Author's note: Hey there! Sorry for that two week delay. In addition to the end of school, we also adopted a puppy who is destroying everything she can get her wee teeth into. Sigh.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the amazing Twi-Zeus, SM, for creating such wonderful characters for us to play with.

EPOV

I've never, not once in my entire adult life, thought I would ever have sex in a public restroom. They're nasty, smelly, and really fowl when you think about it. But the minute Bella showed up at the bar, her shirt so fucking tight, I could make out the curves of her breasts not to mention the fact she was nipping out, I went sex stupid. Her skirt hugged her hips and reminded me of how my hands had traveled over that very part of her body as I pounded into her. Once I saw the shoes, I was in fucking trouble. I'm not a heels guy, not really. Give me a girl who can wear a pair of All-Stars over those towering ass jackers, and call me good. But Bella? Her showing up wearing those fucking boots with the spiked heels but me on high alert. It was all I could do to not yank her ass out of the bar the second I saw her, take her home, and fuck her.

But then Rose showed up and Bella high-tailed it to the bar. Then I saw her talking to him. I don't know who the fuck the guy was, but when I saw him smiling and laughing with Bella, I felt my pulse quicken. When he pulled out his cell phone and started entering something on it, I was fucking convinced he'd scored Bella's number and instantly, I saw red. The last thing I wanted or needed was Bella hooking up with some guy and starting to date him before I'd figured out my crazy-assed thoughts about her. Yeah, it was selfish of me, but I really didn't care. Something had changed between Bella and me since we started this Olympus thing and I didn't want some yahoo in a bar to come between us until I could figure it all out. Problem was, I was having a hard time thinking about because one way or another, I'd come to some conclusion, and that scared the crap out of me.

Bella's texts weren't helping me. I'm not a super kinky kind of guy, but the image of toys and Bella were making it extremely hard to keep sitting at the table, reading texts from her, and knowing we still had hours ahead of us acting like we were only best friends. She kept shifting her legs and my inner fourteen year old certainly took notice every time she did. I thought of her thighs rubbing together reminded me of how she did the same thing in the car that first night we had sex. The flashbacks kept hitting me, and so did thinking that Bella had been flirting with Captain America at the bar. The idea of some guy daring to take her away from me filled me a feeling I'd never felt before when it came to Bella. When she left to use the ladies' room, something in my head clicked. I searched the room for the guy at the bar and didn't see him. The red I'd been seeing hit crimson and I didn't even bother to excuse myself when I left the table. I went straight to the restrooms and waited. No way was I going to let him get the jump on me. It's funny what unrealized jealousy can make you do and think. As I waited for her to come out of the restroom, I told myself I was only going to ask if she was ready to leave. That was it. However, other, darker thoughts started to flood my head. Thoughts of getting a call from her telling me she was seeing someone and couldn't still see me, images of her sleeping with someone other than me nearly blinded me. My chest felt constricted and my pulse pounded in my ears. She opened the door and I was right there waiting. I didn't even give two shits about Alice and Jasper waiting outside the door after. If they found out what was going on, so be it. I'd just gone territorial over Bella in a skeezy-assed bathroom; there was nothing left to lose but her.

By the time we got back to my house, I couldn't fight how much I still needed her – or rather how much I still wanted to fucking claim her. We didn't make it to the bedroom. We had sex in my family room again and Bella made good on returning the hickey. As I fucked her, she latched on to my shoulder, sucking and biting as I thrust into her. It was raw and animalistic and based on the amount of "fuck me harder's" that Bella half-screamed, I couldn't mistake the fact that it was both what we wanted. Just like before, we slept in my bed and as god is my witness, it took everything in me to not pull her against my side and hold her all night. As I lay in bed, tired, wrecked, and desperate for sleep that wouldn't come, I fought against the mess of thoughts assaulting me, before I came close to realizing something that scared the crap out of me. That one thought that had started to form, as small and innocent as it was, it nearly caused my heart to stop. There was nothing small and innocent about what I'd almost allowed myself to think. Until I was willing to admit – and admit it to Bella, I would never have sex with Bella in my bed.

