Thanks for sticking with me, guys! I really appreciate it.

As always the playlist for the story can be found here: www [dot] projectplaylist [dot] com/playlist/16484468235


"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Hey, it's Jake. How ya doin'?"

"Oh, hey Jake. I'm great, how are you?"

I was a little surprised by his call; I wasn't expecting to hear from him so soon. I'd always been told that these things take time but here I was getting positively dizzy at the rapid pace in which everything was unfolding around me.

"Great. Listen, I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that I've already got 8 possibly 10 shows booked for you guys."

I nearly shot diet coke through my nose.

"Seriously?" I asked in shocked disbelief.

"Yep," he laughed. "I know that sounds like a lot Bella, but keep in mind that big name acts will hit 40 cities in 6 to 8 weeks, sometimes playing more than one show in some cities. So you haven't quite hit the big time yet… but you're getting there."

"Wow…" I breathed, more to myself than to Jake, to which I could hear him laugh again.

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked lightheartedly.

"Sure. Of course." Anything for him. After all, without him we'd be lost.

"Stay like this, okay? Just like you are right now. Don't get caught up in the whole industry game. Don't ever turn your nose up at an opportunity because it's below you. So many people, so many good bands fall into the trap of 'Yes-Men' inflating their egos and suddenly they're too cool for the world. And you guys, Bella, are far too good for that. You're exactly what's missing in music these days; real raw emotion. Gratitude and genuine excitement. Honestly, you wouldn't think that something so simple would be such an afterthought to so many people."

"Wow Jake, that's a pretty tall order," I giggled.

"I know, I know. I'll get off my soapbox. But seriously, stay grounded. That's all I ask."

"Fair enough." I can't help but smile at the way he speaks to me. It's so obvious that Jake holds me in very high regard, though I can't quite figure out why. Not that I mind, of course; I'll gladly take a friend wherever I can get one. Maybe that's just the way he is, warm and inviting to everyone he meets. Maybe that's why he was so good at his job at such a young age.

"Yeah, so get this. Your first show… a week from Friday."

"You're kidding." It was not a question, but a statement of fact. There was absolutely zero possibility that he wasn't joking.

"Nope, so get your bags packed. I've actually got it on the books to come pay you guys a visit before the week's out. I've got a little bit of free time and we need to take stock of your gear; figure out what you have that's worth bringing on the road and what you'll need. Are you good with that kind of stuff or—"

"Oh no, Jasper's the hardware guy. I'm the singer, remember? All I do is plug in and do my thing," I laughed and Jake laughed back with me. Talking to him was so easy. There was no pretense or awkwardness, just simple, carefree conversation. I liked him already.

"I'll let you know as soon as plans are finalized but I'm probably looking at flying in Wednesday morning and staying 'til Thursday night. We can inventory your gear and maybe go out that night if you guys are up for it. I figured it would be good for us to all really get to know each other."

"Yeah that sounds good. But umm… you're 20. You're not going to be able to get into most places."

"Bella, please," he scoffed. "I work for a very important record label. I can get in anywhere. Just pick a good place and let me worry about the rest."

I liked his style; a confident swagger without being overly cocky. He reminded me of Edward in that way.

Edward…

I couldn't wait to tell him the good news. Of course the last time I spoke with him I left him in a bit of a predicament. Poor boy, I actually did feel a bit bad about leaving him hanging but he called me a tease! What was I supposed to do? Just take that kind of thing lying down? He wanted a tease, so I showed him a tease. The phone dead in my hand, I remember squealing with triumphant joy as I flopped back down onto my plushy couch cushions, a huge satisfied smile plastered to my face. That's not to say, of course, that it was exactlyeasy for me to hang up on him. Believe me, I wanted to keep going just as much as he did but if all went as I hoped, there'd be plenty of time for fooling around.

"Bella?" Jake's voice brought me back to the present and out of the previous night's memories.

"Sorry Jake. I spaced for a second. What were you saying?"

"I asked how the money advance was treating you?"

"Jasper's girlfriend Alice and I went shopping."

"Oh? What all did you get?"

"Um… just some jeans and t-shirts really. Of course Alice, being the little fashionista that she is, took it upon herself to make everything a little bit moreeye catching."

"Eye catching? How so?"

I felt my face flame up. For god's sake, he's the one who told me I needed to stand out in a crowd, play up my "sex appeal."

"You know… make the shirts fit a little tighter, show a little bit more skin."Ugh… this is so embarrassing.

"Would it be too much to ask for a fashion show when I get to Seattle?" he laughed, and I felt my cheeks grow impossibly hotter.

"I'm just kidding, Bella" he continued. "Unless you want to show off, or something. In that case I'd be a willing audience."

I could hear the thinly veiled sarcasm in his voice, and I felt my blush recede just a bit at the realization that he wasn'tactually serious.

