A/N So, here we go with Bella meeting EC Velvet for the first time! Before we get started, I have a couple of housekeeping items to attend to.

1. Lillie Cullen, My beta, My sister, My friend. Thank you.

2. There IS an official playlist for this story that I will have posted on my profile in a couple of days. Until then, if you would like to see it, the link is posted on the thread for "The Letter" at Twilighted(dot)net. It is under the fic section, all human. 18 years of age and older only please. If you are not yet 18, I will get it up on my profile soon.

3. Theme song for this chapter is Beautiful by Akon, featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall. Listen to it when Edward sings his "new song" during the show in the chapter.

4. I have the great pleasure of announcing the debut of a new website that I have the honor of being part of. The Secret Twilight Garden is a group blog effort with myself, Lillie Cullen, Jilburfm, JustBiteMePlease, and Lead69. Come join us as we discuss fan fiction stories we consider to be the gold standard of fan fiction, the hidden treasures waiting to be explored, writing tips, interviews, you name it! You can even listen to playlists of each Garden contributor. This month Lillie Cullen's official "Lessons" playlist is on the main page. Come join in the fun! Right now you can read interviews of all the collaborators and find out lots of interesting things about all of us! The link is on my profile.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight or Hip-Hop or Rap or Musical at all, except my well-loved piano that is gathering dust during my Twilight addiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

Bella

I was a little shocked when Edward swung me around. He set me back on the floor and hugged me tight, grinning like crazy the whole time. He looked around at everyone else then and said, "Great! Everyone is making themselves at home! Enjoying yourselves?" as he walked over to the bar and opened a beer. He turned to me, "Hey, Bella, you want a beer?"

I smiled and said, "No, thank you. I'm good with water." He downed the beer. I was surprised by this, but realized that he was getting psyched up for the show and was probably closer to being in what he referred to as 'Velvet mode' than he was to being his regular self. I was nervous and wondered what was in store. He sat down in a big overstuffed chair with an ottoman and put his feet up.

"C'mere, Bella!" He waved me over and I walked over to him. Next thing I knew, he had pulled me down on his lap. He was well into his second beer and was talking jovially with all of us. He held me tightly while I sat there, and I found that I rather enjoyed it. He leaned over at one point and whispered in my ear, "You look ravishing tonight, love." I felt the blush creep into my cheeks when he said it, and when he kissed my neck after saying it, I flushed from head to toe.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Edward called, and Rhianne entered with a smile.

"Are you ready for the rest of the guys, Edward?"

"Hop up, hon," he told me, so I did. He bounced out of the chair and told Rhianne to bring them on in. Shortly after that, another knock came at the door. He glanced over at me and said, "Now you get to meet my crew, babe." I giggled like a giddy schoolgirl. All of his little pet names for me were so cute and I liked seeing him happy and carefree like that. It was really different than the quiet and somber Edward I had encountered earlier in the day. Frankly, I was really liking them both.

The door opened and the five members of Edward's crew came in. He introduced them each to us and they each made the rounds shaking everyone's hands. "First is Curtis, you guys know him as Killa Money. This crazy guy here is Jon, but you all know him as JJ Ritzy because he thinks he has to have the best of everything. Over here is Brad, better known as Tenacious V, who is the heart of the singing in this group, the rest of us are the rappers, Brad is the singer. This one here is Ray, but you all know him as Manic E because he's a crazy dude. Last, but not least, my friend for years, is Chris, Brotha T." It was really amazing to meet each one of them and see how different they were in person than they were on television. I had thought maybe only Edward was the one who was different, but I found that they all were. It made me realize that probably everyone was that way and I found it easier to understand the differences in Edward.

All of us visited for a while and then Rhianne came in to tell them it was twenty minutes to stage time. Edward immediately became all business. "Rhianne, would you go ahead and escort Bella's friends backstage and show them where their seats are?" My four friends waved goodbye to me as they followed Rhianne out of the room. I knew that the show was already going with the opening act, but found that I much preferred being with Edward and seeing what he did to prepare for a show.

Edward and his 'crew' all stood in a circle. They started rap battling and it was really fun to watch. I sat back in a chair, drinking my water and watching. After a few minutes of battling, which Edward won, they all joined hands. Edward looked over to me and said, "Hey, Bella, come join us." I walked over to the circle and stood between Edward and Chris. They each grasped one of my hands and all the guys bowed their heads. I was surprised, but bowed my head as well. Brad led them in a really nice prayer, asking God to be with them on stage and assist them to perform up to the expectations of their fans. He also asked a blessing on me and my friends and I really appreciated that. At the end, he also asked for a blessing for Edward's and my new friendship. I blinked back the tears in my eyes as I chorused "Amen" with the rest of them. Edward squeezed my hand and I squeezed his back. A knock at the door and Rhianne's voice told us we had eight more minutes. The rest of the guys said goodbye and headed out. Edward hung back and turned to me.

