A/N: Many thanks to all of you who voted for Snapshots for fic of the month. That's an awesome feeling. Foolish Hearts is up for Fic of the Month August edition.

Ooooo and Mina Rivera made me two banners for this story for a review songster did for FicSisters. You can check them out in my profile. The girl is ridic talented. LOVE IT.

Over the rest of the week, they bantered via text over the logistics of their date. Edward was bemused when Bella offered to drive to LA.

I asked to take you out to dinner. I should be the one driving to you.

Yeah, but I have a hankering for Electric Lotus. Do you know it?

Edward raised an eyebrow. He loved Electric Lotus and told her so.

It's settled then. Last time I was there, I ran into Vince Vaughn. Literally. I barrelled into him. He's a solid wall of man.

I'm expected to top Vince Vaughn?

Well, it'd be rude to try to top Vince Vaughn when you're on a date with me, but I'd understand. It is Vince Vaughn.

It took him a minute to understand what she meant by topping.

Vince Vaughn doesn't make the list of the list of people I'd like to top on a date with you.

~0~

A couple days later, while Edward was waiting for Bella to arrive, he found himself curious again about what she would wear. It was a date, after all. Women got dolled up for dates all the time. What would that mean for a girl like Bella? Ramona had a number of clothes that might have passed as date clothes.

Edward's hands flexed into fists as he imagined the way other men would look at her if she wore even the most modest of outfits he'd seen in her repertoire from that site of hers. He had no claim on her, and he knew that. Still, he could easily imagine the kinds of things those men would want to do to her. All night long, he'd be hearing their thoughts as easily as if they'd spoken out loud.

This was how idiots ended up in fist fights.

By the time he heard a knock on his door, Edward thought he might have made a mistake. Opening the door, however, proved otherwise.

It was her eyes he saw first. He remembered the thick eyeliner of the dominatrix in one of her videos. The makeup she wore now was a far cry from that. Her eyelashes were thick, her makeup light and natural, drawing attention to her natural beauty. Her eyes held a glint of excitement, and her cheeks pinked when he looked at her a moment longer than was necessary.

"Hi," she said, the one word sounding almost shy.

"Hi." His eyes flicked briefly over her and back up. He smiled.

The dress she was wearing was blue and perfect. It was flirty-a good date dress-and Edward was suddenly smug. Every man in the room would be jealous when he walked in with her on his arm.

Realizing belatedly he was staring, he looked up. An apology died on his lips when he caught her similarly staring at him. They caught each other in the act, and Edward felt the heat of his cheeks that matched the pink tint on hers.

That blush, the upward tick of her mouth as she smiled sheepishly, her eyes bright on his, and that dress that hugged her in just the right way… He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her very badly. She had a power over him that made his thoughts thick and his impulses seem more important than they would normally be.

He had the feeling she wouldn't rebuff him if he tried to kiss her then. Would it be because she felt this same pull or because of her other proclivities?

With some effort, he shook off the question and cleared his throat. "Do you mind if we walk? It's only a couple of blocks."

"I noticed. I wouldn't mind the walk."

He locked the door of the apartment and fell into step beside her.

As they passed the bottom story, the door on the last apartment opened, and, much to Edward's dismay, his sister popped her head out. "Hey, Bella."

Bella stopped and quirked an eyebrow. "Hey, Alice."

"Text me if you need me to call and rescue you. I'm great at getting people out of bad dates."

"I can and will actually kill you, little sister," Edward said, glaring daggers at his twin.

Alice smiled sweetly. "Look, if you're as charming a date as you say you are, you have no need to worry, little brother."

Edward flipped her the bird and took Bella's hand, drawing her down the street.

"Why do you call her little sister if she calls you little brother?" Bella asked when they were a safe distance away.

He rolled his eyes but smiled. "Alice was born at 11:52 on June 19th, and I was born at 12:07 on June 20th. She doesn't like to let me forget that. But she was also a full pound smaller than me and has been smaller ever since."

"So little brother and literally little sister."

"Exactly."

They chatted easily as they walked, their fingers brushing every so often, and Edward had to fight the impulse to take her hand.

