Author Note: Thanks to everyone who's enjoying this story!

I think I saw only two of you who would like to see Bella go looking for Edward in Chicago. The rest hope he comes to her… or stays the hell away from her.

Congrats to Bevey99 and peachtreegirl, who were the only two to guess today's chapter title from David Bowie and earn a teaser. The most popular guess was I Wanna Be Your Lover by Prince, but I don't remember that song at all! Wikipedia tells me it was released in 1979, which is sort of my dark period for music.

Thanks to moosals and edwardisaputz for pre-reading! Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.

Chapter 10 – Modern Love

April 2015

Life goes on once Jake and I return from California. I go on a couple of dates with a guy in our IT department in early March, until I realize he's a conceited ass. At least Jake can't say I'm not trying.

One day in early April, I'm sifting through my emails after lunch when I see one from LinkedIn with the subject "Congratulate Tanya Stratten on her new job." Unable to resist, I open the email, my eyes widening as I read that Tanya has apparently moved to another office of the same consulting firm she was working for in Chicago.

Their Seattle office.

Holy shit, Tanya has moved to Seattle! Of course my mind immediately wonders if Edward has come with her. But why would he? He doesn't love her. You don't generally move halfway across the country for someone you don't love.

But what if he is here? Should I expect to hear from him? Do I want to? I gave Tanya my cell number when we graded together, but that's been over a year now, and I don't know if she kept it. Of course, he could always look up my work number online, from the SOA website's membership directory.

Regardless of whether or not Edward is with her, I'd be stupid to think I'll never run into Tanya. I mean, there are only 25,000 actuaries in the entire country, and only a small sliver of them are in Seattle. It's a small world.

In fact, there's a good chance I'll run into her in just two weeks, when the Seattle Actuarial Club is holding a business luncheon at Maggiano's. I've already signed up to attend, though I suppose I could back out.

No, that's stupid — I can't let the fear of running into Tanya rule my life.

After carpooling with several coworkers, I nervously get out of the SUV at Maggiano's Little Italy in Bellevue. This is one of my favorite places for these luncheons, since the food is far better than at the Washington Athletic Club or places like that.

We're all mingling before lunch is served when I spot Tanya. And more importantly, she spots me and starts walking in my direction. Shit. I'm standing with Angela, so I really hope Tanya behaves herself and doesn't bring up anything to do with Edward.

"Bella! Good to see you again," she greets me with a huge smile.

"Tanya," I nod, trying not to appear as nervous as I feel. I'm really glad that already I knew she was in Seattle, instead of being blindsided! "Um, this is Angela Cheney. Angela, this is Tanya Stratten. She was my grading partner the year I went to Florida," I remind her.

"I saw you present in Atlanta last year. Nice to meet you," Angela greets her.

"Likewise."

"I, um, saw the LinkedIn notification that you'd gotten a new job in Seattle," I begin, nosily trying to find out why.

"Yes," she says with a smile. "After being passed up for a promotion one too many times, I started looking around at our other offices for positions."

"Where did you work before?" Angela asks.

"Chicago," she answers.

"Well, welcome to Seattle," I tell her, trying to be friendly in front of Angela.

"Looks like everyone is sitting down," Angela says, looking around the banquet room.

"It was good seeing you again, Bella," Tanya smiles warmly, then walks away. And I'm still no closer to learning whether or not Edward is here too.

Our meals are as delicious as always, and we're still finishing up our desserts when the speaker begins his 45-minute presentation. Once he's done, I stand up and stretch, then we walk out of the crowded room.

"I'm gonna use the ladies room," Angela says, and I nod at her, trying to stay out of the way of the main entrance.

"Hey, Bella," Tanya says, startling me a few moments later. "I'm so glad I was able to catch up to you again. I have something for you."

My brow furrows in confusion as she hands me a business card. I look it over quickly, noticing the name on the card right away: Edward Cullen.

"Turn it over," she says, and as I do so, I see a handwritten phone number on the back. "That's his cell. He asked me to give it to you."

"Is-is he here?" I stutter, staring at the digits, with an area code I don't recognize as local. "In Seattle, I mean."

"Yes," she replies, and my heart starts beating faster. "Edward grew up in Oregon, did you know that?" I shake my head slowly, still in a daze. "He has no ties to Chicago, though I'm not stupid enough to think that you're not part of the reason he agreed to move, even if he'd never admit that. He also wanted me to ask if it's all right for him to contact you."

My eyes widen as I stare at Tanya. She's just so casual about helping her boyfriend connect with another woman — a woman he's already had sex with more than once. "An-and you're OK with that?"

"Sure," she shrugs.

