Note from the translator: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and Collisions belongs to Drinou, a very popular and talented French author. It is a privilege for me to translate it in English, and I hope it's a pleasure for you to read it. Thanks for all your comments, and just so you know, it gets better and better in the next chapters. Good reading.

Chapter 7: VIP party

"My boss is called Mike Newton, not Edward Cullen," I spat while opening my door.

I began to extract myself from the car.

"Thanks for the taxi ride," I added.

I put the twenty-dollar bill on the back seat before leaving the vehicle and walking away from it with a limp.

Once I settled – not without difficulty – in the library, the work I had to do cast a shadow over everything else, so I put aside what had just happened. The stack of books in front of me calmed my nervousness instantly. It would take hours to dig in all their contents, and the deadline for my presentation was coming up fast. In other words, I was in big trouble if I didn't buckled down right away. So I put Edward Cullen and his disparaging remarks in a far corner of my head and plunged in the first book before me: 'Anthropology of communication.'

What a sleeping pill!

The thud of a book falling heavily to the ground echoed through the room. I raised my head sharply and looked at my watch.

Shit!

Time was passing much too quickly for my liking. I hadn't looked up from the pile of reference books and sheets I was scribbling on for almost five hours. In short, I was late.

I hastily gathered my things and left the place. The few hours of forced rest sitting on my chair had calmed the pain to my ankle, and although it remained sensitive and slightly sore, I could move around more easily.

When I finally got home, I was left with very little time to get ready. With my nose buried in my closet, I started to feel desperate, and for good reason. I had carefully examined its contents, repeatedly, but I couldn't find one single adequate thing to wear. When Jake had said the words 'business attire required,' unfortunately my brain had forgotten to register the importance of that piece of information.

I wonder why that is!

What should I wear for that kind of event? Would a chic outfit be enough? Unless we're talking about a formal attire? If it was the case, my situation was even more desperate, for I didn't have that kind of clothes in stock. If only I had thought about it before, I could have gone shopping.

That's what happens when you fantasize too much about your boss. You forget everything else!

I sighed loudly when at last a glimmer of hope lit up my mind. My head emerged from the closet and I crossed my single room in three long strides. I grabbed my cell phone, scrolled through the numbers, and hit the speed dial button.

"Hello," a little voice chimed.

"Hi Alice, I need you," I said point blank.

One explanation later, Alice bawled me out, from her end of the line, repeating in loop how could I not think about such an important detail before accepting an invitation. And when she finally calmed down, she didn't stop to breathe, and resumed talking almost immediately, speeding up through the words so they ran together.

"Breathe, Alice! I don't understand anything you're saying."

She sighed very audibly and slowed down. "The shopping trip fifteen days ago, doesn't it ring any bell?"

I quickly mused about it but still couldn't see where she was headed.

"Uh… No," I admitted.

"Pfffft! Bella, you're infuriating when it comes to fashion. The other day, you bought the perfect little outfit for tonight without knowing it. Remember the pretty little midnight blue dress."

Ahhhh… … Huh?

"You're kidding, right? Do I have to remind you that we're in the middle of winter in New York and it's in the low thirties outside? Do you want me to die from pneumonia as a mean of revenge for my attitude? Because I'm telling you, girl, if I put this dress on, I won't make it through the night, that's for sure."

"Bella… Bella… Bella…" she said, her patience wearing thin, "do I have to tell you everything? At what time do you need to leave?"

I glanced at my watch. "In less than one hour and a half."

"Okay, it's going to be tight, but it leaves me a little time. I'm on my way!"

"What?" I exclaimed.

The only answer I got was the "beep" announcing that she had hung up.

Dirty little devilish pixie!

What did she have in mind? Far from being reassured, I'd rather want to shudder in fear at the fate she had in store for me. I should have said "fifteen minutes," it would have dissuaded her from doing anything.

Note to myself: next time, think of lying.

I quickly dialed Jake's number to tell him that I would meet him directly at the Zanzibar so as to leave me a little more time to get ready, then I entered the bathroom grumbling, making the most of my brief respite to take a quick shower and try to tame my unruly hair.

I was still struggling with my hair when my doorbell rang. I grabbed my bathrobe and left the bathroom in haste, risking an uncontrolled slip, to finally reach the door without too much damage. I swiftly opened it to let in Alice who was bending under the weight of the huge sport bag she was carrying on her shoulder.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing at the bag.

"Yes, I know, it's not much but it's all I could take in such a short notice. Frankly, you could have warned me before!"

"Not much? But what's in there?" I worried, completely ignoring her criticism because I was so freaking out to see the contents of the bag.

She dropped it and rubbed her shoulder, wincing.

