Bella.

"Shut up!" I groaned, slamming my hands on the dresser, my fingers desperately trying to find that stupid alarm clock. When I finally got a hold of it, I pressed the stick-like button on the top, and groaned again.

I would never be a morning person.

I sat up, and rubbed my temples with my fingers, keeping my eyes closed to avoid the beaming light that peaked from my curtains. Ugh! It was morning already.

Without looking at the time, or participating in my usual activity of morning stretches, I stumbled off the bed and started for the bath, grabbing my toiletries on the way, and dragging my feet as I walked.

My brain was still half-asleep as I stripped out of my pajamas– – a large, dark green shirt and black boxers, and stepped into the hot, blissful water of the shower. I let the heat wash over me– – running over my body, which felt as if I had just been running a marathon of sorts, and let the humid mist wake me, clearing up my head.

As my head started to clear, the memories of last night came as well.

"Ugh!" I groaned, leaning my back into the marble walls of the shower.

Before I scrubbed or washed anything, I allowed my mind to think back on yesterday's occurrences, and on the actions that I would now have to take.

I thought of everything Cullen said, disregarding the whole 'cow intestine' stunt. It was after that, when we had been dancing, that had been perturbing. I couldn't fathom what would possess him to behave the way he did. To speak to me that way. Ok, yeah, sure… everything I said to him shortly before the date had been full of hypocrisy, but it wasn't as if I lied. I didn't date younger men, and I avoided getting into relationships with the people I worked with– – aside from Jacob, of course. But Jacob was different; he was my only exception. It still didn't explain his reasoning for lashing out on me, or his purpose for being angry. None of his actions last night made even the least bit of sense.

In truth, what he had said had really bothered me, even though it shouldn't have. Did he truly believe that I was so desperate? Or that I was the type of person who would take advantage of a person's emotions to move forward in the world? Is that truly what he thought, or was it just melodramatic words used in an instant of fury? Why he was furious was beyond me– – but there was no doubt about it that he had been.

So, in short, I abbreviated Cullen's infuriating performance at dinner yesterday as him just being a plain ass, and settled on thinking nothing more than what I had to do with him. Regardless his temperaments, I could not deny the fact that Cullen was indeed beautiful. Far more so than the majority of the model's that worked for Twilight Runway.

Did I want to consider working with him again? When he showed absolutely no respect towards me yesterday? It would prove to be a rather difficult task, but I was certain that I would be able to have him removed from my management. And then, there was the issue of cancelling his first photo shoot in just three days. I certainly didn't want to miss that

I sighed again, and after finishing up with conditioning my hair– – using my favorite strawberry scented hair soap– – I wrapped the blue-checkered towel around me, and left the bathroom.

Cullen's attitude was really something to think about. If he were to act like this again, to disrespect me so vehemently, then how could I possibly work with him? If things were going to be like that all the time, then why should I even bother? I've only known Cullen for two weeks, and not only had we gotten off on the wrong start, but he has done nothing to fix things, either. Not to mention that he, and his unyielding, tempered mannerisms, just seemed to get worse and worse, even after he apologized, and promised to gain my trust.

'Bull Crapper' I thought, sourly, as I slipped on a purple, ruffled button-down shirt from 'Rakuen', anda pair of tanned, nameless slacks and black flats.

I gave myself a quick once-over, not in any mood to do my usual annoying mirror routine, and started for the kitchen. I needed coffee– – desperately.

Yawning in exhaustion, I rubbed my eyes and walked into my average-sized kitchen. At the sight of a person sitting at the table, I jumped up in alarm, and clasped my mouth shut, restraining a scream.

"Morning, Bells." The guy greeted me, taking a small sip of what I assumed was coffee.

"Jake," I cried, placing a hand over my heart and sighing in relief, "you nearly caused me a heart attack! I swear I just lost a couple of years off my life!"

Jacob smirked at me from just above his steaming cup, and winked, before taking another sip.

"When did you get here?" I asked. He was fully dressed, wearing a pair of faded, ripped black jeans and a mahogany polo shirt. Even when wearing normal attire, Jacob looked nothing less than gorgeous. Well, that was to be expected. He was my number one model, after all.

