Chapter 35

Monday, September 12 (cont’d.)

Slu-u-u-u-urp.

Mandy drained the last dregs of her goblet, then set it back on the table with an effervescent giggle.

“Wine really goes to my head,” she explained, pushing her empty dessert plate to the side and leaning back in her chair.

Edward tried to keep his smile from being patronizing. “It’s probably just the bubbles. This is sparkling cider.”

Mandy’s smile faded. “Cider?” she repeated.

He nodded and turned the bottle resting on the table so that she could see the label. “Alcohol free.”

“Oh.” She let out a feeble laugh, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. For the twentieth time in as many minutes, he thought of the night he met Bella. His first dinner with Mandy had been every bit as awkward, but lacking the verbal repartee and sexual tension that had intrigued him then. So far, tonight’s conversation had consisted of him asking his date politely boring questions about herself, to which she mumbled self-conscious one-word answers. This girl was even more cripplingly shy than Bella had been at first.

“You’re only eighteen,” he explained. “I can’t in good conscience give you any hard liquor. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the legal ramifications if I did.”

“Legal ramifications?” she scoffed, the first honest exclamation she’d uttered this evening. “That’s funny.”

“How so?”

“Seriously?” she replied. “How is any of this legal?”

Edward bristled slightly, but made sure his congenial smile stayed intact. “Well, so far we’ve enjoyed a nice dinner and conversation. Last time I checked, that’s pretty standard - and perfectly legal - behavior for a date between two consenting adults.”

“But what about later?” she whispered, her cheeks coloring again before her eyes dropped to her lap, where she nervously twisted her hands.

“What about later?” he replied. He took a sip of cider, wishing it were the real thing. “What do you expect to happen here tonight, Mandy?”

Her face was fire engine red now. “Well, I thought . . . I mean, aren’t escorts basically . . . prostitutes?”

She looked him in the eye then, demanding clarification. He was tempted to tell her she’d hit the nail on the head, which was exactly why he wanted out.

Instead, he answered her question with another. “Is that what you came here for tonight? Sex?”

Her eyes fell to her lap once more. “I guess I thought that was part of the deal,” she said, her voice quivering.

“It can be,” he replied. Just not with me. “But if something of a sexual nature occurs, it’s not part of any agreement you’ve made with Renaissance Escorts. That would be illegal. And I’m sure neither of us wants to end up in jail.”

Her face collapsed in relief. “Right. I get it,” she said, unclasping her fingers and wiping her palms on her skirt. “Mum’s the word. Our date is like Vegas - what happens here, stays here.”

“Right,” he agreed, his smile growing tight-lipped. “Which brings us back to the original question: What do expect to happen here?”

Her relief faded, her brows furrowing. “I thought we just came to an understanding. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“Well, in my experience, if you can’t talk about it, you probably aren’t ready to do it.”

She flinched and blinked several times. Her cheeks were still blotchy red, and her eyes were starting to match. He wasn’t sure if she was angry or humiliated, but either way, he figured he’d better say something quickly before she began to cry.

“Mandy, I’m not trying to pick on you or put you on the spot. I just want to understand why you would do this. Why you would hire someone like me.”

Her laugh was abrupt and incredulous. “Isn’t it obvious? How else would a girl like me ever get a guy like you?”

It was Edward’s turn for incredulity. This girl had more in common with Bella than he ever dreamed. “What do you even mean by that? How do you see the both of us?”

Her expression indicated that the answer should be evident. She slumped back in her chair, defeated. “Come on, Edward. Look at me. I’m a geek. A music nerd. My biggest accomplishment so far in life is that I made first chair violin in my high school orchestra, because it’s the only thing I’m good at. The only thing I love. And that’s fine with me, most of the time. I’m okay with being a nerd. I can accept my place in the archaic caste system known as high school.”

She sighed in frustration. “But just once, I wanted to know what it feels like to be with the hot guy, you know? To get the star quarterback of the football team instead of the acne-prone tuba player in marching band. Why are you laughing? It’s not funny.”

Edward shook his head, chuckling even harder at the irony of her misperceptions. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you, I swear. I’m laughing because once I tell you who I really am, I’m pretty sure you’ll want your money back.”

