BPOV

I feel bad almost immediately after the words escape my mouth, but Edward starts laughing. "We made it, what? Twenty-five minutes? That might be a new record for us."

I laugh along with him, but I can't help but apologize. "I'm sorry. Really. I want to make an honest to God effort, but—"

"But I'm a dick, and you hate me?" He sobers up quickly, looking at me, and I hang my head.

"I'm a bitch, right? Isn't that what you tell Jasper every time we have to be around each other?"

The timer goes off, and he turns to grab the sheet pan out of the oven, slamming it onto the stovetop. "We have to figure this out. Either peaceful coexistence … or—"

"Or nothing. We just have to be able to tolerate each other. It's for our friends. Who have literally never asked us for anything else; the least we can do is try to extend the olive branch to each other." I plop down onto one of the dining chairs and look over at him.

"Okay, let's get through dinner. This is just day one. We have seven more days together." I watch as he plates everything and hands me one after he walks over to the table.

We eat quietly for a while, only sharing a few comments back and forth, until I can't take it anymore. "Why don't you like me? Do you really think I'm a know-it-all?"

Edward sets his fork down and deliberately wipes at his mouth with his napkin before answering. "You do have a tendency to make yourself sound like the smartest person in the room … whether that's true or not." I wince, and he smiles. "You know how you just know a lot about, well, everything?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, that's kind of annoying. Someone will mention some documentary they watched or share an article they read, and you pounce. You're ready with like a dozen points about how they took the wrong things away from whatever it was or how the original information is outdated or whatever your issues are with it." Edward reaches for his wine glass. "It makes other people feel inferior. Maybe that isn't your intention; maybe you want to educate people or you get excited because someone brought up something you like, but you just sound like a stuck up know-it-all."

I push my food around for a few moments, letting everything he just said sink in. It's not like I didn't know this; it's just hard to hear, especially from someone who doesn't like you and doesn't actually care if you change for the better or not.

"My dad was great in a lot of ways, but we didn't have a lot in common. So, I used to read a lot to try and have things to talk about with him. You're not the first person to tell me this." I shrug and reach for my own glass. "I'm not trying to be smarter than anyone … I'm just trying to connect."

"You could chill out a little." Edward tips his glass to me before taking another drink.

"Roger that." I fork up a bite of rice just as Edward asks me why I hate him.

"Have you forgotten about our date? Junior year?" I scoff as his eyes glaze over as he tries to recall the past.

"We never went on a date, Bella."

"We were supposed to, but you showed up hammered with another girl. Then you told me you were meeting some other girl after me, so I left." I can feel my cheeks burning. Alice had been so apologetic that night. She swore Edward and I would hit it off and we'd be two happy couples until the end of time.

Edward sets his glass down and stares at me. "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did. I think Makenna was the girl you walked in with, and you were meeting up with Maggie after. You said, and I quote, "Let's make this threesome a foursome". That's when I dipped."

"Is that why I got banned from McGregor's?" He's got a wry smile, and I shake my head.

"Yes? I may have told Benjamin what happened, and he decided to eighty-six you." I cringe as Edward shakes his head.

"I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry, Bella. I'm fairly certain Makenna roofied me. You know she got expelled for selling drugs that year." He dives back into his food as I choke on mine.

"No, she didn't! She got pregnant!"

Edward's eyes go wide, and his Adam's apple bobs. "I need to make a phone call." He stands quickly, and I laugh, calling after him.

"Edward! It's not yours! Jacob Black knocked her up!" He stops and turns to look at me.

"Are you sure?" I laugh again, nodding.

"That ugly ass baby looks just like that dog. Sit down." I point my fork at his seat, and he sinks down but doesn't touch his plate. "Were you two … you know … serious?"

He gives me an incredulous look. "Me and Makenna? Absolutely not. We just used to have fun."

I only nod, picking at the food on my plate, when Edward leans forward. "Didn't you have any fun in college, Swan?"

"Not that much, apparently." I can feel my cheeks burning again, and I break my gaze to look out the window. "Oh, look. It's snowing."

He looks out the large picture window opposite from us and sighs. "Great. What else could go wrong?"