Chapter 9 BPOV

The first month lead into the next month and into the next and soon I had been with the Cullens' for 4 months. I really enjoyed my job. They gave me a lot of freedom in their home and outside of it. I loved the kids and Angela and Edward were really nice to me.

Because their schedules were so out of control and because I was taking on so many extra hours (which if the agency found out they would have yanked me out of this job) they engaged Edward's sister Alice to help out a couple days a week so that I was not running around the clock interference. Alice was great, she was fun and intelligent and she loved the twins. She seemed to know what kind of trouble the twins could get into before they did! It was really uncanny at times. Alice was in Design school but she was taking a full load of classes so she had some extra time.

After a while, we started hanging out together once in a while when either Angela or Edward had the twins and we were both off. Sometimes we would go to the movies, sometimes we went out to eat…mostly we talked school, travel and of course, MEN. I never even hinted about my attraction to Edward…in my mind Edward was really the perfect guy. Someone a girl like me could only hope of meeting one day. He was off the market and had a family. But he was definitely my idealized version of what I wanted. But talking about it to Alice would have been just…wrong. After all, he was her older brother.

I introduced Jacob to Alice once when we went to the movies. All three of us actually hit it off. She would tease Jacob mercilessly about all the girls he dated and how he never seemed to go out with one more than once. He always said it was because he knew what he was looking for and if he didn't find it with a girl right away then why waste either one of their time? I could sort of see the logic in that. But don't deep feelings and respect grow after being with someone for a long time? It certainly hadn't happened for Mike and myself. Maybe Jacob was on to something.

One Saturday night when I had the night off and Edward and Angela were both home for a change, Jacob had invited me to a fraternity party at Northwestern University. It was at the Theta Chi house and I thought it would be fun for Alice to come. I didn't want to go only with Jacob…what if he hooked up with someone there? Then I would be a third wheel.

Jacob was picking us up at 8 so we could get something to eat first…lay the groundwork he said….before heading over to the house. Alice came by early to get ready together. She brought me one of her cute outfits since I basically only owned jeans and t-shirts. She brought me a short jean skirt with high red heels and a really cute tight while blouse. It was attractive and cute without being slutty. She helped me do my hair and actually talked me into wearing some makeup. On our way out the door to meet Jacob, Edward came downstairs with Ethan in his arms.

"Whoa…where are you two ladies off to?" he asked.

"Like I am going to tell my brother where I am going out on a Saturday night….duh!" Alice scorned at him.

"Well, be really careful whatever you do. No drinking and driving!" He said to us.

"God Edward, knock it off…you are not my father! Stop acting like dad!" She raised her voice.

"Alice, stop being so selfish…that wasn't just for your benefit. It was for Bella as well. As a foreign national working here she could get in trouble if they catch her drinking and driving!" he said.

"Fine, fine…we wouldn't want to jeopardize your slave labor!" She retorted.

I flinched at that comment. Both Alice and Jacob made comments on occasion as to the unfairness of what was expected of me from the Cullens. What they didn't understand is that I was doing what I wanted to do, I loved helping people and I didn't really mind. Honestly. Besides, the more time I could spend with the twins the better. I only had two months left and who knows what kind of kids I would be taking care of next? I didn't even like thinking about leaving.

Jacob was there right at 8 and we jumped in his car. We decided to take a detour into the city for pizza at Gino's west. We figured a frat party didn't really get started till after 11 p.m. anyway.

After dinner we headed over to Theta Chi house. You could hear the music blarring from 2 blocks down…a fact we realized because that is how far down we had to park the car from the house. To protect us, Jacob said we all had to make a pact…no one leaves the frat party until we all go home together. Jacob was finishing up some antibiotics from the virus he had the week before so he couldn't drink…therefore he was the designated driver tonight.

The first hour there was just strange. So many people you didn't know and yet you could see how people were pairing off rather quickly. And the amount of alcohol and games involved in ingesting it were amazing. I have never seen so much alcohol being consumed in such a short span of time. Technically I wasn't old enough to drink in the USA but frat parties didn't card so I could indulge. I had never been a huge drinker but they had lots of sweet flavored drinks that were quite good where you couldn't really taste the alcohol. Alice and I were drinking some kind of pink colored concoction. Neither one of us had seen Jacob for at least an hour. He had probably found a new hussy to play with.

Alice went to the bathroom and while I was waiting for her in the kitchen a nice looking guy with dark hair approached me. We looked at each briefly and both said 'Hi' at the same time.

Smiling at me he asked, "So where have you been all my life?"

I scrunched my nose up at him with a half grin "Really?" I said "That's the best you got?"

