AN: I don't want to bore you with an author's note, but I want to give a quick thank you to my beta, phoenixhunter47 (I miss you, bb) and Bliltxgirl, both for helping me make this chapter better. And a HUGE thank you to Betty and Liz for skittlizing my doc and for making me smile when I thought this chapter sucked. Now, enough of me babbling. Enjoy! (I go hide now)

x-x-x

Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the Revolver

EPOV

"Dr. Cullen? Edward? Are you even listening to me, son?"

I blinked and found myself staring into the eyes of my father. Blinking again, I looked around the room and then down at the styrofoam cup held between my hands. Confused, I brought the cup to my lips, immediately spitting the contents out as soon as the liquid touched my lips. It looked like coffee, kinda smelled like coffee...but it sure as hell didn't taste like it. Briefly, I wondered how long ago I had acquired this cup of shit. How long did it take coffee to become sludge? I tossed the cup into the trash can next to the table and began trying to figure out how to get another cup. I could always steal - borrow - one from the nurses, as long as I could find one without flowers or bunnies or some stupid chick saying like, 'Friends are the sisters we choose.' Awww, how fucking cute.

"Edward?"

Carlisle stood before me, holding two mugs in his hands. Without a word, he handed me one before sitting across from me. As I brought the steaming mug to my lips I caught sight of the giant purple writing on the side. 'Who needs a man when I've got my friends?'

Hilarious.

"How long have you been on?" Carlisle asked, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

I placed the mug on the table in front of me and glanced at my watch, "Since ten." He looked at me questioningly. "a.m.," I added.

He glanced up at the clock on the wall, the second hand ticking away. "That's almost seventeen hours ago."

I rubbed my hands over my face. Had it really been that long? Normally Carlisle didn't work the night shifts, maybe that's what threw off my internal clock. "Honestly, I didn't even realize it was so late. I just wanted to stick around until Brady was out of surgery. Watch his vitals, make sure everything went smoothly."

"Brady?" Carlisle asked, surprise in his tone. "The kid from this afternoon?" I nodded while Carlisle's eyes widened. "Edward, you didn't have to stay."

I shrugged, "I know." I pushed back from the table, placing the mug in the sink. "Well, since I'm due to start my next shift in about three hours, I think I'm gonna go crash in an empty room."

I was about to walk out of the break room when I felt him lightly grab my arm. "Son, go home. We're fine here. Get some sleep, shower."

Carlisle's tone caused me to pause. It wasn't the clipped, harsh tone that I had become so accustomed to hearing, no, this was softer almost...caring. I looked up, meeting my father's eyes.

"I'm good. Just need to recharge for a moment." Carlisle nodded, dropping his hand. I turned towards the door. "Thanks, though."

"Oh, Edward?" I looked over my shoulder. "It was nice to have the whole family there for Easter, dinner especially." His eyes darted around the room nervously before settling back on me. "Maybe we could do it again."

I blinked, once again surprised by my father's different attitude, but I pulled myself together and nodded before walking out. I passed the nurses' station, inwardly cheering that Jessica didn't work night shifts. I briefly let Randy, the night leader, know I was off for the night, and then I checked the board for an available room to crash in. As I walked down the hall toward exam room 5, I took the time to check in on Brady.

Opening the door as quietly as I could, I tip-toed over to the small child who barely took up half the bed. I scanned over his vitals, making sure everything looked good and let out a breath as his readings came back normal. Brady had been admitted late in the afternoon with complaints of pain from a small mass on his groin. Tests later confirmed that Brady had what was called an inguinal hernia. We scheduled surgery for early in the evening, but because of an immediate appendectomy, Brady's surgery got pushed back to a time after my shift. Staring absentmindedly at the chart, my mind drifted back several hours.

I was doing my final rounds before leaving when I stopped in on the small boy. His mother had fallen asleep in one of the chairs and Brady was sitting up in bed, staring blankly at the TV. I proceeded to check his vitals, making sure he was all set to go before I left when he asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks.

"Am I going to die?"

Five words...as many years as this little boy had seen so far. His blue eyes were clear, as he stared intently at me, waiting for my answer. They can teach you many things in medical school, but that shit's all technical. There was no class on how to talk to children in terms they would understand, just like there's no class on how to deal with death. I could tell him the percentage of the survival rate for his particular procedure; tell him that his age and health background made him a perfect candidate for this type of surgery. Hell, I could even tell him every minute detail of the surgery, right down to the last incision, but this would be of no help to a five year old.

