Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, I will however claim the crazy thoughts in my head.

Ch 4

Edward

The door opened, and my breath caught in my throat.

Bella's mahogany hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and her eyes had a glimmer to them I've only seen once before. The robe she wore was the color of champagne and was very thin, showing off every delicious curve underneath.

It wasn't until she asked me to come in that I realized I was staring at her. I probably had drool dripping off my chin. Great.

I walked into her living room and took a quick look around. Magazines littered the coffee table, and pictures framed the TV. I recognized her friends in some of the pictures; others had people I've never seen before. Everything around me screamed Bella.

I knew I had a long way to go to get back into Bella's good graces, but after spending the past few weeks with her, I was willing to do anything. This was of course the reason I was there.

Bella followed me into the room and looked slightly confused. Maybe I should start with why I showed up out of the blue.

I took a deep breath to gain some courage and spat it out. "I think we need to have that talk now."

It took her a second but she nodded in agreement and went to sit on the couch.

"Have a seat."

"Uh… this might be easier if you're dressed." The words rushed out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about it. What was I thinking? I hate when things like that fly out of my mouth. The same thing happened that dreaded morning when I told Bella I left money for her on the dresser. I didn't mean it like that, I meant for a cab. Of course she'll never believe me now.

Her jaw dropped but she quickly recovered. "Oh well yeah, I wasn't expecting company."

"Don't get me wrong, I like it, but it's making it hard for me to think," I elaborated. Believe me, I'd love to see what's underneath again, but we really need to have a talk first, and if she stayed in her current state of undress I wouldn't be able to control myself.

Bella grabbed the well worn quilt that was on the back of the couch and threw it over herself. "Better?"

"No matter how I answer that question I'm screwed, so I plead the 5th," I joked.

"Ok, so why don't we start with why you showed up on my doorstep."

Wow… straight to the point, huh? I had to admit it's one of the things I liked about her. You always knew you were going to get what's on her mind, nothing less.

Time to own up. I can do this.

"Right, well, you didn't text, and Alice said you should have been home, and I got worried," I started to ramble. "So she told me where you live and told me to check on you. She really wasn't in any condition to drive over here herself."

"That's my fault, the cab was stuck in traffic, some accident near the river… and then I forgot."

"Oh it's no problem; I'm more on this side of town anyway."

I was stalling. Why can't I just tell her how I feel? Why I'm really here? That it's torture to work next to her every day, that every time I see her laugh it makes me smile, or that I want to kiss her goodnight for the rest of my life. Wait… did I just say the rest of my life? The man who's never had a relationship longer than 6 months is thinking long term? What has gotten into me? Just one thing… Bella.

"You're stalling."

"I am."

"Why?"

"I don't know where to start," I shamefully admitted.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

Oh this is going to suck. "Ok."

Bella sat and thought for a moment, chewing on her thumb nail, probably trying to decide what to ask first. "Did you know who I was in that bar?"

"Wow, you go straight for the jugular."

"I've had some time to think about it," she defended herself.

"No, that's fair." I took a deep breath. "At first no… but you said you were celebrating your new position, and how many other people in town are starting as a producer at a small publishing company the next day? But in my defense, we had something. I knew you felt it too."

Bella stared at me for what felt like ages. The face she was making had me slightly afraid of what was going to happen next.

"So you decided to sleep with me when you thought I could potentially be your new boss?"

"I don't recall much sleeping being done." Crap... I did it again. I need to learn to control the smartass in me.

Bella blushed a bright crimson and quickly replied, "That's not the point."

I put my hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry."

Her expression softened a little before I continued. "I have to learn to control the things that come out of my mouth. I know, Esme tells me all the time."

"Good, because I'm trying to be serious here."

"I know, and from now on I will think before I speak."

"So where were we?" she began. "Oh yeah, you were just about to explain yourself, and why you were such an 'ass' as you so eloquently put it."

How do I explain this? How I immediately wanted more than just a one night stand, but in the morning didn't know how to deal with my feelings? I am a guy after all; we don't do mushy.

Bella sat at the other end of the couch with an expectant look on her face.

"Ok… when I put two and two together, I knew you wouldn't be interested in me, so I hid my secret. For that I'm sorry. But, it's safe to say that I don't regret any of our actions that night, and I hope you don't either."

I know I was fishing... but I was hoping she'd give some sort of indication as to how she felt. As soon as the words left my mouth I saw it... she blushed and looked down. Score!

"What I'm really sorry about is that morning. I truly didn't mean to imply you were a hooker. I had left you cab money… I was going to leave you a note and go pick up coffee for my new boss to ease the blow. But when I walked out of the bathroom I sensed you were awake and panicked."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I continued, "When you came out all mad, it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen."

