A/N: Hi guys. This is the newest chapter. Expect more frequent story updates in the future! Enjoy :)


CHAPTER 15:

BPOV:

A light feeling lingered in the air as I opened my eyes. My mind traveled back to last night, where on this one occasion I made a good decision. The sense of an oncoming argument pleaded with me to leave before I said something I shouldn't have. And that's exactly what I did.

I didn't say anything; I just left and woke up in Jake's arms.

"Good morning beautiful," he kissed my neck gently.

"Good morning," I smiled and then curled up into him. His warm muscular arms held me close to his body.

"Do you know what today is?"

Oh God, I haven't asked what his birthday is yet. "Umm," my heart sped up. I really wanted this relationship to work.

He saw the crease in my forehead and his thumb smoothed it, "You're funny when you're worried." His body moved up and down from the laughter.

"Well, I realized I don't know your birthday."

"It's January 15th." Relief rushed through my body. Well, it's November, so why's today important?

He stared at the ceiling. The small patterns seemed to intrigue him, that, or he wanted me to think longer. I couldn't come up with an answer. Nothing I would know about.

"You're killing me here. What's today?"

"It's our anniversary." Our what? It has definitely not been a year. Seeing my distress, he continued, "It's our three month anniversary. We've been together for a fourth of a year."

"I didn't even know that was a thing."

The corners of his lips rose to form a smile, "Well, someone is clearly out of the loop."

"I guess I am. I haven't really dated in a while."

"Well, thank goodness you have me." His hand brushed through my thick hair causing a shiver to go down my spine. Turning around, my legs wrapped around his waist.

"It is a good thing, indeed." Reaching to get closer, he anticipated my action and moved his body. The feeling of his skin on mine was exhilarating. "So what's your big plan for the day?" I teased.

"Well," his big soft brown eyes stared deeply into mine, "I thought we could have a nice dinner. I have this place that I really like."

"Sounds interesting," a smirk appeared on my face. Breathing in deeply, the realization that I was in love struck. My eyes broke the stare momentarily. My mouth yearned to say the words I love you, but it was too soon and I hadn't meant those words in years.

"I think you'll like it," his voice broke my train of thought.

"And why is that?"

"Let me see…" he turned to face the ceiling again. The sheets moved with him causing my legs to twist slightly. "You can see the whole city. It's amazing." He shook his head as the words left his mouth as if he were picturing it perfectly. "It turns and lets you see everything. And at night, the city lights make the experience just perfect."

The way he talked about it confused me, like this night meant something more to him than to me. "It sounds great. What time?"

"I think the reservation is at 7."

"Wait. Jake, is this an expensive place?"

"Yes, but just hear me out," the words came out so quickly that I almost didn't catch the end. "I want to do this for you. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but Bella you have to see this."

As long as I'm with you. I don't care if we eat next to a dumpster. "Okay, I'll come and I'll try to look decent." Swinging my legs off the bed, I started to get up. Jake sat up in bed. I leaned in to kiss him and he grabbed my waist. The sheets were beneath me once again.

"You always look more than decent," he whispered. Like soft honey, his lips moved with mine, and I forgot about the rest of the world.

My lungs urged me to stop to get air, but my heart told me otherwise. Eventually, we both quit. Plopping back down on the bed, the frame shuddered. I worked on catching my breath while Jacob continued to kiss my neck.

"I really have to go, Jake." I was already 5 minutes late. Edward was going to kill me. And with the thought of Edward the magical moment was over. Did he always have to be mad at me? I sighed.

"Bella, come back," his voice was more enticing than usual.

"You know he's going to be mad. I have to go." He got up as I finished. Standing behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"He doesn't matter, let him be angry. He'll forget about it."

"And this is why I don't think he likes you," I said with a smile, "You're a bad influence, trying to get me to never leave."

"Am I not tempting?"

I turned around to face him, "You're too tempting. It's the issue."

"Stay, please."

Ducking under his arms I grabbed a work shirt and threw it on, "I'll see you tonight," I winked.

Looking back from the doorway, he gazed at me with a beaming smile. His half buttoned white white hung loosely on his body. Wanting to go back to him, I closed the door. The knob clicked.

