A/N: I know, we're a little late, but it's still Sunday here in New York and Canada, so too bad! We said Sunday updates, we never said at what time on Sunday.

Quick items of note: Go check out the Twilight DILF contest, CPW has an entry in it and tonight is the last night for voting. Don't forget the Esme Erotic Ecstasy Contest which CPW and our good friend kikikinz are hosting. Deadline for entries is midnight on October 31st. Our chickiepoo ARenee363 is hosting a Halloween contest with WindyCityWonder, so go check that out too. CPW is working on a collaboration with Risbee for that bad boy that should be posted next week.

As usual, outfits are on our profiles and we don't own Twilight. We do however own a lot of the music from Glee on our iPods.

BPOV

PennyLane84: I like how your mind works PBW. So you can envision my long hair as I am bent over your desk and --

What the…? My power went out. Just fucking great. I reluctantly lifted my finger off of my panty covered clit and gulped the rest of the wine that was residing in my glass. The moment I put the glass back down on my desk, I started to panic. What had I just done? What would have happened between PBW and I if the power had not gone out? I was drunk and I knew that had something to do with my bold behavior tonight, but I knew I wanted some form of release, and using PBW to obtain it seemed like the easiest way to get it.

I dragged my drunken self over to the bathroom and gulped down two big glasses of water in the dark before heading back into my room, hitting my shin on the edge of my bed. I yelped out in pain before I stripped off my clothes, which I stupidly lied and told PBW were already removed, and then changed into my pajamas and crawled underneath the covers.

The next morning when I woke up, I thanked the sweet lord that I had the presence of mind to have that water after my drunken-almost-cyber sex escapade with PBW, because otherwise I would have woken up with a pounding headache for my coffee date… thing… with Edward. I actually didn't know what it was, but I was glad I was meeting him in the morning, rather than just ogling him like I did every other day. Things were different now. We were friends. I think.

When I discovered I only had a small headache, I popped a couple of Tylenol and headed over to my computer. I sent PBW an email explaining that my power had gone out and that hopefully I would talk to him later that night. I got up from my chair and looked in the mirror and I grimaced because while I didn't feel too horrible, I certainly looked it. My hair was all knotted and just… everywhere and the makeup that I had forgotten to wash off the night before was smudged all over my eyes. I couldn't help but think that I looked a bit like a drunken raccoon. I looked over at my clock and saw that it wasn't yet nine, so I still – thankfully – had time for a shower before I had to meet Edward for coffee.

I threw on a pair of plain jeans and a purple tank along with my rainbow scarf and Birkenstocks once I was out of the shower. I clipped my hair behind my ears casually and walked out the door, headed towards Common Grounds. I was a little bit nervous about meeting with Edward, partly because he was the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen and he made my legs feel like they were made of Jell-O and partly because I didn't know if we were meeting as just friends, or if it was a date.

I probably should have clarified that before hand, but I didn't want to overanalyze things. He was a decent guy with a sexy face and fuckhot body. Now if I could discover whether he could hold a conversation, I would be all set. Not that I would let things go too far with him anyways, so it was sort of a moot point. I wasn't about to get my heart trampled on, there was no way I would ever let what happened to my parents happen to me. I guess I just clarified it all for myself. This is not a date. We are friends.

I walked into the coffee shop just after ten and Edward was already waiting for me. He looked up as soon as I walked in and we both waved at each other, albeit a little awkwardly.

"Hey Margaret, can I get my usual?" I asked as soon as it was my turn to order. I was feeling hot all of a sudden and wished I had checked out the weather, since the humidity was already unbearable at ten in the morning.

"Hey Bella, sure." I handed her my five-dollar bill and waited for my latte. I didn't know if I should wait at the table with Edward or if I should stand, since it would only take two minutes for my coffee to be ready, so I just decided to bite the bullet and wait at the counter. When my latte was ready, I thanked the guy behind the counter who handed it to me and strolled over to where Edward was sitting.

"Hey stranger," I said as I sat down at the small round table across from him.

He smiled gently at me. "Hey Bella."

Just then, a man came into the coffee shop mumbling to himself and both Edward and I turned our heads to look at him, trying to figure out what he was mumbling. "What the devil is that guy saying?" I asked with a light chuckle.

Edward glanced at me for a moment while listened intently to the stranger. "It sounds something like 'the apocalypse is coming,'" Edward said incredulously. I giggled, holding my hand over my mouth before taking a sip of my coffee. "I swear, this town is like one big outpatient mental institution," he said before taking a sip of his drink. I couldn't help but watch as he licked his perfect lips when he pulled the cup away from his mouth and I smiled at his comment.

