A/N: Standard disclaimers apply. Thanks to the lovely betas over at PTB. :)

My Favorite Accident

Chapter One: My Five-Minute Rescue

BPOV

"Alice, I don't think we need this many avocado," I spoke into my phone. "Are you making something specifically, or is it just one of your strange food cravings?"
I was standing in the fruit section of the grocery, debating whether I should get myself four apples or six oranges. It was my turn to do the weekly shopping, and quite frankly, some of my roommates' items on the grocery list were overly specific and strange. Take for example, Alice's avocado request. Who needed a whole pound?

"It's neither," Alice laughed on the other end. "I figured since Rose was getting married soon, the three of us should have a little bachelorette party at home tomorrow. It'll be a Mexican themed fiesta and I need avocados for guacamole."
"Well…couldn't I just buy guacamole?" I asked, pushing the cart past the watermelons, the avocados already inside. No matter how much I argued, I knew that Alice would eventually get her way.

"No, silly! It has to be handmade! It's the only thing I can make," Alice confessed. "And I wanted to make something for Rosalie. Can you believe she's getting married next week?"

I really couldn't. I'd known Rosalie and Alice since college, and it was hard to think that by next week, one of us would finally marry the man of her dreams. Emmett was an incredibly sweet and thoughtful guy, and his tastes matched Rose's without a doubt. Alice and I were one of the few people who witnessed every step of their relationship, and it seemed only fitting to Rose to ask us to be her bridesmaids. But no matter how happy I was that she and Emmett were getting married, I was a bit sad too. Rosalie getting married meant that she was moving out, which was why I immediately agreed to Alice's idea the moment she mentioned it. And a Mexican theme? It was perfect, especially after the vacation we took to Cabo one Spring Break.

Alice and I continued our conversation for a while, discussing her plans for the party while I continued through the list. Eventually I reached the last few aisles of the grocery, picking up the same shampoo I'd been using since I was fourteen. What could I say; I was a creature of habit. I was just reaching to grab some toilet paper when my phone started ringing in my pocket. Seeing who it was, I took my time in picking up.

"Alexa?" I asked, turning the corner and taking some more canned tuna. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh Bella," my older sister replied as I rechecked my list. "You know I don't always call with bad news. In fact I hardly ever call you."

It was true. Alexa had moved out of Forks the first chance she got, and save for the bi-annual phone call and the usual cards, we'd hardly talked. It was just the way our relationship worked and it worked for us. It was as good a relationship as any, considering that our parents were divorced. It had been 'convenient' for Renee and Charlie that they had two daughters, with Alexa staying with him in Forks while I'd been shipped off to Arizona with Renee. Charlie once said that Alexa had left almost the exact same way Renee did. She was a lot like my mother that way and I'd always been jealous of that. But I never told anyone, especially not her.

"Which is why I always assume that something is wrong when you do," I said back as my eyes immediately looked up to the grocery doors as they swung open. My eyes widened and my heart raced inside my chest as I saw who stepped in. No. No. No. It couldn't be. They just can't…he couldn't. And with the new wife no less, whose perky face and perfect hair immediately pushed me into a familiar realm of insecurity that was reserved especially for the new Mrs. Mike Newton. That should have been me. I should have been the one clutching his arm and pointing out the canned tomatoes. Oh crap. They were coming towards my aisle. I ducked my head, bent my knees and turned the cart around to avoid them. No way was I going to let Mike or Jessica see me in all my sad single glory. I wasn't about to give them the satisfaction.

"Bella? Bella?" I heard Alexa ask as I turned around and made sure that the Newtons were nowhere in sight. I blinked a bit and tried to turn my attention back to my phone. "Are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm still here. You were saying something," I said as I moved my cart towards the counter. My mind was doing so many things at the same time. First, I was trying to make sure that neither Mike nor Jessica had or would be able to see me. The last thing I wanted was an awkward conversation with them. Really, I didn't need to see my ex-fiancée flaunt my former high school friend in my face. I had other insecurities to deal with, plus the ones that he caused. Alice said that I should be thankful that I hadn't married Mike, but I still couldn't see why.

Maybe in another year.

The other part of my brain was trying to comprehend where I was. I was at the grocery and I was at the line. There were two people in front of me and one other person behind me. My neck and shoulder were squashed in between my phone because Alexa was still talking.

"…at their rehearsal dinner tomorrow. I'll introduce you to him then. He's really amazing, Bella. I think I might just be in love."
"Uhm, that's great, Alexa," I said to her, pushing my cart forward, noting that Mike and Jessica were nowhere to be seen. I started to unload my items on the counter. "I'll talk to you soon."
The same thing I always unconsciously said to her before she said goodbye.

"Alright. Bye Bella!" Alexa finally said before she hung up. As I pocketed my cell phone, I felt a strange guilt coming over me. It sounded like she was really telling me something important, and I hadn't heard a thing. What if our bad relationship was my fault? She'd certainly made her fair share of calls to me. Had I? Would everything have changed if I listened in on her conversation and made actual responses? I handed the cashier my credit card as I continued to ponder on the phone call. She sounded really happy and all she was doing was sharing that with me and I didn't even listen. Damn it. This was all Mike's fault.