This woman was confusing the hell out of him. He prided himself on playing a long game. He'd had a few one night stands, and he didn't really enjoy them. Sex was great, but sex with someone he knew was better. He was a take-it-slow kind of guy when he was really interested. And he was really interested in Bella.

The problem was he wanted to do too many things at once. He wanted to woo her in that old fashioned way that made his sister roll her eyes. He wanted to recoil because, hello? Anyone and everyone could see her nude body for a reasonable price. There wasn't a point in getting through the getting-to-know-you, wooing stage when there was no way it could work out. And that raised the interesting question, what the heck was he doing there in the first place.

Then there was the fact he was one of the people who knew what she looked like without her clothes on, and it was impossible to forget it when she was there beside him. He'd watched her spread her legs for the camera just this morning, how could he not think about her spreading her legs for him, looking at him specifically with those eyes that promised he could have the time of his life?

So, yeah, what to do first? Or at all. It wasn't fair that he was dating her, knowing that she was just as interested in him as he was in her, but also knowing that it couldn't go anywhere. He wasn't a fan of wasting anyone's time, his or hers. Then again, it irked him more than a little that she hadn't told him anything up front, letting him date her despite her proclivities. On that principle alone he should have called off this date.

But then again, he did want to know her story. If she was doing what she was doing for any reason he could help with…

"There's something very important we have to get settled before we get there," Bella said, her tone grave.

Edward stood up straighter, wondering if she was going to tell him after all.

Instead, Bella looped her arm through his, tugging him close so she could speak in undertones. "Do you share plates? You know, family style dining, because I like to graze. You wouldn't deny a girl a chance at good food, would you?"

She said the words in a suggestive tone, batting her eyelashes, making him think dirty thoughts even though her words were innocent. He got the distinct impression he was playing with fire. But then her eyes glinted with humor, and her lips turned up in an impish smile, as though she couldn't quite hold the the illusion of the temptress.

He chuckled. "Family style is the only way to do Indian food." He quirked an eyebrow and leaned closer to her, studiously ignoring that he could feel the heat of her skin. He whispered so near her ear she shivered. "But I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian. I like meat."

She shivered again, the look in her eyes momentarily dazed, but then she tilted her head, pitching her voice low again. "I'm a big fan of meat."

Suddenly it wasn't food Edward was hungry for. But he shook that off and gave her a look. "You own a vegan restaurant."

With that, the conversation swung from suggestive back to a more normal, safe-for-public fare. They got to the restaurant, and Edward put on his most charming grin for the hostess. He slipped her a discreet tip, and they ended up in a cozy booth in the corner.

"I own a vegan and vegetarian restaurant because it's good business sense," Bella said when they'd settled down. "The point of opening a restaurant isn't to feed your own face. The idea is to make money. Tanya and I were hanging around downtown Fullerton and overheard a few college kids bitching about how unhealthy everything is, and you can't go out if you want to eat healthy, and this and that animal cruelty."

"Ah, college-age idealism," he said.

She nodded. "Exactly. Not that it's a bad thing, but the college crowd is good at pet causes, and they were right. The closest vegan and vegetarian place is in Orange. I like it. I like meat too, but you know, Mead's Green Door Cafe has an artichoke and gouda sandwich that is… I had it four days in a row once."

They paused to order very much not vegan food-spicy everything-and then Edward decided it was time for some careful prodding.

"So. You're just now opening up a restaurant. What have you been doing up until then?"

Bella quirked an eyebrow at him. "You mean how have I been making a living?" He nodded and she shrugged. "I have a business degree, because that's the safe degree, right? You can always get a job as long as you know something about business. Yeah." She huffed. "The office environment wasn't for me. Too constricting."

Edward leaned forward, sensing a clue. "Business hours tend to get in the way of doing anything fun."

"Well, that's part of it. But you do what you have to do. That's where I met Tanya. We were working at a company that sold real estate websites. It was terrible. We hit it off because we have the same affliction. The desire to be your own boss disease."

"You have a problem with authority?" That would definitely fit.