# # # # # # # # # #

“Smile!”

Alice issued her singsong command while pointing Bella’s new smartphone camera at the group gathered around the bar table. Bella’s expression was bashful, Jasper appeared happy, Riley looked sleepy and Jessica was definitely grumpy. Dopey brought up the rear, Mike lunging in from behind the four of them, aping for the camera and pretending to roar in Bella’s ear like a ferocious pantomime lion.

“This is a good one,” Alice proclaimed, looking at the picture on the screen before flipping the camera so everyone else could see. They laughed and groaned in response, then turned back to the nearby dart board.

“This phone is awesome, Bella. Nice birthday present!” Alice commented as she studied the latest-and-greatest Android that Charlie had given Bella over the weekend.

“It was my mom’s idea, and my dad went in on it with her. I think they’re hoping I’ll send them more pictures and text messages with it. Mom hates that I’m never on Facebook.”

“Well, here. Let’s send her this one,” Alice suggested, fiddling with the device until she had the photo ready to send. Bella took the phone and found her mother’s contact information, then typed a quick message: Out with friends tonight for a pre-birthday celebration, using the new phone. Thanks again - love you. I promise I’ll call soon.

“That’s nice,” Alice said, her tone wistful as she watched Bella send the text. It made Bella realize how lucky she was to have two living parents who cared about what she was doing and who she was doing it with. Too bad she couldn’t actually reveal the half of it.

She turned to Alice and said, “Now all I need is a picture with you.” Alice’s face perked up when she handed the phone to Jasper and asked, “Will you do the honors?”

Alice threw her arm around Bella, beaming. Bella did the same while Jasper lined the girls up in the viewfinder.

“Perfect,” he pronounced. “Now say ‘whiskey.’”

“Whiske-e-y,” Alice gamely sang, while Bella laughed. Then they both blinked from the blinding rays of the flash when Jasper took their picture. Alice grabbed the phone to look, then exclaimed, “I love it!”

Bella had to admit it was a good photo, though she felt plain once more next to her perfectly made-up friend. She began to think she should’ve have gone to a little more effort to look the part of the festive birthday girl.

She was sure of it when Alice scrolled through Bella’s contacts until she found Edward, then began typing.

“What are you doing?” Bella demanded.

“Giving Edward a taste of what he’s missing,” she answered with a sly grin.

“No, don’t,” Bella protested, grabbing in vain for the phone while Alice held it out of reach. “He’s working.”

As soon as she offered that up as an excuse, she wondered what the hell she was saying. Was she really apologizing for interrupting his date with another girl? In what universe was that acceptable?

Not in Alice’s, if her expression was any indication. “That’s exactly why we should remind him what’s really important.” She finished typing, hit send, and then handed the phone back to Bella.

“What did you tell him?” She selected the sent messages and read the last one.

Missing you. Wish you were here.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” Alice asked. Bella nodded. “Trust me, he’ll be happy to see this, no matter what.” She cut herself off before elaborating further on what he might be doing at the moment. “Now we just need to figure out how to make you happy, at least while you’re stuck here tonight.”

“I am happy. I’m not stuck here. You guys are great.”

Alice laughed at Bella’s less-than-convincing reply. “So you don’t feel stuck in the middle of this warped little love triangle?” She waved her hand in the direction of the group playing darts. “Jessica mooning over Mike, while he drools over you and you try to avoid the saliva. . . Not exactly the recipe for a great birthday party.”

Bella winced. “It’s that obvious, huh? I feel like I’m stuck in high school 2.0.”

“You mean this was going on two years ago?” Jasper chimed in, picking the pitcher up from the table and emptying it into their glasses.

“Yep,” Bella replied with a weary nod. “The difference was, back then I didn’t realize how much Jess was crushing on Mike. I went to prom with him, and I’m starting to think she’s never forgiven me for it. I was hoping to kind of nudge them together tonight.” She studied the trio at the dart board. Jessica appeared to be playing the clumsy card now, tossing darts in every direction so that Mike would offer her the same personal assistance he’d given Bella. “Maybe it’s finally working.”

