Chapter 11 – Mr. April (cont'd)

Bella opened her eyes and waited for her surroundings to come into focus. She was lying on a hard, cold surface and bright spotlights were glaring down on her. Judging by the feeling of cool air on her skin, she was also naked. A marching band seemed to be having a party in her head.

Oh crap, it had finally happened. She'd been abducted by aliens.

"Bella? Bella, are you okay?" A bronzed Adonis loomed over her.

Seriously cute aliens.

She tried to sit up, wincing in pain as she did so. Dizzy, she nearly fell back down again. The sexy naked alien reached out to support her. Memories flooded into her head just as the blood rushed out of it. Paul. The shower. The almost-orgasm. The fall. Fuck my life.

"What- what happened?" she asked, even though she had a fairly good idea.

"You slipped in the shower and hit your head pretty badly. It knocked you out cold. Do you want me to take you to a hospital?"

"No! No, I'll be fine," said Bella, hastily. The nearest hospital was where Carlisle worked. She could really do without that awkward conversation. So, Bella, how exactly did you hit your head? "Thanks Paul, I'll be all right. Maybe you could help me pack up and call me a cab, though?"

"Sure, no problem." As Paul helped her get up and wrap herself in a towel, Bella couldn't help notice the accident had done nothing to dampen Paul's arousal. A wicked thought flashed across her mind. Could they carry on where they'd left off? She brushed the idea away. Jeez woman, you could have a serious concussion here!

Bella slowly and carefully dried herself off and pulled on her panties and jeans. Her wet t-shirt was a write-off, so she threw it into a bag and pulled on her hoodie instead. Paul had donned a pair of white Calvin Kleins to help Bella pack up her equipment. She silently enjoyed watching him work, as she held some ice wrapped in a face cloth against her throbbing head. At least I get this as a consolation prize, she thought.

Once everything was packed up and both were fully dressed, Paul escorted Bella out of the hotel to her waiting taxi. To her surprise, he gave her a lingering goodbye kiss on the lips, not as brutal and passionate as earlier, but still sexy and with a hint of promise. "I hope we can work together again some time," he whispered in her ear.

Bella sighed contentedly as she sat back into the leather seats of the cab and looked out at the heavy rain pelting against the window. Yes, she'd abruptly ended their steamy make-out session by being a total klutz. Yes, her head felt like the cast of Riverdance were living inside it. And yes, she had completely forgotten to give Paul her number. But she'd still managed to seduce him all by herself. No insider knowledge from Rosalie. No miracle makeover from Alice. Just Bella. She smiled, pleased with herself. Maybe life without Mike wasn't going to be so bad after all.

She rested her head against the car window and closed her eyes. She could feel the rhythmic patter of the rain lulling her to sleep. Wait, no! She needed to stay awake. She might have concussion. She didn't know why, but she knew that the one thing you shouldn't do after being concussed was fall asleep.

Bella let her mind wander back to earlier that day, to the feel of Paul's taut muscles, his hard kisses, his teasing fingers… That would keep her awake.

oOo

As the cab pulled up outside her apartment building, Bella noticed a bedraggled looking figure in a baseball cap huddled under the porch, trying unsuccessfully to shelter from the rain. No, it couldn't be…

She saw the figure take off his glasses, pull out the hem of his t-shirt from under his jacket and attempt to dry them. In doing so, he nearly dropped the big leather-bound folder he was clutching to his chest. It was. Edward. What was he doing here?

Bella quickly paid the taxi driver and ran over to the porch with her hood up, fumbling for her keys in her bag. She'd been wet enough for one day.

"Edward, hey," she said, as she unlocked the door. "Come on in." They bundled into the dry warmth of the apartment hallway and shook themselves off like a pair of dogs, laughing as they did so. "What are you doing here?" Bella asked.

"Waiting for you. Weren't we supposed to be shooting Mr. April today?" Edward removed his glasses again, which were now fogging up. Once again Bella was struck by the flecks of gold in his eyes.

"Yeah, didn't you get the message from Rosalie? The shoot was at the Midnight Sun Hotel." Edward just shook his head and looked confused. Bella was puzzled. She'd specifically asked Alice to ask Rose to give Edward directions. Maybe this would teach her for giving Rosalie the silent treatment. Earlier, Bella had been pleased when Edward didn't turn up. But now seeing the poor guy soaked to the skin, she felt really bad for him. "Wait, Edward, have you been waiting out here the whole time?"

"Er, pretty much. I went to get a coffee at some point. But I was worried you might turn up late and be mad at me if I wasn't there. Maybe even fire me. I would have called you but I don't have your number. I tried phoning Rosalie a bunch of times but she didn't pick up. Sorry." He smiled and shrugged. Bella felt awful. Did he really think she was that much of a bitch?

"No, Edward, I'm the one who should be apologising. I'm really sorry. I know how much this internship means to you and I wouldn't kick you off the project for no good reason. To be honest, when you didn't show up today, I thought you were probably just embarrassed about the other night at Spartans." Bella could feel herself grinning at the memory. She had been so pissed at Edward for ripping her dress, but she was starting to see the funny side, especially when she remembered Edward's awful singing.

"Oh god," Edward cringed, covering his face with his hands. "I'm never going to live this down, am I? Leah's been mercilessly reminding me of it at every opportunity. It's all her fault, anyway. She was the one making me do Jaeger bombs before you guys showed up. Honestly, that girl is hardcore. It barely touches the sides with her. But me? I'm such a lightweight! And I'm so, so sorry again about your dress, really. Can we just agree to forget the whole incident ever happened? Please?" He put his hands together in mock prayer and looked at Bella with puppy dog eyes. She laughed.

"Okay, on one condition. I'll forget you ever drunkenly murdered a Bonnie Tyler classic in front of a whole bar, if you forget you ever saw me flash my little white butt to the world."

He paused, as if considering her offer. "Sorry Bella, I don't think I'm gonna forget that sight in a hurry. Deal's off."

"Pervert." She playfully punched him in the arm. "Oh my god, Edward, you're drenched! Come on up and I'll make us some coffee."

"Oh wow. Bella Swan just invited me back to her place for 'coffee.'" He tried to suppress a smile as his fingers formed two air-quotes. "I am so in there."

"Edward, I may have started being nice to you, but don't push your luck," Bella jokingly scolded. She hated to admit it, but she kind of liked this new flirty side to her assistant.

A/N: Hmm, Edward in Bella's apartment, eh? This should be interesting... Reviews will get teasers for the next chapter. Thanks for reading!