Bella's POV

I stared back at Edward, approaching the group in all his handsome, masculine glory. There was going to be no convincing way for me to sell this situation as two unattached strangers randomly meeting and deciding to have ice cream together. I knew Alice and Rose. I knew how they thought. I knew that, since Edward was good-looking and had paid for the ice cream, this was automatically a date in their books. Was there even any point in trying to explain myself? Wouldn't it be easier to cut to the chase?

Before I could say anything to my two speechless roommates, Rosalie's date Emmett broke the silence. "Edward! What the heck are you doing here?" He seemed just as shocked as anyone.

I gaped at the tall man standing next to Rose and looked at Edward, who was now beside me. "You know them?" I asked, stunned.

Edward's eyes sparkled. "Of course I do. Bella, I'd like you to meet my roommates, Jasper and Emmett."

"Yeah," I said incredulously. "I've already met them. Their dates are my roommates." I gestured to them as I spoke.

"And who's your date, Bella?" Alice asked bluntly, tapping her foot impatiently. It was clear that the niceties of this conversation were getting in the way of her question being answered promptly.

"Oh," I reddened immediately. "He's not my… I mean, we're just… That is to say…This is Edward," I sputtered out. Was he my date? I wasn't sure if I could explain at all. It had never been made clear what exactly we were doing here and I didn't want to say we weren't on a date if Edward thought we were.

"Nice to meet you, Edward," Rose purred, raising another eyebrow. "I'm Rosalie."

Emmett grinned and pointed at Rose. "This is the girl I was telling you about, man!" He looked like he wanted to do a little victory dance right there in the shop. I couldn't help but giggle.

"And this is Alice," Jasper interjected, putting his hand on the small of her back. Alice's grin practically stretched off her face as she extended her hand in greeting.

"Pleased to meet you both," Edward replied, glancing at me as he did so. I blushed even deeper.

"So… what the heck are you doing here, man?" Emmett repeated his question from earlier, winking at me as he did so. Was he allowed to do that? I flicked my eyes at Rosalie but she was too busy staring up at her date like he had the power to get her a 50% discount on designer shoes for the rest of her life.

I felt Edward shift next to me. "Getting ice cream, of course. What are you doing here?"

Emmett rolled his eyes and Jasper chuckled next to him. "No, I mean, what's with the date? If we had known you wanted to get out tonight, we would have asked you to come to dinner with us."

I frowned at his flawed logic. "You do realize that if you had dragged Edward to dinner, my roommates probably would have dragged me to dinner and we'd all be right back where we started, right?"

I watched Emmett frown. "Yeah, I guess that's true." He laughed a big, booming laugh and slapped Edward on the shoulder. "Well done, man. She's pretty!"

My face heated at his remark and I looked at my feet, wishing that everyone weren't staring at me. Somewhere deep inside I was flattered that he thought I was attractive, but the bluntness with which he blurted it out was embarrassing. Was there any way we could change the subject? I wasn't remotely clear on what Edward and I were up to and it was uncomfortable having this chance run-in be the predominant topic of conversation. I needed time to process all of it before trying to analyze it with Alice and Rose.

"Thank you," said Edward, amused. I glanced up at him and saw that he was staring down at me with a soft expression. Was he thanking Emmett for congratulating him? Was he agreeing that I was pretty? Was he affirming that we were on a date? Why couldn't I read people's minds? It would make everything so much easier.

"Hey!" Alice squeaked, bobbing up and down. I wondered detachedly if she was so thin because she put one hundred percent of her energy into everything she did, including this conversation. That had to burn a ton of calories. "Why don't we all go back to our place and hang out?"

The guys all exchanged quick, hopeful looks with one another. "That sounds awesome!" said Emmett, just as excited as Alice was.

"Great! You all follow us in Bella's car, ok?" Rose said, snatching my wrist as she said it. "She drives a black Forerunner."

"I know which car it is," interjected Edward. "Guys, follow me in Jasper's car."

Rose and Alice exchanged looks before dragging me outside and toward my car, one of the only ones left parked in front of the grocery store. I could almost hear the eight million questions that were buzzing in each of their heads as they hurried me across the parking lot. I dug my keys out of my pocket with the hand that wasn't imprisoned in Rose's death-grip and unlocked my car.

"What about your car?" I asked Alice, whose car was still parked in front of the Greek restaurant where they had eaten.

"Get it tomorrow," she replied automatically. "This is more important."

