Many thanks, once again for the reviews, it's so great to read each and every one.

Huge shout out to Lillie Cullen for the handy formatting tips. My early chapters are all fixed now!

Disclaimer of the day: I don't own any part of Twilight.

Okay, on to date night proper. You'll get it in two parts, first up is Edward. So do you think he'll behave himself on their date? Yeah, I don't think so either.

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EPOV

Bella let herself into the passenger side of my car and I slid into the driver's seat. I rested my hands on the steering wheel for a minute and drew a deep breath before turning the key in the ignition. I guess this is it. Let's do this insane thing.

I hadn't seen Bella since that night at the club, nor had we spoken. Laurent and Aro had set up all the details between them. Now we were trapped together in this ridiculously awkward situation and I had no idea how we would fill the next few hours.

As I had turned over our "arrangement" in my mind, it was clear to me what my motivation was, what I was getting out of it. What was less clear to me was Bella's. She didn't need fixing like me, she had an impeccable reputation. Hanging around with me wouldn't improve her image, it actually quite possibly could make it worse. The only thing I could come up with was that while I was a certifiable super star, and had been for several years now, she was brand new, this month's hot new story. So she must be looking to secure her position in the upper pantheon of Hollywood royalty by dating one of us. That thought made me a little sad, as Bella hadn't really seemed part of that filthy, social climbing world when I met her at the club. I had been struck by how genuine and artless she seemed. But hell, this was Hollywood. There was only one reason people were here. To get famous. By any means necessary. Even little Bella Swan, apparently.

Once again, I felt cheap and dirty. Allowing this girl to draft off of my fame on the way to her own while I drafted off her good behavior. This was some sick shit.

I shot a surreptitious glance at her as we drove in perfect silence. She was gazing out the window at Beverly Hills slipping past, her face expressionless. I had to admit, Alice was right. She looked amazing. She had these skinny black pants on that showed off her perfectly shaped legs and a blue silky blouse that left her arms and lots of her neck and chest exposed. Miles of creamy skin, making my mind wander.

It was going to complicate things that I felt this attracted to her. Because this was business. But hey, what hot woman am I not attracted to? And she wouldn't be here if she wasn't hot. So I figured I'd be wanting to sleep with any woman who was pretending to be my girlfriend. What was going to be unusual was not acting on the impulse. I can't remember the last time I didn't sleep with a woman I was attracted to.

Yeah, did I say already that this was some sick shit? And that I am one broken, fucked up individual?

She seemed to be tired of the awkward silence, or maybe she was just a polite person and felt obliged to make conversation.

"So, where are we going?"

"Fez. It's in Beverly Hills. French Moroccan," I replied tersely. I didn't intend to sound like such an ass, but it kind of came out that way.

"Oh. Nice. Do you like the food there?"

I glanced at her quickly. "I've never been. Laurent picked it. It opened last year, it's hot, everyone wants to get in. There are always photographers outside on the sidewalk looking to snap celebrities. He thought it was a good choice."

She looked front again, her face grim. I felt a little bad for being such a dick. I should hold up my end here.

"Look, when we get there, I'll park in the lot. There's always a scrum of photographers that stake out the parking lot entrance so just stay close to me. They'll get in your face, but they probably won't touch you."

I had meant to be reassuring, giving her a heads up about what we were walking into. I thought she'd be grateful. But the look she shot me was horrified. I'll shut up now. Maybe we'd have better luck with the whole conversation thing once we were eating…and drinking. Drinking would be mandatory tonight.

We finished the drive in silence.

I pulled into the parking lot and as predicted, a scrum of photographers loitered there. The parking lot was private property and so was the restaurant, so the only place they could approach us was on the sidewalk, and that's where they lay in wait. I took a deep calming breath as I killed the engine. Bella was twisting her hands in her lap. She looked even paler than normal.

"Are you ready?"

"I guess."

"Just don't talk. We walk through them, we don't stop until we get inside. Put your sunglasses on."

She blinked at me.

"What?'

"Your sunglasses. Where are they?"

"Um…I…well, I don't have any with me."

"You don't?" I never, ever left the house without sunglasses. That was your shield in situations like this. Sunglasses meant they got your picture, but no expression on your face. Bella looked like maybe she didn't even own sunglasses.

"Okay, well, never mind. Just look at the ground and follow me"

I started to get out and her hand moved to her door handle too.

"No. Stop. Wait for me. The whole point of this is to do it right. I'll get your door."

She paused, thinking about that for a second then she settled back in her seat.

I got out and quickly moved around to her side. I could hear the scrum of photographers jostling at the fence to see who had arrived. I must have been briefly visible to them through the hedges, because I heard one of them shout, "Jackpot! It's Cullen!"

Yeah, fuckers, it's me. And wait till you get a load of this.

