BPOV

I came into my room, after smoking heavily in the Pinkerton halfwits’ car, the shock has passed. Thoughts came into my head to the council of my subconsciousness. The following points kept running through my head.

- These conditions of me staying here are just stupid.

- You’re fucking benefactor, Mr. Smith!

- It is foolish to refuse.

- I will not allow James getting my father’s house!

Having cleared my mind, I passed out. In the morning the reality has overtaken me, and I decided to share the joyful news with my mother. Renee was stammering, she was trying to link words into a coherent, intelligible sentence, but in the end took the time out to consult with Phil. Why? I already knew what my stepfather would tell her. Real estate is very important in this life, so I should not let the opportunity slip. This is the capital which will give me good material opportunity for the future. And fuck me, if it is wrong! I gotta speak with an attorney to digest all those thoughts with a fresh mind. I dialed the Jonathan Wright’s number and agreed on the meeting. We met for lunch at his office in Port Angeles. Mr. Wright patiently and clearly explained to me all the nuances. It turns out, Smith left me a decent amount of money. If I do not ponce it would be enough for me to live off that money for five months and maybe even for six. I have to go back to the house every night. But also I have ten nights in my possession that I can use as a holiday. All together or separately « it does not matter. But no more than ten. "This is in case you want to go to relax or to visit your relatives,” « Wright explained to me. How cute, I am going to burst into tears right now! When I asked how my stay in the house would be tracked, Wright just smiled. "I am not authorized to initiate you into these subtleties. I can only say that your personal life will remain private. Do not worry about it.” I nodded. The conversation was over. Attorney warned that I had four weeks to enter the house if I agree with the terms and conditions. After taking a breath, I brought forward a preliminary agreement. Jonathan shook my hand and expressed his best wishes. We agreed that I would come to visit him on my way to Forks, once I would settle all my affairs in Los Angeles. No more than two weeks. God, am I really moving?!

The call from my mother caught me when I was collecting a few things. As I anticipated, she had talked with Phil and decided that they should persuade me to get the house by any means necessary. I briefly outlined my conversation with the attorney and announced my agreement. My mother did not think of anything better than to cry... "Baby, I’m so glad. This house... Charlie... He would be happy... It’s great that you decided to...” I quickly turned the conversation around, not wanting to upset Renee with my cynical attitude. Let her just be happy for me... « Yes, Mom... So, I do love you too. Bye.

I hung up the phone and collapsed on the bed. I knew that I could not refuse from getting the house. Well, that’s it. Get your ass up, Swan, and pack your stuff up.

Having paid at the reception deck, I threw the suitcase in the trunk and started the engine, when suddenly my cell phone went off.

"Ms. Swan, good day, it’s Heidi Collins. Yes, I’m calling in regards of the job interview,” sang a melodious female handset human resources manager voice.

"Yes, Mrs. Collins, I remember you,” I felt a pang in my chest. A month ago I decided to change the scope of my activities: after being the sales manager for a long time I wanted to become the buyer. Multibrand boutique of clothes was just in need of a buyer, and I applied for this position. I even held two rounds of interviews.

"I’m calling because I would like to invite you to meet with the CEO. We are very interested in your candidacy,” she told me.

"Oh...” I clenched my teeth. What the hell? Why do they want me at the most inopportune moment? "It’s very flattering, but I’m afraid I can not... I’m leaving L.A. for a year, Mrs. Collins. Family circumstances, you know.”

On the other end of the phone line the manager was silent for a minute. Well, really, what kind of an idiot refuses such a posh position in such a fancy store? Its ok Heidi, go ahead digest it, I’ll wait.

"I’m very sorry, Miss Swan. You are truly the best candidate for this position. If you change your mind during a month, please let me know. I wish you all the best.”

"Goodbye...” I mumbled and get in the car, dialing number of my personal emergency service.

"Rose, hey!”

"Oh, Swan, hi, what’s up?” Rosalie Hale loved talking briefly and get straight to the point, and she used a lot of interjections. I missed her.

