Chapter 14

Last days of Summer

BPOV

The last few weeks have been crazy.

Alice and I got to finally use our Christmas gift, we went to Paris, it was beautiful and we had a blast, bought lots of great clothes and met lots of cute guys, neither of us wanted to come home.

We had a going away party for the college kids, Emmett and Rose were so happy and Jasper proposed to Alice that night, saying he didn't want to mess around with promise rings, he wanted the world to know that Alice Cullen was his fiancé.

Alice was very happy and couldn't wait until everyone at school knew she was engaged.

That thought scared the shit out of me, that could have been me and Edward. I knew that I wouldn't be happy if that were me, I couldn't be engaged at 17...And married by the time I was 21 or 22. I had to many dreams and accomplishments I needed to fulfill.

Everyone left that weekend, Dad, Jasper and Alice went to Seattle to help Jasper settle in and Rose, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme drove to UCLA, to help those 2 set up, in the townhouse they'd bought for them.

I was home cleaning and getting things ready for school on Monday, when my phone rang, it was James.

"Hey, what's up beautiful?" he asked, causing me to blush.

"Um, just cleaning, my brothers left for college, so I needed to defunk the house." I giggled.

"So, would dinner and dancing or a movie sound like fun tonight? You are still officially single, right?" James asked.

"Yep, still single and staying that way." I said proudly.

"Ouch, that hurts Bella." James joked.

"7p.m. sound good?" I asked.

"Sounds great, dress in jeans and a cute shirt, nice shoes, nothing fancy." he said.

"O.K., see you then." I hung up and was smiling.

I finished stripping all the beds and cleaning the boys rooms, jumped in the shower is was now 5.

As I got out of the shower, there was a banging in the door.

I threw on my robe and ran down stairs.

I opened the door to see Edward standing there.

"What?" I asked.

"I needed to see you, I can't stop thinking of you. I'm so sorry for our last conversation, I would never tell anyone that I slept with you and used you, I was just seriously upset that you want to stay single, I still am, but I will respect your wished and try and give you space, but I need one thing from you Bells. I need to know that we're still O.K., as friends and that we can still hang out, it's just the 3 of us and I know it'll be hard at first, but I still want to be your friend and earn back your trust." he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

I sighed and replied "Edward, we can still be friends and hang out, on 1 very important condition!

When we go out, we're friends, no jealousy, boyfriend things, O.K. STRICTLY friends!!!"

"O.K." he held out his hand to shake.

"O.K., well, I have to get ready, I'm having dinner with another friend." I replied and waited for his reaction. I saw him swallow and give a smile, only meant to appease me, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Have a nice time Bella, can I call you tomorrow?" he asked.

I shook my head yes and kissed him on the cheek, telling him goodnight.

I felt relief after that and ran upstairs to finish getting ready and to call Alice.

Alice squealed when I told her all that had happened.

She told me to wear my skinny black jeans, my silver halter top and silver flats.

I kissed the phone and told her I loved her and I'd see her tomorrow night.

I finished getting ready, a little mascara and strawberry lip-gloss, my silver and black choker to go with my outfit and some silver bangles, I left my hair down in soft curls, since the back of my shirt was open.

I stood in front of my mirror and sent a picture to Alice, asking if it looked O.K.

She text back quickly with a thumbs up and said Jasper approved too.

I went downstairs to wait for James, about 10 minutes later he showed.

I grabbed my handbag and locked the door.

"WOW! You look fantastic!" he replied.

"Thank you." I blushed and he ran his finger over my cheek.

"I've missed doing that, I love your blush." he smiled.

We drove to Port Angeles and he asked if I liked Sushi, I replied yes, so he took me to this new Sushi bar that opened, it was really crowded, but he managed to get us a cozy table.

We sat and talked and ate for at least 2 hours, then he asked if I was up for dancing or a movie.

I said dancing, I didn't feel like sitting any longer.

He smiled and we headed for a little club on the outskirts of Port Angeles.

He valet his truck and placed his hand on the small of my back to lead me inside, he led me to the VIP section, telling me his good friend was the manager and they had a standing table. When we arrived at the table, I noticed Felix and Dmitri sitting there as well, they smiled and asked where my friends were. I told them about the craziness after our meeting and they shrugged it off and mumbled about being too high maintenance anyways. I laughed at that and agreed.