With a deep breath, I had sat down on the edge of his bed, much like I was doing now. He had immediately crawled onto my lap, pulling the top blanket with him. I fumbled over words in my mind, trying to figure out what to tell him. I didn't have any kids, nor had I ever really dealt with them; I had no experience to pull from. Instead, I found myself telling Brady about the time I needed surgery when I was seven. I told him how scared I was, how the big room with the scary machines was all I could think about. And then I told him about my father and how he was there, promising me he would be beside me when I woke. When I finished my story, Brady had fallen asleep. I carefully placed him back down on the bed and made my way to the door.

"Will you be there when I wake up, Dr. Cullen?"

I had been there when Brady woke up and here I was now, hours later. I placed the chart back at the foot of the bed, dimming the lights as I walked out into the hall. My shoes echoed on the linoleum floor as I slid out of my lab coat. I pushed open the door to exam room 5, leaving the light off, and plopped down on the bed. I sighed as I felt all the tension of the day leave me. My shoes made harsh thuds on the floor as I kicked them off, curling up on my side. Finally, a moment of peace...

"Don't."

Bella's voice echoed through my mind. I rolled onto my stomach, burying my face into the pillow, letting the images of earlier actions wash over me. My hands fisted into the sides of the pillow as I remembered her against the wall, legs wrapped around me. Fuck. I flipped over onto my back and ran my hand through my hair. I could still smell her everywhere around me. Every place she had kissed or touched hummed with invisible electricity. My hand slid over my eyes, almost as if I were trying to block out the memories washing over me. Of course, I knew that would never happen, not with the events of what transpired earlier. With a desperate sigh, I rolled over onto my side again. Sleep, just please fucking take me...

I felt Bella's hands slide up my chest, moving slowly underneath my shirt at an exceptionally slow pace. My arms wrapped around her neck, pulling her mouth back to mine in a feverish kiss. My tongue slid inside her, desperate to drown in her taste, as my hands tangled themselves in her hair. She moaned into my mouth, her fingernails scratching over my nipples. My lower body bucked up, coming directly in contact with hers as she straddled me, legs on either side of my hips...how did Bella get on top? Her tongue swept over my bottom lip as she slid one of her hands lower, slipping inside the top of my scrubs. Cold fingertips grazed the head of my cock, before closing around it in a tight grip. Wait...this never happened. Believe me, I would have remembered.

"Bella," I breathed, my head swimming in confusion.

"Edward," she moaned...but it wasn't Bella's voice.

"What the fuck!" I shouted, bolting upright. A large crash drew my attention to the floor where I could make out the shape of what looked like a person.

"Ouch, Edward! What the hell?"

"Jessica!" I shouted, then quickly lowered my voice, not wanting to attract attention to the room. "What the fuck are you doing in here?"

She brushed the hair out of her eyes, looking up at me from her position on the floor. "Your dad sent me to wake you. It's time for your shift."

I hit the light on my watch. Shit, my alarm never went off. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and hopped down, adjusting myself as my feet hit the tile. "And what, feeling up my dick seemed like the appropriate wake up call? I'm sure that's exactly what my dad meant." I quickly stepped over her, ignoring her outstretched hand, and hurried out of the room.

I didn't slow down until I was in the safety of the break room. Letting out a sigh, I leaned my head against the door. Fucking Jessica. Who the hell just climbs on top of someone while they're sleeping and fucking gropes them? I closed my eyes and sank down to the floor. I could think of one person who I wouldn't mind climbing on top of me...

Fuck!

I slammed my fists against the linoleum. This was getting me nowhere. I needed to get my shit together and fast. Quickly, I rubbed my hands over my face, anxious to clear my mind so I could focus on work. However, like every other time, the moment I tried to stop thinking about her all I did was think about her. Her skin, her hair, her eyes, her mouth....I banged my head back against the door...hard.

Nothing happened, Cullen. Fuck. If this is how you act after some over the clothes action, what the hell's going to happen when you finally...stop it!