I was relieved when Bella left in the morning. I was stuck in a hateful in-between place, mixed emotions fighting for dominance. I didn't want to be a dick to her and I knew myself well enough to know when shit didn't make sense to me, I was the biggest prick on earth. No, until I could either stop thinking of Bella the way I was or could fucking admit what I was thinking, the last place I needed to be was around her. Yeah, let's see how long I could make that last.

~*M*O*~

BPOV

I totally fucked Edward in a public restroom and I don't care.

I've heard stories about people doing it in a public restroom, but it was never on my "Sex Bucket List." Having sex on "It's a Small World," sure. Anyone who watched Friends has thought about that, but I rather like the land that the Mouse built, and hitting the "no-fly list" there wasn't on my bucket list. The restroom at our favorite bar, you bet. I'm all over that shit. A small boat that goes around a track while an uber annoying song plays repeatedly? That, I'm sure, would lead to years of therapy.

We went back to Edward's house and once again had amazing, dirty sex on his couch. We hadn't yet had sex in his bed and while I did question it, I wasn't going to really question where as long as we had it. Once again, we settled into bed together after and I found myself wanting desperately to cuddle up against him and sleep. I knew I probably shouldn't, but tell that to my inner-girly girl who was begging and whining for a little spooning action. It made for a restless night of sleep, for sure. As soon as the sun cracked through the blinds, I was up. I watched Edward sleeping for bit and couldn't get over how gorgeous he was. Even deep asleep, with his hair going a thousand ways to Sunday and his lower lip in a slight pout, I wanted him. I mean, of course I wanted him, but I couldn't shake the fact that I still very much wanted him. I was finding it harder and hard to keep going, acting like nothing was behind the fucking. After he woke up, I made some lame excuse about having promised my mom a nice long talk that morning and had to get going. I hated lying to him, but the longer I stayed in his bed, in his house, and around him, the greater the longing became.

Once I got home, I did end up calling my mom. Not because I was supposed to but I suppose more in an effort to have not lied to Edward. We talked for nearly twenty minutes about the latest and greatest news and gossip she had to share before she stopped abruptly.

"Bella. What's going on? I've been yapping away for nearly half an hour and you've barely said more than a few 'yeah's' and "mm-hmms'."

"It's nothing, Mom. I just didn't sleep much last night." I knew I wasn't convincing but I had to hope she would take it easy on me and not push.

"It's a boy isn't it?" So much for taking it easy.

"No, it isn't."

"Isabella Marie, don't you dare lie to me. I've known you your whole life. I know when you're lying."

Much as I wanted to argue, I knew she would only end up pissing me off and in my own defense, I would spill the beans anyway. "It is and it isn't."

"Ooooh. Okay. Let's have it then." God, I hated the way it sounded like she was expecting dish but the door was open so I had to walk through it.

"Okay, you know my friend, Edward?"

"Yes, the one you have a crush on?"

"What? Mom! How – why – what?" Okay, I didn't see that coming.

"Bella, how can you not have a crush on him? I can hear it in your voice every time you talk about him. He sounds like a great guy."

"He is . . . it's just . . . well . . ." God, this was more difficult than I thought.

"You slept with him, didn't you?"

She needed to move her act to Vegas. "How in God's name –"

"It's really not that hard to see Bella."

"God, am I that transparent?" I suddenly felt sick. If my mom could notice this, who else had?

"No, it isn't. Honestly, that was a lucky guess. So let me help you out here . . . you like him, you slept with him, and it's not as easy as you thought it would be?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

I could hear the sounds of my mom doing dishes in the background. "Well, darling, do you think he likes you, too?"

Flopping down on my bed, I sighed heavily. "I don't know, Mom. Just when I think I might get some insight, he puts a wall up. Of course, I do the same thing . . ."

"Well, here's what you need to do; it worked for me with your father. Find another guy and flirt your little butt off. If Edward's interested in you, you'll know for sure. If he isn't, then he isn't and you can move on."

"That seems a bit underhanded." There was no way I could do that to Edward. On the other hand, there was laying it all out and I wasn't sure I could do that either.

"Bella, I'm sure you'll figure out what you need to do. Men aren't that bright; he'll slip up or say something and you'll know. He won't have time to put the walls up again and you'll know."

"I don't know. He's a smart guy and that nasty ex of his did a number on him. Maybe this is all he can do right now. Even if he did like me, maybe he just isn't ready to get back into dating. He's already said as much."