James led me to the dance floor and man can he move, he was bumping and grinding with me all night and we laughed and had a really great time.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom and he told me to meet him in the VIP section.

I waited in the ladies room line and when I was finished, I came out and ran into an extremely tall man.

I felt his hands on my shoulder and then heard my name.

"Bella?" the voice asked.

I looked up and it was Jacob Black.

"Hey, Jake, how've you been?" I smiled an gave him a hug.

"Great, you?" he asked.

"Good, I'm here with some friends, do I've gotta get back, but call me and we can hang out or something." I smiled at him.

The smile I got in return, blew me away, I almost stumbled it was so glorious.

I made my way back to the VIP section and asked James if we could go, I was beat from cleaning all day and had another busy day tomorrow.

He agreed and took me home.

We were standing at my front door and he leaned down to kiss me.

It was a soft gentle kiss.

"Night, Bella, talk to you soon." he smiled and kissed my cheek, I blushed and he ran his finger along my blush before walking away.

I text Alice about tonight and told her I would just see her tomorrow night, for our annual back to school sleepover, that we held at her house, every year, except it'd only be us 2, no Rose this year.

I changed into my sweats and an old t-shirt and climbed into bed, sleeping like the dead for once.

EPOV

I couldn't wait until tonight!

I knew Bella was coming over for their annual sleepover, but I was just going to be happy about being around her right now.

Alice came bouncing in at 10 this morning and looked like she's drank a case of Red Bull!

I smiled at her and asked how Jasper was.

She informed me they both cried, a lot, and if I ever repeated that, she'd beat the shit out of me.

I hugged Alice and told her this year was going to fly by.

Around 5p.m., there was a knock at the door, Alice was on the phone with Jasper, so I flew down the stairs to see who it was.

I opened the door and there was Bella, I smiled so big, I thought my face might break.

"Hi Edward" she said, entering and kissing my cheek.

"Hi Bella, how've you been?" I asked.

"Ready for school to start, I can't wait for this year to finish, I want to go to college and get on with my life." she smiled as she looked out onto the setting sun.

"Where are you planning on applying for college at?" I asked.

"Well, mom and Phil want me to come to Florida and attend on there, but that's too far away from my friends. Charlie wants me to go with Jasper and then he, Alice and I can room together in a house, what he really means is 'keep an eye on those 2' and I really would like to go to UCLA, they have a great journalism program and Rose says it's beautiful there. I'd live in a dorm though, I couldn't live with them 2, they're too noisy." she giggled. "What about you?" she asked.

'Um, probably Dartmouth. They've got a great medical program and I can take accelerated courses, so I can graduate early and come back here to do my internship, be a doctor in about 6 years, instead of 8. That would be sweet." I replied.

We talked on the couch for about an hour, before Alice finally came down, eyes all red and puffy.

"Talking Jasper again, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, I miss him a lot!" she cried.

Bella took her in her arms and told her everything was going to be fine and the year was going to fly by and we'd be going there to visit every other weekend and he's be here the opposite weekends.

She smiled at that and dragged Bella upstairs.

They emerged for dinner, Bella wearing a blue tank top and short shorts, hair in a pony tail, she looked fantastic.

"Bella dear, your dad said he has to go away in 2 weeks and would like you to stay with us while he's gone. He said he'll be away fro at least 10 days." Esme smiled.

"Thank you Esme, I don't want to be any trouble, I can stay at home, I'm almost 18." she smiled

"No problem at all dear, you'll stay here and we'll know you're safe.' Esme smiled.

"Thanks Esme." Bella smiled and got up to hug her.

We made small talk over dinner and then Bella and Alice disappeared again into Alice's room.

I went to my piano and played for a while, only stopping when I felt eyes on me.

"That was beautiful" she smiled.

"Oh, um, it's a work in progress." I smiled.

We talked for a little while longer and she said she was sleepy.

I walked her back to Alice's room and kissed her goodnight on the forehead, I heard her breath catch, but I turned and walked away, remembering what she said.

I retreated to my piano room and continued to work on my current composition.

A/N:

Next chapter gets better…

School starts, things heat up with another, jealousy…

It'll be great!!!

Read and Review…

**I do not own Twilight**