My eyes slowly opened. I pulled my knees up, resting my elbows on my thighs and leaned into my palms. Nothing happened. After Bella had whispered the one word that unglued me, her house phone rang. We were more than willing to let the machine pick it up, until my cell phone started going off. Pulling myself off her had been one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. No goodbyes were said, I adjusted myself as I answered my phone and walked out the door to the voice of Emmett.

"I thought I saw him go in here. Oh!" Heidi exclaimed as the door pushed inward smacking against my back. "Dr. Cullen! I'm so sorry!"

I rolled over onto my side and slowly pushed myself up, stretching out the kink that was now in my lower back. "It's okay. I'm fine," I muttered.

Heidi stood in the door with Dr. Laurent right behind her.

"Get enough sleep?" he asked with a tiny smile.

I stretched my arms above my head. "I'm good."

He gave a quick nod before handing me a chart. I glanced down at the name and then quickly back up.

"Brady's awake. And he's asking for you."

I pushed past them, mumbling a thanks as I made my way to the exam room. Passing the nurses' station, I kept my head in the file, trying to look busy. However, I faltered slightly when I heard Jessica mutter, "And don't fucking call me Bella".

Oh, shit.

I pushed open the doors and couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face.

"Dr. Cullen! Look, I'm all better!"

x-x-x

I was fucking exhausted and driving in circles. I didn't want to go home. Carlisle and Esme were throwing some sort of dinner party, and while the menu seemed tempting, the company did not. All the fake politeness wouldn't sit well with my lack of rest and I would probably end up telling the president of some fancy company to go fuck himself, definitely not the way to go. Briefly, I considered driving to Emmett's and crashing in one of the spare rooms, but driving to Seattle also seemed like a bad idea. Hmm...I wonder if Jasper's home.

Taking the next left turn, I grabbed my phone just as it began vibrating in my hand. James. I hit the ignore button sending the call directly to voicemail. This was the fifth time this week that I'd avoided talking to my cousin. I just wasn't in the mood for his shit. Mentally promising that I would call him back tomorrow, I called Jasper. The surprise was evident in his voice when he answered, but he quickly agreed to having me over, saying something about saving him. I laughed as I tossed the phone on the seat. Alice was probably driving him nuts with wedding details. With the big day only a couple months away, I imagined my sister was turning into a mini-Hitler.

I flipped a hard u-turn on the side street I was on and headed back into town. Less than two minutes later, I was pulling into the Thriftway. I was in and out of the store in under ten minutes with some beer and flowers I grabbed for Alice. A few minutes after that, I was pulling into my sister's circular drive. As I shut off my engine and grabbed the bag of beer, I realized that I was looking forward to hanging out with Jasper tonight. Most of my nights consisted of me either working or sleeping...a far cry from my nights in Chicago. At least I could say I was well-rested most days.

"Edward, welcome, man," Jasper greeted, stepping aside so I could walk in.

I opened my mouth to speak when a large crash sounded from upstairs. Jasper glanced back at me quickly before running towards the stairs.

"Go ahead and put the beer in the fridge. I'll be right back!"

Jasper ran up the stairs as I shut the door behind me. I could hear music coming from the kitchen the closer I got, some up tempo pop beat that reminded me of those horrible boy band days. What was it? 'N SUCK and the Backdoor Boys? I chuckled as I pushed open the kitchen door, wondering why they left the music on in here if Alice was upstairs. Oh fuck, I should have known.

Bella stood with her back to me, bent over at the waist, peering into the refrigerator. Momentarily stunned by the way her ass was swaying back and forth in those black pants, I almost didn't hear her singing along with the song...almost...

"I don't care where we are, on the hood of my car, out in public, making love in the streets..."

And if I wasn't hard at the sight of her ass...

She turned so that she was facing the island, still singing along with the song, and by some small miracle she didn't notice me watching her. My eyes roamed over her body, taking in the way her pants sat low on her hips, held up only by a thin drawstring in the front. From my position against the door, I could make out the small indentation of her hip bone peeking out from underneath her shirt. Forcing my eyes upward, I bit back my laughter as I read the saying on her shirt. There in big letters across her chest, written in black so it stood out from the white fabric of the shirt, was Bella's offer to me on more than one occasion, BITE ME. Her hair was piled in a messy bun on her head, loose tendrils falling aimlessly around her face, and it was then I noticed she was wearing the glasses she had worn the day I first saw her.