"Early this morning," he shrugged, placing his cup back on the table, and getting up. I waited while he walked over to the coffee machine, and poured some of the ambrosial, dark liquid into one of my many coffee mugs. Jake placed the cup next to his, and patted the seat beside him, "Probably around eight or so."

I nodded, and walked towards the table, taking a seat beside him. I took a deep whiff of the delicious smelling coffee in front of me, and took a swigging gulp.

"One of these days you are going to burn your throat doing that," Jacob scolded, crossing his arms over his chest.

I laughed, "It's not even that hot. You are such a baby."

He playfully glared at me from the corner of his eyes, and then turned in his seat, positioning himself closer to me, at an angle where both our chests faced each other.

I knew what was coming.

Jacob pulled me into a warm, tight hug, and whispered in my ear, "I missed you, Bella."

I couldn't even think. I just completely relaxed in his arms. All my previous concerns seemed to slip away once I was in Jake's embrace, and all I could think about was wanting to be closer to him. About how much I missed the feel of him holding me.

"Me too," I breathed back, burying my face into his neck, "You could have stayed over, you know."

Jake snorted, but didn't release his grip on my waist, "Yeah, right. You give me too much credit, Bells. I'm not as controlled as you think I am."

It was my turn to snort.

"I know you wouldn't do something that I don't want to do. You're not that type of person."

Jacob sighed, as if he had given up, and unlocked his arms from around me. "I guess you're right," he frowned when my face lit up to a huge grin, "but you also needed some alone time."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him, raising my eyebrow. Hadn't we had enough of that already?

"Bells, yesterday you looked like you were going to burst into tears."

Oh, that.

And here I though I had done a good, or at least decent, job of hiding it.

Last night, after my "showdown" with Cullen, I nearly ran out of the restaurant, feeling utterly depressed. I was angry, and I was hurt– – though I would never tell anyone that. Right before I managed to finally get to my car, someone had grabbed my hand, preventing me from going further. When I turned around to see who it was, I had– – and I would never admit to this either– – secretly thought it was Cullen who had run after me. I secretly wanted Cullen to run after me.

'Like he had any reason to.'

I was in total shock when I suddenly came crashing into Jacob's chest. He had such perfect timing, as usual. In the next instance I was hugging him painfully. Greedily. Even if it were for only a second, my distress instantly dissipated, along with the feelings to either cry, or hunt down Cullen with a crow bar.

Jacob had driven me home, after that. We didn't speak much, though I didn't recall that until I had already been home. After he dropped me off, he just left. It wasn't until I had already dressed for bed that I felt even more guilty for neglecting Jacob. What a great sort of girl friend I was!

"So," Jacob asked, his back turned to me while he washed both his and my cup in the sink, "Did something happen yesterday with Alice? You seemed pretty upset."

Jacob slowly turned around, and looked at me with concerned eyes. I felt bad that I was going to lie to him.

"No, everything's fine. I just had an argument with someone I knew, and I got pretty upset." I lied, looking down at my fiddling fingers.

"I see…" Jake sighed. He knew I was lying– – that much was obvious. Most people figured me easy to read, and since Jake knew me better than those people, he was bound to realize when I was lying. But Jake being Jake, I knew that he wouldn't push it. Not when it looked like it would upset me. "Well, if the jerk ever comes up to you again, tell me. I'll punch a whole right into their face."

I giggled at how protective he was, and took a swift glance at my watch.

"Crap," I groaned, pulling my sleeve down to my wrist, "I'm going to be late. Oh, by the way, how was the contract?"

Jake smiled a brilliant smile, and said, "Excellent. Everything was finished perfectly."

I rushed over to him, and lifted myself on my toes, so that I could reach his cheek.

I had no such luck.

Noticing my struggles, Jacob chuckled, and lowered his face so that I could plant a nice wet one right beside his lip.

"Congratulations," I cooed, hugging him tightly. When I pulled away, I knew that I probably smiling just as widely as he was, "I knew you could handle that job."

"Thanks, Bells."

"And how's your father?"

That removed the smile from Jacob's face. "The old man? Physically he's alright, I guess. He was discharged from the hospital already. But, unfortunately, I cant say the same for his crappy attitude."

