I am so sorry that I haven't replied to all the wonderful reviews you left this week. State testing and third quarter grades have kept me very busy. Do know that I have read everyone and it truly is wonderful to hear what all of you fantastic people have to say. I know you are still not liking Edward too much. Maybe this will change your mind a little. TMart37, there is a little something something in this just for you!

AN: I do not own Twilight and all errors are my own.

Chapter 11

The Apology

EPOV

It was by chance that the day after Jasper gave his infinite wisdom was a Saturday. I knew from just talking to Bella that she spent her Saturday mornings getting caught up on laundry, cleaning, and school work before she came in for her shift.

At least she did when she had a shift to come in to.

I found out from Emmett where here apartment was located and made my way there mid-morning armed with a bag of muffins from the amazing bakery around the corner from my place as a peace offering. I didn't want to come empty handed and Alice had once told me that all girls like comfort food. The muffins certainly eliminated the agony of trying to figure out just how Bella drank her coffee, if she indeed drank coffee, which I did not know for sure that she did. Also, I wasn't confident that she wouldn't throw it in my face but at least with the muffins I wouldn't end up with third degree burns.

The hallway was empty but I could hear soft music coming from Bella's apartment as I stood outside her door. I felt a small sheen of sweat prickle at my skin, an indication that I was indeed nervous.

No need to be nervous. This is Bella. She's reasonable.

Yeah, fuck. Who was I kidding? I was here to grovel and hope like hell that she was going to forgive me. I knocked on the door and waited. I heard the music drift even softer shortly followed by the door opening. My breath hitched.

She was dressed in comfortable but flattering sweats that enhanced every curve and an oversized Hard Rock Café t-shirt from San Francisco. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her bed and she had no make-up on whatsoever.

She was beautiful.

Her eyes widened slightly indicating that she didn't expect me to be at her door. "Hey, Bella. How…" Whatever my thought had been it was immediately cut off by the blinding light behind my eyelids and the pain radiating to every nerve in my fucking body. I couldn't help but drop to my knees and cup the place that was the root of all my pain. Leaning forward I rested my head on the door that I hadn't even hear slam shut and just tried to breath.

A few minutes later when the ringing in my ears had started to subside, I figured out that this was the result of Bella kicking me square in the balls.

Motherfucker, it hurts.

So okay, maybe I deserved it. But goddamn, she didn't even give me a warning.

As gingerly as I could, I maneuvered myself so that I was now sitting with my back against the door, my hands still holding my junk like it was going to fall off. I heard a crinkling as I placed my ass on the floor. The once amazing muffins were probably nothing more than a bag of pulverized crumbs now that I had sat on them.

This was not going so well.

"Bella, come on." Sounding like a twelve year old whiney girl, I cleared my throat and started again. "I know you're mad. And you should be. I was an ass. Please, open the door and let me apologize. The right way."

Nothing. Not even a go fuck yourself.

"Come on, Bella. It's the least you can do." I got the reaction I was hoping for. Abruptly the door flew open and I had to catch myself from completely laying down in her doorway.

"The least I can do? You got some fucking nerve coming here and spewing that shit." Yeah, she was still mad. Still really mad. Ignoring the pain that was now just a persistent throbbing, I stood up on my feet and faced her.

"Look, I know I screwed up. Big time. Let me try to say I'm sorry." I quickly reached down and picked up the mangled bag off the floor. "I brought muffins. Well, they used to be muffins." She eyed the bag before snatching it from my hand. When she looked inside I could have sworn I saw the beginnings of a smile, but it was gone just as fast as it had formed.

"Fine. You have five minutes. Get in here before my neighbors call the cops on your ass." Okay, that would not be good. I stepped inside her apartment and closed the door behind me. She had already turned so that I couldn't come in any further than the doorway. She had her arms folded across her chest and the scowl on her face let me know that I had to make this good.

"Bella, I really am sorry." There. It was out there. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but lingering silence wasn't it. She just stared at me obviously not impressed. I wasn't sure what else I was supposed to say.

"What exactly are you sorry for?" My mind conjured up a few things but I didn't even have the chance to say. "For taking what I thought was a good time had by both of us and cheapening it by not even acknowledging that it happened, for disrespecting our friendship by using that slut to let me know where we stood instead of just being honest, or for disregarding an agreement we had and making me choose between a job I needed and my education. Which one, Edward? Which one exactly are you sorry for?"

I didn't realize it was going to be multiple choice. I was fucking this up royally. With a deep breath I decided to tackle the easiest one first.

"Okay, look, about the test. I shouldn't have gone back on my word. I wasn't thinking at the time."

"Oh, you were thinking. Just not with the right head." Damn, she was quick and not afraid to call me out on my shit.

"You're right, okay, you're right. I was distracted by Tanya." Her eyes narrowed even further at me. "I used her to piss you off. And it worked, a little too much. But if it makes a difference, nothing happened. In fact, she was pretty quick to let me know that I was an idiot. She left shortly after you did."