“As long as your attention is diverted,” Alice agreed. “Otherwise all bets are off.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep Bella busy,” Jasper announced, giving her a lopsided grin reminiscent of Edward’s. “So, how’s your pool game? Any better than darts?”

“Barely,” she replied with a laugh. “But I’ve already humiliated myself at the dart board, so why not go for broke?”

Jasper stood up and scanned the bar, spotting an empty billiards table halfway across the room. “If we go quietly, maybe they won’t notice we’ve left,” he suggested in a stage whisper.

Alice giggled while Bella shook her head and grinned. The girls grabbed their beers and followed Jasper across the bar without looking back.

# # # # # # # # # #

“You went to Juilliard?”

Mandy pronounced the word with an awe more appropriate for a UFO sighting or religious experience. Her thyroid eyes bulged toward him again, face agog with reverence and a little envy as Edward nodded.

“That’s my dream school,” she informed him. “I’ve already applied for next year, but I’m applying at a dozen other schools as back-up. Because, you know, it’s Juilliard,” she repeated, still stunned at Edward’s confession. She shook her head at him, clearly bewildered. “You got in, you graduated. So, why . . . how? How did you end up here?”

Edward’s smile was grim. How many times had he asked himself that same question in the beginning? Until he’d gotten tired of the answers and quit wondering. Quit caring.

“I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just say that life throws you curveballs. Sometimes you don’t hit ’em out of the park. Sometimes you miss altogether and end up swinging at air. Then all of a sudden you’re on the bench, looking for a way to get back in the game.” He picked up his cider and took a sip, trying to avoid Mandy’s pitying stare. “Sorry about the baseball analogy. Guess I should have looked for a musical one instead.”

“That’s okay.” She was quiet once more, apparently more at a loss for words now than she was earlier. Edward didn’t resist the urge to fill the empty air.

“Anyway, now you know the truth. I’m about as far from the high school quarterback as you can get. I’m no Prince Charming. I’m a frustrated musician who’s paying the bills by whoring himself out to women. I know that’s not what you signed up for. You didn’t sign up for the ugly truth. You signed up for the fantasy. The pretense. And I used to be excellent at providing that - acting out someone else’s dreams for a night so I could forget my own.”

“What changed?” his date blurted. She appeared genuinely interested, like she wanted to understand.

But how could he explain what he didn’t completely understand himself? All he saw was Bella’s face in his mind. Flashes of the times he’d spent with her, the long journey they’d taken in such a brief amount of time. He saw her eyes - shrewd and perceptive, then passionate and loving; heard her words - brutal and honest, then warm and comforting; felt her body - rigid and cautious, then yielding and responsive.

It was her.

The change in him was Bella.

As he sought an answer to give his disillusioned date, he felt a strong vibration near his groin, and immediately thought of Bella’s hands on him, bringing him to life. He sighed and reached for the phone in his pocket. Normally he wouldn’t answer it during a date, but the jig was already up tonight.

“Sorry, I need to get this,” he apologized, checking his messages. When he saw the image of Bella giving him that cute little grin of hers, he couldn’t stop his own lips from matching it. She and Alice looked like they were having a good time. His smile turned bittersweet as he reread the message. He typed a quick reply:

I miss you, too. I can’t wait for tomorrow night. Happy Birthday, Bella.

He slid the phone back in his pocket, then turned his attention back to Mandy. Her confusion had been replaced by a knowing, bittersweet smile of her own.

“Well, I get it now,” she said.

“Get what?”

“What changed. It was that girl.”

“What girl?” He had kept the phone in his lap, hidden under the table. Mandy couldn’t possibly have seen the photo message from Bella.

“The girl who just texted you,” she said matter-of-factly, not falling for his evasiveness. “You obviously met someone who ended up being more than just a fantasy. Someone who could deal with the ugly truth,” she asserted. “Someone real.”

Edward stared, dumbfounded. How had this stranger, this high school girl, hit the nail on the head so precisely?

“That’s very astute of you, Mandy,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Maybe you should apply some of that insight to your own life - look for someone real. That tuba player, for instance. Sounds like maybe you ought to give the guy a chance.”