I leaned against the frame, the door, anxious to close, pushed against my back as I just watched her. This was the first time I had seen her since our 'activities' on the couch and I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little nervous. I had no idea what she thought about what had happened, did she want it to continue? Was she sorry we were interrupted? Was she willing to pick up where we left off? Fuck, Edward. You have to at least talk to her. Talk...I could do that. Tentatively, I took a small step away from the door and was ready to say something when I realized she was upwrapping Kraft cheese singles and throwing them in the giant bowl before her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I blurted out.

"Shit!" Bella jumped, dropping the cheese slice and clutched her chest. She looked over at me, her eyes widening in surprise, then narrowing. "What the hell, Edward? You make it a habit of sneaking up on people?"

I walked over to the fridge, setting the flowers on the island as I passed, and placed the beer inside. Grabbing one for myself and one for Bella, I turned to face her.

"Hey," I said, stupidly as I held the bottle out to her.

Her hand wrapped around the neck, lightly brushing against mine. I made no move to let go as her chocolate eyes met mine.

"Hey," she whispered.

My fingers slipped off the bottle and wrapped themselves around the back of my neck as I leaned against the counter. Should it really be this hard to make conversation? Bella fiddled with the bottle cap, her hand twisting back and forth as the music played on in the background. Way to go, Cullen…couldn't even open the fucking bottle for her.

"Here, let me." I grabbed the bottle back and quickly discarded the cap before handing it back to her.

"Thanks," she said, taking a long drink of the beer.

When the hell did watching someone drink beer become so fucking erotic? I cleared my throat, loudly. She looked at me questioningly.

"So, um, you mind telling me what you're doing?"

"What?" she looked confused before glancing around at her spread. "Oh, this?" I nodded. "I was just making macaroni and cheese," she stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I watched as she picked up a cheese slice, unwrapped it, and then threw it into the bowl, which I now saw was filled with macaroni noodles. I'm pretty sure my expression showed my confusion.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how you make macaroni and cheese," I said, grabbing a cheese slice.

Bella snatched it out of my hand. "Well, this is the Lorelei way. And since it's for Alice and I, I really don't care what you think of it."

I held up my hands in surrender. "I don't even want to know."

She went back to her cheese while I watched. A loud thump came from upstairs and I wondered what the hell was going on up there. Just as I was about to ask what the hell that noise was, Bella turned around.

She gestured to the drawer behind me. "Can you hand me a spoon?"

I opened the drawer and pulled out a huge plastic spoon. She nodded as I held it up to her for approval. Our fingertips touched once again, but this time, instead of letting go, I curled my fingers over hers. She pulled away suddenly, turning her back to me.

"I think maybe we should talk."

"About what?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew.

She reached over and turned off the music, "About what? Maybe about what the hell has been going on between us? Or how about what happened the other day? I don't know, what could there possibly be to talk about?" She was facing me then, face flushed as she waved the spoon around in the air.

I couldn't help it, I smirked. Which was probably not the best idea I've ever had. The plastic spoon made a resounding whap as it connected with the top of my head. She fucking hit me over the head with a spoon covered in melted cheese. Slowly, I brought my hand up to my hair, cringing when I pulled out a few loose noodles. Bella stood before me, spoon still slightly raised, glaring at me. I narrowed my eyes, flicking the limp noodles at her. She flinched as a noodle stuck to her cheek then slowly slid down before landing on the tile. I watched it fall when I should have been watching Bella. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up in time to see Bella raise the hand with the spoon once more. I reached out, grabbing her around the wrist and twisting us so that she was pushed against the counter.

"You're a prick," she spat, moving her legs so that my right knee was nestled between them.

I brought my other hand up and wrapped it around the base of her neck. Leaning down to her ear, I whispered, "But yet, we always seem to end up like this."

She opened her mouth to respond, but I never gave her the chance. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to taste her again. I slammed my mouth down on hers, swallowing her comeback and turning it into a moan. The spoon clattered to the floor, forgotten, as my hand slid into hers. I wrapped her arm around my neck and then slid my fingertips down the length of her body. Bella shivered at my touch, earning me another moan that went straight to my dick. Our kiss grew more frantic and I wondered if she'd needed this as much as I had. Air was becoming an issue and almost as if she'd read my mind, Bella turned her head to the side and inhaled deeply. Not wanting to be separated just yet, I moved my lips down the smooth plane of her neck.