"I will be over in a few hours. I need to get drunk and dance to death,” I submitted my request for a party.

"No problem, baby, I am waiting for you! I’m off to get shoes. Drive carefully.”

"Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

I smiled and started the engine.

***

Two weeks later, after settling the case and packing things up, I crossed the threshold of my home with my feet almost giving way. Jonathan handed me the keys, which were now holding my pocket down. Having opened the door, I walked into the living room. Everything here was the way it was before... As if there were no these ten years. Apparently, someone had cleaned the house at the request of Smith’s Sr. I threw my bag on the floor, fell down on my knees and allowed myself crying. Exactly ten minutes of weakness. Then, having raised my ass off the floor and wiped the tears off, I began dragging my stuff out of the car.

The next day was spent on cleaning and sorting out my stuff from the bags. After feeling frazzled to the limit, I finally fell into a deep sleep right in the living room on a couch. After waking up in the morning, I took a shower, made breakfast and... got confused. What am I doing here? I can go to Billy’s, but it is just for a few hours. And then what? Should I look for a job? Doing what? Pretty much, Smith’s scholarships and my savings are enough for the whole year, and then selling the house will bring enough profit even to cover all my expenses here... But... But! I will rot here, living within the four walls and watching TV. Hmm... What if?.. I grabbed the phone and dialed the number, which I remembered by heart. Answering machine. Awesome, I’ll leave a message.

EPOV

I returned to my office in the warm company of a cheeseburger and pretty decent latte from the diner house on the corner. The flashing light on the working telephone signaled that someone has left a message. Parents and friends usually called me on my cell, so it is definitely not my mother asking me if I wore a cap.

Having democratically arranged my ass on the table, I pressed the flashing button, getting ready to an ordinary job-related call.

"Hey, chief, what’s up? This is Bella Swan,” I choked on the hot coffee. "I’m just calling to say thanks for saving my ass half-covered with shorts from the night in jail. I...” She hesitated for a second. "In short, I am in Forks and I would like to invite you to dinner at my expense as a token of appreciation. My number is…” I rushed to get the pen and scribbled her digits on a notepad. "Call me. And say hello to Hulk.”

I laughed, and began eating my own lunch. Munching and sipping, I was trying to understand why the hell everything inside of me flipped. You are agitated, Cullen. What the hell is she doing here, in this town? Well, you thought about her right?.. Well... Well, I have. Yes. I also thought about Emmett. What’s so weird about this? Yes, but you were not imagining Emmett naked, standing on his knees with your dick in his mouth. It is what it is... I want her. As soon as I saw her « I wanted her. Oh, really will I have sex tonight? She is, perhaps, just passing through again. We will just have dinner and have sex. And then she will leave. Nobody finds out anything.

Damn, I think about her so... so... I don’t know it is… as if I want to use her for my own ends... It’s wrong, ugly. Fuck, what else do I have to think about the girl after two months of abstinence? My trips to Port Angeles after the story with Leah were the only way to entertain my penis. Random girl at the bar, looking for adventure or bluntly for a one night stand, brightened up my leisure time. Nobody knew in that town that I was the police chief, bearing a heavy burden of "you must be an example for everybody.” However, after Kate, with whom I was in light, but regular sexual relationships, I was just too lazy to drag myself there and get something that I was getting once a week for a few months in a row, just simply calling her. But... Kate now has a boyfriend who was closer, and with serious intentions, and not just with the "let’s have sex on Saturday” mood. Yes, I screwed up with a regular sex, and put myself on a diet. A special diet.

Unfortunately, my laziness did not eliminate my physiology. Bella Swan with her every appearance made me think that I am a man, not just the cop. Well, maybe she is interested in me if she called and invited me for dinner. We’ll see, but I definitely want her. Even more than just having sex. I want her! I felt my dick was getting up, right after I started thinking about her. Fuck! I am at work. Have you lost your mind, Cullen? You’re thirty-two, not seventeen. Ok, that’s enough fooling around. I’m calling her!

She picked up the phone almost instantly.

"Hello.”

