Disclaimer: I do not own the Twlight Saga.

A/N: I'm so sorry for not posting. I've been in a bit of a rut. But here it is, chapter 6.

Now: Bella

This is not my bed.

That was the first thing I thought. Sunlight filtered through the window, illuminating the whole room. I rubbed my eyes as I looked around the room.

Oh god. Last night. Him lounging on the couch. Shirtless. My mouth went dry as I recalled how he looked sitting there. His abs on full display, his hair falling on his forehead. He'd only gotten more handsome with age. His voice coupled with those intense green eyes fixed and it was all I could do before I swooned like a schoolgirl or worse kissed him.

Half an hour later, I got out of the shower, dressed and ready to make up my room. I headed to the kitchen for breakfast and saw Edward sitting on the kitchen island, eating a sandwich and checking his phone.

I quietly murmured a good morning, taking a seat in front of him.

Edward looked up and smiled. His hair was wet. A few water droplets dripped from the ends of his hair, sliding along the sides of his face. "I got you blueberry muffins and some coffee."

I smiled at him thankfully as I unwrapped the muffins.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

I looked up to see Edward putting his phone away and focusing on me. I nodded shyly.

"I hope it's not too much of a hassle that I'm staying here."

He looked at me sternly. "Didn't I already say you were welcome here?"

"You did…" I said, hesitatingly. When he continued to look at me, I added, "but it's different now that I'm living here, isn't it?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "We've been over this. You are to stay here until you finish your last year and find your own place."

"Okay, okay!" I raised my hands defensively.

Edward nodded. "Good." He said approvingly. "Now that that's done, do you wanna start with the kitchen first or the bedroom?"

All I could think of was what we would do in the kitchen or the bedroom. Together. My eyes trailed to his neck, his collarbones were peeking from the neck of his t-shirt. I watched as a drop of water slid in between his collarbones and disappeared behind his shirt.

I swallowed convulsively and brought my eyes back to his face. He stared at me curiously. Get your mind out of the gutter, Bella. I cleared my throat. "You don't have to help me. I can manage."

"But I want to." He said earnestly.

"It's okay. Besides, don't you have lawyer-y things to do?"

"Lawyer-y things?"

I blushed. "You know what I mean. Don't put off your work to help me."

Edward stared at me. I stared back at him. Enough to let him know I was serious. "Alright. Call me when you need help though."

I nodded. "I will." I wouldn't.

Done eating my muffins, I got up to throw the wrapper in the trash can and headed to my bedroom with the coffee cup. I looked back at him. "So, about the rent-"

"You are not paying me rent, Isabella." I grimaced at his use of my full name.

I hurried to assure him. "No, no. Not the rent. Well it's related to it." I rambled while he looked at me stoically. I continued, "Let me at least help you around the house. I don't wanna feel like I'm taking advantage of you." Edward opened his mouth, no doubt to correct my assumption, but I pushed through. "I can cook for you. Vacuum the floors, take out the trash."

He was quiet as he considered my offer. He looked at me pensively. Avoiding his eyes, I looked around me, pretending to be interested in the apartment furnishings.

"Fine."

I looked at him. He had a small smile on his face.

I smiled in return. "So we have a deal then?"

"Yes. You can make breakfast and dinner on the weekdays. Vacuum the floors every other day. I'll take out the trash and do the dishes. Also, I'll cook on the weekends."

He put up his hand. "I'm not negotiating this, Bella. You're not a servant here. You're my friend. Besides, dish and trash duty are guy jobs you know. Dad always did those back home."

I smiled at that. I remembered on many occasions when I was over at his place with Alice, I would often see his parents doing the dishes together.

"Okay then." I agreed without a fight. "I'll get to setting up my room. You won't mind if I do the kitchen later right?" I bit my lip nervously.

Edward chuckled. "Of course not. Like I said, this is now your place too."

I smiled at him and headed to my room.

"Bella! Lunch is ready." Edward hollered just as my stomach growled.

I set my textbooks on the table and headed out the room, pausing only to wash my hands and face. The kitchen island was set for lunch. Two shallow bowls on either side of the island, a fork and a glass of water beside each bowl. A saucepan was placed in the center of the island. As I neared the island, I groaned at the aroma of spices wafting from the pan.

