Author Note: Thanks for the support! We reached 1,000 reviews with the last chapter!

I think almost everyone wants Bella to go talk to Edward, even if you don't all trust him yet.

Just for clarification, since there were some questions — Eclipse is an upscale bar/nightclub, not a male strip club.

Thanks again to moosals and NKubie for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.


Chapter 12: You Spin Me Round

"What is that?" Alice asks, nodding toward my hand.

"Ummm…" Shit, how the hell do I explain? I wrack my brain for a long moment, then give up. "I'll be back in a few. I-I need to make a call." Ugh, way to go, Bella.

Heading toward the bar, I first spot Edward as I get about halfway there. Dressed in a black button-down shirt that shows off the paleness of his skin, he's busy pouring a beer from the tap for someone. As if he senses me, he looks up when I get within about 10 feet, giving me a dazzling smile.

He points out an open stool at the bar, and I take it. Almost immediately he's in front of me, looking more beautiful than ever. His hair is longer than the last time I saw him, with a floppy piece hanging over his left eye. He also doesn't appear to have shaved in a day or so, and the sexy scruff makes him look a bit older.

"Even for this place, you're a bit overdressed," he smirks, and I frown. My dress has a blousy off-white top with a short gold skirt; I'd thought it was perfect for a night out.

"Nice to see you, too," I reply sarcastically.

He smiles widely. "Is it? You've been ignoring my messages for three months. I'm wounded." He places his hand over his heart and I roll my eyes.

"What's brought you back to Seattle?" I ask bluntly.

Edward laughs, grinning. "I'll let you ignore me — for now. I came back initially because my great-grandmother died."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I frown.

"It's fine," he assures me. "She was 95. I came for the funeral and all of that jazz. I intended to go back to California, but…"

"Edward!" the other bartender calls. He looks her way, then nods.

"Duty calls. I'll be back as soon as I can — don't leave."

Shaking my head, I wait for Edward to come back, wishing I'd brought my drink. I'm not really sure what's going on here. He's acting like we're old friends or something. As he scurries back and forth grabbing bottles or pouring beer from the tap, I find myself staring at his ass in his black slacks. Stop it, Bella.

"Back," he says suddenly, leaning his arms on the bar in front of me. His sleeves are rolled up the elbow, revealing his sexy forearms. "Where was I?"

"You said you intended to go back to California…"

"Right," he nods. "My mom guilted me into staying, saying how much she missed me, yadda yadda. I couldn't even claim I had no place to live. My great-grandma's son had been renting out her condo for her, once she went into the assisted living center, but the tenant had just decided to leave, so… It's decorated in the 'early old lady' era, but it's cool enough," he shrugs.

"I went back to Monterey just long enough to quit my jobs and move out of my apartment, though my roommate was pissed that he needed to find someone else to split the rent. I'm planning to start at U-Dub in the Fall, so I can get a degree and be a real grown-up," he grins.

"If you're happy, then I'm happy for you, Edward," I tell him sincerely.

"Thanks," he smiles almost shyly. "So why didn't you answer my texts?"

"I… I don't know why I even gave you my number," I admit. "We aren't… friends."

"We could be." He reaches out, taking my hand in his, his pretty blue eyes gazing into mine. He's only holding my hand lightly, but just the feel of his soft, warm skin on mine… Fuck! Why is it so easy for me to fall under his spell?

"Why?" I question.

"I like you, Bella. I always have."

"You-you—" I sputter. But he stole from me!

"Hey," he says softly, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. "I probably need to get back to work, but we aren't finished."

I nod shakily. "And I need to get back to my friends, though I think I need your talent at making up stories to explain where I've been."

He smirks a little, rolling his eyes, and I know he's not offended.

When I get back to the table, it's just Alice, no Lauren in sight. "What happened to Lauren?" I ask, as if I don't know.

"Dancing with a hottie."

I nod, sliding onto my chair and picking up my drink; that's what I figured. "I hope you haven't been sitting alone long."

"Just a minute or two, it's fine," she smiles, then narrows her eyes. "Now tell me about the hottie bartender you were talking to."

It's like time freezes. Alice saw me talking to Edward? I'd thought there were too many people between us and the bar. There goes my story of running into the ubiquitous 'old friend.'

"How do you know him?" she continues.