"Hey, beautiful. So the woman of the streets is back to Forks again?” I quipped.

"You think yourself clever? Huh, Cullen?” Apparently, it had to sound angry, but I felt that Bella was smiling at me over the phone. "I am here now on kinda permanent residence, kid.”

My erection has instantly gone.

"Tomorrow it is going to snow with crap! Are you crazy, Swan?” I even yelled at her. Buzzkiller!!!

She laughed.

"I think my brains were still in my ass when you slammed it with the door,” she giggled.

"Seriously, Bella. No kidding, why?” I continued digging.

"No kidding, Edward. So, do you accept my invitation?” Do I accept? She asks... I am a well-brought-up, nice boy.

"How can I refuse a lady?”

"You can not!” Bella summed up. "Ok, we only have to arrange the time.”

"We can do it even today,” I said cheerfully. "What about the place?..”

" You should not worry about it” bad girl cut me off again.

"So you will you tell what is your charming ass doing in Forks?” I tried to come up with a snappy comeback.

"If you promise to be a good boy...”

"And what if I’m a bad guy?” I welcomed erection again.

"Then I will show you...”

Damn... Fuck me... Why the hell did she come to my town?!!

"Oh, tell me the time and place, baby.”

"No, you better tell me from where and when I should pick up YOUR lovely as?” she sang in honeyed voice.

"From the precinct, at seven, good?”

"Excellent! Just wait for me outside, I do not want to run into your Baskervilles Dog.”

We exchanged our cell phone numbers at the end of conversation. I looked at my watch. It will be a long day, chief...

***

Exactly at seven Bella called me on cell. I look out of the window and spotted a parked Ford, turned off the computer, put on my coat and left the precinct.

"Well, hello” I stumbled into the seat next to a beautiful driver.

"Hey, sweetie,” she smiled, turning the ignition key.

"Sweetie? You sure you are not drunk? Or I’ll be obliged to arrest you,” I reached in my pocket, as if I wanted to take out the handcuffs.

"In your dreams!” this little bitch meowed and added mockingly "...sweetie”.

I chuckled and buckled up. I expected that we would go to Billy’s, but Bella drove the car away from the city.

"Is it a kidnapping? Where are we going?” I turned my head, trying to portray the panic.

"In your dreams,” she said again. "I just want to eat normal pasta. There is no need to despair.”

"Oh, is it a private airfield and are we flying to Italy?” I was lost in dreams. "Only I got to work tomorrow...”

"Cullen, you’re too funny for the cop” Bella smiled. "Only Port Angeles. The table at the "Bella Italia”.

"My own personal Bella and Italy. Wonderful.”

She, of course, once again was mocking me. We exchanged funny jokes all the way. Harbor Angels lights loomed ahead, and the restaurant met us with a warm and cozy smell of pizza. The waitress led us to a table. My skin was itching from her lustful gaze. Excuse me, miss, I’m with a lady today. And, I am a well brought up boy - I helped Bella to her chair. I have to be good. If I’m bad, she will show me... And I will drag her into the bed, telling her to go to hell.

We ordered two pastas and two Cokes. I just opened my mouth to start a conversation, and the waitress was already galloping to us with ordered drinks. I nodded slightly to her in gratitude, for fear that uttered "thank you” threatened me with public rape. The girl broke into a smile, and biting and licking lips, assured us that she would come on first demand. I ignored her unequivocal signs and Bella snorted.

"Aren’t you ashamed?” She chided me.

"What did I do?” I drowned a virgin innocent look in the glass and sipped.

"I bet twenty, she will blow you in the restroom...”

I choked on my Coke.

"I have no idea how you’re going to check it,” I tried to get rid of the bet with this rude.

"Well, I would believe your officer’s word of honor,” Bella, in turn, made an innocent face.

"What? Wouldn’t you like to watch?” It’s your turn to choke on something, baby.

"Ewwww, Cullen, you better invite me to participate in this activity,” she snorted in response.

"Give me one good reason, why not? I am not talking about your participation...”

"I do not like to share,” she said, and proudly turned her nose up.

