Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own a tour guide name tag from my alma mater.

WriteOnTime and Daisy3853 are scrumdiddlyumtious. And kick-ass betas.

EPOV

An odd mix of adrenaline and panic rushed through me after I left Bella sitting in her truck. The night had gone well, I thought, until she ended up sopping wet and ticked off. We had been getting along; the awkward tension had finally started to evaporate between us. In those last moments in the car, it was back in full force.

She made that joke about being a "spaz," and although she was laughing, she still seemed a little sad. I wanted to cheer her up, but I was still reeling a little from the robot vs. nice guy exchange, so I just said the first thing that came to mind.

"Don't study too hard." Dr. Phil, I am not.

Who could blame me, though? She had been driving me to distraction all day, for reasons I didn't really understand, and we were inches apart in her cramped truck cab. I almost got carried away, but the strong smell of beer coming off of her pants allowed me to keep a clear head. She had had a long day, and our relationship had barely crossed from acquaintance to friendship. The last thing she needed was a co-worker slobbering all over her because of a "moment."

I didn't sleep well that night, and since the semester hadn't started yet, I couldn't even try to distract myself with homework. Bio-chem was good for one thing: it always put me to sleep. The next morning, I drank a pot of coffee and stopped off at the union for another cup before heading in to work.

"You look like shit," Rosalie said when I wandered into the office.

"Thank you, Chairman Mao, I try to always look my best for you," I sniped back, scrubbing my face with my hands. I hadn't bothered to shave, figuring I could do it before the party, and I knew my hair was a mess.

"Late night?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Well, suck it up, sunshine. I need you to do some actual work today."

"Ah, Rose, you're always so supportive," Alice said from the doorway. She patted me on the shoulder and pushed past me, leaning back on Leah's desk. "Edward, give me some of your coffee."

"Get your own." I hugged it close to my chest and took a furtive sip.

"Ugh. You're so mean."

"No," I corrected. "You're just a mooch." She jumped up and tried to grab my cup from me, but I held it up over my head. Planting one hand on my shoulder, she pushed up and tried to grab it, and I narrowly avoided spilling it all over Jacob when he walked in.

"Jesus, get a room you two." His face was haggard, his eyes bloodshot.

"Oh, yeah, Jasper would love that," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"You stink," Rose said to Jacob. He lifted his arms but she was already shaking his head. "No, you reek of booze and cigarettes. What, did you sleep in a bar last night?"

"Could you keep it down?" He winced and sank into Leah's chair. "I went out with a couple of the new guys last night, okay? What, is that off-limits now, too?"

"That depends. Did you screw any of them at the end of the night?"

I snorted, and Jacob glared at me. "No, I did not."

"Although he did manage to cover Bella in beer," Alice put in.

He groaned. "Shit, I was hoping that was a dream or something."

"Nope," I said, feeling the beginnings of a smile tug on my lips. "Her pants were soaked." I felt a little bad for smiling at Bella's misfortune, but the look on Jacob's face made me unreasonably cheerful. He was definitely not going to be one of her favorite people after that.

"She had to squat under a hand dryer for a good ten minutes, and she still smelled like a brewery when she was dry," Alice added.

"Are you sure it wasn't her fault?" Rose asked, glancing between Jacob and me. "I watched the beginning of your practice round the other day. She was falling all over the place. She's kind of a walking disaster area."

"She is not," I said defensively, then bit my tongue. Rose's eyes darted back to me, this time with suspicion. "I mean... well, she wasn't wearing boots," I finished lamely.

"Ooookay," Alice said loudly, making Jacob wince again. "The newbies will be here soon, so why don't we go get everything set up for Dartmouth Jeopardy? Jacob, go... spray yourself with this and splash some water on your face."

She tossed a small aerosol container at his head, and he caught it deftly. "Why do you have men's body spray in your purse?"

"I was a boy scout," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.

"A boy scout?" I laughed and followed her down the hall to the room where we did admissions presentations for incoming freshmen in the summer. There was a big projection screen in there that we were going to use for training this morning. "Really, Alice?"

"Okay, so I was a Brownie. For three months. But the uniforms were awesome, so it was totally worth it. Stop changing the subject."

"I wasn't," I protested.

"You so were! We were talking about Bella."

I stared at her. "When were we talking about Bella?"

"You were getting mighty defensive with our fearless leader back there," she said, like it was completely obvious. "What happened when Bella took you home last night? Did you guys have an awkward make-out or something?"

"No! Nothing like that."

"Good, because you're both so much better than that. Drunk make-outs usually don't end well. Unless you're me and Jasper." She grinned and walked over to the computer to start turning on the projection equipment for the jeopardy game. "Which you are so clearly not."