I swallow thickly, then realize she's probably still waiting on an answer from me. Is there any harm in letting Edward have my number? I'm not currently dating anyone. "Um, OK. Do you still have my number?"

"I do," she says with a smile. "I'm sure you'll be hearing from him soon then."

Before I can reply, I see Angela making her way through the crowd toward me. "Sorry that took so long. There was a line. Of course."

"See you later, Bella, Angela." Tanya walks away and I'm left staring after her. I've got Edward's cell number now, and he'll soon have mine. The question is, what does he want from me? Does he want sex with me on a semi-regular basis? If so, is that what I want? To be his woman on the side? Or would I really be "on the side" if his relationship with Tanya is open? It's enough to make my head spin.

I'm rinsing the dishes from my dinner later that night when my cell rings. I just know it's Edward, before I even look at the caller ID. Tuning off the faucet, I quickly dry my hands and pick up my phone.

"Hello."

"Hello, Bella." His sexy voice sends shivers down my spine. "Thank you for agreeing to let me contact you."

"Um, sure," I reply nervously.

"I'd like to see you. Are you free on Friday night? We could go out," he suggests.

"Out?" I repeat dumbly. I half expected him to invite himself over for sex.

"Yes, on a date. Dinner and then… whatever." Ah, now we get to the sex. It's been four months since I've seen Edward — four months since I've had sex. The idea isn't unappealing.

"Um, OK," I answer. If nothing else, I can find out why he's really here and what he wants from me. "I'd like that."

"Great!" He sounds relieved. "Let me find a nice place and I'll text you the details, all right? I'm really looking forward to having a chance to get to know you better."

"Me too," I answer honestly. Edward is definitely an enigma.

On Friday night, I rush home from work to shower, shave and change for my date with Edward. He's made 7pm reservations at a nice Italian restaurant called Bella Italia. I choose a navy blue wrap-style dress, pairing it with my sexiest pair of heels.

I haven't told Jake yet about Edward, or Tanya for that matter, being in Seattle. I will, but I want to know what Edward wants first.

And what I want. It's not like I'm seeing anyone else right now. If Edward wants to get together regularly for sex — and Tanya doesn't mind — is that so wrong? I mean, I had college friends who had fuck buddies.

When I arrive at the restaurant, I spot Edward waiting for me out in front, his unusual hair color shining brightly under the streetlight. Taking a deep breath, I get out of my car and walk toward him.

"Hi," he greets me, stepping close enough to kiss my cheek. He puts his arm around me, leading me through the front door.

We're shown to a booth for two, and as I take my coat off, I notice him looking me up and down. "You look amazing," he whispers in my ear, and I feel my face flush as I take my seat across from him.

"Where's Tanya tonight?" I ask, morbidly curious.

"Out with some people from work."

"And she didn't invite you along?" I remember him telling me that he often attended business dinners with her.

"It's some sort of female bonding thing — no men allowed," he explains.

A waiter comes by to take our drink orders, and Edward suggests we get a bottle of wine.

"I only like Riesling or moscato," I remind him.

Laughing, he agrees to a bottle of Riesling from a winery in Washington state, then picks up his menu as the waiter walks off.

I'm really not much of a wine drinker, but I'm impressed when the waiter pours Edward a small sample, making sure it's to his liking before filling up our glasses.

"So… I was surprised to hear that Tanya got a new job in Seattle. You hadn't mentioned that she was looking," I comment once we've placed our dinner orders.

"She didn't start applying until after the first of the year," he explains. "Her office hired someone from their Hartford office for the promotion Tanya wanted. She figured two could play at that game and started applying for openings at other locations."

I take a sip of my wine. It's a drier Riesling than I'm used to, but tolerable. "I… was even more surprised to hear that you'd come with her."

He shrugs. "Well, I've never been a big fan of Chicago — especially the winters — but I wouldn't have come with her just anywhere. She also had interviews in New York, Atlanta and Indianapolis — none of which really would've interested me."

"And Seattle did…?" I wonder if he'll admit that I had anything to do with it — assuming Tanya was correct, of course.

"I grew up in the Pacific Northwest."

"Near Seattle?" I question, not letting on that Tanya had told me he was from Oregon.

"No, Portland," he replies, shaking his head.

"Oh! So you're not that far from home then," I note with a smile. "You'll be able to visit your family a lot more often, I'll bet."

"No," he answers abruptly, picking up his glass and taking a large sip.

"No? Are you not close with your family?" I can't even imagine.

"My parents are dead." He says it so matter-of-factly, with no emotion, that I'm startled for a moment. Picking up his glass again, he drains it, then pulls the bottle out of the ice bath and pours himself another glass. I decide to change the subject, even though I'm definitely curious.