They both leaned back when the food came. He was momentarily distracted by the little noise of contentment and ecstasy Bella made when she dragged a piece of naan through the masala sauce. "God, I have dreams about this stuff."

She sighed and looked up at him again. "Anyway. My dad is a cop. I think it's prerequisite for kids with cop parents to have issues with authority." She grinned at him. "But no. That's not really it. It's not that I have a problem. I just prefer not to be under anyone's thumb.

"I think people naturally fall into this rut where they believe all the rules they've set up are necessary. Like being late, for instance. People go insane over tardiness. Depending on where you work, you're talking about someone going berserk because you're ten minutes late."

"Well, they pay you to work from a certain time to a certain time."

She cocked her head. "Do they? Because if I were running a business, what I'd be paying for is the quantity and quality of the work. And I get it. If you have to be the one opening up the business for customers at a certain time or a rep who works the phones, that's one thing. Ten minutes in that regard is imperative. But think about it. I have never seen a person work any shift from beginning to end with no break in between. I'm not talking about legally mandated breaks. I'm talking about the five minutes you take to look at your phone, the ten minute conversation in the hallway, the twenty minutes you spend surfing the Internet. If you tell me you don't do it, I'm going to laugh in your face and call you a liar.

"But people get stuck on minutes. I've seen employees who work their asses off get in trouble and get fired over minutes, for no other reason than someone somewhere got obsessed with a rule that makes no rational sense."

Edward frowned. "But there have to be some rules."

"Sure. But my point is, rules are black and white. Real life is every color under the sun. What's the point of being so stubborn about rules?"

They lapsed into silence, both looking at their food while Edward considered her words. It was a convenient thought, to not believe in rules. It was an excuse if ever he heard one.

"Edward?"

Concentrating on fishing a particularly evasive piece of chicken out of the masala, Edward only hummed. "Hmm?"

"When someone makes a purchase on my website, I can actually see the credit card information. Including the name."

Edward froze, the chicken halfway to his mouth. He breathed in and out before he looked up. She was looking back at him, her expression steady. "That's what you really wanted to know, right? Why I do that instead of working a 'real' job? You could have just asked."

He swallowed hard around the knot of embarrassment and annoyance. "Don't you think it was your responsibility to tell me?"

She cocked her head. "I'm the one who brought it up."

"I mean before. When I asked you out. You should have told me then."

Her eyes narrowed. "You think I should open with that? 'Yeah I'll go on a date with you, but you should know I sell videos of myself naked?'"

"I think that's fair, yeah."

"Uh huh. So you were totally going to tell me you purchase memberships to soft-core porn sites?"

This took him aback. "That's not the same thing."

"No? So you can look at and buy nudie pictures. That's no big deal. But I can't be the one posing in them? That's something that requires full, up front disclosure before the first date?" She stabbed her fork in the air in his direction. "You had no intentions of telling me you've seen me naked."

"Well, if you didn't want people to see you naked-"

"I never said I didn't. I think it's pretty obvious that of the two of us, only one of us has a problem with me being naked."

He made an exasperated noise and pushed his paneer around his plate. "Okay. In general, I don't have a problem with nudity. It's just…" He put down his fork and made an effort to gentle his tone. "I don't understand. You're better than that."

She arched an eyebrow, looking, if anything, even more pissed. "Better than what?"

"Than having so little respect for yourself that you would sell your body when you have another option."

Bella took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm herself before she continued. "This is my favorite thing. People love to talk about having respect for your body, but you ever notice how it's their definition of respect? We all have a body. We're all nude under our clothes. Just because someone put it into your head that we should be ashamed of our natural state of being doesn't mean there's any rationality behind that."

"But-" Edward shut his mouth just as quickly as he'd opened it, realizing abruptly he had no good answer. He was sure there was one-people shouldn't just go around naked after all-but he couldn't find it. "You're a feminist, aren't you?" he asked, switching tactics. "You post a lot of feminist articles and things like that on your Facebook."

She looked wary, as though she already knew where this was going. "Yes, I'm a feminist."

"So how do you rationalize the two ideologies? I've heard the feminist rants against porn."

