A/N: So … the overall verdict on our evening was pretty good … (yes I know that I had typos, thanks to those of you who politely reminded me without harping) but you guys still aren't reviewing … and that makes me sad…

Speaking of previously mentioned typos… I am looking for a beta reader … only people who are serious, should send me a PM… FF guidelines will apply … and I'll want to read some of your work to make sure we are compatible… I swear finding a good beta is harder than finding a husband…

This chapter has been really hard for me to write… but I really appreciate the few of you who are really pushing me to continue… for your continued support and kick ass reviews… I dedicate the following awkward morning after to you…

Oh, and as usual…

Things I own: A really cool New Moon watch (that at 30 years old, I totally get made fun of for wearing) and awesome Edward and Bella Barbie dolls that my 2 year old daughter wants to play with (but I wont let her… does that make me a mean mommy? Maybe…)

Things I don't: Twilight and any of the songs I feature here

CHAPTER 5

BPOV

Sweet Jeebus, what was buzzing? I cracked an eye open, the bright sun streaming through the window, nearly blinding me. I stretched beneath my covers. Funny, I didn't remember climbing into bed last night. I must have hit my head harder than I thought last night, either that or it was all the martinis and Jasper's scotch coming back to bite me in the ass. I lifted the covers and peaked down at myself to find I was still in the ruined dress from last night. A glance over at my bedside clock said it was 7:42 AM on Saturday morning and I noticed that there was a glass of what looked like orange juice on my bedside table and two aspirin next to it. Momentarily confused, the buzzing started again and I realized it was coming from my cell phone. I picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was a text, from Alice. Why the hell was she texting me from the other room? And where did she find orange juice? I opened the text.

A- leaving J's hotel, b home in 1hr. Last night was amazing! Spoke to Emmett, Ed never made it home last night, you have some explaining to do! -Ali xx

Shit! Edward! The details of last night started hitting me and I bolted upright in bed! I has almost sex with Edward last night. I almost had sex with Edward last night, and fell asleep on him. Fuck, Alice was going to kill me. If Alice didn't kill me I was surely going to die of embarrassment.

I wracked my brain to recall details from the end of the night. I blushed remembering the way his hands felt on my body, the way his mouth felt on my nipple through my dress. I felt my nipples tighten and my sex clench at that though. Geez, just the though of his hands and mouth on me and I was wet. I needed to shake off the lust and figure out what the hell I was going to do when Alice got home. How the fuck was I going to explain to my best friend that I pretty much jumped her brother and let him finger me to orgasm just because he was sweet and cleaned up my boo-boos? OK, so maybe that wasn't the only reason. Still, she was going to fucking kill me.

I stood up and looked down at myself, I was completely disheveled and needed a toothbrush. I tossed my cell back on my night stand and saw the glass of juice. If Alice didn't put it there … then it must have been…

NO.

I ran my hands down my face.

He couldn't still be here.

I crept to the door to my room and eased it open gently, trying not to make any sounds. I listened closely. At first it seemed quiet, but listening for another moment, I could hear even breathing and some soft snoring coming from the direction of the living room.

Shit. He was. I was fucked.

I closed the door to my room again and turned toward my dresser, opening drawers and grabbing a pair of black yoga pants and a purple tank top before once again moving toward the door. I tip toed toward the bathroom and shut the door as softly as I could. I turned on the shower and grabbed my toothbrush, scrubbing my teeth while I waited for the water to heat. I had to figure out what I was going to tell Alice. She wasn't going to be OK with her brother sleeping over, even if we technically didn't "sleep" together.

I finished in record time, toweling off quickly and slipping into the comfy workout wear. I went to tug a brush through my hair only to swear and drop the brush. Fuck, my head still hurt from that fall. I picked up the brush and resumed brushing, going much more carefully until the tangles were gone and my hair lay damp and curling around my shoulders.

