AN: Sorry about the wait, I went out of town with the family and didn't have internet so I couldn't get it to the beta-love in time.

Thanks as always to Shae for pre-reading and general awesomeness, and to Cara for putting up with my inability to use a comma correctly!

Sadly, still not mine.

As Alice and Rose were saying their goodbyes to Emmett and Jasper, Bella came downstairs, carrying a pair of heels she had yet to put on.

"You look cute," Alice said, looking over at her, "but are you really wearing that out on a date?"

Hearing this, Rose turned in Bella's direction and looked her up and down, taking in her outfit. After a beat, she said, "No, that's not anywhere near what she'd wear on a date. That's 'I'm meeting a friend.' Completely different.

"Alice is right though," she added after another once over, "you do look cute. I'll probably want to steal that top at some point."

Sharing a look of confusion with Jasper, Emmett asked, "How can you tell the difference in her outfits?"

Turning back to him, Rose explained, "Well, for one thing, I've known her most of our lives. I know what she'd wear on a date. More to point, I know what she wouldn't wear on a date."

Still looking confused, Jasper voiced his own question. "Okay, so," pausing, he scrunched his eyebrows together as he attempted to figure out how to say what he was thinking, "how is that not date clothing? Like you said, she looks cute, she has heels in her hand, makeup's on and hair's done. What's missing?"

All three girls burst out laughing at the naivety of the question. Bella, being the first to calm down enough to do so, explained. "Aside from the complete lack of skin I'm showing? I'm wearing a long-sleeved tee-shirt and jeans. Yes, they're skinny jeans, and yes, I'm going to wear heels, but this is just normal, everyday wear. The neckline, while it's wide and shows my shoulders, completely covers my chest. Yes, the shirt itself isn't loose as such, but it's really just comfortable. I would wear this outfit around the house, or to class or something, you know."

Both boys still had perplexed looks on their faces, but after a moment they both just shrugged and said, "Sure, why not."

With another quick laugh, Bella stepped into her shoes before saying she'd see everyone later and heading out for the coffee shop. As she did so, Emmett and Jasper shared an evil smile that went unnoticed by the girls.

YNK

Upon reaching the coffee shop, Bella discovered she'd arrived before Mike and snagged them a table after ordering a latte for herself. As she waited for Mike to arrive she did some people watching. There was a couple a few tables away who were clearly still in the beginning stages of their relationship, but very much in like with each other. The pair kept stealing glances at each other when they thought no one was looking, the girl was laughing at almost everything the boy said to her, and the look on the boy's face said all too obviously that he didn't know what he had done to be so lucky as to have the girl with him.

At a table by the wall sat an older couple. He was reading the paper while drinking his coffee, she was reading a book and drinking tea.

A group of girls were a bit further along, giggling over something, instead of doing the work they had brought with them. Typical behavior, given the age, and yet Bella couldn't help thinking that by that age she'd been much more studious. Or was it that by their age she'd begun dating Embry and maintaining perfect grades had been a requirement in order to see him?

With a slight, nostalgic, smile on her face, Bella looked back towards the door, checking for Mike. Catching sight of him in the crowd coming through the door, she threw an arm in the air, waving, to catch his attention. Seeing her, Mike indicated he was going to grab himself something and be right over. As Mike approached her with a cup of coffee in hand, Bella had to hide a smile at his clothes. She was completely unsurprised to see him in a pair of perfectly fitted jeans and a light blue button down under a cream colored sweater. While she couldn't see them, she was prepared to bet his brown dress shoes matched his belt and wallet.

Letting a real smile spread over her face, she said, "Hello, stranger. How's your morning?"

Settling in across from her, Mike let out a rueful chuckle, "The morning itself has gone well enough, but thank goodness I hire cleaners to deal with the aftermath of my parties. My downstairs is a wreck. Not surprising, but disconcerting upon first sight all the same. How are you?"

Smiling, Bella related her breakfast with her friends, Emmett, and Jasper. As she was winding down, she noticed Mike was making a face that she was unable to read. Smiling when she asked, he answered, "I'm just surprised Edward didn't find a way to tag along with them, is all. He's very ... persistent ... shall we say."

"Yes, I suspected as much given his second attempt at wooing me last night," Bella said, scoffing. "But he wasn't with the other two this morning. I got the impression that Rose and Alice went home with them last night and their all showing up when they did was a stroke of unbelievable timing and luck."