Once all three doors slammed, Alice and Rose squealed in unison, practically bursting my ear drums. I covered my ears, waiting for them to calm down. Alice was clapping and bouncing in her seat, burning more calories probably.

"Okay okay okay!" Rose shouted over Alice. "Bella, what in God's name is going on?" She was still excited but her voice was controlled as she addressed me.

I shrugged, going red again. "I don't… I'm not sure."

"Yeah, that explanation is so not going to be enough," Rose said after a small pause. I had figured as much but thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

"Start from the beginning!" Alice screeched, causing both Rosalie and me to flinch.

"Alice, you have got to calm down," I said in exasperation. I watched Edward pull his car around to where we were parked, closely followed by another white one that I assumed was Jasper's. I started my engine and made my way out of the parking lot with the guys in tow.

"Just start talking, Bella. We only have like six minutes to hear the whole story before we're home." Rose was getting impatient.

I took a deep breath. "Fine. But neither of you can interrupt me until I'm done," I qualified.

"Deal," said both Rose and Alice simultaneously.

Where did I start? I hadn't even had a chance to think through most of it myself and here I was trying to explain everything. "I guess the whole thing started the other day when I was in the coffee shop down the road doing some editing. I looked up from my manuscript and Edward was sitting across the room just… staring. Not in a creepy way or anything," I added. I went on to explain all that had transpired since that time until tonight. There was silence in the car as we drove.

"He paid for the ice cream tonight, then?" Rose asked with a grin.

I nodded. "He didn't really give me a chance to argue with him."

"Yeah that was a date then," she said excitedly. "I mean, granted, it was an impromptu date, but still... a date's a date!"

"And what's with your outfit tonight, Bells?" Alice interjected, her voice dripping in awe. "It looks like something we would have picked out for you but never ever something you'd wear on your own."

"I know, right?" Rosalie exclaimed. "Our baby's all grown up and picking out sexy outfits on her own!"

I shrugged, turning onto our street. "I caught my jacket in the car door and it ripped." They both stared nonplussed for a second before Rosalie groaned.

"So… do you like him, Bella?" Alice asked carefully. I frowned at the serious edge her voice had taken but decided to ignore it.

"I honestly don't know," I said slowly, steering into the driveway. "He's attractive and seems really nice but I still don't really know him at all."

"That's understandable," said Rose, using the same, carefully measured tone that Alice had. "But the only way you will get to know him is by spending time with him."

"I think it's worth a shot if you're willing to give it a chance," Alice said reasonably. She poked me in the side and giggled, turning the conversation in a lighter direction again. "But if you don't kiss him at some point, I may just have to!"

"What about Jasper?" I asked with a laugh, trying to swat her hand away at the same time.

"Oh, he won't mind," Alice said confidently. We all got out of the car and looked back at the guys who were all still sitting in their cars staring at us.

Emmett's POV

Is this a joke? How were we living in the same neighborhood with these girls without knowing it? I studied the house for a second and realized that I recognized it. I glanced at their next door neighbor's house just to double check. Surely not…

"This is the same house, if that's what you're wondering," Jasper said out loud, confirming what I already knew.

"How is that even possible?" I asked incredulously.

"You also realize, then, that it was Rosalie that yelled at us from that window up there, right?" Jasper asked, pointing to the second-story window directly above the front door.

I paused, thinking it out without really needing to. I knew that what he was saying was accurate. "How is that even possible?" I asked again, still not believing how incredibly lucky I was to be living directly behind Rosalie. To hell with the fact that she had yelled at me! My bedroom was literally like 100 feet from hers!

The back door opened and Edward jumped inside before we could even react. "Okay, men, what are we going to do about this?" He asked conspiratorially.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not catching on.

"This is the house directly behind ours!" He looked back and forth at our blank expressions. "Oh, come on, gents! This is too good for us not to do something useful with it!" He was whispering even though it wasn't necessary.

I glanced out my windshield and saw the girls all standing in the driveway watching us. Rosalie was so unbelievably gorgeous it was hard for me to stay sitting in the car when I could have my arms around her. But Edward was almost never the instigator of a practical joke and I was interested in seeing what he had in mind. "What are you thinking, Edward?"

He shrugged. "We can't hammer out the details right now. Just pretend we don't live in this neighborhood," he replied quickly.

"Wait!" Jasper grabbed his arm before he could get out of the car. "We want details on what you were doing tonight with Bella!"

"No time now, Jaz," I said, fixing my eyes on Rosalie. She was hott even when she was tapping her foot impatiently. I chuckled, getting out of the car.