I left the bathroom and moved quietly toward the living room wondering if I should wake Edward up and ask him to leave before Alice got home. I wonder why he stayed? Was he waiting for Alice last night? Did he carry me to bed? What did he think about our almost sexing? I stopped short as I reached the couch.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Draped across our too small sofa, was a sleeping, shirtless, fuck-hot, Edward Cullen.

I just stood there for a moment speechless, unable to move or breathe. I could remember the feel of his muscles as I stroked him last night through his shirt, but nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for the sight of him asleep, naked from the waist up, on my sofa.

His eyes were closed and his face was relaxed, he almost looked like he was smiling. God, even his sleep-smirking was hot. His chest and stomach, while not heavily muscled were well defined and his abs looked so good I wanted to lick them. There was a sprinkling of hair leading down his chest to the waist band of his pants, which were slung low on his hips. I wanted to wake him up by jumping on him and following that trail of hair with my tongue. No wonder they called it a happy trail, I would die happily for a taste at what was at the end of it.

I'm not sure how long I had been standing there drooling over his half naked, sleeping form, but I must have made a noise or something, because he yawned and stretched, blinking a few times, before looking around, his eyes resting on me.

"Um, hi. Good morning." I said quickly, hoping he wasn't thinking that I was going all stalker on him, watching him sleep.

"Hey." He responded while sitting up, running his hands through his sleep ravaged hair. The movement caused his abdominal muscles to ripple and bunch. I was fucking salivating. I was pretty sure I was going to have to mop up puddles of drool off of the floor, but as long as he didn't leave or cover himself up, I was totally OK with that.

He shook his head, as if to clear it and scrubbed his hands down his face before stretching once again, with his arms above his head.

Hot Damn! The man was sexy enough without sleepy eyes and bed head. Just the sight of him made me want to drag him off into my room and do very naughty things to him.

"So… um, your sister is on her way home… and well, I guess she spoke to Emmett and he told her that you didn't come home last night."

"Oh. What did you tell her?"

"Well I didn't actually tell her anything; she sent a text. A text I ignored."

"Ah, I see. Well, it's no big deal right? I brought you up here because you were almost assassinated by that devil dog of your neighbor's, cleaned up your cuts a bit, and put you to bed after you fell asleep on the sofa. Anybody would have stuck around to make sure you were OK, right?"

He stood up and picked up his shirt off of the back of the sofa and put it on leaving it hanging open over his chest.

I knew he was right, that what he had done, taking care of my cuts and bruises, last night, any friend would have done for me. But the lack of acknowledgement of what had happened between us afterward, cut me to the quick. He thought it was a mistake. I turned away from him and breathed a heavy sigh.

"Hey..." He said from right behind me.

He placed his hands on my arms. His fingers were warm and I tingled where they touched my skin. My breath caught in my throat as he turned me toward him. His mossy green eyes, staring into mine intently, full of an emotion I couldn't place.

"Yes?" I whispered.

He moved his hands down my arms to my elbows and stopped.

"Last night… was… amazing… but I …"

He seemed flustered, and unsure of what to say to me. He ran his hands through his hair again. Watching him do it made me want to replace his hands with my own. I could still feel the thick silky strands running through my fingers as we kissed last night. I shook my head, halting the errant sexual train of my thoughts as I realized what he was saying to me.

"Edward, it's OK. It was a mistake, right? We got carried away, nothing really happened…" I said, dying inside a little more with each word I utter.

"Bella…" he skimmed his hands back up my arms, and I shivered. "You are many things….but a mistake is not one of them."

I looked up at him, meeting his eyes once more. I opened my mouth to respond and as I did, he lowered his head and our lips connected.

His lips, moving on mine were gentle and full of erotic promise. His hand left my shoulders and he speared them into my hair, gently so as not to hurt me, tilting my head as he deepened our kiss. His tongue traced the seam of my lips. I opened to him to feel his tongue sweep inside, dueling with mine. I lifted my hands to his chest and ran them down his chest until they reached his abs, rubbing the hard muscles I found there. I swear this man was going to make me spontaneously combust.

