A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews/alerts/favorites. I'm embarrassed to admit that I squeal when I get them.

Thank you, windgirl810, for beta'ing the heck out of this chapter! You rock, sister! :) Ironic Twist, thanks again for encouraging so many readers to check my story out.

Side note: I'm listening to my husband and his good friend get soused in the other room...they are annoying and not nearly as funny as they think they are. This is the third weekend in a row that we've had house guests. I think I might be going insane even though I love all of them dearly. One more next weekend and then we're done until Christmas!

Thanks for reading...this chap is a long one, but there wasn't a good spot to cut it in half, so you'll just have to suffer through it.

All right, shutting up now...

EPOV

I'm the beautiful one? Holy shit.

Surprised by what I just overheard, I back up three steps and then turn and duck into the dark kitchen. At first, I felt like the wind was knocked out of me and I couldn't breathe; now I'm breathing so fast that I'm getting lightheaded. Jesus, I'm glad there's no one in here to see me practically hyperfuckingventilating over a woman …a ballerina …my ballerina. Well, almost my ballerina.

I lean back against the wall trying to slow my breathing. I still can't believe it's me.

Of course, I know I'm pretty good-looking. Women have been telling me that since high school. But I've never been sure the ballerina thinks so. She makes fun of me as much as she ogles me… she yells back at me … she seems to be unaffected by the smirks and pouts that have gotten me invited into other women's beds.

But Jasper said I'm the beautiful one when he didn't know I was listening. And Bella said I "had to know" who she was talking about outside. Maybe she was trying to tell me… and I was so jealous that she wanted someone – anyone – to kiss her that it didn't occur to me that it was me. Christ, she invited that other guy into her studio to drink wine with her last night! And then she said she wanted the beautiful one to kiss her – what the fuck was I supposed to think? How was I supposed to know that she meant me?

She fucking meant me.

I bend over and put my palms on my knees, sucking wind like a fat man who just ran a hundred meter sprint. I usually blame the fucking cigarettes, but this time… I know that's not it.

So why can't I breathe right? Why am I hiding like a big baby in the pitch-dark kitchen? I quickly recognize the feeling that's got a death grip on me – it's fear. I'm scared shitless being so close to having what I want. My heart is thundering in my chest because I'm suddenly terrified to talk to her. But – fuck – I want to talk to her. I want to go tell her how I feel…except she's so tipsy. She likely won't remember it by morning if I tell her tonight. And I want her to remember. I want her to know I'm serious – as serious as the fucking heart attack I'm about to have.

Tomorrow, then. Tomorrow I'll call her, take her somewhere …somewhere away from here, away from all of our well-meaning, but over-involved friends …and tell her everything. Then I'll beg her to give me a chance.

I still want to find her tonight though. Maybe she'll be able to stay awake long enough for me to drive her home. Finally, I get my breathing under control and walk back out front hoping I don't look as scared as I feel.

As I walk behind the bar, I realize I shouldn't have worried because no one even notices me. Rose is still sitting at the bar and still pissed off, but her glare is aimed at Emmett now. I shift my gaze to Emmett – he's leaning against the back bar, glaring right back at Rose. Goddammit. This is exactly the situation I was afraid of when I found out that my best friend and my sister were in love. I knew it would fucking go south at some point – at least temporarily – and that I would be caught in the middle. Jasper and Alice are on one side of Rose talking quietly to each other and ignoring everyone else in the bar. I stop next to Emmett and put a hand on his shoulder for a second.

"Em, you want to take off? Take Rose home? It's okay. I can cover," I tell him quietly.

"No. Thanks, but…it's probably better if we aren't alone right now," he responds tensely. "I know I'd say things I'd regret later. Your sister would definitely say things too, but I don't think she ever regrets a damn thing she says." He crosses his arms across his chest and sets his mouth back into a grim, tight line as he continues to stare icily at Rose.

I lift my eyebrows at him, but don't respond. He usually knows not to badmouth my sister to me. He must be really pissed.

I see Bella walking toward us then. Since I'm distracted, I am able to keep my breathing and heart rate normal for the moment. I cock an eyebrow at Bella and jerk my head toward Rose to try to give her a heads up as she sits down warily beside Rose. Rose pauses in her Emmett-glaring long enough to aim a half-hearted smile at Bella. I move to stand in front of them as Bella reaches for Rose's hand where it's resting on the bar top.

"Rosalie, do you want me to take you home?" I ask quietly.

She shrugs, shifting her gaze to meet mine briefly. I'm surprised at the sadness evident in her eyes. Goddammit. I really didn't want broken ribs or a split lip tonight, but it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to hit my best friend. And he'll definitely hit back.

"Emmett, we need to talk. My office. Now," I growl, turning to him. I ask Tanya to cover the bar for a minute and lead the way down the hall. I don't realize Bella is following us until Em and I are in my office and I turn to shut the door. Bella puts a hand against it and pushes hard, then comes storming in behind us.

