Bella Swan's Dating Guide by Pears13, A - D

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Bella Swan's Dating Guide by Pears13
A Twilight Fan Fiction Story
Summary: Bella Swan is very particular of who she dates, from the way he blows his nose down
to the size of his shoes. When Edward Cullen doesn't measure up to her set of rules, how will the
two of them manage the connection between them and the secret Edward is hiding? AU/AH E/B
Canon Pairings
Chapter One – Guideline 43
Guideline 43: A gentleman does not try to meet a girl by sending her a drink from across the
bar. If you have not been introduced previously, do not accept the drink and do not
acknowledge the man.
The weather was getting cooler, so I grabbed my black leather jacket and threw it on as I locked
the door behind me. My roommate, and good friend, Rosalie would be meeting me at the bar
along with my other good friend, Alice, and a couple other girls, Angela and Jessica. The five of
us had become quite the little clique over the past few years since living in the dorms together
freshman year of college. I had originally roomed with Alice and Rosalie with Jessica, while
Angela had a single room next to us. Oh, how times change.
Smiling from the wonderful memories of our college days, I braced myself against the cool night
and slight drizzle, walking comfortably in my pumps. That's right; Isabella Swan was wearing
pumps and she loved it. Not only was I wearing a shoe that might very easily get me blackballed
from my group of friends, but I also wore a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved, v-neck, blue
cashmere sweater. At least it was cashmere so Alice wouldn't be able to harass me too badly.
This wasn't the way I dressed when normally going out. I'd usually dress to impress the boys. It
had been a long four years of trials and tribulations—to get all dramatic in the way of the
religious—but I had finally been convinced, in my third year of college, that there was no such
thing as destiny. Yeah, I'd heard the romantic musings of true love and other halves, souls that
were meant to be together, and for a time, I believed it all.
For many years I looked at each day as if it could be the day I would meet
him
; my soul mate;
the man I'd been pining away for since I was five; the man I dreamed of in high school as I read
Pride and Prejudice; my very own Mr. Darcy. I had believed there was one person meant just for
me and once we found each other, we'd live happily ever after full of some magical love only
read about in fairy tales and romance novels.
I stopped abruptly as the feeling of complete emptiness overwhelmed me. The blue and white
lights of the neon sign for Midnight Sun loomed only two blocks away, yet I couldn't bring my
feet to continue on. It took me three years after meeting Alice and Rose to give up on true love
and here I was four years later, still lonely and unhappy. Actually, I was more unhappy than I
had been back then. At least back then I had true love to look forward to. Now all I had was,
well, I had my friends and the thought of someday having a family with some guy that could
make me somewhat happy. The Mr. Darcy in my mind never existed and never would exist. I
just wished my heart would catch up to my brain and give up on the whole idea.
Swallowing the lump that formed in my throat—which always formed when I thought of Mr.
Darcy or Pride and Prejudice now—I bravely took a step toward the bar, gaining confidence as I
got closer and closer to my friends. Tonight was all about having fun.
It was loud, dark, and crowded in Midnight Sun and the smell of stale beer and a plethora of
perfumes engulfed me as I pushed my way through the crowd, looking for my friends. This was
our watering hole; the place we came to in order to sit back and relax and I knew just where
they'd be; our table. Just as I'd expected, they were there, only there were more people than
normal sitting in our spot, not leaving any open chair for me to sit in.
"Hey girls," I said before bending over and giving an exuberant Alice a hug as she jumped up to
greet me.
"Bella!" Despite her small frame and frail-looking body, she squeezed quite hard. "You have to
meet my brother, Edward." Her small hand brushed away from my waist, coming to point in the
direction of a man with wild, yet sexy, auburn hair sitting in the seat next to hers. "Edward, this
is my good friend, Bella."
His eyes caught mine and I struggled to find my words. I'd seen pictures of Alice's brother
Edward many times. I'd even fantasized about him in a dream or two, but nothing could ever
have prepared me for the gorgeous man who was now standing with his hand outstretched. I
slowly lifted my hand to grasp his. Inside, my mind made note of his firm shake and I opened my
mouth to speak. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Edward." His hand lingered over mine and
he seemed hesitant to let go—as was I—but he finally did.
His cheeks turned a faint shade of red. "I've heard a lot about you," he said with an impish smile.
I remembered his smile from Alice's pictures. If I remembered correctly, he had quite a few
different smiles and each one had done a number on me—just from pictures alone. To have him
in the flesh, right before my eyes, smiling like that, practically did me in.
"All good, I hope." Before I could continue on in conversation with the divinely handsome
Edward, Alice pulled me over to another man with short black hair that looked as if it would be
curly if he grew it long.
"Bella, this is Edward's friend, Emmett. Emmett, this is Bella."
When Emmett turned to greet me, I was taken back by his adorable cheeks with the deepest
dimples I'd ever seen. He stood and shook my hand and I immediately felt like an ant. His
presence was commanding with his broad shoulders and slim waist. "It's a pleasure," I said and
he chuckled before turning his attention back to Rose who now stood to give me a hug.