The sound of something metal clanking filled my ears. "Sorry, Phil just walked into the hanging pot rack. It's been there for months, mind you." Then under her breath, she said, "See what I mean about them not being bright?"

I started to laugh and heard my call waiting beep. It was Edward. "Shit! It's him. I got to go."

"Okay, sweetie. I love you. Good luck!"

"Thanks. Love you, too."

I switched the calls over and greeted Edward as happily as I could. "Sup, Hercules?"

Edward laughed. "Nothing. Done talking with your mom?"

"I am."

"Cool. Um . . . listen . . . James just called me and invited me over for some bar-b-que next Saturday. You free?" He sounded nervous but I was sure I was just reading something into it.

"Sure, sounds fun." And intimidating. I mean, dinner with Edward, his best friend, and his wife. Yeah, simple.

"Yeah, it usually is. James said they can get the kids to bed early and we can sit around the fire and drink all night." His laughter flowed through the phone and put a smile on my face. "Anyway, I'm headed off to help my dad replace a pane in the bathroom window. Emmett was supposed to help but he's nowhere to be found."

"What's that all about?"

"Don't know. Dad's tried calling him since eight and he won't answer. Rose probably has his ass tied to the bed for punishment for not calling her last week. Who knows?"

"Okay, ew. So didn't need that image in my head."

"Me either. I'd rather have images of you tied to a bed," Edward said. His voice was so deep, so intoxicating, if it weren't for his needed to go to his parent's house, I would have started a round of phone sex with him.

"Who says I won't have you tied to a bed?" I challenged.

I heard him growl then sigh. "Why do you do this shit to me? I need to go be the good son and that's hard to do when you say shit like that."

"Me? You started it!"

"Yeah, I did. Fuck! Do you have any idea how badly I want to drive over there now?"

"Go, Edward. Go now before you dad calls Alice and tries to get her to help."

"Yeah, that won't go over well. I'll hit ya later?"

"Yup. Bye."

"See ya."

Edward never did "hit me" later. It was almost midnight before I got a text from him. He'd been at his parent's all day and around seven that night, Emmett finally showed up. Their mom was so happy that both boys were home, she practically demanded they stay for dinner.

Then Sunday happened. Alice called and begged me to go invitation shopping with her. I tried to get out of it. I even suggested that I thought Jasper should be the one going with her but she insisted that this was a part of my bridal party duty. Uh-huh, sure. Alice kept my mind buzzing with thoughts of weddings and themes while we bounced from stationary store to stationary store. Without even realizing it, I agreed to go out with her again over the week and again on Saturday to help with more planning. What she failed to mention was our outings would take the place of our weekly bar nights. I'm sure to Alice it wasn't a big deal that we were missing out on hanging out in the bar, but to me, it was. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was missing Edward and tired of looking at cake toppers, invitations, and color swatches, and just wanted a proper beer and fuck, and not necessarily in that order.

Edward had been so busy with work; our texts were limited all week. It wasn't until Friday night that we were able to talk. Even then, he was exhausted; our call only lasted about five minutes before he said he needed bed and would see me at six the next day for the bar-b-que.

As I sat in the bridal salon Saturday morning, watching Alice try on the four hundredth dress that day, my mind wandered off. What did I want from Edward? I knew what I had wanted once upon a time, but that was before I shoved my crush aside. I thought our trips to the bedroom would be enough, but what if it wasn't anymore, what if I now wanted more? Would he ever want more or was our current arrangement enough for him? Maybe it was just my old crush rearing its ugly head again. Yes, that had to be it.

"Earth to Bella . . ." Alice called out in a sing songy voice. "I need help here."

"Sorry, Alice." I forced my attention back to her on the platform. She was turning her shoulders side-to-side, appraising her reflection. "That's a nice one."

"Bella," she said, flatly, "this dress is a mess. The train is far too long, the cut is all wrong, and there is more tulle on this thing than in a baby shower bunting."

"Then why do you still have it on?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Because there's something about it I like," she said dreamily.

"After that list there's something you like?"

She studied the dress. "Yes. I just can't figure out what it is."

