A/N Well, if I have any readers left, you probably hate me, and you'll probably hate me more at the end of the chapter. However, I will say, this isn't the end, and I am not going to abandon the story until it's finished.

Also, big shout out to 'Miss Claire Alice Whitlock' who guilted me into getting this done with their crazy reviews, btw whoever said I was straight is a dirty liar.

Chapter 17

"You know your brush has to actually touch the wall to paint it." Alice remarked from her place above me. I looked in front of me to see that indeed I'd been painting the air, and blushed deeply causing Alice to laugh.

To be fair, she wasn't exactly making it easy for me to focus, straddling the tub where I sat so she could paint the high part, while I did the lower bit. If her position wasn't bad enough, her outfit certainly was. She had on a pair of torn up shorts that hardly covered her legs at all and one of my old t-shirts knotted at the bottom so it hugged her waist tightly. She was both completely adorable and incredibly sexy, as seems to be typical when it comes to Alice.

"You missed a spot." I grumbled spitefully, but couldn't help the smile when she stuck her tongue out at me. I laughed, returning to my work when Alice did the same. This was our last room to paint. We had been spending nearly every free minute we had the past few weeks sprucing up the place and shopping for furniture. It felt like we had been going downhill since Alice's graduation. We didn't make a big deal of it, downplaying the event so Alice wouldn't be sad that her parents weren't present. That's not to say she didn't have a cheering section. Between, me, Rose and Emmett, and Esme, Alice had plenty of support. Carlisle came as well, but seemed torn on how to interact with both Alice and myself. We concluded the celebration with a small dinner and presents at Alice's favorite restaurant. We had moved into our apartment the following day and Alice started work at the theater shortly thereafter. Even though I was more than proud of her for actually getting a role in the production, I became slightly less ecstatic when I realized that it meant less time of her at home. Despite our hectic lives most of the time, we'd eventually managed to make our apartment a home, and just in time for my opening, which would be this coming Saturday.

Since Jasper was going to be here anyway, I thought a dinner party would be a nice way to show all of our friends our new place. I had already invited Avery and Rachel, whom he was correct in assuming would get along well with Alice. I was actually a little jealous at first when Alice regularly came home from practices chattering all about what Rachel did and said, but once I'd had the chance to meet the girl myself, when Avery brought her around, I could see she wouldn't be a problem. For one thing, she was so obviously head over heels for Avery that she hardly noticed anyone else when he was nearby; and she was taller version of Alice, personality wise. They match as friends, but I couldn't see them being compatible as anything more.

A drop of paint falling onto my nose broke me out of my thoughts and I glared at the giggling girl above me.

"Oops." She shrugged innocently, trying to keep her face serious. I wasn't fooled.

"Hmm, so you think you're funny, huh?" I growled playfully, letting my fingers trail up her legs to her waist. Once I had her in a daze from my touch, I launched my revenge, tickling her sides and pulling her down into the tub with me until her back was pressed to the sloped end and she squirmed beneath me trying to escape my devilish fingers. Eventually I let up my assault, settling over her, my hips resting between her spread legs. I'd truthfully not even realized our position until Alice thrust her hips up at mine teasingly.

I gazed down at her hungrily and saw the same lust in her eyes. Unfortunately, just before I could press my lips to hers, the phone in my back pocket rang, and we both groaned, my head falling to her shoulder.

"You might as well get it, Bella. I have go get ready for rehearsals, anyway." She mumbled and I sat back to let her up, at the same time pulling the phone from my jeans.

"Hi Rose." I answered, somewhat grudgingly.

"Well, hello to you too!" She replied sarcastically.

"Well… we were in the middle of something." I retorted and she laughed.

"Yeah well if I only called when you weren't 'in the middle of something' we'd never talk. Honestly, it's amazing how much you manage to get done with you two fucking like rabbits." Alice giggled like mad at Rose's exclamation, while I just blushed deeper.

"Shut up." I hissed distractedly as a still chuckling Alice pulled herself up and out of the tub, sauntering toward the door and throwing me a look over her shoulder that promised a continuation of our activities later. A small moan slipped passed my lips and which caused both Alice and Rose to laugh. "What do you want?" I asked grumpily, pouting at my girlfriend's laughter that I could still hear from down the hall. The little brat.

