A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the delay, but here is chapter two, finally! Oh and guess what I got for Christmas?...An awesome Beta in the form of edwardrocksmysocks! A huge thank you to her for agreeing to edit this story and to all of you who read and reviewed the first chapter. Oh and Gabby, no worries, I don't write anything where E&B don't wind up together eventually.

S. Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Chapter 2

Always Seventeen

The incessant ringing of my phone jarred me from my recurring dream and forced me into the world of consciousness. I fumbled, with closed eyes, to grab my phone and pressed the ignore button. It had to be before noon and whoever it was could wait.

I was almost back to sleep when I felt the bed shift and a small, clammy hand slide its way across my bare stomach.

"Shit," I groaned out loud.

Jane's high pitch voice shredded the silence making me relive the events of last night in a flash of drunken scenes.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast, Edward?"

Her hand moved lower down my stomach before I grasped her wrist and removed it. I rarely allow any woman to spend the night in my bed but I was beyond drunk last night and had passed out quickly after mine and Jane's late night activities.

"No, I'll grab a bite on my way out," I said coldly as I threw the blankets off of me and headed to the bathroom.

Jane should know the rules by now but apparently she didn't. We weren't dating. I didn't date.

I climbed into my shower and tried to wash off her scent, she always smelt entirely too sweet. It was fairly fitting of her personality actually; she always tried too hard.

When the bathroom door opened I groaned audibly.

"When were you going to tell me about this?" Jane asked.

I pulled back the shower curtain and focused through the fog to see her holding up the invitation to my brother Emmett's funeral.

"I wasn't."

I raked my fingers through my hair rubbing in the shampoo and waiting for her to leave.

I could almost hear her whining before it actually occurred.

"Well I'm going right? I mean who else are you going to take?"

"No, you're not going. Neither is anyone else." I said.

"Oh come on Eddie, it'll be fun and it's about time I met your parents."

Damn it all to hell. I did not want to have the same conversation regarding our 'relationship'.

I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel Jane had crooked around her manicured finger.

"Jane, we've been over this. You are not my girlfriend. You knew what you were getting into from the beginning. I have never lied to you about what this is," I said firmly.

Jane and I had been sleeping together on and off for a few months. I was with her more often than any other girl but she was far from my only company. She was really beginning to wear on my nerves.

"Well I assumed by now you would be over your fear of commitment," she said in an annoyed tone.

I raked the towel through my hair roughly, my frustration growing with each passing second.

"I don't have a 'fear of commitment' Jane. I like my life how it is. I don't intend to be tied down to one woman."

I angrily tied the towel around my waist and tried to will her to disappear with my mind.

She stepped closer to me and smirked.

"We can bring other women into the bedroom, Eddie. You know I don't mind."

I fought back the scoff that threatened to emerge at her ploy. If I was ever going to lose all of my common sense and freedom to devote myself to one woman, it damn sure wouldn't be a woman like her. Everything about Jane screamed cheap and easy which is just great for the occasional fuck but not for the future Mrs. Cullen. Of course, none of this mattered anyway because there would never be another Mrs. Cullen. Well, except for Rosalie apparently.

There had only ever been one woman that I thought might wear my ring and she was the exact opposite of the women who I surrounded myself with now. I had, of course, been young and naïve both times I had allowed myself to fall for Bella Swan. I was wiser now and knew better than to set myself up for that kind of pain.

I was wrapped up in my own thoughts and forgot that Jane was waiting for me to speak. I cleared my throat to begin my routine, morning after, spiel. I should have given this speech to her a long time ago.

"Jane, you're an attractive woman, and-"

I was cut off as my bathroom door opened and Tanya walked in without looking up from her Blackberry.

"That's your queue, sweetheart. It's time for you to get your last season Prada bag and move along. Edward has work to do."

I rolled my eyes at Tanya's candor. Normally she was kind to the girls I brought around. Sometimes she would even buy them a drink, most likely to apologize for what she called my 'man-slut lifestyle' but she had never been fond of Jane.

Jane gave Tanya an evil glare that would have had a lesser woman writhing on the ground in inexplicable pain but not Tanya. She simply waved her hand in Jane's direction dismissively before turning her focus back to her Blackberry.

"Shoo, now."

"Listen, bitch," Jane barked.

That was crossing the line with me. You did not speak that way to Tanya. She was one of the few women who I trusted explicitly and, while I knew Tanya was more than capable of handling herself, I would not allow some waif of a model to speak that way to her in my home.

"Jane, I think you should go now and don't bother coming back," I said harshly.

Jane muttered something about me being an idiot before stomping her way out of my apartment like the petulant child she is reminding me, yet again, that I should probably be sleeping with women my own age, instead of the just legals.

