A/N I have to say....those of you who did review.....amazing. we love love love hearing your thoughts and questions. seriously, let em rip. I promise we will be getting better about personally replying to them. it's a learning process. as always feedback is loved, adored and given a good home :) and can't send this off with out giving HUGE thanks to off-the-deep-end our stellar beta! and on it goes....

***

I hold the door open for Hannah who takes a cautious step into the restaurant. "Stop making that face," I tell her and she rolls her eyes at me.

"Who runs this place?" she asks and shrugs out of her coat before handing it to me. "Are we at a low budget nightclub or a restaurant?"

I ignore her and scan the room for Bella but she isn't here yet. Not that I'm especially shocked that she's late.

"How can I help you?" The hostess smiles brightly at me.

"We have a reservation for four," I tell her.

"What's the name?"

"Um…" Shit, I don't know what name she put it under. "Izzy I believe."

She scans her computer and Hannah huffs and puffs next to me. "This music isn't even in English," she mumbles.

The hostess looks up at her and says, "This is a Greek restaurant. Follow me please."

I hold back a laugh because Hannah has, if possible, managed to twist her face into an even more distasteful scowl. "You can always tell how trashy a restaurant is gonna be by the tasteless employees they hire," she says, loud enough for the hostess to hear.

I feel my shoulders slump. Hannah's in one of her moods tonight—her fighting, pretentious mood. This is not a good sign. I sit down next to her and take my jacket off.

"I understand now why you insisted on wearing those ridiculous sneakers," she says to me. "If I'd known that we were coming to a place like this, I wouldn't have even bothered to change out of my pajamas."

"Give it a rest, Hannah," I say quietly and look down at the menu.

"What do people even eat at these types of places?" she asks and opens her own menu.

I scan the menu and ignore her. I've learned that if I don't pay attention to her tantrums, they end faster.

"This is the woman that had her finances in an Incredible Hulk lunchbox, right?" she asks and I take a deep breath for patience. "It figures she'd be late."

I clench my fist under the table and am about to tell her to shut up, for real, when I feel someone bump into my shoulder. I look up and feel my tension slip away at the huge, bright smile on Bella's face.

"Hi!" she says enthusiastically and slips into her chair. Doctor Dick sits down next to her and offers me a tight smile. Bella plucks my menu out of my hands. "So, what are we having?"

Doctor Dick clears his throat and smiles when we look at him. "I'm Sean."

"Oh," Bella says and breathes out a laugh. "I probably should've done the introductions. Sorry, I forget my manners when I'm this hungry."

I can't help the smile that crosses my face. The smile that falters only slightly when Hannah mumbles, "In order to forget them, you'd have to have them to begin with."

I clear my throat. "Hannah, this is Izzy and Sean," I say.

Bella's eyes turn to Hannah and she smiles tightly at her. And then Doctor Dick slips his arm around Bella's shoulders. I narrow my eyes when he pulls her body into his and away from mine. He puts his cheek right next to hers and starts reading our menu with her.

"Any recommendations?" he asks, turning his head so that his lips brush against her cheek at the end of his words.

I feel my chest tighten.

She turns and smiles up at him. "I can't tell you what to order. What's the fun in that?"

"What's everyone else ordering?" Doctor Dick asks but directs his question at Hannah.

She looks up, irritation palpable on her face. "Everything on this menu is made with lamb," she says.

***

I think Godzilla bitch may be lost or seriously delusional. She can read right? I am only giving her the benefit of the doubt because I know that Edward would not date someone who didn't know the difference between the word lamb and the word chicken. I reach a hand out and press my finger into her menu.

"Unless you've seen lamb under water I'm pretty sure you're safe ordering anything called fish," I say. I watch Edward's eyes bulge as he tries to hold back his laughter. I probably could have been nicer about that.

Once back into my seat Sean replaces his hand on my knee. He seems to think that is the designated resting place for his twitching fingers. I quickly cross my legs and then uncross them, knocking his hand from its perch. He has not earned that right.