He placed his finger under my chin to bring my face up to look into his. He was smiling and his smile danced around his eyes. I couldn't help but to smile back at him. "I know I'm… different… this evening than I was this morning, Bella. I appreciate your acceptance of that. Thank you for being here with me. This just might be my best show ever."

"Thank you for sharing this experience with me, Edward. I'm really enjoying it, and you aren't THAT much different."

He grinned and said, "Wanna bet?" His arms encircled me and his lips crashed into mine with a wanting that was completely different than the tender kiss we had shared after brunch. It made my knees weak and I slumped into his arms. He held me even tighter and deepened the kiss even more, until we were both panting and needing air. When I opened my eyes, I found my fingers tangled in his hair, his face just inches from mine with a broad smile, and our bodies pressed together as close as they could be. He pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear, kissed me chastely one more time, and then stepped away, taking my hand. I followed him closely and found myself standing on the side of the stage where he was going to go on. I could hear the cheers of the crowd as EC Velvet was being announced. Rhianne was fitting his wireless mic on him. There was an electricity and excitement in the air that was really hard to describe and next thing I knew, I was standing next to Rhianne, watching EC Velvet, the man I was in love with, perform for his fans.

I'll never forget that first show. It was fucking amazing. I mean, you just never get to the point where you are tired of the crowd, seriously. They just create something amazing in the air and you feed off it. I found myself singing along with him many times, clapping my hands, my arms in the air when he yelled, "Put your hands in the air!" It was fuck-awesome and I was backstage. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like out there in the crowd. I still do it, to this day, every time I'm backstage at a concert. I get really excited and really worked up. It's no wonder Edward gets like that.

I was really fascinated at all the people behind the scenes that it took to put on a show like that and spent a lot of time watching them. There were people running every direction and Rhianne was talking on her headset almost the whole time. She had to leave a lot, but came to check on me frequently. She even brought me a chair, which I thought was nice, but I didn't use it much. I did notice that Edward had two rather large bodyguards that were very quiet, but always very close to him. The only place they had left him alone was in his dressing room. I wondered how annoying it was to have that whole entourage of people with you all the time. I was pondering that when I heard Edward say something that took me aback.

"Alright, folks, I'm going to do something a little different here. We're going to slow things down a little and take a break. I have some special guests tonight that I want to recognize."

I was pretty sure I had a stroke right then. My entire body was paralyzed with fear. If he asked me to go on stage, I didn't know if I could do it. I stared out at him, wondering what was happening.

"My five guests know who they are. Because I don't want to make their lives hell, I'm not going to name them, but this song, which has never been heard before, was written this afternoon for one of them."

I breathed a sigh of relief, but then found myself holding my breath again. Song? New? Written this afternoon? What? And then he was singing it, and it was for me, and I think I died just a little bit. By the time he was done, I was crying. They were happy tears, of course, but still. It had sections of singing that was beautiful and parts of it that were rap. Edward had a beautiful singing voice and could have been a singer if he had wanted to, but he didn't want to, he wanted to rap. I still tell him that all the time. He says Brad is the singer. Pfft. Whatever.

Several times during the show, Edward looked in my direction, or came over close to me. He was always smiling or winking at me and it made me feel quite special. By the time it was almost over, I was exhausted yet still exhilarated with adrenaline. Edward and the guys came off stage to prepare for their encore and Edward grabbed me by the hand, leading me back down to his dressing room.

"So, whaddya think, Bella?" His voice carried excitement that was infectious in it.

"I'm overwhelmed, Edward, it's wonderful." He smiled at me as he opened his dressing room door and let me go in first. "I thought you had to go back out?" I asked. I wasn't sure what he had in mind by bringing me back to the dressing room and was even more unsure when I turned to him and his shirt was off. Holy. Shit.

He winked at me and said, "I do have to go back out, but I'm too sweaty. I need fresh clothes," he gestured to the rack of clothes I had looked over earlier. I wasn't sure what I should be doing. Should I turn around? Should I keep watching? Should I walk over to the drink table and get a fresh bottle of water while carrying on a conversation of endless prattle? The only thing I knew for sure was that as gorgeous as Edward was WITH his shirt on had NOTHING on him shirtless! I stared at him stupidly, checking out his tattoos, until he yanked the button-fly of his 501's open in one swift movement. I blinked as he yanked them down and stepped out of them. It must have shown on my face because he laughed.

