Title: Seven Minutes in Heaven
Author: Readingmama/Vampiremama
Beta: AcrossTheSkyInStars

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Continuity: AH/AU
Rating: M

Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.

Chapter 5

7 Years later

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Goodnight, Quil."

Bella's tall, handsome boyfriend leaned in and kissed her in the hallway of her condo. He was the perfect gentleman. He was everything she wanted. He had all the qualities she was looking for, except he wasn't Edward.

She'd had a string of boyfriends, all whom would have made the grade with Edward's guidelines, but none of them sparked the fire inside her like Edward had. None of them had made her feel special the way Edward had, but she was scared to go back to the other kind of man. She never wanted to feel the way she did in high school again.

Quil hugged her and then let her go, waiting for her to enter her condo and lock the door before he left. He never tried to get in, he understood she was waiting. Sometimes she wished he'd be a little less understanding. It's not that she wanted to have sex with Quil, but feeling like she was desired might help their relationship move to that next point.

She'd had sex with her college boyfriend. They had been together two years and she thought it was what she wanted. In the end, it was as lackluster as the relationship had been and they parted ways amicably. Bella didn't want sex unless it was going to be both loving and good. That was what she was waiting for.

~~7MiH~~

"What are you doing?" Kate asked as she walked in, seeing Bella with her head tilted back and her mouth open as she stared at the ceiling.

Bella immediately closed her gaping pie hole and turned to her friend. "Would you believe praying for the end of the world?"

Kate just laughed, very used to Bella's dramatics by now. The two had met just after university and had been friends ever since. They'd both gotten a job with the same company, Bella in human resources and Kate in sales, and they'd been inseparable ever since. Kate's boyfriend, Garrett, worked in the same building and the three of them spent a lot of time together, the couple never making Bella feel like the third wheel. Even when Bella dated, she rarely brought them out with her friends, saving them for times when she needed to blow off steam alone.

"Bad day, sweetums?" she teased, placing the extra tea in her hand down in front of Bella.

"I have to break up with Quil," Bella answered.

"What? No," Kate whined. "He's so cute, and tall, and have you seen his ass?"

Bella laughed. "No, Kate, I've been dating him four months and I haven't noticed his tight buns of steel."

"So then what's the problem?"

Bella sighed and stood up, grabbing her tea. She linked her arm with her friend's and headed out of her office. "He's just not the one."

"But he's like a tanned Clark Kent in those glasses of his, if I wasn't taken…"

"If you weren't taken you'd what?" a strong male voice interrupted. Bella let go of Kate's arm as her boyfriend, Garrett, strode up to them.

"I'd kill myself for losing the sexiest man in the world," Kate replied, no stranger to dramatics herself.

Garrett shook his head, laughing and not believing a word. "You see what I have to put up with?" he queried over Kate's head at Bella.

"I've known her longer than you, I know all about it," Bella replied with a smug smile.

Kate elbowed her as the three of them headed out of the building for lunch.

~~7MiH~~

Bella sat on her couch, a jar of olives in front of her and a spoon in her hand. She took yet another one out of the jar, loaded it into her spoon, bent it back and then let it fly, landing in the cup on the windowsill.

"Yes!" Bella cheered for herself as she raised both hands in the air.

Just as Bella loaded up the next spoon her phone rang. She bent her spoon back anyway, but the sound of the next ring made her miss the shot, her olive spattering on the window.

Bella turned and glared at the phone before picking it up.

"Hello."

"Hey, sweetums, come out and play with us!" Kate's voice whined through the receiver.

"Naw, I'm good. I have some stuff I got to get done for work."

"It's Friday, save it til Sunday night. Didn't you learn anything in University?" There was a pause. "Are you eating ice cream?"

Bella looked at the empty tub on her coffee table. "Nooooooo," she replied suspiciously.

"Are you on to playing olive basketball already?"

"No, shut up," Bella harrumphed into the phone, annoyed that her friend knew her so well.

"This is serious. I'll be over in ten."

"Kate, no, really. I just want to chill tonight."

"It's been two weeks since you broke up with Quil. Are you regretting it? Cause he would take you back, you know he would."

Bella chucked her spoon down on her coffee table and stood up. "I don't want Quil."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Edward," Bella sighed.

