A/N: Oye. If only you knew how many times I changed things. Sorry for the wait! Let's see what the kids are up to.

"There you are, good buddy." Edward emerged from his trailer's bathroom, fresh from a shower. He was shirtless, and he couldn't help but smirk when he saw Bella's eyes rake over his form. He hung a towel around his neck, lifting one end to dry his hair as he looked at her. "I thought you were going to stand me up for our date tonight."

Bella finally met his eyes and quirked an eyebrow. "Our carefully manufactured date that everyone else in the world thinks you'll be taking with Gianna?"

Edward sat down in a chair opposite her, spreading his arms wide across the back. "That's the one."

An amused smile played at her lips. "What? You're not going to give me crap because I suddenly appeared in your trailer?"

"My good buddy with boundary issues." He lifted his foot and let the tip of his toe run along the length of her leg. "Who apparently likes me to tease her?"

Smirking, Bella bounced her leg, casting his foot off. "Like isn't the same thing as expect."

Edward hummed. "So, why did you break into my trailer, Swan?"

"Break in?" she mocked, shaking her head. "You left it unlocked."

"That's true. Benjamin is the only one who barges in without knocking, and I know he's not in town today." He tilted his head. "Most people have better manners, but you know, in friendship, as with all relationships, you have to take people as they are. You have personal space issues, but I like you anyway."

"So delusional. I don't have personal space issues."

Edward reached over and grabbed a stack of tabloids off a table. He tossed it so it landed beside her on the couch. "I have photographic evidence."

She didn't deign to look and didn't need to. She knew well enough they were the pictures from their coffee 'dates' the week before. "I'm beginning to question everything I've read about you. Maybe you have tabloid-itis. You really haven't had any relationships. Maybe all the relationships you think you've had have been the product of tabloid rumors like you and me-or you and Gianna, I guess. They spin the fantasy; you just have to believe it."

"Ah, you've discovered my dirty secret. I'm actually still a virgin." He waggled his eyebrows. "Do you want to be my mentor, baby? Do you want to teach me everything there is to know about the wonderful world of sex?"

"Wish I could, stud, but we have shit to do. I'm going to be late to my own party if you don't get a move on." Again her eyes strayed to his chest. "How about a shirt?"

"I can't very well choose a shirt if I don't know where we're going."

She stared at him for a beat before she stood. She strode to his closet and pulled it open.

"You take such liberties, Swan. What if I don't like people touching my things?"

"What the hell is this?" she asked, ignoring him as she pulled a shirt out. It was a dark blue shirt with a yellow pattern of flowers, plants, and suns. Even he balked when he saw it. "Please tell me you've never worn this shirt."

"You know someone stocks these trailers, right?" Edward shook his head. "I'm sure it's someone's latest fashion, and they 'donated' it for my use just in case I'd be caught dead wearing it in public."

She stared at the horrendous shirt for another second before she put it back. "Good dare material, I guess." She glanced down at what he was wearing in the way of pants and then back into the closet.

After a few more seconds, her expression brightened. "Much better," she said as she pulled out a charcoal-colored button down. Simple and casual. She tossed it on his lap. "Where are your socks?"

Edward got to his feet. "I'll get my own socks." He shrugged into the shirt. "Next thing you know, you're going to want to dress me."

She stepped into his personal space as though she belonged there. Shocked, Edward stood still, watching her as she pulled his shirt closed over his chest. Keeping her gaze steady on his eyes, she started to button him up, top button first. "What? You don't have people for this?"

He snorted. "A personal dresser. Now that's the ancient kings of England level of douche. I'd like to think I'm not quite that bad."

She left the top three buttons undone and ran an approving hand down his chest before she looked at him. "You're all right."

Before she could move away, he caught her at the elbow. He leaned in so they were almost nose to nose. "I told you you have personal space issues," he said and winked at her before he let her go.

~0~

Everything went to plan. Edward and Bella left the studio together so that no one would pay attention to Gianna's friend's car right behind them. They made sure the paps caught them on their way out. "Just what is the allure of blurry car photos?" Edward asked, shaking his head as they turned on to the main street.

"Hush, you. If not for blurry photos, I wouldn't have this side job." She reached over and patted his knee. "And you wouldn't get the pleasure of my company."