"Thank God," I deadpanned. "I don't think I could wear a Brownie outfit as well as you."

"So, you're going to ask her out, yes?"

"Um..."

"Come on, seriously?" she sighed. "You obviously like her. She obviously likes you. What is the hold up?"

"Come on, seriously?" I echoed sarcastically. "We've talked about this before. I'm really busy, and I don't want to start something with anyone while I've got so much going on. It's not fair to the girl, and I'd feel guilty for not being around because I'm stuck at the library or in class all the time. I'm almost there. I just have to make it through med school, and then maybe I'll be able to focus on my personal life. I have a plan. It's working for me so far."

"Through med school?" she gasped. "That's, like, another four and a half years!"

"Yeah, well, that's the plan. Just because it's not what you would do, doesn't mean it's wrong."

She snorted, and I glared at her. "Okay, since you're just ignoring all my other reasons—"

"Excuses," she muttered.

"We work together, Alice. You know how often that turns into a complete disaster. Look at Leah and Sam! Look at Jacob and... every guide he's ever dated. It's a bad idea. For many reasons."

Her glare softened a little bit, and she sighed heavily. "I just worry about you, that's all. Jasper and I never get to see you anymore, and it seems like you're always doing homework or studying. Life doesn't always follow your plan, Edward, and I don't want you to pass up an opportunity to be happy when—"

"I am happy," I interrupted. "I promise."

She looked like she had more to say, but lucky for me, Jacob walked in then, followed by a group of new guides. I was able to stay surrounded by people for the rest of the day, making sure that even if Alice was nearby, so were at least two other people.

After my conversation with Alice, working with Bella suddenly felt weird. Sure, I had been oddly aware of her before, but now it felt like every time we interacted there was some kind of bizarre subtext going on behind our actual words. I found myself analyzing the way she raised her eyebrows, the tilt of her head, how she shrugged or nodded when I instructed her on something.

Was Alice right? Did she like me? Was she expecting me to ask her out? Did I care? It wasn't like her expectations were going to have an effect on anything. I told myself that I was only worried because I didn't want to lead her on. She seemed like a sweet girl. I wanted to be friends. So she was cute. So I was attracted to her. So what? It just wasn't the right time. We'd both end up hurt if I tried to pursue something there.

I was mulling over all this as I packed up my bag at the end of the day. We had just finished a short "graduation" ceremony for the new hires, and everyone was headed out to get ready for the party. I was so distracted, I didn't notice that someone else had walked into the office after me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Jesus Christ," I yelped, turning around quickly.

Bella stood behind me, wide-eyed, her hand clutched to her chest like she had been burned. "I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," I snapped. Her eyes got a little bigger, and I sighed, giving myself a mental slap for taking such a harsh tone with her. "Okay, I was a little startled, but that's not the same thing."

I winked at her and smiled a little so she knew I was kidding. A familiar pink flush swept over her cheeks, and my smile grew. Both of us jumped a little when someone cleared their throat from the doorway. I looked up and saw Rosalie, one hand on her hip, looking between the two of us. Jacob stood just behind her.

"Congratulations on finishing your training, Bella," Rose said politely. "You picked up one of the new work schedules, right?"

"Oh," Bella squeaked. She flushed a little deeper. "I forgot to grab one on my way out the door. I'll make sure to do that before I leave, I promise. I just needed to talk to Edward about the party tonight."

Rosalie's eyebrows furrowed a little and she glanced over at me. "The party is at my boyfriend's apartment. I can give you directions if that's what you need."

"We, um," Bella looked back at me, and this time Rose and Jacob shot me dirty looks. I recognized the look in Rosalie's eyes. It was the look she got whenever someone disobeyed orders or royally screwed up. It wasn't the first time she had looked at me like that, but it was the first time I hadn't actually done something wrong first. I sighed under my breath, knowing it was better to just be direct.

"Alice, Bella, and Alice's boyfriend are coming over to my place for a little pre-partying. The girls are getting ready together and I only live a couple of blocks from Emmett's place. Right, Bella?"

There was a pause, just a half a beat, really, before Bella nodded. "Right."

"Hey, Jacob?" Rosalie said sweetly, not breaking eye contact with me. "Why don't you take Bella back to the conference room and make sure she gets all of her paperwork. I need to speak with Edward for a minute."

"Sure thing, boss," Jacob said, nodding like a sycophant. He grabbed Bella's arm, and she smiled back at me nervously. I gave her a quick nod, and she followed him out. He started chatting as soon as he had her attention, and right before they walked out of earshot I heard her laugh. My stomach dropped a little, probably because I knew Rosalie was about to unload on me about something I didn't do.

