Chapter 4-When I Saw You.

Bella POV

It was Friday and Edward had called to confirm our plans. He let us know exactly when and where to meet. I was definitely looking forward to a night out and I was looking forward to meeting the mysterious Edward. I hoped the night would go as well as Em wanted it to.

I took one last look in the mirror. My hair was in soft waves. I had on just the right amount of make up. Not overly done but enough to make a statement. I had on a denim mini-skirt, blue halter top and black strappy four inch heels. Perfect. I wanted to make a good first impression on Edward, since he's Em's favorite cousin.

“Bella! You ready to go?” Emmett shouted from the front door.

Walking towards the front door, I said “Yeah. Let's go.”

I grabbed my purse off of the kitchen table and looked at Em. “How do I look?” I said batting my eyelashes at him.

“You look hot baby! You know I love those shoes.” He said with a huge smile on his face.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. He looked into my eyes and leaned down to plant his lips on mine.

As I pulled away I said “Come on Em, you know we have to go or we'll be late.”

With a sad puppy dog look on his face he said “Aww. I was hoping to get a little action in before we left.”

I lightly slapped his arm. “Always so horny. Let's leave before we don't make it at all!”

We walked out the door and down to the car. Em started the short drive to Little Five Points. My mind had been racing with questions about Edward all day. After dating Em for three years and barely hearing about his 'so-called' favorite cousin, I had a ton of questions. Why did he leave town? Why was he back now? Is he here for good? Does he have kids? A wife? Girlfriend? Where is he going to live? So many questions. Slow down, Bella. You're gonna seem crazy if you just bust out with all the questions tonight.

So, instead of bombarding Em with all of my questions at once, I began to ease into my line of questioning.

“Em, why did Edward leave after high school? Was it for college?” I asked casually, attempting not to sound too eager.

He glanced over to me for a second, trying to keep an eye on the road and said “Well, his parents died in a car accident on the night of his graduation. He kept blaming himself for it. About a month later he just said he was leaving. He wouldn't tell us where.”

Wow. I had no idea. That's so sad but why did he blame himself?

“Why do you think he was blaming himself for his parent's death? Was he driving the car?” I had to know.

“ He wasn't driving the car but he was following behind them. He saw the whole accident. They were on their way downtown to celebrate his graduation. The car in front of my aunt and uncle blew a tire and spun out. Carlisle tried to swerve to miss the car but he was going so fast that the car flipped over five times. Edward kept saying that if he hadn't wanted to go downtown his parents would still be alive.” His face looked very somber as he told me.

God. I cannot imagine seeing my parent's die right in front of me.

I didn't really know what to say at that point. I didn't want to keep questioning Em about his Aunt and Uncle's death. So, I just let it go. Maybe Edward would answer my questions during the nights' conversation.

We pulled into Little Five Points and I started people watching. Little Five Points is an area in East Atlanta that is only about a mile long and not even a mile wide but there is always so much going on in that little area. There are three or four pretty famous bars where the Atlanta celebrities can usually be seen on the weekends. There are a bunch of independently owned shops. There's always someone painting something on the sidewalk or someone playing music on the street. Every race and type of person can be seen there. Gothic, preppy, urban, rich, poor, homeless, average, black, white, Asian, Indian. It's definitely a place that can keep your interest.

We were meeting Edward at one of the smaller bars. It has a nice patio and some of the best original drinks in the whole city. Definitely a good place to sit outside and quiet enough to catch up.

Em parked the car and as I got closer to the door I saw a brand new silver Volvo. It was so shiny and pretty. There was an Illinois license plate on the back. Nice car.

As we walked into the bar I heard someone call out “Emmett!” I didn't recognize the voice but it sounded amazing. It was clear, deep and smooth.

We both looked to our left to see a tall well built man with perfectly imperfect bronze hair walking swiftly towards us with a huge smile on his face. His outfit was perfectly put together. He wore a Gucci button up shirt and jeans. His shoes were also Gucci. Nice shoes! His outfit must have cost a small fortune. Must be Edward. Holy shit he's hot!

I could feel my jaw hanging down as he got closer. Pick your fucking jaw up off the ground Bella!

Emmett embraced him with a huge bear hug and an even bigger smile on his face. “Cuz!”

After a few moments I managed to pick up my jaw and they finally released from their embrace. Edward looked over at me still smiling and reached his hand out to shake mine and said “You must be Bella? I'm Edward. It's a great pleasure to meet you.”