My leg starts to shake and I can't help it. There is so much tension at this table and I seem to be the only one capable of speaking. The waitress approaches and I swear she has a halo above her head because she is seriously my savior.

"Have you decided on anything?" she asks. I look anxiously around the table, but everyone seems too involved in the menu to respond. I roll my eyes for no one's benefit but my own.

"Yeah, I think we'll start with saganaki, an order of fried calamari, some people are scared of lamb and pikilia," I ramble off. The other occupants of the table just look up blankly like I may have just ordered bulls balls. The waitress nods and scribbles in her notepad.

"And some really good wine, whatever you have," I add. She leaves and the god awful silence settles back in. I know first dates can be awkward, but this is some kind of record. I toss my menu on the table desperate for noise.

"So how was everyone's day?"

Yes, I have resorted to terrible small talk. I wait for an answer, but Sean just smirks at me when I make eye contact and his hand returns to my knee. Good lord man, I know you want sex later. I got that message when you 'accidentally' grabbed my ass on the way out of the cab. I shift away from him and give Edward a pointed look. He is my friend. He is required to help me salvage this disaster. His eyes flit from my eyes down to my still bandaged hand.

"How's the hand?" he asks. How is that telling me about his day? I nearly groan as the table comes alive in interest. People and their morbid curiosity about wounds. Sean is the first to reach for my hand, barely beating out Edward's effort. I pull away from both of them and hold my hand safely against my chest.

"My hand is fine. No worse for the wear thanks, but it's nice to know you all are so worried about my ability to keep bringing music to the masses," I tease. Only Hannah looks unamused.

"I should probably take another look at it later," Sean begins. "When we're back at your place I'll clean and redress it."

It's innocent enough, it's legitimate doctor talk, but that doesn't stop me from hearing the key words and glancing at Edward who has become too stiff. I am worried if I touch him a piece of him might break off. This might even be too much for me to fix. Damn Edward and suggesting this double shit.

I slump in my seat feeling defeated. The food appears before us and again I am tempted to just tag along with the waitress, she seems to be better company than anyone at this table. I lean forward and inhale deeply, I really am hungry and this place is phenomenal.

I don't hesitate in digging in, loading my plate before I realize I am the only one excited about this. I huff before slamming my plate full of this fantastic food down in front of Edward. I take another plate and load it as well before giving it Sean. I hesitate before repeating the action, with small portions and offering it Hannah. She leans away from the plate, but Edward takes it from my hand and places it in front of her offering me a smile.

When I finally have my own food in front of me I don't really care if they like it. I am going to enjoy this with or without them. Hannah pokes at the assortment on her plate and eyes it warily.

"I promise its good, just try it," I urge. My very last effort. I watch as Edward moves first, placing a piece of saganaki in his mouth. I hold my breath as he chews slowly and smiles.

"God, that's really good. Hannah, taste it." Edward turns his newfound enthusiasm on Hannah and holds his fork out and waits for her to take the bite. She shakes her head persistently.

"You know I don't eat fried food Edward and I skipped Yoga tonight to be here so there is no way I can eat that," she argues pushing his hand away. She rips a piece of pita bread into a tiny piece and pops it into her mouth like that counts. I turn my head away from them and am met with a piece of pits bread and the good doctor's choice of dip spread across my cheek. Was not ready for that.

And yet all I can do it laugh. I reach for my napkin and wipe away the dip.

"Thanks for that Sean," I chuckle. I meet his gaze and he smiles back, toothy and sure. He reaches for another piece of pita and tries again. I humor him even though I am perfectly able to feed myself. At least he is no longer an observer. I close my eyes as I chew because really it's that good.

"What do you think?" I ask him. He reaches out and spreads a little of the dip on my lower lips before leaning in to lick it off. Wow, he just did that in front of Edward. Not that it matters, but in front of my friend and his…well Hannah.