She groaned a little and rolled her eyes. “I know. He’s all right. I mean, he’s always been really nice to me. He’s the only boy who’s ever wanted to kiss me. And it wasn’t awful, considering his braces. But those will be off in another month. And I think he must have ordered some of that acne stuff they advertise on TV all the time, ‘cause he’s been looking better. He’s come a long way in the past couple of years. You should have seen what a dork he was when he was a freshman.”

Edward chuckled. “Sounds like he’s still growing up. Trying to figure out how to get it right. So am I, for that matter. Guys are a little slow sometimes. You’ve got to bear with us until we catch up.”

“Well, you’re already light years ahead of the guys I know,” she answered with a snort. “I hope your girlfriend knows how lucky she is. Any girl who could get a smile like that out of you with just a text message . . . Well, I can only dream of doing that.”

That brought a genuine grin to his lips, though he knew it was nothing like the ones he reserved for Bella. “ I’ll bet that if your tuba player was ever lucky enough to get a picture and a text message from you, you’d see that smile you’re after.”

“Maybe.” Her cheeks flushed pink again, and she stared once more at her lap. She finally raised cautious eyes to his across the table. “So I suppose all of this means that nothing’s going to happen here tonight, huh?”

Edward’s half-grin was sympathetic. “I don’t think that’s what either of us really wants, is it?”

She couldn’t meet his questioning eyes. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice uncertain. “I really like you. More than I thought I would. Maybe it’s because I have a weakness for musicians. I wish I could hear you play. No, that would be bad. Then I’d like you even more, and you obviously don’t feel the same way about me.”

“I do like you,” he contradicted her. “But you’re right, my heart is with someone else. Don’t you want to wait for someone whose heart belongs to you?”

She stared at him for a second, then let out an abrupt laugh. “Do you know how corny that sounds? And yet somehow, you make it sound completely reasonable. Like, why would I want to have sex with someone I don’t love? When that’s what you’ve been doing for a living for years. When that’s what I paid you for tonight.”

Edward’s lip twitched at the irony. What if he had given Bella the same speech he’d just given Mandy? Maybe he should have. Maybe he should have refused her and sent her back to the likes of Mike or Jake. The thought made his skin crawl.

“I’m sorry. I told you you’d want your money back. And I’ll make sure you get every penny, no questions asked. I’m well aware I did not provide the services you expected.”

She frowned thoughtfully at the table before looking back up at him.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t need the money. This barely made a dent in my trust fund,” she said with a shrug. “I’m kind of glad it went down like this. I think if you had just put on a big, fake show for me, I would have felt awful afterward, no matter how hard you tried to fool me. I think I would have felt empty. Used. Even though technically I would have been the one using you.”

Edward nodded, relieved that she got it. That she didn’t want the charade, regardless of what lay beneath. He wondered how long he could do this dance, night after night. How long he could get away with it.

“There is one thing I’d like, though,” Mandy said, sounding shy once more.

Edward raised his eyebrows.

“Kiss me,” she said softly. “Just once.”

# # # # # # # # # #

“There you are!”

Mike sounded relieved as he approached the pool table. Behind him, Jessica appeared merely annoyed, while Riley was amiable, bordering on expressionless. Bella wondered if his pot use put him on such an even keel. If so, maybe she should consider partaking more often.

“Yeah, I gave up on the darts and thought I’d try my hand at pool. Jasper and Alice are giving me pointers.” She gestured to them with her pool cue, and they each jumped quickly out of the path of the swinging stick.

“Yeah? That’s great!” Mike answered with forced enthusiasm, smiling at the three of them. “So how’s the game going?”

“Oh, I’m losing big-time,” Bella said cheerfully. “But I haven’t put anyone’s eye out yet, and I only shot the cue ball off the table once. I even got a couple of solids in the pocket I was aiming at.”

Mike laughed and said, “Yeah, I remember the day we met in gym class, when you nailed me with that volleyball. I should have known better than to make you attempt a bar game that involves flying objects.”

