Thanks to Jenrar for editing chapter 5! I'm not going to have a beta for the rest of this (because I don't have one), so please bare with me and I'll quadruple check everything as much as possible. I'll still mix things up, but it should still be readable.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight and I'm not Meyer. I just enjoy taking the characters out for a spin, human-style.

Chapter 5: The Date

While I was far from being a dwarf, I actually whistled while I worked that afternoon. Jacob went to the warehouse to meet with Salvatore about the street racer, and for some unknown reason Edward actually kept his mouth shut and got to work on Vito's roadster. Skunkella was the most annoying spot in my afternoon, occasionally walking through the garage to talk to Edward. I didn't want customers in the shop area for obvious tripping hazards, but Bella wasn't a customer. However, she seemed so damned airheaded all the time that I was always worried she was going to trip over her own two feet and sue me.

When I finished Rose's car, I took it for a test drive. Satisfied with how it was running, I drove it back to the shop, parked it in the front, and walked in the main door. Rose was on the phone at Alice's desk with my sister nowhere in sight.

Rose's head popped up when the door slammed shut, and she waved me over. "Can you hold on for just a moment? Thank you."

She held her hand over the receiver firmly. "I need a quote on four tires for a 2000 Chevy Blazer, and how long does it take to put them on?"

Rose hadn't made a personal call. She was answering the damn business line. I hurried around the desk and took the phone from Rose, placing the call on hold while I looked up a price quote for the tires. "Where the hell is Alice?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "I was sitting at the table when she came over and placed the cordless phone in front me. She said it'd be okay because you were here, and then you left."

"Sorry, I had no idea that no one else was here or I would have waited." I got on the phone and talked to the customer, giving them a price quote and booking an appointment time for them to come in. Hanging up the phone, I stood and passed Rose her keys. "You're ready to roll."

"Sweet!" She pocketed her keys and didn't move. "No offense or anything, but Alice doesn't seem to take her job too seriously. I've done the whole answering phones bit before. Secretarial stuff, you know? The main difference with that and this situation is that I knew the information that people were calling for."

I'd be damned if a light bulb didn't literally pop on above my head. I flipped the switch off though, holding the thought at least until tomorrow night was over. No need to go too fast too soon. "No offense taken," I told her. "Honestly, Alice really sucks as a receptionist." I left off the part where she had wanted to go back to school but didn't want to leave me without a receptionist.

Rose went over to the table and gathered her things. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night, then?"

I took her laptop and walked with her outside. "It'll be nice to see you away from the craziness that is this place." I had suddenly become tongue tied.

She took her laptop from me and put it in her car. We continued to stand close to one another, her car door closed, when we both went to move at the same time. Rose turned and opened her door while I shifted and moved closer to her and was now standing behind her, one hand reaching out past her and rested on the roof of her car, accidentally boxing her in. Suddenly, she froze and seemed to shrink away from me, grabbing on to the car with all her might.

"Rose?" I called her name, but she was silent and shaking. "Rose?"

"Step back, okay?" Her voice didn't sound as confident as it usually did. "Give me a minute."

I took two steps back and watched her turn around and sit sideways in the driver's seat.

She exhaled and looked up at me. "Sorry."

I knelt down in front of her. What had happened to make her freak out? "Don't be. Are you okay? Did I do something?"

"No, it wasn't you." Rose shook her head.

"Were you attacked by someone?" I gulped. I hoped not. I'd knock their head in.

"Sort of," she said. "I'm usually all right because I wasn't hurt, but I guess something just made me flash back."

I reached out and took her hands in mine. "Are you going to be okay to drive home?"

"I think I'll be okay," she said. "I think I just need a few minutes to regroup and refocus. So, where are you taking me tomorrow night?"

I gently squeezed her hands. "Anywhere you want. Any preference?"

"Actually, I've been craving Mexican."

"Ever been to El Bandido?"

She smiled and muffled a chuckle. "Actually, I've been there once, with Lisa, but it was maybe a year ago. You know they give you a free shot, right?" I nodded, and she continued. "So whatever it was that they gave us was really good, and Lisa flirted with the waiter. He ended up giving us like ten shots for free, but then we couldn't drive home since we also had a half pitcher of sangria. I think it was Jacob who came with the tow truck and drove us back to our place." She closed her eyes for a second and smiled. "Yeah, it was, I remember the name Cullen Auto Works on the truck."

"I didn't realize that I was Lisa's sober ride." I shook my head, remembering the incident. Jacob had been on-call with the tow truck that night and had told me that Lisa had called in. When he got to El Bandido, nothing was wrong with her car. He chalked it up to Lisa and her "cute friend" being drunk and took them home. I never charged Lisa for the tow because I was glad she didn't drive drunk, since that was inexcusable in my book. "Jacob mentioned Lisa's cute friend, but he must've forgotten about you."