"Hey! Don't blame me for your frustration!" Rose laughed.

"Why not? You caused it!" I said back, just making her laugh harder. Finally, she managed to collect herself.

"Okay, seriously. I was calling about the dinner party you invited Emmett and I to…"

"Don't tell me you're not coming!" I quickly broke in. She needed to be there to keep me balanced. Especially afterward, at the opening itself.

"Of course I'm coming, don't be ridiculous." She said, and I could just imagine her rolling her eyes. "I was calling to see if I could bring a couple more people."

"Huh? What people?" I asked, confused. I asked Esme, but she and Carlisle already had plans and couldn't make it before the opening. Who else would she invite?

"Well, I was talking to Gemma today, and she was saying how she'd like to see you again." Oh, Gemma. That might be nice. I did sort of miss her, and now that she wasn't in my employ, she might be a good friend.

"Sure, that's fine. I'd like to see her again too. But didn't you say a couple? Who are the others?"

"Just one other. I thought that if you invited Gemma, you should probably let her bring her girlfriend with her." Rose stated casually.

"She has a girlfriend?" I asked disbelievingly. I didn't even know she swung that way, but I guess it makes sense, looking back. The day I went jogging came to mind specifically, and I found that I wasn't actually surprised at all.

"Yeah, has for a while. Didn't you know?"

"No. I, unlike some people, don't pry into others business." I said, smiling as I heard Rose scoff over the phone.

"Uh huh, sure. Anyway, I think her name's Melanie. So is it okay to tell Gemma she can bring her along?"

"Yeah, the more the merrier." I agreed, mentally calculating how much more food I'd need to make. I think we'd also be short a chair at the table. Hmmm, I better check that. "By the way, Rose. How'd your doctor's appointment go?" I asked, recalling that she'd mentioned it the other day, when Emmett and her came by to help hang some pictures.

"Great!" She perked up instantly. Happiness oozing through the phone and making me smile. "The doctor said everything looked fine and the baby's healthy! I'll bring the ultrasound picture with me this weekend. Emmett said he looked like a peanut and thought we should name him that. But I told him even if it was a boy, there'd be no way we'd name him peanut! I mean could you imagine the harassment he'd take!" Rose babbled excitedly. She so rarely got hyper and rambled that it made me grin even bigger to hear her go on.

A little while after my phone call with Rosalie, I decided to continue a painting I'd begun a few days previously. It was just a fun little piece to help me get back into things. I ended up buying a new easel, but Alice convinced me to mount the old one on our wall, rather than throw it out. I'm glad she did. It added a little more charm to our place and made it less formal. That's what I loved most about our apartment. Everything was comfortable and relaxed. We didn't buy our furniture in matching sets, but got a bunch of mixed match pieces and threw them together. Alice absolutely loved this bright orange chair that we found at what I would guess was something a kin to a flea market. Neither of us had ever been to one to say for sure, but we stumbled upon an outdoor market down by the water the other day. We came back with not only a chair, but a whole bunch of accent pieces that tied together our modern features with some of the classic ones. In general, it was safe to say I adored our place, and it fit us well.

Lost in my memories again, I didn't hear Alice come up behind me, until she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I'll be back late tonight. It's our first full run through." She said softly, leaning her head on my shoulder. I turned to circle her in my arms and reveled in the feel of her warm body against me.

"Take a cab home. I don't want you walking alone." Normally, I didn't have as big a problem, but usually she got out around eight or nine. So even having her walk the seven blocks she normally does later at night wasn't an option in my eyes. She smiled softly at my mothering, but nodded.

"Okay. Love you." She said quietly before leaning in to capture my lips in a gentle kiss, which I quickly deepened, my need for her overwhelming. It was only with a lot of will power I finally pulled back, murmuring my love back to her. I didn't want to let her go, which she obviously saw in my eyes.

Moving her hands down to roughly grab my ass, she pulled us tighter together and I groaned needfully. I found her eyes, hungrily taking in the lust glinting back at me in the evening light and, almost savagely, raked my fingernails down her back, causing her to arch into my chest and a deep moan to penetrate the silence.

As much as I wanted her, I knew we didn't have the time, but that didn't make it any easier to let her go, especially when her skilled mouth found my neck and her hands slid beneath my back waistband.