Jacob's face looked positively bitter, but I knew that he loved his father dearly. It was the same for his dad. Billy Black loved Jacob, he just hated his profession. Billy and Jacob were a complicated bunch.

"Well, it's good that he's finally out of the hospital. I know Billy would prefer eating Sue's food, rather than that disgusting hospital waste."

Jacob nodded silently, and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

Humph. Isn't that something new.

It was my fault, after all, that Jacob became a model. When I left Forks a few years ago, after finishing high school, I moved over to New York to enroll in FIT, to pursue a career in fashion.

Both my mother and father had been against it at first. New York was such a…dangerous, as Renee liked to call it, place. They constantly asked me questions like, "Why are you aiming for a career in fashion when you hate dressing up?". They were correct, of course. I hate dressing up and standing out. It went against my nature. Still, I enjoyed looking at people who looked good, odd as that may seem. I had always been interested in watching people walk the runway in beautiful clothing, and I loved when people– – beautiful or average– – "dolled up" and became stunning. It was like man-made magic.

I had started the dream with the intention of becoming a designer, but in the end, managing fashion models suited me better. That, and I was truly horrible at it. I had been working at a small Fashion agency called "Noir", for a little less than two years before I finally returned home. Things were a little difficult, and I was only managing to meet ends meet. I missed my father, and I missed my friends at La Push.

When I returned to Forks, I had started to have second thoughts about my career choice. My job was a low pay piece of crap, and my apartment was even worse than that. I was considering leaving New York, and working somewhere near– – like in Seattle or something. I was, that is, until Jacob Black came to visit me.

And that was all it took.

I convinced him to come with me– – which was surprisingly easy– – and brought him with me to New York. After the president of Noir rejected us, I came back to Forks, and applied for a job at a newly-built modeling agency called "Twilight Runway". It was still a no-name company, but it was in Seattle, at least. I brought him to my new boss, and argued for hours to let me manage him, despite the fact that I didn't even have an official managing license at the time.

He refused me on many occasions, but I never gave up. It also helped that Jake refused to work under anyone but me, and Jake was clearly a seller. With a height of almost 6"5", a built, manly body, a charming personality, a beautiful face and alluring eyes– – Jake was the perfect model. Even if I had failed in my attempts to manage him, I would have still supported the idea. Just the thought of seeing him in the papers and in commercials and on posters sent chills up my spine– – he was far to beautiful to not be noticed.

When Mr. Hale finally agreed, I took my chance without hesitation. I had no doubt that Jacob would sell well, and my senses had turned out right. By the end of the year, Jacob had become as popular as a best selling novel. Hell, I don't even think the release of the final book of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series could compare to the attention Jacob got. Once I saw him in Forks, I immediately saw great promise and potential in him– – he was a modeling prodigy.

"Bells," Jacob's voice interrupted my daydreams, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, scratching my head, "I just dazed off, is all."

A smirk flashed across Jakes' face, and he raised an eyebrow, "Daydreaming about me, were you?"

I laughed at his attempt at conceited humor, and reminded both him and myself, "I'm really going to be late. I'll see you later, won't I?"

Jacob nodded, and kissed me on my forehead, tenderly.

I already wanted to stay home.

"And will you start setting me up for more jobs?" He asked, pulling me into his arms once again.

"It's already been done," I grinned, pulling away from him reluctantly. If I stayed like that anymore, there was a huge possibility that I wouldn't want to go to work anymore, "I'll tell you about it all later."

Jacob sighed, and I couldn't help but giggle. He wore the most adorable expression whenever he and I separated; like a puppy who lost his bone.

"Bye, Jake."

"Later, Bells."

I walked out of the apartment, grabbing my purse from the table near the entrance, and out of the door, making sure to lock it behind me.

Since I wasn't wearing heels, I jogged down the stairs– – being careful not to trip– – and ran to the car. I glanced at my reflection in the tinted glass windows, and sighed, pulling the door open and slipping into the driver's seat.

Now that Jacob wasn't with me, the uneasiness started to settle again.

I sighed again. So, now what was I going to do with Cullen?