"Tiny, this doesn't concern you," Emmett tells her. "I really don't need both of you back here trying to tell me what to do. Jesus, you and Edward can't even figure your own shit out." Oh, hell no. He's not going to start spewing shit on Bella, too. That pisses me off even more. I start to defend Bella, but she beats me to the punch.

"Emmett, maybe you should worry about your own fucking relationship and leave Edward and me alone," she says forcefully. "Right now your girlfriend – who is completely crazy about you, by the way – is sitting at the bar thinking that you don't trust her." She pauses and straightens her shoulders in determination before she continues. "We had a fun night tonight and you ruined it for her. You should be ashamed of your behavior. I'd like to knee you in the nads, but Rose will be pissed at me when you two make up if I do."

"Tiny, I really didn't –," Emmett tries to interrupt, but Bella's having none of that. She furiously shakes her head at him and draws a hasty breath before continuing loudly, talking over him.

"So you'd better pull your head out of your ass and go apologize to her, dickwad. Don't make me regret not hurting you. You've been warned," she finishes, narrowing her eyes at him, daring him to give her a reason to inflict physical pain.

At the conclusion of the tongue-lashing, Emmett is speechless. So am I. All I can do is smile as I look at her, drink in the sight of her – her face flushed, her eyes flashing with indignation after sticking up for her friend with a vehemence that I've never heard when she defends herself. Her face is still covered in lipstick prints and I still wonder where the hell she was tonight, but more than that, I wonder when the hell she's going to let me kiss her again. She looks too mad to be receptive right now. Fleetingly, I remember my assessment the night I met her – she's absolutely stunning when she's pissed.

Jesus, I want this girl. I want her in a way I've never wanted anyone else. I mean, yeah, I want her body…but even more than that, I want her. I want her to talk to me and yell at me and defend me and laugh with me and hug me. I want her in my bed, but I want her out of my bed, too. And suddenly the fear is back, adrenaline coursing like fire through my veins again. But this time, instead of being afraid of getting her, I'm fucking terrified that I won't.

Defeated, Emmett leans back and sits on top of my desk, looking at the ground like a little kid who's in trouble with his mommy. Intending to break the silence, I clear my throat and start to thank Bella for sticking up for Rose, but she's already turning to stomp back out the door.

"Idiot," she says quietly, but loudly enough that we can hear her, as she walks out the office door, slamming it behind her. I chuckle as I look at the closed door. I'm not sure if she's talking about Emmett or me, but I'm going after her as soon as I beat some sense into my friend, all thoughts of waiting until tomorrow to tell her how I feel quickly abandoned.

"Emmett, you're my best friend, but she's my fucking sister," I begin, then halt when he holds his palm out toward me.

"Don't start with me, man. I'm pissed and I don't want to talk to you or Rose right now. Just give me a minute, here, okay?" he asks, finally looking at me. I nod and drop onto the couch behind me to try and get my fucking thoughts organized. I've been all over the place since Bella and I came in from outside. After a minute, I ask the question that keeps popping back into my head.

"Where the fuck do you think they've been?" I wonder. I'm somewhat amused by their steadfast refusal to tell us, but also a little annoyed.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I don't even know why I'm so mad about it. It should be funny. Guess I'm a little too possessive to have a threesome," he says.

"Whoa! Fuck…..stop that shit. That's my goddamned sister. Jesus, I didn't want to have that visual…ever," I lament. Resting my head against the back of the leather couch, I press the heels of my hands to my eyes and rub, hoping to erase the last ten seconds of conversation from my memory.

He chuckles like an evil genius and I know he did that shit on purpose. At least he sounds more like regular Emmett. Maybe I won't end up with a black eye tonight after all. I sit back up and look over at him. His face is more relaxed than it was before we came back here so I'm hopeful that he's finally calming down. I stand up and open the door to the hallway.

"All right. I'm going back. Take a few more minutes if you need it. You'll fix this when you come out front?" I ask. He nods.

"Yeah. But seriously, man, get off your ass with Tiny before you lose your chance. She's the best thing that's ever walked into your life," he says. I nod back at him before I go out the door.

When I walk back out to the bar, Rose is sitting alone. "Where is everyone?" I ask, stopping beside her and sliding an arm around her shoulders.

"Alice was about to pass out, so Jasper took her home," she answers, depressed now instead of angry. "Bella went with them."

Fuck. I missed her. Luckily, Emmett hasn't emerged from my office yet. Right now I feel like punching him just because his stupid ass made me miss talking to Bella, or at least telling her goodnight.

"We never fight, Edward. He's never been this mad at me before," Rose says, sniffling. I hug her and let her rub her snotty nose on me. Jesus, I'm a good brother. When I feel her stiffen in my arms a few minutes later, I know that Emmett must be behind me.