"I don't know, Swan. This all started when you threw me down a flight of stairs." He glanced at her. "That's a pretty intense thing to do to someone you don't care about. I think you would have figured out a way to see more of me even if you weren't getting paid. I'm just glad it worked out this way, without more bodily injury to me."

"I wouldn't count out the no bodily injury thing yet. I'm beginning to think I'm being underpaid to put up with the likes of you."

Their actual business was brief. It took only twenty minutes to let people inside the bar get surreptitious photos of Edward and Bella together. As soon as Edward noticed a few people working up the nerve to come ask them for photos or autographs, they gave the server a bill that more than covered their tab and left. Outside, a small swarm of paps met the pair. Edward pulled Bella to him so 'Gianna' could hide her face in his side.

"That was thoroughly unpleasant," Bella said when they were safely away.

It was the first time the paps had been close enough to touch her and taunt her. "Aggressive assholes. I should have had Emmett escort us out." He shook his head, checking the mirror to make sure they were only being followed by his bodyguard. "They never bothered you when you were with your exes?"

"Of course they did. That's what makes it unpleasant instead of scary. I knew what I was getting into when I took this job." She shrugged, straightening up from where she had been slouched down in the passenger seat. "I suppose it's nice that they're not calling my name when they say stupid things."

Edward hummed. "Well, fuck them anyway. It's party time."

"Party starts at nine, stud. Don't be that guy."

"You're really going to make me drop you off only to come all the way back here?"

She cast him a beatific smile. "You said yesterday you were afraid to be alone with me. I'm only trying to protect you."

"I see." Edward pressed his lips together, trying to think of some clever retort.

Bella laughed and propped her legs up on the dash. "You should see your face right now, Edward. You know, I don't think you're a diva, but you're used to getting your way, aren't you?"

"I'm used to people kissing my ass if that's what you mean, but I think I'd fall over dead if you did something like that." Edward spared a glance in her direction. "Kidding aside, I wouldn't mind spending time with you without playing games with the paps. You know, maybe see if we're buddies when you're not getting paid."

"Ouch, Cullen. Way to make it sound like I'm a whore."

"Oh, please. You know what I meant."

"Yes, I know." She pretended to hem and haw as they pulled into her apartment complex. "Well, I suppose it would be cruel to send you packing. With traffic, you'd barely reach your door before you come back, and there's a chance your paparazzi friends would trail you here. You may stay."

Edward smirked and parked where she indicated. "You're benevolent. Don't let anyone tell you elsewise."

"Okay," Bella said a minute later as she unlocked her door. "I know you're used to swanky premiere parties. This is not that."

"This is a nice apartment complex, Swan. I'm not so far removed from the real world that I don't know about the real estate around here. You do well for yourself."

"Like you said before, my body is going to be all kinds of achy when I'm forty." She shrugged. "That hasn't stopped my dad, but it pays well in this business."

The inside of her apartment was eclectic to say the least. Looking around, he could tell how she'd spent her money. Oh, sure, there was a nice entertainment center. She had the obligatory large flatscreen TV with a healthy array of game consoles. But most of the room was decorated with random, pretty things. The artistry and fine work of many different countries was represented. Her bookshelves-of which there were many-held books in a wide range of interest. Edward ran his hand along a row and his lips quirked. Every single book on that shelf and the one above it was full of ghost stories of different countries and states.

"It's kind of my thing," Bella said, looking sheepish. "I try to find a ghost book wherever I go.

"My mom does rocks. My dad does magnets," Edward said. He picked up a small statue of a puffin etched in what he thought was soapstone. "Every metal surface in his office is covered with magnets of places he's been."

"Well, at least it's not tiny bottles of dirt and sand," Bella said. She looked at him. "Do you collect anything?"

"Bottles of dirt and sand," Edward said, straight-faced.

Bella balked. "I didn't...I mean-"

Edward laughed. "You should see the look on your face. No, I collect books and art, too. Not a specific type of book like this, though I like that idea. I try to collect art from local artists." He gestured with the puffin. "Alaska, right?"

He put it down and touched another piece. "Greece." Then another. "Italy." Another. "South America, somewhere."