She got me again... Bitch. Break. I pulled out a pack of cigarettes, prudently putting it in the middle of the table. And lit one up. Bella did not follow my example.

"Help yourself,” I offered her.

"Nah, I only smoke when I’m nervous or when I’m drunk,” Bella explained.

I said to myself that she was nervous with me. It’s just as if I had sat on a hedgehog.

"If you want, you can order a drink, I’ll drive you home.”

"Oh, no. I had enough, this single time when you delivered my shitfaced body home. I’m never doing it again…..ever,” she giggled.

"Hmm... Perhaps, me too...”

The waitress brought us the food we ordered. The waitress "accidentally” touched my shoulder with her gorgeous breasts when she was putting pasta in front of me. Bella pursed her lips so they wouldn’t betray her with a grin.

"Do not even start,” I snarled, and immediately decided to change the subject. "I’m still waiting for an explanation. What are you doing in Forks?”

"Ok, what do you prefer? A long version of events? Or a funny one?”

"The short and sad one,” I answered.

Bella was in no hurry to begin. She was turning pasta noodles on the fork absently.

"Bella!” I called her name.

"Yes, yes... I’m here. Just thinking that it is all so absurd. Did you know that Smith Senior got Charlie’s house after his death, after he made public all his IOUs?” I nodded. Lousy story. "So, he bequeathed it to me.”

"Seriously? Congratulations... in the sense of... Well... it kinda honorable, you know,” I have tried to explain.

"No, Edward, in fact, not very. I have to live in this house for a year, so that it officially became mine, otherwise...” She swallowed, "...James Jr. will get it.”

"This is bullshit...”

BPOV

"This is bullshit,” said Cullen.

"That’s right, but it would be foolish to refuse. And...” I got some air into my chest and blurted out. "I would never let this bastard get my father’s house!”

Cullen looked puzzled.

"Are you talking about James? I thought you were old friends.”

"More like old enemies. No matter how big it sounds” I sent the fork in my mouth, chewed something automatically, though because of it I lost my appetite completely. "In short, now I’m stuck in this hole for a year. Life sucks.”

"And you abandoned your home, work... boyfriend?..” What boyfriend? Is he testing the waters or something?

"I do not have a boyfriend, as for the work, it was a period when I needed to change places, so I’m not really worried about that.”

"Where did you live? With your mother?” Fucking interrogation continues.

"No. In L.A.”

"Oh...”

"Yes, I am a socialite bitch” I grunted and reached for his cigarettes. You made me, again, asshole.

"When did I have time to make you nervous?” Cullen made a puppy dog face.

"Do not flatter yourself. I just blew my chance to get a decent job, I hate Forks and...” I almost blurted out that I hated James more than all of the above-mentioned put together.

"You can no longer go on, I got it” Edward nodded understandingly.

"I will not, because now it’s your turn to confess.”

"What is there to confess?” Are you making a fool out of yourself or something?

"The same things. What the hell are you doing in this freaking country side with such a wealth of knowledge, differences and charm?”

"You find me charming?”

"Cullen!”

"Okay, okay. It’s all Jasper. We went to the same academy, and I somehow got really drunk and told that I dreamt of growing old as police chief in some small town. We went apart. I lived in Chicago, and he was sent to Forks. I... When your father died...” Cullen hesitated, kind of like not wanting to hurt me. I had to come to help, to show that I was good for this job.

"Yes, I know ... Everybody was fighting there and decided to invite the third party...” I watched the cigarette. It seems that not only I was nervous. "I never thought it would be someone like you...”

We were silent, and began eating. I was bursting with curiosity. Having chewed, I continued my questioning.

"So, what were you doing in Chicago? Working as a janitor?”

"I was a deputy district attorney” said Edward with a "Yes, well, nothing-special” tone. I choked on my coke.

"Are you kidding me?”

"No.”

"Wow. You gave up on the Prosecutor’s Office in the city and came here to graze the cows at the ranch... Are you out of your goddamn mind?”

"I also left my wife and the prospect of taking a seat of my boss in a couple of years. He was going to retire. But I’ve always dreamed of...”

