A/N: I don't own twilight.

Okay, this may turn out to be one heck of an author's note, but I have to give shout outs:ThatPanicGirlE, you are truly one awesome chick, thanks for your support, you give me sunshine and happy faces all day long. Thanks again for the avatar. She's got great stories that she's written, go check them out, she's on my faves. draganz2004, you will forever be one of the loves of my life(platonically speaking), and I'm sorry for putting you through a first date like that. I hope I won't need that again. Seriously though, I could never have asked for a better BFF. Froggyqueen, I am so happy that you like my story, you give me rainbows and daisies. Your support really helps keep me going. Oh, and Jake says that he hasn't married Bella yet because it's one of the biggest commitments you can ever make, and he wanted to be completely sure he was ready to take that leap. That's what he said, so I don't know...I think he was a little scared of commitment, but who knows. Javamomma0921, you're just awesome. You're a great writer, as well as a link in my support chain. (does that make sense) You too, give me all the happiness and support I never could have imagined having. She has great stories as well, completely blows me away, so check those out too.(Also on my faves.) But really you're all great, and those of you who are reading, I know who you are, even if you aren't reviewing. It's cool though, you're awesome for reading this too. Also, I might be changing up POVs on you guys, but not by too many. Too many POVs means too many voices in my head and that makes for a looney km3.

Now, on with the show..er story.

Chapter 6

EPOV

I walked into the coffee shop a few minutes after seven. I would have been here sooner, but I had a delivery by cesarean. It took a little longer than I had planned, due to the fact that it was twins I was delivering. After I was done at the hospital, I had to hurry home and shower before meeting Bella.

I spotted her sitting at a small table in the middle of the floor, glancing around nervously. I didn't know Bella very well, but I felt a strange pull to her that caused me to want to go to her, wrap her in my arms and not let go.

I didn't do this, though, I still had that yearning to touch her. Her big brown eyes finally landed on me with a relieved look before she dropped her gaze to her hands and blushed. I smiled to myself as I made my way over to the table where she sat.

"May I sit?" I asked as I stopped next to the empty chair across from her. She met my gaze and I could feel my heart rate accelerate minutely.

"Um, I was waiting for someone, but I suppose you can for now," she said with a small smile, as she looked up to me once again.

I took my seat and wondered if this was as awkward for her at this moment. The blush that glided over her skin and finally took residence in her cheeks let me know that it was. I scrambled for something to say as I glanced around the shop. Just as I was about to ask her about her day, the barista rounded the counter and came to our table.

"Hi, I'm Caleigh, welcome to West End, what can I get you?" she asked. She was a pretty girl, looking no older than sixteen. She had a slim build, long light brown hair, and blue eyes. Her skin was a rich tan, not one of those orange ones out of a bottle. By looking at her, one would guess that she loved to be outdoors a lot. I imagined her playing volleyball on a beach somewhere along a sunny coast.

I was taken out of my thoughts by Bella clearing her throat at me. "Your order, sir," Caleigh asked, looking very flustered.

"Oh, yes. I'll have the iced Italian with sugar and cream. And..uh...the orange sesame biscotti," I told her, watching as she diligently wrote the order on a small pad of paper.

She told us to let her know if there was anything else we might need, before turning and walking back behind the counter to fix our refreshments.

"So, what did you order?" I asked Bella, willing her-unsuccessfully- to look at me. She blushed before responding, "Oh you know, the usual-cranberry almond biscotti and a double macchiato, extra foam."

"So I imagine if it's the usual, that would mean you come here often," I tried to phrase it as a question, but it came out more like a statement. "I was coming here every day for the longest time, but it just became a lot easier and faster to make my coffee at home or at the shop," she told me.

Caleigh came back with our order and placed our drinks and plates of biscotti in front of us. She smiled sheepishly without a word, before turning to walk back to her post behind the counter. What is it with the oppisite sex and shyness in this town? I thought, turning back to look at Bella who was now cupping her espresso and biting her bottom lip.

"So, gynecology, that must be interesting. What made you pick that profession," she asked, finally meeting my gaze.

"What can I say, I'm a guy," I replied with a chuckle, before thinking about what she had asked. That had become my usual answer to my brother, Emmett, but not exactly the answer I meant to give to Bella. I had just met this woman, and I didn't want her to get the wrong impression.