"Anyway Bella, I'll see you Wednesday."

"Wednesday. Got it."

The rest of the day was spent packing my meager belongings into boxes to be transported to Charlie's garage and thinking about Edward. I knew he'd be working his usual eight to five so as much as I would have liked to have spent all day on the phone listening to him breathe, I knew it wasn't exactly possible.

Once I had most of the pictures and knick-knacks in my living room safely stowed away, I moved into the organized chaos that was my bedroom. I started first with dissecting my bookshelf which housed some of my most prized possessions; the worn pages that had kept me company during my awkward teenaged years, and bad break-ups, and tiffs with girlfriends. The very center shelf, just at eye level for me and my petite stature, was home to an array of framed photographs from various stages in my life. There was one of me holding up my catch on my first fishing trip with Charlie when I was maybe 7 or 8 or so, there was one of my parents from the early 80's, before I was born when they were young and carefree, and my favorite – a picture of Jasper, Emmett and I when we'd spent spring break at Wallowa Lake in Oregon, the three of us lounged out on a large sheet on a flat rock at the base of a waterfall. I remember that it was still cool that March, but I had grown tired of my boring pale skin and insisted on getting some sun while we were out hiking that day. Not to be outdone, the guys shed their normal clothing in favor of bathing suits as well and soaked in the scarce sunlight along with me.

I stared at myself in the photo, pale and petite. I'd always thought of myself as plain and boring, but I thought about Edward and how he saw me, and the "sex appeal" Jake said I had. And the more I stared the more I saw it; pale, sure but my skin was creamy and smooth. Petite, yes, but curvaceous and toned in all the right places. Boring brown hair, that was smooth and shiny. Ordinary brown eyes that were smiling and happy.

I guess I can understand the appeal…

A devilish thought entered my head. I knew I still had that midnight blue two-piece stuffed in a drawer somewhere, what if I were to fish it out and give Edward a little something to help him through his work day. Or perhaps make him squirm a little bit.

A sexy bikini photo… or perhaps something a little bit more risqué…

I was surprised at myself for even thinking it. I'd never even entertained the idea of takingthose kinds of photos of myself before. But… the distance between Edward and I was difficult, and I trusted him, and had feelings for him… so it made sense…

I blushed and bit my lip at where my thought process was going. Surely I didn't have the guts…of course not. And I kept thinking that, right up until the moment when I was standing in front of my full length mirror wearing that same midnight blue two-piece that I was in the picture by the waterfall.

What am I doing? This is stupid, I thought to myself.He'll love it; you know hewill, the little devil on my shoulder quipped.

Turning this way and that, I admired myself in the bikini.I suppose I really do fill this thing out well. And I've already started teasing Edward, there's no point in stopping now…

Yes. I convinced myself that my reasoning was sound. I was going to do it, and I wasn't going to allow myself to chicken out. Besides, I'd already sent him a racy photo in the past. Hell, that's how we got into this mess in the first place.

As silly as I felt, I snapped a few photos of myself in the mirror with my iphone. After I was satisfied with the finished product, I moved over to my bed and lay down. Remembering a few saucy poses I'd seen in one of the few dated fashion magazines I owned, I held the camera over my head and arched my back up off the bed, making my breasts look fuller. I bit my lip and looked seductively into the lens, and just before I snapped the picture I hooked the middle finger on my left hand into the fabric covering my left breast and pulled down, exposing the tiniest hint of my rose colored nipple.

Before I even had a chance to talk myself out of it, I sent the picture to Edward's blackberry with a message.

-Just going through some old clothes, what do you think of this one? Keep or throw out?

As soon as I realized what I'd done I wished I could take it back.

Who are you?! Bella Swan doesn't do this!

I could almost see my father's face, shaking his head with disapproval at my actions.

Edward's going to think I'm… I had no idea what he was going to think. I wrapped myself up in my duvet to stave off the sudden chill that had ghosted over my exposed skin, and buried my face in my pillow.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

My phone buzzed to life in my hand and my heart leapt into my throat. I was torn; I wanted to know what his reaction was, whether or not he liked what he saw, but was terrified he'd reject me completely. Of course, curiosity and pure vanity got the best of me.

- Keep. Most definitely. So help me… if you throw that out, I will take you over my knee and make you regret ever even thinking about getting rid of that amazing little bathing suit.

I bit my lip and grinned a grin that threatened to break my face in half. He liked it, of course he liked it, he's a guy.What the hell was I worried about?

- Fine, Fine, I'll keep it. No need to get violent. ;)

- You're getting good at teasing me, you know that?

- I do what I can :)

- Would it be out of line to ask for more?

- Getting greedy now, are we?

- When it comes to you, yes.

I worried my bottom lip back and forth between my teeth before thinkingwhat the hell, you're only young once. My heart pounded and my stomach flip-flopped enthusiastically as I typed him out a quick message.

