a good time. After we share a couple of drinks, I think I'll be able to get down with that."

I almost snort, then lean across the table to put my hand over Emmett's, giving it a firm squeeze, "What do you say, buddy? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," I tease with a playful wink.

He pulls his hand from mine and waves it in the air, "Nope. I'm totally good. Been there, done that. Time to find me a hooker."

I laugh out loud, then watch him get up and trot away, leaving the three of us at our table with my newest friend.

"Hi. I'm, Bella."

"Beautiful name, for a beautiful woman. It's nice to meet you, Bella, I'm Sammy. Now that I've scared your chaperone away, how about that drink?"

I smirk again, and stand up from the table, "Sure, why not. See you two later."

Alice and Jasper offer me a wave from their hands, and I link my arm with Sammy's to walk over to the bar where he pulls out a stool for me.

"Where are you from, Bella?"

"Nowhere, actually. I'm a roadie with no home. Born and raised."

"A roadie? Like on a tour?"

I nod and shift my weight in my seat after telling the bartender what I want.

"That's pretty cool. I didn't realize women did that kind of work."

"Well, I'm not like most women." I instantly tease back.

His grin grows and he leans in a little closer just as the bartender sets down my drink in front of me.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

My eyes glance across the bar and I catch Cullen sitting with his pretty blonde not too far from where we are. He's laughing with her, but it's obvious he's also keeping tabs on me and my own new buddy.

"I have a confession, Bella."

"Do you, Sammy?" I sip my drink and raise my right brow, keeping my glass in my hand beside my lips while I wait for him to continue.

"I've actually been watching you most of the night."

Because that's not creepy.

Something about the way he's said this triggers an alarm in the back of my head, and a red flag slowly starts to rise with a few bells and whistles following closely behind.

The next thing I know, his hand is on my leg.

Growing up the way I have… it's taught me to pay extra close attention to certain things when it comes to strangers in strange places.

It doesn't take me long to realize I need to finish my drink and run before I'm in too deep.

"Sorry, I should have kept that to myself, but I saw you get off the elevator earlier, and I've spent the last two hours waiting for the right moment to make my move."

His hand is traveling up my thigh now with zero signs of stopping.

A nervous laugh leaves my lips, and I gently place my fingers over his to return his palm to his own leg, then take another sip from my drink.

When I look over at Edward, I see he's no longer sitting with the pretty blonde.

He's all by himself now, watching me with my drink, and new creepy acquaintance.

I raise my glass into the air, acknowledging his existence, while silently hoping he might notice the slight panic in my eyes.

Truthfully, I need him to come over and be my White Knight again without me having to actually mouth the word, 'help'.

Sammy notices our exchange, "Someone you work with?"

"Yup, my boss."

Edward stands up from his seat and begins to make his way around the bar to join us, all the while keeping his eyes set on only me.

"How's it going, Swan."

I smile, "Just peachy, Cullen."

He eyes Sammy for a very brief second, and then looks down at the drink in my hand, "Don't forget we have an early morning tomorrow."

Message received.

Neither of us has anywhere to be tomorrow, but Sammy doesn't know that.

"How could I forget? Last drink for the night. Promise." I finish my sentence with a wink from my eye, then slowly bring my glass up to my mouth. Just as I'm about to place it at my lips, Cullen leans against the counter, then stumbles forward, tipping my drink with his shoulder, sending what's left of it all over me.

"Shit! I'm so sorry!"

My initial reaction is to get angry, however, the smirk hidden in his eyes causes me to pause long enough to take a second and process what it is he's actually done.

Edward Cullen has very purposely cleared a path for my escape.

"Jesus, man! What the hell?! Watch yourself!" Sammy jumps from his seat.

He hands me several napkins, and I take them to start dabbing at my cleavage. I'm doing my best to hide my own smirk, but I have a feeling I'm failing miserably based on Cullen's ever-growing grin.

"I guess this was the sign I needed. It's time for me to call it a night."

Edward sends me a quick wink, apologizes again, then walks away whistling.

Sammy is not happy.

"Aw, come on. You can barely see it! I promise. Stay!"

His words cause me to literally laugh out loud. I'm clearly soaked.

Sammy is a liar.

"I'm sorry. It's been a really long day. Thank you so much for the drink, even though I'm wearing half of it."

He forces a smile and lets out a defeated sigh, but not without giving it one last try, "Can I walk you to your room."

"I don't remember telling you I was staying here."

His cheeks flush, "Okay, I also might have noticed you checking in earlier."

Definitely creepy.

"Have a nice night, sweetie. I'll be around tomorrow. Maybe we'll get a second chance."

