Let me start off by saying thank you to everyone who voted for Coffee Girl on The Lemonade Stand's FOTW poll. Your love and support means the world to me. I don't know where we rank right now because I haven't looked since Wednesday.

Thank you to all the reviewers, I know I've said thank you in my replies, but the sweet words and love you've all shown me are truly the best gift. I haven't gotten a chance to reply to the ones from Tuesdays update yet but I will. Figured you would all rather read this instead of those. ;)

As always, a huge thank you goes out to my Coffee Girl team, because without them the errors would be plentiful. Love you Brie, Kitchmill, Jen, Kelly, and Kim.

Today you get to meet Ryan Stiles aka the tall and hilarious guy from The Drew Carey Show and Who's Line? He really is that funny and quick thinking in real life. He always got a triple venti latte and he was always really nice.

Yes, I worked at both Starbucks and the CB&TL. If you ask me who has better coffee I will say CB&TL hands down. I loved their powders, especially the white chocolate one.

Chapter Seven

The loud shriek from my mother made me jump in surprise, and I slipped. My legs shot out from under me, and I landed on the hardwood floor on my ass.

"How was your date, darling? Isn't he as wonderful as I always said he was?" She yammered on and on about Edward without ever asking if I was okay.

"I'm fine, Mom. Thanks for asking." She huffed at my lack of response to her questions, but did help me up.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me anything?" She was nothing if not persistent.

"We had a great time."

"That's all you're going to give me!" Yes.

"What do you want to know? I have to be up in less than six hours for work."

"Where did he take you? Will you be going out again? How did you meet?" She rambled off the questions so fast that I couldn't even keep up. They just never stopped and I was falling asleep on the couch as she talked. "Isabella!"

"What, what, what?!"

"I swear, you're utterly useless when it comes to gossip. It's a wonder how you're even my daughter, what with your ability to keep things to yourself."

I wanted to roll my eyes at her theatrics. "Mother, it was wonderful, he was wonderful. He leaves for work on Monday, so I won't be seeing him anytime soon."

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "His movie with David Copperfield. I can't wait for it to come out."

"David Copperfield? The illusionist? I think you're mixing him up with someone else." She was completely clueless sometimes, but I loved her.

"Whatever, Bella. Anyway, did he ask you out again?" Whatever? Anyway? How old is she trying to act? I wondered.

I gave into her demands because I knew it was the only way I would actually make it to bed sometime before midnight. "No, he didn't ask me out per se, but he did invite me to the set once he's back in town for filming here."

The screech she let out at that comment was enough to wake all the dogs in the neighborhood. I could hear their barking through the closed windows. "Oh my God!"

"Would you please keep it down? You really need to master control over your inside voice." She made me wonder which one of us was the parent and the child sometimes.

"You have to get pictures and autographs for me! I'm so jealous. Please can I tell my friends?!"

"No!" I shouted, completely appalled by the idea of her talking about me on such a huge forum. "Just no. What if things don't work out? Do you want your friends calling you a liar?"

"Ugh...fine."

"Now I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." I got up and walked away before she could continue her badgering.

I closed the door immediately after I was in my room and got ready for bed. Sleep couldn't come soon enough. I was out like a light before my head even settled on my pillow, and I dreamed of Edward and the future all night.

~o~o~o~

The next week passed in a flurry of reviews and studying for midterms. I was overwhelmed with everything and missing the heck out of Edward.

We had been texting and chatting whenever we could between his time on the set and mine at work and school.

Good morning, sweetheart. I wish I had one of your coffees right now. They don't know about your secret ingredient here. xx E

He had been teasing me about my coffee making skills relentlessly since he left. I knew it was all in jest, so I didn't mind.

Hiya, handsome. Kiss your sister today? My coffee is delish. *takes sip* Yum! xx CG

I could tease just as well as he could.

Grrr. Not nice. It was awkward as hell like always. I just pretended she was you so I could get it over with.

xx E

Eww.

I don't know if I should be repulsed or flattered. xx CG

His response was quick.

Flattered. Your kisses are amazing. Even after just one I know I'll never get enough of them. xx E

His sweet words inspired me, so I took a picture of myself puckering up for a kiss and attached to my next reply.

Sending you kisses then. I've gotta go, my break is almost over. I have to make coffee for all the other admirers I have. xx CG

Just as I was slipping my phone back into my pocket, it buzzed with another message.

Isabella! Stop teasing me when I can't do anything about it! Have a good rest of your shift. I'll talk to you tonight. xx E

I couldn't help but laugh at him. He was too easy and adorable. The picture of his sad face he sent with that last message was too cute for words. I couldn't wait to talk to him again.

The rest of my work day flew by and I was soon off to class for my final midterm of the week. I couldn't wait to catch up on some sleep after all of my late night study sessions.

I hated my business law class with a passion. What I hated more was that it was a requirement for my major. I understood why it was necessary but I planned on hiring a manager once I got my foot in the door with the Songwriters Guild of America as a published writer. The SGA had offices in Nashville, New York, and here in Los Angeles. I had a gold membership with them already, but I wanted to qualify for the diamond membership. I knew I would eventually get there, but school was what was important right now for reaching that goal.