I rubbed my eyes and stood up. "Alice, I'm not sure you need me for this. I'm terrible at shit like this. I wouldn't know couture from K-mart. Can't you ask your mom to help?"

"Oh, she's meeting us after lunch at the next shop. Let me just get a picture of this dress and then I can change." She handed me the camera and once again, I snapped her picture. I really wanted to smack her. She looked perfect in every dress she tried on and flawless in every picture, too.

She changed quickly, thanked the storeowner for her time, and we left. After finishing lunch, we drove to yet another salon. I was grateful this one had plush couches and water bottles for the spectators – I mean, friends – to enjoy while the bride-to-be went all Barbie and tried the entire store on. After about twenty minutes or so, Esme arrived. She gave me a hug and thanked me for coming along to help plan the 'big day'. I totally felt like a bitch after that. I'd been mentally bitching about this wedding crap all week and here Alice's mom was commenting on what a great friend I was.

We chatted about the dresses Alice had tried on so far, complete with camera slideshow for visual aid, when Alice walked out in a skin tight, 1920's inspired gown. Esme started crying. Me? I started laughing. Great friend, right?

"What, Bella?" Alice asked, clearly exasperated.

"Nothing."

"No, what? My mom is in tears and you're laughing." Alice put her hands on her hips, and looked at me with a glare.

"Okay, it's just . . . that looks like every other dress you've tried on. It's just tight at the bottom and ivory."

Alice spun around and cast a studious look in the mirror. "Hmm. Think you can do better, Bella?"

"I don't need to; I'm not getting married." I scoffed.

Alice turned back to face me, clearly worn out with my attitude. "Look, I know this isn't your thing – the wedding and all – but it's important to me and I'd really like it if you took this serious."

Okay, Bridezilla just tried to enter the room. "Alice, don't give me that. I've been with you all week doing all sorts of wedding stuff. I just don't see why you can't see how this dress is just like the rest of them."

"No they aren't."

Esme finally interjected. "Ali-cat, based on the pictures Bella just showed me, she is right. All the dresses have the same neckline and back to them. I have to agree with Bella. You did the same thing to me last weekend."

Thank the gods; the M.O.B. was on my side!

"Well, you know I love this style and this decade. And they aren't the same."

"They actually are, dear." Esme was firm, but kind in her phrasing. After and exasperated sigh, Alice admitted we were right. She went to change, and Esme and I went to search the racks for something different.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Esme said as we started looking at dresses.

"For what?"

"Alice. I'm sure you getting roped into to all this was the last thing you wanted."

Crap. I needed to clear things up before she got the wrong idea. "No, hardly. I love Alice and I'm really happy she's found Jasper."

Esme stopped looking at the dress, and looked at me. "I know. But the way Edward talks about you, you aren't the dress shopping kind of girl."

Edward was talking about me around his mom? What?

"Oh! This one is lovely! Bella! Look at this!" Esme said as she pushed a few gowns back to reveal the dress she was talking about. Unless I'd gone batty, she was clearly trying to shift focus from what she'd just said – or rather, let slip.

"Hard to tell in the bag, but let's give it a whirl," I offered, trying to stay light and not distracted by her previous statement.

I followed Esme back to the dressing platform where she demanded Alice turn right back around and try on the gown. With her comment still heavy in my mind, I excused myself under the guise of looking for more dresses. As my hands absentmindedly pushed each gown down the rack, I tried to not over think what Esme meant by 'the way Edward talks about you'. I couldn't make heads or tails of whether there was more to it or not. Realizing I'd been gone a few minutes, I pulled the most recent dress in my hands off the rack and headed back to them.

"No, Mom, this is all wrong. The lines are bad, the fabric, the lace – good lord, look at the beading! No. They should use this dress to wax cars with, not for someone to get married in! Oh! Bella," Alice said, shifting from Bridezilla to sugary sweet in two seconds flat. "Did you find something for me?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I handed the dress off to the clerk and sat back down with Esme. As soon as Alice and her helper were back in the dressing room, I looked at Esme – who winked at me.

"Sorry you had to see that, Bella. Alice is just . . . a bit too into fashion."

"Yeah, I know. Was she like this when she was rejected from that fashion school in Paris?" I asked as I twisted the top off the designer bottle of water.