"Rose, I'm sorry, baby," I hear him say. She pulls away from me and flings herself at him.

"The lip prints…it was just…some girls," she explains still blubbering as he holds her tightly and strokes her hair.

"You don't have to explain. This was my fault. I'm so sorry I overreacted, Rose. I just hate the thought of anyone else kissing you," he murmurs.

I've heard enough. Shaking my head, I walk away to give them some privacy and am not surprised when Emmett asks to leave a few minutes later.

While he goes to get his jacket from the back, I walk over toward Rose. She looks better – her face relaxed now that she and Emmett made up. I ask if she's okay, wanting to make sure that she's comfortable letting Emmett drive her home after their fight. She assures me that everything's fine now and even manages a haughty eye roll as she refuses – again – to disclose any information about where she and the girls were earlier tonight. Sensing that I've hit a dead-end on that subject, I try another one.

"Rose, did you put Bella up to all the flirting tonight?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

I can see that she tries to hold the smile back, but she can't seem to stop the smug grin that eventually curls her lips upward. "I may have suggested that she push you along a little, yeah," she admits. She exhales loudly before she speaks again. "Edward, I love you, so I'm going to level with you: You're confusing the hell out of her."

I frown at her because she's confusing the hell out of me. "Rose, you're the one who told me to be her friend. You're the one who instituted the fucking sex ban that's practically ruined my life, Coach," I complain bitterly. She smirks, but doesn't call me melodramatic like I'm sure she wants to.

"Yeah, I told you to be her friend…and I told you to date her, which you haven't done. It's sweet that you take her drinks and sit with her when she comes here, but, Edward, she has no fucking clue that you like her the way she likes you. And, no, I didn't tell her…because she should hear that from you, not me," she says earnestly.

I sigh, knowing she's at least partially right. I've been dragging my feet on the dating thing because I have no idea what I'm doing. "I'm telling her everything tomorrow. I wanted to tell her tonight, but she was too tipsy." I smile thinking about her little drive-Edward-crazy routine tonight. It was…an arousing success.

"Uh uh uh, stop looking like the cat that ate the canary. The sex ban is still in effect. But you've probably spent enough time being her friend," she says, smiling at me. She turns to go join Emmett at the door, but then whirls around quickly to lean back across the bar toward me.

"Edward, she's naïve about guys. She hasn't been romanced properly out of bed…or in it," she says. "So, even though you're avoiding the actual sex for awhile, use this time to show her how it's supposed to be... you know what I mean?"

Huh? Did she just give me permission to do stuff with Bella as long as it's not sex sex? She turns around to walk away again until I call her name.

"Yeah?" she smirks, looking back at me.

"I'm sorry about earlier today…what I said to you," I say.

"I know. But thanks for saying so. Jesus, you'd think by now I would have learned not to fucking talk to you when you're hungover," she smirks. I laugh.

"Thanks…for real, this time. Coach."

She rushes toward me, jumps into my arms and presses her lipstick-stained cheek to mine. "You're welcome. I love you, baby bro."

"Love you, too, big sis," I say, kissing the side of her head and squeezing her tightly for a minute just like the pansy I'm becoming. Jesus. Thank goodness it's late enough that most everyone is either gone or trashed.

"Call her tomorrow," she advises, turning away again and taking the hand Emmett holds out to her.

"I will," I answer. "I will."

Saturday morning, I text Bella before I leave my condo. It's only ten, but I bet she's up.

*Morning, ballerina. You free for lunch?

I don't have to wait long for the answer.

*No, sorry. Going out of town. Forgot to tell you last night.

*Where r u going?

*Home for a few days – riding with Jake and Jared. They say hi.

*Tell them hi. When r u coming back?

*Next Friday. Alice will be running the studio if you need anything.

*ok. Come see me when you get back?

*Sure. Have a good week.

* u 2

At first, I'm upset at the thought of having to wait so long to see her and tell her how I feel. But since there's nothing I can do about it, I'll just have to come up with a fool-proof plan for letting her know what I want. By the time the next weekend is over, she will understand exactly how I feel... and hopefully she'll let me fucking kiss her.

Without Bella next door, the week seems to crawl by. Tuesday and Wednesday nights are pure torture – Em and Rose have both nights off this week, so I'm stuck working with Tanya and only have Lauren to keep me sane. I'm careful not to get stuck alone anywhere with Tanya, sending Lauren or one of the kitchen guys every time she asks me to help her get something from the back room.

By early Wednesday night, I think she's on to me. She keeps trying to get me to go outside with her to smoke and each time when I won't go, she gets more pissy.

I catch Lauren snickering when I blow off Tanya's attempt to have a conversation with me. "She's tenacious, huh?" Lauren says as Tanya stalks off in a huff after I answer every question she asks with a one word reply.