"It tastes better on you," he replies slyly. I roll my eyes and laugh off the action. The waitress comes back and I know I will be tipping her well, she has amazing timing. We manage to order without much fuss even though all Hannah gets is a salad, with everything worth eating in a salad on the side. I almost choked on my wine when she requested no feta. Who hates feta? It's like hating bunnies or marshmallows.

Edward reaches in for more calamari and I smile and nudge him. He wobbles in his seat like he night actually fall over and I laugh, hard. He steadies himself on the table and then smiles back at me. Is it wrong that I feel like this would be so much better if it were just he and I here?

"I knew you'd like it, once you were able to abandon you're pencil neck tendencies and break loose. You know you love it."

I can't help the singsong sound my voice takes on at the end. I nudge him again and he turns his head to me like the smile on his face is secret he has to keep from Hannah.

"I never said I didn't like Greek food, you just assumed that I was naïve to it all," he replies. This is true. I assumed that along with his perfect shoes there are so many things that are in the pencil neck code. Things like not wearing ties in colors other than red and blue and never…

"And you said you'd lay off on the pencil neck comments," he adds. I guess I have to stop that train of thought.

"See and I never said that," I answer. He shakes his head.

"Wishful thinking then," he scoffs.

"You really shouldn't waste your wishes on such futile things. Focus on attainable things like getting a new calculator or avoiding zoos for at least the next month," I suggest. Sean clears his throat then and I'm drawn out of my bubble and away from Edward. I make the mistake of meeting Hannah's eyes and cower away from the daggers there.

Sean places a firm hand on the back of my neck making me feel locked in place; not a nice feeling.

"So, Hannah, what do you do?" he asks. This should be interesting. Let's see if she spits fire out her mouth. I watch in amazement as her eyes soften and she actually smiles. Smiles!

"I'm actually a divorce attorney," she answers smoothly.

"That's optimistic," I mutter. Once again all eyes are on me. Damn. Why can't I keep my mouth shut?

"I actually find that helping people when they are at their lowest is very fulfilling," Hannah rattles off the answer like she almost believes it. I smile tightly and force my word vomit down.

"And you Sean? How do you fit into this whole mess?" Hannah asks. Why are they so comfortable with this lame back and forth? I want to escape, but Sean is still holding me in place. Not ok.

"I was Izzy's doctor when Edward brought her in the other day," he answers. Oh no. I watch Hannah transform before my eyes and turn her wrath on Edward. Granted this wrath is simply a perfectly shaped and lifted eyebrow.

"Really? I didn't hear about that," she states. So much venom in those words. And suddenly I can't take it anymore. The music in the background takes over and I pull myself away from Sean and towards the large space in the center of the floor. I reach for my full glass of wine, but don't look back.

***

I watch Bella's retreating back and try to ignore the hole Hannah's burning into my face. Shit. Honestly, I don't even care that Hannah's probably gonna tear me a new asshole when we get home later. Doctor fucking Dickhead licked hummus off of Bella's lips and now he doesn't even have the courtesy to follow her to the dance floor.

Whatever the dance floor is. A bunch of people are just gathered around in a circle clapping and singing. Well, mostly men. My eyes are stuck on Bella who has joined the circle now and is laughing and clapping along.

And even though she looks like she's having a good time, she's standing there by herself. Because she couldn't deal with the nonsense at this table. The awkwardness of this situation is so thick it's nauseating. And it's all my fault. All my stupid, jealous fault. What was I thinking suggesting a double date? I knew better.

But I couldn't stand the thought of Bella out on a date with this guy. Watching him touch her and lick her made me want to lift the… pikilia? The plate that the pikilia was on and smash it over his head.

Hannah is alternating between picking at her salad distastefully, chatting with Doctor Dick, and shooting me death glares. But I've lost my appetite and I can't bring myself to care.

"Don't you think you should go get Izzy?" I finally ask him, interrupting his conversation with Hannah, because Bella's glass has been refilled at least four times already and the men around her are starting to like her more and more.

He shrugs at me. "I don't dance."

Did I ask him to dance with her? I know I didn't ask him to dance with her.