Esme calmly set her bottle of water on the coffee table in front of us. "Worse."

I grimaced. "Yikes."

Esme gave me a knowing look before rolling her eyes and I smiled back at her. Just then, Alice screamed. Esme and I looked at each other, eyes wide. Within seconds, Alice flew out of the dressing room like a heat-seeking missile aimed directly at me.

"Bella!" She flung her arms around me and pulled me into an incredibly tight hug. "How on earth did you find this? I didn't think you had a serious fashion bone in your body!"

"Alice!" Esme chastised.

"No, she's right; I really don't." I gestured with my hand at the outfit I had on: ripped jeans and tight, white tank with flip-flops.

"Oh don't be silly. You look perfect. Edward likes the way you dress," Esme offered absentmindedly, before steamrolling into her thought. "Alice, stop killing Bella and let us see the dress."

Alice pulled away from her most recent boa constrictor hug and proudly flaunted herself on the platform. When she finished pirouetting, I could see tears in her eyes. "This is the one, Mom. It's perfect. Oh my God, it's better than I dreamed of – and I've done a lot of dreaming about this."

Esme cupped her hands over her mouth as her eyes welled up, too. There in all her preening pixie glory, stood Alice wearing a knee-length, ivory dress. It had a twenties feel to it with the scalloped ruffle skirt and beading around the waist. The bodice was sleeveless with beading all around the neckline and down on to the split panels that opened at the cleavage. For as twenties as it looked, it also had a very modern look to it.

"This is so my dress! Bella! You found my wedding gown. How - why did you pick this out for me?"

I was stumped. I couldn't really tell her that I didn't pick it on purpose, now could I? I mean, how do you say, "Well, I was thinking about how complicated my life is what with your brother and all, and I just grabbed this off the rack so it looked like I cared"?

"I don't know, Al. It just came to me." There. That's how you say it.

Alice launched at me again, taking me into a massive hug once again. "Well, it doesn't matter. You found it and that's all that matters!"

"So . . ." I started cautiously. "Does this mean no more dress shopping?"

"Yes!" she answered with enthusiasm.

"Awesome!" I replied with relief.

"Well, minus the bride's maid dresses, of course."

Someone please shoot me.

~*M*O*~

"You ready for this?" Edward asked as we pulled up to James and Victoria's house.

"Sure. I've been around kids before. No big deal."

"Yeah," he said, leadingly. "You say that now . . ."

The door opened and with it, the loudest onslaught of noise I'd ever heard. Inside the house, the sounds of some kids show blasted from the T.V., while a baby cried and a dog barked – both loudly.

"Eddie! Thank fuck you're here! Garrett's been screaming his head off and Vic won't let me crack a cold one until company got here. You qualify as company. Hey, Bella." James held the door open for us and with mild trepidation; I walked in ahead of Edward.

If it weren't for the sounds in the house and the toys in the front yard, I would have thought it was a model home. Their house was neat and organized, right down to the dogs leash hanging on a wall-mounted coat hook next to the door in the hall. As I followed James into the house, I couldn't miss how meticulous everything was. Knowing they had two kids, I immediately admired how neat everything was. I'd met James shortly after Edward and started to hang out. We'd hung out a few times and I liked the guy. It was easy to see why he and Edward were still close.

As we entered the kitchen, Victoria smiled and greeted me. "Bella! Hey girl! I haven't seen you since the baby shower. How are you?"

"Good. How are you doing?" I asked as I crossed to her and gave her a quick hug.

"Oh you know, fine as long as the baby sleeps."

"I can't believe how big he's gotten. He's huge!" I looked at Garrett sitting in his high chair, covered in something orange. The last of his fat tears clung to his cheek.

"Looks like someone was fighting dinner," Edward said.

"You don't know the half of it. Anyway, once he got the spoon, the water works ended." Victoria started working on cleaning the baby up. Tonya was busy toddling around the kitchen picking up fallen Cheerios and almost stuffing them in her mouth when Victoria stopped her. "James, stop her. That's disgusting!"

James hoisted the little girl up and playfully tapped her noise. "Are you trying to be Aro? You know you aren't a dog, right, baby girl?" As she giggled, James freed the food from her hand and threw it in the sink. "Eddie, make yourself at home; you, too, Bella. We're gonna get these monkeys off to bed and then we can grill!" He proceeded to make a caveman noise that had Victoria rolling her eyes.