She blushed and looked down into her cup. I quickly thought for a way to take back my crude comment, coming up with nothing spectacular except, "I was only joking. My father is a doctor in Seattle, so I was encouraged to take that road. I chose gynecology because you get to work with adults as well as bring life into the world. It's a very rewarding occupation," I felt a little relieved when she looked back up to me.

Her eyes were filled with a look of awe, as she studied my face. I began to feel a little squeamish, being under the scrutiny of this intriguing woman.

"So, you mentioned earlier something about a shop. What kind of shop are we talking about?" I asked, trying to turn the conversation from my career to her's.

"A small book store, it's called Just us Books," she replied, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Have you worked there long?" I asked, now very interested in this little book store.

"Well, I bought it about two and half years, ago. It used to be a house, but we worked on it and fixed it up and made it into the little shop it is today. I really enjoy it, I get to spend time around my favorite things everyday. Most people don't care too much about books now-a-days, you know? With the whole internent and e-book thing. But I love 'em. And you can't get that comforting smell of old pages and stories of worlds long forgotten through the internet," she finished, picking up her biscotti and nibbling the end.

I sipped my coffee, glancing at her over the rim of my cup. I had never heard her talk to much. I was suprised that she was so passionate about something as common as books, as well as the fact that she owned her own business. These small details about her life fascinated me to no end. Maybe there is more to this Bella Swan than meets the eye.

The small talk continued as we discussed where we were from, and how we came to live in this town. I told her about my parents and my brother Emmett and sister Alice. I told her stories from younger years, while she told me of being an only child. I was surprised to learn that she had lived here all of her life, never leaving the state, except for one trip to visit her estranged mother in Jacksonville.

When we talked of high school and the years after, she didn't offer up anything of consequence. I was curious, but didn't push her. I figured I couldn't learn everything about her in one night, though I desperately would have loved to.

I watched her as she studied the provisions of the coffee shop restlessly, always biting on her bottom lip unremittingly. She never would look me in the eye for more than a second, to which I was somewhat grateful-for fear that I would be lost in her warm chocolate pools-but also, somewhat saddened-because I wanted nothing more at the moment than to drown in them.

There was something to this woman. Something that I so desperately needed to know. She was a beautiful petite woman. Sure, she had the balance of a spinning top, never staying vertical for too long, but she was alluring. Some people may have described her as plain or ordinary. But I could never characterize this magnificent being simply as such.

Finally, she spoke after being quiet for a few minutes, offering me nothing of great fortune, only making me blush as she, herself, did before, "You know, I never thought about it much before, but you really look like that one actor, Robert-oh what's his name? uhh...Peterson?"

I knew exactly who she was talking about, I had been told time and time again how I held a strong resemblance to the young star. "Robert Pattinson," I offered, feeling my cheeks grow warm. Most women I took out in the past, would be so flagrant as to assume some kinship between us, which was not the case at all. Usually, that would be the time I ended a date, feigning some quickly brought on illness. But, this was different, because I was not on a date. We were doing 'just coffee'. So I decided to let it go, and humor her instead.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. I don't really see it, but maybe it is there, since I hear it quite often," I added.

She blushed as she quickly apologized, "Oh I'm so sorry. That was rude of me. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Why do you do that?" I asked, realizing I had once again opened my mouth and spoke before letting my brain process the comment. Brain to mouth, come in mouth- watch, it or you'll fuck this coffee thing up!

"Do what," she asked, looking at me curiously.

Well, no way to pull your foot out of your mouth on this one. "You apologize so much. And you blush quite often. I was just curious as to why," I told her, hoping I wasn't offending her.

Once again she blushed a light pink as she looked down at her hands and fidgeted with her fingers. "I don't know. I just felt the need to apologize for saying that. As far as the blushing," her cheeks growing red now, "how could I not blush when I'm sitting at a table with this Adonis-like being in front of me?"

Whoa.

That comment left me quite flabbergasted, and my cheeks grew just as red-if not more so-as her's were now. I didn't know how to respond, and luckily I didn't have to right away. Caleigh saved the day by coming to ask if we needed anything else. I was granted a few seconds to gather my thoughts and prepare a response as she took our plates and cups from the table.