I lifted onto my toes to get closer to him, my arms now reaching to clasp around his neck as I crushed my breasts to his chest. It was like I couldn't get close enough to him. His hands left my hair to skim down my back and grab my ass, pulling my hips flush against his. I ground myself onto his now very obvious erection. He moaned into my mouth and stiffened, abruptly pulling his face away.

"Alice…" he said, sounding frustrated.

"Huh?"

"I think she's home… I thought I heard someone coming up the stairs" He said while smoothing his hands through his hair, and attempting to button his shirt.

Sure enough, the door opened and Alice breezed in, looking like she hadn't slept, but was floating on a cloud of bliss. She danced through the door shutting it with her foot before gracefully giving one more twirl and handing on the couch with a sigh.

"Um, hey Ali, how was your night?" Edward said with a chuckle.

"I should be asking YOU that question, brother dear, but since you asked, it was fucking magical. I think I met my future baby daddy. I am in fucking love Eddie! But seriously, back to what's important here, what have you two been up to?" Alice replied, toeing off her shoes and crossing her legs on the sofa, looking between both Edward and I, her eyebrow raised.

I knew I wanted no part of this conversation. I announced that I was going to go put some coffee on and left before Edward could respond to her. As I turned on the faucet and filled the pot with water, I raised my hand to my mouth and touched my swollen lips, recalling the passionate kiss I had shared with Edward only moments before.

I wondered what he was thinking of it all. I didn't know about him, but I was seriously confused. His words and actions this morning when he first woke up, led me to think that he wanted to forget what had passed between us last night, but when I mentioned it he told me that it wasn't a mistake and he kissed me. I didn't know what to think. We really didn't know each other very well. I wanted to know what he wanted. Would he want a relationship? Would he want to forget it all and go back to awkward greetings at his parents' on holidays? I wasn't sure, but I knew I didn't want to dwell on it right now, with Alice in the other room.

I filled the coffee filter with beans and hit the button on the coffee maker to grind them and start the brewing. I didn't know about Edward, but I was going to need a serious hit of caffeine to make it through the Spanish inquisition that was Alice Cullen. I could only be pleased that Jacob wasn't here too. While I waited for the coffee to brew I walked toward the doorway to listen to the conversation that was going on in the living room.

"… she's my best friend. I have every right to worry about her."

"Laurent thought she was amazing, he wants her to come back. I had wanted to talk to her about it last night, but that fucking dog came out of no where and pushed her down the front steps."

"Edward, you don't know the anxiety that she feels performing. Bella is very talented, and she is a strong woman, but it's almost like it paralyzes her, being on stage. Have you any idea how much she drank last night before she went on?"

"Bella is stronger than you give her credit for, and yes, I'm aware she drank quite a lot last night. She just needs to practice, do some open mic nights at a place she's not familiar with, where she doesn't know anyone. Alice, she could be big, I know it. I hear her voice and it just does something to me. I can't really explain it."

I couldn't believe it. I wasn't that shocked by what Alice had to say about me performing, we had this discussion many times before, but I was surprised by Edward. Did he really feel that way about my voice?

"I know Edward. It's always been like that. She has always had this amazing talent. Our high school chorus teacher loved her. He was so shocked that she wasn't taking formal lessons, he pushed her to audition for all-state. When she couldn't afford the entry fees and wouldn't take the money from me, he paid for it out of pocket. I worked with her for months on those arias, practicing during every free period, nights and weekends, for a month before the audition, until she knew them and could sing them in her sleep. Even when she ended up with Laryngitis two days before the audition, she still sounded amazing, but when she got in front of the judges, she froze. She got through the song, and made it as an alternate, but when they called her a few weeks later, she didn't go. She didn't even tell me until the season was over, that they had contacted her. I know she wants to sing Edward. I want her to live her dream, but I don't want to see her hurt in the process."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It wasn't the conversation I had expected them to be having, given that my best friend had walked in just after I had been climbing all over her brother. What was even more alarming, was the fact that Laurent thought I did well and wanted to sing for him at the club. Kind of Blue didn't usually book amateur acts, they dealt strictly in acts that had been on the scene for a while and had already built a reputation in the music community.