"Edward," Rosalie sighed. She walked past me and sank into her chair, threading her long blonde hair through her fingers and closing her eyes. "What did we just talk about? Seriously, it's been three days, and you're now all over this new girl? What happened to not ever hitting on new girls? What happened to me being able to trust you?"

"I wasn't all over her!" I protested loudly. "We weren't doing anything."

Alice poked her head into the office then, raising her eyebrows at me. "Um, Edward, the entire building can hear you right now."

"I don't care," I muttered. "Then close the door."

She slipped inside and shut the door after her, pulling up Leah's chair and sitting on it cross-legged.

"I actually meant you should close the door and stay on the other side of it."

"And miss this?" she laughed. "Yeah, right." She turned to Rose. "Let me guess, you found him in here mooning after Bella."

"Yes—" Rose started, but I cut her off.

"I wasn't mooning," I shouted. "I was literally in here for two minutes, she came in, probably to ask me a question about pre-partying, and then Rose and Jacob showed up. Why is this suddenly the Spanish Inquisition? And why was your solution to finding me alone with her sending her off with Jacob? How does that make any sense?"

The two women stared at me, completely silent. Alice was grinning, and Rose looked more than a little dumbstruck.

"See? She's got him completely tied in knots," Alice said triumphantly.

"Argh!" I closed my eyes and tugged on the ends of my hair in frustration. "Are you listening to anything I'm saying?"

"Oh, we're listening," Rose said quietly. "Edward, how long have I known you?"

"I don't know, three years?"

"And in those three years, have you ever once raised your voice to me?"

I thought about it for a second. "No, I don't think so. I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted you to drop it."

"I know you did," she said, still in that soft voice. It was starting to freak me out. like she was building up to something really scary. "And I think that's because Alice has a point. You like that Bella girl."

"Oh my God," I muttered, "not you, too."

"It's okay to like someone, Edward," Alice teased.

"As long as you don't let it get out of hand," Rose qualified. Alice wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms. "This isn't a single's cruise, Alice. And I can't give Edward special leeway just because we're friends and he lives like a monk."

"Hey!"

"You know what I mean," she sighed. "You know I trust you. I just don't want you to do anything that you're not absolutely serious about. Your actions don't only affect you."

"It's like I'm not even in the room," I mused. "Do you guys need me here for this, or can I go?"

"He's so defensive," Alice said, ignoring me.

"Seriously, I'm leaving now."

I grabbed the doorknob and was halfway out the door before Rosalie called, "See you tonight."

I stormed out of the building as fast as I could, avoiding contact with any of the staff. I felt slightly guilty for not at least looking for Bella to see what she wanted earlier, but I couldn't help but think that seeking her out one-on-one again would be a mistake. As it was, I was regretting having her, Alice and Jasper over before the party. Pouring alcohol into this situation was an accident waiting to happen.

But what was done was done, and I knew that even if I told Alice I had come down with a rare, highly contagious disease, she wasn't going to let me weasel my way out of tonight. I was stuck.

I decided the best way to unwind would be a steamy shower, and since I was in desperate need of a shave anyway, I could kill two birds with one stone. Turning the heat up as high as I could without scalding myself, I leaned my shoulder against the shower tiles and let the water beat down on my face and chest. As I washed my hair, I tried to clear my head of all the things Alice and Rosalie had said, but that only made me think about Bella, that blush, her long brown hair, the quiet way she demanded the attention of the group, her smile when I handed her that stupid, fake diploma—

I groaned. Following that train of thought would be a mistake. I reached out and twirled the knob to cold for a few seconds before I shut off the shower. My teeth were chattering, and I was really uncomfortable, but at least I had managed to curtail any fantasizing. I shaved as quickly as I could and grabbed a towel, intending to dry off in my bedroom before getting dressed.

I heard a noise at the front of my apartment. For a second, I just stood there, listening. Then the door slammed, and I swore under my breath and wrapped the towel around my waist. Only one person had a copy of my key, and I should have known better than to think she wouldn't take advantage of the situation.

"Yoohooo," Alice called from my living room. "Edward! We're here. Hope you don't mind, I used my key."

I could hear Bella and Jasper talking quietly, and the thought that I would have to walk past my living room to get to my bedroom—wearing nothing but a towel—made me shiver a little. It was nothing Alice and Jasper hadn't seen before, but Bella...

"Haven't you ever heard of calling ahead?" I called through the bathroom door.