"Have you seen the guy who walks around with the open, empty guitar case?" I asked once I pulled myself out of my erotic daydream involving Edward's mouth.

"I have," Edward said with a laugh. We talked effortlessly for a while and the conversation hardly seemed strained. I was glad that this guy was so easy to talk to, but at the same time that worried me, because I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't interested in anything more than a friendship. With anyone.

"So, Bella. What do you do? I'm actually surprised we didn't get a chance to talk about it the other night at the bar."

"Um, I'm an artist. I guess," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"You guess? You're not sure?" he asked me seriously.

"Okay, I am an artist. I just never really think of myself as one. I paint, sketch, take photos, but I just… never say 'Hi, I'm Bella, the artist.' Does that make sense?" I asked, regretting my rambling. I swear this man completely took away my ability to speak sometimes. Sheesh, Swan, you spend five seconds thinking about his lips and you're a mess. How would you be able to handle thinking about other parts of him?

Let's not even go there. Well other than those thoughts I had about his lips earlier, but that was a onetime thing. Whatever you say Bella.

"Actually, yeah. That does make sense," Edward replied. "I'm kind of in the same boat actually."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Well, I'm a wedding photographer, but normally I like to cut out the 'wedding' aspect when I consider my profession," he told me seriously. Judging by the way he spoke about it, it seemed like Edward didn't really fancy taking wedding photos. Like he just liked the art side of photography, but was stuck with doing something he liked, but not being able to do it how he wanted to.

"I completely get that. I'm actually showing some of my paintings at a gallery tonight," I blurted out. Why? I'll never know, but it was too late to take it back, so I waited for his reaction.

"Oh yeah? That's awesome, Bella. Do you do showings often?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Once in a while, people will see my work and ask me to show it at their gallery. Actually, this time someone requested I paint a piece specifically for this exhibition, so I'm excited to see if it sells."

"Where is it?"

Well that caught me off guard. "Um, the Black Gallery." We both sat there in a bout of awkward silence until I decided on just inviting him. "Would you like to come, Edward?" I said, probably sounding like a complete moron. I felt bad that I hadn't invited him when I first mentioned the showing, but I hoped he wouldn't care about that. I found myself actually wanting him to come.

"Sure, I'd like that," he said with a tender smile.

"I think Emmett might be coming with Rosalie. By the way, did he tell you how their date went?" I asked him, internally kicking myself for talking about our friends' date instead of our own.

"I think he likes her. He's never really tried so hard or been so nervous with a girl as long as I've known him. I know he's a little crass, but that's just Emmett. He's a good guy underneath all the… dumb," Edward said almost seriously. I let out a loud guffaw at the fact that he could talk about how dumb his friend was without laughing about it.

When I came down from my laughter induced high, I found Edward staring at me, looking almost… intrigued? "What?" I asked him.

"I like your laugh," he said genuinely. "It's very unique."

"Really, Cullen? Talking about a girl's laugh," I said skeptically. I didn't know if he was being truthful or if he was using a line on me, but I needed to lighten the mood, so I called him out on trying to use a line.

"No, it's true. Most girls have that annoying, high-pitched laugh. Yours isn't that bad," he said with a shrug. I rolled my eyes at him and looked down at my watch.

"I'm thinking about heading over to the New Museum for an exhibit on the photography of David Goldblatt. Since photography is up your alley, do you want to join me?" I asked simply. It was almost noon and we had been together for almost two hours talking about the most random shit, but I wasn't ready to say goodbye to him just yet.

"You know what… I have nothing planned until I have to see some exhibit by some crazy chick at the Black Gallery tonight, so sure, I'll go with you," he said with sly grin as he stood up and offered me his hand. I allowed him to help me stand and then pulled my hand away after feeling a slight spark as our hands touched. When we walked out of the coffee shop, I turned around and couldn't help but notice Margaret grinning at us like an idiot.

The exhibit we saw was called 'Intersections Intersected' and as we walked through the museum, our arms often touching and more sparks occurring, I found myself trying to focus on the photos, but instead staring at Edward more often. The odd contrast between his copper colored hair and bright green eyes left me breathless more often than not.

"It's amazing how Goldblatt has managed to capture the complexities and contradictions of South African society. His photographs capture the social and moral value systems that governed the tumultuous history of his country's segregationist policies and continue to influence its changing political landscape," stated Edward as I looked at him incredulously. "What? I studied Goldblatt in school so I know a bit about him."

"I'm impressed actually. With friends like Alice and Rosalie, it's hard to find someone with whom I can have a serious conversation about art or… anything actually. With them it seems like we talk more about fashion or dildos." It was Edward's turn to look at me in shock, his mouth hanging open, most likely from my casual use of the word dildo.

