BPOV

By the time I pull into Liam's driveway after my classes are done for the day, it's 1:30 in the afternoon and I've spent most of the night and following day in an anxiety- ridden inner turmoil. I've sheltered the burden from Rose and Alice, not wanting them to worry about the bungalow falling through on my behalf.

I had spent my morning classes on my phone, not paying attention at all to any of the lectures, browsing my phone for any sources of extra income. Being an education major has reduced my availability; my Junior Practicum requirements are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon, and all other required prerequisite courses are scattered among the hours not taken up while I'm in a local classroom. Next semester, when I'm a Senior, I'll be doing my Student Teaching, which I imagine will make my availability plummet even more, so I spend time focusing on something that can work around college schedules that can also bring in a decent income. Ideally, I would love to find something that I can keep up with even after this five weeks of hell plus summer rent is over, but my main goal is to find something that can give me the money I need by the time I need it.

The plus side is that we live in a Florida beach town, and I can leave Liam's house when I'm done watching him for the day, and walk up and down the strip and put in applications at every bar within 5 feet from the next.

The horrible, and more realistic, side is that waiting tables is a surefire recipe for disaster when it comes to entrusting success on my balancing and coordination skills. If I were to be paid a dollar for every plate I send crashing to the floor, I'd have my money by the end of the week and we all could move on.

I shut my car door, locking it as I make my way up the front steps, grateful for the $150 a week I bring in for watching Liam for a couple of hours each day with the exception of my weekly night class. His parents work opposite shifts, two ships passing in the night, and the couple of hours I'm here cover the random hours each day when their schedules become too hectic to make it work.

The money has been enough to cover exactly what a junior in college deems essential, and I've already told Liam's mom, Maggie, that I would be absolutely willing to pick up as many hours she would offer come semester's end. It wouldn't amount to much, but anything was better than nothing, at this point. When I walk in and see Liam playing happily at his Lego table while Maggie scrambles to grab everything she needs for her upcoming shift, I'm determined to head down to the strip to put in some applications, dinnerware be damned.

When Edward texts us all later with news of his job offer and invites us to celebrate at the beach bar, I gladly accept, eager to start this job hunt now before I change my mind. Images of my ass sticking out of a pair of shorts and my boobs suffocating me against my chin while I serve greasy bar food flash before the Lego play land Liam and I are constructing, but I trade those in for future memories of having a cup of coffee on the outside patio at the bungalow. The morning ocean waves clapping against the sand through my bedroom window kind of makes me think I would be willing to do much worse than show some skin at some restaurant.

"Did you know that Mommy let me go to bed last night in my Spider-Man costume?" Liam asks me as he slides back into the living room wearing the aforementioned costume. He's four and acts like it, and I love everything about him. I've spent the past year watching him and his personality grow by the day, solidifying my choice in choosing elementary education as a career path.

I smile at him. "I'm jealous. I wish you would have told me. I would have worn mine, too!"

He laughs and proceeds to web everything he can while I clean up our mess that we've scattered lightly around the house, picking up odds and ends so I can leave their house the way I found it.

I'm never glued to my phone when I'm watching Liam but it keeps buzzing in my back pocket as the hours we spend together trickle down to his father's arrival a little after six. They're all at the bar, classes and internships and jobs done for the day, and I'll be a typical twenty one year old college kid with them in a short matter of time.

I chat with Liam's Dad, Benjamin, for a little while, catching him up on Liam's day and all we've done together. I leave a little while later with another promise to Liam to wear the right costume for bed, and soon enough, I'm packed into a booth at one of our favorite bars, slamming down a shot in Edward's honor.

"Another year together," Emmett chants to a chorus of cheers and another round of shots, and I laugh when I can taste where exactly I've been putting my money towards for the last few years. Things would have to change but for now I enjoyed the evening with my friends and for the chance to break away from the worrying for as long as my mind would let me.

"I told you so," I shout over the rumble in the bar, staring at Edward over the beer I bring to my lips. Emmett and Rose are dancing and Alice and Jasper are getting us another round of shots. I doubt any of us are in need of another round of shots but the thought of it sounds perfect for the celebratory tone of the night.

"Yeah, I know," Edward admits, leaning in closer to me in the large booth. He smiles and taps his beer to my own. "I should have listened to you."

I nod triumphantly. "You should have. Would have saved you a lot of trouble." I know he had spent the majority of the night awake and worrying like I had been.

"Ah, trouble's not over yet," he says, and groans into his hands as he rubs them down his face. "No idea what I'm going to do about my car."