"A wife?! Are you married?!” Everything turned over inside of me.

"I am divorced. She did not want to go here with me, to give up on her career.” Edward ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, and inhaled deeply.

Crazy.

"Do you think this is selfish? She thought so, too,” he said quickly, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Jazz called and said that I could claim to be the chief... I just... Just wanted to... Damn, oh well, forget it...”

"No, no. Go on.”

"It’s true, Bella, it is my fucking dream. A quiet town. Routine reporting. On weekends I take children in my working car with flashing lights on a picnic to the ocean side,” he caught my stunned look. "Oh, so you think I am the old fashioned one here?”

"Well... even the dinosaurs more modern than you...”

"I’ll take it as the compliment.”

"Don’t,” I threw a fork and asked another question. "And where is all this? Family, children...”

Edward was in no hurry to answer.

"Well, it turns out that you can not get everything at once, baby. I have a job, and Forks. This is enough for me at this moment.”

"Listen, something doesn’t add up here. There are a whole lot of single girls here in Forks, which would have been happy to have children with such a fuckable hubby-cop. And you’re hanging out at Billy’s all the time. What? Rural girls are not good enough for you?” I started up.

"I was too carried away by them in the first six months. Now they scare schoolgirls with my name...” He smiled sadly. "It turns out that women in small towns are very fond of discussing the newcomers’ dicks.”

I grimaced. Who else knows better than me all the beauty of all those gossips? Poor Cullen. But...

"How many?” A forehead question.

"Huh?”

"How many did you fuck to pass for Casanova?”

"Four.” Edward noticed my incredulously upturned eyebrows. "I swear!”

"In six months? This means one person per an average of six weeks... Well, you know, that makes sense.”

"No, there’s no more sense in it. I gave up on dating,” he cut me off.

I looked down. In principle, our lovely dinner can hardly be called a date. But technically...

"Bella...” I looked up. "Do you think... You invited me...”

"Oh, Cullen, do not panic. Just... a date, you know dates can in fact be friendly too?” I came up with a good response.

"Friends, huh?” He gave me perky smile. Gosh, seventeen year old boys smile this way. "It sounds great.”

"You have no choice, handsome. I’m stuck here, and I like you. So I declare with full responsibility: I’m gonna be on your back forever. We are going to drink booze at Billy’s, go to the ocean side and watch football on Sundays.”

"Sounds awesome, Swan,” - he stretched out his fist, I cracked with mine. "So, friends, huh?”

I nodded. As simple as that. Now I will definitely not be bored. Cullen though is an asshole, but he’s a decent guy. He could not blow me off me after such a nice conversation. It seems I’m not going to die of boredom. I just wish he wasn’t that handsome... Because these damn eyes, porn jaw and hair with the "I just had sex” styling are sending too obvious signals to my groin. Okay, I will find ways how to deal with me. I guess... We finished dinner at the cheerful note. I’ve wanted to ask for the check, when Edward blurted out in one breath:

"Bella, if we’re friends, then can I ask a favor?” He was looking at me with his green lasers, covering my hand sympathetically with his own. "Please...”

"Oh... Well... yes” he will offer me to have sex. As a friend. I’m sure! I was prepared to roast him until we get in the car. And then I would shove my tongue in his mouth so it would touch the tonsils. God ... I want his mouth ... The blood rushed to my face, I felt hot... very hot.

"Let’s take a walk along the promenade. I have not walked there a hundred years with such a beautiful girl.”

I opened my mouth. Then I shut it. And then opened it once again. Fucking buzzkill!

"Yeah, sure, no problem” I said.

"Damn...” Edward growled. The waitress was hurrying to us. "Let’s get out of here.”

He threw a few bills on the table.

"Hey!” A pathetic attempt to come off as an emancipated female.

"Not now, Swan.” Edward pulled me by the hand and led me outside.

We were getting dressed literally on the run. I was giggling like a fool. Edward was muttering something about a very good service. Definitely, I like to be friends with Cullen. And definitely, I want him.