"Oh yeah, Rose works in a sex shop right?" he inquired with a small laugh as I nodded my head. "I should go and visit her one day… replenish my movie collection."

I giggled right along with him and we continued our way through the museum. There was another exhibit all about Emory Douglas, but I noticed that it was almost three when we finished with the Goldblatt exhibit and I had things to do before the gallery showing tonight. Plus, we never managed to eat lunch so my stomach was grumbling unhappily at me.

"Shit, it's almost 3:00. I've gotta get going. I have to run to Whole Foods, again, to get some carrots," I said, immediately regretting the words as they fell from my mouth. I really had to go get carrots for the dogs I had to walk in the morning, because Aro was a freak show and loved carrots more than anything else in the world, but I really didn't want Edward to know that I walked dogs. I wanted him to see the real Bella. "I have to go pick up some… things," I finished lamely.

"Um, you lost me at 'carrots,'" Edward said, sounding very confused.

I changed the subject by joking with him, instead. "Was that the original draft of 'you had me at hello?'" I asked teasingly.

"Why yes it was, actually," Edward countered as we both headed out of the New Museum and started heading back towards Common Grounds wordlessly. When we finally arrived, Edward look at me sadly and let out a small groan.

"This is my stop," he said as he motioned to the apartment building directly across the street.

"Well, then I will bid you adieu and hop that you have a great afternoon. I'll see you around 8 for the show? Do you know where Black is?" I asked suddenly feeling very anxious that Edward would see my art tonight.

"Yeah, I know where it is. I'll see you later, Bella," he said he began to cross the street, holding his hand up to a cab that was about to turn into him.

"I'll see you tonight, Edward."

EPOV

When I walked into the gallery, I thought I was going to pass out. My hands were sweaty and I wiped them against my pants in an effort to clean them off. Unfortunately, since it was so fricking humid all day I didn't think it would make a difference what I did, I would always be hot and uncomfortable. I was approached by a waiter holding glasses of champagne and felt slightly out of my element.

As I stood there feeling out of place, I couldn't help but think back to the night before when I was sitting with my computer and desperately wanting Penny more than I had ever realized before. I was relieved in the morning to find her email letting me know that her power had gone off as well, but then my mind went into overdrive. Did that mean she lived in my neighborhood? I had read in the paper this morning that the outage was caused by a truck hitting a transformer a few blocks away, but it only affected the lower part of Manhattan. Penny was closer than I realized, but not as close as I wanted her to be.

I shook my head of my thoughts and went back to focusing on the reason why I was here at the gallery. Everyone was impeccably dressed and I was in a pair of decent looking pants and a black and grey striped shirt I found at the back of my closet. It had been a while since I had to dress fairly nice, since at most weddings I wore a pair of khakis and a dress shirt. I kinda preferred to be dressed down at weddings because then I wasn't mistaken for a guest or a member of the bridal party if I put my camera down somewhere.

I glanced around the room and tried desperately to find the only person I knew, Bella.

Instead, I happened to see a tuft of curly blonde hair and sure enough it was Emmett. He was standing beside Rose and both of them were holding bottles of beer and I was immediately envious. I walked over to join them, working my way carefully through the throngs of people who were milling about and was relieved to also see Jasper and Alice with them. Everyone was out tonight.

"Where did you get the beer?" I asked of Emmett as he turned and looked at me, apparently surprised to see me there.

"There's a bar on the far left of the room. What brings you here?" he asked and I quirked my eye brow at him. He had his arm firmly wrapped around Rosalie's waist and she was shooting me a similar look to Emmett's. I'm guessing Bella hadn't really let them in on our 'friendly' relationship or told them that we had been out for most of the day together.

"Bella invited me." I tried to keep it simple, but I could see the curious look in all of their eyes, including Alice and Jasper who had now joined the conversation. "Don't look at me like that. We're just friends."

"Friends with benefits?" asked Jasper as I shook my head and walked away from them, desperate to find that bar and get myself a stiff drink. A beer just wouldn't cut it tonight.

After I ordered my drink, I stood there watching the other people in the room for a few minutes. Everyone seemed pretty stuck up and it reminded me of why I never had to desire to show off my own pictures. I had to admit that the work that was being shown tonight was pretty great. There were two other artists being featured in addition to Bella, but from what I could see, hers was by far the best and was very well received.

