previously...

Edward came back out a few moments later, and we made our way to my car with the dog. After a very chaste kiss goodbye, much to Edward's dismay, I slid into my car and headed back to my apartment.

I needed a lot more practice with rule number four.

CHAPTER 13

"This isn't one of those twisted tests, right? Like you're not going to secretly hate me if I don't take you out to a really fancy restaurant and then hold it against me forever?"

It was exactly a week before Valentine's day, and I'd be lying if I said Edward didn't seem a little stressed about it. We had spent the last week finding our own little rhythm. We'd had dinner together twice on my days off after I practiced with the band, and Edward had come to visit me during one of my shifts one night. We texted a little throughout the day most days. We kept it light and casual. I hadn't spent the night at his apartment again, and aside from a few makeout sessions when he'd walk me to my car or up to my front door, things were chaste. He knew I needed to go slow and though he said differently, I had a feeling the fact he was only a few weeks removed from a breakup also had something to do with how things were moving. Neither one of us needed anything serious right now, so I almost didn't expect him to bring up Valentine's day. I would've been okay with it if he hadn't. But once the "it's only nine days away" mark hit, I think an alarm (named Alice) went off in his head, and he felt like he needed to do something.

I giggled. "Not at all. I already told you we don't need to do anything."

"This feels like a trap." He said as he parked his car at the restaurant we were going to. It had been one of my Sundays off, and Edward had kept to his word and brought me to the zoo earlier that day. It was nice to stroll through the walkways with him, holding his hand and laughing when an animal did something cute or funny. Once he finally managed to pull me out of the front gates to leave, he suggested dinner.

I turned my body to him. "Edward Cullen."

He eyed me warily. "What?"

I held up my pinky. "I promise this is not a trap. This is not a test. Flowers would be nice, but I'm honestly not expecting anything."

He wrapped his pinky around mine, smiling weakly, but then his brows furrowed. "I thought you said no flowers."

"I said no rose petals."

He groaned and opened his car door.

I giggled again.

It was honestly comforting to see him freak out about something. It made him seem more human, being as I had yet to find one thing that he wasn't good at.

Edward came around and opened my door for me. I got out and stood on the tips of my toes to give him a quick kiss. "This isn't the bar exam, law school. Relax."

"The bar was less stressful."

I smirked. "I'm sorry. I forgot you were perfect and that silly little tests don't stress you out."

He smirked back at me. "Don't forget again." He said and gave me another quick kiss.

"It's just romantic holidays that get ya a little anxious."

His face fell and he rolled his eyes. "Come on. You're sassy when you're hungry."

I held back a laugh and took the hand he offered me. We got inside the restaurant and sat down in the booth we were led to by a very flirtatious hostess. I tried to ignore the little twinge of annoyance I felt at her behavior towards Edward. I wasn't normally a jealous person, so I was a little aggravated with myself for even letting it bother me.

I looked down at my menu blankly after the hostess left, wondering how to broach the subject of starting to perform with the band again to Edward. I knew I had to do it the right way, so he knew that I wasn't planning on going anywhere permanently for a while. The band and I had everything set up to start in late-February through mid-April. Most of the gigs were in Dallas or Fort Worth with exception of two. One in College Station, which I wasn't nearly as worried about. It was only a little under three hours away, and I could easily ask him to take the weekend to come down with me if he wanted to. The other was in Baton Rouge at a bar I had frequented as a freshman at LSU. I felt like I needed to go back there. I needed to see campus again. I needed to remember that girl I was. I was just worried at how my posse of bodyguards would feel when I said I was taking a gig seven hours away. If it would make them think that crossing state lines would make me want to pick up and start traveling again.

After we got our drinks and ordered our food, Edward looked over at me apprehensively. "What's goin' on, bellbottoms?"

I pursed my lips to the side. "That obvious?" I asked sheepishly.

"You ordered the first thing on the menu, which was a salad, when they very clearly serve pulled pork nachos, which is your favorite."

My face fell. "I didn't see those." I whined.

"Case in point."

I sighed and took a sip of my beer. Coors Light and cobb salad, Bella? What a lovely dinner pairing.

"Just tell me." His eyes were soft and encouraging.

"Don't freak out."

He made a face, his expression urging me to continue.

"The band is going to start playing again." I said slowly before quickly adding, "But all of the gigs are here in Fort Worth or Dallas. We all want to stay around town for now, but um… well, not all of the gigs. One's in College Station… and one's in BR. But the rest of them are all here." I rambled.