He started laughing and agreed it was a bad line. He introduced himself as Tyler. We talked for a while. I guess he lived at the house and was a political science major. He was from San Diego and had a hard time getting through his first winter in Chicago. After a while I noticed that Alice had been gone a long time. I excused myself from Tyler and went looking for her. I felt pretty tipsy as I walked through the house but I did find Alice pretty quickly. She was making out with some dirty blonde haired guy just outside the bathroom door. I tapped her on the shoulder and cleared my throat.

I must have startled her because she apparently bit down on the guys' tongue making him scream out load and the 20 people around us all stopped and started staring at the commotion.

"Alice! Whad da hell!" he yelled.

"Oh shit, Jasper I am so sorry…are you ok?", she asked. Then she turned to me "Jesus Bella, did you have to scare the shit out of me like that?"

I was giggling a little bit till I realized that this Jasper guy seemed to be in quite a lot of pain. "Sorry" I said to him. He nodded his head and said to Alice "I'm gonna take auth Alith…thorry but it weely huuts."

"I am so sorry Jasper. Will you call me?" she asked.

He nodded his head yes and took off. We looked at each other and started laughing. I did feel bad for the guy but how many times does that happen? We stayed a little longer talking to a few more guys at the house and danced a little. Around 3 a.m. we all decided to leave. Well, at least Alice and I did. We hijacked Jacob into taking us home, we found him in one of the bedrooms upstairs mashing with some skank on the couch in the room. I say skank because I know I saw her messing around with some other guy earlier downstairs.

By the time we got home it was almost 4 a.m. Jacob dropped off Alice first and then me. He told me he would call me the next week and I went into the house.

I snuck in quietly not wanting to wake up anyone. I would normally have considered checking on Ethan and Hannah but after drinking alcohol I didn't think it was a great idea. As I tiptoed down the hallway and turned the corner to go to the basement I tripped over one of the twins' toys in the kitchen and landed flat on my face with a loud 'fuck!".

I heard the pounding of feet coming my way from the living room. It was Edward.

"Oh my God Bella, are you ok?" he asked frantically.

I moaned in pain, "yes I'm fine, I just tripped on something." I answered.

"Here, let me help you up.." he said.

I let him help me up because I was tired and I was tipsy and quite frankly I just didn't care…it was late and falling on my face in a short skirt and high heels in front of the perfect man wasn't my idea of a good time. If I insisted on getting up myself he would stand up and therefore see me sprawled out on the floor in all my glory. No, I would stay where I was and let him help me up.

Big Mistake.

The moment he touched my arms to help me roll over and help me up I felt it. I felt what I had felt all those months ago…the last time he had touched my skin. Tremors. Electricity. Whatever the hell it was. I had never felt it before or since and it always happened when he touched me. I wasn't imagining it. That first time I thought I had made it up in my head but I realized I hadn't.

After I stood on my feet under my own steam I became very self conscious. I noticed everything about him in that moment. How he smelled clean and sexy…please don't ask me to describe how someone smells sexy…he just does. His breath on my face was heavenly and the way he looked at me with such tenderness and concern. He was slaying me and he didn't even know it. He was breathing a little heavier. I imagine because he had rushed over and helped me up. And as I thought again about how nice his breath smelled I froze. Breathe. Oh dear God spank me…I must reek of alcohol. Shit!

"Aaaahhhh, thanks. Sorry if I woke you. I guess I didn't actually leave my clumsiness in Canada, it appears to have finally found me." I mumbled.

"Are you sure you are ok?" he asked again.

"Yea, I'm fine" I answered. I was very aware of the fact that he hadn't let me go yet.

"I should go to bed, it's late." I said.

"Yea, you're right." He said.

And with that he suddenly released my arms, turned on his heel and walked away, back through the hallway and upstairs.

As I watched his form walk away I realized he hadn't had a shirt on and it looked like he just had pajama bottoms on. He practically looked like he had in my dreams. Only in real life he was truly much more yummy than I had conjured up in my dream. I licked my lips. Damn was he fuck hot.

I groaned half out of frustration and half out of mortification. I ran down to the basement and into my bedroom and got ready for bed. I turned on the baby monitor and headed for the bedroom.

"What am I going to do you guys? I am in so much trouble!" I heard Edward say through the monitor.

I stopped in my tracks. Huh? What was he talking about?

I listened intently. Silence. I could hear his breathing and what sounded kind of like pacing.

What was wrong? Why was he in trouble? Why was he so upset?

I hoped it wasn't anything serious. I didn't like to see Edward distressed.

I feel asleep almost the second my head hit the pillow. It had been ages since I had stayed up so late and I was really exhausted. I had to watch the twins in the early afternoon so at least I could sleep in. I dreamed of green eyes and sex on legs.

I dreamed of Edward Cullen.

A/N

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