Update 2 of 2 :)

Chapter 15: Officially Met

December 14, Tuesday

Forks, Washington

Edward

Like I had promised Emmett over the phone a few days ago, I managed to square away a few days off work during the week. Besides what I had thought to be a quick and simple run into a toy store, I had spent the weekend working so I would be able to make the four-hour drive to Forks tonight without any pressing work matters weighing on my mind.

And fuck do I need it. Even though I do this to myself every December, it still wears on me and eventually takes its toll.

After the weekend I've had, I'm looking forward to a few days with my friends. Emmett and Jasper are the two best friends a guy like me could ask for. When Emmett and I met in college, I didn't expect our friendship to extend to that of his family, but it only took one meeting before they had welcomed me into their fold like one of their own. In one afternoon, they had filled the void left behind by my own family, and while I still carry the emotional scars of my abandoned childhood, I always make exceptions when it comes to the Cullens.

I would only put up with shit like I did this past weekend at the toy store for them. When the girl in the store had used her increasingly attractive allure to dazzle the cashier into getting the toy for herself — which was clearly put on hold for me — it only confirmed again that the holiday season really isn't all as merry as it claims to be and the only reason I put up with the shit I do is because of Emmett and his family.

Thinking of the Cullens makes me take a quick glance at my rearview mirror, eyeing the bag of wrapped gifts I had thrown into my shopping cart in haste after the Gretchen Weiners of Christmas had robbed me of the gift I was donating to Jasper's toy drive. After giving Ben the cashier an earful, I had stalked back into the aisles, angrily throwing items into my cart without a single fuck as to what I was actually grabbing. I had specifically called ahead of time for that fucking Baby Yoda because I had been in between lunch and dinner meetings, and I didn't have the time to peruse the shelves before one meeting blended into the next. The fact that I had ended up having to do exactly that — spend what little time I had to gather my thoughts on shifting and maneuvering between crowds of people — still irritates me as I drive my van towards Forks.

"Don't dwell on it," Emmett had said earlier in the day when I had told him I was heading down. "It's not worth it."

Of course, I had noticed the weight his words held, and I wonder now if he was talking about the both of us. I follow the directions to Alec's, the local dive bar in Forks that has seen many troubled holiday travelers in its years. Determined to forget about hot girls stealing my Christmas presents and marriages being torn apart, I turn my gaze back to the road and turn up the volume.

Jasper promises Alec's will do exactly that. Help you leave it all behind.

A little after nine, when I pull into the parking lot of the bar, I'm sure he's right. Built on the corner of a typical lumber town in the mountains, stands Alec's, and one whiff through my nose as I walk in the door convinces me I'm in for a night I'll always remember. Tinsel and garland lit with flashing holiday lights decorate every banister and bar top, the sounds of music and billiards echoing against the walls tell me I've made it to the destination I've been searching for.

"Edward! Over here!"

My head turns at the sound of my name, the booming tenor of Emmett's voice unmistakable, even in the crowded and dimly lit bar. I nod as I see them, making my way over through a throng of regulars dotting the tables and perimeters. The four of us spend the next several minutes hugging in greeting, and I discard my coat on the back of one of the five chairs they've grabbed for us for tonight.

Five?

"You made it!" Alice says excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"I thought that was you," Jasper mentions casually, pointing towards the parking lot in the general direction of my van. "The boat you parked threw me off a bit."

"Boat?" Alice looks at me strangely, turning at the guffaw Emmett lets out at my expense.

"It's a van, and it's the only thing they had," I state, throwing them all into another round of laughter as Emmett launches into the tale of my rental car disaster.

"Should have made a reservation," a familiar voice says from behind me, sliding into the empty and fifth seat here at our high-top table.

It's her.

The Baby Yoda thief from the toy store.

She looks like she's been here before, comfortable and happy with her hair down and curled and a subtle smirk on her face.

Clearing my throat, I reach for my beer, never breaking eye contact with her. "Funny thing about reservations," I say and continue as she gives me her undivided attention. "Even if you call ahead, they can be stolen right out from under your nose with a little persuasion."

The persuasion I'm thinking of involves showing a little skin to a young cashier, but the playful fire in her eyes tells me she thinks she hooked not one but two, poor unsuspecting male fools the other day at the store.

"You'd know about that?" She asks with an accusing laugh.

She must think I'm a fucking idiot to believe that was the first time she had played the flirting female card and gotten away with it.

"Wouldn't you know about that?"

She doesn't answer me, and instead, we find ourselves the entertainment around a table full of opened mouths and slack jaws.

"Do you two know each other?" Emmett asks, pointing a finger back and forth between us.

"Not officially," the girl answers before turning her eyes back on me. "But I do know his weakness when it comes to the opposite sex."

What guy wouldn't fall under the spell of a pair of teasing tits?

"You're the expert," I reply. "You must get a lot of practice around here."

"I did bring in the most toys this year for Jasper's toy drive," she says, pretending to compare the amounts in her mind. "So maybe you're right."

And there it is. The reason for it all. We had been fighting for the same cause, and even if I didn't know it back then, it now tells me a lot about her.

But it doesn't tell me her name.

"I'm officially Edward," I offer, sticking my hand out. She smiles back, her brown eyes dancing against the shadows in the bar, and her hand sliding into mine makes me believe there might be a little bit of magic to Christmas after all.

"I'm officially Bella."

And they've officially met!

Tomorrow, share your cures for the worst hangover you've ever had - this crew here at the bar in Forks may need it!