previously...

"Can you just humor us?" Rosalie asked softly. "Just one month. Stay in Fort Worth for one month. It doesn't even have to be here with me and Emmett. Jasper has a vacant apartment above the bar. I'm sure he'd let you bartend. Just stay put for a while. Come home."

I hated the idea. It made my stomach twist in knots, but it was hard not to oblige when I knew how much Emmett and Rosalie had done for me, regardless of how they really felt about my choices.

"Fine. One month."

What did she expect? That one month here would have me trading my bellbottoms for pencil skirts?

I snorted to myself. Please. As if.

CHAPTER 3

Rosalie was on the phone with her brother as soon as she heard me concede. He'd let me stay in the apartment and work behind the bar as long as I needed to with the understanding that if I stayed longer than a month, I'd have to start paying rent. It was a good enough agreement for me. I didn't plan on being there any longer than the required thirty days.

That afternoon, she brought me back to the bar to see the apartment and to make sure I didn't want to just crash with her and Emmett or my dad for a while.

I definitely did not want to do either one of those options.

The apartment was a little studio with no furniture other than the little kitchen and a small breakfast table.

When we walked in, Rosalie and I met each other's eyes, reality sinking in. It was empty, and I had nothing but a duffel bag full of clothes, two hundred dollars cash, and fifty bucks on my debit card for emergencies. Thankfully, she and Emmett had an extra bed and bedframe in storage they'd let me use. I'd just need sheets and some other smaller house necessities.

As we were walking down the stairs to go back to the car, we ran into Alice walking out of the bar. She realized we were going shopping and quickly agreed to come with us.

"Hey, what are y'all doing tonight?" Alice asked as we walked through what felt like the twentieth store that day. We had long since gotten what I needed, but I should've known that with Alice and Rosalie, this wasn't going to be a quick trip. "Jasper and I are having dinner with Edward and Tanya at our house, and it sure would be nice to have a buffer."

"Sure, we can come. I don't think Emmett has anything planned." Rosalie said.

I remained silent, looking at a short black dress that caught my eye. I might have been a fashion school drop-out, but I'd always have a weakness for the timelessness and mysteriousness of a little black dress. I didn't even look at the price on the dress in my hands. There was no use in teasing myself. I just had to settle on running my fingers along the black satin fabric for a few longing moments.

"Bella? What about you?" Alice asked, breaking me from my reverie.

"And be an awkward seventh wheel? I'm good." I laughed.

Alice's eyes narrowed. "So you're going to spend your night alone in that crappy apartment with no wifi and a loud bar downstairs?"

I pursed my lips. She had a point. "Fine. I suppose I can grace you all with my pretty face and wonderful company." I teased, looking over at Rosalie.

She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Perfect." Alice said gleefully.

After another two hours, Rosalie and Alice finally called it a day, and we went our separate ways after telling each other that we'd see each other at dinner. Rosalie took me to my dad's house to pick up my car. He wasn't home, so it was a quick trip, and I followed her back to her and Emmett's place afterwards. I'd told her I'd spend one more night with them if it meant I got a free DD for dinner tonight. She happily agreed.

I got dressed for dinner in some faded denim flares, a maroon lace body suit, a chunky black cardigan, and a pair of cowboy boots. I was braiding my hair in a long messy braid when Rosalie peaked in the bathroom and let out a whistle.

I rolled my eyes and just started my makeup.

When we got to Alice and Jasper's house, I noticed her brother getting out of a silver Volvo dressed in navy slacks and a white button down. He hardly looked like the same guy from the previous night, and I was little caught off guard by it. He walked up the driveway and knocked on the door a few times before letting himself in. He was alone.

Rosalie pulled in behind his car, and the three of us made our way inside.

The inside of the house was beautiful with tall, vaulted ceilings and an open concept. It was a good mix of rustic and modern with perfectly curated colors and a mismatch of textures. It was high end, but it still felt cozy.

Jasper and Edward were talking at the kitchen island while Alice happily chatted with him from behind the stove. She smiled brightly when she saw us.

"Oh perfect! Everyone's here." She beamed.

Where's the girlfriend? I got a little too excited about the fact that she might not be making it to dinner after all.

"The food is just about ready. Y'all get cozy." She said. "There's drinks in the fridge."

Rosalie opened the fridge, getting a beer for herself, me, and Emmett.

The six of us fell into an easy conversation, but I had to keep myself from looking over at Edward every five minutes. I had made eye contact with him a few times, and each time, he'd smirk a little and then go back to the conversation he was having. After the third time, it was too much, and I snuck off to the bathroom to pull myself together.

"He has a girlfriend, Isabella. Get it together." I mumbled to myself in the mirror.

I washed my hands and walked out of the bathroom, immediately greeted by the most obnoxious laugh I had ever heard.

She's here. The voice in my head sang evilly.

I groaned internally and made my way back to the kitchen. Sure enough, Tanya had shown up and was hanging tightly on Edward's arm.

"Dinner's ready." Alice said, much less enthused than she had been before I left.