"Who's Edward? Wait, never mind. I'm on my way. We'll stay in, but I think this is a talk we should have with drinks."

Bella didn't even try to argue, she knew her friend was coming whether she wanted her to or not. Kate was a good friend, and now that Bella had spoken the name she had kept to herself for so many years, she was feeling anxious to talk about him. Kate would understand, and maybe getting the whole story out might help put some closure on the situation.

Less than an hour later, Kate was sitting on Bella's couch as she told of her high school love. Kate took a sip of her drink as she listened to Bella. She hadn't said a word since Bella started her story but her mind had been going a mile a minute.

"How come you've never told me about him?" Kate asked.

Bella shrugged. "It never came up. I don't know about your high school boyfriends. It was a long time ago."

"But my high school boyfriends are in my past. This Edward is haunting your presence."

Bella picked at a hangnail and bobbed her head. When she finished, she looked up at her friend. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"You're not crazy, Bella," Kate assured. "But I think you are looking at this guy with rose colored glasses on. Sure, he was great in high school, but he sounds like the same type of guy you always date and get bored of. I think you need to step out of your 'type' and find a guy that interests you, not one that fits a specific list you made when you were seventeen."

"Maybe you're right," Bella acquiesced, although she wasn't sure. Edward had been similar to the men she dated but there was one thing he had that the others didn't. Her love.

"But seriously, Bella, you were a slut? I just can't see it." Kate laughed as Bella took the pillow from the couch and threw it at her.

When the laughter died down, Bella looked more serious. "I was just a stupid kid. Edward was the one that stopped it from being a lifelong affliction."

"Well then, to Edward," Kate said, lifting up her glass.

Bella clinked the side of hers to Kate's and repeated, "To Edward."

About two hours and several drinks later, the two friends were giggling and sharing stories from their past. Kate had told Bella that before Garret she had dated this guy who was cross-eyed and it made her giggle every time he looked at her breasts.

"That's horrible!" Bella admonished, but her body betrayed her as she began to giggle as well.

Bella even told Kate about Mike Newton and how he had tried right up until Graduation to get into her pants with insults.

"He was a real charmer," Bella said. "All girls like a man who tells them…" she deepened her voice to sound like Mike, "…everyone knows you like it, anyway. What's the problem… because if you like sex, it doesn't matter the source?" Bella rolled her eyes, but she was glad that she was able to laugh about it now. She no longer felt haunted by that past.

"You should email him," Kate suggested.

"Who? Mike?" Bella asked, confused.

"Edward."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "I can't. A couple years back I tried to email him and he'd changed his email."

"Facebook?"

"If he's got one, I can't find it," Bella admitted. After the Facebook trail had come up empty, she didn't bother trying. She was just looking to reconnect, not stalk him.

"Well shit," Kate slurred. "Okay then let's go find you a new man. A sexy one that makes you want to say yes even when you're saying no."

"Okay," Bella replied, but she stayed laid back and relaxed on the couch. "Tomorrow."

Kate, just as comfortable and inebriated, nodded. "Tomorrow."

~~7MiH~~

The previous evening had been cathartic, exactly what Bell had needed. She felt like she had purged Edward from her, gotten closure. Kate had been right, it'd been seven years and there was no way Edward was the same boy she knew. She wasn't the same girl he'd moved away from. There was a hope that he was happy, but she knew she couldn't dwell on him any longer. Life was waiting and she needed to live it.

Life sucked. Although she felt free and able to face the world, work was in her way and it was dragging. And to add to that, she had a residual headache from the drinks she and Kate had pounded back. Bella pulled out her cell phone and sent Kate a quick text.

Plans tonight?

It was only a few minutes before her phone vibrated on her desk.

Band at Mickey's. Wanna cum?

Bella agreed instantly, she'd been to Mickey's a couple of time and had always enjoyed their entertainment; most bands chose to cover classic rock, and did a decent job at it. Mickey's itself was a little run down but it had a lot of character. The outer walls were rimmed with booths and the rest of the room was set with tall tables and chairs you had to climb up on. Kate and Bella used to make a game out of watching the drunk people fall from their perches. There was a small stage and an even smaller floor in front of it to dance on. Most people didn't dance, so it was rarely crowded.