- I'd hate for you to get in trouble at work, so consider this just another tease. But don't worry… you'll have a present waiting for you when you get home.

I squealed with delighted anticipation before readying myself for a very un-Bella course of action.

EPOV

I reclined back in my office chair with the biggest shit-eating grin on my face.

"What do you look so happy about?" Eric asked me from his desk on the other side of the room.

"Nothing," I mused, stretching my arms and tucking them behind my head.

"Liar. That look… that looks like something only a girl could bring out. Same chick?" My office mate pushed back away from his desk and looked at me with a questioning smile.

"Oh yes, the very same."

"Well well well, getting serious with this one, eh?"

"Maybe…" I don't know how it was possible but my smile grew impossibly wider.

"This is the uhh… internet girl, right?"

"Yep." I let the syllable pop from my mouth with more gusto than was entirely necessary.

"Huh… I never would have pegged you as the internet dating type."

I frowned at his comment and leaned forward to rest my elbows on my desk.

"I mean, it's not like I've got a membership to e-harmony or anything. We just sort of found each other."

"Hey man," he said with a chuckle, raising his hands up in defense, "no judgments. Look at who you're talking to here. I'm in no position to tellyou how or where to find girls."

Eric was your typical "nerd" I guess you could say; tall and thin, with gangly arms and legs, wire framed glasses, and long shaggy hair. I liked Eric a lot though. He wasn't exactlybad looking, but he was definitely the type who had to rely on more than just looks to attract a female.

"Besides," he continued, "internet dating is old hat for me."

"So you've uhh… met girls… from online, like, in person before?" I asked, suddenly nervous for some unknown reason.

"Yep," he popped, mimicking my cadence from earlier in the conversation.

"And?"

"Ehh… I dunno, I've had a couple lead to multiple dates but… to be honest man, more often than not it sort of fizzled out before it even got started.

"I mean, you're talking to this girl, and she's great; smart, funny, beautiful. She's flirting with you, you're

flirting with her, and everything seems like smooth sailing. But then you meet her… and she's just… different. You think you know her, and you do… sort of. But you know her phone personality, or her internet personality. That's the thing about the internet, you can be whoever you want, and that person may not be who they are in real life. And when you're sitting there face to face with someone, its hard to hide the real you. So you pretty much realize that the person you thought you knew doesn't really exist at all. Sure, she still looks good but if you're looking for something more than that then you're just fresh out of luck.

"I hate to say it dude, but there is a reason why people go looking for love on the internet and that reason is that they're lacking in some way. And that's me speaking from experience."

"But like I said, it's not like we went looking for this to happen," I wanted to defend our situation, there was no way our meeting would be like that.

"I don't know man, I'm just telling you how it's been for me. I look at it like this… if she ever says, 'This is so unlike me' or 'I never do things like this', the girl who 'doesn't do things like this' is really who she is, and the girl you're talking to is who she wishes she could be. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I don't want you to get your hopes up too high, you know?"

"Yeah, thanks man." I turned back to my computer screen, trying to hide my sulking.

Is it possible that the Bella I knew wasn't thereal Bella? I don't think she'd lie to me, but then again how would I know? I tried my best to push it out of my mind, but what Eric said ate at me for the remaining few hours of my workday.

Five o'clock came, and I began shutting my computer down and packing up my things when Eric's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?" I replied, my hand poised on the light switch by the door, ready to leave the room in darkness for the evening.

"Look man, I didn't mean to cross a line, or anything. I'm sure your girl is great, and things between you guys will work out fine. I didn't mean to imply –"

"Yeah man, I know. No worries. I'll see you tomorrow."

Eric and I filed into the mass of people exiting the building for the day, and I shuffled my way out to my car. I gave what he had said a lot of thought as I commuted home. It made sense, of course; a certain degree on anonymity could afford someone the opportunity to do and say things they normally wouldn't. But at the same time, nothing about Bella seemed contrived, or forced, or like she was being anything less than genuine. Maybe she wasn't as outgoing or provocative in person as she was over the phone; that much I could handle. Which reminded me…

There's supposed to be a present waiting for me when I get home…

Another smile crept across my face. A smile not unlike the smile that arose every other time Bella entered my thoughts. As if on cue, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

- Let me know if what you find when you get home is satisfactory.

- My present?

- Wrapped up in a bow.

Good God. My mind immediately conjured up an image of unwrapping Bella like a present, deftly removing her clothes layer by layer with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning. Ugh… the thought was almost too much to bear with her being so far away.Why is there so much traffic today!

I pulled up to the house, and luckily Mike hadn't made it home yet. He was usually pretty chatty after work but I was a man on a mission and absolutely could not be distracted. Not today.

I drummed my fingers impatiently on my desk while my laptop booted up.Come on, come on, come on! Patience really wasn't my strong suit, especially when it came to something I wanted; Bella being at the very top of that list.