I snort. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Alice purses her lips, but she seems to accept that I'm not willing to explain right now. I just don't know what to say. Even if I just give her the bare minimum truth — that I had a one-night stand with the stripper who pulled me on stage — I'm afraid of her reaction. Alice is generally pretty open-minded, but she's surely going to wonder why she's only just now hearing about that four and a half years later.

"Can I buy you a drink?" a deep voice asks, his hand on the back of my chair. I instinctually lean forward a bit.

"I'm good," I reply, holding up my glass, which is still over half full.

"And what about you?" he asks, nodding toward Alice.

"I'm driving, sorry. And married." She not-so-casually flicks her left hand.

"All right," he chuckles, turning back to me. "How about a dance then?"

He's not really my type, with his long blond hair tied back in a ponytail, but he seems nice enough. And I can't deny that there's some part of me that hopes Edward will see me dancing with another man. But it's rude for me to leave Alice alone.

"Go on, Bella," she says, before I can use her as an excuse.

Nodding, I smile at the man, slipping out of my chair. "I'm James," he introduces himself, his hand on the small of my back as he leads me to the dance floor.

"I'm Bella… but I guess you knew that," I chuckle nervously.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman." I have to work really, really hard not to roll my eyes at that tired old line.

James and I dance to two mid-tempo songs, before heading back to the table to finish our drinks. We find that Lauren is back, along with a dark-haired man she introduces as Demetri. The five of us chat for a while and I learn that James owns his own business.

When our waitress comes back, we get another round of drinks for the table — Alice just gets a Sprite. Lauren and Demetri eventually go back out onto the dance floor with their bottles of beer, leaving just the three of us.

A few minutes later, Alice's phone rings and I can tell from her end of the conversation that something is up.

She sighs as she ends the call. "Blake threw up, and Jasper is still at the office, so I need to go pick him up. I hate to cut our night short," she frowns. "Will you be able to get a cab home? Or go with Lauren? Sorry I asked you to ride with me."

"I'll be fine," I assure her with a smile. "I don't mind cabs." From the glimpses I've gotten of them out on the dance floor, I assume Lauren will be going home with Demetri soon.

"Nice to meet you, James," Alice says, waving as she takes off.

"Did you want to maybe get a seat at the bar?" he asks. "We'll lose our table when we get up to dance again."

"Um, sure," I agree. I wanted Edward to see me with another man, after all.

We find two bar stools on the end, and I see the surprise on Edward's face when he notices me talking to James. He doesn't look happy, and I'm not sure why that makes me happy.

"Do you know that bartender?" James asks suddenly. "He keeps looking over and staring at you."

"N-no, never seen him before," I lie, turning to watch Edward as he mixes a drink in a tumbler. He smiles, then pours the liquid into a glass with a flourish. I'll bet he makes great tips.

I watch as he sets the drink in front of a pretty young woman, smiling and chatting with her for a moment. Shaking my head, I pick up my drink, taking another sip. I'm with James right now, not Edward. I should be talking to him, not staring at Edward.

No matter how good he looks.

"Would you like to dance again?" James asks several minutes later, when my glass is almost empty. Nodding, I finish the rest quickly then stand up.

Whoa… I feel a bit dizzy for a moment, and I steady myself by grabbing the back of the stool.

"Are you all right?" he asks.

"Um, yeah, I must've stood up too fast." I didn't have a margarita with dinner, so I've only had the two drinks; I should hardly be tipsy.

A slower song starts to play as we reach the dance floor. James pulls me close and I try to smile at him. I'm not really feeling any attraction to him at all, but I don't want to hurt his feelings. If he asks for my number though, I'm not sure what excuse I'll give. I attempt to think of one, but my head seems to be a bit fuzzy.

As the song progresses, I start to feel… odd. It's getting kind of difficult to concentrate. "Um, I think I should sit back down."

I pull away from James, large black spots dancing across my field of vision. I really need to sit down.

And that's the last thing I remember.


A/N: Go on, call me a cliffie bitch. At least you'll get the next chapter on Friday… the 13th, haha.

So, Bella got up and talked to Edward. What did you think about what he had to say? Alice let her be for now, but that won't last forever.

Even if she won't admit it to herself, Bella tried to make Edward jealous by dancing with another man. But what's wrong with her?