Edward nodded, taking in what I was telling him. "So, Baton Rouge?" He clarified.

"Yeah." I replied hesitantly.

"When do you play there?"

"Um, the first weekend in April, I think. If not then, then the next weekend. It's definitely April." I couldn't stop rambling. My nerves were getting the best of me.

He smiled a small, secret smile to himself and then nodded. "Alright. I'll try to make a few."

My jaw dropped. "That's it? You're not going to try and talk me out of it?"

Edward smirked. "Would you like me to? I can be quite persuasive."

I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Do you want to keep playing music?" He asked me sincerely.

I nodded.

"Then no, I won't try to talk you out of it."

I smiled. "Thank you." I whispered.

"Whatever you want, baby." He responded softly.

Our food came then, and I looked down sadly at the salad I had ordered. "Did they really have nachos on the menu?" I asked as I pulled a fork out of the rolled napkin.

Edward chuckled. "They did."

I sighed and stabbed into the lettuce. "Tragic."

Edward shook his head at me with an amused smile before taking a huge bite from his burger.

Once we finished dinner, Edward drove me back to my apartment, and the short drive was comfortably quiet. He walked me up the stairs to my door and leaned against the wooden railing of the landing. I unlocked the door and then turned to him. He reached up and moved a piece of hair from in front of my face, letting his hand linger on my cheek afterwards. I leaned into his touch and gave him a small smile.

"Hi." I shyly greeted, not knowing what else to say but not wanting him to leave just quite yet.

He smiled crookedly. "Hey." He gently pulled me towards him and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

I returned his hug and looked up at him, resting my head on his shoulder. "You're sure you don't have any lectures for me? Nothing about creepy guys in old barrooms and gas stations and motels?"

"Oh, I'm definitely funding a night in a decent hotel for you the nights you're gone, especially when you're a seven hour drive away. For your entire band, if I need to. But otherwise, I trust you and your judgment. And I know the guys will watch out for you, too. I don't want you to give up something you love. I just… want you to be safe."

"I will be." I promised.

He brought one of his hands back up to my face and rested his forehead against mine. "Good. I need you back home in one piece." His request had a double meaning that wasn't lost on me, and I noticed the way he ever so slightly stressed the word 'home.'

My chest tightened a little. "Come with me." I said, so low that I could barely hear myself.

Edward's lips twitched into the smallest hint of a smile. "Where? Baton Rouge?"

I nodded against his forehead. "And College Station."

"When's that?"

"Mid-March."

"And you said BR was in April?"

I nodded.

He smiled brightly and kissed me. It wasn't deep and lust-filled like his late night, end of date kisses normally were, but it was hardly chaste. I was still breathless when he pulled away. "I'll see what I can move around." He whispered.

"Okay."

Edward kissed my forehead and reached behind me to open my apartment door for me. "Goodnight, beautiful. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He said and started down the stairs.

I stared at my open front door for a moment before turning back to watch him leave. "E?"

He stopped halfway down and looked over his shoulder at me.

"Not that I'm not happy that you are, but… are you really that eager to see us in a different setting? I mean you've been to one of the shows before. It's not that exciting." I laughed halfheartedly.

He shook his head, bemused and smiling. "It's not the setting that I care about, bellbottoms."

"What?" My brows furrowed.

He chuckled. "April's two months away." He stated simply before turning and continuing down the stairs.

Did I just… Fuck. What? So much for taking things slow, Isabella.

My eyes widened, and my breath caught in my throat as I watched him walk to his car. After he got in the driver's seat and out of my vision, I snapped back into the present and stumbled on unsteady legs into my apartment. I shut the door and sunk down against it. A few moments later, I heard three soft raps against it.

I cannot handle giving a play by play right now, Ali.

I sighed and stood up, begrudgingly opening the door only to be pleasantly surprised that Edward was back, leaning against his forearm on the doorframe. He smiled his heartbreaking crooked smile. "Yeah, that was a really cool exit in my head, but then I remembered who I'm dealing with and well…" He trailed off before pulling me in and kissing me deeply. When he pulled away, his cocky grin returned to his face. "You freaking out?"

I nodded. "I'm freaking out."

He kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled away. "Now?"

I shook my head, smiling.

He breathed a sigh of relief and brought each of his hands up to my cheeks, framing my face. "You can't ghost me tomorrow, alight?"

