~!~

"What are you wearing?" Jake asked.

"Huh?" I responded as I held the phone to my ear and closed the old metal filing cabinet with a loud 'clank.'

"Tonight," he said. "What are you wearing when you meet Edward?"

I paused in front of my desk.

"How do you know about that?"

When he kept silent, I prodded him.

"Jake, how do you know I'm meeting Edward tonight?"

He was quiet for another moment and then folded like a cheap suit.

"Well, we grilled him when he came back from walking you to the car. Emmett plied him with booze, and he told us."

"I don't know yet," I huffed.

I had been stressing about what I was going to wear all day.

"You get off work at four, right?"

"Yeah," I answered distractedly, thinking I might have enough time to run to the mall before meeting Edward.

"I'll be at your place at four thirty."

"Fine," I replied before closing the last filing cabinet with my hip and returning to my desk.

"See you then, sister," he said, and I didn't know whether to be appreciative or scared.

~!~

I smoothed the blue sweater I was wearing for the umpteenth time as I sat in the booth at the restaurant. I arrived early.

When Jake showed up at my apartment after work, he looked in my closet before narrowing his eyes in disapproval.

"I thought you went shopping with Rose," he said before turning to me. "You told me you were going fall clothes shopping with her."

Glancing around the room, I didn't meet his eyes.

"You never went," he huffed.

"Well, I've been busy," I replied defensively. "Work's been hectic, and I've been worried about Alice and ..."

Pushing hangers aside, he rummaged through my clothes forcefully.

"This is going to be harder than I thought. It looks like Dante's Inferno in here!"

"What does that even mean?" I snapped.

"What it means is that this closet looks like the gateway to hell." I rolled my eyes at his theatrics and laid back on the bed while he brought out some contenders for the evening.

"This blue one isn't bad," he said as he threw the sweater at me. "It compliments your skin tone. And we know Edward likes vibrant colors." He buried his head in the closet. "Well, if his paintings are any indication anyway."

I sat up quickly.

"What do you mean, his paintings? What paintings?"

But I already knew. The paintings at the house; Edward was the artist.

"The ones in the hallway, by the bathroom," I stated in awe. "Edward painted them, didn't he?"

Jake looked up with a frown, holding a brown boot in one hand and a black one in the other."

"Where are the mates to these?" he asked before throwing them at my feet and diving back into the closet.

"Jake," I said pointedly. "The painting at the Cullen's house; the one of the farm. Did Edward paint it?"

He turned to me, holding two belts in his hand, and critiquing them.

"Jake,"

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah," he replied distractedly. He discarded the belts and threw a pair of jeans and a long skirt on the bed.

"Yeah, um, so, apparently, he was some kind of prodigy or something. He's been painting since he was a kid. Emmett took me on a tour through the house. I think Edward even had a showing at a gallery in New York at one point."

I sat on the bed, stunned.

"Well, that's just … wow," I said quietly.

"Yeah," he replied. "He's a real renaissance man. Yada, yada, yada." He clapped his hands in front of me. "Come on, girl, focus. Work with me here."

"It's one date, Jake."

He looked at me pointedly. "It's your first date in three years, Bella. This is a big deal." Sitting beside me on the bed, his face softened. "I'm not going to ask what happened between you and Edward last night. Whatever it was, I know it freaked you out. But I also know you well enough to know you'll tell me when you're ready. But until then, I'm going to do everything in my power to get you out into that big, beautiful world that's been waiting for you, honey, and I'm going to do it one fabulous accessory at a time."

Feeling my eyes well up with tears, I gave him a soft smile. I didn't want to admit to Jake, let alone myself, that I knew just how big a deal this was.

Grabbing the blue sweater between us, he held it up to me.

"Now, come on and help me find something decent for you to wear on the lower half of your body. While I'm sure Edward wouldn't be opposed to you showing up without pants, the restaurant might have a problem with it."

Lifting from the bed, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, Jake," I whispered. "Thanks for being such a great friend."

~!~

After trying on ten different bottoms, we decided to forego the skirt he originally suggested and instead paired it with a pair of dark jeans that made my ass look phenomenal.

But as the minutes ticked by, I smoothed down my sweater again and wondered if this was all a big mistake. What if Edward and I had been caught up in the momentlast night, but now, it just turned out to be awkward?

What if he doesn't show?

My adrenaline spiked at the thought. I hadn't even considered that. What if Edward woke up this morning wondering why he had asked me out? We hadn't even exchanged numbers if he wanted to bail on me.

I checked the time.

6:32

What if, instead of standing me up, the same thing that happened last night happened again? My heart rate accelerated as I thought about the utter terror that gripped me last night when I saw that light and felt that jolt. I didn't think I could handle the intensity of something like that again.

Reaching for a breadstick from the basket, I gnawed on it compulsively as different scenarios ran through my head. I always ate when I was anxious and quickly consumed three of them before realizing I was completely covered in crumbs.

"Great," I muttered.

Brushing them off, I pulled the sweater away from my body and stuck my head in to check for any that might have fallen into my bra -and that was when I heard someone clear their throat.

"You're standing right next to me, aren't you?" I asked, my eyes closed in mortification.

"I am," he replied, and I could hear him attempting to hold back his laughter.

Opening my eyes, I raised my head as Edward slid into the seat across from me.

"Find anything good in there?"

"I'm saving them for later."

He laughed, and I let out an internal sigh of relief when I saw not so much as a twinkle around him.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he apologized before rushing forward with an explanation. "The tractor was acting up, and I had to get a part before they closed. I thought I'd left enough time, but -"

I cut him off. "You're not late; it's only…." I checked my phone. "6:34. You wouldn't officially be considered late until at least 6:45."

"Not according to my mother," he chuckled. She taught me better than this."

I tried to brush off his concerns, but hadn't I just been thinking he might not even show?

"Hey, at least you didn't stand me up," I joked.

He looked taken aback. "Did you think I would stand you up?" he asked, and I saw the look of disbelief on his face.

"No, no," I assured him. "I just …"

Reaching for another breadstick, I silently cursed myself, realizing I had already eaten all of them.

"Just what?" he asked.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable as he waited for me to answer.

"I guess I thought maybe last night was just some kind of weird fluke," I answered quietly. "Or maybe we were just caught up in the moonlight … or …."

"Or the firelight?" he asked with a soft smile.

I nodded shyly. "Or the firelight."

"It wasn't a fluke for me, Bella. I feel …" his eyes roamed over my face as he searched for what he wanted to say.

"I feel … a connection to you."

Uncertainty crossed his features.

"Did that sound like a line? Shit that sounded like a line, didn't it? I'm sorry, that's not how I meant it to come across, like a line from some cheesy movie. God, that was dumb." His brows came together as he thought about how he wanted to express himself.

"You, um, you made an impression on me the first moment I saw you in the pumpkin patch, and I … well, I'd like to get to know you better. I …"

Watching him fumble over his words, I felt the need to intervene and let him off the hook.

"You had me at, hello, Edward. Now, let's order. I'm starving."

He hesitated for a moment before cocking an eyebrow.

"You want a coke?"

I let out a loud laugh before throwing my napkin at him.