"Baby, don't tease." I whimpered, resulting in a throaty chuckle against my heated skin before Alice pulled back, a grin on her face.

"Think of it as a preview." She said, raising an eyebrow before leaning closer to purr the next words. "Tonight we're going to fuck…hard." She promised, ensuring my need for new panties as soon as she left.

"God, baby." I moaned right back to her. "You better go before I lose it and take you on the floor." I whispered, kissing anywhere I could reach. Rose had commented that my speech had changed since I started seeing Alice more regularly, and now I could see where she was right. I guess I had become slightly less…proper? Not that Rose, Alice , or I thought that a bad thing. After all, it's not as though I was suddenly using vulgar language…outside of the bedroom…or rather our apartment.

"Okay. See you later." She finally said, pulling away after one last heated kiss, before dancing out the door. I listened to her graceful steps down the stairs and the closing of the outside door before returning to my painting.

A couple hours later when the sun finally began to set, I decided to head downstairs for a while and look over my plans for the gallery for the millionth time. I only had a couple days to make everything perfect, and there were still some decisions that irked me, for instance, whether it looked odd having the landscape oils next to the watercolor portraits. I moved over to the front corner and the pieces in question, wrinkling my nose as I thought it over.

It had only been pondering for a few minutes when a couple hard knocks startled me and I instantly drew back behind a wall before daring to see who was there. I paused briefly when my eyes took in a familiar head of hair and handsome face, but swiftly made my way to the door and pulled it open. I hadn't seen Edward since the night I had taken off to the hospital after demanding a divorce. If I said I wasn't nervous and a little scared, I'd be lying…big time.

"Bella." He said evenly, moving passed me when I opened the door and gestured for him to enter. I watched him silently, contemplating what to say, while he gazed around the room. "So this is the new gallery I've heard so much about." His voice was gentle, but I could tell by his posture that he was tense. I couldn't really blame him, and I'm guessing I looked similar.

"Yes." That solitary word was all I could force passed my lips, but Edward didn't comment, merely nodding, before leaning against the wall, staring blankly down at the floor.

"I received the divorce papers from our lawyer today." He said, his voice soft, but still slightly rough. "You didn't ask for much." He stated, voice lacking any emotion to hint at a mood. I didn't know what to say, so I just remained silent, waiting to see what this was leading to. "I suppose there isn't much you care to remember of our life together?" I don't think he meant to ask it, but that's how it came out. His voice cracked just enough to reveal his still hurting heart under the surface and mine ached sympathetically.

"I'm sorry." I breathed, knowing the words wouldn't mean anything. "I do…still care about you." I promised, but felt a little guilty when he looked up at me hopefully.

"You do?"

"Of course, I do. I love you, like I always have." I said softly, regretting how my next words would hurt him. "I just didn't realize until I met Alice that my love for you wasn't…the right kind." My words were really failing me now. I didn't know how to tell him that what I thought had been a deep romantic love with him paled now in comparison to what I shared with Alice. I still loved him, as a friend, maybe even more than that, but I didn't love him enough.

"I don't…I don't think I understand this?" He said, taking a step towards me, his brows furrowed in thought. He didn't look angry, thankfully, just hurt and confused. "How could you love me, marry me, and not realize…" He trailed off, obviously having his own trouble with words. "I just can't understand it, Bella. It came out of nowhere. All of the sudden you not only liked women, but you were in love with one and wanted a divorce. How do you know it's not just a passing fancy? I mean, how well can you even know this girl?" I really didn't want to get into this. I wasn't ready to handle it yet, and I didn't think he was either. I just wanted to go back to my perfect isolated Alice world.

"It's not a passing thing, Edward." I said, firmly holding up a hand when he made to object. "I had been seeing Alice for several months before that night." I revealed, holding my breath for his reaction. When he remained silent for several minutes, I finally chanced a peek at his expression, but he was staring at the floor between us, messy hair hiding his eyes from view, only the pronounced frown was visible. "Edward?" I tried, and gained no response. "Say something." I pleaded, the silence bearing down on me until I cracked. I immediately regretted that request when he finally looked up and met my eyes. Oh, yes. He was angry. Very angry.