The topic of Edward's car has come up a few times tonight, making its ugly appearance on an otherwise much needed carefree night. I wish I can offer him a solution but since I'm fresh out of ways to help my own damn self, the last thing I'm confident in is being able to help him.

"Train?" I suggest, not knowing if there is even a train that runs between his job and Jasper's garage apartment that they plan on sharing.

He shrugs. Maybe there is a train then?

"I probably could for work but I can't live here and depend on everyone else for a ride."

I can see how that would be annoying fast, even if it would only be temporary. "Just buy a lemon for now," I say, finishing the rest of my beer. "Once you start to get some regular paychecks you can get a better one."

"I thought about that," he concedes but goes on, "but I'm afraid that I'll buy the first piece of shit car I see and end up stranded on the side of the road somewhere in the middle of rush hour traffic."

I laugh as I picture Edward abandoned by his car during one of Florida's quick passing rain showers.

"Hadn't thought of that." I respond once I stop laughing, the alcohol swirling in my blood making the image in my head much funnier. "So what's your plan?"

"I haven't had much time to think about it," he says, moving over so Alice and Jasper can place our shots onto the table in front of us. Edward reaches for two, grabbing two for each of us. "But right now, this is it."

"I can't think of anything better," I say with a clink, downing the shot and our worries to a place far away from here.

Luckily I had stopped at a few places on the strip to drop off applications before I started celebrating, because by the time Alice, the DD for the evening, is parking my car in the student lot, most of us are in no shape to walk, let alone apply for any jobs.

We all stagger into bed, all of our schedules the next day varying in times and places, but I make sure to pop some Advil and water before passing out on top of my covers, not bothering to change out of my clothes.

-ptp-

I usually never party the night before I'm scheduled for a day in the classroom, but luckily, the third grade class I'm placed in for the semester is relatively chill and so is the teacher. With most of the semester behind me, I'm at the point where I write and implement one lesson per week with the support of the classroom teacher, and my hangover breaks through when I notice how each lesson becomes easier than the previous week's lesson. I leave the school at 3:00 looking forward to next week when I'll start teaching two lessons instead of one.

I check my phone for the first time since lunch and see that everyone's decided to meet up at the beach near the bungalow. I swing by my room to grab some things for the beach and change into the closest bathing suit I can find. The beach in the evening is one of my favorite things about where we live. The world seems to slow down from the busy day and blanket the atmosphere in a calm orange. Sinking my toes beneath the warm sand is exactly what my body needs.

By the time I arrive after changing out of my 'teacher clothes' as they call them and into a bathing suit, I find a decent parking spot a block or two away from our bungalow. The public beach access is nearby, and since the bungalow isn't technically ours yet, we can't park in the driveway and show them exactly how amazing our future location is. I decide to follow the tiny boardwalk as far as it will take me, casually strolling as I take in everything. In a few short weeks, this will be my new normal. The boardwalk under my feet will become second nature; the sound of the boards against my feet knocking with every step will be music to my ears once school is out for summer and behind me.

With the public beach access still in sight behind me, I reach the end of the boardwalk. Peering over the rail, I look a little further towards my left and I see the row of bungalows sitting next to each other in a row. I can see ours in the middle, the patio door opened as the crew works on getting it ready for its next tenants. Us. For the first time in three days, I smile as I'm reminded of the reason why I'm putting myself through this in the first place.

The feel of my smiling face makes me realize that I haven't been acting myself lately. The past few days I've been mopey and contemplative, a deep contrast to my normal good natured and positive demeanor. I pity the people around me; if I can't stand to be around me right now, I could only wonder what they've been thinking.

As if they knew I was thinking of them, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I know it's everyone wondering where I've wandered off to, but I take my time. The beach is where I become whole again, so I stop here and there along the boardwalk as I try to find little pieces of myself around the beach and put myself back together. I tell them that I had walked a little to scope out the place, and that I would meet them at our normal spot on the beach in a few minutes.

Halfway there, I spot a little girl, blonde hair astray from the breeze off of the water, building a sandcastle taller than the girl itself. Judging by the mirror image I see in the person next to her, I assume the woman next to the girl is her mother and a pang of jealousy rings through me as I watch the two of them laugh and build and sprinkle the castle with water from a pail. As always, I shake that, and any other thing that reminds me of my own mother, away as quickly as I can.

