A/N: Hello ladies (and maybe some gentlemen, too). I'm glad you're back for chapter 4. Thanks to everyone for reviewing, following, and putting POMH on your list of favorites. Every time my phone shows me a new message from FF it makes me smile.

After the steaminess in chapter 3, this one is going to be a bit slower. But there's still a lot of Edward in it and I think that's what we all want to read.

I want to thank my pre-readers Thepurplebookworm and Vampgirl79 as well as my betas EdwardsMate4ever and itlnbrt from Project Team Beta without whom you'd probably be running away from this story mid-chapter. They made it so much better.

I hope you'll enjoy reading. See you at the end.

Disclaimer: Twilight's not mine but SM's. I just love to have her characters do my bidding.

******POMH******

Chapter 4 – Friends with benefits

The moment I opened the door to my apartment, coming back from the overnight stay at Alice and Jasper's, I noticed that there were already five messages on my answering machine. I didn't need to listen to them to know who they were from or what they were about.

A second later, the phone rang again, and without looking at the display to see the caller's name, I answered. "Hi, Alice."

She didn't say hello or give any preamble. The only thing she said was, "Spill!"

I played dumb. "Spill what?"

"Isabella Marie Swan, I want to hear every detail about what happened between you and Edward last night." Curiosity was getting the best of her.

"It was all very innocent" — in the beginning, that is — "James was chasing me and Jessica was hitting on Edward. We both hid out in the corner behind the stairwell, and we talked for hours." None of that was a lie — so far.

"And how did the two of you end up in the same bed?" Alice sounded impatient.

"We had a few drinks, and when James walked by, Edward kissed me. You know, to hide me from James."

"My ass! Tell the truth, Bella."

"That is the truth. At least, that's what Edward said. Whatever, we made out" — heavily — "and before we would attract people's attention, I suggested we move to the guest room."

"Bella, dear, this is worse than pulling teeth. Was it good?"

I shuddered in pleasure at the mere thought of last night. "Yes, pretty much so."

The experience with Edward really didn't compare to anything I'd ever done before. It was the first time I had an orgasm during sex without any additional stimulation, manual or otherwise. He was the only one who had ever achieved that. Somehow we just fit. It felt like he knew how to make my body sing.

"How come he stayed over?" Alice knew very well that I didn't do sleepovers.

"I offered him half of the bed." I said sheepishly.

"You offered? Bella, what happened?" She sounded flabbergasted.

I shrugged my shoulders, not even sure myself why I wanted him to stay. "Alice, I don't know. It just seemed right." I paused a second, deliberating whether I should go on or not. Then I thought, what the heck? She knew me better than anyone else. "And it was … nice."

I didn't need to see my best friend to know that she was grinning from ear to ear on the other end of the line. "Did you sleep at all? And what was it like this morning? Will you see him again?"

"Yes, we did sleep, quite well, by the way. This morning we took a shower and then had breakfast with the two of you. No, it wasn't awkward, if that's what you're asking." I stopped because I didn't really know how to answer her last question.

She wouldn't let it go, though. "And, will you see him again?"

"We will be working together quite closely, I think. But I know that's not what you mean. He said he wanted to do this again, and I gave him my card."

"Wow, that's a first. You seem to like him, don't you?" All of a sudden, Alice was very excited.

"He's nice, gorgeous, and we have a lot in common. But, don't get ahead of yourself. You know that I don't do relationships." I sounded like I was trying to remind myself. But still, I was sure of my rules.

"Well, I think we'll see about that." When she paused, I knew that she was about to touch an unpleasant topic. "Bella, you have to let go of Jacob and move on."

"I let go of him years ago. I'm not missing him, and I'm not still in love with him. That ship has sailed. I might miss the friend he once was. But, Alice, I can't allow anyone to hurt me like that again." Every one of my words was true. I wasn't yearning for Jake anymore; I hadn't been for years and I had been aware of that for a while now. Still, it didn't change the fact that I was afraid of history repeating itself, of a man I trusted hurting me.

"If you say so. Please, promise me to just be open-minded about Edward. He's really a great guy," she pleaded with me.

I sighed. "I'll try, I promise."

"Okay, then. Have a nice day. Talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye, Alice."

****POMH****

I spent the remainder of Sunday afternoon doing the laundry. I went to bed early. After all, I had to catch up on some sleep. Before I fell asleep, my cell phone rang. When I looked at the screen I saw a message from an unknown number.

Hello, beautiful. I wanted to tell you once again that I had a really great time last night and this morning. I hope to see you again soon. Good night. -E

His words made me oddly happy and, with a smile playing on my lips, I fell asleep.