The coffee smelled like it was finished brewing, so I turned back to the kitchen and pulled some mugs from the cabinet, realizing that I didn't know how Edward took his coffee. I started for the door again and I could hear Alice's voice rising to a fever pitch.

"You did what?" Alice shrieked. "Are you nuts? I thought you were with Jessica. It sure seemed like it last night!"

Now this is the conversation I was expecting. I hung back to hear his response, almost feeling bad for eavesdropping on them.

"Alice I don't know what happened. One second I was cleaning her cuts and the next… I don't know. I have never known anyone like her. She is open, and honest, and guileless. It is refreshing and it freaks me out, at the same time."

Wait, what? I freaked him out? I didn't understand what he was trying to say. Did I come on too strong last night?

"Edward, you can't mess with her head. You're my brother and I love you, but if you fucking hurt her I will feed your balls to the devil dog downstairs, do you hear me? If you like her, great! If you don't, just go and let me deal with it. But for god's sake, don't screw with her like she is one of your other girls, because she's not like them."

I waited with bated breath for his response.

"Don't you think I know that Alice? I don't want to mess with her head, thats not my intention. She is just so… I don't even know Alice. She is different. I want to know more about her, but I don't really have much free time on my hands right now. I don't usually do the relationship thing, you know that. Add to that, the fact that now I feel like I have mixed business with pleasure since Laurent has enlisted me to get her to perform for him. I don't know what to do."

I really didn't know what to think about his responses. On one hand, it was nice to know that he wanted to get to know me better, but it was also disappointing that he saw some big obstacles in doing so. I hadn't been expecting him to declare his everlasting love for me or anything, but I also didn't anticipate him seeing asking me to sing for his friend at his club as a barrier to us getting to know one another either. It was all so very confusing.

I pushed open the kitchen door and entered the living room, and unsurprisingly, the conversation halted.

"Hey Edward, how do you take your coffee?" I asked him, ignoring the obvious tension between brother and sister.

"Black, two teaspoons of sugar, thanks."

He was still staring Alice down and she was looking back at him intensely, refusing to break eye contact.

"Ali what about you? Want some coffee?"

"Bells, I don't think I need caffeine, I think I need some fucking sleep." She said with a saucy wink, her previous level of intensity dropping significantly.

"I don't even want to know what you and Jasper got up to last night." I said, laughing.

"Well, I'll tell you later whether you like it or not. Bells, I think I'm in love! But for now, I'm gonna go crash." She said, yawning, as she walked down the hall to her room. "Oh, and Bella?"

"Yeah Ali?" I replied.

"Don't think you're off the hook. We WILL be talking later about what happened here last night."

And with that, Alice entered her bedroom and shut the door, leaving Edward and I alone, once again, in the living room.

"Are you hungry? I could make an omelet to go with the coffee if you are." I asked Edward, as I walked toward the kitchen.

"Um sure, I could help if you want. I chop a mean veggie." He replied with his trademark crooked grin, as he followed me into the kitchen.

I pulled an omelet pan from the cabinet and set it on the stove, wondering what to say to him. I wanted him to know that I heard what he said in the living room to Alice, but I didn't want it to be crazy awkward between us either. I guess the only way to really handle it was to not beat around the bush.

"Edward… um… I heard you and Alice in the living room. I know that Laurent wants you to ask me to sing for him at the club."

"Bella… I …"

"Edward, it's OK. I want to sing. I want to get over my fear of crowds. I want to be able to sing without drinking a fifth of jack before I go on stage." I say jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Edward looked relieved for some reason. I wasn't sure if it was because I wasn't putting up a fight about performing or if he had maybe thought I was going to bring up the other part of his conversation with Alice. He really didn't need to worry though, I wasn't ready to have the other conversation yet either.