Edward.

"Listen, Tanya," I sighed in exhaustion, holding my cell-phone further from my ear to prevent her loud complaints from breaking my ear-drum, "I already told you that I was busy. I can't meet you today." I don't want to meet you today!

"But baby," she whined from the other line, "We haven't seen each other in two weeks! You are completely neglecting me. Not only that, but you refuse to tell me where the hell you've been."

I sighed again, this time removing the phone from my ear so she couldn't hear it. Ok, yeah… so I haven't seen my girlfriend in two weeks, but that didn't mean she has to harass me. We've been together for a long time already. She should know already that I sometimes needed space from her– – even though I exceeded the usual time limit of those "breaks".

"Edward?" She said from the phone, her tone annoyed.

"Yeah, Tanya, I'm still here."

"Edward, you're being ridiculous. You haven't called, let alone returned any of mine. When I call your house, they always say that you are never there. None of your friends have seen you, either. And you expect me to act like everything's okay?"

I stayed quiet, and she continued, "I know you like time off from time to time, and you know I'm okay with that. But, still, you're overdoing it. I don't even know why I'm your girlfriend if you wont even tell me what's going on!"

She had a valid point. Tanya wasn't stupid. If anything, she was highly intelligent– – when she wanted to be. That was probably the only reason why I continued to date her for so long. Well, that and the fact that she's incredible in bed. But back to the point, she did have a point. I could at least tell her where I've been. Or what I've been doing, lately.

I took a deep breath, and braced myself, "I've been at work, Tanya. That's where I've been."

"Work?" Her voice sounded completely astonished, "why?"

"Because my Dad wanted me to get a job, so I got one."

I didn't even bother with hoping that she wouldn't push it further.

"Where are you working at?"

'Here it goes….'

"Twilight Runway." Not for long…

There was a long pause from the other line, and it was my turn to ask, "Tanya?"

I pulled my phone away from my ear, just as the loud squealing started.

"That's great, Edward," She sounded ecstatic, "I told you would make a great model! Ah, this is wonderful news!"

"And you'll never believe who I got the idea from.." I said sourly. I knew I was digging my own grave, but I might as well please her for the moment. Even though I didn't love Tanya as much as she probably loved me, I still cared for her, and I sometimes felt a little bad when I made her unhappy– – when it was really my fault, that is.

"Me?" She asked, excitedly.

"Yup."

"Edward, you should have told me sooner," she squealed again. Maybe I shouldn't have told her at all, was more like it. I was starting to feel stupid for suddenly deciding to be nice. Now she would never stop talking about it– – with me and with everyone she knew. "Why don't we go out today?"

I knew that was coming, too.

"I don't know, Tanya… I don't think I have time today." Yeah, right. Like I still had a job after what happened with Bella last night. I had plenty of time in the world now. The thought of having to go to another agency made me mentally groan. And I would have to tell my father what happened, too…

"Please, Edward? Please? At least for lunch?"

I thought about it for a while, and said, "Fine." Might as well. I had nothing else to do until the company called my father, telling him something on the lines of "your son is banned from Twilight due to the harassment of his manager", or something like that, anyways.

"Alright! Stay there, ok? I'll come and meet you and we can head over to "Giovanni's".

"Sure."

"See you in a bit. Love you!"

"Sure."

Once Tanya's line was cut short, I moaned aloud. What had I just gotten myself into?

I plopped down hard on my bed, and put my I pod on. I needed to keep myself distracted, so that I wouldn't have to think about what had happened last night.

But no matter how hard I tried, yesterdays events kept on invading my head, showing each scene as an irritatingly vivid slideshow. I kept on imagining Bella's angry or bewildered expressions. Her tear-streaked face when I had made fun of her. Her dazed countenance after we had kissed… and then right back to her furious appearance when I called her 'desperate'.

I turned to my back, and buried my face into my large, dark blue pillow.

Yesterday had been a disaster. Not only had I completely lashed out on Bella, but I basically called her a whore. To make matters worse, it was all after I had apologized and promised to regain her trust.

"Yeah, good luck with that now, Cullen"

I rolled my eyes at myself, and groaned.