Jessica snorted loudly behind him. “I guess some things never change, huh? When it comes to any activities involving balls, Bella doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing.”

Bella gaped at her former friend, not believing what had just come out of her mouth. Jessica’s joking tone didn’t fool Bella. She knew exactly what kind of balls Jess was referring to, and they weren’t the sporting variety. No one else seemed to pick up on the innuendo. Then again, no one else seemed to remember Bella’s drunken admission about the loss of her virginity, either, and Jessica hadn’t broadcasted the news. Yet.

“It’s no secret that I’m not very coordinated when it comes to sports,” she said, trying to keep the conversation on topic. “Which is why I’m about to head back to the dorm after this match.”

“What? No way. It’s too early,” Mike argued. “We have to sing Happy Birthday to you at midnight.”

“I know, but I have an early class tomorrow. I really can’t stay that late.”

“All right,” Mike said, sounding none to pleased. “Just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll walk you home.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Alice interjected. “Jasper and I can give her a ride. I have a birthday present in the car that I need to give her, anyway.”

“Alice! I said no presents, remember?”

“Yeah - she hates presents,” Mike echoed. Bella couldn’t decide if he looked smug because he knew her better than anyone else in the room, or worried because he evidently hadn’t bought her anything. She was relieved he hadn’t.

“That’s ridiculous,” Alice said, dismissing them both. “It’s not a birthday without packages to open. Don’t worry, it’s nothing big,” she told Bella. “I think you’ll like it.”

Bella pursed her lips and shook her head, knowing when she was beaten. Seconds later she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she didn’t have to wonder who it belonged to.

“Listen, if you’re going to leave soon, can I talk to you for a minute?” Mike asked, steering her away from the pool table toward a secluded corner of the bar. “I need to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

Bella watched Mike bite his lip and take a deep breath. She knew that she wasn’t going to like whatever he was about to say.

“So, on the walk over here earlier, you may have heard Jess and I talking about the big Greek party coming up.”

Bella shook her head, biting her own lip now.

“Well, there’s this All-Greek Cocktail Party in a couple of weeks at the Four Seasons. It’s kind of a semi-formal dance open to all the U-Dub fraternities and sororities. It’s held in one of the ballrooms, but tons of kids rent rooms in the hotel, too, so the party is basically everywhere and goes all night. I guess it’s a really huge deal. Tons of fun.” Mike cleared his throat while Bella waited for the bomb to drop. “So I was thinking that it would be even more fun if you came with me.”

He stopped and looked at her expectantly, almost fearfully. Her stomach churned.

“You mean, like a date?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, not formally. Just, you know, friends going to a party together.”

“You just said it was formal.”

“Semi-formal. Cocktails dresses and suits. Not, like, ball gowns and tuxes,” he assured her.

Bella glanced over at Jessica, who was sneaking looks at the two of them from over Riley’s shoulder while pretending to pay attention to what he was saying.

“I don’t know, Mike. This seems more like Jessica’s kind of party.”

“Jess?” He uttered her name as though the thought of asking her had never occurred to him. Bella wanted to smack him upside the head for being so obtuse.

“Yeah. You should ask her - I’ll bet she’d love to go with you.”

“I’m sure she’ll already be there. Knowing her, she probably has some hot date lined up. It’s open to everyone in the Greek system. That’s why I wanted to ask you, since you wouldn’t be able to go otherwise.”

“Well, that’s really thoughtful, but . . .”

“And the truth is, I know I’d have more fun with you,” Mike interrupted. He shot her a pleading look with those big, round, sky-colored eyes of his. “I’d rather take you. Please come.”

Bella sighed, hating that he put her in this position. She grasped at her last straw. “I’m seeing someone, remember?”

He nodded, though he apparently still refused to believe it. “So, it’s exclusive? Is that what you’re telling me? He’s your boyfriend now?”

There was that word again. It sounded like a mockery when Mike said it. Worse yet, it felt a little like a mockery right now, knowing that Edward was on a date with someone else.

“I told you that you and I are just friends,” she said, gently but firmly. “I meant it.”