"Why didn't you correct me?" Bella whined as she put her head in her hands.

"Would you have believed me?"

Bella thought for a moment before looking up at me, "I don't know; it's hard to say now."

Ok, I guess I'll just spill the beans… rip the Band-Aid off so to speak. They say it's the easiest way.

"I don't do well with emotions. I didn't know how to tell you I wanted more than a one night stand, so I pretended I didn't care. It's my defense mechanism."

"Oh..." I could see the wheels turning in her head.

"And now that I've done my normal ramble, you must be more confused than before."

"Yes, and no. I am curious about a few things."

"Like what?" I questioned.

Bella looked down at her hands twisting in her lap. She spoke in a quiet, timid voice: "Well for starters, who's Esme?"

"My aunt." She immediately looked up, relieved. "Oh… you thought it was someone else? No, she's my aunt."

So she's afraid there's someone else. That's a sure sign right there. Before I could think about that anymore she asked the next question.

"Why are you an assistant? Your resume is impeccable, and you've got great skills. Your apartment is in the best building in town, so you obviously don't need the job..."

"There's where you're wrong. My parents left me a sizeable trust which I used for school, my cars, and apartment, but the rest comes with a condition. I have to have a job."

Bella sat up right and put her hand on my arm. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, it's been years. My aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle took me in and have been like parents to me."

"I'm glad they were there for you."

"Me too. I loved living with Esme. She was the best stand-in mother." I hardly told anyone about my family, although it seemed I could tell Bella anything. More importantly, I wanted to tell Bella everything. This was a new feeling for me.

"How does this stipulation work?"

"Well, once I've 'proven myself' I get to take control of my parents company, Cullen Investments."

Bella thought for a minute. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"It's an investment firm that mainly helps people get started with things like small businesses, inventions etc."

"Hmm, it sounds so familiar. Maybe we've done something for them," she pondered. "So why did you go into publication?"

"I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. Esme has this amazing library, over a thousand books, it's always inspired me."

Bella looked impressed.

"Would you like to see it sometime?"

"I'd love to, but wouldn't that be weird?" she asked.

"I don't think so. In fact, I think she'd love you."

There's that signature blush I can't get enough of. It always comes with a dip of her head and the tucking of her hair behind her ear. I took it upon myself to tuck her hair for her. The look I received was pure shock.

"Uh, I'm sorry." I quickly pulled my hand back. I need to learn to keep my hands to myself.

"No, it's my fault, I … I…" Bella looked away from me and before I could stop myself I reached out and took her hand in mine. I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand and she slowly turned to face me again.

"Tell me what you're thinking… I can't read your mind." I needed to know if she hated me or loved me, or somewhere in between.

Bella nibbled on her bottom lip before taking a deep breath and spewing out a long ramble.

"You confuse me. One minute you're a complete ass, and the next you're Mister Charming. I never know who to expect, and yet I can't stay away from you. I've tried. You're there at work, you're there in my dreams, you're everywhere…"

She glared at me in exasperation. I took my chances, reached for her, and pressed our lips together.

Bella froze, and for that second I thought I had really screwed up, but then she tilted her head to a better angle and kissed me back. It wasn't a long kiss, but one intended to show each other how we felt.

I opened my eyes to find Bella touching her lips with the tips of her fingers and looking surprised. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. I hoped I hadn't ruined everything.

"Uh… I'm sorry?" I figure it's best to apologize upfront right?

Her face fell.

"Or maybe not?" I quickly amended my apology. "I just… I don't know what you want. But I'm not sorry. I like you and I think you like me, so there." Not my most articulate sentence ever, but I think I got the point across.

"Point well received," Bella said, smiling.

The quilt slipped down to reveal one of her creamy shoulders. How I wanted to lick the nook where her shoulder met her neck. I was really starting to rethink that whole 'better if you're dressed' thing. Damn quilt.

"I feel like I'm in high school again, asking the prom queen out." I laughed to cover up my nervousness.

Bella snorted. "I was never prom queen."

"You should have been."

If it was even possible, Bella blushed a deep red and thanked me.

"So, now what do we do? I mean I like you, and you like me, right?"

"Right…" she trailed off in thought.

Woohoo!

"I'm assuming there's some sort of policy against coworkers dating?" I asked as I put my arm on the back of the couch and around her shoulders.

"There probably is."

"Hmmm, what can we do about that?" I inched closer to her on the couch so we were practically touching. I felt the need to be as close to her as possible.

"That depends… how good of an actor are you?"

"I guess we'll find out, now won't we?" I smiled as I leaned in for another kiss.

a/n:

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Huge thanks to iAMurPoison and to my coworker James for pointing out my silly mistakes, maybe one of these days I'll learn how to use a comma.