I giggled breathlessly. "I won't."

"I'm going to come find you."

"I know."

He pecked my lips quickly and then looked into my eyes. "Goodnight, Isabella."

"Goodnight, Edward."

He smiled, satisfied, and left to get back into his car.

I shut the door and looked over at my kitchen, the salt lamp on the counter glowing a warm orange and looking a little lonesome on the empty counter. I smiled to myself.

Maybe I'll get a plant.

~ Coffee & Bourbon ~

Do I need to come kiss you again?

I smiled at Edward's text the next morning. He had sent it a little before six, probably on his way to work out. It was eight when I woke up and saw it. He was most likely on his way to work, but I messaged him back as soon as I saw it. I didn't want to wait.

Who is this? I giggled as I hit send. Challenging his ego was quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do.

Two responses in a row came back about a half an hour later when I was making a cup of coffee.

Woke up feeling brave, did we?

Good morning beautiful

I couldn't help the goofy smile that spread across my face. Good morning handsome

We didn't talk again for the rest of the morning, which was normal. He usually got caught up in his work until around one or two when he'd take a lunch break. I was a little embarrassed at how well I already knew his schedule, but he was definitely a creature of habit. After three or four days, it wasn't hard to remember.

I spent the morning with my guitar before showering and getting ready for work. I had the closing shift, and I was anxious to get it over with. Monday closing shifts were the worst.

When I got downstairs, I noticed Rosalie and Jasper off in a distant corner of the bar, seemingly having a heated discussion.

"What's that about?" I muttered to Alice as I clocked in.

Alice was sitting at the bar with her laptop and a pile of paperwork that was nearly as tall as she was. She looked up at me and shrugged, biting her lip. "I don't know. They've been out there for twenty minutes now." She whispered back, glancing over her shoulder at them.

A few minutes later, Emmett walked in, saw Rosalie and Jasper, cringed, and then walked over to sit at the bar.

"Do you know what that's about?" Alice asked after he ordered a beer.

"What do you think it's about?" Emmett asked, as if it were obvious.

"Well, I figured maybe it was something different this time." She replied.

I handed Emmett his beer. "Anyone wanna fill me in?"

Emmett made sure that Rosalie and Jasper were still a distance away before leaning in close. "Maria. She's going to be coming back soon. Someone's gotta take her while the contractors finish her house."

"Well, it can't be us." Alice groaned.

Emmett looked at her incredulously. "Yeah, us neither. What do you think they're fighting about?"

I turned around and pretended to organize the bar to hide my laugh. Maria was Rosalie and Jasper's mother, and from what I'd heard, she wasn't the warmest of hearts. She was a force to be reckoned with, and she wasn't shy about letting her opinions be known. She came from old oil money and married wealthy as well, and she didn't have a problem flaunting it. When Rosalie and Jasper's father died, Maria started taking quite a few trips to the most random and surprising locations. Most recently, she had taken a trip to somewhere in New England while her house in Dallas was being remodeled. She had been gone for nearly three months, and apparently, her house was still unfinished. Instead of just going to another random destination somewhere, she was apparently wanting to stay with one of her kids to 'reconnect'. I just think she wanted to be difficult. It seemed like a Maria thing to do.

"Emmett, please. The woman hates me. I mean hates me."

"Well, she's not my biggest fan, either."

Alice sighed and rested her forehead in the palm of her hand as she stared blankly and desperately at the computer screen.

"Why don't you just put her in my apartment?" I suggested.

"Absolutely not." Alice answered quickly. "You pay rent, Bella. We're not going to kick you out of your home."

"Well wouldn't you prefer me crashing on your couch or guest room as opposed to your monster-in-law?"

Emmett looked at Alice. "She's got a point."

"I'd feel absolutely horrible about it. Horrible." Alice insisted.

"I don't have much stuff, Ali. Just a dresser of clothes and a lamp. It won't be hard to move. And just credit my next month's rent whenever it is. I don't mind."

"I don't know how long she's going to be here, Bella. You could be living with us for months."

I shrugged.

"I mean, if she's willing..." Emmett trailed off. "We could do a custody thing. Me and Rose get her a week. You and Jasper get her a week. It'll be fun."

"Who said coparenting wasn't easy?" I grumbled.

"Right!" Emmett exclaimed and looked at Alice with a bright smile. "And Alice, I promise Bella is much cuter to look at in the mornings than Maria."