"This is a cash-only line."
"What?" I asked, jumping right out of my thoughts as my eyes met the cashier's. Clearly she wasn't amused that I hadn't been paying attention. "What?" I asked again and she looked up at the sign over our heads.

"This is a cash-only line," she repeated to me. I fumbled at my bag to grab my wallet only to find that I had a whole…dollar. I had just one dollar for at least thirty dollars worth of groceries.

"I don't have cash on me," I explained, feeling my hands sweat in embarrassment. "Couldn't you just…make an exception?"
The cashier looked back at me like I had at least three heads. "Get in another line, lady."
"She has no cash. She has NO cash," someone a couple of people behind me mumbled. I was about to say something more to try to alleviate the situation when I felt someone brush behind me and stand closer to the counter.

"Is everything alright?" a deep, velvet voice asked, and I didn't dare turn my head. I held in the gasp that threatened to escape my lips.

"In case you hadn't heard, she has no cash," the mumbler yelled towards the guy and the cashier nodded her assent. I could swear my embarrassment only grew from there.

"This is a cash-only line," she said for the third time now.

"Well I know that now," I said back to her, and behind me, I swore I heard the man laugh a bit. He sighed, and I could feel his breath at my neck and it made my skin tingle.

"Is that a credit card machine there?" he asked the cashier, and she turned her eyes towards him for the first time. Never had I seen an expression change as fast as hers did. Her hard and droopy eyes brightened, her back straightened, and the classic sign, she twirled her hair in her fingers. Wow. I bit my lip to resist the urge to just turn around.

"Yes," the cashier replied, drumming her fingers against the keypad as if she was about to sell it to him. "It is indeed."
"Well, don't you think things would go a bit smoother if you just…zipped in this young lady's card…May."
May was the cashier's name. She all but ripped the credit card out of my hand and punched in the numbers just to impress him. May, the cashier, threw me a scornful look as she handed me a pen to sign the receipt. Behind me, my savior greeted the mumbling man a Merry Christmas as he took his place behind me in the line.

"Merry Christmas," I said to May with a smile as I picked up my grocery bags. I was just about to turn and thank my rescuer when I heard someone call my name. My insides froze as I recognized the voice immediately.

"Bella! Bella Swan!" Mike said as me made his way over to me, his arms full of groceries and Jessica in tow. I turned to them and managed to smile.
"Hi Mike, Jessica," I said to them in the most civil voice that I could muster. I wanted to throw my groceries at the floor and run. But not before I hurled some peanut butter and Nutella at them first.

But running was my first thought.

"How have you been?" Jessica asked in the same voice Renee used on me when she was trying to make me confess to something I did wrong. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"
The last time I saw Jessica was at my rehearsal dinner. She was in my car, getting to third base with Mike in the back seat.

"Right, ages, " I said to her, hating the way she said it to me. My feet were not cooperating with my brain's command to get the heck out of there. I couldn't even look Mike right in the eye. He was giving me the pity look. The sad, pathetic look he used to give Jessica when I talked about her last bad relationship. Neither of us were really saying anything when Mike dropped one of his grocery items to the floor. Out of habit, I bent down to pick it up.

"Oh no you don't have to—"

I swallowed down the bile that ran up to my throat as I put the box back in the bag in Mike's arms. It was a pregnancy test.
"Oh god, that's so embarrassing," Jessica said, touching her cheek as she blushed the tiniest shade of pink. "Just pretend you didn't see that, Bella."
They were trying to have kids. Babies that actually looked like them. I could see them in my mind, each and every one laughing at me.

"No, it's…it's fine," I said trying to shake off the thought. I had to make my escape, or I wouldn't be able to stop the tears that threatened to spill over my face. I was angry. Angry at them for flaunting their marriage at me while I remained emotionally incapable and insecure since the night I saw them together. And angry at myself for letting them see me like this.

"So, are you seeing anyone right now?" Mike suddenly asked, and I looked at him for the first time. He looked the same as he ever did. He was always handsome, with kind eyes and a warm smile. I used to think that it made him sweet. Now I thought he was just mocking me with that smile.

"Right now?" I repeated, "I'm not really—"
"There you are," a voice said behind me. My back stiffened as warm arms wrapped around me in an embrace. I knew the voice immediately. It was the guy from the counter. I whipped around, anything I might have said melting away from my mind as my eyes met his. They had a strange blue-green color in them that made me never want to look away. His face was perfectly formed, and I wondered what it would feel like to run a hand through his copper hair. His face matched his voice completely. His arms were still around me, and I felt a strange sense of comfort. It was something that I hadn't felt in a long time and to find it in a complete stranger was quite bizarre.

I swallowed a gulp as he winked at me. "Shall I put the groceries in the car?" he asked. I could only nod as he picked up the bags in my arms and placed them among his own bags in the shopping cart he had with him. I couldn't keep my eyes away as he wrapped his arm around my waist and turned to the Newtons.