Mike’s lips pressed into a thin line and he looked away for a moment, deliberating. He finally shifted his gaze back to hers and said, “Fine. Then come with me as a friend. No funny business, I promise. Just fun.”

“Mike.” She could no longer conceal her exasperation.

“Don’t say no yet. Say maybe. Just think about it, okay?” His baby blues begged hers again. “Please.”

“Geezus.” Bella just wanted this to be over, and return to the rest of the group. “All right. I’ll think about it.”

Mike looked inordinately grateful for the reprieve. He put his arm around her and said, “Thanks, Bells. I promise you, you won’t regret it.” He gave her a squeeze, then began guiding her back toward the pool table. As they neared their friends, he raised his voice and announced, “All right. Since the birthday girl insists on leaving early, she’s forcing me to do this now.”

He released her, cleared his throat, and began to bellow, “Happy Birthday to yo-o-o-u - everybody with me! - Happy Birthday to YO-O-OU!”

Bella groaned as the gang all joined in to finish the song, loudly and barely in tune, which culminated in applause and cheering from the entire bar by the end. Her face was burning as she took another quick bow so the clapping would die down.

Mike managed to get her to stay long enough to have a “birthday shot” of tequila with everyone before Alice intervened, reminding Bella about her early class. She made a good show of saying regretful good-byes before rushing out the door with Alice and Jasper.

“Thank you,” she said with a sigh of relief when the cool night air hit her face.

“De nada,” Alice replied as they headed down the sidewalk. “What are new friends for, if not to save you from the clutches of the old ones?”

Bella couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I’d say Jessica is definitely on my list of ex-friends now. And Mike is proving that ex-boyfriends aren’t good candidates for friends, either.”

“That Jessica is a piece of work,” Jasper commented. “If looks could kill, Alice and I would be taking you to the cemetery instead of the dorm right now.”

“Seriously!” Alice agreed with a shudder. “What was up with Mike cornering you, anyway? What did he say?”

“He wants me to go to some big party with him in a couple of weeks. Just as friends, of course,” she added with a smidge of sarcasm.

“Yeah, right,” Alice snorted. “’Friends,’ my ass. He hasn’t given up. Not by a long shot.”

Bella looked over in time to see Alice’s boyfriend nodding in agreement. If an unbiased source like Jasper saw it, then it must be true.

“I told him he should ask Jessica. But I’m beginning to think I wouldn’t wish her on anyone, least of all Mike.”

“I don’t know, I think they’re kind of perfect for each other,” Alice said, making a face and then giggling. “Besides, doesn’t he know your spoken for?”

“Yeah. He’s even met Edward, actually,” Bella told them. “But it’s kind of hard for me to make a good argument that I’m taken when he’s out with other girls most nights of the week.”

They all fell silent then. Bella knew there was really no argument to be made until Edward was truly free to be with her. She hated feeling in limbo, more now than ever. It seemed to get harder every day rather than easier.

“My car is over here,” Jasper said at last, pointing at a rough-looking Ford F150 that had seen better days.

“Nice!” Bella exclaimed as they approached. “Truck owners unite!”

“You drive a truck?” Jasper exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah, a vintage Chevy. It looks like a tank. I love it,” Bella enthused.

“I’d like to see that,” he said with a grin.

“Well, just drop me off at the parking garage and you can take a look at it.”

“Sweet.” He unlocked the passenger door and let it fall open with a screech.

“That sounds familiar,” she said with a laugh.

“Bella, you get in back - your present is there so you can open it,” Alice urged.

Bella complied, scooting in next to two flat packages wrapped in tastefully filigreed paper and gauzy bows.

“These are too pretty to open,” she protested as she fingered the smaller of the boxes.

“Don’t be silly,” Alice said, perching on her knees in the front seat and leaning over the back to watch. “Let ‘er rip!”

Jasper twisted in the driver seat and poked his head over the back along with Alice’s while Bella carefully undid the ribbon. She then slowly peeled back the frosted tape at one end of the package. Alice groaned in frustration at her leisurely pace. Bella ignored her and gingerly pulled back the wrapping paper to reveal a set of high-end drawing pencils, graduating from hard to soft lead.