Eagerly I logged into my email account and was not disappointed to find that Bella had indeed sent me a message with the subject line: For your eyes only.

Excited anticipation coursed through my veins sending a shock of lightning straight to the pit of my stomach as I clicked on the attachments one by one.

The first was a picture of my beautiful brunette standing in front of a full length mirror wearing that gravity defying little bathing suit. She had a sort of amused expression on her face, like she'd just finished listening to a funny story, or laughing at a good joke. As breathtaking of an image as seeing her body in full view was, I couldn't help but notice the rest of, what I assumed to be, her bedroom reflected back in the mirror image as well. There was a bed, queen sized by of the bit of it I could see, with a crisp white blanket that looked soft and warm. There were also miscellaneous boxes strewn about the floor, probably filled with packed items for her move. The room seemed fairly clean, despite its state of disorder. I took mental notes of the color of the walls, and the carpet, her blanket, everything I could so that I could properly picture her in that environment. Then I clicked on to the next file.

The second picture was obviously not taken with her iphone camera, but perhaps her digital camera set up on a timer. She was sitting on her bed still wearing the little blue bikini, legs spread and bent at the knees, one hand resting on her knee and the other knotted into her hair. Her hair was disheveled and wild, and to be honest she looked freshly fucked and it drove me wild with need. The picture really didn't show much but the position of her body was so sultry and seductive.And this girl doesn't think she's sexy, ha!

The third made the stiffness in my slacks increase exponentially. The photo was cropped to show just Bella's soft, plump lips, and her bare chest. Her small, delicate hands cupped her supple breasts, allowing just a hint of her flushed pink nipples, firm and ready, to peek between her fingers. I wanted to take a moment to truly appreciate her long, graceful neck, and her smooth, radiant skin but my baser instincts prevented my eyes from straying from the hardened buds, no matter how little of them was actually showing.

The fourth and final picture took my breath away. She was lying on her stomach across the fluffy white comforter. Her upper body was propped up on her elbows, pressing her breasts together in the most delicious fashion and her lower body was positioned so that I could see the outline of her terrific ass, and the fact that she wasn't wearing anything but a sexy smile. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and made her look like a beautiful, naughty angel against the backdrop of the white blanket.

I groaned aloud at how good she'd gotten at teasing me, knowing all the right buttons to push to stoke the fires of my desire for her.

Without tearing my eyes away from the incredible image before me, I grabbed my blackberry and dialed her number from memory.

"Yes?" she answered in a smooth tone.

"You terrible, naughty, sexy, little girl."

"Why Mr. Cullen, I have no idea what you're referring to." I could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Oh really? So some other gorgeous girl just filled my inbox with sexy photos, is that it?"

"Perhaps. I might just have a doppelganger out there who's trying to make me out to be some sort of siren trying to lead you off course," she giggled softly.

"Maybe. If so, its sure as hell working. If I was ready to drop everything and come see you before, I'm halfway up the state of California now."

She laughed softly again and I relaxed back in my desk chair, eyes still glued to her nude, yet tastefully covered, image.

"So I take it you enjoyed your present," she asked innocently.

"Very much so. That is quite possibly the best present anyone's ever given me. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll admit, I was really nervous taking them. I just… I've never taken pictures of myself like that before. I have no idea what came over me, really."

Eric's words shoved their way back into the forefront of my mind, and a familiar worried feeling throbbed in my bones.

"It's just that I feel so comfortable with you," she continued. "I guess I've never known anyone that I felt that I could… I don't know…indulge myself with."

Her comment confused me a little. She'd been with other guys before, hadn't she? Was she telling me that I was the first person who'd seen her naked?

"Bella, uh… I'm not the first person to umm… see you like this, am I?" I stumbled over the words and felt stupid for even asking but I needed to know.

She laughed a hearty, deep laugh. "Of course not. I'm not a virgin, Edward.Please. There's a difference between someone seeing you naked, and sending pictures to someone. I can control if and when someone sees me naked in person. Sending out a picture is like relinquishing that control to you. Now you can look at me anytime you want and there's nothing I can do about it. That involves a great deal of trust, you know. And you're… the only person I've ever trusted that much."

Suddenly Eric's words didn't matter anymore. She trusted me. She had absolutely no reason to, but she trusted me. If she felt emboldened by our distance, or being behind her computer, or whatever, it didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that this girl, this beautiful, wonderful, amazing girl was putting all the faith in the world in me. What more could I do than to give her the same degree of trust.

And I made up my mind, right then and there that I would return the favor.


Oh my...

If you liked it, if the thought of exchanging dirty texts with Edward gets you going, or if you just think Bella's asking for trouble... REVIEW! And tell your friends.

Songs added to the playlist for this chapter are U.R.A Fever by The Kills and Succsexy by Metric.