When I was finished with the test, I went straight to Cupid's Hot Dogs. It was located just across the street from the university and a perfect way to reward myself for making it through my week. Their chili dogs were the best, better than Pink's Hot Dogs in my opinion.

After three of those delicious dogs my tummy was full, I headed back home to begin researching my internship options. I needed to have that sorted before the spring semester began or I wouldn't be graduating in May.

As I was making a list of all the record labels that were located in Los Angeles to which I could apply, my phone rang.

It was Edward.

"Hello, Eddie."

"Hi, beautiful. How was the rest of your day?" He sounded tired—more tired than I was.

"Good. I'm glad to be done with midterms. I'm actually researching record labels right now." I was still writing while talking to him. I was a girl who could multitask...for the most part, usually.

"Really? What for?"

"I need an internship in order to graduate. I'll have to cut back on my hours at the coffeehouse but this is what I want to do. I need to learn everything I can while I can."

It sounded like he was flipping through papers or maybe his script while I was talking. "Have you narrowed it down yet?" he asked, and I wondered why. My spidey senses were tingling.

"No, I just started looking."

"Okay. Well, when you do, let me know. I'll have Jasper contact the labels and get you the interviews."

The fuck?

"I don't want your help." The sharp intake of air on the other end of the phone told me that came out badly. "I didn't mean it like that." I sighed. "I want to earn the position on my own. I don't want it handed to me because of who I may or may not be dating."

"Bella," he mused. "I would only be helping you get the interview. You would have to sell yourself once you were in there. They wouldn't hire you unless you were qualified to work there."

Could I trust he was telling the truth? Would it be fair of me to use our budding relationship to advance my own career?

No, I knew I couldn't do that to us. I had to keep my career and personal life separate if I wanted them both to be a success.

"Could I think about it?" I didn't want to tell him no right up front.

He probably knew my answer, but decided to ignore my blatant lie. "That's fine."

The rest of our conversation that evening was stifled and we ended up saying goodnight way earlier than we usually did.

Sleep didn't come easily, and I was restless once it did...was our relationship ending before it even had a chance to begin?

~o~o~o~

The distance between Edward and I kept growing as the next week passed. Text messages were shorter and in less frequency, not to mention our conversations had all but stopped.

I was barely functioning. I hated that I had caused this rift between us all because of my pride. My parents could tell something had happen; even Mom had stopped her constant play-by-play of Edward's work schedule based on the paparazzi photos that had appeared daily since they started filming.

It sucked.

So imagine my surprise when Esme showed up at the coffeehouse shortly after we opened on the Saturday before Edward was due to arrive home from Canada.

"Hi, Esme. Would you like a café au lait?" While I was happy to see her, I was sure my smile looked more like a grimace.

She stared at me for a long moment before she accepted my offer. "For here, please." I nodded.

"Anything else?"

"A cinnamon roll." She looked at the cream cheese covered sweet with pure ecstasy on her face. "I shouldn't, but it looks so good."

I couldn't help but laugh. She had a way about her that made me relax, like a girlfriend you could tell all of your deep, dark secrets to; the one who would never judge you. She would only offer her opinion and advice to help you figure things out on your own.

"It'll be right up." She nodded in response.

When I handed her the coffee and cinnamon roll, she spoke again. "Do you think when you take your break you could join me for a bit?"

"Of course." While I agreed, it did nothing to quell the bumblebees buzzing in my belly. I wondered if I would make it through our conversation without throwing up.

It wasn't long before I was able to take my fifteen minute break. Esme was seated in one of our plush chairs. They were really comfortable and my favorite place to curl up with a book when the time allowed.

"I brought you another coffee, decaf, just in case."

"Thank you, dear."

I fiddled with the stir stick I had in my own cup, unable to actually look her in the eye. My mind was running through a thousand different scenarios as to why she was here. They were moving as fast as the bees in my stomach were. I was beginning to really believe she was here to tell me Edward never wanted to speak to me again. So imagine the shock that rushed through me when she said, "My son can really be an idiot sometimes."

Mama say what?

I must have looked like a fool because she started to laugh. "Oh, dear. I should explain a few things about Edward…"

Esme went on to tell me Edward was the type of person who lived to make the lives of the people he cared about easier. He had never meant to offend me or even suggest that I wasn't capable of getting a job on my own; he just wanted to make it easier for me.

I was a jackass for not seeing his offer for what it was. He really was a sweet man, and I owed him one hell of an apology.

After I thanked Esme and she left, I went back to work, watching the clock and praying it would move faster.

The second I clocked out, I rushed out to my car and made the call I had wanted to from the moment Esme explained everything to me.

"Edward, I'm so sorry..."

I know, I know…I said fluff, but even Eddie and Coffee Girl have bad days. No one can be perfect all the time, so don't hate me. Besides, it's not like I drew it out!

xx Dee