"Edward," she moaned, fisting her hand into my hair. "We can't - we need to - oh god!" She threw her head back as I bit gently down on her neck.

"Fuck, Bella. You don't think I know this is wrong? How royally screwed up this entire situation is?" I rasped out as I moved my mouth over her skin. When I finally made it back to her lips, I hovered there, not closing that last inch as we stared at each other.

Bella's gaze softened. "Edward,-"

"Bella, are you in there?" my sisters' voice floated through the room.

"You've gotta fucking be kidding me." I leaned my forehead against Bella's. "We will talk later."

Bella smiled sadly up at me and I placed a chaste kiss against her forehead, pulling away right as Alice came charging in.

"Edward! You're here!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. I laughed at my sister's exuberance as I wrapped my arms around her in return.

Jasper bent down and picked up the discarded spoon. He looked over at me, one eyebrow raised, before throwing it into the sink. He walked over to me, passing Bella's concoction in the bowl.

"I ordered pizza if you want some," he offered to me, as he passed by to get to the fridge.

"Hey!" Bella exclaimed, throwing a dish towel at him. "It's delicious!"

"I'm sure it is," Jasper laughed. "But sweetie, I've tasted your cooking."

We all laughed when Jasper grabbed a beer and sprinted out of the way as Bella ran at him. Without thinking, I instinctively reached out and wrapped my arm around Bella's waist as she was passing by, pulling her into me. She struggled in my grasp, still trying to get to Jasper, who was standing off to the side doing some weird ass 'come get me' dance. Realizing I wasn't going to let go, Bella turned to me with a determined look on her face.

"Don't even think about it, baby," I laughed into her ear. "Nothing comes between a man and his pizza. Especially when there's beer." I winked at her as I raised my bottle to my lips.

She let out a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. I caught my sister's expression to my left; she was practically beaming. I shot her a confused look which just made her smile bigger. I shook my head, not even wanting to try to understand the inner workings of Alice's mind. Letting go of Bella, I grabbed the bouquet of flowers from the island and held them out to Alice.

"For the beautiful bride to be."

Alice paused in her bouncing, mouth falling open in shock as she reached out for the flowers. I watched her expression with interest and realized that I hated the fact that I couldn't even give my sister flowers without it being a big deal. Once again, I thought of how far I had let myself drift from my family and I couldn't stop the pangs of guilt that coursed through me. I swallowed roughly and forced a smile on my face as I looked down at Alice. My smile was answered by Alice's blinding one and I vowed I would see that smile again.

"They're beautiful, Edward!" Alice exclaimed. "Jasper, can you get the vase mom gave us?"

"Oh, wait." I don't know what made me do it, maybe the playful mood of the room, but I plucked one of the flowers from the bunch. I gave Alice a wink and turned and walked back to Bella. She watched me approach with cautious eyes. I stopped before her and bowed at the waist. "M'lady."

I looked up at her from under my lashes, still bent at the waist. Bella looked like she was trying to decide whether to laugh or slap me and I flinched slightly as she raised her hand to me.

"Thank you, kind sir," Bella said softly, giving a small curtsy before taking the flower from me.

My smile widened as I straightened up, happy she was playing along. Lifting the flower to her face, she breathed in, smiling shyly from behind the flower. Fuck, she was beautiful. Jasper walked up and clapped his hand on my shoulder.

"What do you say us 'sirs' retire to the sitting room with our beverages while the wenches prepare the feast?" Jasper asked in a fake Old English accent.

Laughing, I ran after Jasper as we tried to avoid getting hit with kitchen utensils.

x-x-x

Dinner consisted of the four of us sitting around the living room; the girls eating their weird ass macaroni and cheese, and Jasper and I polishing off an extra large pizza. Though I had been nervous at first, conversation flowed smoothly between the four of us. Well actually, it seemed as though I was talking mostly to Jasper while Alice and Bella were talking about bridal showers and what not across the room. It was relaxing just being able to hang out, no one with ulterior motives around me, no hidden agendas, just a group of friends hanging out and talking about nothing.

"Let's play a game!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, jumping up.

Bella was nodding her head in agreement while Jasper and I looked on with apprehension. We knew firsthand how Alice was when it came to board games, throw Bella into the mix and who knew what the hell would happen.

"Oh, come on! I'm not that bad!" Alice whined dragging Jasper out of the chair.