"Brazil," Bella said.

He picked up a box with an ornate, hand carved design and studied it for a moment. "Ru-" The word cut off when he realized Bella had followed him on his trek across the room. Now she was standing close. She seemed as startled as he was to find herself so near him. She blinked, and Edward swallowed hard. "Russia?" he asked.

For a moment, she seemed befuddled, as though the question was out of place with whatever was going on in her head. "Um." Her gaze dropped briefly down to his hand and then back up to his eyes. "Croatia."

"Croatia." By then, politeness dictated that they should have moved away, given each other some space. It was a difficult thing to think about when all he really wanted to do was wrap his arm around her waist and bring her close enough to kiss. The way she was looking at him, as though caught in his stare… She felt this pull, didn't she?

He shuffled a step to the side at the same time she did; instead of putting distance between them they were thrown closer together. At that point, not kissing her seemed so wrong as to be unnatural. He shifted his weight, unconsciously angling his body toward hers, and she still didn't move.

No. He wasn't that guy. Her eyes were screaming yes. Yes, yes, yes, please. But there was conflict in them as well. She had rebuffed him from the start, and, though she didn't need to, she'd given him a very specific reason why. Yes, he was sure she wanted him to kiss her, but he could also see the uncertainty there. She didn't want to want him. She'd said no, and no was a word he respected.

Her tongue peeked out, pink tip against pink lips. His eyes followed the motion, and he swayed. Maybe…

A knock on the door sent them both jolting backward. They both laughed nervously. They stared for a few seconds more until the person at the door began pounding out a rhythmic tattoo. Edward turned back to the shelf to put the box back in its place while Bella went to answer the incessant knocker.

"Bella!"

Edward looked up at the over-enthusiastic shout and saw a large, long-haired young man envelop Bella in a bear hug. Bella yelped as he picked her up so her legs were dangling off the ground as he spun her. He took a step forward and stopped himself. There was no reason to think this person was a threat, after all, so why was anger churning in his gut all of a sudden?

"Seth," Bella said with a breathless laugh. She ruffled his hair affectionately when he set her down. "You're going to crack my ribs someday."

"Nah. You're a tough chick." Seth glanced to the side then, spotting Edward, and his demeanor changed in an instant. "Oh, uh. Wow, I mean. Hi?"

Edward couldn't help but smile at the young man's stammering. It was so incongruous with his intimidating form-slender but well-muscled and tall. His face was turning interesting colors, the red standing out against tan skin. He was younger than Edward first thought. A few years younger than Bella, he wagered. Barely adult, if that.

Bella laughed. "Oh, man. Are you going to spaz out right now?" She cackled as Seth couldn't seem to decide between staring at Edward and glaring at her. "You are. You're totally about to fangirl." She patted him on his broad back. "Dude, get it over with. Then you can spend the rest of the night recovering from embarrassment and realizing he's not all that." She grinned wickedly at Edward.

Seth giggled somewhat maniacally and rubbed the back of his head, his eyes still trained on Edward. "Sorry, I uh…Fuck, this is so not how I wanted this to go. I'm a stunt double. I meet actors all the time. I just…" He looked down and shuffled his feet. "You're different."

Edward, charmed in spite of himself, cleared his throat. He didn't think he would ever get used to people's varied reactions to him. People thought they knew him, and that brought out a whole array of interesting behavior. Some were familiar, as though they'd been friends for years. Others hated him on sight; they thought he was a snob, an asshole, a playboy. Some stared. Some cried. Some, like Seth, stammered and stuttered out something about how much they liked Edward and his work.

"It's nice to meet you, Seth," Edward said, offering his hand.

Seth's face lit up as he shook his hand. "Really, I'm not usually this… weird. Just… your early flicks got me through kind of a bad time in my life."

Edward nodded and wondered when it would be polite to draw attention to the fact Seth was still shaking his hand. "Sorry you had to go through anything you needed to escape from."

"Yeah." Seth seemed to notice then what he was doing. He dropped Edward's hand and stepped back. "Sorry. Uh… yeah. Sorry."

Bella chortled. "Well, that about made my week." She looked to Edward. "Last minute guest. Seth's a stuntman."