As I continued to scan the room, my eyes focused on Bella. She looked stunning in a tight black skirt that went to her knee and a fitted dark blue sleeveless top with her hair hanging down in sexy curls down her back. As my eyes glanced down her body, I couldn't help but notice the rainbow colored high heels she was wearing. It was a tiny little piece of the real Bella beneath the more formal attire she was wearing. She looked like a completely different version on the hot mess I lusted after every single day since I first saw her at Common Grounds over two months ago. She looked utterly fucking beautiful and I couldn't help but smile brightly as I watched her. Of course, as is my luck, she noticed and winked at me as took a big gulp of my whiskey.

I steeled up the courage to cross the room and talk to her, but I didn't want to see like some crazy boyfriend type, since we were just friends. I couldn't help but think the guy she was currently talking to was more interested in her than her art, which made my blood boil. Just as I was above to move away from the bar, Emmett saddled up beside me and ordered another beer.

"Whatcha looking at?" he inquired casually as he then noticed where my eyes were focused. "Ah, Baby Bell. Why aren't you hitting that dude? She's so fucking hot. If I didn't have such a hard-on for Rosalie, I would so try to jump her bones." I turned towards Emmett, my rage somewhat under control as I patted him lightly on the shoulder, although I really envisioning myself punching him.

"We are just friends Emmett. I don't have to sleep with every woman I come in contact with, like someone I know," I said sarcastically, dropping a major hint about his complete lack of control where women were concerned. Emmett has never had a serious girlfriend or a girl who was simply his friend. Every time he attempted to become friends with any woman, he ended up sleeping with them, effectively ruining the friendship. "Sometimes I don't feel the need to ruin my friendships by coming onto them."

"She wants you dude, you should just do it," he explained as I quirked my eye brow at him, suddenly curious as to how he came to the conclusion that Bella wanted anything from me other than friendship. "Have you not seen the way she looks at you, practically salivating like you are a sandwich or something? Shit, I could really go for a sandwich right about now."

"You are a fucking moron," I said with a small laugh as Emmett just shrugged his shoulders and I contemplated what he was telling me. I mean, yeah if given the chance, I would totally try to date her because she was so fun to be around and was a beautiful woman. We had an awesome time earlier in the day during our coffee and museum time and I was surprised at how easily we got along. However, considering the feelings I currently had for Penny and the fact that I was continually trying to find ways to meet her in person, I wasn't sure I should do anything. I needed to figure out who I wanted more… Penny or Bella.

"Why aren't you at least going over there to talk to her?" he inquired as he took a sip of his beer and I noticed his eyes watching Rosalie on the other side of the room, exactly the same way I had been watching Bella.

"She's busy."

"Edward, you are an idiot. Go make your presence known and flirt with her. Show a little confidence and you'll be in her pants in no time," sighed Emmett as I looked at him with a small amount of shock. I wasn't exactly a lothario or anything, but I thought I could at least handle myself with women. Clearly, I had no experience next to Emmett.

"What must it be like not to be crippled by fear and self-loathing?" I inquired jokingly of Em, whose eyes lit up.

"It's okay!" declared Emmett enthusiastically as he grabbed his beer from the bartender and made his way back to our small group of friends. When I looked over at Bella this time, she was signaling with her hand for me to join her, so I downed the rest of my whiskey and slammed the glass back on the bar before walking over to join her. I could do confident.

Bella pulled me into a small tentative hug as I joined her and the two men she was speaking with. "Edward, this is the gallery owner Jacob and his partner Sam," Bella said sweetly as I offered my hand to the two men who seemed to give me the once over, as though they were appraising me. Jacob and Sam both looked very tan and impeccably dressed, why I didn't think they were gay before was surprising. Apparently my gaydar was on the fritz or something… I mean Jacob is wearing a fricking scarf in June. I should have known. "Why didn't you come over sooner?" Bella whispered to me as I finished shaking hands with Sam.

"I didn't want to interrupt," I admitted ruefully as a waiter passed by with champagne again the Bella grabbed us each a glass. She practically shoved it in my hand as she then grasped my hand in hers as Jacob led us over to one of the works on display and started talking animatedly about color, tone and mood. I was slightly confused, but that could have been because I was distracted by his long ponytail that his partner Sam kept playing with.

"What do you think of the work Elliott?" I looked around a bit and realized that he was talking to me, and I felt like he was talking to me in a condescending way.

"My name is Edward," I corrected him smugly as Bella squeezed my hand as I analyzed the picture a bit more. It looked at the piece which was a rather intricate mess of red, yellow and orange paint. I immediately thought it looked like a sunset, but you could tell there was more meaning behind the work. "I think the painting is fairly abstract. Sure you can see there is a sunset in the work, but the way the artist has used their paint and brush in such wide strokes it can have several different meanings. The dawning of a new day or the demise of an existing one. It could represent life or death."