I smiled into my bottle as I watched how pussy whipped Jasper was. That dude was strung up by his balls and seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

"What are you smiling about?" I looked up to see Bella standing over me.

I shook my head. "Nothing much."

She held her hand out to me and I grasped it in my mine without a second thought, pulling myself up.

Bella leaned into my shoulder as we walked. "Really? Not even about the noodles still hanging out in your hair?"

"What?" My hand flew to my hair, frantically searching for the stray food. "I thought we got all that shit." Next to me, Bella was struggling to hold back laughter. I dropped my hand. "You're fucking with me, aren't you?" She nodded, still giggling. "You think that's funny?" She shrugged, smiling.

I stopped, pulling her towards me. "It's not funny to mess with a guy's hair like that, you know?" I joked. Bella just shrugged again, her eyes sparkling. I reached over and picked up the flower I had given her earlier. She watched me intently and I felt the mood shift between us, that familiar current pulling me to her. "It's called a Twilight Parrot Tulip." I removed my hand from hers only to snap off the bottom part of the stem. I tossed the excess back onto the table and slid my hand back into hers. Slowly, I placed the flower behind her left ear. "Beautiful," I whispered.

My fingers trailed down her cheek and ghosted over her full lips. I sucked in a breath as she placed feather light kisses on the tips of my fingers.

"Are you guys coming?" Alice shouted from upstairs.

My hand fell to my side as we were, once again, interrupted by my sister. Sighing, I brought our joined hands together and placed a kiss on the back of hers.

"Shall we?" Bella nodded and we walked upstairs to the game room. "Well, now I know what the crash was," I said as I surveyed the room.

Alice and Jasper were sitting in the middle of the floor setting up some board game. Against the wall, next to the foosball table, were countless board games scattered around.

"I couldn't reach the top one," Alice stated plainly while Jasper rolled his eyes at us.

I pulled Bella down with me as I sat, each of us taking a side of the game which, looking down, I realized was Clue.

"I'm Miss Scarlet!" Bella shouted, reaching over me to grab the game piece.

"You certainly are," I muttered.

We each settled in with our notepads and cards as Alice refreshed everyone's memories on the rules, which was a good thing because I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had played a board game. Jasper won the first two games, both after only a few turns. Alice thought he cheated so she made me shuffle the cards for the next game, earning a groan of protest from Jasper. Laughing, I dealt everyone their next set. The room was silent as everyone made note of what they had. Bella grabbed a bag of chips and some sodas from the mini bar, showing just how at home she was here with my sister, and the game began.

It was turning into the most intense game of Clue I had ever played. I needed to be tricky if I wanted to win, and boy did I ever. Jasper sat across from me looking around at everyone with a smug ass expression on his face. Alice sat to his left, hunched over her notepad like her life depended on it. And then there was Bella to my left. She sat cross-legged, chewing on the end of her pencil while looking off into space. Every so often her eyes would shift over to me when I'd make a claim and she would narrow her eyes and then scribble all over her paper.

"Professor Plum in the ballroom with the candlestick," I proclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me," Bella huffed, as Alice was showing me a card.

I sat back and looked over at her. "Yes?" I asked.

"Do you even know how to play Clue?"

"Yes," I answered patiently.

"Then why the hell would you make an accusation that you pretty much made before, especially when you're holding two of the cards?!"

"It's called strategy. And stop looking at my fucking notes!" I shouted, leaning into her.

"Well, don't put them where I can see them!" she shouted back, closing the gap a little more.

"And who wants to watch a movie?" Alice asked suddenly, clapping her hands together.

"I do," Jasper answered quickly. He began gathering up the game pieces as Bella and I sat there glaring at each other.

"Come on, Bella." Alice grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her up. "Let's pick a movie."

"No chick flicks!" I shouted after them.

Bella responded with her middle finger. I laughed along with Jasper as the girls walked out of the room.

"Looks like you two are getting along," Jasper stated casually.

I froze as I was folding up the game board. "Yeah, uh, I guess you can say that. She hasn't hit me in -" I glanced down at my watch. "About three hours or so. I'd say things are looking up."