By the time they arrived there that night, the tables were already mostly full. Garrett spotted one and told the girls to grab it while he procured the drinks. Bella laughed as Kate's ass was groped as she passed a little too close to a table of already quite drunk frat boys. Kate mumbled a threat at Bella, but she couldn't hear it over the noise in the bar. The band was mid song and Bella could already feel her foot tapping along with the beat as she sat.

"I'm so glad you came out with us tonight," Kate yelled over the noise to Bella.

"Me too," Bella said honestly. It had been too long since she'd really had fun.

"This is the first night of a competition. They're going to have new bands for the next six weeks. Every Friday."

"Sounds fun," Bella replied right before Garrett placed her drink down in front of her. She looked up to thank him only to realize it wasn't Garrett.

"Let's just skip this part and go right to the introductions, I'm Sam." He was tall and good looking. He was clearly native, with a long braid, tanned skin, and friendly eyes.

"And what part is that?" Bella asked, amused as Kate watched on.

"The part where you say you don't accept drinks from strangers, and hopefully the part where you tell me you already have a boyfriend?" His voice was hopeful.

Garrett arrived just then and Sam's face dropped. "I'm sorry, enjoy the drink."

"Wait!" Bella called out as he turned to go. Sam turned around and looked back at Bella. "Her boyfriend," she pointed at Kate.

Sam's face lit up again and Bella couldn't help but smile.

"Wanna have a seat?" she offered, and he immediately sat down. "I'm Bella."

"It's great to meet you, Bella," he said and his smile held mischief.

Bella and Sam got along great, he was funny and nice, he had a good job and he was very cute. For the first time in a long time, Bella didn't worry about anything but the moment. She knew she wasn't going to crawl into bed with him, that still wasn't what she was looking for, but it didn't mean some flirting wasn't called for.

"I have to use the restroom," she said before getting up and stumbling as she slipped off the chair. Kate grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Careful, don't turn into one of the locals," she teased.

Bella shot her a look and then made her way to the washroom. She thought about Sam the whole time. He was what she was looking for; he was nice but not too nice. She wondered if he would be the type of guy that would respect her wanting to wait, but make her burn for more.

After washing her hands and smoothing down her hair she took a step out of the bathroom and right into Sam. His arms went around her to steady her as she wobbled, more from the collision than her alcoholic intake.

"Hey, are you stalking me?" Bella teased as she felt a flush of heat from being in his arms. The way he held her made her insides flip.

"I just wanted a minute alone, if that's okay?" he asked as he slid his arm around her back and led her down the hallway to someplace a little quieter.

Bella followed easily. She liked Sam and she had good instincts about people, and she was fairly certain he wasn't taking her to murder her and keep one of her toes as a souvenir.

Sam stopped when they got to the end of the corridor and he backed Bella up so she was against the wall, but still gave her space. Taking her hand, he smiled down at her with a smile of a man who was clearly attracted to her. It made Bella's knees shake a little.

"I like you, Bella. Can we see each other again?" he asked, running his hand down her forearm and then taking her hand.

"Okay," Bella replied almost in a daze. This had not been her plan but she had already decided to get back on the horse, so there was no reason to say no.

"Good, then I want you to give me your phone number after."

"After what?" Bella asked, her eyes meeting his and getting stuck there.

"After I kiss you." Sam leaned in and his body felt warm against Bella's. She wrapped her arms around his neck and when he took too long, she pulled him to her.

The kiss was electric, full of things she hadn't felt in a long time. His lips moved easily against hers and when he pulled back, she pulled him forward again. He laughed and met her kiss again, one hand coming to rest on her hip.

Bella was smiling but felt shy when the kiss ended. They exchanged phone numbers and then headed back to the table.

Kate clearly knew something was up but said nothing throughout the night until Sam said his goodbye, promising to call.

"Did you do him in the bathroom?" Kate blurted when he was gone.

"Ew, no. We were in the hallway." Kate's mouth dropped open and Bella scrambled to explain. "No, I mean we just kissed, but it was in the hallway, not the bathroom."

Kate's lips twitched up. "Just kissing?"

"Yes, but it was a great kiss," Bella sighed.

Kate smiled at her friend. "Real attraction. Finally!" Kate exclaimed. "That is a good start."

Bella took the last sip of her drink. "Come on, let's go home. I'm beat."

On her way out of the bar, Bella took the flyer for the band competition, stuffing it in her purse to take a look at later.