Getting in my car, I couldn't get Jake out of my head. I could still feel the soft silky texture of his hair in my hands, and his lips on my neck. Ugh, now it's time to see Edward. The harsh truth hit me like a truck. I missed my best friend. A month ago, I would have never thought of him as my best friend, but he was. The home cooked dinners and the code words with funny memories attached floated into my mind. Something salty rolled into my mouth. Confused, I realized that tears were streaming down my face. Having Edward mad at me felt like part of myself was mad at me. The image of his face, with his eyebrows pinched together and his hand pressing on his temple, filled my mind. I wanted to stop whatever was making him mad, but I felt like it was Jake. And I was not going to lose the only good relationship I've had in my life.

Turning up the music in the car, I looked for something to occupy my mind. Claire de Lune. It was stunning, one of my favorites, but it couldn't keep out the intrusive thoughts. My hand reached for the volume knob and set it to the max. The car shook with the gentle notes. Flipping through the radio channels, I found a rap song. This should work.

The metal frame of the car rattled with the beat. The sound wave coursed through my ribcage and made me laugh. Focusing, I registered that I had been driving the car mindlessly. The large building with thousands of windows laid in front of me. After I parked, I opened the mirror on the visor. My face was slightly puffy from the ride, and my lips were more swollen than usual, but other than that there was no trace of the tears.

I grabbed my black bag and my badge and walked into the office with newfound confidence. The security guard checked my identification as I entered the building. My fingers pressed on the elevator buttons. Only a few more moments of peace before the chaos began.

Stepping out of the elevator, I glanced into our office. The door swung wide open. On the desk sat hundreds of papers and pictures. He was pacing around the room, pondering something.

"Hey," I peeked my head in.

"Bella, finally you're here. I need help on this one." I expected much worse. He was actually being nice.

"Yeah, of course." I put my bag on the leather chair, glancing at the pictures. "What is this case about?"

"Someone called in a tip about a robbery."

"When?"

"They called it in this morning, but the robbery is supposed to happen sometime tonight." Damn it, there goes dinner.

"You look disappointed," he said. I hated how he was observant, my life would be a lot easier if he didn't notice anything.

I sighed, "Jake and I were supposed to have a date tonight. Apparently, it's our three month anniversary. I didn't even know that's a thing. But it's okay, the robbery is more important."

"No, go on the date." Um. That's not normal. He should be telling me that my job was my top priority, but he's…supportive?

"I'm very confused." My words came out in a staccato manner.

"The job doesn't really need two of us. As long as you can help me plan and get ready, I'll be fine."

"You're not…mad?"

"Mad?"

"You seem to be more mad at me recently."

"Ohh…I see," he paused, trying to choose the correct words, "I never meant to be mad at you, I'm so sorry Bella."

"It's all good," I tried to play it as nonchalantly as I could, but of course my eyes watered slightly. Suddenly, I felt uneasy by the open door. Pushing the heavy wood, I closed my eyes.

"Bella, I am so, so sorry." When he spoke, I turned around. He was closer to me, but far enough that I had space to calm down. The space between us was too big. Walking closer to him, I extended my arms.

He accepted me and embraced the hug. I was so glad to be done with all of this resentment between us.

"Bella, I never meant to be mad." I couldn't understand why he was apologizing a third time. But his current gentle nature had me convinced that something had changed him within the past few days. "I just…sometimes I—I don't agree with all the decisions you make. And I'm just having a hard time, letting you do your own thing. I know you're independent and I love that about you. I just…sometimes it's hard for me to accept it."

My prediction about this being about Jacob was correct. It stung. He didn't even know Jake well. But the apology was enough, "It's okay."

His mouth opened but no words escaped. I was grateful that he would say no more about this matter, but I was curious as to what he wouldn't say to me. Weren't we passed all the evasiveness now? Backing away from him I tried to divert my attention back to the case.

"Okay, so tell me more about this robbery." Picking up one of the papers, I glanced over the call to the headquarters.

"It's the normal. One of the team members thinks the operation won't go exactly to plan or they think someone is about to rat the group out, so they do it first. The man called at 9am. He said that the robbery would happen at the Bank of San Francisco. I think this one will be straight forward. I just need you to help me set up the van and the ear piece."

"Are you sure about doing this alone? I can move the date, it's really no trouble at all."