Jasper smiled to himself, but didn't say anything more about it. The girls were taking forever with selecting a movie, so I helped Jasper put away all the games Alice had knocked to the floor in her quest to find the perfect one. We casually chatted about our jobs, and I found I was happy that we seemed to be settling into a comfortable camaraderie. I plopped down on the couch, crossing my legs at the ankles, and drained the last of my soda. I noticed a pile of papers on the corner of the table.

"What's all that?"

Jasper glanced over to where I was looking. "Seating chart."

"Ah."

"Which reminds me, are you bringing a date?"

The girls picked that moment to rejoin us. They were laughing, their heads pulled together as Alice held a stack of movies and Bella carried more beer. She caught my gaze mid-laugh and her mouth turned up into a curious smile.

"And what are you boys talking about?" Bella asked, handing me a bottle.

I opened my mouth to answer but Jasper beat me to it. "Oh, I was just asking Edward if he was bringing a date to the wedding."

I watched Bella's reaction, but she was trying very hard not to look at me as she handed Jasper a beer. Alice looked up from her spot in front of the TV.

"Ooh, are you? You are allowed a plus one. Just let us know soon so we can work her into the chart."

Never taking my eyes off Bella, I replied, "Well, it shouldn't be that much of an inconvenience for you. I'm bringing Bella." I grabbed her hand and pulled her next to me, a playful smile on my face. Her mouth hung open in shock as I gave her a look, daring her to correct me.

Alice, who had originally looked shocked, began babbling about how perfect that would be since we were both in the wedding, while Jasper kinda looked dumbfounded. And the whole time, Bella never denied it. I winked over at her and she yanked her hand out of mine, leaning against the back of the couch with her arms crossed over her chest. I wasn't sure which made me happier, shocking Bella into silence or her silent acknowledgment that we were going together.

Sensing that Alice could probably talk about the wedding all night, Jasper quickly changed the subject to movies. The next few minutes were spent trying to pick one of the movies the girls had brought up. I quickly axed The Notebook while Jasper threw out The Wedding Planner. Sweet Home Alabama went next, and I had to wrestle 10 Things I Hate About You out of Bella's hands. That left us with National Treasure (one vote from Jasper and his history teaching ways), Jurassic Park (Bella giggled as I held this up and I knew the only reason that was here was because I had told her about Emmett and his Velociraptor days), and Ocean's 11 (because Brad Pitt and George Clooney were just dreamy). After much arguing, we finally decided on Ocean's 11. Alice popped popcorn while Jasper set the movie up and turned off the lights before he and my sister curled up in the over-sized Lazyboy.

Sometime between the opening credits and Rusty kicking Danny out of the heist, both Bella and I wound up laying on the couch, her right in front of me. Don't even ask me how this happened. My head was propped up on my elbow as Bella laid before me on a couch pillow. She shivered slightly and I pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it around us. She sighed and snuggled closer into me. Fuck it. I had to do it. I brushed her hair over her shoulder and leaned down, my lips right at her ear.

"Go out with me Saturday," I whispered, trying not to alert Alice or Jasper.

"What?" she whispered back.

"This weekend. Go out with me."

"Like a date?"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, like a date."

She was a quiet for a moment. The colors of the movie danced over her face and I saw her drag her lower lip in between her teeth in concentration. The seconds turned into minutes and she still hadn't answered.

Fucking idiot. Why the hell did you do that?

I was about to sit up and put some distance between us when I heard her whisper.

"Okay."

I smiled into her hair and slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to mine. As I watched Matt Damon get schooled in the ways of conning, my mind reeled with the fact that I was going on a date. Actually, I couldn't remember ever having been on a date. Truth be told, I was fucked. I was fucked and I was way out of my comfort zone.

x-x-x

AN: Aww…you guys really didn't think I'd have them do it when they both had other places to be, did you? Ok, yes, I am evil…or so I've been told.

Random bit of info: Twilight Parrot Tulips are actual flowers you can get at the Thriftway in Forks. I thought it was funny so I decided to include them here. That town sure loves its Twilight. :)

As a side note, my collaborator on the other fic I'm writing (and yes, we are still working on it) has recently posted a new fic. It's kind of a horror type/suspenseful fic and I hope you go check it out and show her some love! It's called A City Screaming and the link is: http://www [dot] fanfiction [dot] net/s/5655456/1/A_City_Screaming

I recently surpassed 2K reviews and I am just floored! Thank you all so much, to everyone who reads and who's pimped this story out…I just fucking love you all!