I felt a little smug as Jacob looked at me with complete surprise. He couldn't really think that because I wasn't one of those snooty assholes who usually hung around his gallery that I didn't have an appreciation for art or an opinion, could he? "I like this one. You should keep him," laughed Jacob as Sam wrapped his arm around his waist and whispered something lowly in his ear. They bid us a quick farewell as Bella leaned into me and I shivered slightly, feeling the same spark I had noticed every time we had touched today. What the fuck was with the effect this girl was having on me.

"I painted that," she explained to me as my eyes grew wide. Why the hell hadn't I read the little tag that stated the name of the artist. At least I didn't criticize it and say it looked like a piece of shit that I might have found at one of those Holiday Inn artist sales.

"It's beautiful really. How bad were my thoughts about it?"

"You were pretty accurate actually. I was actually thinking about the failure of my parents' marriage at the time, so your reference about the demise of a day was pretty good," she said as she then led us around the room for about twenty more minutes looking at more of her own work and some of the other pieces as well.

We eventually found our friends sitting down in a small lounge area near the bar and Bella seemed more eager to join them than I was. I was partial to spending time alone with her, but it was her night and I wasn't really up to ruining it for her. "Well lookie here, the big famous artist has finally made time for her lowly friends," joked Rosalie, who clearly had a few too many free champagnes in her, especially since she was allowing Emmett to drape his arm over her shoulder and practically grab her boob.

"Have another Rosalie," laughed Bella as she sat down on the leather couch beside Alice, who was curled up next to Jasper and beaming happily. "So, which one of you jackasses bought my painting on the far wall?"

"The nude?" said Alice as she let out a small cough. That was the last painting that Bella and I had looked at and I couldn't help but notice the sold marker on it, which made her slightly giddy. It was a very sensual oil painting of a woman and I was curious the entire time we looked at, wondering who the woman was. Was it a self portrait? If so, I was very envious of the bastard who was taking that one home.

I noticed Emmett's eyes darting around the room and looking anywhere but at us, so I was immediately suspicious. "Did you buy it?" I asked as I pointed directly at Emmett and he lowered his head remorsefully. "What on earth did you do?"

"How can you afford it?" asked Jasper, knowing just as well as I did that Emmett was living paycheck to paycheck thanks to the halfhearted attempts of his agent, Sophia. He kept telling us he had all sorts of auditions coming up, but they didn't usually amount to paying jobs for Emmett.

"I didn't buy it."

"I can tell by the look on your face that you totally bought it, what the fuck did you do?" I asked again as Rosalie smacked him on the back of the head and told him to confess to whatever the fuck it was he did.

"Okay, I noticed how everyone else had their name on the wall and I happened to notice a producer here that I have wanted to work with for a while, so I put my name on the wall, next to Bella's painting and then the producer guy came over and complimented me for buying such an awesome piece of art," started Emmett as a loud collective groan broke out among our friends. "So anyways, he kept talking to me and I was trying to impress him so I claimed I was buying it. Then some gay dude in a scarf who looked a bit like George Hamilton came over and started telling me about the methods of payment and suddenly I was buying a paint by numbers worth more than I made all last year. No offense Bella."

"None taken," she said as she finished off her drink and then stood up to excuse herself. I quickly followed, suddenly concerned that she was upset by Emmett's crass behavior, but she convinced me that she simply needed to go to the washroom, so I headed back to join our friends and joined in as everyone yelled at Emmett for being such a complete asshole.

"Someone who could actually have afforded that should have bought it," chided Rosalie as I noticed Emmett was no longer hanging all over her and it was not of his own choosing.

"Will it help if I go find Mr. Producer Guy and see if he is interested in buying it?" asked Emmett as Rosalie nodded his head. "If I do, can I get a mouth hug?"

"Not if you were the last man on earth you fucking moron," stammered Rosalie angrily as she stood up from the couch, followed by Alice, and headed in the direction of the bathrooms. I rolled my eyes at Emmett as I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket; I had a new email.

Hey

I'm out and about tonight so I won't be online, but I wanted you to know I was thinking of you. I hope you are having a great night and maybe I will see you sometime during the week.

Don't do anything I wouldn't do.

PennyLane84

I sat there looking at my small screen somewhat dumbfounded that she had taken the time out from her evening with her friends to send me an email. She was thinking of me? Shit. Now I found myself in even more of a quandary because I was enjoying my time with Bella so much tonight, with the exception of Emmett being his usual moronic self, but I had these unexplainable feelings for Penny; a girl I had never even seen before but was attracted to more than I ever thought possible. What the hell was I supposed to do?

I did the only thing I could think of at the time and responded to her.

Do you think we should meet one day soon?