As the bartender finished pouring their shots, she pulled chilled glasses from under the counter, stacking them next to Bella's dive bar treasures. Eyeing everything, Bella prepared to ask the woman to watch the pitcher so she could make a couple of trips, only to have her move on to the next customer. Looking back to get Alice's attention, she felt, rather than saw an arm reach past towards their pitcher of beer. As she turned ready to yell at the owner of the offending appendage, he interrupted

"Sorry, you looked like you could use some help," said a cute guy with bright blue eyes and wavy hair, swooped back in a way that had Bella wondering how long it took him to achieve. "I'm Riley, by the way."

After taking him in, she responded, "Thanks, Riley. But I just need a hand getting back to my table- nothing else, thanks."

Chucking, he reached for the pitcher and her pint glasses, leaving the shots for Bella "all, good. Just being a Good Samaritan and will definitely not try anything else."

"Ah yes, you can always count on good intentions in this place," she responded, moving in front of him to lead the way to Alice.

As they neared the table, Bella could see the smug look on Alice's face, responding with a roll of her eyes, "this is Riley; he's just helping drop this off."

"Yep, I'll be on my way now," and to both of their surprise, he did just that with a smile and wink, making his way back towards the bar.

"Umm, excuse me? He's cute." Said Alice, watching his retreat.

"He is. But this is our girl's night. Should we text Carmen and Angela?" Cutting her eyes in the direction of the pool tables, Bella was more interested in knowing whether Edward saw. If he did, he made no indication as he stood with the cue in his hand, talking to whoever was hidden behind the wall where the DJ was now setting up their gear.

"I already did; they might stop by later. Shots?"

"Shots!"

After throwing back the fireball, Bella and Alice each poured themselves a glass of the cheap beer, the only acceptable drink in a dive with a confused tiki theme. In their dark booth tucked against the wall, they could survey the crowd, like queens assessing their court. Being somewhat early in the night, they recognized many of the patrons as people from the neighborhood or New Moon barflies. But as the DJ stood in the corner planning out his playlist by reorganizing vinyl, the small space would soon be filled with everyone from hipsters, bikers, and every subculture in between.

Basking in the ambiance of warm bodies and cheap beer, Bella soon forgot about Edward's presence as she and Alice people watched, making up stories about their backgrounds and why they were here. Riley, they imagined, was visiting from the Midwest. He bragged about all the fresh seafood he enjoyed on Insta but secretly preferred what was imported to his landlocked state.

The older woman serving behind the bar was not actually the owner but their wife. The real owner was a real estate mogul, and as his wife's beauty faded with the novelty of their marriage, he left her the bar and the loft rumored to sit above it as a consolation prize while he gallivanted across Europe. While it could be considered a sad story, Bella and Alice imagined he was a misogynistic lech, but she entered the marriage with open eyes and a means to end; to be free while financially secure. She was their favorite person to speculate about.

Since they had become something of regulars, it would be easy to get to know her. But they feared her gruff, affectless demeanor, which made her so intriguing, would end, and so would the mystery. They continued on, halfway through their pitcher, imagining a retired ballerina and a computer programmer who was looking for an easy target to warm his bed. They both vowed to avoid this one.

Suddenly, Carmen appeared through the throng of bodies and appeared at their table.

"Mamas, it's been too long!" She yelled above the music, reaching across to hug them both, "I'll grab a drink. I'll be right back."

"How much do you want to bet that she comes back with an old-fashioned or gin and tonic," Alice asked dryly.

"Nah, she'll start with a craft beer and save the mixed drinks for whatever sucker offers to buy her one," responded Bella dancing in her seat.

"Loser buys the next pitcher?"

"Deal," Bella responded, punctuated by filling their glasses with the last of the PBR.

As Carmen made her way back, plastic cup with clear liquid in hand, Bella mumbled a "motherfucker," getting up and grabbing the empty pitcher, flipping Alice off as she made her way back to the bar.

"Carmen, watch the table; I have to pee," Alice laughed as she headed in the opposite direction.

As she made her way to get the next round of drinks, she tried to catch a glimpse of Edward in her peripheral, debating whether she should say hi, or ignore him as she promised. Her heart quickened as she thought he might be tracking her way across the bar, as she chanted, don't look, don't look in her head. Reaching the bar and waiting her turn to order, she glanced to the left, seeing Riley in the corner watching her as a guy next to him talked animatedly in his ear. Bella smiled at him before turning to order more beer but still caught his returning grin. Paying cash and making her way back to her friends, she found Alice already there waxing poetic about the hot bartender who was playing pool and how he had offered to smoke her out later.

"I can't stand how hot he is, I don't even want kids because the world is ending, but I'd let him knock me up just because of how cute they'd be."

"Al, shut up. Here drink this. I'm ready to dance," Bella groaned, pouring herself another beer before taking a big gulp.

Laughing, Ali pulled Carmen's hand to get her on the makeshift dance door, a small clearing in front of the DJ's booth and next to their table. Swaying their hips to the heady beat and voice singing about heatwaves and heartbreak, Bella got lost in the song and thoughts of whether Edward had felt this way about her. Not wanting to obsess over her time with him or the time she thought she wasted in mourning him, she opened her eyes, resolved not to lose an opportunity for him to see what he missed with his sudden interest in friendship. As she did, she noticed Riley and his friend making their way over.

Her curious look in his direction was all the invitation he needed as he approached, placing a barely present touch on her side and leaning in to ask, "Is this okay?"

