To my Beta Master Casket4mytears and my Beta Princess bbwraven: I love you hard!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. I own several magazines with sexy hot Rob in it and the New, New Moon Movie Companion

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JPOV

"Jake, it's Bella again. Look, I'm seriously worried here; could you please call me back? At least let me know you're not dead?"

Shit! I listened to the 5th and final message Bella had left on my phone. This was not good. What had I done and how could I fix it? I had royally fucked up last night by not showing up and then made it worse by not calling. This could potentially screw me out of a major class A operation at the bar and any further chances of getting closer to Bella.

Why had I not just called her? I knew I wasn't going to be there last night and now I'd left everyone in a bind. Rose was going to have my ass...I'm going to have to do some quick talking to make up for this one.

I looked at the clock beside my bed; it was just after 6AM. I got up and started rummaging through the clothes in my closet. I needed to get a shower, get ready and get down to Jam Fest. But first, I had a phone call to make never mind that it was 6 in the morning; if I didn't call Bella she would have my head. I flipped open my phone and pressed the speed dial for Bella. She answered on the first ring, and a broad grin stretched across my face. Yeah, that's right!

"Jake? Oh my God! Are you okay? I have been worried sick!"

"Hi Bells, did I wake you? I'm really sorry I didn't call last night-"

"Jake, just tell me you're okay first, please."

"Yes, I'm okay Bella. I got food poisoning and was in my bathroom getting sick most of the day yesterday. I guess I was just so exhausted from being that ill that I passed out. I'm so sorry I was a no-show last night. I feel so bad that I let everyone down, just- tell me what I can do.

"As long as you're okay Jake - you had us all scared half to death! Did Embry tell you that Jasper came by? We were so worried."

"Umm, no." Shit! Jasper came by?? "Jasper came by last night?

"He was just checking to see if you were alright. When you never answered my calls or my text messages, Alice sent him over there. We were all just... worried."

"Look, I'm up and feeling much better, and I'm getting my ass in gear and heading over to the Jam Fest. Will you let Rose know how sorry I am and let her know I'll talk to her about it later? I know I fucked up and have some making up to do.

"Yeah, you do; you really left us in a bind, Jake. Luckily Rose, Alice and I were all there so we were able to cover everything, but man, we were scrambling. You really should have called."

"I know Bella; I really am very sorry, I'll do anything, just tell me."

"Not much we can do about anything now except move forward, but you know you still have to deal with Rose."

"I know. I really screwed up, huh Bells?

"Nothing that's not fixable," she said with a sigh. "I can't promise to fix it, but I'll try to talk to Rose; maybe she won't come down on you so hard."

"You're the best Bells. Thanks for being such a great friend. I don't deserve you."

"Like I said, I'm just glad you're okay. I'll talk to you later. 'Bye Jake."

"'Bye Bells."

Wow! That was easier than I thought it would be, and knowing Bella, she would have the whole thing smoothed over for me by the time I saw Rose again. I grabbed my stuff and headed for the shower. It was going to be a great day.

************

BPOV

Thank fucking God Jacob had called me! It had gotten to the point where I was going to go over there myself and start banging on the door, I was so worried. Jake and I were both night owls and had spent many nights up on the phone talking after our shifts, so the fact that I had gotten nothing from him in the middle of the night had had me more than a little worried. I was willing to bet I was the first phone call he made when he woke this morning, too.

I heard a noise coming from the living room and figured it was Rose getting ready to go back up to Jam Fest so she could recheck the booth inventory and restock. I crawled out of bed and went into the living room. Sure enough, there was Rose, her head in her hands, hunched over the coffee like she was praying to it, watching it brew.

"Hey, Rose." I walked up beside her and rubbed lazy circles on her back. "I just talked to Jake, and he's about to head over to Jam Fest right now. Why don't you go back to bed, let him take care of things?"

"Seriously? After all the shit we went through yesterday, and he's just up and going out there? How does he even know he still has a job?" she mumbled sleepily.