There will be no second chance, but he doesn't need to know that, because I'm not in the business of crushing hopes and dreams.

After walking out of the bar, I spot Emmett chatting with three gorgeous looking girls over by the slot machines. When I step up to them, I refrain from looking their way. Mostly because I don't want to put Emmett on the spot for introductions... since he more than likely hasn't even processed their names himself yet.

"I'm calling it a night. Round two mañana. Creeper at the bar was a creep. Cullen saved the day though since you left me all high and dry."

Emmett laughs and shakes his head.

I already know what he's thinking. My limit has been reached, and he's that much closer to winning our bet, but I'm still functioning just fine.

He shoots me a thumbs up, and a quick wink from his eye then goes back to working his group of ladies without saying a single word to me.

From there, I jump on the elevator and start to take my phone out of my purse. The doors are just about to close when a familiar hand appears pulling it back open again.

It's Cullen.

He's grinning that grin.

"Where are you going?"

"Um… I'm going up to my room to change out of this dress and then I'm going to hide from the happy hands bar creeper before I end up on an episode of Dateline," I firmly reply, after crossing my arms.

He smirks and eyes at my cleavage where my dress is still soaking wet, "You can't be tired already."

I watch him reach into his shirt pocket and pull something out.

It's a decent sized joint.

Now I'm smiling.

"N'oice, boss! My room or yours?"

Coke and MDMA are easy to get on the road.

Pot is much harder to sneak around with, thanks to its lingering smell.

"Why don't you go change and come over to my room. I'm ready to get out of these clothes myself."

I look at him with my brow suspiciously raised then place my hands at my hips.

"I'm ready to be comfortable and call it a night from the casino, ya'dork."

"Aw! Did Irina give you a curfew?" I tease after the elevator door opens to let us out onto our floor.

"Shut it, Swan."

I raise my hand to my forehead and give him a salute, then playfully march my way down the hall in front of him to head into mine and Emmett's room.

"I'm, um... actually right next door to you guys."

"Of course you are," I snicker under my breath, giving him a thumbs up, paired with a nervous smile on my face.

Once inside, I drop my dress to the floor and grab my book bag to take out my signature cut off shorts and a white tank top.

I pull my hair up into a ponytail and head into the bathroom to check my reflection. Aside from my need for a quick lipstick retouch, I'm still actually looking kind of cute. Instead of putting more lipstick on though, I rub what's left off, and then add a little more eyeliner under my eyes.

When I finally grab my phone from my purse, I see I've got three missed text messages.

One is from Emmett, making sure I got upstairs okay.

He's such a good little bestie.

And two are from Liam telling me how much he's been missing me lately.

I only respond to Emmett.


-EMMETT-

-Have you arrived alive?

-The birdie has landed. Changing. Gunna smoke a little pow-wow. Check on me in forty.

-WTF Birdie?! I guess we're not invited to the pow-wow?

-Sorry. Not my pow-wow to invite you to, darl'in. ;)


I'm only being honest. It's not my weed to share. Ergo, it's not my place to offer up any invites.

I grab my hoodie, put it on, then grab my key from the table to head into the hallway.

My heart is actually beating at a rather ridiculous pace. It doesn't help that as soon as I knock at Edward's door, it opens.

He's changed into some baggy grey sweatpants and a black sleeveless t-shirt that's highlighting the fact he's actually got some pretty toned arms under all of his colorful tattoos.

"No more Cinderella?"

I smirk, realizing he's talking about me transforming back into my typical peasant like attire.

"It's well past midnight, my friend."

It's actually well after five in the morning.

My eyes go wide realizing this.

Truthfully, I don't feel the least bit tired. I am however feeling more than a little bit tipsy.

"Make yourself comfortable."

His eyes are on my legs again.

My lips smirk and I walk past him to plop down belly first onto his bed, then kick my legs up into the air behind me, just to taunt him that much more, without making it too obvious.

He pulls a chair from the table and positions it in front of me, then lights the rolled joint at his lips to take in a deep inhale before passing it over. I smile watching him hold it in, and then take my own hit, closing my eyes with my exhale.

"That's nice."

"After your suggestion earlier, it seemed like an appropriate way for us to end our night together."

"Ah-ha, so you'd already planned on us ending our night together?"

Edward smirks but says nothing in response.

"Our night needs some music," I suggest, eyeing the stereo behind him.

He follows my cue and stands back up to connect his phone to the speakers.

"What do you like?"

"Take a guess," I challenge, grinning a little wider as he hits the lit joint once more.

He clicks his tongue several times after exhaling a cloud of smoke from between his lips then begins scrolling through his playlist.