I paused with my hand on Bella's door handle, took a deep breath to prepare, then I opened her door. She looked up at me, trying to look cool, but her eyes gave her away. She was panicked. What the hell? Why did she look so miserable? I thought she'd be all jazzed to be on the arm of a movie star. Wasn't that the point? Didn't she want to do this? The girl was a freaking mystery.

I reached down and took her little hand and helped her slide out of the car. Before she had time to get cold feet I turned and led her briskly across the parking lot. As we came into their line of sight near the entrance the paparazzi went absolutely nuts. It was a free for all out there on the sidewalk as they elbowed and jostled to get the best shot of us. They began to shout our names, to shout questions. Were we dating? How long had we been seeing each other? Bella followed directions and trailed close in my wake, gripping my hand for dear life, eyes locked on the ground. I thought I felt her stumble a little once, but she didn't fall or slow down, so I didn't stop. I realized belatedly that I should have had my arm around her instead of dragging her behind me like this, but it was too late and we were almost there.

We reached the gate that led to the little entrance garden of Fez and ducked inside. Ahhh…instant quiet. They couldn't follow us here, although I was positive there were media plants inside to catch the good stuff. But at least they had to be discrete and stay out of your face.

The front door swung open to greet us. "Mr. Cullen? Welcome to Fez. Please come in."

The hostess was tall, blonde, and balanced on ridiculously high fuck-me pumps. She was perhaps in her mid 30's, perfectly preserved and beautiful. She had that look of a one-time wanna-be actress. LA was filthy with them. She came here in her 20's aiming for the stars and didn't quite make it. And now she's working the hostess podium at Fez. Her eyes lit up at the sight of me and her gaze unabashedly traveled my entire length as a smile played across her glossy red lips. I smiled back at her.

"We're so happy you could join us this evening," the hostess cooed, "I'll show you to your booth and if there's anything at all you need, please don't hesitate to let me know."

Bella stood patiently next to me, arms crossed over her chest. She narrowed her eyes slightly at the hostess and made a face.

"You'd better keep holding my hand," I whispered, prying one of hers away from her chest, "We didn't ditch the media outside, you know."

We followed the gently swaying ass of the hostess through the restaurant. It was dark, with candles on all the tables and huge swaths of brightly colored silk draping all the walls. Along the back wall were a row of booths, each one partially obscured with brightly colored sheer silk drapes. These were the prime tables for the special guests, specially set up to provide additional privacy for various nefarious deeds, but not too much privacy, so people could still see who you were with and what you were up to. Perfect.

Bella got herself settled in the middle and I sat closer to the outside. There was a waiter at our side immediately, naturally, and I ordered drinks. I needed alcohol, and fast.

The drinks arrived in a flash and we busied ourselves for a minute taking sips, getting comfortable. Bella glanced at the menu but seemed disinterested. When the waiter arrived, she ordered the first thing her eyes fell on.

Well, here we are. Drinks are in hand, food is ordered, we have nothing but privacy in this little faux seraglio. What next? Bella met my eyes, clearly thinking the same thing.

I drew a deep breath and with false cheer and a fake smile I asked, "So…where are you from?" It was such a lame, first date, get-to-know-you question. I was being sarcastic, I didn't really expect her to answer. But she did, with perfect candor.

"Forks. It's a small town in…"

"I know Forks." I interrupted her, surprise erasing my smart-ass smile. "I'm from Seattle."

"Oh. I didn't know that. Funny, I never really imagined you as being from anyplace."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you seemed to sort of always exist just like this. You know, big movie star and all. It's hard to imagine you young, with a family. Although of course, I just met your sister." She shook her head and waved a hand to redirect the conversation. "So, Seattle, huh? When did you leave?"

"Five years ago. Did you spend much time there?"

"Sure, sure. We lived there up until six months ago. We moved a couple of years after high school, so Rose and I could take some classes at U Dub. So that would have been…three years ago? It was better for the band to be in Seattle too."

"Who's Rose?"

"Our guitarist. And there's Emmett, our drummer, and of course Jasper, our bassist, who you've met."

At the mention of our brief encounter at the club, her eyes flashed up to mine and she blushed ever so slightly. Seriously? The girl blushes? I can't remember the last time I saw a woman blush. It was hot.

After a long pause while I slammed back my scotch and soda and Bella drew pictures in the condensation on her glass, she seemed to want to try polite conversation again.

She cleared her throat softly. "So, how do you know Forks, then?"

"Well, I'd heard the name, growing up in the area. And then in college, I wound up taking my car there to get some specialty body work done. Turns out one of the best auto body guys in the Pacific Northwest lives in Forks, for some crazy reason."

Bella dropped her eyes to the table and a tiny smile played around her lips.

"Jacob Black."

