Here's a little outtake from EPOV I did for FGB one year. I never posted, so no one's seen it yet. Hope you enjoy!

oOo

Commis

-An apprentice to the Chef de Partie-

The moment her eyes met mine, I felt a tightening in my pants that had me glancing around for a hiding place. Her face was blank—slack almost—but intelligence sparked in her brown eyes. I wondered where her mind was until I saw her gaze travel over the length of my body, igniting a flame that burned just beneath the surface of my skin. Before I could get any harder or turn any redder, I barked another order at Emmett and dashed from the kitchen.

Out of sight did not mean out of mind, and I thought about the new girl through every conversation I had with the customers—sorry, guests—at my tables. Her cheeks had turned the most appealing shade of pink, and her shiny brown hair looked like it would slide right through my fingers with ease if I grabbed it to—

With a snort, I pulled myself away from that train of thought. I didn't even have any experience in that arena. If I had managed to get a handful of the new girl's hair, I wouldn't have known what to do with it. Neither would I have had any idea what to do with the curves that our hideous uniforms hid from me. With her top two buttons undone, I'd seen a length of creamy skin on her slender neck, but I wouldn't have known where to place my mouth to make her whimper or moan. Sadly but effectively put, I was clueless.

I didn't look for her—well, not really. My eyes definitely scanned the kitchen as I walked back through, and they caught sight of her moving through the dish room with a cautious step. As she inspected the first aid kit, I bit back a grin and wondered if she thought she might have need of it in the future. When she moved back toward the break room with her same careful stride, I figured she was just extremely conscientious. I didn't exactly follow her, either. I had to pass the employee lounge on my way to the salad station, so I just turned my head a little as I passed to catch a glimpse of her. I wanted to drum up the courage to step in and at least say hi, but the words died in my throat when I saw her perched on her toes in one of the chairs as she stretched for the VCR. I hadn't realized how tiny she was.

Without thinking, I stepped behind her and took the video. When she leaned back against me to steady herself, I damn near moaned. In just that split second, I was pretty sure I fell in love with her. Saying hello wouldn't be enough, and saying what I thought would only scare her away forever. So, I didn't say anything. Instead, I walked away like a world-class asshole. If I ever did get the courage to say something to her, she would probably just punch me in the junk and run.

"What's your problem?" Rosalie stared down her slender nose at me.

I was at least six inches taller, so it was no small feat that she could make me feel shorter than Alice.

I scowled as I passed her and wondered what Emmett could see in her. Moreover, what could he possibly have said to melt her perpetually frozen heart and…well, other organs? With a start, I halted in the middle of the lobby, which caused Rosalie to run square into the back of me.

"Jesus, idiot. Move!" she hissed, shoving me out of her way.

Yeah. Emmett had to be some kind of wordsmith to get that bitch to soften up at all. Of course, to get his help, I'd have to explain that I'd fallen madly in love with the new girl without ever saying a word to her. He always called me a pussy and other colorful, gender-questioning nicknames, so I didn't have a lot to lose.

Waiting for my shift to end was even more painful than usual. I was kind of excited to see what knowledge Emmett might impart but dreading giving up my information to get his. Regardless, I ran for the car to meet up at O'Malley's, wondering if anyone had thought at all to invite the new girl out after her first day. If Rosalie was the only other person she had met, I sincerely doubted it.

I hadn't counted on Rosalie joining us at the bar, either, but I should have. She never seemed excited to join us but was always there anyway. I perked up a bit when I saw Jasper and Alice cuddling in one of the booths and made my way over to join them. I knew Emmett would sit with us after he found some fruity drink for Rosalie at the bar, so I held my tongue until he could take care of his girl. Unfortunately, she wandered over with him and sat across the table from me.

When it looked like she and Alice were deep in conversation, I took a deep breath and leaned over to get Emmett's attention. He was idly flipping strands of Rosalie's hair between his fingers, so it took a few seconds of throat clearing for me to get his attention. By the time he looked, Jasper also watched me with interest.

"Something on your mind?" he asked lazily, rolling up the cuffs of his sleeves.

A quick glance at the girls told me that they were still otherwise occupied, so I nodded quickly and gestured with my head for a huddle.

"What's with the covert operations, Double-Oh Dickhead?" Emmett snickered.

I started to point out the obvious homoerotic nature of his insult, but decided to just let him have that one.

"What could I say to get a girl to notice me?" I asked in a low voice.

Emmett's jaw dropped after a moment of silence, and then he let out a huge guffaw that startled every person within twenty feet of us. Rosalie and Alice stopped their chattering and eyed us with interest, especially noting my flushed cheeks.

"The new girl?" Emmett wheezed, chuckling heartily.

"Bella Swan?" Rosalie interjected, her eyebrows raised delicately. "She's damn near a half-wit. What about her?"

Bella Swan. The name fit her perfectly, with her slender, graceful neck and her creamy, white skin—what I had seen of it anyway.