"Okay, fine, I get what you were trying to do, but I just don't know why. Didn't you…enjoy yourself when you were with me?" The tone in her voice shifted and the anger she had was now tinged with sadness. A knot in my gut formed. I wanted to take that sadness away.

"I did, Bella, God I loved every minute of it." I could feel my aching dick recovering slightly as the memory of that night came to mind. "It's just that…look I…you see…" This was where I was supposed to man up and let her know that I just wasn't boyfriend material, but the words wouldn't come.

"See what, Edward?"

"I'm just not sure I can give you what you want." There, I said it. It didn't make me feel any better, but at least I was being honest with her.

"And what is it do you think I want?" I shrugged my shoulders and cringed a little, not knowing how to verbalize it. "Oh, I get it. You think that just because we had sex that I would desperately want to be your girlfriend." Now I was a little confused. Because, isn't that precisely what she wanted?

"Well, yeah, that's what all girls want." When she didn't say anything I made the mistake of asking for confirmation. "Isn't it?"

"You are so fucking clueless, it's not even funny. Look, I can't deny that I'm attracted to you. I think you know just as well as I do that there is a chemistry that exists between us. The air crackles with it when we are just near each other." I nodded because hell yes, I felt it. "And that night, we both wanted it. You didn't take advantage of me. We were two consenting adults and it was great. At least it was for me."

"It was for me too." I piped up quickly because at this point that was the only thing I was sure of.

"But, Edward, if you think I was expecting to come in the next day looking for a ring, you are mistaken. Yes, I would have liked to have seen where this could have gone." She motioned between the two of us with her hand. It was not lost upon me that she was talking in the past tense, like the opportunity for that to happen was gone. I wasn't quite sure I liked that. "But with working two jobs and going to school fulltime, I just don't have room on my plate for anything more right now. And you, I've kind of known where you stand this whole time. You're not ready for a relationship. It would be a disaster."

She had me pegged on that one. But apparently I was completely off about her.

"If you had just asked then you would have known that I was hoping we could still be friends with maybe a little stress relief on the side from time to time. And if and when, and I strongly stress the word if, something more was to slowly develop and the timing was right, then we could have explored it together."

I was completely blown away. Bella was more sure and confident in what she wanted than I gave her credit for. And I was the fucking mess. How could I have been so stupid?

"I'm really sorry Bella, for everything. I don't want to lose your friendship. How can I fix this?" I had to ask because I was truly at a loss.

"It's done, Edward. It's over." The panic I had been feeling started to creep up again. This time it was triggered by her words of finality.

"Wait, at least consider coming back to work. I feel like a real shit. You should never have had a reason to quit in the first place and I know it worked well with your schedule. Also, I haven't hired anyone else and Charlotte is ready to kill me. I promise, I will be on my best behavior. We can make it work, for both of us." I know I sounded desperate, but the thought of never seeing her again was killing me.

"I don't know if that is the best idea…" I wasn't going to let her say no.

"C'mon Bella, it will be like before. I won't be an ass. I know the entire staff; especially Alice would love for you to come back." It may have been a low blow but I was not above tugging at her heartstrings. If she came back, I could really try to make this up to her, the right way. I could see her wavering. I refrained from fist pumping.

"Okay, fine. But there are going to be some ground rules. This thing between us, it's over. You are my employer and I am your employee. That is it, nothing more."

"Okay, you got it."

"And my school work comes first. If I need a night off or have to leave early, you have to give it to me."

"Done."

"And I want a ten percent raise."

"It's yours." She looked at me and shook her head.

"I hope I don't regret this, Edward. Don't make me regret this." The sadness that I had heard before had returned and the hurt I had caused was reflected in her eyes. The knot of guilt in my stomach was growing larger.

"I won't, I promise." I said softly. Without anything else to say, I turned to the door. I felt relieved that we had made some progress. "So, can you come in tonight for your regular shift? We could use the help." She sighed.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Do you want to go get some make-up coffee to officially put this behind us?" I know it was stupid to ask especially since she just told me that we were nothing more than work associates, but now that we kind of on good terms, I wanted to catch up with her. Find out what she had been doing these past couple of weeks.

Was that wrong?

"You are ridiculous." She huffed. "No, I do not want to get coffee with you. I'll see you tonight. Good-bye, Edward."

As I walked out of her building my emotions were mixed. Sure, I was happy, elated that Bella was coming back to work. Not seeing her for weeks had been torture and to know that it was coming to an end was just wonderful. But her revelation about what could have happened between us niggled at the back of my brain. Could we have continued our friendship with a side of "stress relief" as she called it? Could we have kept it casual and just waited and seen where it could have gone?

These were questions that I now had no way of finding out. And for some reason, it plagued me.

So he said he was sorry and Bella took her job back. What do you think? Did he do okay? Did she give in too easily? Thanks for reading!