I smiled sweetly. "I am pretty dang cute in the mornings."

She sighed heavily. "Are you sure? If you do this, you're getting your rent from this month back. Immediately. Honestly, Bella, I feel sick about this. You don't have to do this."

"Ali. It's fine. Really."

She continued to stare at me anxiously, but Emmett took her silence as agreement and called Rosalie and Jasper's names loudly across the bar. They turned to him, both glaring, but walked over to where we were.

"What is it?" Rosalie huffed as she sat on the other side of Emmett.

"We came up with a solution to the problem at hand." Emmett announced proudly.

Jasper snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did you?"

Emmett nodded. "Yes. We will be putting Maria in the apartment upstairs, and Bella will stay at one of our houses until the wicked witch has flown away."

"Absolutely not!" Jasper and Rosalie shouted at the same time.

"Gee guys, love y'all, too." I interjected sarcastically.

"B, you know we love you, but we can't ask you to do that." Rosalie said.

"No, that's not an option." Jasper agreed.

"No one asked me to. I volunteered. It's happening, so just get over it." I insisted.

Jasper looked down at Alice, who shrugged. "I mean, I would prefer to wake up to see Bella in my kitchen instead of your mom. I agree with Emmett. She's much cuter."

Jasper's eyebrows creased together. "What are you—never mind. Bella, are you absolutely, one thousand percent positive?"

"Yes, stop asking me that."

"Yeah, she's gonna change her mind if you keep asking her." Emmett muttered pointedly between his teeth.

"I am not going to change my mind, Em."

"Change your mind about what?"

We all turned to the voice that came from behind us at the coolers. Edward was leaning against the back of the bar, drinking a beer.

"When did you get here?" Emmett asked.

"About the time Jasper asked Bella if she was one thousand percent sure of something." He replied and walked over to join the conversation. "So, what's going on?"

"Bella's being insane." Rosalie snipped.

"Keep it up, and I'm not going to make you coffee the mornings you have custody of me."

"Yeah, Rose. Shut. Up." Emmett muttered through his teeth again before taking a sip of beer.

"Custody?" Edward asked.

I sighed. "Rosalie and Jasper are fighting over what to do about their mom since her house is still getting worked on and she needs a place to stay. I offered my apartment so none of them would have to deal with her."

"Well why would you do that? Now we don't get the entertainment of hearing Maria horror stories from Alice and Emmett for the next few weeks." He smirked.

"Fuck you." Emmett and Alice replied in sync.

Edward laughed and winked at me.

"Anyway, when does she get here?" I asked.

"Thursday." Jasper replied.

"So, Em, want to help me move my stuff to y'all's place on Wednesday night? Apparently, you're the only one that really loves me. Sorry, Ro. You'll just have to live with it." I said, feigning hurt.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Stop being a drama queen. Of course, I'd love for you to stay with us. I just hate the circumstances that it's under. You were just getting settled."

I shrugged, ignoring her choice of words. "It'll be alright. It's just a couple of weeks, right? Like I told Alice, one dresser of clothes isn't hard to move." I laughed.

"A dresser?" Rosalie asked, shocked.

"What?' I asked innocently.

"Oh, nothing." She replied with the same fake innocence.

"She ordered a plant on her phone right before Emmett got here." Alice announced suddenly.

"Traitor." I mumbled.

"What kind of plant?" Rosalie asked quickly, looking around Emmett to see Alice.

"Fiddle leaf fig." Alice replied.

"A fiddle leaf…" Rosalie mused suspiciously. "Those are very picky, Bella. Require a lot of care and attention. Don't travel very well, I would imagine."

I gave her a tight lipped smile and a meaningful look to stop talking.

Instead, she continued on. "Huh. The little horticulturist." She teased.

"What can I say? Just was born with a green thumb, I guess."

"Well, you don't have it yet. You might end up killing it." Emmett said.

Alice and Rosalie shot matching glares at him.

"It's just a plant, geez." He muttered.

"Well, this is obviously girl code for something, so boys, y'all wanna go anywhere else and do anything else?" Jasper suggested.

Emmett quickly shot out of his chair, and Edward looked at me questioningly for a few moments before reluctantly making his way around the bar and following Emmett.

Jasper was last to leave, and he looked between the three of us girls for a couple of seconds before leaning down to whisper to us. "Just so we're clear, the tree is Edward, right?"