"True," Mike said, agreeing. "Although, I don't know how much luck was really involved. Those three tend to plan and plot so it was probably intentional. I'm inclined to think that Emmett and Jasper simply didn't tell Edward what they were up to, which implies that for whatever reason they weren't planning to include him in their afternoon activities." Taking a drink of his tea, Mike thought about the situation for another minute before saying, "I wonder what kind of game they're all playing in relation to each other."

"I'm sure I have no idea," Bella said, also thinking about it. "They did make breakfast a lot of fun though, so that was a bonus."

After a few minutes of light chatting, and drinking their respective tea and latte, Bella said, "So, what's the deal with Edward anyway? I mean seriously, he's a complete tool and everyone seems to eat it right up. I get that he's the prince, but still."

Laughing, Mike nodded his agreement to her view of his friend, and said, "While all of that is generally true, you only saw the clubbing, picking up women, out with his buddies to have a good time persona. There's actually a great deal more to him. You might be surprised what you find if you take the time to get to know him."

"Oh, I'm sure there's more, like a nasty STD," Bella told him, sounding as if she didn't believe for a minute that Edward had a single redeeming characteristic to him.

"I realize last night doesn't paint him in the best light, but do you really think Emmett and Jasper would have stood by him all these years if that's all he was?" Mike asked in response, eyebrows rising slightly at the end.

Before Bella had a chance to answer him, they heard a slamming sound as the door to the coffee shop was thrown open. Looking towards the door, they were greeted with the sight of a very annoyed looking Edward who was glaring at the coffee shop as a whole and sweeping his eyes back and forth as though looking for someone.

"Well, this should be interesting," Mike said, having an idea of why Edward was there.

Cutting her eyes to Mike, Bella began to ask him what he meant, but before she could complete her sentence Edward spotted the two of them, letting out a small growl as he began to move in their direction. "Um, what the fuck is he coming over here for?" she asked instead, looking incredulous.

"I suspect, he plans to rip me apart and claim you as his own. Which is why I said it'll be interesting, as I somehow don't anticipate you putting up with it," Mike told her, doing a poor job of maintaining a straight face as Edward was almost to them.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Edward asked upon reaching their table, in an ominously quiet voice. He wasn't looking at either of them specifically, but seemed to be glaring down at the table as a whole. After a moment of silence he glanced sharply at Mike and then Bella, his eyes narrowing on her, he let out a soft growl, and said, "Seriously, what in the fuck is this? You're out with him? I tried not once but twice to get your attention last night, and instead all I get is you ripping into me, and yet this tool talks to you for a few minutes and now you're on a date with him? What the hell?"

Raising an eyebrow at his rant, Bella proceeded to give him a dirty look and take a drink of her latte. After letting the silence stretch on to the point of being uncomfortable for both the men, she let out a derisive snort, and said, "What this is, is none of your business, for one thing. What you also fail to realize is that when your chosen victim for the evening doesn't find you just completely amazing and doesn't melt into a puddle of lovestruck goo, you need to change your tactics. What works with your mindless bimbos is probably the last thing that will work on a girl who sees through your rich boy, prince, cocksure, king of it all bullshit. And as for who I am or am not out on a date with, why do you even care? So you didn't get anywhere with me, that doesn't mean no one else will either."

Edward stared at her in shock for a minute, "This is un-fucking-real." Glancing around the coffee shop, he noticed that they had drawn the attention of all the other patrons. Glancing to Mike, he noticed the man was clearly amused by the situation, and said, "You and I are going to have a nice long chat, very soon." Then, looking back at Bella said, "The fact is, when I decide I want a girl, I get her. Your refusal has done nothing more than make this a challenge, and there is nothing in the world I love more than a good challenge. That being said, enjoy your coffee, I'll see you soon." So saying, he turned and stalked back out of the shop, plotting his next meeting with the brown-haired beauty he left behind him.

"Is he serious?" Bella asked Mike after watching the door close behind Edward. "What the hell?"

With a slight sigh, Mike gave her a bland smile, and said, "Oh, he's quite serious. And your life is about to get quite entertaining for the rest of us. Not for you, though. I suspect before long you're going to be begging for mercy, he's ruthless when it comes to getting what he wants. Good luck, lovey."