My mother and I have a strained relationship at best, her flimsy dedication to any one particular thing the polar opposite to how headstrong and devoted I am to things in my life. Even now that we've been living in the same state for the past three years, I prefer to keep her at a distance that makes me comfortable after so many years of living with her being completely uncomfortable.

She has made an effort. I'll give her that much.

I think about Dad's comment about asking Mom for the money for the bungalow. I know she's in a better position than Dad is to help out, but I wouldn't feel right about it. I know she would use her helping me out one day against me, so acting like it isn't an option is the best route for me.

"About time," Rose grumbles jokingly as I find her on her stomach on a large beach blanket, reading the latest issue of Cosmo in the sand.

"I haven't been here since the other day," I defend myself, leaving the feelings of self-pity to myself. "I had to check it out again."

Seeing the bungalow has made me equally excited and anxious.

"Amazing, huh?"

I sigh and settle my own things next to her on the blanket. I've already worked up a nice heat and I slide my clothes off and join her in my bathing suit.

"Even better that I remember," I say dreamily and start to apply lotion onto my bronzed skin. "Where is everyone?"

Rose points her chin towards the ocean in front of us. "Edward and Emmett are taking a dip." She pauses to point to the two of them as they head out of the water and back towards us. Emmett is throwing a football up and down and gently tosses it to Edward. "Alice and Jasper left a little while ago."

"I guess I took a little longer than I thought," I say, looking at my phone for the time.

"Don't worry about it. We did the same thing when we got here, too."

"This is going to be every day for us." I look around, still quite skeptical that something this perfect will be a daily aspect of my life.

"We'll definitely be crashing at your place this summer," Emmett interrupts, sidling up to Rose on the blanket as he and Edward join us on the sand. "This is sweet."

"Yeah, you definitely couldn't pass this up," Edward adds and makes himself comfortable on his towel across from us.

"Definitely not," Emmett agrees. "Waking up to this view every day is definitely worth taking your clothes off."

We all laugh and I fill them in on my woes for the next half hour.

"I've put in applications everywhere," I groan into my hands, "I'm giving it until the end of the week until I start another plan."

"What's your next plan?" Edward asks.

"I haven't gotten that far yet," I admit.

"Well when you do think of a plan, let me know," he says and sinks further into the sand on his towel, "because I don't have a plan, either."

"Time to start looking around," Emmett adds.

"That's the thing, though," Edward says from his position on his stomach. He leans on his elbows to look at the three of us. "I have a job. Not many places are willing to take on a college kid for a handful of weeks."

"True," Emmett says.

"You can stay with us until you get a car," Rose offers, looking over at me for approval. I nod in agreement. "It'll just be a couple of weeks before your first check and then you can go right to the dealership."

"Thanks Rose." Edward says and I can tell by his tone that he's going to decline it. "I'd be in your way, though."

"Living with three females? That would be a hard no for me, man." Emmett offers his opinion with a fierce shake of his head.

"Just keep it in mind," I suggest to Edward and he nods with a smile.

"I'm not trying to be difficult," he responds, reaching for a water in the cooler they must have brought with them. "I'll need a ride everywhere or – "

"We wouldn't have to drive you all the time," Rose interrupts. "You can take one of our cars whenever."

"Yeah, but I still haven't heard from HR yet about my actual work hours. I could be working crazy hours for all I know."

Rose sighs and looks at the time, reaching for her clothes. Emmett does the same.

She smiles at Edward when she's done slipping a sundress on over her suit. "Well, the offer is there if you want it."

"You ready?" Emmett asks and looks around one last time.

"You guys heading out?"

"Yeah, I have practice tonight so I want to get some things done first." She looks over at me. "You'll be okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll take Edward back."

"Not for much longer." Edward corrects and we say goodbye.

When it's just the two of us, and I'm on the brink of a late afternoon nap on my towel, Edward speaks and reminds me of my surroundings. "I think I'm going to go down to a dealership tomorrow. Just to see what I'm up against."

"It can't hurt," I agree with a shrug of my shoulders. "I guess it does help to know how much you'll need. At least it helps me."

I flip over so I'm on my back again, leaning up on my elbows as I look at the beach and water and crowd grow smaller by the minute. A thought crosses my mind and I shake my head.

"Actually, I take that back."

"It doesn't help you?"

I sigh, clarifying what I had originally said. "It does help me to know what I'm up against, but it doesn't help, or change, my situation." I tangle my hands in my hair, my fingers slick with the sea salt off the ocean.

"What am I gonna do?" My voice comes out as bleak as my future.