"God, James, you make it sound like you're the hunter and bagged some kill." She looked at me. "Honestly, unless you call shopping at Trader Joe's 'hunting', all he bagged was the groceries."

Edward and I started to laugh.

"Keep it up and see what secrets I share over dinner," James jokingly threatened.

"You do it and you'll sleep in the pool house," Victoria said as she got the baby out of the highchair.

James gave her a confused look. "We don't even have a pool, let alone a pool house."

She winked at me. "Exactly my point."

After taking the kids off to bed, James and Edward immediately retreated to the backyard to start grilling. I stayed in the kitchen and helped Victoria clean up after the kid's dinners. We talked about the kids for a bit, and then I shared with her the wacky outing I'd had with Alice searching for a dress. She laughed, and said she felt sorry for me but was glad it was me, and not her, that were out Alice. She'd known Alice as long as she'd known Edward and was equally versed in Alice's antics about fashion.

The guys, having fulfilled whatever residual caveman traits left in them, proudly announced the steaks were done. It was almost comical to see James and Edward standing with a plate of smoking meat, one with large tongs in hand, the other with a plate of foil-wrapped potatoes, a small sheen of sweat on their brows.

After dinner, the guys went back out to clean the grill, while Victoria and I once again cleaned up after dinner. I was taking a sip of my wine when she asked me something that made me nearly spit my drink out across the room.

"So, you're close to Edward. Who's this girl his seeing and not talking about?"

"What?" I asked, trying hard to not choke and talk at the same time.

She loaded the last plate into the dishwasher, closed the door, and looked at me. "Don't tell me you don't know."

"Know what?" Yes, act as if you don't know a thing; that's the safest path.

She grabbed a few paper towels and spray bottle and started wiping the counters down. "You mean you really don't know? Edward has this hot little number that he isn't talking about. We invited him over for dinner on Wednesday night but he said he had a date. I thought for sure you'd know what the score was."

Wednesday? Was she sure? I hadn't been out with Edward since . . . no. No. He wouldn't – he couldn't!

"Um, no. This is the first I've heard of this, actually. He told me he was working all week."

"Yeah, that's the same story he gave James. I'm not buying it. A few weeks ago, he was over here and we invited him to stay for dinner but he said he had plans. James said Edward had a hot date that was coming over to his house later that night."

"Um, no clue. Sorry." Yeah, no clue my ass. I could account for that night in question, but what the hell was the story for this past week? True, we never said that we couldn't see other people; I just didn't think either of us would. If he had, how would that change things between us? I didn't know if I was ready to end our little Mount Olympus visits so soon after they started. Equally, I wasn't sure I was ready to go back to being Edward's Gal Friday again. Of course, there was always the possibility that he was working, and thought either if he told them that, they wouldn't let him out of dinner. He also could have just told them that to throw them off from guessing anything about us. Those last two options didn't make me feel as sick as the first thought did.

"Well, I'm sure James will get the story out of him. Those two are thick as thieves. Neither of them can go long keeping secrets from the other. As soon as he gets the dirt, I'll call you. And if he doesn't get the dish, I will." She smiled knowingly at me and I felt my gut drop.

One of our conditions had been not telling anyone. Would he let it slip? If he did, I knew Edward would stand by his word and we would end our trips to the bedroom. I'd be pissed but what could I do? I'd already told my mom I'd slept with him. Surely, that didn't count, right? Fuck me. What if it did? What if I'd broken the code first? Great. Now added to my freak out of just what was Eddie doing on Wednesday night but also that I'd botched us up first. After that wonderful realization, I wasn't sure how the night could possibly suck more. Famous last words.

James and Edward came to get us to come outside and continue drinking and talking. Edward was doing his best to play neutral in front of his friends, but every so often, he would slip in a glance or a stare that launched butterflies in my gut. Then a flash of annoyance would hit me over his mystery date and my heart started an anxious pounding in my chest. When that would happen, I would drink more wine. I was sure I was on my way to tipsy town.