"If you want to talk about it at 6AM instead of going back to bed we can, or I can tell you about it when you're truly awake"

"So, he's okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay."

"Good, because he won't be when I'm done with him," Rose said, reaching up and covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Rose, just hear him out before you go jumping all over him," I pleaded.

"Oh, I'll hear him out all right... after I break his balls. Now, I'm going back to bed."

She huffed off in direction of her bedroom. Turning back she gave me a sleepy but pointed look before saying, "And don't think I've forgotten about the whole Edward kissing thing either, cause we're talking about that, too."

Yeah, I knew that was coming. I was going to have to fess up. I wasn't doing a very good job of keeping myself in check, and I knew Rose and Alice were getting tired of me dodging Edward every chance I got. There was that Karma, coming back to bite me in the ass; I could only hope it bit gently.

Hopefully, when Rose woke back up, she would be in a much better mood. Poor Jake; he was really going to take a beating for this. Whether he was sick or not, he should have at least called nor had Embry call. What he did was simply irresponsible. I could deflect some of the heat he would get from Rose, but not all of it. Regardless, he was going to get blasted for leaving us in a lurch, and he had some making up to do.

Since I was already up, I decided to make use of my time. In spite of last night's events I was really excited about today. At 10AM this morning the piano movers would be here to deliver my piano from Forks. I couldn't remember the last time I was so excited.

Several days before, I had begun to clear a space for it in our unused dining room and had not gotten to finish. This was the perfect opportunity for me to wrap that up and be ready for its arrival. It would take a couple hours for them to get it in the house, reassemble, and tune and service it, and my fingers were already itching to feel the keys again.

With a smile on my face, I went back to my room and changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a matching black tank. Grabbing my phone off the nightstand where I left it, I made my way into the bathroom when I noticed the blinking red light. I pulled my phone out of its sleeve and checked the call log.

Huh! One missed call from an unknown number.

Odd for this time a morning, especially on a Saturday. I put it out of my mind and finished brushing my teeth, then quickly pulled my hair into a messy bun at the nape of my neck - it would do for the time being. Walking back to the dining room, I looked at the rest of the mess I needed to get cleared out. I let out a big sigh, rubbed my hands together and got down to business.

************

Three hours, four cups of coffee and one disassembled dining room table later, I was done. I could hear noise coming from the back of the condo and could only assume that Rose or Alice had finally made it out of bed. As I walked back toward the bedrooms the noise got louder. It was music, and it was coming from Rose's room. What the hell is she listening to? I walked up to her door and listened; I could hear Rose singing along with the music. Was that fucking Miley Cyrus playing?? Oh My God, Rose was a fucking closet Miley fan! With a huge grin on my face, I reached for the door knob and was about to open the door when Alice walked out of her bedroom.

"Bella, what are you doing and why in the world are you grinning like that?"

"Listen Ali, don't you hear it?" I covered my mouth to stifle my laugh.

"Is she singing-"

"Yep!" I said, snickering, "It's 'Party In The USA' - who knew, huh? You wanna..." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"Damn right I do; as much shit as she gives us, we need something on her."

Alice dashed back into her bedroom quickly and brought back her digital camera. She turned it on and set it to video and got beside me.

"Okay, ready?" I said.

Alice nodded, "Let's do this," she whispered.

As quietly as I could, I placed my hand back on the door knob and twisted. I cracked the door, peering inside. There was Rose in all her glory, in a tank top and tiny boy shorts, dancing in front of her dressing mirror singing 'Party In The USA' into her brush. I pushed the door open as wide as I could while Alice took video of an unaware Rose singing a teenybopper song. It was too much and I just couldn't help myself any longer: I doubled over in laughter, tears in my eyes. My laughter only spurred on Alice who joined me after about 5 seconds.

Rose whipped around as soon as she heard us. "What the hell-"

Her face turned a bright shade of pink.

"Isabella Marie Swan and Mary-Alice Brandon! What the fuck are you doing in my room?"

"Well, we heard your concert and decided we wanted to see the performance," I said between fits of giggles.

