Chapter two
Edward Masen leaned against the side of his late model, black Chevy truck, watching the flickering open sign at R . He shouldn't have returned, yet here he stood, getting ready to go inside and see the woman who drew him back. Every night, Bella haunted his dreams, and every day, she starred in his fantasies. She scared him, which was a new emotion for him. He feared plenty of things, just never thought a woman would be the one to frighten him the most. Pushing open the doors, he walked into the trashy bar, seeking the woman who made him feel alive for the first time in months — maybe ever.
He spotted her behind the long, oak bar, laughing with a big, brawny guy with dark hair and matching eyes. Jealousy scorched through him. Never before had he felt threatened by another guy. Shaking off the urge to beat him down, Edward sat at the end of the bar, waiting for her to notice, or hoping she would, at least. He should have left, stopped whatever feelings were soaring through him right then and there, but one look at her had him halting any attempt to move. He needed to at least talk to her, to hear her soft, melodic voice. It was just one more time; that's what he told himself.
Almost like she could feel him watching, Bella's head turned, a seductive smile lifting over the corners of her lips. The burly guy behind her started to laugh, causing Bella to blush, her cheeks tinting with the softest pink Edward had ever seen. Shoving her hands into the back pockets of her skin-tight jeans, she started toward him, drawing him in with each sway of her hips. Edward was in trouble — deep trouble.
"Hi," he said, trying to keep the tremor of excitement out of his voice.
He failed.
"Hey," she replied, the single word searing deep into his soul. "Meeting your friend again?"
Edward chuckled. "No, apparently Jasper met someone new and didn't think he needed to call to let me know he'd been . . . well, detained might be the prudent way to say it. I came to see you."
"Oh." Bella looked away, her cheeks heating once more. Edward stifled the moan that slipped to the edge of his tongue. Pink was quickly becoming his favorite color. "Can I get you a drink?"
"Water." Nodding her head, Bella turned, grabbing him a cold bottle.
When she turned around and bent over, Edward's eyes drifted down. He shifted on his stool in an effort to adjust the longing he felt to reach out and caress her. It wasn't until Bella cleared her throat that he realized she'd caught him staring. She slid his bottle of water across the bar.
"Get a nice look?" she groused, folding her arms in front of her. Of course, all that did was put the focus on her breasts.
"I could try to lie, but I'm not going to," he said, not regretting his decision to take advantage of the moment. "I ogled you. I admit it, but can you blame me? You look good from behind."
Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head. Could he be any more of an idiot? Running his hand over his face, he tried to find a way out of this, but the sudden hysterical laughter coming from Bella caused him to look up.
Bent over the bar, she was laughing so hard tears had begun to spill from her eyes. Edward didn't understand what she found so funny; he'd just been caught gawking. Scowling, he tried to look upset at her amusement, but the soft, tinkling laughter coming out of her mouth had his lips twitching and a smile begging to be released. That sound alone would serve to fuel his fantasies.
"I work in a bar, surrounded by drunk, horny men." Bella snorted, waving her hand around the room. "You think you're the first perv to check me out?"
Eyes narrowing, Edward glared at the other patrons. "They shouldn't be staring at you," he muttered.
"Aw, look who's a hypocrite," Bella snickered. "Just two minutes ago, you were doing the same thing."
A sheepish expression crept onto his face when he shifted his gaze back to her. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," she purred, leaning across the bar stroking his cheek. "I didn't mind."
Inhaling, Edward dropped his eyes, feeling his ears turning red. Bella laughed once more, though he could have sworn he heard a nervous tone to it this time. Bella released a deep breath and let her hand fall from his face. Before she could pull it too far away, Edward reached out, grabbing it.
With longing set in his eyes, he looked up at her. "You should mind," he murmured, the words cutting through his heart. "Men like me shouldn't be mistreating a beautiful woman like yourself."
Bella's turn to blush, she smiled. "What kind of man are you?" she wondered.
"Not the kind you should be talking to, much less touching." Each word came out more hopeless than the one before. Bella frowned, causing him to hurt more. The last thing he wanted was to make her unhappy, though if he was honest with himself, he was setting her up for just that. The prudent move would be to let her go, but he couldn't find it in himself to release her hand.
Of course, that decision was made for him when the burly guy whistled at Bella. "Sugar."
Letting go of Edward's hand, she looked over her shoulder at him.
"We've got customers."
"I'm coming," she replied before turning back. Edward stood, digging some money out of his pocket. "It's on me," she insisted.
"You paid last time," he disagreed, tossing a five-dollar bill on the bar. "I'd better let you get back to work. Besides, it's getting late."
"Will you come back?" There was a hope in her words that Edward didn't understand. His eyes fluttered to a close. He should tell her no, that he could never see her again, but he lost that battle when he walked back into R . "Of course, you don't have to, but . . ."
"I will," he promised, knowing he shouldn't come back but that he would. "Be safe, Bella."
"You too."
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Edward turned and headed toward the front door. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw her arguing with the big guy. Whatever he said to her made her angry, and Bella threw up her hands and stormed into the back room. The big guy shifted his gaze to Edward for a split second before turning to one of the many people at the bar. Pushing open the door, he walked out, letting the warmth hit him. Running across the street, he climbed into his truck, taking off toward his apartment. But his heart was still at the bar with Bella.
Ten minutes later, Edward parked under the covered parking outside his building, being one of the lucky few whose unit came with the perk. Of course, he paid well for it, too. He headed up to the third-floor apartment and unlocked the door. Walking in, he was annoyed to see Jasper lying across his black leather couch, feet propped up on the arm. What was the point of living alone if your best friend was always there?
"Ed!" Jasper cheered, holding up a beer.
At almost six and a half feet tall, with shaggy dark blond hair and bright blue eyes, he came off seeming to be arrogant or crude, but he was one of the good guys. Jasper was always there when you needed him, even when you didn't think you needed anyone.
"About time you got home."
"What are you doing here?" he quipped, pushing Jasper's feet off the couch and snatching the beer from his hands. "I thought you had a hot date with Shannon, Sarah, or whatever her name is?"
"Simone." Jasper sat up, grabbed another beer from the table, and twisted off the lid. "It would seem she has a boyfriend. Or had. He didn't seem too happy when he opened the door and found me there to pick her up for our date."
Edward laughed and shook his head. "Dude, only you."
"I don't know why I always seem to find girls with boyfriends," he scoffed.
"So, what are you doing here? Don't you have your own apartment?" Raising an eyebrow, he questioned his friend.
Shrugging his shoulders, Jasper explained, "Cable got cut off."
"I hear they do that when you don't pay your bill." Edward snorted before standing and placing his unopened beer on the table.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jasper grumbled, lying back on the couch.
Both men knew Edward would never kick Jasper out, and he wouldn't have left even if he tried. They'd been friends since high school, ever since the day he stopped two jocks from stuffing Jasper in his locker. Never once in the last ten years had he ever turned his back on him, and he wouldn't start now. Besides, he could see through his lies. He wasn't here for any other reason than to be here if, or rather when, Edward needed anything.
Heading down the hallway to his bedroom, he shut the door, and walked straight into the bathroom. Pulling open the medicine cabinet, Edward looked at the dozen or so bottles lined up along the two shelves. Taking each of them down one at a time, he opened them, placing the pills in his hand, as he filled his glass with water. Looking at himself in the mirror, he popped the first set of into his mouth, swallowing them, and then repeating the process with the second handful.
He poured the last bit of water from his glass and returned to his bedroom. Stripping off his clothes, leaving on just his black boxers, Edward climbed into bed, placing his arm behind his head. Just like she had done every night for the last week, Bella invaded his dreams.
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