"Jesus, like a fucking pit bull," I mumble, shaking my head incredulously. "Do I have to paint her a goddamned picture?"

"I'm not sure she'd get it even then, Edward. Maybe you should let Bella paint the picture instead," she says slyly.

"What?" I ask, wondering how much Lauren knows.

"Oh, come on, Edward. Tanya is the only one around this bar who is so blind – or maybe so delusional – that she can't see how you feel about Bella. Dude, even the kitchen guys know you're smoked," she says, smirking at me.

"Well, fuck. So everyone around here thinks I'm a pussy-whipped fool?" I ask. Damn, they're all good at keeping it quiet. I thought only Rose and Emmett knew.

"Not exactly. Thanks to Rosalie, we all know you're not pussy-whipped," she laughs. I'm gonna kill my fucking sister. When I put my hands over my face, Lauren grabs one of my arms and pulls it down, then forces me to face her. "She seems like a nice girl, Edward. And it's good to see you looking so happy when she's around."

I mumble something – I'm not even sure what – under my breath as I walk away from her. She laughs behind me, then spends the rest of the night quietly teasing me about Bella while she does her best to keep Tanya away from me.

I take the early part of Thursday night off and have dinner with my parents. I'm nervous as fuck driving to the restaurant they chose, afraid something's up since it was my dad who called yesterday and asked me to meet them. He so rarely calls me that I was taken by surprise and couldn't think of a good reason to turn him down. I didn't really panic until he said they wanted to eat with me alone – no Rosalie to help deflect all the parent questions.

Dinner is actually enjoyable – even though I have to wear an 'appropriate' shirt with my jeans, as my mother so sweetly reminded me via text this afternoon. By the time we're having an after-dinner drink, I've decided that maybe they don't have an ulterior motive for inviting me out tonight.

"So, Edward, are you getting along any better with Aro?" Dad asks, leaning back in his chair and swirling his scotch and water before he takes a drink of it.

I frown as I answer. "No. He's an asshole. I mailed him the rent check early last month just so I wouldn't have to look at his freaking face," I say, tempering my language slightly. My mom really hates when I use the word fuck as an adjective... or an adverb. I doubt if she likes me using it as a verb either, but since I never tell my mom who I've been fucking, it's never come up.

"Rosalie told us what he did to Bella," my mom cuts in, leveling her green laser beam eyes at me, waiting for me to chime in. Curiosity…or ulterior motive? Too soon to tell.

"Yeah. I also mailed the check to him so I wouldn't pound his freaking face in when I saw him," I seethe. "I'm not sure what Rose told you, but I don't feel comfortable talking about what Bella told me without her knowing. I don't think she wanted me to tell a bunch of people, you know?" I look down at my plate for a second as I shrug.

I look back up just in time to see my parents exchange a look. Neither of them says anything, but I don't have to be a mind reader to know that a slight eyebrow raise from my dad followed by a tiny nod from my mom means "told ya so". Fucking Rose. I wonder how much she's told them about my feelings for Bella.

"Of course, sweetheart. We would never expect you to betray Bella's trust," my mom says.

"When will I get to meet this young lady?" my dad asks, smiling at me like I'm a goddamned teenager with his first girlfriend.

"I don't know. Come by sometime. If she's around, I'll introduce you – as long as you promise not to make any weird fucking – freaking – comments," I say, chuckling lightly when my mom purses her lips at my slip.

"Maybe she'll be around for the holidays," my mom says, recovering from my use of vulgar language enough to smile at me.

"I don't know, Mom. I don't really know anything about her family. She's not from Seattle," I reply. And that is my cue to get the fuck out of here. Jesus. Bella and I haven't even been on a goddamned date and Esme's ready to hang up a fucking stocking for her on the mantle.

"Well, I'll stop in soon to meet her," Dad says, looking at me like he knows I'm about to bolt after Mom's holiday talk.

I nod and tell them thanks for dinner. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I'm still not sure exactly why they asked me to come alone – it seemed like they were trying to get information from me but they didn't pry very much except right at the end. I hug and kiss my mom then pat my dad's shoulder as I leave the table, wondering if they got what they wanted.

When I walk into the Full Moon a little before nine, I am surprised to see Bella sitting at the bar, talking to Rose. I didn't think she'd be back in town until tomorrow. I smile as I head straight for her, but as I approach, I see that her eyes are puffy, her nose is red, and there's a pile of shredded napkins on the bar in front of her. Suddenly, I feel a hand clamp down on my shoulder from behind and drag me into the hallway. I know without looking that it's Emmett.

"What's wrong with Bella?" I ask immediately, turning to look at him, but desperate to get out front and talk to her.