"No, I'm good. I promise it will be simple. I'll have back up. I'm pretty sure I'm the temporary replacement for the bank manager 're going to surround them. I'm just a safety precaution." And that's why I didn't like this plan, he was the first line of defense, and he was alone.

"Okay, then I guess I'll go tonight."

"Do you want to go to the apartment for now?"

I missed the warm flavor of home. And my stomach growled. There was food at home.


A few hours had passed and Edward stood in the kitchen. His khaki pants contrasted with his bright blue button down shirt. I, on the other hand, was in a skin-tight dress in preparation for my date in an hour. When I stepped out of my room, he turned around getting a glass of water.

Once he put the glass down he turned around, I couldn't put a word to his facial expression. Stunned? Shocked? Something like that. But, within a second, he composed himself back to normal. I couldn't understand why I looked so different. Yes, I did put on something more fancy than usual and a little bit of makeup, but I thought I looked the same.

The silky material draped from my hips and moved against my legs. Looking in the mirror near the door, something was missing. The sparkle from my earrings made the rest of me feel bland. A necklace.

Walking back into my room, I went to get my favorite piece of jewelry. I pulled it out of a small white box. The chain consisted of white stones, cubic zirconia I thought, that reflected the light into sparkles. Hanging from the chain, a small blue oval was surrounded by the same white stones. Of course, it wasn't expensive, but it was my mother's and it meant a lot to me. That and it matched my dress.

"Do you mind helping me?" I asked softly.

"Yeah of course," his face slightly flushed.

Clasping the necklace around my neck, his hands lingered for a second. I found that very strange, but his mood swings kept catching me off guard. Staring into the mirror, he stood behind me wearing very formal attire to get into the role of the bank manager. I found it ironic that it looked like Edward and I were going on a date. I laughed.

As the time ticked towards 6:45, I waited for Jake to come pick me up.

"Edward, are you sure you want to do this alone?"

"Yeah, I have done operations by myself before. Do you not trust me?"

"No, it's not that…it's just that I would feel better if you had someone with you," I placed the ear piece firmly into his ear.

"Emmett will be outside in the van. So will Jasper. I'm sure I'll be just fine." I couldn't think of a good rebuttal. While I did want to go on the date, I wanted to be in the field with Edward too. He saw the conflict on my face, "Please go have fun, for me."

"Okay," I smiled, "I'll go." I felt giddy. Everything was lining up in my life. Edward was finally being pleasant to me, and I had Jake.

Five minutes passed before the intercom rang. Jake's husky voice rang through the apartment as I grabbed my purse. Turning around, I grabbed Edward's hand:

"Good luck."

"You know I won't need luck," his cocky smile appeared.

"I know," I opened the door, "I'll see you in a few hours."

Butterflies hit up against my stomach wall as I descended the steps. Stepping outside, a breeze ruffled my hair.

"You look gorgeous, absolutely stunning." He took my hand and twirled me around. His hands grabbed my was it and pulled me closer.

Kissing him on the cheek, I said, "You don't look too bad yourself either."

He looked far beyond anything I could have imagined. The black suit was custom tailored for his body, showing his muscular physique. Carefully combed with gel, his black hair was a perfect glossy texture. He looked like he came out of a Ralph Lauren magazine.

"Here," he opened the passengers door.

The car was unusually nice. Looking at the logo, it was expensive too. The BMW blue and white logo stared back at me from the steering wheel. Suddenly, I felt slightly uncomfortable being in the vehicle. He turned on the engine. The noise was so loud that I was confused on how I didn't hear him arrive.

"This car is…nice."

"Do you like it? It's a M6."

My expression changed. Hopefully it conveyed the message: I don't really have a clue what that means.

Laughing he gave me a few more details, "It's a luxury sports car."

"I can see that," I shook my head, "How can you afford this?"

"My job pays well."

"I can't believe I haven't ever asked, what do you do?"

"I work in the business sector. It allows me to travel and move around a lot."

"That's interesting," I had no knowledge of business whatsoever. Quickly, I changed the conversation, "So how are you liking San Francisco?"

"Well," he started, "I like being with you, so I am liking the city very much." His eyes deviated off the road to observe my expression.

I could feel the words I love you on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't say it now. "I'm glad you're here." I said trying not to sound too sappy.