"My hair was up in a bun and I had dyed it brown," she offered. "So I was looking a bit different."

I released one of my hands from hers and touched a strand of her hair. "Brown? How could you? What blasphemy!"

My stupid remark had made her laugh. "I was going through a phase, I guess."

And there it was, she was smiling again. "So I'll take you to El Bandido tomorrow night and let the mariachi band serenade us."

Rose let go of my hands, and I suddenly found her arms wrapped around my neck in an awkward embrace since I was kneeling and she was sitting in her car. In fact, the way she had lunged at me almost pushed me onto my ass onto the ground. "Thanks, Emmett."

I felt her lips against my cheek before she slowly moved away. We were still so close to one another. Reaching up, I cupped her cheek in my hand and smiled at her. "No problem." I placed a kiss on her forehead and gazed at her. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow night."

"Me, too," she said. "I should go, I'm sure you've got work that you need to get done."

"I should see what Edward has gotten himself into. It can be dangerous if he's too quiet."

I watched as Rose backed out and drove away.

By some miracle, the rest of the afternoon went relatively smoothly.

Unfortunately, the following day dragged on way too slowly for my liking. While I was having lunch, I took a moment to text Rose.

Still on for tonight?

Hell yeah.

Would you be interested in going to the Castle and have some fun?

You don't have to do that

Shush. Yes? Before dinner ok?

Good for me if it's good for you

Perfect

Won't wear heels then ;)

I missed not seeing you today. Erasing that line, I tried to think of what else to say.

I won't either haha. Gotta get back to the grind

Hehe See you later :]

The landline on my desk rang, and I rushed over to answer it because only certain people had that number. I picked up the receiver but didn't say anything. After waiting a moment, I heard a voice speak.

"It's a good day…"

"For a white wedding," I replied.

"Pick up tonight."

No, not tonight! "Can I give it to one of my associates?"

"We'd prefer you, but it's only one. You have someone dependable?"

I would have to send either Edward or Jake. "Yes."

"You're not trying to cut out, are you?" the voice on the other end questioned me. "We would be most disappointed if that was the case."

"No, I have a date."

I heard a muffled grunt. "Good for you. Our mutual associate will be by with the information. As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

And then Vito's man hung up. We always kept things short and sweet with no actual hardcore information passing between us. He'd send a courier where, again, there would be no actual traceable information passed between us. It was also one of the few times I ever got to see my Uncle Carlisle, seeing that he was the courier.

I went and talked to Jake about being on call tonight with the flatbed. I knew most of the time he didn't mind being on call since he still got paid some even if he didn't go out. If he did get a call he'd usually take Angie with him, which I was fine with. Then I had to hunt down Edward. I found him doing an oil change on a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

"Hey, dickhead."

"Hey, bigger dickhead," he replied. "What do you want now?"

"Vito has a small job tonight, and I'm busy," I explained. "Can I trust you to do it?"

He stopped what he was doing and stared at me. "Busy? You? You have no life. What are you doing that you can't do a pick up?"

"I have plans. That's all you need to know."

"Oh, come on. Tell me and I'll do it."

I rolled my eyes. "I have a date."

His mouth fell open before idiocy flew out. "Holy shit, you bagged that Rose chick?"

"I'm not going to answer that." Once again, I wanted to throw a wrench at my brother's head. "Can you do the pick up or not?"

"If it means that you can finally go on a date, then fine, I'll do the pick up."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," I told him. "Carlisle is coming over with the info later on."

With that, I walked away before Edward tried to grill me for any other information regarding Rose. Once Carlisle showed up that afternoon, I called Edward into my office so the three of us could talk.

"Boys, it's good to see you as usual."

I hadn't seen or heard from him in two months. For someone who had raised us after our parents' death, he had become awfully distant in the last few years. "How's Aunt Esme?"

"She's doing well." He cleared his throat. "I'll send your regards."

That sounded so impersonal. "Send her my love instead," I instructed him.

He nodded and switched into business mode. "Vito needs a Camaro over in Highland."

"A Camaro? That's not his usual request." Vito usually preferred older cars.

"It's not for him. It's for his son," he explained. "Trust me, he's not happy about it. It's a rare model, and his son's heart is set on it, and you know how he is with his kids." Vito spoiled them rotten. It was appalling. Carlisle told us the location and other details, which I wrote down in a code that we had developed years ago.

Edward assured me that he'd get the job done.

"Text me when you're finished so I stop worrying."

"I'll be fine, man."

I hoped so, but I was still nervous. I had never sent Edward out on a job by himself before. I felt guilty and was worried something would go south.

"Can I take Bella to be my eyes and ears?"

"Are you serious?" She was such an airhead, I could see her causing trouble. "Is this the correct time for me to sit down with you to inform you that your girlfriend isn't the brightest?"

"Not only can she be my lookout, but the woman can drive like the two of us and she keeps her mouth shut, remember?"