****POMH****

When I woke up Monday morning, I felt like I'd been run over by a bus. Instead of getting a good night's sleep, I'd had vivid, unsettling dreams. They started out with Jasper, Alice, Jacob, and I visiting the fair. First, we rode on the merry-go-round, then we ate cotton candies, and after that, the guys won us two teddy bears by throwing balls at empty cans. We had a lot of fun. The laughter was still ringing in my ears. Then, the next thing I knew, Jacob was kissing me in my bedroom in Forks. We were standing in front of my mirror, both half naked. One thing led to another, and we were fooling around on the bed. Suddenly, with a grave expression, he said, "Bella, I love you." I'd been feeling uncomfortable all along. After I blinked my eyes, it wasn't Jake I was with, but Edward who smiled at me crookedly, saying, "I love you, beautiful." Without hesitating I answered him, "I love you, too," in a serious but very moved tone, and we had passionate sex.

When I opened my eyes, I felt confused, and the wetness between my thighs was a clear indication that the action in my dream had been really good.

I shook my head a few times, trying to get rid of the lingering bewilderment, before I climbed out of bed. The aching in my muscles, a reminder of Saturday night, only added to my overall feeling of unease.

At work, I only had to do some digital photo finishing for the comb cards I shot last week. That kind of work didn't demand enough attention to keep my mind from wandering

I was still feeling a little unsettled about last night's dream. Jacob hadn't been starring in my dreams for years now. Why was he suddenly back? Even after I had gone through the box the other day, he hadn't haunted me the nights after.

And what made me feel even more anxious was the fact that I had dreamed of Edward. I had to admit that he'd left quite an impression, but that didn't explain why my mind would dream up confessions of love.

I was sure that it was supposed to be a warning — that I should be on my guard. In a way, he was getting under my skin, and that meant potential danger.

However, the rational part of my mind was set on keeping the charismatic man who wanted to see me again, at bay, while my subconscious was already looking forward to our next meeting.

****POMH****

It took the scheming part of my mind until Wednesday to come up with a reason why I definitely needed to see someone at Edward's firm.

The two nights before had not been restorative, due to constant dreams featuring a certain man with beautiful green eyes and tousled bronze hair. Not only did I wake up with a lingering feeling of exhaustion, but also with a desire to feel Edward's hands on my skin.

I called Eric, the guy who was responsible for the campaign we would be shooting next week, and asked him for a meeting to go over the different subjects and scenes. He agreed to see me at eleven in the morning.

It took about an hour until we were through with planning the shooting. We'd be doing an ad campaign for a local department store. Nothing too exciting.

When we were finished, I had to think up a way to find Edward in this building where more than a hundred people were working, and even more importantly, I needed a reason to go see him. So I decided to swing by Jasper's office and try to inconspicuously interrogate him about the location of Edward's office.

It turned out that I had put way too much thought into this. As I knocked on Jasper's door, a velvety voice that spoke directly to my lady parts invited me in. Very cautiously, and with a hammering heart, I opened the door to find Edward bent over some papers on the desk. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up with a brilliant smile.

"Hello, Bella. What a surprise to see you. What brings you here?" I took three steps into the room and was met by Edward, who greeted me with a warm hug. I wasn't sure what I had expected, but certainly not that.

"Well, uhm, I had a meeting with Eric concerning the shooting that's scheduled for next week. And I figured, since I was in the neighborhood, I'd say hello to Jazz. Where is he, by the way?" I tried not to look into his eyes when he let go of me but failed miserably.

"Should I feel offended that you didn't come to see me?" His eyes were sparkling with amusement.

"I didn't know where to find you. Maybe I would have asked Jasper. But that doesn't seem to be necessary now. So, where is Jasper?" To hide my nervousness, I strolled over to the desk to take a look at the papers Edward had been occupied with.

"We were working together on something when he had to go to a meeting. Since all the paperwork and stuff is in this office, he suggested that I stay here, and thank God I did. Otherwise we wouldn't have met today." He was standing next to me now, but his eyes were on me instead of the desk.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to barge in and interrupt you. If you have to work — "

"No, no. I was about to take my lunch break, anyway. Would you care to join me? I'd be grateful for some company." His hand happened to brush over mine when he reached for his phone that was lying on the desk. Even this insignificant touch made my skin tingle in a very pleasant way.

"I'm sure Jessica would love to keep you company," I teased with the sweetest smile.

"I guess so, but I doubt the diner has a place for me to hide when, about two minutes into lunch, I can't stand her anymore. I'd much rather go with you." This time, he placed his hand on mine intentionally. Just like Saturday night, I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body at the touch of his skin.

"I think I have to get back to the studio." Suddenly, I was afraid of what his presence was doing to me. I was inexplicably drawn to him.

"Please, Bella, just lunch. It'll take an hour tops." His eyes bore into mine, and my resolve crumbled.

"Okay, I guess an hour would be all right."

He chuckled once and placing his hand on the small of my back, guided me out of the office.

****POMH****

"Turkey on whole wheat bread and a soda, please." I smiled at the waitress as I placed my order.

"For me, the tuna on rye bread and an iced tea, please. Thank you." Edward's eyes met mine as soon as the waitress turned to leave.

We had decided to go to the little diner across the street from his office building. It was nice and clean. We were sitting in a booth in a quiet corner, with a view of the whole place.