"Sorry, Bella. I'm used to changing in front of people. I don't have much modesty left. It's okay if you want to turn around, or watch, I don't care." He had the biggest grin on his face and I felt myself blushing from head to toe again. He walked over and grabbed a pair of the underwear off the stack and I felt my eyes widen as my brain finally kicked into gear and I turned to walk over to the drink table.

My mind was screaming at me. What the fuck are you doing, Bella? You are in the same room with him naked and you're not even going to sneak a peek? What the hell is wrong with you? Okay, you respect him and all that, but seriously, he's NAKED! HE doesn't care if you sneak a peek! The rational side of me countered my adrenaline-crazed fan-girl side. Bella, this is NOT just a physical attraction. You don't NEED to see him naked right now. More than likely, you WILL be seeing him naked… soon. Remember, you fell in love with Edward, not Velvet. You have to remember who this is in here with you and that if you're looking, he's going to be self-conscious about it later. Just don't look. Pick up your water, open the bottle, take a drink, go get a piece of cheese or fruit and eat it. Do. Not. Look.

I still chuckle every time I think of that night. I had gotten a good enough peek at his shirtless form to know that it was good. I had a really hard time standing there munching on grapes with my back to him as I recall. It seemed like hours to me, though I know it was only a minute or two, when he said, "Uh, you can look now, Bella."

I turned around way too quickly and lost my balance. It was a good thing that he was nearly right behind me and caught me before I did a face-plant on the floor of his dressing room. He helped me to stand while I stammered about how clumsy I was. The softest, kindest smile I had ever seen came over his face. "It's alright, Bella. You don't have to apologize to me. I think it's endearing." I didn't even have time to react when he grabbed my hand and said, "You might want to lose the shoes, we're going to have to run to get back up there in time."

I bent down and yanked my shoes off, he snatched my hand again and we were off, running down the hall, laughing like schoolchildren on a playground. When we reached the stage, he gave me a chaste kiss before running out onto the stage. He did three more songs after he went out and when he said, "Goodnight, Seattle, and thank you!" I nearly screamed myself.

He ran off the stage and put his arms around me, lifting me off the ground while I squealed. We turned around to find Rose, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper behind us, giving congratulations to all the guys on a great show as we all trooped back down to Edward's dressing room. More like Edward's party room. As soon as we hit the room, all the guys were at the bar immediately. Edward brought me a glass with a clear liquid in it on ice. "Here, babe, you need to try this. It's my Okhotnichya Vodka and I always try to drink it when I feel I have something to celebrate." He stopped for a moment, smiled, and continued, "And I definitely have things to celebrate tonight."

We clinked our glasses together and I swallowed the vodka, letting all of its flavors hit my tongue before allowing it to slide down my throat. It. Was. Amazing.

"Good, right?" Edward grinned.

I nodded and took another sip. It was the most interestingly flavored vodka I had ever had. I could taste ginger and cloves, a hint of lemon, coffee, and some other spice flavors that were blended so well that I couldn't quite make them out. It was also sweet, almost like it had a touch of sugar in it. Edward led me around the room while he talked excitedly with all of his crew. I noticed when Rhianne came in, the bodyguards were right outside the door.

I was smitten with Edward. I mean, the letters, emails, and phone calls had been enough for me to care about him a lot, but this was different. Seeing him in the flesh, the two sides of him, the sweet way he led me around with his hand on the small of my back. Just his touch set me on fire. He was so quiet and sensitive earlier and then he was so excited and talkative later. I didn't even mind that he was swearing… a lot. That was before the f-word had become a permanent part of my vocabulary like it is now. I didn't care. It was Edward. I was with him. I didn't care how crazy and silly he acted when he was performing. I didn't care how sullen and sad he was when he was away from the excitement of the stage. It just didn't matter.

I wasn't really sure how long we spent in the dressing room just visiting with everyone and drinking vodka. Emmett seemed to be having the time of his life talking with all the artists. Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper were really enjoying themselves as well. I, however, was ecstatic. Edward finally started to wind down a bit and sat back down in the large overstuffed chair, pulling me onto his lap again. I giggled as I fell into his arms. When I landed, his arms were around me and his face was just inches from mine. We stared into each other's eyes.

It's hard to explain the connection we felt. Of course, at the time, neither of us knew the other one was feeling it, but we have since talked about it many times. We each felt a pull towards the other one. Edward has said that he felt it even stronger when the adrenaline from a show was flowing. We both felt it when writing letters, emailing, and during telephone calls, but when we finally got together, it was almost overwhelming. It was a strong desire just to be together, in close proximity, and for me anyway, the more Edward touched me, the more I wanted him to touch me. It felt really insane to me at the time. Part of me was terrified because of what I had gone through with Mike. I wasn't sure I was ready to be in another relationship, but the minute I met Edward, I knew that it wasn't just any relationship, he was my soulmate.