I reach for my glass of wine and Hannah slaps my hand. "Edward loses control rather quickly when he drinks," she tells Sean, who snorts.

And I've had just about enough.

I push away from the table and start standing. "Edward," Hannah says sharply. "Sit down."

I stand anyway. Liberating, I know.

"You guys seem to be okay over here," I say and lift my glass from the table. "I'm gonna go keep Bell… Izzy company. She's by herself."

"She's not alone," Hannah says tightly. "Look at all of those men." Yes, look at all of those men. I can't stand watching it anymore.

I sip my wine and then look down at my glass. It's almost empty. I reach for the bottle and I hear Hannah almost protest but I shoot her a look.

"Edward, sit down," she tries again.

I roll my eyes. "For god's sake, Hannah. She's my friend. Get over it," I tell her and walk away from the table.

My steps to Bella are quick, I don't really care who sees me. And soon I'm at her side—the right side of my chest pressing lightly into her back. The look I shoot everyone around her seems to do its job.

She turns and looks up at me and smiles. "Edddwardd, hey love, you gonna dance with us?" she asks. Her cheeks are red from the wine but the smile in her eyes and on her face is impossible to resist.

"I figured I'd keep you company," I say and put my hand on the small of her back to steady her when she sways slightly. "But I only dance after at least five drinks."

"So catch up. These really nice men will get you some."

I lift my glass so that she can see that it's full. "I'll let you know when I'm ready for a refill."

She nods, appeased momentarily.

I slip my hand into my pocket but she shoots me a look and I pull it out. "No ring tonight, love. If you need to hold onto something, I can lend you my hand." I smile and reach for her hand. "Buuutttt, you can't keep it. I need it later."

All sorts of really perverted images come to mind… some of them aren't very pleasant. Some of them involve Doctor Dick and her… yeah. Never mind. Stopping.

"Are you taking him home with you?" I ask before I can stop myself.

Her eyes narrow in confusion. "Who? One of the nice men filling my glass?"

I laugh slightly and shake my head. The laugh is only partly because she's adorable. The other part of the laugh is just because I need to do something so that I won't kill anybody. I don't want her to take anybody home with her.

"No," I say and motion my head towards our table. "Sean. Are you taking Sean home with you?"

"The good doctor?" she asks and then shakes her head. "I don't think so. He left already."

I laugh again, this time loudly and fully amused. "He's still at the table."

"Huh, there's my wishful thinking then. I think he WANTS to take me home, but his hands are cold—I don't like them," she says. Thank god. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wouldn't have been able to sleep at all tonight.

I need to stop.

"Plus," she continues in a whisper, "I don't want him to be 23."

Huh?

"23?" I ask and her hand flies up to cover her mouth, eyes wide. "Bella, what's 23 mean?"

"I like it when you call me Bella, but I don't let anyone call me Bella," she says instead of answering.

I just smile indulgently at her. I like being the only person that calls her Bella, but it's not my drunken confession hour. I already had mine.

"Tell me what 23 is," I try again and tug on a piece of her hair.

She sighs and rolls her eyes at me like I'm slow for not understanding this. "23, like after 22, before 24… I hope there's never a 30… too many…" her voice trails off and I narrow my eyes.

"Too many what?"

"Ugh, too many questions, too many tears… not my fault," she mumbles and there's that sadness again—the one from the toy store. I hate seeing that on her face. Bella's face isn't supposed to be sad, ever.

And then she looks me in the eye again and her face brightens up. "Dance with me love, please?"

And there's no possible way I can even consider denying her with the way she's staring up at me through her slightly unfocused but big brown eyes. I'm about to say yes when I feel a vibration in my pocket. I reach in and pull my phone out. Bella sighs, obviously frustrated, but I check it anyway.

Hannah. A text message of course. I left. I'm sleeping at Jessica's tonight. Don't bother contacting me.

I sigh and reach into my pocket for the ring but Bella stomps her foot and gets there first, pulling the ring out with a victorious look on her face.