"It's just the bare minimum for this kind of evening, my personal survival kit of sorts."

She began to unpack the contents of the bag and I had to lean against the wall so I wouldn't faint. What did she intend to do with half a dozen jars of cream?

Lie to her next time? No. You should rather forget to call her; it will be more effective.

"Uh… You're scaring me here, Alice," I confessed. "You know, I'm not really a huge fan of all that stuff to spread on my face… I'm a partisan of 'just a little moisture, and voilà,' if you see what I mean. For me, the bare minimum amounts to a tube of cream."

"Oh, come on, don't act like a sissy and go change. I only have forty-five minutes left to turn you into the most gorgeous girl of that party, so hurry up!"

She pointed a makeup brush on my face with a scowl.

She's scaring the shit out of me!

I did what she asked with a sigh, cursing all the saints for what she was going to put me through. I locked myself in the bathroom and hastily put on the famous little dress that was bound to make me catch a nasty cold, then I returned to the living room area. No sooner did my butt touch the edge of one of my chairs than Alice attacked me with skin cream, foundation, and other powders I had no idea what purpose they were for. When I tried to question her about it, I only got a grunt from her, followed by a very autocratic "Silence!" I then gave up any idea of protest and sank into my chair, closing and opening my eyes according to her orders.

She bustled around my face for about twenty minutes before she allowed me to breathe on my own.

"Done!" she exclaimed.

At last!

I sighed with relief and stood up.

"Stop! Don't even think about it!" she scolded as I was headed toward the large mirror of my closet. "You'll be allowed to look at yourself when you're fully ready, which is hardly the case right now."

"Alice, I've only got a few minutes left…"

"So what?" she cut me off. "You'll learn that any self-respecting woman must be desired."

Okay, she really has a problem…

"I hate to be late, Alice," I insisted.

"You should have thought of that and called me earlier! Now hurry up and put this on!" she exclaimed as she handed me a small, unidentified piece of cloth.

Scary… Totally scary!

I grasped the piece of fabric and examined it. My face suddenly turned scarlet.

"Tell me it's not what I think it is…"

"Oh come on, Bella. Don't tell me you've never seen a garter belt before. It's the ultimate accessory of seduction so go, go, go… Hurry up!"

Crazy… Completely crazy!

I looked at the thing in every possible angle. How the hell was I supposed to put it on? Yes, I had seen a garter belt before, however, I had never worn one myself… And anyway, who made her think that I wanted to seduce anyone? I was going to that party with Jake and there was nothing but friendship between us. We had tried something, once, and it hadn't worked out at all. But since we adored each other, we had just remained friends. And aside from him, I wouldn't know anyone tonight.

Unless… My brain started to wander, and a very dangerous connection came to my mind.

Edward Cullen sitting at the bar, me, entering the club wearing my little dress and my garter belt… I approach him and whisper some words to his ear while brushing my lips on his sweet skin. I sit on the stool next to him, making sure to lightly reveal what lies beneath the thin blue fabric of my dress… His hand rests on my knee, and then it slowly slips up along my thigh until reaching the top of my stockings. I moan softly. His hand continues wandering up, gently drifting to my apex before venturing to…

"Speed up, Bella!"

Shit!

Alice's ear-splitting voice suddenly brought me back to reality.

Edward Cullen… Garter belt… Hmmm…

Too dangerous! Way too dangerous to put those words in a same sentence. I shouldn't repeat the experience if I didn't want to lose my sanity.

Or you could end up combusting spontaneously; that would be another option!

I shook my head vigorously to dispel the unmentionable ideas crossing my mind and resumed my study of the garter belt, which was responsible for the rambling of my mind.

"What are you waiting for to put it on? Okay, I said that being late is a good thing when it's a matter of minutes, not when it's close to an hour. Come on, let me do it."

She grabbed the accessory and helped me put it on properly. I wobbled between peony and purple for all the duration of the process. I loved Alice to bits even though we hadn't known each other for very long; I had really learned to appreciate the wacky side of her personality, but to the extent of letting her help me put on that kind of… stuff? Fortunately, it took her just over a minute.

Just one who knows what she's doing is better than ten, who are groping, isn't it the old saying?

"And voilà!" She exclaimed. "So let's recap: outfit okay, makeup okay, hairdo okay, shoes… Ah, the shoes… Damn! Where are your shoes?"

I opened my closet for her and she became ghostly white, which made me think she was going to pass out.

"That's all you have? Those are all your pair of shoes?" she asked me, dejected.

"Uh… Yes."

"We really need to go shopping together again. You have no excuse. How can you live with only ten pair of shoes? It's inconceivable!"

She crouched to examine each pair one by one, mumbling, "This won't do… that won't do either," until she had seen them all.