With a smile and a nod, she turned so he could settle behind her as they moved in sync. Looking towards her cousin, she was met with a wink and raising of her glass, and Bella smiled sheepishly in response with a shrug of her shoulders. She appreciated that Riley wasn't aggressive, not going straight for grinding against her but close enough that his body heat sent a familiar warmth through her body.

If it weren't for Mike, she might have considered taking him home. As thoughts of Edward moved to the back of her mind and the DJ made a smooth transition to The Bee Gees, more people crowded on the dance floor, and Bella focused on trading goofy dance moves with her friends, rather than the tension building between her and her new dance partner.

The wave of moving bodies and drunken giddiness was momentarily disrupted when Jasper made his way to the center showing off some strange combination of break and eastern-European dance moves, much to the delight of the buzzed crowd. Looking at Alice, Bella was thrilled to see the unmasked giddiness on her face. Over the years, Bella had seen her cousin tie herself to men much too severe for Alice's playful and optimistic nature, breaking her heart each time. She hoped that if her cousin were to pursue something with him, his apparent goofiness would be a breath of fresh air.

Momentarily distracted by the spectacle of Jasper busting a white-boy move, a flash of messy bronze caught Bella's attention as she saw Edward raising his beer bottle to his mouth, watching Jasper act a fool. Locking eyes with hers, his face a neutral mask, as the DJ transitioned to a new song, and he made his way to Jasper. Although it shouldn't have surprised her that 'hot bartender' was the friend Edward was referring to in his text, she was equal parts annoyed and amazed at how small the universe seemed at this moment.

She took a minute to take stock of her friends as they reconvened in the coveted booth. Riley and his friend talked to an animated Carmen while keeping his body angled towards Bella, an invitation or affirmation, she thought. At the same time, Alice invited Jasper and Edward to sit with them.

"Can I get you another drink?" Riley leaned in close to her ear to be heard over the sound.

"Oh, I'm good, we have some beer. Thanks, though," she responded, torn between wanting to talk or continue her dismissal of Edward. Moving into the booth, the decision seemed to be made for her as Edward moved to sit next to her as everyone shuffled in with the exception of Carmen and Riley's nameless friend.

"We're going to play pool," Carmen shouted above the music.

Turning to look at Bella expectantly, Riley cocked his head in invitation

"Maybe later, I'm just going to chill for a bit," Bella responded, glancing at Alice, who was deep in conversation with Jasper.

"All good," he responded, looking between Edward and her before heading towards the back of the bar

"Are you done ignoring me now?" Edward asked as she moved closer to him.

Making sure Alice was still lost in her Jasper bubble, she responded with a simple "yes," refilling her glass.

"Good. I've wanted to tell you how good you looked all night. I like this," he said, running a finger up her side.

"Oh yeah? You should see it on its own," she said, raising a brow pointedly as she watched his hand retreat from her, despite loving the thrill of his touch.

"I'm ready whenever you are,"

Throwing her head back, she laughed, "yeah, being ready was never a problem for you, was it?"

"You're saying that like I should be embarrassed. I think it had more to do with you than me."

"Really? I knew young and inexperienced was your type."

"I don't think I really have a type. But I liked," he quickly corrected. "Like whatever you are."

Humming in response, "must be true, I'm certainly not inexperienced anymore," she said, hoping it dug at him.

"I must've been a good teacher then," he smiled at her smugly.

"You were the worst! I was too shy to even tell you all the things I wanted to learn," leaning into to whisper so her cousin didn't overhear "or all the things I wanted to do with you. A good teacher would have taken the time to figure out what their student needed."

"There's time now. Unless, is that guy the person you're kinda seeing?"

"Ah-uh. Didn't you say you would be respectful," She scolded playfully. "He's not, but you're good with just being friends, right?"

"Definitely. But you seemed open to me trying," he said, moving a bit closer to her.

Taking a moment to take him in, she loved that he wore the same cologne and the Pavlovian response it elicited in her body. His light green eyes seemed darker in the dim lighting, and for a split second, she wished it were daytime so she could see whether her effect on him could be evidenced in his pupils. But, as she contemplated all the ways she would love to give in to him, she remembered the eighteen-year-old girl she was and wanted the vindication. She had loved and hated the control he had over her, but tonight she refused to relinquish it.

"I hate this mustache, by the way. The stubble is nice, though," she said, gently caressing his face.

She was taken aback by how easily she was with her touches now, something that had certainly not always been the case, at least publicly- "that's okay, I like it. The women I've been with seem too, as well."

"Women? Hasn't there been just the one recently?"

Before Edward could respond, they were interrupted by a loud thud of Alice's pint glass on the table, sloshing the beer she seemed to have just topped off.

"You guys know each other?"

AN:

As always, thank you to Fran for her work editing and cleaning this up!

Also, I just wanted to apologize for this being a day late. With the invasion and humanitarian crisis of Ukraine, it's been difficult not to overload on news and updates. And I feel a bit ridiculous writing when there is so much terror and heartbreak happening all over the world, much of which that does not receive the same global coverage or support. But, I know how often I relied on FF for escapism over the past two years, and I sincerely hope that this story offers even just a little bit of that for those of you kind enough to be reading.

If you are able, here is a (non-exhaustive) list of organizations that you can donate to that will directly support those affected by the war.

UNICEF

UN Refugee Agency

Voices of Children

Sunflower of Peace

International Rescue Committee

International Committee of the Red Cross

Doctors Without Borders

Save The Children

Okay, that's all! Stay safe, babies. I appreciate you.