"Really Edward, could you at least find a woman with half of a brain to stay over next time? This is getting old."

I smirked at her while I grabbed my toothbrush from its holder and squeezed a generous amount of toothpaste on it.

"Are you jealous, Tanya? You know you're more than welcome in my bed anytime," I teased.

Tanya rolled her eyes before telling me to meet her in the living room in thirty minutes.

She knew very well that I was kidding. We didn't have that type of relationship. Not that the woman wasn't hot, she was, but I valued her too much as my assistant and my friend to turn her in to one of my many one night stands. Plus she was in a long term relationship with Felix, one of my friends that I had introduced her to. They had been together for almost a year now. Whatever works for them I guess.

I couldn't see the point in tying myself down. There are too many sexy women in New York to bother with only one.

I quickly threw on a pair of overpriced jeans and a button up shirt to talk to Tanya and see what my day was going to consist of.

"Alright what does your magic phone say I'm doing today T?" I called out as I grabbed a bottle of water from my fridge.

Tanya pulled herself from the window lined wall of my Manhattan loft and began her daily ramblings.

"Today you have your final shoot for Vogue before you discuss your contract extension in a month. Apparently the model they're flying in from Italy is supposed to be the next big thing and beautiful beyond compare."

I scoffed.

"Doubt it."

Tanya looked up at me with a deliberate eye roll.

"Oh please. If you didn't think the models you shoot were beautiful then you wouldn't charm so many of them into your bed."

"T, how can I explain this? These models are sexy, pretty, even hot as hell, but I have yet to photograph a woman in my professional career that is beautiful," I defended.

"Holy hell, does Edward Cullen have standards after all? What would it take for you to consider a woman to be beautiful?"

She seemed genuinely curious and confused.

The image of beauty flashed before my mind's eye but I quickly suppressed it.

"It's not them. Moving on. What else do I have?"

"You have a meeting with the Versace people about setting up a time for you to do their fall line in the evening, but after that you're pretty much free. You do need to get yourself packed for your brother's wedding," she replied eyeing me as if daring me to contradict her.

"That's not happening," I said nonchalantly.

There were several reasons I wouldn't be going to Forks, only one of which was not wanting to witness the end of my brother's happiness.

Tanya set her Blackberry on the table and squared her shoulders before staring me down.

"Fine then I'll pack for you. I'll just have to Google the weather and throw something together," she huffed reaching for her damn phone, as if she didn't understand what I was telling her.

"You know what I meant T. I'm not going to his wedding."

She threw herself down dramatically on my couch and sank in to it.

"Will you please quit being the selfish ass you like to pretend you are? Be that sweet, small town boy that you keep buried under all that muscle and sweet talk."

I shook my head and started to tear apart her logic before she threw her hands up in frustration and tried a different tactic.

"Damn it, Edward! He's your brother, you have to go!"

"He's a guy, he's not going to get all that worked up about it."

I knew that was a lie. It would hurt Emmett but he would get over it as long as I helped him through the divorce once he had enough of his prison sentence.

"You're going. You know you are. Why else did you have me clear the next two weeks of your schedule?"

I smirked at her before popping her happy family time bubble.

"I'm taking my car and driving all the way to Vegas."

That was my plan. While my brother ended his life, I would be living mine to the fullest. It's somewhat ironic that he is the one who taught me the error of my ways before I graduated high school and now he wasn't practicing what he had preached.

"Whatever, you're going. I can't handle another phone call from Rosalie. I like her a lot but she's about to drive me insane.

"Then don't answer her calls or tell her to stop calling. I don't care what you do. Just understand that I am not going to Forks and that's final."

oOo

I'm not sure what happened. I was almost to Vegas when my plans changed. Now I was standing in my parent's driveway debating on going inside.

I didn't need to see an extra vehicle to know that she was on the other side of that wall. Of course she would be here to help Rose in any way she needed. Bella had never been able to tell a friend no when they requested her help.

I needed to think about something else or I would never open the door so I picked up my phone and quickly dialed Tanya's number.

"I'm going to need you to FedEx a suitcase full of clothes for me. You've got the key just throw some stuff together," I ordered curtly.

I could hear Tanya laughing at me through the phone.

"How's Forks?"

"Shut up. Send the stuff overnight if possible. You have the address," I snapped hanging up and forcing myself to turn the knob to my childhood home.

My ears were assaulted by the sounds of cheesy '90s pop before my eyes were able to take in the sight before me.

Bella was standing on my mother's coffee table in nothing but a tank top and tiny shorts. Her body rocked back and forth to the beat of the horrendous music while she sang loudly into a hair brush.

Alice and Rose were there too.

From the way her top clung to her toned back I could tell she wasn't wearing a bra.