"I could have been in here naked! Have you ever heard of privacy?!" she huffed.

"Rose, you automatically forfeit all bedroom privacy rights anytime you start playing Miley Cyrus!!" I replied, still laughing. "I'm sorry Rose but we couldn't help it; you were singing along and we just had to. Admit it: you'd do the same thing to us - not that I would be caught dead listening to Miley Cyrus but...whatever floats your boat."

"You're right, but I'd probably do worse. Wait...Alice, is that a camera in your hands?"

"Why yes, I do believe it is. I think I'll save this little video for a time when I may need it."

"You wouldn't!" Rose screeched.

"Yeah, I would. Do you remember the that time I had that student at the Fashion school make that dress for me to wear for the annual charity gala a few years back, and the entire back seam split? Remember how you thought it would be funny to leave me stranded in the bathroom for an hour, and when you finally brought me something to change into it was that hideous teal taffeta dress that I had to wear the rest of the evening? Well it's come back to bite you in the ass! So, have a great morning love. 'Bye!"

"Wait until Emmett sees this..." she mumbled under her breath, viewing the video as she walked back to her room with a huge grin on her face.

"Alice, come back here!!" Rose screeched.

"Not a chance," she said, looking back over her shoulder and grinning.

"Bella kissed Edward."

"Wait, that's not playing fair! Why do you have to bring me into your war?" I said incredulously.

"You did what? And you failed to mention this why?" Alice said, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets.

"I, Uh..It wasn't important," I muttered.

"Like hell it wasn't important!" Alice walked back into Rose's room and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to her. "Have a seat my Bellarella, we're going to have a confab."

I looked over at Rose, noting the smug expression on her face.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you? You live to torture me... Seriously you two, there is nothing to talk about," I said with a groan.

Rose sat down beside me, grabbed my face and looked me right square in the eyes." Really Bella, you think we're blind? I'm calling total bullshit on you. What's going on with Edward, and don't say nothing? Spill. NOW."

"Fine, fucking fine, I confess. The man practically gives me instant orgasms by just looking at me, okay? I have never been this sexually attracted to anyone in my life and I'm trying to control it, which is proving to be a challenge. That's why I've been avoiding him the last month and a half; it's the only thing I know to do."

"What happened yesterday?" Rose asked.

I sighed.

"Alice? Remember when you left me with Edward to go cover for Rose?"

"Yeah...Uh Oh, are you saying that I caused this?

"No, you were right; it was inevitable. Something was bound to happen sooner than later and I've been being a coward. When you left yesterday I tried to escape, so to speak, and instead of Edward letting me go, he pulled me back onto the side of the stage and confronted me, I guess you could say."

"Oh Bella! Did he maul you on the side of the fucking stage?" Alice was literally bouncing on the bed with excitement.

"Oh my God! I have NEVER been kissed like that in my life! I was fucking putty, and I think he was literally holding me up. And guys, I wanted it, him, I wanted him to devour me. In the back of my mind I kept telling myself no, I shouldn't, but it's like I had someone else inside me that kept pushing me on. When I broke the kiss the first time-"

"The first time? You mean he kissed you more than once?" Rose said wide eyed.

"Um, no. Actually the second time, I kissed him." I could feel myself blushing and I ducked my head looking up at them from under my eyelashes trying to gauge a reaction.

Alice grabbed my hand and held it in her lap. "Bella, I have a question or maybe it's a series of questions. It's obvious you're attracted to him...Do you like him? I mean, as a person do you like him?

"Yeah, I think Edward's a great guy. I'm just-"

"I'm not done. Has he given you any indication that he's playing you or simply toying with you?"

"No, actually I think he's quite sincere."

"So, why are you avoiding him? What's the point? If you're that attracted to him, he's single, you're single, he is hotter than hell, has a great job...I just don't get it."

"Don't you see? I don't want another James; I can't go through that again."

"Can it Bella, that excuse is old now. Edward is not James - that much is obvious. He's not one-tenth the bastard James was. Trust me on this, I know Edward, and he was warned. He's not going to fuck with you, Bella," Rose replied adamantly.