When Weezer starts coming from the speakers, I leap up onto my knees and give him a theatrical round of applause, "Perfect! Oh my god, if Emmett was here, he would be dead right now!"

We literally always listen to Weezer when we get high together.

"Actually… now that I think about it... this is kind of freaky."

Cullen's smirk gives him away, and I cross my arms in front of me.

"I might have heard you guys talking back in Atlanta."

I rewind my memories to the night he's referencing and feel my cheeks flush almost instantly.

I'd also gone on an epic mini rant behind the buses that night about how the only thing Cullen was good for was making me miss Waylon, our old boss, whom I'd also never really gotten along with, let alone liked.

"Hopefully, your opinion of me has changed a little since then."

I don't even know what to say.

In fairness, I'd never even given him a chance before making up my mind that he was just another tool with an ego that needed to be coddled and stroked on a daily basis.

He passes me the joint again, and I take it from him but stay quiet.

"For what it's worth, I had no idea you'd been up for my job. Irina made it sound like no one on the crew had wanted it."

"That's because she wanted to have your cock in her mouth for the next eight months." Once again, my impulsive tongue has betrayed me.

Edward smirks and shrugs, then takes his seat across from me, kicking his feet up beside mine over the mattress.

"You just can't let that go, can you, Swan?"

"What? That you're fucking our ultimate boss?" I question with a laugh and my brow playfully raised.

"I knew her before the tour... before she was even famous. Just so you know."

This is actually brand new information.

"Really? How's that?"

"We went to high school together."

"Wow, small world."

It's hard for me to think of Irina as a typical teenager walking the halls at some basic high school in the middle of nowhere.

"We'd kept in touch over the years."

"Did you guys date?"

"No. she was two grades below me, and I wasn't the type who dated in high school. Weekend flings in parking lots after a show was always more my speed."

This did not surprise me.

I smile and lean back against the headboard, after letting out a sigh.

I'd never experienced public school myself, so the only thing I could compare this to was the movie Mean Girls, which I used to watch on a loop off a portable DVD player from the back of the bus when I was growing up.

"How old are you?" I suddenly question, surprising myself.

"Twenty-seven. You?"

"Twenty-Two."

"Jesus, you're still a baby, and you wanted to be the SM?"

I sit up and glare hard in his direction, "Shut your mouth! I could do it! I've already been running this show since the beginning!"

He smirks and nods, "No, you're right. You totally could do it. You've put me to shame several times."

I'm back to smiling again.

I'm also feeling nice and relaxed.

My foot starts to tap to Weezer's 'Undone', and I close my eyes, letting the music fill my ears.

"This is probably one of my most favorite songs in the entire world. You know, I met them once. We never did their tour, but we did Warped Tour one summer when I was sixteen and they played a few stops."

"I imagine you've met a lot of incredible people in your twenty-two years of living this life."

I quickly shush him with my finger in the air, then start to sing along with the chorus after sitting up to pull on his arm so I can bring the joint from his fingers back over to my parted lips.

After I let go of his wrist, I fall backward and exhale a rather large cloud of smoke up into the air, then go right back into singing again.

The mattress shifts and I feel him taking the spot beside me so that we're now sitting shoulder to shoulder on the bed.

This should make me nervous… but I'm not feeling nervous.

Not anymore.

He continues to bring the joint to my lips from his fingertips during my turns, and eventually, my head ends up on his shoulder while our feet sway side to side with the music.

"How's Liam?"

I open my eyes and glare at him, "You're really going to ruin my buzz like that? Jesus, Cullen."

"Sorry," He laughs softly, then reaches up to touch my bottom lip, "You um, had a little something."

My teeth suck in the lip he's touched, and I bite down looking him in the eyes before opening my mouth again, "Hypothetically speaking, are you the type who can act normal after a random fuck?"

He swallows hard but says nothing.

I almost laugh over the shocked look on his face.

I've made him nervous.

My fingers take the joint from his hand this time, for one last hit, and then I reach over his lap to rest it in the cup he's been using as an ashtray. "Don't worry. I'm not saying I'm going to fuck you tonight. I'd be out two hundred and fifty bucks. I'm just asking for future reference."

When he finally regains his composure, he looks me directly in the eyes and leans in close.

So close, I can actually see my reflection in his pretty green eyes.

I'm holding my breath, but I don't look away.

"For future reference, Bella, I'm very good at acting normal after a random fuck."


A/N: The ice has thawed. Bella seems ready to play some games. Will Edward be a worthy opponent or is she getting in over her head?

**Reviews make me smile!**

You can find an outtake written from Edward's POV taken from when he has a conversation with Emmett about Bella and her ways on the road, under; Roadies Outtakes on my profile.

;)