"I know that I don't have much spare time, but I want to help you feel more comfortable performing, if I can. If you'd like my help, that is. I have a few ideas that might help."

I pulled eggs, cheese and some veggies out of the refrigerator and laid them out on the counter before answering.

"That's really nice of you Edward, but I don't want to impose. You seem like you're a really busy guy."

"You're not imposing, I really want to help. Bella, I don't think you see yourself or your talent clearly. Even at thirteen, you had a raw talent that I still haven't seen a match to. Your voice, Bella, almost brought me to my knees the first time I heard you sing. So soulful and full of life and passion. You can't fake that, it can't be taught in a lesson. You have to be born with it, it's a part of who you are. Who wouldn't want to witness that, be a part of it?"

He voice was so passionate as he spoke, it was hard not to feel moved by his words. I wanted to get to know more about this man, spend more time with him, to let his confidence in me fill me, guide me. He really seemed to believe in me, and feel so strongly about it, which while it genuinely surprised me given the relatively small amount of interaction we have had in the years we have known one another, it also humbled me. It was truly a heady feeling.

I sucked in a deep breath before answering.

"I appreciate the offer, Edward. I think I'd like some help, if your really offering. Truth be told, the idea of it all is mildly freak worthy to me, and your such an accomplished musician. I'd be grateful for any pointers and advice you're willing to share with me."

He grinned at me widely, looking relieved at my response.

We got to making breakfast while devising a plan. Laurent wanted me to do a small set in three weeks time and Edward worked most days at the hospital, so we didn't have too much time.

As we chopped, and sautéed, we decided to meet a few nights each week to practice some songs and I'd do a few open mic nights at some places in Edward's neighborhood. I didn't have access to a piano here, so Edward even cleared it with Laurent to have me spend a few hours each week at the club before it opened for the night. We would use my guitar for open pic nights, and I would hone my piano playing under his skilled tutelage.

Having made our plans we sat and ate in a surprisingly companionable silence, both lost in thought. Once breakfast was done, and the dished were washed we made plans to meet up on Tuesday afternoon to brainstorm and figure out a set list so we knew what songs to focus on. I promised to give it some thought over the next three days, and thanked Edward as I walked him to the door.

He stopped in the doorway and looked down at me, lifting his hand and running his long fingers down my cheek.

"Bella." He whispered softly, "You are going to be amazing, I can feel it."

My breath caught in my throat and he lowered his hand, turned and walked down the stairs without another word or glance back in my direction. I shut the door and leaned against it heavily, wincing, as my head connected with the wood. I pushed myself off of the door and walked back to the kitchen, poured myself another cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table.

I found myself thinking about the last 24 hours and all the changes that they had brought.

This time yesterday, I was scared shitless about singing in front of a small group of friends and other assorted strangers, worrying about my blind date with Jasper and secretly lusting after Edward. Fast forward 24 hours, I had sung my song, been attacked by a giant devil hound and almost killed (OK, so maybe I was exaggerating a bit), almost sexed my best friend's brother (No exaggerating here), agreed to do another gig at the club, and spent the remainder of my morning, cooking breakfast and plotting my upcoming debut with said best friend's fuck-hot brother.

If someone had told me that this was how I would find myself on this cloudy Saturday morning, I'd have asked what they were smoking, and if I could have a hit. This whole situation was unbelievable. As I placed my empty mug in the sink and flopped down on my sofa, I wondered what the next few weeks would bring.

I wasn't sure, but if it meant I was able to realize my dream and spend more time getting to know Edward in the process, then no matter what challenges laid in my path ahead, it would all be worth it.

A/N: Yes, I know some of you were probably expecting more porntastic, lemonrific, citrusy goodness this chapter, and I do promise you much more of that, it just didn't feel right here. We will get to that in coming chapters, heeheehee I said coming ;-), I swear my mind stays in the gutter….

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