I glanced back at Bella, where she was looking a little uncomfortable, so I did the one thing I had wanted to do all night. I reached across the table, and lightly touched her cheek with my fingertips. I felt the heat of her blush in her cheeks, as a smile played at the corners of her mouth.

"Hey I'm not that easy on the eyes, I'm no where close to Adonis. And really, I can't even compare when I'm sitting at a table with Aphrodite herself," I told her, while cupping her cheek in my hand. She leaned into my hand, closing her eyes. I sat rubbing small circles on her cheek for a moment with my thumb, before forcing myself to pull away.

I felt a pair of eyes on me, so I glanced behind Bella to find a man staring at us. He looked much like some of the Native Indians from around here, but I didn't know who he was. He met my gaze, and turned his head quickly as his face took on a look of anger. I didn't bring him to Bella's attention, but was curious as to why he was staring at us like it deeply upset him.

The mystery man was soon forgotten when she slowly opened her eyes, and brought my gaze back to her own. I felt my heart accelerate very rapidly. Not the minute difference like earlier, but at a much stronger, more fierce pace. She looked down at her watch, and a look of affliction set across her features.

"What is it," I asked not understanding why she was looking like this. "I'm so sorry, but I have to be going. I promised Angela I would go by her house by nine so we could work on all of the paper work for the new shipment of books we just received," she said, her voice full of remorse.

It felt like I had just arrived, but when I looked down at my phone, I was shocked to see that it was five til nine already. "Oh that's no problem. Well, it was nice getting to know so much about you. I really had a nice time. Maybe we could do this again," I asked, hoping I didn't sound too desperate. The truth of the matter was, except for giving Leah a ride home once, I hadn't had any interaction with people outside of my job since I moved here.

Well, I had the usual phone calls to my family, but besides them, I had no one. I was grateful to this woman for allowing me to get to know her better.

"Really? That would be great. I'm sorry to have to leave like this," she said as she reached in her purse, coming out with her wallet before she laid a twenty dollar bill on the table.

"Bella, put that away," I scolded. "That's just insulting."

She glared at me for a moment, then stubbornly shook her head from side to side.

"We just had coffee, Edward. That was it. Just two people having a polite conversation over coffee. If it were something else, I would be obliged to let you pay for all of it. But is was 'just coffee'. We're going dutch. Don't bother arguing with me on this, it's not going to get you anywhere," she replied sounding quite agitated.

I let out a deep breath, and then surrendered. "Fine," I stated, "but if this is how we're doing this, then Caleigh's just going to end up with a very fat tip." I told her, cocking my head to the side and arching an eyebrow, daring her to contest.

A smile played at her lips as she then nodded her head in agreement. I laid a twenty on the table on top of hers, as we both stood. She grabbed her purse and fished a dvd case from it while placing the purse on her shoulder. We walked through the coffee shop and into the conjoined rental store, where she placed the movie in the return bin.

As we exited the shop I noticed it was considerably cooler outside than before, and I wanted to wrap my arm around her to keep her warm. But I thought better of it, realizing that may be a little forward.

I turned to her, not knowing what to say exactly, and feeling the awkwardness from the beginning of our evening resettle around us once again. She looked up at me, and then stuck her hand out in front of her, as if she wanted a hand shake. I obliged her her hand shake, noting how soft and smooth her skin was against mine.

She shook my hand very gently. I finally realized as she stopped shaking my hand and stared at me from under raised eyebrows, that she wanted her hand back. Nothing says creepy like trying to hold onto someone for too long. I relinquished her hand, and wished her a goodnight before turning to climb in my car. I waited until she had climbed into her's and left the parking lot before I turned the key in the ignition and started on my way.

I rode home in a comfortable silence, the hum of the engine alleviating any nerves that were making me anxious. My thoughts stayed on Bella for the entire drive to my house, as well as when I dressed for bed.

I laid down that night, content with everything that had taken place that day. As I started to drift towards unconsciousness, a thought occurred to me. I had not remembered to get Bella's phone number. Damn.

I guess I'll just have to go book shopping soon.