Her firm ass bounced gently to the music as her long, bare legs begged my fingers to trail up them. I stood taking in the site of her body and long dark tresses before I cleared my throat to alert the girls to my presence.

I watched as her eyes scanned my body and her bottom lip pulled in between her teeth. I wondered if she even knew she did that. I grinned at her as her eyes made their way back up to mine. I still had an effect on her.

I was hugged and beaten by my baby sister but I only half registered it because my mind was on Bella's dancing form. I took in her body one last time knowing that I might not have a chance to see her in this little clothing again.

I watched as a blush rose from her chest to her cheeks when she realized I was watching her. I hoped it was more than embarrassment that caused her skin to color. Even in the short amount of time I had spent with it in its most natural form, I knew her body well. She was by far the most.….well, it didn't matter she wasn't mine anymore, if she ever really was to begin with.

I gave a simple greeting to Rose before going to meet the guys in the garage.

As soon as I stepped in to the fluorescent lighting of the garage Emmett's face broke into his huge signature grin. He pulled me into a manly hug and whispered a simple 'thank you' in my ear.

Jasper gave me a smile and a slap on the back before Emmett barreled into the living room to steal a bottle of tequila from the girls.

"I didn't think you'd show," Jasper admitted slowly with just the tiniest hint of a southern drawl from his parents influence.

"What and miss my brother's wedding?" I scoffed.

Jasper raised an eyebrow like he wasn't buying my particular brand of bullshit.

Before he could say anything Emmett was back with the bottle and three shot glasses. He lined them up and handed them out. We clinked the glasses together and let the alcohol burn our throats.

"So how's life in the big city?" Emmett said with a shoulder punch.

"Perfect. Great job, plenty of women, it's good," I boasted.

Jasper shook his head with a small smile.

"So any girl tamed you yet, little brother?" Emmett asked.

I laughed and shook my head.

"It's only the weaker members of the herd that get taken down. Isn't that right Em? Don't let a woman get close enough to break you."

"Dude, you're not still holding on to that load of crap are you. I was nineteen and just had my heart broken for the first time, c'mon," he laughed.

"Hey it's not my fault you let yourself get taken down. The way I see it, with you two out of the game, more for me."

"Whatever man," Jasper said with an eye roll.

"Don't you hate going home to bed alone every night? Don't you want that connection with another person?"

"Sorry Oprah, but I connect with women plenty. Only I don't have to deal with the drama that accompanies a relationship. I have the best of both worlds," I said trying to sound confident.

"Dude you're full of shit. Anyway, let's drink!"

And with that Emmett ended the roast of Edward Cullen. We stayed in the garage laughing about old times and giving each other hell.

I had forgotten how much I missed these two. I wasn't willing to give up my life in the city but I was already feeling, for the first time, that there was something in my life that was missing. I choked back that ugly realization and went on to entertain the guys with stories of New York and the women I had been with.

Our party was effectively ended when Rose came in the garage telling Emmett that she and Alice were going to bed. I watched in shame as two guys I had idolized ran off behind their women like sad little puppies. I downed the rest of my beer and headed upstairs to get some sleep.

As I walked down the long hallway I saw the door to the guestroom cracked open just a couple of inches. I knew better. I knew a hell of a lot better but my feet moved of their own accord and stopped me right at the door.

I argued with my body as my hand pressed itself quietly against the door and pushed just slightly. My eyes trained on the small bump nestled safely under the comforter. I inhaled deeply trying in vain to catch a hint of the still familiar scent.

Her hair was flowing freely across the pillow and a small strand was lying against her cheek taunting me, urging me to run my hand across her soft skin and brush it back. Her brow was crinkled as though she was working out a difficult math problem in her dream. Her lips puckered just slightly, and I ached to feel them soft and tight against my own, like I had so many times before.

With everything New York had to offer, it didn't have her, my Bella. I knew I needed to walk away. Thoughts of her would only lead to my own destruction. It went against everything I believed in to feel the way I did about her. It was strange that the woman who solidified my beliefs of staying unattached and free was the one woman who made me want to disregard them.

I jumped when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. Before I could turn and face the owner my father's voice broke through the silence.

"Don't, Edward" he said softly but seriously.

"Don't what dad?" I questioned defensively in a harsh whisper, while turning to look him in the eye.

"You know what. Don't. She hasn't been back here in so long and I don't want her leaving before this week is over because you hurt her again. It would kill your mother. She still has ideas of planning your wedding to Bella and, although that is no longer the case, Bella is still a daughter to her. I won't have you upsetting your mother."

"Dad, I didn't…I won't…I never intended to…" I looked down at the ground and stared at my feet like a child who had been scolded for something they knew they did wrong.