She huffed, looking amused. "Again, I'd like to point out that you want me to rationalize the idea that I sell it even though you have no problem with the fact you buy it. You're a feminist too, or at least I've seen the articles you post."

Bella continued before he could speak to that. "Yes, porn is just another tool put in place to reinforce the idea women are objects. Yes, porn often reinforces unhealthy ideas. It only adds to the misinformation about consent, BDSM, and the standards of what people should be able to do in bed. The list goes on. The porn industry is just one more tool of female oppression, and many women are coerced and taken advantage of as part of that industry."

"Yet you'll be a part of it?"

"Here's a challenge for you. Name an industry in which women aren't oppressed. Any industry. I'll wait." She popped a samosa in her mouth and chewed, watching him.

Edward's cheek twitched. "You know I can't. You want me to agree every industry is male dominated? I do. You know I do. But the porn industry has the added effect of being degrading."

"Yes, and yet even men like you, who can sit here and have an intellectual discussion about it has still bought porn."

Edward opened his mouth but he quickly shut it again. She had proof he'd bought porn. What was he going to say? Usually he didn't bother to buy it seeing as so much of it was available free on the internet but he'd bought the membership to her site because it was hers? Yeah, that didn't sound creepy at all.

"There's the way we wish the world worked and there's reality," Bella said. "Sex is a part of life, and therefore, porn will always be a part of life. I walk down the street, and guys don't see me. They see a nice ass, nice legs, passable tits. That's reality, and there are a whole bunch of men taking advantage of women in order to profit on that fact of life.

"But me? I'm in control of that reality. Like it or not, this-" She gestured at herself. "-is an in-demand commodity. I used that fact to my advantage, and even if you think it's degrading to show off my body, can you at least acknowledge the business sense it took to put together a business?"

"You sound so proud," he said, and winced. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He just found the idea so incongruous to his thoughts. He could understand porn and nude pictures as a means to an ends of making money but to actually take pride in the business?

"Damn right I'm proud, and why shouldn't I be? I'm the one who packages all my media for consumption. I'm the one who came up with the advertising scheme. I'm the one who makes my website profitable and successful."

"If you're so proud of what you're doing, why aren't you more open about it?" he asked, not quite able to take the accusatory note out of his tone. "If Jessica had known you did this, I guarantee my sister would have known."

"Because, again, I deal with reality. There's a difference between the way things ought to be and the way things are. Jessica isn't going to understand what I do, and I don't care enough about her friendship to have this conversation with her."

"But you'll talk to me about it?"

Bella blew out a long breath and spooned some of the paneer onto her naan. "I knew the day after we met again that you were one of my customers." Her lips quirked. "I always check. But even though you knew, you didn't talk to me like I was scum on your shoes. And the fact you aren't afraid to label yourself a feminist is pretty hot."

When she looked up, he saw her fierce expression had turned to one more uncertain, almost shy. "Look, I really like you. I'm not seventeen anymore. I take chances, and I live with the consequences. If you can't get past the idea I have no problem taking my clothes off for profit, fine. I understand that. It wouldn't be the first time. We can be Facebook friends.

"But if it matters, you should know up front I draw my personal boundaries at having sex with other people for money. I don't have a problem with it, but that's my own line." She took a deep breath and sat up straight, her shy look turning into a more confident smile. "If you decide it's something you can work with, I'll tell you one thing." She leaned across the table, dropping her voice again to that flirtatious tone. "There are all kinds of benefits to dating someone who isn't ashamed of her sexuality. Think about it."

A/N: Many thanks to barburella and songster, both of whom called me out for Bella's rant-preachyness. They also said there was too much Kris bleeding into the characters.

Wait a minute. Does this mean they think I rant/preach all the time?!

HUMPH.

Also thanks to dizzygrl28 for back up beta.

Personal note: I'm currently writing an original fiction with a deaf person as a tertiary character. If anyone out there is familiar with deaf culture and willing to be a prereader (which is a thankless j ob, as Barburella and songster can tell you ;) ), I'd much appreciate it. I want to be as respectful as possible to the culture.