"Nothing works!" she frayed. "That's the only pair of boots you have?"

I nodded slightly, and for one moment I thought she was going to thrust said boots in my mouth, she was so angry. Then she studied them more closely and her face lit up all of a sudden.

"We are saved!"

She threw my boots carelessly on the floor and sat down to remove her own. It was a beautiful pair of boots made of black leather finely crafted, rising above the knee. They seemed very comfortable despite their vertiginous heels for a clumsy girl like me. Probably a high fashion pair that was more expensive than a full month salary for a receptionist at the Cullen Corp.

"Here, put them on. They will go perfectly with your outfit," she said, handing them to me.

"That's very nice of you, Alice, but I can't wear your boots…"

"And why is that? I'm lending them to you heartily, so put them on."

"Thank you very much, but…"

"No buts! I haven't done all this last minute work to have you ruin everything for lack of stylish shoes," she said, pointing at me with her fingertip. "So now you put my boots on right away and you rush to that damn party, and tomorrow I want a highly detailed report in exchange for my loan."

She planted her boots in my hands and glared at me. I had no other choice but to obey to this tiny woman of strong character who, apparently, wouldn't hesitate to use force if I didn't comply.

Once perched on my nearly 4 inches heels, Alice handed me a small white cashmere cardigan that she had also brought, and I was ready.

Hallelujah!

At last Alice allowed me to look at myself in the mirror and oh my God! I was speechless; stunned by the result she had obtained in such a short time. I was unrecognizable. Normally so ordinary looking, I was almost finding myself pretty at the moment.

Whoa!

The dress showed off my figure, perfectly drawing my waist and hips; the slight cleavage brought out the curve of my breasts, and even the little cardigan matched wonderfully the rest of my outfit. The skirt stopped at mid-thigh, leaving just a little space to let my legs appear before Alice's boots took over.

"Bella, it's time to go now."

I quickly tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and turned to Alice. I was officially a quarter of an hour late. Jake was going to kill me! I swiftly put on the coat Alice advised me to wear to go with my outfit and we left my apartment together. Alice went her way and I started looking for a cab. Lucky for me, the first one that I hailed was vacant, sparing me a long wait.

No sooner had I sat in the back of the vehicle that my mind began to wander.

Taxi… Back seat… Edward… Hmmm…

My brain really had a problem with dangerous connections tonight. In true Bella-fashion, I mentally slapped myself and sighed, sweeping away the pictures of this diabolic Apollo's perfect body, naked, sweaty, taking me savagely on the leather of…

Ahhh!

And up to two! I really needed to calm myself. The proximity of that man was playing bad tricks to my brain.

Two mental slaps in less than a minute, congrats, what a nice record!

I put my fantasies aside and gave my destination to the driver. I watched the avenues passing by absentmindedly, my thoughts wandering off again toward what happened earlier during the day. Try as I might, I couldn't chase Edward Cullen away from my mind. Each time I thought I was out of the woods, he was reappearing in my life and I couldn't help but immediately plunging back in that kind of uncontrollable attraction I had for him.

Or should I say for his body because him, he's just a first class bastard. But what a chest… What a nice ass… And what a…

Third mental slap, and a violent one at that!

Ouchhh!

I was an utterly lost cause! Not even able to hold for five minutes without imagining him naked… Pathetic!

Eventually the taxi stopped in front of the Zanzibar where Jake was pacing while waiting for me. I briskly got out of the cab to meet him. First he glared at me, but then he paused for a moment and gazed at me from head to toe. I felt the blush rising to my cheeks at his reaction.

"Wow, Bells, you're… Gorgeous!"

Return of the peony…

"Uh… Thanks, Jake," I stammered.

"I was going to give you a row, but if this is the reason why you're late, I forgive you."

Shit, Alice was right about being late and guys…

"Come, let's get inside," he said, putting his arm under mine.

The club was already jam-packed and the evening was in full swing. We laid our coats in the cloakroom and stepped into the crowded room. I was about to head toward the bar when Jake prevented me from doing so by pulling my arm.

"I know that you feel the call of the margaritas, but we're going to another room tonight."

I punched him in the shoulder and he giggled.

"What? You wouldn't be angry if it weren't the truth."

"There's another room here?" I evaded.

"Yes. Don't you remember: VIP party? The main room is open to everyone, but for us the party is in the VIP area tonight. How cool is that?"

"Pretty cool, I suppose," I said, not knowing what exactly a VIP party was.

I let him lead the way, slaloming through the dense crowd in front of us until we reached a large door in the back that I hadn't noticed when I first came here. A very tall and large man immediately blocked the way, demanding to see some IDs. I was already beginning to retreat, sure that we were going to be denied access to the VIP section, when Jake gave our names to the bouncer. The man ran through his list then motioned for us to enter. I couldn't believe it.