"Hi," he said to them, giving them a smile. He was gorgeous, and I could tell that Jessica thought so too. "And you guys are?"
"Bella, you never mentioned you were dating such a sex god," Jessica said shamelessly as my face blushed into a deeper shade of red. I couldn't even speak.

"Thank you," my rescuer said, smiling amicably as if he'd heard that line more than one too many times now. "And I'm really sorry, but Bella and I have to go. It was nice seeing you both."

I gave them a weak wave as the stranger whisked me away from the grocery and straight to the parking lot where he stopped and started laughing, running a hand through his hair.

"That's twice now. Is it normal for you to be in these kinds of situations more than once a day?" He asked me, looking back at the grocery and shaking his head.

"Unfortunately, it's just been that kind of day," I frowned, refusing to look back at those glass doors.

"Sorry about that," he said to me. "I couldn't help but notice."

"Well, thank you. That's twice today that you've rescued me from an embarrassing situation," I said, taking my groceries out of his shopping cart. "Now I'm even more embarrassed." I couldn't even look at him without blushing furiously. He smiled and put his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry," he said again. "I guess I was just…gripped by you. At the counter and back there."

Gripped. He was gripped by me. I don't think I've ever managed to grip anyone that way. It was strange.

"I'm Bella Swan," I said to him, managing to hold out a hand. "Thank you for rescuing me. Twice in one hour."

He laughed again and took my hand. A sort of electricity pulsed through my body so fast at the contact that I almost jumped. "I'm Edward Masen."
"Edward," I said again, letting the name roll off my lips. "I was wondering if I could…buy you a cup of coffee or something. For saving me twice."

"Do you always get into this kind of trouble?" He asked me like he was avoiding the subject.
"Huh. The story of my life," I said bitterly, turning around to look for my car. Clearly, Edward had no further interest in me other than the fact that I was in trouble. I wanted to leave.
"You know what," he said. "I would love a cup of coffee."

An hour later, I was sitting at a Starbucks with Edward. I'd gotten over all of my initial shyness on the ride over as I eased into the fact that I was having coffee with him. Once we'd sat down on the plush couch chairs of the coffee joint, the conversation began to flow. We talked about books, movies and all the annoying things about having exes. He told me a bit about his job as a private practice doctor, while I told him about my job at a business consultancy. We talked excessively about music, his eclectic tastes finding familiarity in mine. He loved laughing, and when he laughed, it made me want to smile, especially at the thought that I had made him laugh.

Of course, eventually, I had to explain to him who Mike and Jessica were and why I hadn't noticed the 'cash-only' sign at the grocery. He'd shrugged it off and said that I was just having an off-day.

"Well, I must have done something right to have you dazzle the cashier that way," I mumbled as he laughed behind his coffee cup.

"Dazzle?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Is there any other word to describe what you did? I'd never seen anyone change expressions so fast," I giggled.

"I'm never usually this forward with people," I confessed much later, taking a sip of my coffee. "Especially after what happened." I looked up at him and bit my lip, wondering if I had said too much. I had been doing that the whole afternoon. Trying to see what Edward thought, panicking over whether I had crossed some kind of invisible line. He smiled and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked down at his coffee cup like he was having a difficult time looking back up. Suddenly I knew. There it was, the invisible line, and I had just crossed it. I kicked myself mentally.

"Sorry," I said to him. He laughs a little, but still doesn't look up.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, taking a breath before he finally looked up at me. His sharp eyes caught my attention once more, and I released the breath I realized I was holding. "I didn't mean to lead you on like that Bella. It's just that…I have a girlfriend."
There it was, the truth. My chest literally hurt. Of course he had a girlfriend. No amazing guy like him can ever be single for long. I managed to smile anyway.

"It was nice meeting you, Edward," I said to him.

"It was nice to meet you too," he said to me. "Surreal, but nice."

As I left the coffee house and returned to my car, I sat by myself for a while, taking a deep breath. I had never done anything like that before. I always thought that asking someone out was a mortifying experience, one that was supposed to be left to a guy. Even if Edward did turn out to have someone else, I was glad. Glad that I managed talked to him and ask him to a Starbucks. I leaned back against my chair for a second before my phone began ringing incessantly.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Bella! Where the hell are you? Rosalie and Emmett's rehearsal dinner starts in an hour, and you haven't even seen the dress I picked out for you!" Alice said on the other line, her voice raised and going a mile a minute. I laughed and turned the key in the ignition, making sure she heard.

"I'm on my way home. I'll be there in five minutes," I said to her.

"You'd better. I want you to look fabulous tonight, Bella. No excuses!"

"Is there a particular reason why?" I asked, knowing that since she'd gotten engaged, Rosalie recently decided that she had to find both Alice and me dates to her wedding. We'd been introduced to half, if not the entire Hale clan by now.

"Just get home. I'm just about to hit the shower."
"Talk to you later, Alice," I smiled before I hung up and sped up my car while thoughts of Edward Masen still danced in my mind. I secretly wished that I would see him again.