Edward, always the best friend needed in times like these, laughs at my misfortune. "I thought you said you were going to wait until the end of the week before you begin panicking again."

"I keep saying that to try to convince myself," I reply, and turn my face to his across from me. "I don't think it's working."

"I don't either," he laughs. A couple of minutes later he asks me, "Does it help to know that we're kind of in the same boat?"

I think about it for a moment. "A little," I agree, but then I shake my head. "It's different though. You heard Rose. You can stay with us for a couple of weeks before you can save up a bit for a car. I, on the other hand, don't have any other option other than to somehow have that money."

"Well, I think our situations are more similar than you think."

"How's that?"

Edward looks at me as if I've forgotten and need a reminder. "You have other options." He sits up and rattles them off on his fingers. "Rose. Your mom."

I shut him down real quick. "Options in their eyes. Not in mine," I argue, not wanting to discuss this situation and my mother, but I continue. "That's a lot of money to borrow from someone. I wouldn't be able to pay them back, either. It would take me forever, and I hate the feeling of having to pay someone back."

"I get it," Edward answers with a nod, "but I also think you're taking the hard way."

"And you're not?" I question and do a little reminding of my own. "Refusing Rose's offer?"

"Aha, and that is where we our situations are the same. An option in your eyes isn't necessarily an option in mine."

I let his words sink in, even though I think he's also making it more difficult than it needs to be. So what if he needed to sleep on our couch for a couple of weeks before getting a car?

"Maybe Emmett is right," I feel like waving the flag of defeat. "Before we leave I'm stopping in at Delilah's Den."

Edward laughs, the late afternoon sun shining against his face. "Stripper, huh?" He chuckles and rolls over onto his stomach again, his words muffled by his elbow. "You'd be better off making a sex tape."

Sex tape?

Immediately, like a freight train suddenly threatening impact, I see dollar signs appear in front of my face.

"Hmm." They are the only words that come to mind as I reach for my phone and frantically type in my lightning bolt of an idea.

"You could be the next celebrity whose career kicked off by selling a video of you and –"

"No, wait. Shh!"

"Did you just shh me?"

"I may have an idea. Hold on."

"Look!" I cry out, thrusting my phone so close to his face that he has to back up to see what is in front of his eyes. "I can make up to $40,000 per month!"

Before either of us can stop it, the sounds of the website I've searched for practically echo throughout the beach. Lucky girl in that video, apparently.

"Jesus, why the fuck is your phone so loud?" Edward whisper yells, grabbing my phone out of my hands so fast to lower the volume. His eyes grow wide when he sees what I've pulled up. "You can't be serious."

"I am! Read it!"

Edward laughs. "I feel like I'm reading Playboy for the articles. Who goes to Pornhub to read?" He scrolls until his eyebrows rise and he points to a video of his liking. "It's usually this I'm looking for."

"That's my whole point." I roll my eyes at how quickly a video of people having sex can distract someone. "If you can tear yourself away from the videos for a second, scroll down to the bottom and read how you can make money with amateur videos."

I know when he's reached the bottom and read what I did when he cracks a joke at my expense. "Okay, it says top models can make $40,000 in a month."

"I'm going to ignore that insult for now and remind you that sex sells." I grab my phone again and point to the other options. "There are a couple different ways to make money off of this. Click there."

He does, even if it is to pacify me.

"You have to sign up for it."

I shrug. "Use your email."

"You want to make a sex tape but you're afraid to give them your email?" He asks me incredulously. Once he stops laughing, he grabs my phone again. "Whatever. I probably subscribe to it, anyway."

"I see your point," he says after a few minutes of "research". "I mean, it does have its perks." He takes this time to show me a video of something else rather perky.

"We could easily make our money," I breathe out, thinking I've hit the jackpot.

"We?" Edward asks, confused, and I watch as realization dawns on his face. "NO. NO. .NO."

He's up and off of the blanket faster than I've ever seen this Captain of the Varsity soccer team move. I look up at him from my spot on the beach, and start to speak some of the strangest words to ever come out of my mouth.

"Edward, I have a proposition for you."

Alright, lovelies. How about some suggestions on what their handle (username) should be for when they post their videos? Spoiler: Edward is in charge of posting them (that's his thing!) but should it look like a female is posting the videos to entice male viewers? Should it sound like a male is posting to entice female viewers? Sound off!

Husband's Question of the Night after seeing my web history: Are we going to be filming amateur porn? I had to pick my laughing ass up off of the floor.