"I don't know, man. She's been here for a couple of hours, knocking down the cosmos and alternately laughing and crying. Rose has been talking to her, trying to take her home, but she won't go. She's a mess, dude. I just thought you should know what's going on before you try to talk to her."

"Fuck. It better not be fucking Aro again," I muse through clenched teeth. I walk back out to the bar slowly so I don't alarm her when she sees me.

"Edward!" she says excitedly, laughing and raising her arms in the air over her head. I smile at her – I like that she seems to be happy to see me.

"Bella!" I answer in the same tone, but not as loudly. She laughs harder. I look questioningly at Rose and she shrugs at me and shakes her head, clearly concerned.

"Where have you been all night?" Bella asks, slurring her words a bit.

"Dinner with my parents. It sounds like you've been here all night. How about letting me drive you home?" I ask gently.

"Nope. Not going home," she answers quietly as tears quickly begin sliding down her cheeks. Oh, shit. Emmett wasn't kidding. "Too many things there remind me of him….he was everything to me. I can't face it tonight….please don't make me go there," she pleads.

"Settle down, Tiny. Nobody's going to make you go anywhere. But where are you going to sleep?" Emmett asks, sitting down on the other side of her and putting a hand over one of hers on the bar top.

"I'll sleep in my office. I just need one more drink to knock me out," she says, sniffling.

"Not until you drink some water, ballerina," I reply.

"Come on, barman. I won't drive, I promise. Gimme what I want," she says, laughing now. Hello, mood swing. She pulls the t-shirt she's wearing down off one shoulder like she did last weekend and shimmies at me, laughing harder and falling into Rose suddenly, almost knocking both of them to the floor. Rose chuckles as she gets Bella straightened back up.

"You know, Bella, if you were just regular drunk and not upset drunk, this would all be really entertaining," Rose says to her while she gets Bella's clothes situated again.

"Thank you, Rosie. I love you," Bella says and pulls Rose to her for a hug.

"Oh my god. I'm letting that slide because you're out of it, but if you ever call me Rosie again, I will hurt you," Rose says, hugging back. With difficulty, she disentangles herself from giggly Bella and looks at me. "Jesus, she's stronger than she looks. I don't know what to do, Edward. Emmett and I are supposed to be meeting friends downtown."

"Go ahead. I'll deal with the ballerina. Lauren and Tanya can close without me if it's necessary," I say.

"Thanks, little bro," she says, smiling at me. I shake my head at her – she's always so sweet when she's just gotten her way. She turns to Bella. "Bella, Em and I are leaving. You stay here and do everything Edward says, okay? Wait – not everything he says. Well, you know what I mean." She levels a glare at me.

"Please, like I would with her in this condition," I say, annoyed. "I'll just make sure she gets home when she's ready."

"Not going home," Bella pipes up.

"And why is that again?" Emmett asks, making a final attempt to figure out what happened.

"All his stuff. Too many memories…..makes me so sad," she says, her eyes filled with tears again. I don't know enough about her past to know who he is….but if I find out, I'm kicking his ass for making her cry.

"Okay, you two, out," I say to Rose and Emmett. All the questioning is not helping Bella right now. She's too far gone. "Go have fun. Bella and I will be just fine, won't we?" I ask, looking at her.

"Yep. Me and my friend Edward will be juuuuust fine. I'm going to the ladies' room," Bella announces and hops down from her stool. Emmett steadies her before she smacks his hands away and heads down the hallway.

"Call if you need help," he says to me as he and Rose head for the side door.

"We'll be fine," I say again, hoping it's true. Jesus, it's probably a good thing Rose was so upset last weekend. At least I'm not completely out of practice at comforting crying chicks. Although last weekend, I had Emmett to hand Rose off to. Tonight, I'm flying solo.

Bella's back in a couple of minutes and still wants another drink. I make it, going light on the alcohol even though she glares at me. I get her to drink some water along with it which I hope will slow her down, but she keeps going for another hour, giggling and telling me stories about being in the car with Jake and Jared. From what I gather, they treat her like a little sister – even though she's older than Jake – and she doesn't like it. She doesn't burst into tears again though.

"And they made me sit in the backseat the whole time…driving there and back," she tells me for the third time. "I told Leah though, and I know she'll get back at Jake. Fucker."

I burst out laughing at that and she smiles back at me.

"Did you miss me this week, Edward?" she asks, putting an elbow on top of the bar and leaning over to rest her head against her bent forearm. She's blinking more slowly now, letting her eyes stay shut for a few seconds before slowly opening them again. Jesus, maybe she's finally winding down. I hope that if I get her good and sleepy, she'll agree to let me drive her home.

"Of course. It's not the same around here without you, ballerina," I answer. She smiles more widely then lets her eyes stay closed. I study her face for a minute, wondering if she looks this beautiful and content when she's sleeping in bed.