"Background stunt work. I'm one of the throw-away guys who gets tossed around before the lead gets to the big bad. Rarely a stunt double, like Bella," Seth said with a smile. "Wrong skin color." He brightened. "Every once in a while, I get to do work for someone who has a full mask on. I can't wait until I have enough experience to work for one of the leads in a blockbuster. That'd be great."

"Well, seeing as you're what, twelve? I'd say you have every chance," Edward said.

Bella clapped Seth on the shoulder. "Come on, kid. Help me order the pizzas."

The rest of the guests arrived at the same time the pizzas did. In fact, Emmett stole the stack of pies from the pizza guy with an impish grin. The pockmarked teenager, somewhat overwhelmed by the rush of people suddenly all around him, got flustered. After some good-natured ribbing, he was sent off with a healthy tip, and the party began in earnest.

First, the introductions. Rosalie, older than Edward by three years, greeted Bella with a tight smile and an assessing eye. Edward couldn't really blame her. She was always suspicious of his new friends, having seen him get burned one too many times. Friendships, like most other relationships, were fickle in this business.

The final newbie of the group was Alice, a petite, raven-haired creature Jasper had been on a few dates with. Edward was most amused at the way she ignored Rosalie's cool attitude. She spoke to his sister as though they were best friends, until Rose forgot they were strangers. Before long, they were talking, heads bent together, cackling.

Anything that made his sister cackle like that should have worried Edward, or at least piqued his curiosity. Any other night, it would have, but, as usual, most of Edward's concentration focused on Bella. She was a highlighted phrase on a page that drew his eyes. The highlighted phrases were always the best.

She could cook. The pizza was the main dish, but she'd pulled all sorts of appetizers out of the fridge as everyone arrived. They were tasty.

"Pinterest," she said and shrugged. Though she brushed it off easy, Edward saw the pleasure on her face as she watched her guests enjoy her food.

The drinks flowed, and Emmett, snooping through her games, was delighted to find Dance Central. Minutes later, he and Bella were wrapped up in an epic dance-off. Emmett was more graceful and coordinated than he looked, so the competition got intense.

By the time Bella plopped down on the couch next to Edward, she'd taken off her shirt, leaving her in a black tank top. It was a good look on her. What wasn't? But he particularly enjoyed seeing her like this - face flushed and hair unruly.

Edward pushed that thought away. "You cook, you dance. What don't you do, Bella?" he asked, teasing.

She rolled her head along the back of the couch to look at him. "I'm really bad at crafting. It always ends up looking like a kindergartener did it, no matter what it is." She put on a mournful expression. "I tried scrapbooking once. All the pages stuck together. Glue is a tricky bitch."

Edward chuckled and bopped her nose lightly. "Even you have flaws, I suppose."

"Ha." She closed her eyes. "I have a few."

For a few seconds, Edward thought she might have fallen asleep. Just as suddenly as she had plopped down, she bounced back to her feet. She took Edward's hand, hauling him up off the couch and to the front of the room. There, she hip-checked Jasper out of the way. "Edward hasn't had a turn."

"Neither have most of us," Jasper said.

"Oh, no. Let him play," Edward said, trying to pull away from Bella.

She had a remarkably strong grip. "No, come on. I need to know. I need to know what Edward Cullen looks like flailing around to music."

"Uh, apparently you haven't seen Shall We Dance, then," Alice said, naming one of his earliest movies.

"Aaaaaannnnd you shouldn't. You absolutely should not," Edward said, shaking his head at Bella.

She smirked, triumphant. "Fine. Then, you'll have to show me here."

"No, she's right. This I have to see," Emmett said. He started up the inevitable chant. "Ed-ward, Ed-ward," until everyone had joined in.

Edward groaned, hanging his head in defeat. "You're an evil woman," he said, finally letting Bella lead him in front of the console.

She winked. "Well, see? You've uncovered two of my fatal flaws. Now we can graduate from buddies to friends."

He shook his head. "Whatever you say, friend."

A/N: Femme Malheureuse, songster, jessypt, barburella and MoH make my docs a wonderful place to be. Tracy is definitely a highlight of my FB group with her picspiration.

How are we doing, kids?