Edward had been through a lot with Tanya, too. He had a little girl to think about and a booming career. All of the baggage that he came with was hard to swallow, but at the same time, it didn't matter somehow. Somewhere inside me I knew that there wasn't a single thing in Edward's past, present, or future that could scare me away because the connection I felt with him was bigger than any earthly thing could break.

As Edward and I sat there staring at each other my mind was reeling and my heart was soaring. His grip on me tightened and our lips met again. When his lips touched mine, I could feel it in my toes. I immediately found myself tightening my arms around him and pushing myself closer to him. I felt like I wanted to crawl inside him. I wanted to fix all the hurts that were on his heart and make him happy-go-lucky like he was as EC Velvet all the time. We were well into our kiss and even beyond, were making out, when Emmett's booming voice interrupted.

"Damn, Bella! I thought you were gonna play hard to get!" That was followed quickly by the sound of Rosalie smacking him. I giggled and blushed. Edward laughed aloud. We both turned to look at Emmett whose grin was infectious. We both grinned back.

"I am playing hard to get, Emmett. What makes you think I'm not?"

Emmett rolled his eyes and the whole room erupted with laughter. Edward and I quickly picked back up where we left off. After a couple of hours of everyone hanging out in Edward's dressing room, the party started breaking up. I found myself sad because I thought that I would probably not be seeing Edward anymore for a long time after that night. When the rest of the guys started making their way out, I caught Rosalie yawning. I knew that meant it was time for us to be going. Although, I was nervous about asking how we were to get home. Apparently, Edward had seen it too.

"Rhianne, why don't you call for the car so these guys can go home and get some sleep. They're not used to keeping the same hours I do."

Rosalie quickly thanked him and apologized for being a buzz kill. I wasn't sure if she was apologizing to me or to Edward, but it didn't matter. I knew it was going to come to an end sometime. I started to get up from Edward's lap when he stopped me. He looked at me quite seriously and said, "Bella, I don't want this night to end. Do you think that, if I'm a gentleman about it, we could stay together tonight and just talk, or even sleep, but be together?"

I studied his face carefully while I thought back on what Emmett had said at dinner a few nights earlier. He looked to be sincere and all traces of EC Velvet were gone from his demeanor. I mulled it over in my mind briefly, already knowing what my answer would be. I just didn't want to come across as too anxious. His eyes began to widen a bit as I thought over the options so I let him off the hook by saying, "I'd really like that, Edward. Would you like to come to my place or did you have something else in mind?"

"It's up to you, Bella. Whatever you feel most comfortable with. If you would rather go to your place, that's fine. If not, I have the Luxury Suite booked at The Sorrento Hotel. You tell me, love."

Love. There was that word again. He stunned me every time he called me that. I'm pretty sure the most endearing term that Newton ever used for me was "bitch," so obviously, I wasn't used to being called nice things like, "love."

I considered his request. I wasn't afraid of Edward, not in the least. I knew that he thought I would be after my experience with Newton and because of his Velvet persona, but I wasn't. However, I knew that I would feel safer at home with him. Jasper and Alice would be there. I needed some degree of comfort.

"Would you mind terribly if we went to the house? I'm sorry, I know that suite must have cost a bundle and…"

"Bella," he said, putting his finger on my lips, "stop. It's okay. I don't mind a bit. Besides, I don't think the paparazzi can get into your neighborhood and I'm pretty sure they are going to be on me since they missed me when I disappeared from the airport this morning. Your place it is!"

He stood and walked over to talk to Rhianne. They spoke in hushed voices for a few minutes while I gathered my purse and a bottle of water for the ride home. I thought for a second and then picked one up for Edward, too. I ate a few grapes and then Rhianne announced that the car was there so we walked out of the dressing room with her. The bodyguards were there and escorted us to the car, which I didn't understand until we walked outside and there were hundreds of screaming girls out there. Edward whispered, "Just don't pay any attention to them, babe, just put your head down and get in the car." I was thankful he was there holding my hand because I was just a little more than uncomfortable with all those screaming women. I did as he had advised, kept my head down and ducked in the car.

Once inside, he scooted close to me and put his arm around me to pull me even closer. I turned towards him and crossed my legs, letting the top one rest across his thigh. I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head against his chest and it felt so good to be held like that. The rest of the ride home was in companionable silence with Rose and Emmett nuzzling each other and Alice and Jasper holding hands and watching out the window.

End Note: Reviews are LOVE and VIP passes to EC Velvet shows! Next show will be in Portland, Oregon as soon as he tears himself away from Seattle. :) Hurry and sell out the shows ladies!