"I-I'm sorry," I tell him quietly. "How did you end up in Chicago?"

"I went to the University of Illinois. What about you?"

He seems to want to steer the subject away from himself, and I feel bad for bringing up something that's obviously painful. "Oh, I attended a small liberal arts college, here in Seattle."

"Are you a native then?" he asks.

"Sort of. Not Seattle, but I grew up in a very small town on the Olympic peninsula. I'm sure you've never heard of it — it's called Forks."

He smiles. "You're right, I've never heard of it. Does your family still live there?"

"Yes," I nod, "My parents are still there. I have an older brother and sister; they're actually twins. Jasper married his high school sweetheart and still lives in Forks, while my sister, Rosalie, lives in Port Angeles with her family. It's, um, on the northern coast, if you haven't heard of it. You can take the ferry from there to Victoria."

We're interrupted by our waiter setting down our Caesar salads. "Have you found a job here yet?" I ask, taking a bite of my salad. The business card Tanya handed me was from Chicago.

He nods. "Things are going well on that front. I didn't agree to move until I found a job here."

My brow furrows. "And not on other fronts?"

He shrugs. "I had a downtown loft in Chicago that I'm still trying to sell. Until then, I'm staying with Tanya."

I set my glass down, my mouth hanging open as I stare at him. He and Tanya are… living together?

"It's temporary," he quickly adds, likely seeing the look on my face. "A relocation company took care of buying her house back in Chicago."

I nod, turning back to my salad.

"How's Jake?" he asks a few minutes later, eyes twinkling.

"He's fine," I reply, though I doubt he really cares. "He's been dating a new guy for the last month or so." I finally met Seth last weekend, and I really like him. And for once, he's a brunette!

"He wasn't too mad at you for sleeping with me, was he?"

"No," I assure him. "Jake had actually told me to do it if I wanted to. He just wanted whatever I wanted."

"How long have you two been friends?"

"Our entire lives," I smile. "Our parents are good friends, so we pretty much grew up together back in Forks. Then we both ended up here after college. We actually shared an apartment initially, but Jake got his own place a couple years ago."

Our waiter brings our food and we turn our attention to that, just making small talk as we eat. As we're finishing up, Edward looks over at me, appearing almost nervous.

"So… I was wondering if you'd like to go to a club with me tonight."

"A club?" I repeat. "Like a nightclub?"

"Not… exactly. It's called a lifestyle club." My brow furrows in confusion. "In the common vernacular, it'd be a swingers club."

Now my eyes widen as I stare at him. I knew places like that existed, but…

"Tanya and I belonged to a similar club back in Chicago. They're generally pretty exclusive, almost underground — for obvious reasons. It was through that club that we learned about the one in Seattle."

"So you go to the club to…?"

"To swap partners," he confirms my thoughts with a nod. Oh my God…

"Why not just go to a bar to find a hook-up?" I ask before I can stop myself.

"Well, it's like I explained to you in California. At a bar you run the risk of finding someone who wants more than just a hook-up. The other club members are all there for the exact same reason. It's also safer in other ways."

"Safer?"

He nods. "There's a membership fee, so it can be kind of exclusive. They do a background check before approving all new members, and to keep up your membership, you need to submit clean blood test results every six months."

"Clean of any STDs, you mean." So that's how Edward could be so confident that he's clean.

"Yes. Despite that, they still require condoms for any sexual activity on the premises. They're not taking any chances of getting sued if anyone catches something."

"And you want me to go to the club with you and… what? We can't swap, right? I'm not a member; I haven't been vetted." Not that I want to have sex with a strange man.

"I have no intention of swapping you, Bella," he says almost seductively. "No, every Friday night, members are allowed to bring one guest. You'll have to show ID, and then you'll get a badge to wear identifying you as my guest. I'll have a coordinating one, and I'm the only one allowed to touch you."

"Why bring me then?" I ask, confused.

He smiles. "I'd like you to see it, so that you can understand. How about we order some dessert, and you can think about it?"

A/N: So… there was a lot going on in this chapter! Tanya got a new job in Seattle, so that she could score a promotion. There really is an actuarial consulting firm with offices in Chicago and Seattle, as well as all of the other cities mentioned in this chapter — 31 in all.

But more importantly, Edward is now in Seattle, too! He wasted little time in looking Bella up, just having Tanya check first to see if his attention would be welcome. And we learned a little bit about Edward's background for the first time.

We also learned that Edward and Tanya are members of a swingers club. What should Bella do now? Should she go to the club with him and check it out? Should she just invite him home instead? Or tell him to get lost? Any other options?

Next chapter's title: I can either make this super tough, or relatively easy. It's an 80s song that was later sampled in another hit song.