“Drawing pencils? Really?” Bella demanded, knowing that the nude models in her Life Drawing class were the inspiration for Alice’s gift choice.

“Yes, really,” Alice replied. “It’s not what you think - they’re not for your drawing class. I figure you already have all the art supplies you need for your porno pictures. These are for your own personal use. Open the other present - it’s a sketch book. Big enough for you to make nice sketches, but small enough to carry around with you. I thought you might want to work with a more agreeable subject than boner-guy in your art class.” She waggled a knowing eyebrow at Bella a couple of times.

Bella couldn’t help but smile as she carefully tore the wrapping off the sketch book. “These are great, Alice. Perfect, actually. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Alice finally turned her satisfied face around to the front of the truck as Jasper started the engine. Bella found the familiar metallic roar comforting. She wrapped her arms around her birthday gifts and thought of the subject she most wanted to capture.

Maybe tomorrow night she would get her chance.

# # # # # # # # #

Every muscle in Edward’s face felt frozen, molded into a congenial mask so that he wouldn’t grimace at the request.

Kiss me.

Kissing clients was always the thing he hated most. He’d often thought that whoever wrote the script for Pretty Woman had been on to something. The character of Kit had advised fellow hooker Vivian never to kiss anyone on the mouth, because it was “too personal.” And they were right.

Kissing was an activity in which there was nowhere to hide. Two pairs of windows to the soul met face to face, mere inches apart, revealing all or desperately trying to pull down the shades. Two pairs of lips perched precariously close, breathing each other’s breath, capable of delivering the sweetest caresses or the most vicious slings and arrows.

Kissing was dangerous.

Fucking was easier. Fucking didn’t have to be personal at all. Fucking allowed one to block any influence from one’s conscience or soul by simply giving in to hormonal imperatives instead. Fucking could be reduced to the mechanics of body parts meeting, creating friction, getting off, getting it over with. Getting out.

That’s what he’d done for over two years, with great success. He didn’t need to be reminded why those days were over. Mandy’s observations had driven the point home with startling clarity.

“Just pretend I’m her,” came her plaintive voice from across the table, cracking his mask of politeness. “Just for a minute.”

He let out a sigh and rose from his chair, walking to the other side of the table and offering her his hand. She looked up at him in surprise and took it, then stood up next to him. She was a big girl, taller and sturdier than Bella. But there was a certain sweetness to her round features, her bulbous hazel eyes gazing up at him, that made a smile come to his face. He reached out to touch her, grazing his fingers against one smooth, peach-colored cheek.

“I won’t insult you that way,” he said. “I’ll kiss you. No pretending.”

His face hiding nothing, he leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers.

She gasped in surprise. Too late, she tried to prolong the kiss, pursing her narrow pink lips against his as he pulled away. She let out a dejected sigh.

“That’s probably how you kiss your grandmother,” she grumbled.

He grinned and gave her cheek a gentle squeeze before he dropped his hand. “Definitely not. I don’t kiss my grandmother on the mouth.”

She snorted softly. “You’re a good guy, Edward. A shitty prostitute, but a good guy.”

He chortled at that. “I’ll take that assessment.”

She looked up at him with regretful eyes. “I do kind of wish I’d met you before the girl on the phone did. Because I think you would have been an amazing first time.”

He could only give her a half grin now. “Well, look at it this way: You still have your first time ahead of you, and no regrets about tonight.”

She nodded, though she didn’t look entirely convinced. She turned and picked her purse up off the nearby chair, evidently realizing that this date was now over. Edward followed her to the hotel door, holding it open for her. She stopped and gave him a pointed look.

“You know, you ought to give up this whole escorting thing. It’s really not fair.”

“I know. I’m sorry I disappointed you. I was serious about refunding your money; it’s no problem.”

“No, I didn’t mean me,” she clarified. “I meant, it’s not fair to your girlfriend.”

He stood stock-still for a moment, letting the door swing shut behind him as Mandy walked down the hall toward the elevators.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he called after her, reaching for his phone. He selected the proper speed dial, then waited for the automated message to finish before speaking.

“Rosalie, it’s Edward. We need to talk.”