Unable to stop myself, I reach across the bar and push back the hair that's fallen forward across her face. Her hair is as silky as I remember from the day I had my hands in it…the day Aro propositioned her. I play with her hair for a minute, until I see Tanya approaching us. She walks up and drops her tray on the bar right next to Bella's head, laughing contemptuously at the loud, jarring sound it makes. Bella startles and sits up, her eyes popping open as she searches for the source of the noise.

"Tanya," I seethe lowly.

"Oops. Sorry, hon….what's your name again? Della? Estella? Cruella?" she sneers. Jesus, she's a bitch.

"Tanya, knock it the fuck off," I growl. Jesus, I wish Rose was here. Rose would drag Tanya out by her hair for talking to Bella this way. Since I'm a guy – and her employer – I have to be more careful.

"Oh, lighten up, Edward. When did you become such an uptight prick? I said I was sorry," she says, frowning. She picks her tray back up, tosses her hair over her shoulder and slinks away.

"Are you okay?" I ask Bella, afraid she'll start crying again.

To my surprise, she giggles. "Yeah, she doesn't like me….Rose told her she caught us kissing that day," Bella says, looking at me. "Rose told her that to be cruel...I kind of felt bad about it…until now. Now I kind of want to kiss you in front of her."

"So go ahead," I answer, smirking at her.

"Nah. If we ever kiss again it will be because we want to…not because of her," she says. Damn. I thought I was onto something there. She picks up the lightweight cosmo that I was hoping she wouldn't drink and slams it.

"One more, Edward," she says, pushing the glass across the bar toward me. Sighing, I turn around to make her the drink, only splashing enough alcohol in the glass to make it smell normal. Maybe I should just hand her a bottle of Jack and let her do shots until she passes out.

"Okay, ballerina. Here you go. Last one, okay?" I ask. She nods happily, her eyes wide open and shining again. Shit. I think she got her second wind. She drinks half of her drink immediately.

"Edward, you have any cigarettes?" she asks me, smacking her hands down on the bar top, proving my drunk girl/table smacking theory once again.

"Yeah, I have some. Why?" I ask, slightly amused by her question.

"Last week you said you were quitting," she says, frowning at me.

"I have mostly, but I still have some back here behind the bar, just in case I want one," I explain patiently.

"Good. I want you to teach me how to smoke," she announces.

"Ha….no…..no way, Bella. You don't want to smoke," I say, shaking my head at her.

"Please? Just one little lesson. I just want to try it one time," she begs, pouting her lips slightly the way I used to when I was trying to get something from a woman. She looks so fucking cute that I know I'm not going to be able to deny her if she really wants this.

"It will probably make you throw up," I hedge.

She tilts her head down and looks up at me from under her brow. "Edward, I think it's very likely I'll be throwing up at some point tonight anyway. So this is a good time," she says seriously. She pouts again, really sticking her lower lip out this time. I chuckle in spite of myself, then try to look stern as I answer her firmly.

"No."

"Yes."

"No, Bella."

"Yes, Edward."

I groan and look up at the ceiling. "You are the most fucking stubborn person I've ever met," I say, lowering my eyes to hers. That's not true…Rose is way more stubborn than Bella. I just said it for effect. "Come on."

We go out the side door and stand in the same spot we stood last weekend. It's chilly tonight, so I pull my hoody from around her waist and help her put it on. She leans back against the building as I zip it up for her, letting my hand linger for just a second at the top. Then I make the mistake of looking down at her legs…she's wearing really tight jeans and motorcycle boots…she looks hot.

"I like your boots," I say, still staring at them.

"Thanks. Jake made me buy them last spring before he would ride me on his motorcycle," she says, gazing up at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"You mean take you for a ride on his motorcycle," I correct, not liking her phrasing at fucking all.

"That's what I said, Edward," she insists irritably. I laugh then and pull the pack of cigs out of my pocket, asking if she's sure she wants to do this. "Yep. I want to smoke. I want to be a smoker….a joker…. a midnight toker."

"Steve Miller fan, huh?" I ask, continuing to smile at her.

"Used to be. Until I was stuck in the backseat of Jared's car for six hours without my freaking ipod. I mean, I like Steve Miller and Aerosmith, but not nonstop for six hours. Jeez, enough's enough," she says. "Did I tell you they made me sit in the back the whole way? The whole way there aaaaaand the whole way back."

"No! You're kidding me. Really?" I ask even though it's the fourth time she's said it. "I can't believe they would be so mean. I wouldn't make you sit in the backseat, ballerina. Or if I did, I'd sit back there with you." That answer seems to satisfy her and she smiles up at me. Then I light two cigarettes and hand one to her, helping her get it situated between her fingers.

"I want to hold it like you do. It's much cooler," she complains, not liking the way I've positioned hers in between her index and middle fingers.