"So, how did you spend the rest of your Sunday? Did you do anything interesting?" He smiled at me as he opened the buttons of his jacket. He was wearing a dark gray suit with a light gray shirt and a green tie that perfectly matched his wonderful eyes. I had to pull my gaze away from him before I was able to answer.

"After I finished being interrogated by Alice, I did my laundry and went to bed early." I rearranged the utensils on the table to keep my hands busy.

"Interrogated? About what?" He seemed to be amused by my choice of words.

"She demanded to know what happened Saturday night. Alice is very interested when it comes to my sex life." Visibly annoyed, I rolled my eyes.

"So, what did you tell her?" he asked curiously.

I was a little embarrassed. "The truth, or part of it, at least."

"What part?" he insisted.

"About the kissing and how we happened to end up in the guest room." I was glad the waitress interrupted us, serving our drinks and sandwiches.

"And that was all she wanted to know? I thought girlfriends shared every detail of their adventures." He took a bite of his food and grinned as he chewed.

"Well, Alice used to share everything, and I mean everything, with me when she was single. You have to know, she was kind of a wild child. There was a lot to share. And I know more than I like about what's happening in her and Jasper's bedroom." I took a bite of my sandwich too.

"And you? How much do you have to share?" I couldn't help myself, but he almost sounded a bit jealous.

"Not nearly as much as she had. Sometimes I have, but mostly I don't." This was not safe ground for me to walk on. So I said the first thing that came to my mind to change the subject. "She wanted to know if you were any good." As soon as it was out, I wanted to take it back.

He swallowed before he nonchalantly asked, "Well, was I?"

"You're not really asking that, are you? I thought men only do that in stupid jokes or bad porn movies." I took another bite.

"You brought it up, and now I'm curious." He grinned.

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. "Let's say, you made me respond in ways I never have before," I whispered shyly. If it had been possible, I would have blushed even deeper.

"So, is that a good thing?" He struggled to paint a serious look on his face but couldn't quite suppress the smirk that was breaking through.

"Yes, it is. And this is the last I'm gonna say about it." To emphasize my words, I bit a big bite off my sandwich and started to chew with determination.

"Do you know how adorable you are when you blush like that?" He chuckled lowly before he ate the last bit of his lunch.

When I didn't answer, he cleared his throat before he asked, "So, was there anything else Alice wanted to know? Did you tell her any specifics?" Again, he raised his brow inquisitively.

"She wishes." I snickered quickly, while my mind started to plan my next move. I wanted to make sure that he knew I was all for repeating Saturday night, that I enjoyed his company, but that I wasn't looking for a relationship. "She asked if we would see each other again. I answered that I liked you, and that neither of us would mind having some fun together, but that she should stop planning the wedding, because that's not where this is going." I said all that in one breath to get it out without changing my mind.

"Right, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves." He took a sip of his iced tea while he seemed deep in thought. "But I want you to know that I really enjoy your company. I liked talking to you in our hideout. And of course, I liked what we did after that. I'd very much like us to be friends." His eyes held mine with a hopeful glimmer.

"I'd like that too," I replied truthfully.

It was hard to sit across the table from Edward without touching him, all the more because I knew how good his hands and lips had felt on my skin. When we were in Jasper's office, I had been a tad disappointed that Edward hadn't thrown me on the desk and taken me right there and then. I was feeling constantly aroused in his presence. But, although I would be the last one to admit it, his perfectly sculpted body wasn't the only reason. His mesmerizing personality was drawing me in as well.

We talked for a while longer until his lunch hour was up. Always the gentleman, Edward insisted on paying for everything. No matter how strongly I objected, he wouldn't let me pay.

In front of the entrance to his office building, we halted for a minute to say goodbye.

"Thanks for the meal. Once again, you should have let me pay." I looked up at him accusingly.

"Thank you for keeping me company. Believe me, it was worth the cost." He smiled radiantly before he continued. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

I had expected the question, and I'd changed my answer to it about a dozen times. I wanted to see him, have sex with him again, but I couldn't allow him to ask me out on a date. I didn't want to get into a relationship.

Although I had intended to keep my distance, I answered, "Alice and Jazz want to check out the new club downtown, and she insists on dragging me along. If you're interested, ask Jasper about the details." At least I had made clear that we would not be on a date. If he wanted to come, it would be a group thing.

"I will. I should start exploring this city now that I'm going to live here. Then I guess I'll see you Friday night." He bent down and kissed me on the cheek, maybe lingering there a moment too long to keep it casual. I was still reveling in the touch of his lips when he pulled away and whispered, "Goodbye, beautiful," before he turned and walked away.

********POMH********

A/N: So, what do you think? Alice is kind of nosy, right? But she's a real friend. And what about the lunch? That was awkward. What do you think will be happening next week? I'll give you a hint.

… "Wait until we're alone. I promise I'll coax the most exquisite noises out of you." He chuckled while his lips caressed my ear. I quivered at the prospect of what Edward would do to me. …

Sounds kind of hot, doesn't it? I hope you'll all be back next week. Until then, let me know what you think.