Friends with Benefits

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Things I own: my sanity (though, that's debatable at times), not enough time to write and incredible friends and family!!

Things I don't: Twilight, Edward and Bella (Damn. It.)

Chapter Sixty-Seven

EPOV

"What's up, Heidi?" I asked, sipping my coffee.

"Well, I just started and I love it here at the firm," she said, her skin blushing.

"You're doing amazingly well, Heidi. A true asset to the team," I said, not lying. She was conscientious, driven and smart. Additionally, she was working on getting her own law degree in night school at DePaul. "You said you wanted to pick my brain?"

"I was curious," she began, twisting her coffee. "What is the firm's stance on relationships between associates, paralegals and attorneys?"

"Um, what?" I choked out, staring at her in disbelief.

"Is there a fraternization policy?" Heidi asked, her face the color of a fire engine.

"Relationships between associates, paralegals and attorneys is frowned upon," I said. "We had a couple meet and get married, but ended in a divorce. The woman had to leave the firm since they couldn't get through the work day without screaming at each other. Why?"

"There's an attorney who I think is adorable and very sweet," Heidi began, waving her hands excitedly. She shot me a look. "I was wondering if he was single? And if I could pursue him?"

"Most of the attorneys are in relationships," I said, swallowing convulsively. "Or married."

"Even Felix?" she asked, her blue eyes looking forlorn.

Felix? She likes Felix? Oh, thank God. I thought she liked me. How would I explain this to Bella?

"Felix is one of the few single guys," I breathed. "But, I would approach a relationship with him or with anyone else in the firm with trepidation. We don't a repeat situation from before."

"Got it," Heidi smiled, standing up from her seat. "Thank you, Mr. Cullen." She darted out of the Starbucks and I slumped against my seat. Finishing up my coffee, I went to my car to drive home. Parking in the garage, I walked into the apartment.Bella was sitting on the couch, grading some papers with her glasses on her nose. She looked so adorable.

"Hey, Bells," I said, sitting down next to her.

"What's up, Edward?" she replied, giving me a half-hearted grin.

"Not a whole lot," I answered, looking at her work. "What are you grading?"

"Animal Farm essays," she grumbled, wrinkling her nose. "I hate that book and my abhorrence is quite apparent their essays. If only I could remove this book from the required reading, I'd be a happy camper." She finished grading and grabbed her stuff. "I'm going to go upstairs, Edward. I'll talk to you later."

"Will you?" I asked, my voice sounding bitter. That stopped her and she turned to face me. I tried smooth my face into an impassive mask. "Sorry."

"Shit," she frowned. "Edward, I'm the one who is sorry. I've been awful to you. You've been awesome while I've been recuperating with my gimpy self and I've been pushing you away."

"Bella, I know that I've been hovering but I was worried about you. I still am," I sighed, tugging on my hair. "When I got that call that you fell, my heart just about shattered. I also know that I'm acting more like a boyfriend than a friend. You've been clear in your expectations. You don't want a boyfriend. I've been forcing a relationship on you that you don't want."

She sat down next to me, her face pulled into a deep scowl. "Edward, what do you want? Do you want a relationship with me?" she asked, looking at me.

"I don't want a relationship with you if it's going to ruin us. What I do want is my best friend back. This distance is bugging me," I sighed. "Do I think we should continue having sex? That remains to be seen. Once we had sex the night of the benefit, everything changed."

"I think, for now, we should work on rebuilding our friendship. We've been so focused on the physical aspect of our friends with benefits thing that our amazing friendship has fallen to the wayside. I also hate this distance between you and me. I hate not being able to come to you with my successes, my troubles and everything in between," she said, twisting her hair nervously. "How about I make you your favorite meal as a peace offering? We can just relax, eat dinner and be us. How does that sound?"

"It sounds pretty damn good," I smiled. "I've got to work late tomorrow since I left relatively early tonight. How about on Friday we have our meal?"

"Perfect," Bella beamed, her body relaxing instantly. "I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow and get all of the makings for gravy, sausage, meatballs and pasta. It'll be delicious!" She bounced away, rattling off her grocery list. For now, everything seemed to be alright. We were working on our friendship.

But, damn it. I still wanted more.

More than a fuck buddy. More than just friends with benefits.

A/N: Up next will be the dinner and their conversation on how to rebuild their friendship. Edward has a few tricks up his sleeve to try and wheedle Bella into more, but it will take time. Leave me some lovin!