"We didn't think you were going to make it," she whispered in my ear. "I was getting ready to
come get you."
"I ended up working late, but I'm here now." I had no excuse really, considering I worked from
home most of the time.
"Oh," she said, pulling back a bit. "Angela brought Ben with her." She then turned toward our
friend and motioned to a guy who was a bit chubby, but still cute in a geeky kind of way. He had
black straight hair that clung to his head and he looked extremely uncomfortable. "Ben," Rose
said rather loudly, "this is our friend, Bella."
"Hi," he said quietly, with a tip of his head in acknowledgment.
"Hey." I lifted my head in reply and then walked over to Angela and wrapped my arms around
her. "He's cute," I whispered in her ear and she giggled. Out of our group of five, Angela was
quiet and shy, the one I was most similar to. It was Alice and Rose who brought out my spunky
side, which was probably why I was closest to them.
When I went to greet the last person at the table, I felt an immediate jolt of rage. Jessica was
sitting next to Alice's brother, Edward, leaning in toward him and showing off her ample
cleavage. In our little circle, it was always about the early bird and unfortunately I wasn't early
this evening.
"So?" I asked as I sat in a seat that Emmett graciously stole for me from two tables away. "How
long are you two in town?" My eyes fought hard to stay on Emmett's, but I couldn't help but
chance a peek at Edward's too.
"Indefinitely." Emmett sounded so matter-of-fact that I did a double take and then glared at
Edward.
"Really? You two are moving here?" I focused on Edward's deep green eyes and couldn't help
but feel he was holding something back. They were warm and friendly, but something nagged at
the back of my mind. He seemed reserved or afraid to share something, but he also seemed
uncomfortable about it, as if he were struggling against something.
"Have moved here," Emmett said, and I pulled my eyes away from Edward's to look back at him.
"How come you never said anything Alice?" Didn't she know something like this was a big deal?
"I didn't know," Alice said. "I got a call two days ago that they were coming to town but it wasn't
until they arrived this morning that they told me they were moving here."
"Let me guess, someone's after you two?"
Emmett started laughing, his arm not-so-discreetly finding its place around the back of Rose's
chair and Edward paled. "Um, no," Edward said uncomfortably. "We just—"
"Eddie had a difference of opinion with one of the partners." Emmett's hand was now resting
comfortably over Rose's shoulders and I smiled at her, which caused her to roll her eyes at me.
That reminded me of Edward's occupation. Alice had been so proud of her big brother when he
passed the bar. "So you just up and left? Why not find a new job there? Why move all the way
out here?" I was being nosey, but I was intrigued. What kind of person just picked up and left
everything behind over a dispute with their boss?
Edward shrugged and his face hardened, almost like a door had been shut, closing me off. His
green eyes were now cold and his lips were drawn into a hard line. "I wanted to move closer to
home."
That's when I noticed his voice. I had been so mesmerized by his beauty and green eyes that I
didn't realize how smooth and silky his voice had sounded before I offended him. Now his voice
was cold and a bit raspy. Luckily, our waitress, Sandy, stopped by.
"Another round?" Sandy asked as she picked up the two empty pitchers on the table. "A glass for
you?" she asked me with a friendly smile. She was wearing an extremely tight, red, scoop-neck
t-shirt that showed off copious amounts of cleavage—even more than Jessica and that was saying
a lot—and her midriff was bare, exposing her hard abs and cute little bellybutton above a tight
pair of black jeans.
"Yes, please," I said.
She walked over behind Edward and motioned to his near-empty mug. "Would you like
another?"
I had to hand it to Edward. He didn't once ogle her or let his eyes linger over her exposed flesh
for one second. "Yes, please," he replied and the way he spoke made me feel as if he was
mocking me, but I let it slide.
While Edward spoke to Sandy, I looked over to Ben to see where his eyes were focused. This
was just the way we were with each other. Any time one of us brought a boy out to meet the rest
of the group, we sized him up and watched for any reason to deem the poor sod unworthy. Ben's
eyes were staring straight into Angela's, his entire body language showing he was only interested
in her. Score one for Ben. Smiling, I then turned my eyes to Emmett and watched him and Rose
whispering together.
"Ooh, Bella," Jessica said from my left, "green hat, eleven o'clock."
On instinct, I lifted my eyes a little to the left and noticed a good looking man in a Mariners hat
looking right at me. He winked when I made eye contact and I turned to look at Jess. "Eight," I
said with a shrug.
"Really? How can you tell?" Jessica looked up at him and scrunched her eyes together—to focus,
I assumed.
"Right behind him is that guy you dated for a few weeks . . . what's his name again? Elton or
something?"
"Alvin."
"Who's this?" Alice asked, leaning over the table. "Which one?"
"Green hat," Jessica said. "He was making eyes at Bella, but she said number eight."
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