Wow, I just totally slacked and didn't put up an A/N. What was I thinking?

As usual, thanks to MaggieMay14 and smmiskimen for their beta help. Risbee and Flightlessbird11 are the pb to my j.

I don't own Twilight; I do own this porny plot.

"What on earth did you think you were doing?" I shouted at Emmett as we pulled away from the porno house in our rental car. Bella and Rosalie had already long left and, if the loud squealing of Bella's tires was any indication, this night was going to be rough.

"I'm making shit happen, which is more than I could say for you! I mean…what the hell was that back there? You seized up like a virgin on prom night." Emmett explained as he slammed his hands against the steering wheel as we were stopped at a stoplight. "You know what your problem is, Edward?"

"What?"

"You don't have the balls to just come out and say what you are thinking. You over think everything. With Bella, you need to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. Tell her what the fuck is going through that pea sized brain of yours and get down to the nitty gritty…you need to know why the hell she is doing this."

Fucking Emmett and his logic. I hated that he was right all the damn time, because it was so fucking annoying. When we got back to the hotel we both took our turns to have super long showers, though I'm sure it was for different reasons.

During my shower, as the hot water poured down my body, I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against the cool tile. What the hell was happening? I felt like I was losing even more control of the situation we were in. and my control was already precarious at best. Yeah, I had managed some time with Bella, but I hadn't gotten anywhere.

Emmett wasn't nearly as much help as he seemed he was. Sure, his ideas were decent, but he seemed content being here in California and especially now that he had Rosalyn or Rosalie or whatever the fuck her name was. He was moving forward and I felt like I was standing still.

What had I managed to learn about Bella? She used to be with James, but wasn't anymore. She had a creepy neighbor who wouldn't leave her alone, which explained why she was kissing Rose the other day and she pretended that she was happy, but she clearly wasn't. I could feel in my bones that there was more going on than she was telling me, but I just didn't feel like she was ever going to open up to me like she used to.

When we were younger, even before we started dating, Bella and I were always confiding in one another about anything and everything. When she was anxious about kissing, I was her first kiss. When she admitted that she was jealous that Charlotte Gaines had grown breasts and she hadn't, I stupidly groped hers and told her they were great. When I finally confessed to her how I felt, she opened up to me completely and we were inseparable, even more, after that. I was certain we would be together forever when I was fifteen.

It's funny how much life can change, and I didn't mean for the better.

By the time I got out of the shower, I had made a major decision. If nothing happened tonight to get me some answers, I was going to cut my losses and head home. I was growing increasingly tired of Bella giving me the run around. I had a career to start building and the rest of my life to get on with. I couldn't keep harassing Bella until she gave up and came home with me. As much as I wanted to, it just didn't seem possible.

The entire drive to the restaurant, which was some steak restaurant that Emmett chose after reading about it on , he tried to talk me out of my plan to leave if I got nowhere with Bella. However, I was determined to stand my ground.

"Okay, so go all chicken shit and run like the wind if you want to, but at least get the answers to all your questions," Emmett advised just as we pulled into the parking lot. I glanced around and didn't see either of the girls' cars, so I immediately grew concerned. "They will be here. I talked to Rosalie while you were in the shower. She said Bella was in a pissy mood, but she would be here."

"You sound confident."

"Well, she may have been yelling in the background about getting you out of her life or something like that, so I'm pretty sure she will be here."

"Great, so I've really burned my bridges with her, huh?"

"I just think Bella was safe in her little porno bubble and you came along and reminded her that her life was shit, if I am being perfectly honest. No one wants to see that."

"How the fuck do you know this? More Dr. Phil?"

"No dude, Rosalie and I had a little talk. It turns out, she's been trying to get out of the industry and break into something a little more mainstream, acting wise of course, but it's hard for them."

"Does Bella want to act?"

"No, but from what Rosie told me, she does want out. James is just insistent on holding her to her contract."

"Do you think it's iron-clad? The contract that is?"

"From what I've seen of James, it's probably written on a napkin. If I could get my hands a copy of it we could email it to Steven, who could review it for us." Steven was Em's cousin and he was a lawyer back in Tennessee. Surely he could give us some insight into everything. However, Bella didn't seem to want our help at all, so we were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

We waited at our table for only five minutes before the girls showed up, both of them looking rather demure considering their careers. In fact, they both looked like they should be selling cars instead of giving away hummers on video.

"Evening ladies, you both look beautiful," Emmett said as he stood, clearly laying the charm on thick. Rosalie seemed easily swayed by his machinations and, when her hand was wrapped in his, he was quick to place a small kiss on the back of her hand. Needless to say, Bella rolled her eyes and looked at me with complete disdain. Well there goes my plan to shake her hand or give her a hug. You'd think we were mortal enemies and not former lovers by the way she was looking at me.

The night was off to a great start, I thought sarcastically.

"Emmett, you flatterer," Rosalie said with a blush as Emmett held out her chair and I attempted to do the same for Bella, but she ignored me. "How was your afternoon?"

"Oh you know, nothing major, I thought about you," Emmett declared as Bella pretended to shove her finger down her throat and gag, and I couldn't help but laugh at her dramatics.

"Cut the bullshit, Emmett. I didn't come here tonight to watch you woo my friend here," Bella stated fiercely as she stared him down, but he didn't flinch. "You are going to buy me a fucking steak and I will listen to your friend, and then we are out of here."

"Fair enough," Emmett replied simply.

"And you won't tell my dad, right?"

"If you are honest with us, then no…I won't tell your dad."

