A/n: YAY! NEXT CHAPTER!!! What on earth will happen next? Thanks for all your reviews! I LOVE THEM! Keep them coming, my ego needs feeding…

Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine! I just like to mess about with the characters a bit…

Chapter 8

Bella POV

Getting into my truck that night was a 'do I, don't I?' affair. On the one hand…I was worried about Edward. He had seriously looked unhappy back there in his office. And I was not the sort of person to cross to the other side of the road when somebody was in need of help…

…did Edward need help?

On the other hand, I was frustrated as hell. I mean, seriously, Edward, what the fuck? You got so close…then…nothing. I was sexually unsatisfied, oh yes, girls got that too. Plus, I was frustrated at the fact that he kept pulling away from me…and only me. Other girls? Sure, he went for them, he got them. But never me. He just left me there earlier, panting, and almost naked. The ass.

He'd got a peak at my goods, and I didn't even get a look under that shirt of his. Sure, I could see his muscle definition through that green number, and some of his gorgeous arms when he rolled the sleeves up. But it would have been damned nice to get a look under all that material, which was inconveniently placed between my eyes, and his body.

So I stood next to my truck for a total of ten minutes or so. Then, when I finally decided to go back in and see exactly what was wrong with my boss, I see him hurtling out of the back door, slamming it as he went. Then he yanked opened the door of his silver Volvo, got in, and slammed that after him too.

Then he drove out of the car park at a phenomenal speed, and I realised that I could no longer go and see what was wrong, since by the time I'd even gotten into my poor old truck, Edward would be half the way to Alaska.

My body shook in anger. What the hell? Times three! I got inside my truck and started my slow journey to Rose's place.

All I was asking for was a good sexing! Seriously, no strings attached! I mean, sure, if he wanted a relationship, I'd be the first in line. But it wasn't as though I was suddenly going to believe we were halfway to marriage after a quick shag under the counter. I merely wanted to fuck him out of my system. And then perhaps change his name and write about how fucking amazing he was for my next novel.

Weren't guys supposed to like one night stands; string-free sex; lust-based unions of a sexual nature? I was pretty sure Edward had done, before now.

Come to think of it, I'd not seen him groping anyone else lately either; though perhaps I'd just not noticed, since my mind was constantly full of unfulfilled sexual fantasies about him.

Maybe the angel on his shoulder was finally winning some battles about how bad listless sex was. Fucking Angel; what sort of shit timing was this?

I attempted to speed up my driving in my anger, but unfortunately, my truck didn't do speed, so I slowed down in annoyance instead. It didn't have the same affect, I was sure.

I wondered whether Edward had wrapped himself and his cute little car around a tree like a pretzel yet.

I hoped not, he would be in even less of a shape to ravish me if he had. I'd have to work twice as hard, if he even managed to survive. Bastard, dying before he'd even managed to get his hands in my bra.

I realised I was getting ahead of myself, and began to focus more on the road, and remembering how to get to Rosalie's house.

Of course, you know when you've had a bad day when your BFF isn't around for you to complain to, and thus Rosalie wasn't in when I called upon her that evening.

I went home exhausted, annoyed, frustrated, and with nobody's shoulder to cry on.

Stupid Edward.

Edward POV

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And stupider still.

These were the thoughts that ran through my head as I cradled it in my hands. My elbows rested on my desk; and I wished I could be anywhere else. I'd been sitting behind my desk, sulking, for the last few hours. It was now the end of the day. Bella had walked in three minutes ago and deposited the takings from the day before me.

I'd been an ass. I'd not even bothered to say more than the situation demanded.

I should have asked her.

Of course I should have asked her. I should have asked her the first time I saw her. Not that she'd have said yes, but I should have gone out of my way to speak to her more. I should have asked her out instead of giving her the damn job.

I could have provided for her. It's not as if I was poor.

I'd been adopted as a child, and my rather large inheritance had only been dipped into when I'd first needed to rent out a store. This store. As soon as I began making enough money, I'd stopped using my inheritance to pay the bills, and begun paying them myself.

I was left very wealthy.

Of course, this was only helped on by the fact that Carlisle and Esme, my adopted parents, spoiled me rotten; along with my two other adopted siblings, who'd become so close to me that they had truly become my real siblings. My little sister, Alice, never told anybody we were adopted: She believed that we were supposed to have been real siblings; and that fate had brought us together.

So her big brothers went along with this, and didn't tell anybody either. It was better this way, everybody always commented on how wonderful our little family was. It made us all proud. I, personally, thought that our little group was the best family anybody could ask for. I loved them all dearly.

I wanted to make Bella part of that family: as my partner, my counterpart…my wife. I'd wanted that since I was seventeen.

My siblings seemed to have found their own happiness in others now. My little sister had fallen for my best friend, Jasper Whitlock, during high school, and they were rushing down the road towards marriage, kids, and a double grave. My elder brother had also come home recently claiming to have found the 'love of his life'.

Needless to say, I was a little bit jealous.

Apparently even my older brother was doing the right thing somewhere; since he'd actually managed to establish a relationship with somebody…a relationship that was longer than a grand night in bed.

Of course!

I found the solution to my problems staring me right in the face.

I would seek advice from somebody who had managed to woo their beloved into a relationship…even after being a playboy.

Luckily, I had the perfect role model in mind.

My brother, Emmett Cullen.

A/n: Mmm. So yeah, review? Good? No good? Tell all…