Little Jake can be effective when the going gets tough!

At last we entered the famous VIP zone. The atmosphere was totally different here. The jazzy side of the first room had given way to a more tribal note, in perfect harmony with the exotic African setting of the place. I let my eyes discover the show playing in front of me. Everything was… wow! Some kinds of private boxes occupied the sides of the room, and at the back, exotic dancers were performing a frenzied and very… hmm… hot choreography to the beat of the music.

Uh, it's getting hot here, isn't it?

I was truly in another world.

My eyes were wide opened as I let Jake guide me, scanning every detail of the stylish surroundings. The farther we walked through the maze of bodies in front of us, the more suffocating the atmosphere became.

"Did you guess the theme of the party?" Jake asked, leaning toward me.

Uh… orgy?

"Not really," I replied.

"Wild savannah."

Yep, I was right when I said 'orgy' to myself…

"Well… it's very… uh… hot, in any case."

"And it's only the beginning of the night!" he laughed.

Great! This looks very promising.

We finally found a little unoccupied table on one of the sides and we sat down. The least I could say is that I really wasn't at ease in this place.

I need alcohol, and fast!

"Sit back and relax, I'm going to get you something to drink. Margarita?"

Jake, my savior!

"Uh, no, I'll have a mojito tonight."

"Okie dokie. I'll be right back."

No sooner had he left the table than a guy out of nowhere sat next to me.

"Good evening. Eric Yorkie," he said, stretching out his hand to me.

I quickly shook it while introducing myself as well. I hoped with all my heart that Jake would be fast to return and rescue me. I wasn't very warm to the idea of someone flirting with me in that kind of place.

"I haven't seen you around here. Newcomer?"

Help me!

"You could say that."

"Anyway, you're very pretty. Will you dance with me?" he asked, showing me the dance floor in front of us.

Dancing? Uh, I'd rather call it rubbing, if you ask me.

"Definitely not. Thank you."

Luckily, Jake came back with our drinks, scaring away the limpet Casanova guy sitting next to me.

"Well, Bella, if you change your mind, I'll be around," he added as he left our table.

Brrr… How horrible! A drink, quick!

"An admirer?" Jake teased me while sitting at the table.

I almost snatched the glass he was handing me. I replied with a grunt and drank my long awaited mojito.

Hmm… Rum, mint… happiness!

"Slow down, Bells. At this rate, I'll be taking you home in an hour," he laughed.

"Sorry, but I'm really not comfortable. Why did you bring me here anyway?"

"Oh relax, it's just a night like any other. I thought this would help you take your mind off things."

He pouted and dove into his drink.

"Okay…" I sighed. "So I assume that you made use of your trek to the bar to 'go hunting.' Did you find a tempting prey?" I asked jokingly.

"Isabella Mary Swan, I'm shocked! How dare you use that kind of language?" he asked with a falsely outraged expression.

We both burst into laughter. He was right, my mind was cleared and I was feeling much better.

"And the answer is yes. I met the gaze of a gorgeous girl," he added.

"What are you still doing here, then? Go for the prey, Don Juan."

"I wouldn't want you to be all by yourself. Besides, your admirer might return with even greater zeal," he teased.

I punched his shoulder again.

"That's not funny," I giggled with him. "Come on, you can go, and don't worry about me. I'm a big girl and I can defend myself. And in the worst case, Alice's boots are sharp enough to serve as a weapon. I aim the right spot and off goes my admirer!"

Jacob's eyes widened and I saw him becoming paler by the second.

"You're utterly dangerous, you know that! All right, I'll make a little trip, but I'll be back in no time."

He got up just as a server was coming up to us.

Hmmm, this gentleman is cute. Shall we drink? ...

He placed a champagne bucket and two champagne flutes on our table. I looked questioningly at Jake who shrugged, and as I was going to ask the waiter what he was doing, he spoke.

"From one of our clients. He asked me to tell you, and I quote, 'It's on the house.'"

My heart skipped a beat.

Fucking shit!

The waiter opened the bottle of champagne while I turned to scan every face in the room. It couldn't be him. No, it wasn't possible!

And yet it was indeed his emerald gaze that I met a little farther near the bar. He stared at me for a moment, and then he turned his eyes toward a redhead who was whispering in his ear all the while clinging to him.

Of course next chapter will be focused on Bella and Edward, and I will do my best to update soon, but RL is really being a b**** with me right now. Seriously.

Don't get too harsh on me, and be kind, review :0)

Huge thanks to my beta Lizzard43 for her precious help.

Until next time.

Milk