Complete silence descended as I refused to answer the question. Finally, Alice took pity on me and asked Rosalie to go get another drink from the bar with her. She winked as she pushed Rosalie away from the table, and I hoped it meant she would buy me a little time. When I was sure they were completely out of earshot, I turned back to the guys, panic building slowly and causing my ears to buzz.

Emmett was still chuckling, but Jasper had adopted a thoughtful look. I wondered if I'd considered asking the wrong guy for help. As I had them both there, I didn't see how getting two opinions would hurt anything.

"What do you mean 'get a girl to notice you?' Have you never talked to a girl before? You seemed to know exactly what to say to Tanya when she was here."

I frowned at the mention of Tanya. As a family friend, she'd always been more like a sister to me than even a friend who happened to be a girl. The thought of trying to get her attention for any romantic or sexual reason was just gross. Of course, she was a beautiful girl, and her acceptance of me had paved the way to the friends I had at work. It also seemed to convince almost everyone around me that I must have been some kind of ladies' man to get someone like Tanya to hang around for any amount of time.

"Fine. Long story short. I like her. I can't talk when I'm around her. I need to know what to say to get her to…I don't know. Maybe like me back?"

Changing the subject back to Bella seemed the only way to keep the conversation on track. If I didn't hurry, Alice and Rosalie would return and add to my torture. As I saw it, I had about five minutes to absorb all the wisdom that Emmett and Jasper could impart, and I really didn't think that would be enough time.

"Well, that's easy enough." Emmett rolled his eyes. "Next time you see her, walk up and just slightly invade her space. Not in a creepy way, but enough to let her know you're there for her and her only. Then…I don't know, man. Compliment her hair or something. But you gotta say it in a way that lets her know you're thinking about her in bed with you. Like, 'I wanna pull that hair while I'm pounding—'"

"You're an asshole," Jasper interrupted calmly. He directed his gaze at me and sighed.

"I'm guessing you want more than just a night with the lovely new girl?"

"Well, yeah. I think. I don't really know her yet, but I really want to."

Emmett snorted and used another of his famous nicknames for me while Jasper slugged another gulp of beer.

"Then you should just start with hello," he said simply. "Ask her what she likes, what she doesn't like. If she asks you, tell her what you like and don't like. See if you have some things in common, and then you'll know for sure if you want more than one night."

"But don't kill the mystery," Emmett interjected. "You can't tell it all in one conversation, or you'll be the most boring bastard on the planet. If you refuse to answer stuff, she'll want another conversation to find out what she's missing."

I looked back at Jasper to see if he agreed with this assessment, and he nodded slowly with wide eyes. Apparently, he was surprised by Emmett's grasp of women. Before we could develop too much confidence, however, Emmett spoke again.

"And be sure to put some kind of sexual innuendo into everything. Seriously, man. You look at me like I'm stupid, but I'm not. You say something that makes her think about sex with you and you're in. I mean, if the thought doesn't disgust her, that is. If she likes it, it's all she'll be able to think about."

"Again, I have to concede that he has a point. If she doesn't think you're a prick, then she'll be thinking about sleeping with you." Jasper shook his head in amusement. "Right or not, you should make that secondary to getting to know her. Tease her a bit if you get a chance, but mostly just show interest in her. Find out if she's going to school, what her favorite flowers are, if she likes music."

"Then make her think you'll take her back into the wine cage and let her stick her hand down your pants," Emmett suggested.

"Fuck off about the wine cage," I growled.

"And after you've talked to her and decided you still like her, see if she wants to hang out somewhere besides work. Even here. I won't let Emmett bother her."

"And then you should imply she'll get some sweet, sweet love before the night's over," Emmett added.

"Just be nice."

"Compliment her ass."

"Get her a little thoughtful gift."

"Ask if you can do the motorboat."

"And if you still can't think of anything to say, just smile."

"Tell her you're packing a foot-long."

By that point, I was looking back and forth between them like watching a ping-pong match. Jasper was grinning, but Emmett looked dead serious. I wished I'd brought along a notepad or something to take some notes—

"I will not!" I shouted, as Emmett's last words finally registered.

He and Jasper cracked up and howled so loud that everyone around us stared again. My cheeks grew hot as I considered actually saying some of the things Emmett had suggested to Bella Swan. There wasn't a chance in hell that I would be able to work up the courage for at least half of it. Jasper's suggestions, though, seemed like something I could work with.

"Whatever," I mumbled as I drained the last of my beer.

"Dude. You're twenty-two. You'll figure it out. Just get past the hi, at the very least."

Those were Emmett's final words on the matter, just before Rosalie and Alice reappeared at the table.

My head swam. Talk to her, compliment her, give her gifts, ask her out, grab her ass— No! All of the above except the ass-grab. Unless she invited me. Then, definitely yes to the ass-grab. I didn't want to mess it all up, but I actually liked her so much that it was damn near guaranteed that I would. Even when she wasn't around, I still couldn't think straight.

I resolved I would at least try the first chance that I got. After my one beer, I drove home and crawled into bed. Instead of going to sleep, I tried to imagine whether I would use Emmett's advice or Jasper's first. Most of all, I wondered if I would even have the courage to approach her at all.