"What do you mean he's been warned Rose?"

"A couple months ago after closing, you were in the bar playing the piano and singing. I caught Edward watching you and I warned him that he better not fuck with you."

"Rose, you didn't..."

"I sure did, and I'd do it again. Bella, it was right after you left James. I know what kind of track record Edward has with women so I just gave him a fair warning. If he was only fucking with you he would have backed off immediately, just for the simple fact that Emmett is his brother and he wouldn't do that to one of his brother's friends."

"I'm even more humiliated now..." I groaned in frustration. "How am I going to face him? He probably thinks I'm a complete nut case that lets her friends fight her battles because she's too emotional to take care of herself. Especially after I ran like I did."

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked.

"It had been so long since I played Rose, and I sat down and was just messing around. It felt so great to just let go and listen to the music. I started playing and if I had known anyone was there, I wouldn't have been up there singing. And when I was done, I was so lost in my own world I nearly ran him over when I rounded the corner. He startled me, standing there with his hands on my arms, staring at me like he could see into the depths of my soul. I've never had anyone look at me that way and it frightened me. It occurred to me while I was standing there that he had heard me singing...I panicked and just ran. Oh god, and that Sunday? Karma bit me in the ass, because I literally ran into him, AGAIN! I'm sure he thinks I'm a human steamroller or something."

"That has to mean something," Alice interjected, "I mean once, fine, but twice, and in the same weekend?"

"What, are we saying it's fate now? It was my destiny to meet him? That everything happens for a reason? That's bunk, Alice, it was simply coincidence."

"Think about it Bella: if you dig deep enough, you will find a reason for everything. The reasons hardly ever have to do with chance, and even chance is just a matter of favorable versus unfavorable odds. Take Jasper and I for instance: if he hadn't have walked into the bar that day do you really think I never would have met him? He worked out at the same health club I did, we favor the same restaurants...we would have met eventually Bella."

"So, what are you suggesting? Should I start planning the wedding now or wait until later?"

"Very funny, smart ass. Personally, and I'm sure Rose feels the same, I think you need to give him a shot, go out with him, see where it goes."

"Seriously, Alice?"

"Look Bella, you're in a funk and in denial. James really screwed you up and we realize that, but we also realize that not everyone is like James. You can't live your life in fear of hurt and rejection; all you'll end up is a lonely old woman with no one to love, wondering where the hell she went wrong and why she missed everything! You have to take a chance, live in the moment, and enjoy yourself. We don't want you to end up that lonely old woman, so snap the fuck out of it."

I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a big huff. "Fine," I muttered. "I'll give it a shot, but I still don't believe in your 'fate' shit and I think I'm doomed for failure."

"Whatever Bella, as long as you try. We just hate seeing you so negative and down all the time, not to mention lonely -"

"Oh Lord," I said rolling my eyes at her.

"Don't look at me like that, we know you are." She paused. "Just do me a favor though, okay?"

"What?" I raised my eyebrow at Rose and gave her a questioning smirk.

"Make him work for it. I said he wouldn't fuck with you; I didn't say he didn't deserve grief. Oh, and by the way, we're all going out this Friday to play pool, and I expect you to be nice."

Well hell, now what?

*************

I was bubbling with excitement. My piano had arrived without a scratch and it only took the movers a little over two hours to set it up and tune it. I was running a soft cloth over the top to erase the fingerprints, thinking about getting my fingers dancing over the keys, when a persistent knocking at the front door interrupted my thoughts.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" I yelled across the house, hoping whoever it was had heard me.

I was so zoned out before; there was no telling how long they had been standing out there knocking. I opened the front door and was surprised to see Edward standing there with a grin on his face.

"Edward, what are you doing here?"

"Since you won't answer your phone, I decided to take a chance that you'd be home and just stop by."

"Well I'm a bit busy, so if you don't mind-"

"Will you invite me in Bella?" He turned his body and placed each of his hands on either side of the door frame, caging me between him and the front door.