The rest of the evening was a blur of gut flops for me and laughter and funny stories – mostly from the guys and centered on shit they did as kids. It was just past midnight and the fire burning in the patio fire pit started to die down; the cool air wrapped around me quickly. I shivered and immediately, Edward noticed. He looked as though he wanted to sit with me and warm me up. For a split second, I almost got up and went to sit next to him and have him put his arm around me, then I remembered where we were and settled for trying to warm myself up by rubbing my hands over my arms. Edward's eyes never left me, and as he cupped his jaw with his thumb and brushed his index finger over his lips, I could tell he was thinking. Probably debating the same situation I was debating.

"Oh, Bella! You will never guess who I saw at the store the other day," Victoria started, almost too giddy for how late it was.

"Who?" I asked.

"Jake."

Oh fuck, no.

"Really?" I didn't care if my indifference showed. Victoria knew what went down with Jake so I was sure she wasn't super friendly with the asshole.

"Mmm-hmm. He asked about you."

Edward sat up straight, almost on alert.

Victoria continued. "He said he Facebooked you but you hadn't replied."

"True, I didn't." I looked back at Edward. He was watching me closely, his head tilted just off to the side, his eyes me.

"Anyway, he asked what you were up to and I told him you and Edward were coming over for dinner tonight. He's such an ass, isn't he?"

I can't explain why, but when I heard what she said, the fact that she talked to Jake and about me left me feeling vulnerable and exposed.

"Anyway, he seemed too preoccupied by his phone ringing and just walked off. I'm so glad you aren't with him anymore."

"Me, too," I offered.

"You know what we need? We need a girl's night out. I'll have James watch the kids, and you and I can go hit the town, and find you a man." She seemed thrilled with the idea. Me, not so much.

James stood up rather quickly, taking the focus away. "I should go check on the kids."

Edward tilted his wrist, and looked at his watch. "Wow! I just noticed the time; we should head out."

"Hold on there!" Victoria protested. "You can't leave without telling us about this Miss Wonderful you're seeing."

"What?" Edward asked, slightly stunned.

"Listen, you can't bail on us for dinner this week for date and not tell us about it." Victoria took on a sisterly tone and a look that matched.

"Uh . . . I'd - really, it was nothing." Edward cast his eyes to the empty beer bottle in his hand, clearly avoiding any and all eye contact.

"Come on, Eds! Give us the details!"

"No, I'd really rather not." He sounded guarded and based on how he shifted in his seat, his shoulders hunched forward, his hung low, and he looked like he'd been caught.

It was only when I noticed James was looking right at me, concern in his eyes, that I realized I must have had one hell of a shocked and hurt look on my face.

"Vics, can't you see he doesn't want to talk about it. He probably spent a night geeking out on his Xbox and doesn't want us to know."

"Honey, he won't tell you, and Bella didn't know anything . . ."

Edward's head moved enough so I could see he was looking straight at me, guilt and apologies clear in his eyes.

My chest felt tight and it felt as if the pergola around me adorned with small tin hanging lanterns was closing in on me. Almost out of instinct, I stood up, ready to flee.

"Dinner was amazing. Thank you for inviting me over. I had a nice night." I robotically hugged them and headed to the backdoor. Victoria followed me, then James, with Edward bringing up the rear.

We hugged again at the front door, and both Edward and I thanked them again for the dinner and wine. After a promise to do it again soon, Edward and I walked to his car. As soon as we both were in the car, with both doors closed, I turned to face him.

In a tone that was clipped, nasty, and admittedly jealous, I asked, "So. Care to tell me who the hot date was this week?"

Edward's hand went to his forehead, shielding his face from me, and then he sighed heavily. "It didn't mean anything."

Oh fucking hell. Not good.

End Notes: Someone is in hot water, huh? What do you think? Was there a date? Was it a cover story to keep James off the scent? And Alice sure gave Bella a run for the money with that dress shopping, didn't she? And what about Esme's slips? Were they slips or hints?

If you'd like to see pictures of James' house, I have that here: http:/s1173 . /albums/r585/jakeward_Fic_Pics/Mount%20Olympus%20James%20House/

and for the dress that Bella "found" for Alice, go here: http:/s1173 . /albums/r585/jakeward_Fic_Pics/Mount%20Olympus%20Alices%20Dress/

Thank you so much for reading this little fic!

Until next week . . .

xo