"Learn to inhale first, then we'll work on other stuff, okay?" I say, smiling at her. I show her how to take a drag and exhale, going into detail about how she can avoid making herself cough up a lung in the process.

"So, first I suck….then I blow?" she asks, blinking her dark eyes up at me. I'm sure all the color drains from my face, because I feel all the blood in my body rush to my dick.

"Edward, the look on your face. What did I say wrong?" she laughs.

"Nothing. You didn't say anything wrong," I answer.

"Baby," she says, right as I inhale.

"What?" I laugh, coughing a little since she made me take a deeper pull than I intended when I laughed. "Did you just call me a baby?"

"No. Last week…you called me baby," she answers. "I liked it." I stare into her eyes as she takes another drag.

She talks quite a bit as she smokes…she's now decided it's funny to talk about sucking and blowing. I'm not as amused. My dick continues to stand at attention though. Bella does pretty well with the cig and looks way fucking sexier than I expect, tossing her hair repeatedly as she turns her head to exhale.

"I don't know which I like better…the sucking or the blowing," she muses, smirking at me again. "I think I should keep practicing. Want me to practice, Edward?" I don't answer that. I shake my head at her and look away.

She's definitely flirting, right? It's different than last weekend…maybe because she's really drunk this time, not just tipsy like last Friday. But it doesn't feel as light-hearted. She seems more serious tonight…or maybe I'm just more serious and want to see that in her, too. She drops her cigarette butt to the ground and asks for one more, wanting to light it herself this time.

After her first drag, she starts talking again. "When we met, you were smoking. Remember?" she says, her words a little slurred, her eyes a little glassy.

"Yeah," I answer, smiling at her.

"You looked so sexy with that cigarette hanging out of your mouth. I thought about knocking you down and ripping your clothes off right then," she says, then takes another drag. She had a good time teasing me on Saturday, but I'm not sure she's doing this on purpose tonight. Her demeanor is completely different. My reaction, however, is exactly the same. I adjust things in the front of my jeans, which she notices. But there's no nervous giggle from her like I expect. Bella lets her gaze linger over my crotch and licks her lips before taking another drag of the cigarette.

"Why didn't you?" I ask, smirking at her when her gaze returns to my face.

"Because I wouldn't have a clue what to do with you once you were naked," she says, shrugging one shoulder. "I've only slept with one person and I didn't really like it that much."

Fuck. Me. Now. I did not need that information tonight.

"Who did you sleep with? Wait, don't tell me. That isn't something I want to know right now. Why didn't you like it?" I hear myself ask. Jesus, I'm so fucking stupid. Why would I ask her that? I should be fucking running back inside by now, forgetting this conversation, and calling Rose to get the hell back here and do something with Bella before I end up screwing her drunk ass up against the bathroom wall.

"It just didn't feel that good. Rose says he was doing something wrong if I didn't like it. She says it's like the best thing ever. Is that right?" she asks. This time I close my eyes, then I pull another cigarette out and light it for myself. Fuck fuck fuck.

"Bella, I'm not sure we should be having this conversation," I answer, trying to be honorable. I scoot away from her and lean one shoulder against the wall, still facing her but putting several feet of space between us.

She finishes her second cigarette and looks over at me. "I need information, Edward. And you're my friend. And I heard you've had a lot of sex. I hope that someday someone will want to sleep with me again and I need to know what to do to make it good," she says earnestly.

"Jesus Christ, Bella. I can't talk about this with you," I groan, readjusting myself again and turning to lean my back against the brick wall. This time she does giggle. She walks over to me and takes the cigarette from my hand. She takes a drag, then turns her head to the side to exhale before stepping toward me. She straddles one of my legs and hooks her fingers into the front belt loop of my jeans – shit, her hand is way too close to my dick. She keeps her eyes on mine as she puts the cigarette between my lips. She holds it there while I take a drag, pressing her hips up against mine. She continues leaning against me as she takes one more drag herself. Suddenly, she tosses the cigarette to the ground.

"Do you think you'll ever want to kiss me again?" she asks quietly.

"Fuck, ballerina. I want to kiss you every time I see you," I answer, lifting one hand up to touch the side of her face gently.

"So this is okay?" she asks, reaching up to dig a hand into my hair and gently pulling my head down toward hers.

"Mmhmm," I hum, letting her lead. When she stops pulling on me right before my lips reach hers, I bite back a groan, but stop and wait for her to show me what she wants.

"I have cigarette breath," she whispers.

"Me too… baby," I reply softly. She smiles and pulls my head the last few inches down to hers. I slide my hand down from her face to cup her neck gently, rubbing my thumb back and forth along her jaw. She tilts her head up toward me and I press my lips to hers. We move our lips against each other's several times before I open my lips slightly and wait to see what she does. She immediately opens her lips, too, and I feel her tongue lick across my bottom lip.

I groan and she pulls back slightly, opening her eyes to look at me.