What 'now'? Like she could ever possibly forgive that! I had completely blown it. When I heard about her having a boyfriend, I grew insanely jealous without even knowing it. It was partially her fault for lying to me, but that wasn't the point. The point was that I should have dealt with it in a more rational matter. I shouldn't have let my emotions– – no matter how new they are to me– – control my actions. I should have distanced myself from her once I started to get so angry. Nothing good ever comes out of my temper.

And when we started to dance, and somehow Jacob– – His name came out as a sneer whenever I thought it– – was brought in the conversation, I should have just let it go. I shouldn't have proceeded in furthering my anger. And I sure as hell shouldn't have insulter her. It had been a while since I'd been that angry; and I just couldn't stop myself from accusing– – well, attacking– – her like that.

I sighed again. Why did I always do such idiotic things?

Once I found out about Jacob, I should have just let it go. Let her go. I wasn't so desperate that I would go after a girl who already had a man. She was already taken, and I already had a girlfriend. I felt like a complete idiot. At least, that was what I had been trying to convince myself last night.

And then, there was also the realization of me almost telling her how I felt. What would have happened if I had confessed my attraction to her. With the way things were between us, and with her already having a boyfriend, Bella would have rejected me without hesitation. I'd never been rejected before, but I knew that it couldn't be pretty.

But even knowing this; that she was taken, and that I had officially messed things up with her, I couldn't not think about her last night. She was on my mind every second of every minute, and I couldn't help but feel like a complete jerk. Guilt was really a pain in the ass.

I turned around again, positioning myself to lay on my stomach, and buried my head once again in my pillow. I felt like a stupid, love-struck teenager, and I hated it. Maybe I needed that date with Tanya more than I thought…

Rolling my eyes, I pushed thoughts of Tanya aside, as well as my own miserable feelings, and decided to think of only what I would do. Or, rather, what I could do.

I didn't have many options to choose from.

An apology wouldn't work. I already blew the first one, and I knew that a second one would definitely be rendered pointless. Aside from that, I wasn't too keen on the idea of apologizing again. Even if I wanted to, I wasn't about to become a guy who said "sorry" for every little thing, and If I were to ever get Bella to be mine– – I had a feeling that I would be apologizing a lot.

My mind flickered back on the thoughts I had just been thinking, and I scowled. Why was I always thinking of getting together with her? Hadn't I just decided that I wouldn't do this anymore? That I wouldn't go after a girl who didn't like me, and had someone else?

I winced at my own thoughts.

Admittedly, I didn't like the idea of her going out with someone else. When I saw her hugging some guy last night, I nearly hopped out of the car and went to punch a whole in his face.

I was so unbelievably pissed, that it was startling. Jealousy was not a familiar feeling for me, and it certainly wasn't one that I felt I could control. Thinking of her in the arms of that guy kept me awake for nearly half the night. Before I could even stop myself, I kept on wondering if he were Jacob. If the reason she kept on glancing at her watch last night, and was so intent on leaving, was because she had a date with him.

And then, of course, I remembered the kiss. Well, at least that was a bonus. After nearly an hour of inner debates, last night I came to the conclusion that the kiss was not an "spur-of-the-moment" thing, but more of an impulse. I wanted to kiss her, and since she had been so close, I did.

It was Bella's response to the kiss that left be utterly clueless. Why had she kissed me back? Was it an "in-the-moment" thing for her? Or was there a possibility that she was attracted to me, at least a little bit?

I grit my teeth together in frustration. Why was I even tormenting myself over this? What was the point? It would have been a wholly other thing if she didn't have a boyfriend, but she did….

She did…..

And then Alice's words hit me faster than I could even think.

"Jake isn't really her boyfriend."

My eyes opened at wide as Alice's voice came flooding into my head, like an announcement speaker sounding in the halls. I sat up, and pressed my eyes closed, so that I could remember what else she had said about them.

"And in a few more months, they really will be together."

"That's it!" I shot up from my bed, and started pacing around my room, completely in thought, "they aren't really together…yet." But that also meant that I had time.

I would have to take back everything negative I said about Alice last night. If Bella and I started talking ever again, I would definitely ask for her address and send her a ridiculously large bouquet of flowers.

