Chapter 10. Dangers of Drunk Dialing

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer, sorry if you thought otherwise.

A/N: I'm sorry for not responding to many of the reviews I've been getting. I promise to do better though! And I also had writer's block... That's not much fun.

Day 5

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Bella:

You took care of the documents and fee for having a wedding out of the country?" I asked Rosalie. Usually, I'd try to take care of that, but I was already busy with MOH duty.

"Yes and no. All our documents and forms are in order, but the money compensation needs to be sent by the end of the week." Rose informed me.

We were sitting on the bench that I found the hoodie on outside the hotel. It was just the four of us.

"Okay, I trust that you get that accomplished," I said and checked that off the list. I had made a small checklist for this week on a hotel notepad. It sucks to be phoneless.

"Honestly Bella, I don't understand why you keep towing that hoodie around." Alice complained. She took a sip of her latté. "Whose is it anyways?"

I glanced to the hoodie I wore. It was pretty big for me and it showed. I rolled the black sleeves up a little more. "Leave me alone, Ali. It smells good. See?"

I let the sleeve unfold past my hand and held it up to her nose.

"Mmm..." She smiled. "Okay, you're right. But the smell is kind of familiar."

"You recognize it too?" I asked.

Jessica sat deep in thought. "You know... I talked to your boyfriend the other day. Edward. The guy who has your phone."

Alice almost jumped out of her seat. It was so weird. She spilled a little of her latté in the process on the ground up under us. She looked past me to stare at Jessica. "Did you say Edward?" She asked her.

"Yeah..." Jess said.

I noticed Rose and Alice look at each other curious when Jess mentioned his name. Jessica saw as well. "What?" Jess questioned.

"Oh... nothing." Alice quickly replied.

"Well Edward isn't my boyfriend," I clarified.

"Whatever. So I called him and we talked for a few minutes. Based on his voice, I could tell he was sexy." Jess gushed as if we weren't planning her wedding this very moment.

"You can tell somebody's looks by their voice?" I asked dumbly. They all stared at me with obvious expressions. I think I just got my answer. Jess gave me a sympathetic look and Rose frowned. Alice actually hit her forehead with her palm and muttered something about me not learning anything over these years.

"Bella, that rule always applies." Alice placed a hand on my shoulder.

I ignored her. "When did you speak to him?"

Jess shrugged. "I don't know... maybe three days ago."

"I think I talked to him last night," I said sheepishly.

"No way!" Alice turned to fully face me, criss-crossing her legs on the seat to make room. "Give me the details, girl!"

Apparently, Jacob carried me back to my room around 2:00 a.m. Rose and Alice had been worried sick, especially since I had no phone for them to contact me on. He told them I went to his party, much to their surprise. It was as if they didn't expect me to want to have any fun every once in a while. It only took so long for him to take me back to the room because Jake, Embry, and Quil had to clean up. Rosalie and Alice spent most of the night questioning me on every single detail that occurred at the party.

I woke up to a massive headache (after Ali and Rose had finally left me to get some rest) and was instantly reminded of the dangers of Drunk Bella.

"I know Jacob said he found me with his phone still in my hand. Jake was almost sober at the time and he remembered me saying I called you guys. But when I asked you all if you got the call, and you said no, Jake looked through his recent calls. And apparently I called Edward instead." I explained.

"I thought you didn't even remember his name." Suspicion was written all over Rose's face.

"Does it really matter?" I yelled. I was flustered. Their nosiness reached a new level.

"Geez," Rose muttered. Her hand flew to her heart in mock hurt.

"Somebody's getting a little defensive," Alice sang. Jess nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's take the focus off of me for a second here, shall we?" I said, uncapping my pen. "What's your budget?"

Jessica leaned forward, interested in the conversation for a change. "Well my grandfather died when I was younger and he gave me his all of his money as my inheritance in the will." She shrugged. "You all are staying in Paris longer than expected. The least I can do is pay for your extended stay."

"Don't you need the money for the wedding expenses?" Rose asked. I reached over Alice's lap to take her latté. Surprisingly, she remained silent as I took a huge sip of the delicious liquid.

"Relax Rosalie. I have enough for both. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't compensate you all for you time and money?" Jess smiled. The thing was though, Rosalie and Jessica weren't exactly friends. But no one bothered to point that fact out.

I'm not used to people wanting to spend money on me. I haven't let my past boyfriends shower me with gifts. I even get a little worked up when Ali and Rose attempt to buy me expensive items.

So I assured Jessica of that. "You don't have to pay for our stay," I told her. "You may need the money from the will later and-" Alice covered my mouth with her hand, successfully cutting me off.

She threw me a glare and quickly said, "No, don't listen to her."

"Yes," Rosalie chimed in. "Feel free to spend your cash!"

I struggled to speak past Alice's hand, but she wasn't budging.

"Alright, that'll work," Jess said, satisfied.

Alice released her hand and I hit her shoulder in frustration. I moved a loose strand of hair from my face. It must've been misplaced during my struggle with Alice. "Okay." I got the girls' attention. "Let's get started. Where to first?"