Edward looked over his shoulder and smiled. He was standing in front of the refrigerator, grabbing what I assumed was a bottle of wine among the many bottles of beer I could see from here.

My guess was confirmed when he turned and came to take a seat at the island.

"I have some red wine if you'd like." He said, turning around the bottle so I could see the label.

"Daytime drinking?" I raised an eyebrow. Edward simply shrugged. It was the weekend after all . One glass of wine wouldn't hurt. "Sure. Where are the glasses?"

"They should be in the cabinet in front of you."

I passed one to Edward and placed mine beside the bowl while he poured the wine into our glasses.

I thanked him quietly as I placed my glass back down after taking a sip. Man, I would never get used to drinking wine.

Edward laughed, seeing the expression on my face. "Still haven't gotten used to alcohol?"

I scrunched my nose. "I like beer just fine. Wine is totally different. Smells weird too."

Edward smiled and gestured to the saucepan. "I made pasta. There's not a lot of stuff at home." He said apologetically.

I deserved an Oscar for not swooning hard over the fact that Edward had cooked me a meal. I tried to school my way of expression to look like appreciation instead of a rabid lioness who wanted to jump him.

I waved it off. "No worries. This is a nice break after constantly eating instant noodles and take out."

"Here, why don't I serve you some." Edward got up, bringing the saucepan closer and scooping some pasta onto my bowl. He did the same for himself before setting the saucepan where it was before.

I twirled some pasta around and took a bite. "This tastes so good!" I couldn't contain my moans as I savored the taste.

My smile dropped as I looked at Edward. Jaw clenched and a look in his eyes I didn't recognize, he stared at me silently.

I put down my fork. "Edward, is everything fine?"

He jerked, getting out of his trance. He looked at me surprised. "Yeah. I'm good. Glad you like lunch."

He picked up his fork and took a bite. The rest of the lunch passed in between us taking second servings, chatting a bit about my classes and other stuff.

"You mentioned not having a lot of stuff at home earlier." I began after taking a sip of my wine.

Edward frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Before we began lunch, you mentioned that you made pasta only because there was not a lot of food at home and-"

Edward gulped down his glass of water. "Ah, yes. Don't worry about that. I'll order some stuff online. It'll be delivered tomorrow."

I frowned, passively wondering at the fact that this man ordered his groceries online.

"I was thinking that maybe I could buy the groceries tomorrow."

He was quick to respond. "You don't have to do that. You're my-"

"Guest. I'm aware of that." I put my hand up to stop him. "But we also made a deal that I would help you around the house." I shrugged. "Besides, I need a reason to get out of the house. Alice said she won't be available for another couple days."

Edward rolled his eyes, clearly over my excuses. "Fine. You buy them. I'll leave out some cash before I head out." After eating, he got up to clear the dishes. "Take my car. I'll leave the keys along with the money."

After asking where the cleaning spray was, I wiped the kitchen counters clean while he loaded the dishwasher.

"Take your car? How will you get to work then?"

Edward smirked like I was missing something very obvious.

"Didn't you notice another car in my parking spot? The silver one."

My eyes practically bulged out as I understood what he was implying. "You have two cars?" My words ended on a screech.

Edward guffawed.

I shook my head. "How do you own two cars along with an apartment like this?" I didn't think lawyers made this much money.

Edward rubbed his neck uncomfortably, neck turning red, and leaning against the kitchen counter. "I work in corporate law."

"Clearly, I'm in the wrong profession."

He scoffed. "Bella, you were obsessed with the fact that my dad was a doctor."

I blushed, hiding my smile. "You dad was happy about it too."

"Yeah. Dad and Mom still ask Alice for updates about you. He's proud of you, you know?"

I smiled at that. It had been a long time since I'd seen Esme and Carlisle. I missed them almost as much as I did Charlie.

"I miss you parents. It's been a long time since I've seen them."

"They'll be happy to know."

Both of us smiled at that. It was nice to know things hadn't changed. A part of me had been worried about living with Edward. But here we were, talking with each other. That familiar comfort that had never really left. We had grown closer since I was thirteen. Despite not having connected over the last eight years, we'd managed to fall back into the familiar rhythm we'd had before.

Look at me being all poetic. I inwardly rolled my eyes at myself.

Breaking our moment, I turned to the box in the living room. The one that contained all my kitchen supplies.