-----

BPOV

My time spent with Edward last night was a different experience than what I'm used to. It was nice-a little awkward feeling-but nice. I couldn't remember if I'd ever had 'just coffee' with anyone before. After a moment, I knew I had never had 'just coffee' with anyone else. I had spent all of my adult life with Jake.

Jake.

Thinking of him made my heart ache a tiny bit. I missed him terribly. Why wouldn't I? He was all I knew.

He was that comforting place you went to when you weren't sure about something. He could make anyone smile practically with just his presence.

I pushed those thoughts of him out of my very boggled mind when I heard the door of the book store open. I was surprised to see Edward standing in the doorway. His clothes were a little wet from the down pour we were now experiencing. Nothing unusual there.

He wore a pale blue button-up shirt with a pair of khaki slacks and brown loafers. His hair was a disheveled mess, but I was becoming very aware that this was pretty normal for him. He was as handsome as ever.

Edward flashed me a friendly smile, which I returned. He came over to the counter as I stood from my seat.

"Good day, Ms. Swan," he said politely while sweeping his arm in front of his body and taking a low bow. I smiled and blushed lightly.

A small laugh bubbled up to my lips, and I covered my mouth with my hand. "Good day to you Dr. Cullen. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked, trying to keep this charade going.

"Well, it seems Ms. Swan that I left last night without something that I would much like to acquire. If you shall let me, that is," he said.

"Oh whatever could that be?" I asked, my voice full of mock astonishment. But to be truthful, I really wondered what he was talking about. What could I give him that he didn't have? What did he think he could acquire from me?

"Well two things actually. You see, where I come from, friends are allowed to call each other. So, it wouldn't be too inconceivable to think that I might like to have your number. Seeing as you are my only friend in this town. The other, well, I might need to acquire the first thing first."he said, his voice betraying his confidence at the end. He always seemed a little nervous to talk to me. Like he was unsure of himself or his words.

I couldn't understand why he would feel that way around me, I was nothing compared to him. He was beautiful and kind and funny,....a little corny but a nice guy all the same. Where as I was plain 'ole Bella-a girl who had done nothing well in her life except manage to trip on every flat surface imaginable.

Friends.

He called us friends.

Are we friends?

"Hmm...I suppose friends can talk to each other on the phone. You know, in case there's like.....zombies coming from the hospital morgue and I need to high tail it out of here. It seems fair, so sure." I told him, while rubbing my thumb on my chin as if I were deep in thought.

Is it weird to give this guy my number so shortly after leaving Jake? What does that make me look like? Oh, what does it matter what I look like, he's just a-what did he say before-...friend?? Hmm, that's a okay title I suppose, but accquintance seems to fit better. Oh, well. Friends.

"So, the first has been accuired, Dr. Cullen, what is the second?" I asked, truly curious.

"Well, if you can imagine, I am fairly good working with my hands in most cases. I do however, lack any culinary skills. I was just wondering if you would like to accompany me to dinner sometime this week."

I was....shocked. That's the only word I could come up with to describe what I was. Why was this man asking me to dinner? I'm sure he could find someone more interesting in this town than me. I was almost positive if he went back to the place where we first ran into each other, he could find that Jessica Stanley was more interesting than me. She would love to have dinner with someone like Edward, I'm sure.

I stared at him for a moment, not sure what kind of look was on my face. I wanted to say yes, simply because I didn't like being alone after I left the shop. But, I just couldn't. I looked down at the counter, and fidgeted with my fingers.

"Edward," I looked up to meet his gaze. "I would love to, but it's just that.." I dropped my gaze back to the counter. "I'm really busy this week. I have a lot of new shipments coming in and I need to get caught up here at the shop," I lied.

He smiled at me before saying, "Oh, I see. Well, in that case, maybe another time. Maybe we could have coffee again when you're free," he seemed to have noticed my hesitation, but wasn't upset by it.

"Coffee's fine. Maybe next week sometime," I smiled up at him, as I reached for a piece of paper and a pen.

I wrote my number down and handed it to him. He informed me that he would be in touch so we could get together sometime soon when I wasn't busy, and left the shop.

I was at a loss of words when the door to the shop opened less than a minute later and I saw a very distraught looking Jacob standing before me.

A/N: I hope to not leave you hanging on the cliff for too long. Let me know what you think. km3