AN: Okay. I owe all my readers a huge apology for not posting anything for months but its been a hard year for me and I got sick so I was worried about that for a while. I saw that people started putting alerts on this again so I decided now since the semester is ending I should start up again. Thanks to METinspired for keeping me going and Lucy.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight and I just play around with her brilliance.

Chapter 7: Surprise and Jealousy

BPOV

Edward and I laid in his bed until 5:31 when Alice came pounding on the door and I reluctantly pulled out of his arms. I felt surprisingly glad that I knew that Edward loved me and that he knew I loved him back. I left him one soft kiss on his soft pink lips and let Alice drag me down the long white stair case that I would sneak back up, later on tonight. Edward and I never had sex and I was a virgin unlike most of the girls in the junior class. I didn't know about Alice and Jasper and I wasn't the kind of person to ask. I'll just make my own assumptions about Rosalie and Emmett.

We all had dinner together in the dinning room that had been redecorated twice since I'd first came to the Cullen's place. I sat next to Edward who kept his right hand in mine as it rested in my lap. Luckily we were farthest down from Esme and Carlisle so it went unnoticed. After dinner we all went to watch a movie Emmett rented called GATACA with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. It was interesting but after a while Edward's close proximity was distracting. I was just about to kiss his neck while no one was looking our way when my cell rang.

I jumped at the name that popped up on my screen. I hadn't spoken to him in months, and I didn't know why he was calling me now. Without a word I got of the couch, told Edward I would be back and went inside the foyer to talk alone.

"Hello?" I asked waiting to hear him answer back.

"Hey Bella how are you?" said James' husky baritone voice.

"Hi James, I'm good it's been a long time." James, my first crush was calling me. It was a surprise and quite strange but I couldn't help the hotness grow on my neck or the quickening of my heart. I was hopelessly obsessed with him last summer at art camp and he only thought of me as a friend. Ever since I'd been with Edward I hadn't thought about him much. Hearing his voice though brought back a different side of me.

"I know, I missed you after camp ended." He missed me. Wow.

"Oh, I missed you too, we had lots of fun together." It took a while for you to call bastard. See, it was complicated with James. If he lived in the city instead of Albany we would be best friends, along with Alice. We were so comfortable around each other that sometimes I got angry at him, because I didn't understand why he didn't like me in a romantic kind of way. Here is the complicated part, I think he did, but, there was something stopping him, me. I'd changed this fall. I became prettier and taller and my acne cleared. He was in a way to good looking for me, but Edward was far more gorgeous that James and I put together.

"True, well, I'm in the city and I was wondering if we could meet up? If you're free?" Yes!

"Sure, what are you doing tomorrow?" I asked.

"I'm seeing this concert with some friends, do you want to meet up afterwords and maybe get dinner?"

"Cool, you mind if I bring some friends along?" I wanted him to meet Edward and Alice.

"Um, yeah, it's okay, I'll meet you at eight outside the Time Warner Center."

"Awesome, I'll see you then."

"Bye, Bella."

"Bye." I smiled hugely to myself.

"Bella." Edward said from behind me after I hung up. I jumped a little and swiveled around.

"Hey." I said nervously. He walked my way, with his eyes a little squinted, and pulled into him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my forehead, lingering there before speaking.

"Who was that?" He asked looking over my head that his chin was resting on.

"Just an old friend, James, he wants to meet up tomorrow night at eight. Can you and Alice come with me, I want you guys to meet." I felt Edward's body tense, and relax while I spoke.

"Sure, where do you know him from?" He asked looking at me now.

"Art camp, in Pennsylvania. He lives upstate and he's in the city for vacation I guess. Other than you and Alice he's sort of my best friend."

"Oh. You never mentioned him." I could feel the tension return to his body.

"Oh." Was all I could say.

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Saturday night Edward drove Alice and I to the TWC at Columbus Circle. I saw him as we walked around the curve. He looked exactly the same, tall blonde and beautiful.

"James!" I called. He turned and to my surprise his eyes lit up and he ran towards me crushing me in a huge hug and lifted me of the floor.

"God Bella, you've changed." He said in utter amazement. He didn't let go of me and kept his arms around my waist.

"I missed you." I said as I hugged him again. I heard a sneaker scratch against the floor and remembered that Alice and Edward were behind me.

"Oh! James, I have to introduce you." I twisted out of his hold and pulled him towards Alice. "This is my best friend Alice, Alice this is James."

"Nice to meet you." said Alice in her sing-song soprano voice.

"And this is my boyfriend Edward." But Edward wasn't thinking it was nice to meet James at all. He stiffly shook hands with him and let go without a word. I realized then that my reunion with James might have been to intimate. James was looking down on me the way he looked at Victoria, his girl friend at camp, and he had not let go of my hand, which I now pulled out of his and placed behind Edward's back in a reassuring way, but he was still stiff.

"So where are we off to?" I said braking the silence.

"I heard there's a good restaurant upstairs, you wanna go?"

"Sure."

Edward's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me into him as we walked into the warm building. I quickly analyzed the situation around me. Alice was weary watching it unfold, James was itching to grasp my complete attention, and Edward was trying to show that I was his and no one else's. Oh, dear. I could tell this was going to be a long night.