"I'm just gonna put all the kitchen stuff in the… umm… well the kitchen." I laughed awkwardly.

Edward smirked. "I'll let you get to it then."

"You don't mind my stuff in your cabinets right?"

Edward threw me a steely glance. "Bella, I told you-"

"It's my place too. I can do whatever I want." I said all too loud.

Edward shook his head. "Smartass." He smirked as he left the kitchen.

I was almost done. I tried and failed not to feel guilty about rearranging the kitchen utensils. Not that I'd done much rearranging. He hardly had any stuff to begin with. Only the necessary utensils like saucepans, a few plates, bowls, glasses, containers and things like cutlery and spatulas.

Most of what I owned was baking stuff and there was plenty of space to store them.

I was tired and desperately wanted to take a shower.

The only thing left to do was to put the stand mixer in the overhead cabinets. I was too short to lift it all the way up. But I'm gonna do this. I will put the mixers up.

I rolled my shoulders and steeled myself, then I lifted with mixers with a grunt and raised them above my head.

Suddenly my entire back was enveloped in heat and I couldn't help but close my eyes and savor it. My eyes flew open as two hands reached out, covering my own as they lifted the mixer out of them. Those arms extended above my head as they placed the mixer on the shelf. He moved closer until I was basically pressed against the counter.

Once done, he brought his arms back down, placing them on either side of me, successfully caging between him and the kitchen counter.

With now way of escaping, all I could do was turn around in my spot until I was staring in those green eyes again. Edward stared down at me, neck bent. Intensity burning behind his gaze. My breath caught at the look on his face. He wasn't smiling; neither was he frowning. But the way he looked at me, as though I'd slipped up and gotten caught, had me suppressing involuntary shivers. I imagined this was how he probably stared down his opposition during a meeting.

"What were you doing?" He asked flatly with an eyebrow raised.

I cringed at his tone. "I was putting my mixer on the shelf."

"Uh-huh." Without releasing his arms from my sides, he bent down further until his face was level with mine, only a few inches between us. I felt his breath on my neck as he said, "what did I tell you earlier?"

It was too much. Being this close to him was too much. I inched away from him as I answered, "that this place is as much mine as it is yours?" I hated how uncertain I sounded, my voice all breathy and weak.

Amusement flared in his eyes and the tiniest of smirks passed his lips. "Yes. I did say that. But what else?"

I stayed quiet. Edward was quite too as he waited for me to respond. When I didn't, he spoke. "I told you to tell me when you needed help."

"I was abou-"

He cut me off. "No you weren't. You should have called. What if the mixer fell down and broke? Or worse, what if it hit your head?"

He released me, instead folding his arms across his chest. That made him look all the more menacing. But it somehow also made him look insanely hot. The folded arms caused the fabric of his shirt to stretch across his shoulders, accentuating his physique even more. He towered over my small frame with his large one, but the warmth and the mild fragrance of his cologne radiating off him made his presence feel welcomed. Now all I wanted to do was lean into him and let him wrap me in his arms.

Edward cleared his throat, bringing me out my thoughts. I passively realized that my eyes were wide open as I stared at him. The realization rendered me immobile. I was falling down the same rabbit hole when I was seventeen. I'd promised myself I'd get over it and not let it pull me in again. I was developing a crush on him. Again. I also knew how it would end. In heartbreak. Like it did all those years ago.

I needed to get myself away from him, away from my disastrous attraction to him, away from fantasies of being with him. Yeah. That plan sounded good and bad at the same time. But I had to do it to avoid getting hurt in the long run.

"I need to call my mom." I said abruptly, trying to shout over the thoughts in my head. "It's time for our monthly calls."

Edward blinked at the sudden shift in the conversation. He dropped his arms. "Ah… how's Renee?"

"She's good." I replied rapidly. "She's married now." I added unnecessarily.

Edward smiled awkwardly. "I think I remember mom mentioning something about that."

I nodded. Of course, He knew all about how the divorce had gone down. He had, after all witnessed my majority of it when my parents broke the news about their separation.

"Well, I better go call her. Don't want to keep her waiting." I pointed my thumb behind me, towards my bedroom.

Edward nodded and stepped away, his shoulders tense and hands in a tight fist. He was quiet as I left the kitchen, my epiphany still echoing in my mind.