Alice was the first to jump up. "Okay. First, we're going to hit the boutiques. Before this week is over, we'll have found an amazing dress picked out and ordered for you."

This is what Alice usually does. Alice is in charge of the attire, helping the bride with the theme in relation to the dresses and accessories. She makes sure fitting appointments for everyone in the wedding party are arranged. On the wedding day, she makes sure everyone looks presentable and makes any small necessary changes.

Rosalie takes care of the venue and layout of the reception. She's in charge of decoration and everything else related to the theme.

And me? I'm somewhat like the head-wedding planner. I make sure all forms and documents are in order. I'm the main person who meets with the couple. Most of the time, I'm the one who ends up interviewing them. I also introduce them to my various contacts. Over the years I'd developed many business associates.

When I was in college, I interned with a family friend, Sue, who was known all over the west coast and Olympic region as one of the best wedding planners. She taught me tricks of the trade, in hopes that I'd be a wedding planner after I finished school. Sue had no children, and always viewed me as her daughter, so who better to pass the information to?

Sue helped me get on my feet and start my business. In the last year of college, upon my request, she also mentored Alice and Rosalie. Alice was working on her fashion design degree and Rosalie had majored in interior design and business.

After having taught us everything, she retired two years ago when I was 23 years of age.

Now our business is booming, but to be honest, I'm a little worried about our business in America right now since we'll be overseas for a few more weeks than planned.

It doesn't help that it's the summertime, and most people prefer summer and autumn weddings. We'd have to contact Chelsea back at the office so that everything will be taken care of at our company. We have many wedding planners who work under us. It tends to have its perks because we're going to end up giving the Carter wedding over to Chelsea. We were working on it before Jessica enlisted our help.

Now, we were strolling through the busy Parisian streets, trying not to look like tourists when Alice shrieked.

"Oh my god!" Her hand flew to her heart.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She started jumping up and down in glee. Random strangers stared at her strangely. They spoke to each other in hushed whispers, pointing towards our friend. Rosalie laughed at something they said. I hung my head in embarrassment, ready to disown my friend at any moment.

"No Bella! Nothing is wrong. Everything is awesome! Do you realize that we are standing in front of THE Max Chaoul boutique?" She shook my shoulders viciously.

"No Alice. I"m not even sure what that means..." I said.

She rolled her eyes and dragged me to the store. "We're going inside," She growled, daring us to defy her. Rose and Jess followed wordlessly behind us.

"Bonjour!" A lady darted over to us as soon as we walked through the door. "Vous désirez, mesdemoiselles?"

We all looked to Rosalie, wondering what she just said.

"Je ne fais que regarder," She said fluently, then turned to face us. "Elles parler l'anglais."

The lady nodded in what seemed to be understanding and handed Rosalie a catalog before going to talk to another customer.

"So... what just transpired there?" Jess asked.

Rose shrugged. "It doesn't really matter... Here-" She shoved the catalog into Jessica's hand and sat on the bench in the corner of the room. I joined Rosalie while Alice and Jessica began discussing the dresses.

"Can you hold this?" I gave Rose my hoodie while I sat down and made myself comfortable. "Ugh. Rose?" I muttered, rubbing my temples.

"Yeah?"

"I have a massive headache, and I need to get some sleep in." I leaned my head on her shoulder and at some point drifted to sleep.

"Voulez-vous l'essayer?" I looked up to see the French lady speaking to Rosalie.

I sat up straight. Rose looked over to Jessica. "Do you want to try it on?" She translated.

"Yes of course," She replied.

Rose turned to face the lady. "Oui. Où est la cabine d'essayage?"

We followed the lady to the fitting rooms. I stood awkwardly behind the group as a seamstress came with the dress.

I took in the surroundings, partly out of boredom seeing as though I was useless right now. Gold patterned wallpaper covered the boutique's walls. A bronze vase with soft pink flowers sat on a pedestal in the middle of the room. A ceiling light shined over the expensive piece. The bronze reflected around the room, adding a strange, yet pleasant glow to it.

Bronze. The bronze vase reminded me of Edward's hair.

I pulled his phone out of my pocket, brushing my thumb across the screen curiously. Why had I been charging his phone? It's not like I could've used it. His password blocked any access.

My phone case sat phoneless at the bottom of my purse, a constant reminder of my predicament.

"So that's his phone?" I looked up, startled to see Alice.

"Oh... yeah." I answered. She held out her hand and I gave her the phone.

She stared at the welcome screen and a mysterious smile came to her face. "Interesting... what is this Edward's last name?"

I frowned and blushed. "I'm not sure."

"Well do you-" Alice was cut off by screaming.

"Oh no. No. No. This will not do. Just look at this dress! It makes me look fat, doesn't it, Rosalie?" Jessica had came out of the dressing room and saw her reflection. She now looked to Rosalie expectantly.