"I know son, but you ended things with her, for whatever reason you had at the time. I don't pretend to know everything about your relationship with Bella. All I do know is that you broke a part of her and I won't have her subjected to anymore pain, especially while under my roof. This is not a request Edward. If I see her shed another tear because of you this week…..well, let's just say that Emmett will not be first in line to kick your ass."

I wanted to argue with him about several different points but the shock of his language and threat threw me off guard.

"Yes sir," I mumbled pathetically.

Carlisle took a deep breath and pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's good to have you home son," he whispered.

I felt myself regress in age as I hugged him back. I had always been close to my dad, even if he wasn't my biological father. Something about Carlisle's presence always put me at ease, even if only for a few minutes.

"It's good to be home dad."

I wasn't sure if that was the truth or not.

Something about being back here scared the hell out of me. In New York I was Edward Cullen. I had it together and had it all. In Forks I was simply Edward. The problem was, I wasn't quite sure I remembered who that was anymore, and what I did remember I wasn't fond of.

After Dad went back to bed I took one last look in Bella's room. I heard her mumble something about margaritas and evil Alice. I smiled to myself. She was still the same girl that I had……well it didn't matter now, I gave her up. It was for the best.

oOo

I awoke a few hours later at the ungodly hour of six a.m. It took me a few minutes to realize where I was. As soon as realization hit I groaned loudly.

I thought back to the events of yesterday and last night. I didn't want to leave my room and face Bella or my family.

Against my better judgment I got up and threw on a pair of sweatpants and a wife beater that were left here when I moved out. Hopefully my clothes would arrive before this evening.

Being back home made me feel like the prodigal son. Another thing about New York was that I never felt guilt there. Yet, as I stumbled downstairs and my mom ran toward me with tears in her eyes, I was assaulted by it.

"I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you so much," she cried against my chest.

"Easy mom, you're going to crack one of my ribs," I laughed trying to lighten the mood.

She reluctantly pulled away and sniffled.

"Do you want coffee?"

"Of course." I smiled.

A few minutes later I was sitting at the island with my mom downing my second cup of black coffee like it was essential to my existence. Mom sat next to me and spoke about the latest charity she was involved in and the next vacation her and Dad were planning on taking. It seemed as soon as we were all out of the house they made it their goal to see the world.

"So has Rose asked you to photograph the wedding yet?" She asked.

"I don't do weddings," I said seriously.

"Honey, its Emmett's wedding. Can't you do it just this once?" She begged. Normally it was hard to resist her pleadings but this was something I held firmly to.

"I don't do weddings, besides I'm already the best man. Shouldn't I be standing next to Emmett?" I said trying to placate her.

"Well, I guess you're right. I'm sure we can find someone else in time."

With that final remark Esme Cullen was redirected.

I knew what was coming when my mother sat her coffee cup down and raised an eyebrow at me.

"So…is there a special girl in New York that I should be meeting soon, Edward?"

"No mom, there's nobody yet," or ever, I added silently.

"Well maybe New York just doesn't have the type of girl you need," she said smiling.

Before I could break her heart and tell her once again that I had no desire to settle down, Bella came into the kitchen yawning. Once she looked up and saw me she smiled weakly and tugged her robe tighter around her slender waist.

"Morning," she mumbled as she made her way to the coffee pot.

"Sleep well?" I asked, trying my damndest to be polite.

She turned and looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"Um…yeah…you?"

"Sure, I guess." I shrugged.

The room fell into an awkward silence. We both seemed to be trying to figure out our next move. My mom stood at the sink scrubbing the same dish repeatedly. She would look back and forth between Bella and me then back at the overly clean cup in her hands.

I had to say something to break this silence before I snapped.

"Did you know you still talk in your sleep?" I laughed nervously.

As soon as the words left my mouth Bella's face turned an angry shade of red and her eyes squinted in rage. I watched in confusion as her knuckles tightened around her coffee cup before she threw it in the sink, somehow managing not to break it. She took in a strong pull of air through her nose before turning toward my Mom.

"Esme I'm going for a run. Thank you for the coffee," she muttered politely before stomping her way upstairs with one of the angriest expressions I have ever seen on a woman.

I looked at my Mom for answers as she shook her head and sighed exasperatedly. I would find no help from her.

"Edward, Edward, Edward," she mumbled as she left me alone in the kitchen.

Sure, why not trap yourself in a house with your ex for a week, sounds like fun. This was going to be a week from hell.

A/N: Okay so things will start to get interesting with the next chapter. Reviewers get a teaser, and I promise you'll get them sooner rather than later this time around.

Now go on review, and tell me how much you dislike Edward...go ahead, I can take it...I think ; )