"I did call," Alice yelled back. "You didn't answer."

"Well, maybe that should have tipped you off! That key was for emergencies, Alice. You know, earthquake, end of the world, if I die in a fiery crash."

I heard Bella's voice then, quietly suggesting they leave and come back later. Yes, I prayed, please just go.

"He's being a baby," Alice protested. "Edward, get out here! We'll close our eyes, I promise. Your virtue is safe."

I groaned and grabbed another towel to wrap around my shoulders. As I inched out of the bathroom door, I steeled myself to sprint to my bedroom. It was only a couple of steps away. I could make it.

Of course, I took three steps into the living room and froze. Alice and Jasper were standing at my kitchen counter, pouring shots, and Bella was standing at my bookcase. She was a creative writing major, so it made a certain amount of sense that the two times she had been in my apartment, she'd drifted straight to my books. She was trailing her fingers over the spines now, her back to me, shoulders slightly hunched. I wondered what book she was looking at, and what she thought about my reading habits. Probably that I was boring—the shelf she was staring at was full of old textbooks.

Jasper cleared his throat softly, and I looked up.

"You might want to put on some pants," Jasper said with a laugh, raising an eyebrow at the towel I had clutched across my chest. "The party isn't beach-themed."

"Ha ha," I muttered, taking the extra step to my bedroom door and slamming it behind me like a petulant teenager. My room was its usual disaster area. I managed to keep the rest of my apartment tidy and clean, but my bedroom was always a mess. When Bella came over to help me move my speakers, I panicked at the thought of letting her into my mess. Luckily, she didn't push the issue. Then, like now, she seemed more interested in poking around the rest of my apartment than seeing where I slept. Perversely, I wondered what her bedroom looked like. It was probably spotless.

I sighed and grabbed a clean shirt, pulling on some boxers and a pair of jeans. I toweled my hair off the best I could, giving up on even trying to tame it for the night. So much for looking put together. At least I got to shave.

When I walked back out into my apartment, Alice had lined up an impressive number of shot glasses filled with amber liquid on my counter, each paired with a slice of lemon.

"Are all those shot glasses mine?" I asked incredulously. There had to be at least ten.

"Of course not," she said, rolling her eyes at me. "Only those two are. I brought a bunch, and grabbed the rest from Jasper's place. Oh, and this one is Bella's." She pointed to the glass at the end, which had a purple stripe and some lettering on it. I leaned in to read it.

Work is the curse of the drinking class. —Oscar Wilde—

I snorted and looked over at Bella, who had abandoned her perusal of my bookshelf and wandered over to join us. "Nice." She smiled hesitantly and gave a little shrug.

"My mom got it for me when I started college. It's part of a set, but I lost the other two when I moved last year."

"Your mom got you a set of shot glasses? When you were eighteen?" I laughed and grabbed a shot from the line, picking up the corresponding lemon and praying that whatever happened tonight, I made it out unscathed. Or at least mostly unembarrassed.

"If you ever met my mom, you'd understand. Trust me." She smirked a little and picked up her Oscar Wilde shot glass, mimicking my stance with her lemon.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Alice asked. She smiled brightly at the three of us and lifted a glass. Jasper quickly followed suit. "To new friends, new jobs, and new beginnings." She raised her eyebrows and gave Bella a significant look. Jasper coughed.

The tequila burned all the way down to my belly, leaving a familiar, pleasant tingle in my throat and on my tongue.

"Ooooh," Bella squealed. She scrunched up her nose and bit into her lemon with vigor, closing her eyes tightly. "Alice, why is it always tequila with you?"

"Because, Bella," she said in a long-suffering tone, "tequila makes your clothes fall off."

Jasper raised another glass and laughed. "Here's hoping."

I closed my eyes and swallowed another shot, not daring to allow myself to think about the possibilities.

A/N: So, I'm sorry that so many of you thought the party was in this chapter. In my defense, I did say that we were *almost* there. And now the next chapter IS the party. Sorry, there was some necessary Edward development going on here. On another story related note, I'm sorry it's been a little bit since I updated, and I'm sorry I haven't been replying to reviews. RL took a busy turn-I started a new job and things have been a bit crazy. Thanks for being such wonderful readers, and for all your lovely reviews. I'm blown away.

A lot of you went to see Twilight and New Moon alone... I wouldn't have been able to sit through those movies without a friend there to make snarky comments too :) I'm not big on going out to movies or eating alone, so congrats, you guys are braver than me.

What's your drink of choice when you're out to make bad decisions? (note: does not have to be alcoholic...I've seen lots of bad decisions made under the influence of Mountain Dew!)