The restaurant was just minutes away. Driving up the valet, Jake stopped the car and got out. He came over to my side to open the door. Throwing the keys at the employee, he grabbed my hand and walked into the restaurant. My heart thumped faster as I saw the giant hanging crystals that created an abstract piece of art. This place was much fancier than my taste.

"We have a reservation under the name Jacob Black," he said as I stood behind him.

The waitress led us to one of the many tables in the circular restaurant. Glancing around, many couples dined. Each of them wearing designer clothes and drinking wine. Breathing in and out deeply, I convinced myself that tonight was about the two of us and the posh people around us shouldn't bother me.

He pulled out my seat for me. Looking out the window, I finally understood his fascination with the view. The sun was setting and the colorful sky was reflected in the windows of the office buildings below. I watched a taxi pass by; it was the size of an ant.

"So, I'm guessing you like the view," he startled me.

"It's beautiful." Staring back out the window, I watched the sky morph into different colors of pink and purple.

"Don't freak out. But I got you something."

Oh God. Was that the norm? I hadn't brought anything to give him. There was a pathetic unopened pack of gum in my purse. I plastered on a smile, but inside I was hyperventilating.

"Please, I don't need anything. Just being here is enough." Just being here is already too much.

"I wanted too and I think you'll like it." He pulled a small box out of his pocket. It was square shaped. The label said Shane Co. Isn't that where people buy wedding rings?

"No, Jake. This is too much." And then he opened the box. The bracelet was a glistening white gold with small sapphires.

"See, it already goes perfect with your outfit."

"Jake, I'm not an idiot, I know that this is expensive and I can't accept it. I didn't even know to get you something."

"Don't worry about it, I wanted this night to be special. And I promise you, this will not hurt my bank account. I wanted to do something nice," he took my hand and brought it closer to him. Putting on the bracelet, the round diamonds sparkled.

"It's beautiful," I really didn't want it, not because I didn't like it, but because I always felt awkward getting gifts. But it would hurt him if I denied the bracelet again, so I accepted it.


The night continued and I learned a lot more about Jacob. It was nice to find out information in the normal way, like a conversation, instead of tracking them down for criminal activity.

I looked at my phone, the white numbers read 9:15. Wanting to check up on Edward, I tried to pull out of the conversation for a moment. But Jake wouldn't budge, each topic, one after the other, was thoroughly interesting.

"Jacob, if you'll excuse me I have to go to the restroom." I just had to call him, it should be over by now, it was around 9:20. These things usually didn't take long.

"Okay," he said. He sat finishing his meal.

Walking to the bathroom, my pace picked up. I closed the white stall and let the phone dial. It rang 6 times and his voice spoke, "It's Edward. I'll get back to you as soon as I can." And then the line went dead. No, I wasn't on his voicemail, I wasn't on do not disturb either. My ringer is the loudest one. If he could pick up, he would.

My breathing became heavier and heavier as I pressed on his contact again. I stared at the picture of his smiling face. The line never picked up, I closed it before his voicemail came up. This had never happened before. I never should have left him alone.

Practically jogging back to the table, I sat down quickly.

"Jake, I'm so sorry, but I need to go."

"Go where? We haven't even ordered desert. Also I have a surprise after this." It didn't matter, I had made up my mind I was leaving.

"I need to go make sure Edward's okay. I was supposed to be part of the operation tonight, but he said he could do it alone. He's not answering his phone."

"Bella, calm down," he held my hand with both of his. "I'm sure he's just in the middle of something. Just relax, doesn't he have back up?"

"Yeah, but something feels off. I should go."

"Are you sure Bells?"

"I'll come back if everything's fine. I promise. But I have to go check, it's a gut feeling."

I got out of my seat, not wanting to give him more time to create reasons for me to stay. Looking down at my shoes, I was disappointed by my choice of footwear. The one time I wasn't practical.

Sprinting, as well as anyone could in 5 inch heels, I passed two blocks. The sun had set and the only light on the street came from the small shops. My lungs ached. I tried to convince myself everything was fine, but that was a harder task than it seemed. My hand held my phone that I kept repeatedly dialing. I waited for his soft voice to pick up, but it never did.


A/N: I know, I know, I left you on a cliffhanger. How nice of me. I promise the next update will be soon. Also I have some good news! My updating schedule will start being a lot more consistent now! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review :)