Rosalie sighed, no doubt tired of translating. "Elle parle, 'Je me va pas bien. C'est moche! Elle n'aime pas.'"

The saleslady frowned, having heard this. "Désolé. Vous désirez?"

"What other dress were you looking at?" Rose asked Jessica. However, Jess was too busy undressing in the fitting room to notice she was being spoken to.

Alice spoke up. "No thanks. We're done here for now. If we need something else, we'll be sure to return."

Rosalie translated the message and minutes later, we left the bridal boutique. We went window-shopping for a bit.

We rounded a corner and walked past a busy intersection. "Oh look at that!" Alice ran to a magazine stand and snatched up a bridal magazine. She ran back over to us."Mademoiselle! You must pay for that!" The angry newsboy yelled.

Rose went over and took care of it. We sat on the nearest bench as Ali and Jess flipped through the pictures.

"This is the summer season's collection." Alice pointlessly informed me.

"Oh..." I commented.

"Oh my gosh! We should check this boutique out! And I can even make some nice alterations to this dress!" Ali squealed.

While they gushed over the designs, I felt a slight breeze that blew a familiar aroma into my nostrils. It reminded me of the hoodie's smell. The mystery hoodie owner had been here.

"Hey Bella, are you coming with us to the next shop?" Rose asked. I must've zoned out. They were standing already and Jess had the magazine in her hands.

"No. I think I'll pass. Are we near the hotel?" I asked.

Jess shook her head. "We're maybe 20 to 30 minutes of walking distance from it. It would be best if you took the train if you wanted to get back to the hotel. That's what we were going to do when we finish up. The train station is just around the block."

I thanked her for the information and assured Rose and Ali that I'd be fine getting back to the hotel.

"Call us on the hotel phone when you get back home, Bells!" Alice made me promise.

Honestly, I think they worry too much. I navigated through the area and found the station with ease. I checked the routes for the different trains and saw the train wouldn't come for another ten minutes.

I was looking for someplace to sit when I saw the familiar bronze hair. I briskly walked over to the bench the person was sitting at. "Is this seat taken?" I purposely asked, making Edward look up at me. I had to be sure it was him, so I had to see his face. And he was handsome. Apparently, I hadn't paid much attention to his appearance on the plane, and he must've been too far away for me to really look at him yesterday in the car. But he had perfectly chiseled jaws. His bronze hair was in disarray, but it was sexy that way. I wondered how he did it. And he had the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. They were maybe a shade of jade.

"Bella?" He asked and quickly slid over to make room for me.

"It's me," I clarified. It felt so weird to see him right now, and to actually be talking to him in person.

Edward smirked. "You haven't been following me have you? I saw you yesterday running after my taxi. Later you called me on the phone interrupting my dinner. And now you show up coincidentally the same time I'm at the train station."

I blushed, knowing he had some valid points. But I wasn't about to accept defeat. "I'd say that two out of three of those times, you could've been following me. Maybe you knew I'd show up here today. And you possibly could've known I was in the area yesterday, even if I was the one who got your attention."

He laughed then gestured to the space beside him. "Are you going to sit down?"

"Oh," I sat down next to him. Why did I feel embarrassed that he had to ask me that again?

"So... what brings you to the train station?" Edward asked.

"I'm heading back to my hotel." I wasn't about to tell him which hotel I was staying at though. This did seem like our first real conversation with each other. I couldn't believe that I ignored him on the plane. I must've been really grouchy.

But he didn't ask any further questions about that. Instead he said, "Well I'm headed to downtown to check on a few things in relation to my job."

"What do you do?" I found myself asking. Conversation seemed to flow so easily between us, and I liked that.

"I'm an architect," He said. "I've handled the business side of the job and the actual manual labor side of it. And now I'm the manager along with my brother and my cousin."

I stored that information into my memory. He spoke with such pride when he was talking about his job. It must've been something he really enjoyed. I'm the same way with our business, but Alice just thinks that's because I'm a work-a-holic.

Through the speakers of the train station above us, the automated voice alerted us that the next train was to downtown Paris.

"Well, that would be my train," Edward said and stood up.

"Wait," I reached my purse, feeling the bottom for his phone. "Do you have my phone?" I asked.

His eyes widened and he frowned. "Uh... no I'm sorry. I don't have it on me."

I sighed, but handed him the phone anyways. "Keep it. It's your phone. Maybe I can give you my contact information so you can deliver my phone to me or something.

He pushed the phone away. "No. You keep it. Until I give you yours back, of course."

"Alright. Um..." I fished my business card from my wallet. "Take this then. It has my information so you can reach me."

He put the card in his pocket and thanked me. Edward was walking towards his train, but he turned back and said, "I enjoyed talking to you."

I couldn't fight the smile on my face. "Likewise," I replied.

And I did. Edward was easy to talk to and I found myself actually enjoying the conversation. That doesn't happen very often when it comes to guys with me. But Edward was different. And suddenly, I wanted to talk with him more. I really hoped he'd contact me.

A/N: So... they finally met again. Leave a review!