"You're not going to go away are you?" I asked.

"No, I told you before; I'm not giving up on you. Let me in, Bella; I just want to talk."

"Ugh! Since you're obviously not going away..." I stepped back and opened the door up so he could walk past me.

"You got a piano? That wasn't here last time I came by."

A wide grin spread across my face, "I had it delivered from Forks this morning. It's been at my parent's house."

"What kind is it?"

Okay, I'll play your little game...

"It's a Lester 5'4" Louis XV Grand Piano. My Great Aunt Elizabeth left it to me. When I was little Charlie, my dad, used to take me to go visit her in Portland, and she would always play for me. I was fascinated by the complexity of the instrument, how it worked, what it was made of, everything. I loved opening the lid and watching the hammers hit the strings as she played; to this day it still fascinates me. When I was eight, she bought me lessons for my birthday and paid for every lesson until she passed away. She said the beauty of music was her gift to me, because there was nothing more powerful and more full of life then the feel of the keys beneath your fingers as you create sound out of nothing but bits of wood and string."

He just stared at me; it was the same look he gave me that first night in the bar. What was he trying to see, what was he looking for?

"Sorry...I have a tendency to ramble when it comes to certain subjects and you just happened to pick the right one."

"Do you ever play, I mean for the public or anything?"

"Oh, dear god no..I could never do that."

"Why not? You play beautifully; as a matter a fact when you add your voice to it, it's quite mesmerizing. You have a way of capturing the attention of those around you and keeping them focused only on you. That's a very rare gift you have, Bella."

"Uh, thank you."

I was not used to compliments. My playing only annoyed James, I knew Alice, Rose and my parents loved to listen, but they were family, and completely biased so I didn't even consider them counting.

"So, what is this, circa 1915?"

"No, but close - it's 1920. You have a good eye."

"Thanks. I play a little, not as good as you but..."

"So, Edward what did you want to talk about? I could talk piano all day but I don't think that's why you're here," I said, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Okay, I'll just get straight to the point. I came by to ask you again to go out on a date with me."

"No. Not interested Edward." I turned back around and started buffing more fingerprints off the top of the piano.

"Your kiss says otherwise."

I froze. Why on God's green earth did I think for one second, that he wouldn't bring that up? I took a deep breath and foraged on. Rose did tell me after all to make him work for it.

"It was only a kiss Edward, nothing more."

"Admit it: the kiss was electric, Bella; tell me you didn't feel it, too."

I turned around and faced him, putting on my best game face. "I'll say it again; it was just a kiss, a momentary lapse in judgment on my part. It won't happen again."

I could tell he was getting a little irritated. He lifted his hand and ran it through his hair and then spoke softly.

"Bella, don't insult us both by pretending it was nothing. You know I'm going to keep asking you until you say yes, don't you?"

I just looked at him, saying nothing. He drew in a deep breath and continued, "Tell you what: are you up for a little wager?"

"What kind of wager?" I asked.

"Pool. We're supposed to all go play on Friday, right?

"Yeah, what did you have in mind?" I asked curiously.

"Best two out of three games: you win, I'll leave you alone, and I wont ask you out any more. BUT if I win, you have to go out on a date with me."

I thought about it for a second before replying. "Okay Edward, you're on, but I hope you like the taste of crow."

Edward moved in close, his face inches from mine. He lifted his hand and lifted up a lock of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers.

"Bella..." He paused and took a breath. "I have a feeling I'll be tasting something very soon, but it won't be crow."

He smiled and ran his fingers along my cheek. A shiver ran down my spine and I could feel the lust building in my core.

"Bella, I'll see you Friday."

Edward left, closing the front door softly behind him. I sat down on the piano bench, staring at the closed front door. What the fuck am I going to do now?

Readers, reviewers...I love you and you all are the BEST!! Thank you to all the new reviewers, you make my heart go pitty pat. MWAH!

Last week was great, lets try it again, I challenge you - press the review button, let me know how I'm doing. Reviewing makes Edward distract Bella playing pool...