I put my phone down at the beep signaling that the call was done. Sighing, I wondered how we'd become so distant. Renee and I. Things were tense after the divorce, understandably so. But, our relationship had seemed fine. I remember spending two weeks of my summer holidays in Florida where she'd settled. I'd also attended her wedding to Phil right after my first year at Stanford.

On the bright side, I was still glad that we kept in touch. Even if we spoke once a month and only for a maximum of fifteen minutes.

I glanced at the bedside clock. It was 6.30. Better go shower then. Get ready for dinner. I grabbed all the things I needed for my shower. Right before I could get in, my phone buzzed from where I'd placed it to charge. It was a message from Alice.

Alice: My schedule cleared up. For now. Wanna hangout 2moro?

Me: Sure. Where?

Alice: Let's go shopping!

Me: What? No….

Alice: Yes. We need to pick out ur new wardrobe.

Me: The clothes I have are just fine.

Alice: That is so not true.

Me: Ugh. Fine.

Alice: Awesome. I'll pick u up 10.

Me: *Thumbs up emoji*

Alice: *Heart emoji*. Bye.

Me: Love you too.

I stepped into the shower, groaning blissfully as the warm water hit my scalp. I squirted some shampoo and massaged it into my scalp. I thought about Edward. The fact that the little crush I'd had on him had returned back with a vengeance. It was fruitless, this crush on him. It would only end with my heart broken, like it did when I was seventeen. I knew I needed to squash these feelings before they took hold of me.

What I needed was to distract myself. Yes, I thought excitedly. This was exactly the thing. Something that would push away all thoughts of Edward until they were faint memories or better forgotten.

And I knew just the right person to ask for help. .

I groaned in relief as my butt hit the chair.

"God! Remind me to never go shopping with you again."

Alice laughed as she sat opposite me. We placed the shopping bags on the chairs beside us and the food trays on the table.

"Stop being a baby, Bella."

I looked disbelievingly at the number of shopping bags littering our table. There had to be more than 10 bags, all of different brands.

"Look at how much we've bought. I can practically hear Charlie crying at how much money I've spent."

Alice rolled her eyes. "And I can hear the Shopping Gods singing praises of us."

I shook my head at her. "Seriously, though. Did I need to buy these many clothes?"

"Bella, you haven't shopped for any clothes since you graduated. And even then, it was just one dress."

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of the McDonald's burger and kept quiet.

Alice beamed at my lack of argument, taking a bite of her own burger.

As I washed it down with coke, I thought about my plan from last night. Time to set this in motion.

"By the way, how's it living with Edward?"

I choked, barely managing to stop the coke from dribbling down my chin. Snatching the tissue, I patted the area around my mouth. Alice looked at me quizzically.

"Its…" I coughed. "Going great. Edward's a good host."

"He's treating you well?" Alice said, as she crossed her hands on the table.

I raised an eyebrow. "Who's asking?"

"Esme."

"Ah… of course." I smiled. "You didn't even wait to tell your parents did you?"

"It would have come up sooner than later anyway. Edward was there too. They gave Edward a speech on how to take care of you and everything."

I looked down at my burger to hide my smile.

"That's nice of them. Even though there's nothing to worry about."

Alice scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You're pretty much the unofficial daughter they never had." She shrugged. "Besides me, obviously. They've always cared about you."

I grinned. "Well, I care about them too."

"Yeah, yeah."

We went back to eating again. Neither of us said anything for a while.

Once we were done eating, instead of leaving, we sat for a little longer. It was always like this with us. We'd be too full to take another step without hurling our lunch. Alice included.

Now is the right time, I thought. I could set my plan in motion. Mission Moving on from Edward. I rubbed my palms on my thighs and clenched them into fists.

"So…" I started out casually. Sound normal, Bella.

"So…" Alice repeated, leaning forward.

"Are you dating anyone?" I cringed at my voice. I sounded like I was going through a root canal. I'd much prefer a root canal than what I'm about to do, I thought sourly.

"Uh… no. I was seeing a guy last month. I told you this, didn't I?"

I nodded. "Right. You did. You told me that."

"Bella, is everything all right?"

Alice was looking at me, worry written all over her face.

I fake-laughed. "Things are great. Why would something be wrong?"