I almost started laughing out loud.

How stupid I was, trying to hide behind the understating excuse of being attracted to Bella. This was more… much, much more– – and I didn't realize it until I had almost completely messed it up between the two of us, and had realized that I wasn't too late. I liked Bella. I liked her a lot.

And I was going to make her mine.

The only problem was how.

I continued pacing back and forth, when my cell-phone suddenly began to ring.

I grabbed it, annoyed by the sudden distraction, and flipped it open, placing it on my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Edward, right?"

"Yeah. What's up, Emmett?

"Listen," my half-brother, Emmett, started from the other line, "Rose and I were going out to have dinner tonight, and I wanted to know if you and Tanya were interested in coming."

That was the last thing I wanted to do. It was bad enough that I agreed to have lunch with her, knowing full-well that she would talk non-stop about the modeling. If we were to go out with others, she would do all in her power to make sure that I had been completely flaunted, and recognized as 'hers'.

"I don't think I'm really up to it, Em."

"Aw, come on! Please don't do this to me, bro! James is coming with Victoria, and I really don't wanna be left alone with James. You know I cant stand that guy!"

If Victoria was going, then Rose– – Emmett's drop-dead-gorgeous- girlfriend– – would be talking to her all night long. I knew that Emmett hated James; they've never gotten along since the beginning of High School. It wasn't that I was particularly close with the guy, either. If anything, I thought James was a total ass. He was a real jerk; cheated on Victoria countless times. It wasn't as if I never fooled around with anyone while I dated Tanya, but at least I was subtle about it. James was a conceited, attention starved and competitive fruit cake, and he did nothing to hide it. I, at least, could tolerate the stupid bastard. Emmett, on the other hand, could not– – and with him being a 6'7'' guy with biceps larger than my head, it was extremely dangerous for them to be alone together.

"Fine," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose unconsciously, "I'll be there."

Emmett let out a sigh of relief, " Thanks, man. I don't wanna go to jail, yet."

I couldn't help but grin when I thought of Emmett beating the hell out of James for saying something crappy– – as he so often did.

"I'll come pick you up at your place around seven." He said, and the line went silent from his end.

Though I wasn't really in the mood to deal with Tanya, or James for that matter, I did enjoy hanging out with Emmett and his girlfriend. Emmett was hilarious. He made me laugh, but in a different way than Bella did. He was more open and aloof; The total jock-type. A lot of people thought he was intimidating and stupid, and intimidating he was, but he certainly wasn't an idiot.

Like Tanya, Emmett chose when to act smart. His reasoning is simple, and he looks at everything from a different, and almost optimistic, view than others, so they often take him as a complete moron.

Rosalie Hale, on the other hand, was absolutely brilliant. Not only was she possibly the sexiest woman on this planet– – with long, blonde hair, slender legs, mesmerizing blue eyes and a perfect hour-glass figure– – but she was also a lawyer. If I would have known that Harvard harbored woman that looked like her, I would have definitely applied there. And I had no doubt that I would have been accepted, either.

I plopped back down on my bed, and ran my fingers through my hair. With my attention back on the issue– – or solution– – with Bella, I was starting to get frustrated. Now that I knew I still had a chance with her, I was at a loss as to how to handle that chance. I could go to the agency, but I didn't want to risk her calling security on me.

I chucked involuntarily when I imagined her expression if I were to just suddenly walk into her office, after what had happened last night.

I had to see her. For the time being, I would leave all other issues like Tanya aside– – and only focus on how I should go about doing whatever it is that I was going to do.

My lack of unorganized planning was irritating me even further.

When almost ten minutes of pointless, nugatory thinking had gone by, my cell-phone suddenly started ringing again.

I rolled my eyes, and grabbed it from beside me. What could he want this time?

"What is it now, Emmett?" I nearly snapped– – the aftermath of the last ten minutes spent in frustration.

I waited and waited, but no one had said anything for what felt like a whole minute.

Thinking that he had probably hung up, I asked, carefully, "Emmett?"

And my mouth dropped open as a female's voice came flooding into my ear.

"Cullen, It's Bella."