"Yeah, that's the guy. You know him?"

"Yeah, I know him."

Her eyes didn't lift from the table and was that….fuck…she was blushing again. No fucking way. Bella and Jacob Black. Huh. I wondered idly how all that fit in with Jasper. Bella didn't offer any more information and I decided not to dig. This was all awkward enough already. And it was her business, I suppose.

Our drinks were refilled, although Bella had barely touched her first. I ran a hand through my hair and cast a glance around of the room and that's when I saw the guy, four tables away. I knew what he was the minute I laid eyes on him. I got a very evil idea and I felt a slow smirk spread across my face.

"Hey, Bella," I murmured, scooting closer to her with a smile, "See that guy at that table over there? Don't look!" I motioned nearly imperceptibly with my chin. She nodded. "He's media. Spying on us. I think we should give him a little something to report, don't you?"

Her eyes widened in alarm. Christ, was being touched by me really such an unpleasant prospect to her? "Relax, it's just for show. You're safe."

And before she could flip out or protest, I angled my body across hers and buried my face in the crook of her neck.

"See? No big deal," I whispered into her neck. She just about leapt out of her skin.

"You're tickling me!" she hissed.

"Hold still!"

"But it tickles when you talk!" she was squirming underneath me and trying to stifle a giggle.

"Quit wiggling! Okay, I won't talk. I'll just nuzzle."

She started to squeal, but I slid my right hand up to the base of her neck and angled her head to the side, giving me better access to her neck. I trailed my lips along the length of her neck, just barely touching her. I meant to just goof around, give the guy a show and maybe get a rise out of Bella at the same time. But now that I was here, with my nose buried in her hair, her floral, slightly spicy scent was making me lightheaded. And her hair, what was that scent? Strawberries. It was such a simple girlish smell. I was used to women smelling like a complex mix of very expensive grooming products. Her silly strawberry shampoo was killing me. And there was this feeling when I touched her like this, like electricity, I could feel it sing along my fingers and down my spine. It was crazy, and intoxicating, and I didn't want to stop.

My fingers subconsciously caressed the back of her neck and her eyes slid closed. I dragged my lips back up her throat with more pressure and when I got to the hollow under her earlobe, I gave it one slow open mouthed kiss and let my lips linger. She drew in a long unsteady breath. My own breathing was becoming ragged.

I really should stop this. I'd only meant to fool around for a minute. I'd had no intention of starting anything. But she wasn't stopping me. And it felt really good. And I really wanted to. I've wanted to touch her like this since the instant I laid eyes on her. I re-traced my path down her neck to her collarbone, this time with my open mouth. She softened in my arms. My left hand, that had been resting lightly on her hip, clenched into her and pulled her closer. When I got to the hollow at the base of her neck I dipped my tongue in lightly and licked her skin. She gasped. Her hand was slipping up my back, clinging to me. I gripped her hip tighter. I could slide my hand up her torso and be at her breast in a matter of inches. Or I could just slide it over the span of a hand and be touching her there. Okay, and now I'm hard. My lips traveled back up her glorious pale neck and then along her jaw, letting my tongue drag lightly along her skin. I could kiss her. I'm almost there. I've been staring at her mouth all night and wondering what it feels like, what it tastes like. And God, I want to.

I pulled my face back just enough to make eye contact with her. Her hooded dark eyes met mine and then snapped open. Her spine stiffened and in one movement she'd slid herself half a foot away from me. Okay, no kissing, apparently.

"Wh-what was that?" she stammered.

I held my hands up in front of me trying to diffuse the situation. "Sorry, I got carried away. You smell really good." I tried a flash of the dazzling smile, but she wasn't having it. She scooted around to the other side of the booth in a flash.

"I have to go to the ladies room."

I watched her as she strode across the restaurant. Then I watched the face of every goddamned guy in the place as they watched her cross the room.

Fuck off, motherfuckers. She's mine.

Except she's not. And the point was, a girl like her wouldn't be mine. That's why this stupid subterfuge. It was laughable, really. I could probably nail any woman in this restaurant if I wanted, starting with hostess, and they'd be ready, willing and eager. What I'd just done to Bella's neck? If I did that to the hostess, I'd have her undressed and flat on her back in seconds. But Bella…she freaks out and runs to the ladies room. So okay, maybe Laurent was right. She was different and too good for me. Or maybe it was that I was too bad for her.

Except that she liked it.

I wasn't being arrogant here. I knew arousal when I felt it. Bella was aroused. The way she felt in my arms, those goddamned sexy little sounds she made, she wanted it. But clearly she hated herself for it, so now she's in there doing God knows what in the ladies room. Probably planning her escape.

I buried my face in my hands. This was such a mess. She was pissed, she didn't like me, and to top it off, I was wildly aroused right now. Fuck….