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EPOV

Watching Bella fly into the arms of another guy was the first stab of the night straight into my heart. I kept telling myself they had just been friends until I saw the look in his eye when Bella was near him. I'd sized this James guy up in a second. He regretted not going for Bella in the past and now he thought he had an upper hand. But he was wrong. She was mine and he was going to have to realize that sooner or now.

We took the elevator up to the fourth floor where we were seated at the Porter House restaurant in a cozy semi-circled booth. I wasn't pleased with the seating arrangement, where Alice and I were on the outside and Bella and James on the inside. I pulled her closer to me so that there was a foot long space between her and James. She slipped her arm around my back, and laid a soft kiss on my cheek. It was reassuring and I let a smug smile flash in the blonde's direction.

Throughout dinner Bella and James caught up and laughed over inside jokes. Alice joined in when they talked about school, and I only spoke when asked a question. I didn't like the way James leaned down close to talk to Bella or the way he threw his arm around her when she said something funny. Finally Bella and Alice went to the bathroom together to talk and the two of us were left alone.

"So," I said to James, once the girls where off across the room. "you and Bella seem really close. What was holding you back those summers?"

He knew what I was asking him. Why didn't he make a move, and why was he itching to make one now? For the first time all night James was vulnerable. I uncovered something Bella and Alice would probably never notice as girls.

"Personal reasons man." He said sipping some coke. There was something sneaky, and cocky about this guy and I considered him a challenge, someone who needed to be put in his place.

"Too bad." I said. "Why did you want to see her again?" I uncovered another thing again. He knew, that I knew he wasn't visiting friends in the city, and he had come here to see Bella, for some reason, and I wanted to know why.

"Another personal reason. We are almost like best friends, but we live so far away from each other, but that can change."

"Oh, really. How?"

"I was accepted to NYU and Columbia. I could be here for the next four years."

"So is Bella one of your deciding factors?" I asked with a I'll-fuck-you-up nuance in my words.

"Maybe. More personal reasons. I have to go to the mens room." He got up and left. He didn't seem worried about my place in Bella's life, and that was enough for me to know he underestimated her and realistically he was no competition.

JamesPOV

I walked away from the smart boyfriends questions. As I approached the hall towards the restrooms, Bella and her friend emerged giggling lightly and stopping when they saw me approach. I decided this was my opportunity.

"Excuse me Alice, can I talk to Bella alone for a few minutes."

"Sure." She said and she gave Bella a weary look before walking back towards the table.

"Bella," I held her hands. "I'm thinking of moving to New York for College."

"That's great James!" She smiled. "We'll get to hang out more, there's tons of stuff to do here I can show you around."

"Sure, but I want to talk to you about us. This Edward guy doesn't seem at all your type."

"And what would be my type?" She said a little taken aback.

"I don't know, I was thinking me."

"You? Why would you think that?" Her words were hard and angry and her eyes widened in a way that could be taken as sexy but I knew my Bella and was she really pissed.

"Come on, Bella. We both know you liked me this summer, you can't deny that."

"It doesn't matter, because I love Edward and there is nothing you can do to change that." I was shocked at her conviction, but it didn't seem like her at all when she said this.

"You said you didn't believe in love. That it didn't really exist."

"Well I do now." She began to walk away, but I caught her arm and pulled her back. I felt her try to writhe away from me but I pulled her in and turned her to kiss me. She struggled against my lips but it only lasted a few seconds before a pair of fierce strong hands threw me across the hallway. I'd never seen anyone angrier than Edward. He stepped out in front of her and waited. His words were strong and calm but there was an extreme threat behind them.

"Don't ever contact Bella ever again, and if you ever see me, run in the other direction as fast as you can." And in one swift motion he turned and he and Bella were gone from the hallway with Alice in tow.

BPOV

I couldn't believe he just did that. For three summers I'd prayed that he would just kiss me already and now I'd rather stab myself with a kitchen knife. What was his problem. He was too late and knowing the size of James' ego he couldn't take it. I was relieved when Edward came to my rescue , but I still felt bad for James. I didn't agree with Edward's threat. I wanted to work things out with James and still be friends but I wanted Edward more, and if I had to choose, Edward would be the easy pick.

ALice looked at me wearily as we left the restaurant, just the three of us. Edward was furious and told Alice to wait in the car while he talked to me under a shadowed awning.

"Tell me Bella, do yo still have feelings for that guy?"

"No." I said honestly looking up at his beautiful but pained face. "I love you."

His whole body relaxed at my sincerity. It was true, my love for Edward consumed me to no end, and the person that was infatuated with James lingered like a wispy memory on the edge of a black whole floating over nonexistence.

"I love you so much Bella, you don't know. I can't take this jealousy I feel when I know you have this guy whose known you longer and I can see you still care about him in a different way."

"Edward, listen to me. James missed his chance a long time ago and the moment I saw you I think I loved you a million times more than I could ever love anyone, let alone James."

"I needed that, Bella." He pulled me into a strong hold a left kisses on my face which I gladly returned. I remembered a slight detail and pulled away just one centimeter.

"Alice is going to rip the car apart if we don't get back."

"We'll let her walk home."

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So what do you think? I need some reviews to prompt me on a new chapter. This isn't the end of James at all. This chapter is dedicated to Lucy and Christina for slapping their foreheads when I told them that I was about to post the next chapter a trillion months late. Luv you guys always!!!!