"Well, your cheeks are turning red and you have that same look you did when you had to play that baseball game when we were kids."

Huh. I was worried about this plan. Should've known she would read my face.

"Right. I was thinking that I need your help."

Alice's eyes looked like they would fall out of their sockets any moment now.

"What?"

"You're asking for help. Which you never do. You hate to."

She was right.

"You have friends right?"

She leaned back, laughing. I didn't see what was so funny about this.

"Of course I have friends. I'm not a total hermit like you, you know."

I ignored the jab and continued. "Well, do you have any friends of the…" I grimaced. "Of the opposite sex?"

"Guy friends?" She asked, looking intrigued. "Oh my God! Are you thinking of jumping back in the dating pool again?"

I winced at her words. "Uh… yeah. You could say that."

She squealed and clapped her hands with glee, garnering looks from the nearby tables.

"Shush… stop it." I said, pushing her hands down. I looked around and blushed when I noticed some people still looking at us.

"This is something to be excited about, Bella. You're thinking about dating. You haven't dated anyone since high school."

"Thanks for noting my lack of dating history." I deadpanned.

"Come on! This is awesome Bella. What better way to start off summer than a sexy summer fling." She gasped. "What if this fling turns into a full romance?" She clapped again.

I snorted. "Don't get too excited. As mentioned, I haven't dated anyone since high school."

I frowned at that. God, it has been seven years since I dated anyone. What if that was a turn-off for guys? I'd heard so much about how guys liked it if girls were inexperienced. I'd never even let a guy see me topless much less had any sex.

"What's wrong now?"

I immediately made a decision. "You know what, forget it. This was a stupid idea."

It was her turn to frown. "What? Why?'

We both got up to leave. As we made our way to the parking lot, Alice asked again. "Weren't you just talking about dating again? What changed?"

Ugh. How did I explain to her without embarrassing myself?

Alice grabbed my hand, the shopping bags knocking against our legs. "You know you can tell me anything right?" She looked at me, sympathy shining in her eyes.

I smiled. "I know."

Once we reached her car and got in, Alice asked again. "So, wanna tell me what's bothering you?"

As she drove out of the lot, I said, "It's been seven years since I've been on a date. It's always been med school this, med school that."

"So?"

I groaned. She wasn't getting my point. "You dated several guys. I have done nothing of the sort. I haven't even had sex. I've invested every second since high school in doing well at college. I rejected all the guys who asked me out. I've never been on double dates before. Not even one-night stands are in my repertoire. I've never flirted with guys or took up their invitations for dates. How the hell am I supposed to woo a guy and not come off like a total idiot in the process? What if the guy thinks I'm naive just because I've never had sex before? You have experience, you know how to flirt. Guys would constantly ask you out, while here I am: the sad lonely virgin."

Pin drop silence. Not a single word.

I glanced at Alice. She was looking forward, focusing on driving. "Did you hear what I said?"

Alice looked at me for a second and faced forward again. "Uh… I did. Didn't realize you'd suppressed so many feelings."

I said nothing.

Alice placed a hand on my arm as we stopped at a signal. "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin. Any guy who thinks that's lame is definitely not the guy for you. Also, it's the other way. The guy woos you. Not the other way around."

"But how am I even supposed to get the guy's attention? Shouldn't I know the bare minimum of what a guy wants in a girl?"

Alice looked at me thoughtfully.

Without saying another word, she quickly grabbed her phone and texted someone. She placed the phone back and grinned triumphantly.

"What?" I asked. She looked like she'd found the cure for cancer.

"Nothing. I just figured out a way to help with your dilemma."

"By texting someone?"

"It's Edward."

"How is he related to this?"

"He's the one I texted."

"Right…" I looked at her suspiciously. What was she planning now?

Alice laughed at the look on my face. "Chill Bella. I have a good plan to get you a boyfriend."

"And it somehow concerns Edward."

"Yes. Just say that you'll agree to this."

I didn't say anything. Alice looked at me again.

"Come on. It's perfect. Just say that you'll agree for my help."

What was the worst that could happen, I thought while simultaneously wondering if I would be in trouble for agreeing to this. I pushed that thought away. Worst case scenario, I'd not find anyone and life could go back to normal.

"Fine. I want to get a boyfriend."

A/N: Thanks for staying loyal you guys. Will make sure to post the next ch. soon.