"Duh." Rosalie and Alice sighed as I yelled, "Go away!"

"Wait, wait!" I called to Jasper as he started walking away. He leaned back onto the bar between the three of us. "Look at me." His crystal blue eyes met mine, and I pointed a stern finger at him. "That little discovery you just made does not enter the bromance."

Jasper looked at me with a mischievous smile. "Bella… I know you're new to this, so let me clue you in. I know anything he knows, and he knows anything I know. That's just how this works. Ya date one of us, ya date both of us. Get used to it, sweetheart." He winked and then turned around, walking away.

"Jasper Michael Hale!"

He only waved to me, back still turned as he strode over to where Emmett and Edward were watching our exchange with very curious eyes.

"I'm gonna fucking kill your husband, Ali."

She giggled. "Well, for future reference, his middle name is actually Wyatt."

"Thanks. I have a feeling I'm going to need to remember that."

"They really are the same person." Rosalie remarked.

Alice and I turned to her, both disgusted.

"I'm not wrong." She laughed. "The only difference is that Jasper is more mellow. So really it's like Edward and… stoner Edward."

I thought about it for a minute. "Well…"

"Nope. No. Just stop." Alice said. "We're not having this conversation because that would mean I married my brother, and I don't even want to think about it."

Rosalie and I looked at each other, both trying to hide our laughs by pressing our lips together tightly.

A few minutes later, people slowly started to trickle in the bar, keeping me and the other bartender busy. Rosalie and Emmett left at about eight thirty. Alice and Jasper weren't far behind them. I took my break at nine, and Edward came to keep me company in the breakroom while I ate dinner.

"So, you're really going to give up your apartment for however long Maria is in town?" Edward asked.

"I guess so. I just felt like it was the easiest option all around for them."

"Not for you, though."

I shrugged. "They've all done enough for me and given me enough chances that I think it's pretty justified. It's nice to feel like I'm able to return the favor."

"That was very nice of you."

"Well, I keep telling you. I'm a nice person."

His lips twitched into the slightest smirk before he was serious again. "You're really going to be okay crashing at your brothers for an indefinite amount of time?" He seemed skeptical.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" It would probably end up driving me crazy at some point, but now that I was staying put for a while, Emmett wasn't nearly as overbearing as he normally was. I was pretty sure I could handle it.

He shrugged and took a sip of his beer, his eyes looking anywhere else in the room.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Edward Cullen. What did you know about me before you met me?"

"Nothing really." He was being too nonchalant.

"What did they tell you?"

He sighed. "Just that you and Emmett butted heads a lot."

"Is that all?"

"For the most part."

"Well, what's the small part?"

"Just really random tidbits. I will let you know that they refer to you as 'baby girl' almost exclusively behind your back." He chuckled.

"Yeah, I knew that." I muttered. "It's what my dad calls me, and Emmett always gives me shit for it. Apparently, he thinks I got away with a lot that I shouldn't have because I grew up the golden child." I looked at the time on my phone and saw that my break was nearly over.

"Time to go back?" Edward asked.

I nodded sadly before standing up and pushing my chair in.

He finished his beer and then got up and tossed the bottle in the trash can. "I'll probably head back to my place." He said and pulled me into a tight hug. "Let me know when you get back upstairs after work?"

I nodded and stood on the tips of my toes to give him a kiss. "Give Winnie extra pets from me?"

He laughed and kissed my nose. "I will, darlin'."

We made our way out of the breakroom, and I walked back to the bar as Edward left.

The rest of the night passed rather quickly, which I was thankful for, and it didn't seem like very long until I was trudging up the stairs to my apartment. I sent a quick text to Edward to let him know that I was home and then hopped in the shower. Once I was settled in for bed, I checked my phone one last time before rolling over to fall asleep. Edward had replied to me.

Sleep well beautiful. And just for record I do have faith that you won't kill the plant

I couldn't help the blush that washed over my cheeks, and to further prove that fate had a cruel sense of humor, an email came through at that moment letting me know that my package had shipped. I cleared the email notification and sent Edward a text back. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Tell Jasper I said goodnight.

He replied back quickly. Greens not your color baby. There's room in my life for both of you.

I rolled my eyes, imagining the cocky smirk that I knew was on his face when he sent that. Goodnight E

Goodnight Bella

You better not kill that goddamn fiddle leaf, Isabella.

A/N Until the next one, bebs.