"Nope. Sorry. I'm gonna hold this prisoner. No more keeping it in," she says and then slips it onto her finger.

I watch, slightly fascinated and slightly terrified as she admires it on her finger. And I can't help but sort of like the way it looks on her. "Hannah and Doctor Dick left," I tell her, because I don't mind if I don't have the ring if I have her.

"Yeah? Oh well, I don't like people who don't like Greek food," she tells me.

And I wish that everything were that simple. I wish everything could be that black and white. I'm gonna have to deal with hell whenever Hannah decides to come home. But I don't even care right now.

"Bella?" I wait until she's paying attention to me to speak again. "I'm sorry about how awkward tonight was. And about Hannah."

"Buy me a record and we'll call it even," she says.

And I can't fight the urge anymore. I wrap my arms around her and pull her tightly against my chest. She wraps her arms around my waist and squeezes back. And this is just… perfect. I haven't felt this good in so long. I haven't had a hug in so long.

I rest my cheek on the top of her head and we just stand there for a few moments. I turn my face and press a kiss to the top of her head. "Let's get you home," I say and take her hand, the one that's wearing my ring, and guide her to the door.

***

Everything is too loud, I open one eye, and bright. I bury my face in m pillow and groan. It's days like these I am glad I can call out of work without worry. I run my tongue over my teeth trying to determine what my undoing was. It tastes like Hummus and wine?

Suddenly a groan seems like way too little. Good lord, the food, the good doctor, Godzilla bitch, it was real. Then it gets hazy after the table scene, but I remember dancing and more wine and then Edward.

I flip over on my back and try to run my hands through my hair. My left hand snags and I wince. I pull it away and freeze when the light reflects off the problem. Please lord let me not have been stupid enough to have done this. I wince my eyes shut and then it hits me. I live in New York not Vegas.

Opening my eyes slowly and taking in the ring the tarnished metal stands out, worn out by a certain thumbs over use. I stole his ring. I am the devil. This may be worse than stealing candy from a baby.

I quickly pull the ring from my finger and place it on my on my dresser before panicking that it might get lost and slipping it back on my finger. That's probably the only place I won't lose it.

Before I can sink back into my bed I throw my legs over the side and force myself to get up. I push my way out of my door in desperate need of water to clean out my mouth. Somehow the kitchen is brighter than my room and I raise my hand to shield my eyes. Bad idea.

"Woooaahhhh," Emmett whistles. Please no.

"Something you want to tell me Iz?" he asks. I try my best to glare at him without furthering the pounding in my head. I snap my hand down and wrap my fingers protectively around the ring.

"It's not what you think," I mutter moving around Emmett to the fridge. He continues to do what he considers cooking, which is using a toaster to make a pop tart.

"Really? So you weren't dragged in here last night by a man you claim is nothing more than a friend and now you are wearing something that looks a lot like an engagement ring?" He asks. Damn him.

"So maybe it is what it looks like. But Edward and I are not engaged," I clarify. Emmett rolls his eyes.

"Doll, the last thing I am worried about is you hurrying into a marriage. I was more curious about the guy who brought you back and who you just willingly used his name in the same sentence as engaged," he laughs. I growl at him and unscrew the lid to my water.

"Edward and I are just friends. He has a girlfriend and I am currently not terrorizing men," I inform him. Emmett laughs and it echoes in my head, but I don't mind so much. I love his laugh.

"Good to know you are leaving us men alone," Emmett replies. Silence settles in, but it's so much different than last night. It's comfortable and almost soothing.

"But you are wearing a ring and I'm guessing it's not yours, so maybe someone is missing it?" he adds. Holy hell, I have Edward's ring. The reality of it settles in and I scramble towards my room and my answering machine. I fast forward my mother's nasal whining and then I hear him.

"Hey, Bella... it's Edward. umm I just wanted to apologize again for Hannah last night... and for not being able to stay with you. Anyway, give me a call when you wake up... or whenever you want... hope you're feeling okay."

And now I'm rubbing the damn ring.