I gave him my hand to shake and as his hand enveloped mine I could feel a shot of electricity shoot through my hand and up my arm. What the hell was that? Trying not to smile too big I said “Yes, I am. It's nice to finally meet you.” Get it together Bella. You can't just stand here holding his hand smiling like an idiot all night. I released his hand and finally quit staring.

“I got us a table out here on the patio. You guys ready for some drinks? This is my first night out since I've been back so let's get to it! All drinks are on me tonight!” His voice sounded like velvet as he spoke. I almost felt like I was in a trance just listening to him speak.

We got to the table and the waitress came to take our orders. I ordered a painkiller and Em ordered a Jack and Coke. The painkillers are the drink that made this bar famous. Edward was already drinking a Grey Goose and pineapple juice. Nice taste in liquor, I see.

I was trying not to stare but as Em and Edward were conversing I continued to find my self fixated on Edwards lips. They were shaped perfectly. They looked so moist. I couldn't bring myself to look away every time he took a sip from his straw. What the fuck am I doing? My boyfriend is right here and I just keep fucking staring at his cousin. Get it the fuck together!

I had no idea what they had been talking about. I wasn't really interested in their conversation. I wanted to keep looking at Edward.

“So, Bella, Emmett tells me you're a nurse. How is that going?” I heard Edward say. I tried to get my mind to work instead of letting his velvety voice make me zone out.

“Yeah. I'm a nurse in East Point. I like my job. I get to help people and I make pretty decent money.” Somehow my mind worked enough to produce an actual sentence.

With a smile on his face he said “You must be pretty smart to be a nurse.”

Yeah but I feel like an idiot right now because I can't stop gawking at you.

“Yeah I like to consider myself pretty intelligent. I didn't exactly graduate at the top of the class but I did pretty well.”

“Don't let her fool you. She's the smartest woman I've ever met. I'd trust her to save me any day.” Em proudly said to Edward.

We all three continued in casual conversation for a while. The questions that had been racking my brain all day were still unanswered. The more I looked at Edward the more I wanted to know about him. I was completely intrigued.

Grow some balls Bella and just ask him what you want to know.

“So, Edward, I know I just met you and I don't want to seem nosy but can I ask you something?” I said. Better to just spit it out than to keep racking my brain about it.

He looked at me with a slight grin on his lips and what I swear was a sparkle in his eyes and said “Sure Bella. We are practically family. What do you wanna know?”

“Come on, Bella. Let's not give him twenty questions tonight. Let's just let loose and have fun.” Em said to me. Shut up Em!

“No No Emmett. It's completely fine. The lady has an inquiring mind. Let's see what she wants to know.” Edward said with that same smirk on his beautiful face.

“Thanks Edward.” I said smiling at him. “I was just wondering where you had moved to when you left Georgia?”

“Well, I went to Chicago. Been there until I came back here.” He simply stated. He made it sound like he hadn't disappeared from his whole family and was just right up the street.

Chicago! Shit! That's his Volvo. He must have a lot of money. Buying the drinks, that outfit and then the nice car. Where is all his money coming from?

I couldn't think of where to continue after that. I wanted to ask about the money but that's rude. Should I have asked why he left? Why he came back? I decided not to push my luck and besides my mind was still reeling from the revelation I just stumbled upon.

We continued in casual conversation for a while longer. Edward paid for everything and I thought the night would end there but then Edward asked us to go to a club not far away and keep the night going. Em and I were up for anything and I also liked the idea of having more time to look at Edward. I hoped Em hadn't noticed that I had been staring basically all night. But then again Em was so engulfed in his reunion with Edward that he barely paid me any attention anyways.

We arrived at the bar and got our drinks. We found a small booth and sat down to enjoy our drinks. The fellas were talking again but the music was so loud I couldn't hear any of what they were saying. Then I heard my favorite song come over the sound system.

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed. “This is my song!! Let's go dance Em!”

“I don't feel like dancing right now, Bella.” Em said. He probably just wanted to keep drinking for free. Figures.

Ugh! What the fuck ever. I'll go dance by myself.

I got up out of the booth and I was half way to the dance floor when I felt someone grab my hand. I thought I felt that same electric shock as before. It couldn't be Edward, could it? I turned to see who it was and saw it was Edward. Oh shit. I was totally shocked. I didn't expect it to be him holding my hand. I looked at his beautiful face and I swear I almost melted.

“I told Emmett it wasn't right for such a pretty woman to be dancing all alone and that I would dance with you to keep an eye on you.” He winked. He fucking winked!

I couldn't help but smile and said “Let's do this!” Oh my God. Oh my God. Stay calm. Stay calm.