Dinner was slightly awkward. It was quiet, unless Tanya was remarking on Alice's cooking or talking about something with no importance, which meant I had nothing better to do than drink beer all night. I made a note to buy Jasper another case. I'm sure I'd drank more than my fair share. Though, it had gotten to the point that I'm sure he could read the annoyance on my and my brother's faces because when he'd go to get a fresh one, he'd bring one out for each of us as well.

He was a good man, that Jasper.

I'd learned a lot about Tanya that night and very little about anyone else. She was completely self-absorbed and vapid, but as bizarre as it was, the more I learned about her, the more my curiosity peaked about Edward. I figured out that he was a lawyer somewhere in Dallas. He went to undergrad in Chicago before coming to Texas for law school. He met Tanya because her dad worked at the firm he interned at in law school, but they didn't start dating until knowing each other for a couple of years. Other than what I couldn't get from his LinkdIn or Facebook bio, I hadn't found out much.

Tanya, on the other hand, was twenty-five, had grown up in the pageant circuit, gone to fashion school in New York, and came back South to work at her mom's interior design company. She would go on and on about the clients she had and the connections she'd made. She hinted quite a few times at the fact that she and Edward were practically engaged (despite that they had only been together for six months) and that she was anxious for him to find a place in Dallas so he didn't have to commute from Fort Worth every day. He looked slightly uncomfortable anytime she brought up the topic.

After dinner, when Jasper, Emmett, and I were really feeling the drinks, the guitars got broken out. I smiled, having trouble not being happy to be back in Texas for a while. We played around a while, carrying on conversation and laughing as Jasper and Emmett tried to show each other up.

My ears picked up on what seemed to be like Tanya telling Edward goodbye.

Arriving late, leaving early? Interesting.

She politely told the rest of us that she had to leave so that she could get her rest for work the following morning, as if no one else in the room also had work the next day. It was still early.

When Tanya left the house, Alice cleared her throat. "Well, Jasper, why don't you get Emmett to help you move that piece of furniture upstairs?" She said with a meaningful look.

Jasper gave her a confused look. "Right now?"

She nodded, glaring at him.

Edward stood up to go with them as Jasper and Emmett left the room, but Alice insisted that Jasper and Emmett could handle it themselves. He begrudgingly sat back down.

A few minutes later, Alice got Rosalie to go with her to put away the leftovers… also insisting that she didn't need my help and to stay put. I kept my eyes narrowed at her as she walked out of the room.

Why did she want me alone with Edward? What game was she playing? I was too tipsy to care about it too much, but I did find it quite strange.

"So, are you still in college?" Edward asked after a moment of heavy silence. Emmett had made a comment about me being "barely legal" at dinner, so I'm sure Edward was wondering why Emmett had his baby sister tagging along on what was obviously a night for adults that had their shit together.

I suddenly felt inferior. This was a well-educated man, clearly. And here I was, a twenty one year old college drop out with severe commitment issues and a borderline drinking problem.

I shook my head. "No, I um… I'm still figuring it out." I replied softly.

"Don't know what you wanna be when you grow up?" He teased.

I smiled a little. "No, not really. And the idea of doing one job every day for the rest of my life honestly makes me want to run into oncoming traffic."

Edward laughed. "So, what do you do for work now?"

I shrugged. "Little of this. Little of that. Whatever I can find wherever I am."

He nodded, looking thoughtful. "You travel a lot then?"

"I do. I don't like to stay in one place for too long."

"Why?"

I was a little surprised with his inquisitiveness, and I struggled to find an appropriate answer. "Just looking for home, I guess. I've always been a little restless."

"Do you think you'll ever find it?"

"Honestly? I don't think so. Some people just aren't meant to settle, ya know?"

He almost looked sad when I looked back up at him. I looked back down and took a sip of my beer. I didn't need his pity. I was fine with my life and my choices.

"So, what about you?" I asked. "You're a lawyer, went to school in the city; you've obviously always had your life pretty together." I observed.

He smirked a little. "Not always, but I've grown up since my wild and rowdy days in high school and college. I got into law school and realized that if I was ever going to be any good at my job, I'd needed to get my act together and focus on my professional life more."

It was strange. He pitied me for not having my life together, and I pitied him for the exact opposite reason. It seemed like he had given up who he was just for a job that would probably run him ragged until he died in it.

He must've seen on my face how I felt about what he said because he chuckled softly. "Call me when you're twenty-eight and let me know how a life on the road is still working out. Even rolling stones lose their momentum after a while."

I sighed. "I really hope you're wrong, Edward Cullen. Or else… I'm fucked."

His eyes sparkled as he gave me a heartbreaking crooked smile. "You'll figure it out, my girl." He said before he stood up and went to the kitchen to grab another beer.

I sighed and took another sip from my bottle. I really hoped I would figure it out… whatever it was. Soon.

A/N I think three chapters in a day is a real record for me. Anyway... this will be it for a few days. I'll be posting 2-3 chapters week. I'm not sure yet if I'll be posting one every few days or if it'll be like today and be all at once. The story is just about to get a little spicier, so let me know what you think and leave a review. I hope you stick around.

Until the next one, bebs.