"And neither will he, right?" Bella asked as she pointed at me and I reluctantly nodded my head. It had been Emmett who had threatened Bella with telling her dad, not me, but I would agree to her terms if it meant she would open up to me and talk about how the hell she got involved with porn.

"I won't say anything," I promised. Bella nodded her head in understanding as the waitress came over and took our drink orders. I wasn't overly surprised when Emmett bought a bottle of Champagne for the table, no doubt attempting to flaunt the money he had in front of Rosalie. Bella ordered a double shot of tequila and I simply got a beer. There was no way I was drinking heavily when there was so much I wanted to know. I was going to stay in my right frame of mind.

Once the waitress was gone, Emmett moved his chair closer to Rosalie, draping his arm over the back of her chair before he looked at Bella intently and was about to speak. I reached my hand out and silenced him though. I needed to take control of this.

"Why…just…I need to understand what the hell possessed you do to this. I thought school was going good?" I asked, fumbling to find the right words to say.

"Edward, are you sure you want to hear this?" I nodded quickly as Bella steeled her nerves and hung her head slightly. She was clearly ashamed of something; either her actions or herself. "Not long after I moved out here, my mother was laid off from her job. My parents have never been the smartest when it came to money and what little savings they had dwindled quickly when they were helping to support their daughter in college."

"So you get a job…you don't start…"

"I did get a job," Bella interrupted. "I began working as a waitress at a pancake house called…"

"Oh my god, she worked at Maple Juggs," Emmett shouted out, not really caring that half of the restaurant was now looking at us.

"Shut up, Emmett," I replied angrily as Bella glared at both of us in frustration.

"Are you going to listen to me or not?" she asked as our waitress came back with our drinks and Bella easily pounded back her tequila before asking for a refill. We all placed our orders for dinner and the moment the waitress was gone, Bella continued on with her story. "Yes, I worked at Maple Juggs. I was strictly a waitress for about a year and then, when money began to get tighter, I was approached about dancing."

I thought back into my memory and remembered how much Bella hated to dance when we were in high school. In fact, at our senior prom we only danced twice, both slow songs, so I could barely imagine her earning a good living as a stripper.

"Gianna was one of the other strippers there and she kinda took me under her wing."

"Ah, Gianna," Emmett said wistfully as Rosalie smacked him on the shoulder, no doubt assuming that he was thinking of her because of her looks. "What? She helped us a bit, that's all. Without her help we would have never stumbled onto Alice, who is one mischievous little hobgoblin."

"Hobgoblin? Oh my god, Alice would cut off your nuts if she heard you say that," Bella laughed as I took in the sound, cherishing it because it had been years since I heard her laugh so casually.

"Well, I couldn't very well call her gremlin or a pixie. I mean she's short and all, but she's angry…much more like a goblin."

"Okay, enough about Gianna and Alice…can you please go on Bella?"

"Yeah, might as well get this over with, right?" I nodded and Rosalie gave Bella a supportive smile before she continued. "Anyways, so I had no coordination or dance abilities what so ever, but I needed the money, so she helped me. It was nerve-wracking and I hated it at first, but I loved the money that came in. I managed my way through my second year of college on the tips I earned."

"So, you did it all for the money?" I questioned as Bells shrugged lightly and sucked down the second shot of tequila that the waitress brought her.

"Initially…yeah. But then I began to crave the attention. I hadn't dated anyone since I came to California and these guys loved to shower me with gifts and fancy shit…which was how I met James. He was the most persistent of all." She hesitated for a moment as she thought of her past and I wanted to shake her and get everything out of her, but I was trying to be patient. "He was at the club one night with some friends, throwing his money around as usual and he wanted a private lap dance. I won't go into all the specifics, but within a few days we were spending more and more time together."

"Is he holding something over you? Like…is there a reason why you are still doing this?" I questioned boldly as Bella stared at me long and hard before finally speaking.

"Do you remember Billy Black?" she asked and I wracked my brain trying to think of where I had heard his name before. "He lives down on the reservation in La Push. He's 'good friends' with my father." Bella actually used air quotes as she said good friends and it immediately made me grow suspicious. "You always thought his son Jacob was hitting on me."

"Ah yeah…I remember, and he was always hitting on you. That kid wanted you almost as much as I do…I mean did."

"Anyways…my dad has a gambling addiction and Billy is his bookie."

"Billy the Bookie? Sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss," Emmett piped up with a chuckle. "I will not bet on the New York Yankees, I will not bet on them you see…"

"Shut the hell up, Emmett. That barely rhymed."

"You find something to rhyme with Yankee, dipshit."

"You could have found a rhyme for the Mighty Ducks, baby," Rosalie cooed as I held back my laugh. I could find dozens of words that worked with duck and I was sure Emmett could too.

"That reminds me of an old rhyme I used to know. The once was a man from Nantucket…"

"Where did you find him?" Bella questioned as she motioned to Emmett with her thumb and I couldn't help but notice that she had a small smile on her face.

"He's a stray. He just followed me home one day and I couldn't shake him off." Bella smiled broader but I didn't want to sit here and crack jokes, I wanted to know everything. "So…the Chief likes to gamble?"

"I found out about two years ago that Charlie was $75,000 in debt to him. He has this whole little tribe of guys that follow up and they have threatened Charlie repeatedly, so…I got a loan from James in return for filming movies for him. I'm under contract for another year and a half. Unfortunately, regardless of what my mother and I have done, he continues to gamble. We had him in rehab and have even held an intervention, but he won't listen or change his ways. So, in an effort to keep him alive, I am sending Billy part of my earnings each month to cover it all."

"How much?" I questioned as Bella quirked her eyebrows. "How much do you pay him each month?"

"Three thousand dollars."