"Ballerina?" I ask quietly.

"I like kissing you," she says simply.

"Then I think you should do it more often," I respond, smiling at her.

I tug her gently to me and kiss her again. There's no pretense of closed-mouth kisses this time – both of us leave our mouths open. She pushes her tongue into my mouth as soon as our lips meet and I slide my free arm around her waist to hold her body close to mine. Slowly, our tongues and lips meet and pull apart, over and over. Christ, I haven't been this fucking aroused from just a kiss since I was a teenage virgin.

She slides her hand from my hair down to my neck and under the collar of my shirt to rest on my upper back. Her other hand moves from my belt loop up to my stomach to stroke gently against my abs. Involuntarily, I pull them in when her touch gets to be a little too much and I pull her more tightly to me to stop the movement of her hand. When she pushes her tongue into my mouth again, I pull it in further by sucking on it lightly. She moans into my mouth and digs her fingernails into the skin of my upper back as our kiss becomes more urgent for a moment. Then she sighs when I slow the kiss again and then gently pull my mouth away. I don't want to get too carried away in the goddamned bar parking lot. We are both breathing heavily and I lean my forehead against hers, keeping my eyes closed, still holding her – still being held by her.

Once my breathing is close to normal, I open my eyes to find her gazing sweetly at me, smiling at me. I smile back and press a slow, chaste kiss against her lips before I lean my head back against the wall.

She takes a deep breath and lets go of me, stepping back from me slightly. "I need to go to the bathroom again," she says cheerily, as if she hasn't just been trying to fucking kill me with the kissing and the sex talk and the cigarette sharing. She struggles with the door, so I help her get it open and then watch as she weaves her way down the hall toward the bathroom.

"She may need help," Lauren says walking up beside me. She grabs my hand and puts one of those stretchy ponytail holder things in it. When I look at her quizzically, she smiles. "She'll be puking later. Pull her hair back. No girl likes to wake up with vomit in her hair." I chuckle lightly as I stretch the band around my wrist and Lauren winks at me before turning away to go back behind the bar. I notice Tanya glaring my way before I turn toward the hallway to follow Bella. When Bella comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later, I'm leaning against the opposite wall, waiting.

"Hi, Edward," she says, giggling as she walks up to me. "You're really, really hot. Do you already know that?" she asks as she places both palms flat on my chest and leans on me.

"Bella, I think it's time we get you to bed," I tell her, trying to ignore the way she's rubbing both of her hands up and down my chest. I will not fuck the ballerina tonight, I will not fuck the ballerina tonight, I repeat inside my head. I jam my hands in my front pockets to keep myself from grabbing her.

"Are you taking me to bed?" she says, hooking her arms around my neck and looking up at me with her open, trusting eyes. Fuck. I'm not going to be able to fight off a lot more of this attention. If it was any other girl – and if it was three months ago – I wouldn't even try.

"No, ballerina, I'm not taking you to bed. I'm putting you to bed. Let me take you home," I implore her, putting my hands on her waist to hold her away from me. Rose was right though. She's freakishly strong for as small as she is and she's successful when she attempts to rub her chest against mine.

"Edward, I'm serious. I can't go home. Not tonight," she says, dropping her arms from my neck and leaning her forehead against my chest.

"What happened, ballerina? Who is he? Is it Aro again?" I ask softly, putting a finger under her chin to lift it so I can see her eyes. They are full of pain.

"Aro?" she laughs hollowly. "No, not Aro. Aro's nothing to me. He….he was everything to me. I can't talk about it….I can't. Please." She starts to cry full force now, sobs wracking her slight shoulders.

"Okay, baby, don't cry," I say, pulling her to me and rubbing her back. She puts her arms around my waist and cries for a few minutes, then slowly quiets, still clinging to me and taking shaky breaths every few seconds. "How many drinks did you have tonight?"

"Six or seven here, I think. And I drank some in my office before I came, too. I cancelled classes for tonight because I didn't think I'd be back. I think I need to go to bed," she says, letting go of me and stepping back.

"I think that's an excellent idea," I respond, relieved. "Just let me ask Lauren to close."

"I'm just going across the parking lot. You don't have to walk me," she says, stumbling backwards and finally leaning against the opposite wall.

I laugh. "Really? It doesn't look like you're walking that well. And I'm not letting you sleep this off in your office."

I look over at her beautiful, tear-stained face, at the way she's wrapped both of her arms around her middle and is kind of hunched over as if she's in physical pain, and make a decision that I truly hope I don't come to regret.

"You're coming home with me."

A/N #2: See? Progress, no? Nod your head. Now review me and tell me what should happen next 'cuz I have no ideas! Kidding, kidding. Not about the review me part though. :)

The idiots in the next room are debating sixth grade math...I'm either going to have to go to bed or go drink with them. What to do, what to do...