"Fine, if you think she'd be helpful, then take her."

Edward could tell by my tone, and by the scowl that was probably on my face, that I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"We'll be fine," he said as he started to exit my office. "Text ya when we're done."

I had been on edge for the rest of the afternoon and hoped that I could calm down by the time I picked up Rose. Hurrying home, I showered and changed before heading out to pick her up. Taking the steps two at a time, I paused before knocking on the door to gain my composure.

Everything was going to be fine. Bella was an idiot, but Edward knew her better than I did. If he thought taking her would be helpful, then so be it. I just had to keep repeating that to myself.

I knocked on the door and heard Lisa's voice. "Emmett, Emmett is here! Rossssse!"

Not only did Rose now that I was there, so did any of her neighbors who were home. There was a commotion inside the apartment, with loud hushed voices, before the door knob wiggled and I heard Rose say, "Stay, Lisa. Stay!"

"I'm not a dog, damn it!"

"Don't ruin this for me!" Rose growled. Honestly, she sounded as if she had been possessed by a demon. I half wondered if she was going to levitate, spin her head around, and spit pea soup when she emerged.

"I hate it when you do your devil voice!"

I knocked again. "Lisa, let the lady go!"

There was a moment of whispers that were too low to hear before Rose cracked the door open and slipped out. Her hair was a little astray, and she blew a strand of it out of her face. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "Lisa wanted to hit on you one last time before we started to date. Well, that's what she said." Rose blushed. "I need to shut up."

I started laughing. "You've got Lisa, I've got Edward. The people around us keep our lives interesting, huh?"

"A little bit too much sometimes." Rose sighed. "Can we get away from here before she changes her mind and opens the door?"

Taking her hand, I led her down the stairs and to my car. Even though I was worrying about the job Edward was doing tonight, it was easier to talk to Rose this time. I took her to the Castle, which was a multi-entertainment venue. "Is there anything you'd like to do first?"

"I'd like to whip your ass in mini-golf."

I started laughing. "You think so, huh?"

"I know so," she said confidently and winked at me. "I'm a champ."

Rose didn't seem like a champ at first, but she did admit that the neon lights had thrown her off. "I've played my fair share of mini-golf, but never in the dark with glowing neon lights all around me," she admitted. "But I kind of like it."

We quickly caught up to the people ahead of us and were instructed to wait by an employee since the rest of the course was also full. I put my arm around Rose's shoulders as we waited, and she leaned into me. "I read they have an Escape Room now."

"Here? That doesn't seem to fit in with everything else."

I tried not to laugh. "I know, but that's the big thing now. They're just trying to capitalize on it before the fad is over."

We didn't attempt an Escape Room that night, but Rose did kick my ass at mini-golf, used me as a shield in laser tag, and nearly beat me at air hockey. Unfortunately, the go carts were closed because the track was outside and it had started to rain.

While we were in the arcade, my stomach grumbled. "Hey, are you hungry at all?"

"I didn't want to say anything because I'm having such a great time, but I'm kind of starving."

"I am, too!" I intentionally died in my game to end it. "We didn't even get to go rock climbing."

Rose ended her game and turned to me with a smile plastered upon her lips. "We'll just have to come back another day."

"I'm holding you to that. Come on, let's go." I took her hand and led her toward one of the exits. "It'll only take about fifteen minutes to get to El Bandido."

"Yeah!" Rose pumped her fist into the air, which made me laugh.

There wasn't a wait for a table at El Bandido, so we just had to wait for our food. We ordered drinks and had the fresh tortilla chips and salsa that were both made in-house. I felt my phone vibrate and grew nervous. "Excuse me, I have to check this."

all clear. no heat.

And then a picture of Edward and Bella standing in front of a yellow Camaro at the warehouse.

Good - deleting. Thanks & see you Monday

I deleted the texts and accompanying picture and then turned my attention back to Rose. "Sorry about that. Believe it or not, it was business."

"Not a problem."

Rose's attention was drawn to something behind me and her eyes grew huge. She smiled and sat straight in her seat to see better. "Our food is coming."

"To think, that's how I usually look when food arrives."

The waiter put our food down in front of us, warned us that the plates were hot, and I ordered a pitcher of sangria. "I never thought I'd meet my match when it came to food."

"It's best not to come between me and food when I'm hungry." She dug into her chimichanga by cutting a piece off and then blowing on it before the fork made its way into her mouth. Closing her eyes and sighing, Rose smiled as she chewed. "Dang, that's good. I don't even want to know how many calories this is."

Grinning, I dug into my meal. I was glad that Rose liked to enjoy food in general. It was awfully boring going on a date with someone who always ordered salads. I knew that from some sad experience. We talked about our families and some traditions each of us followed. Rose told me about her job search. I told her about the last time I went to the movies alone so I could have some peace and quiet from work in the middle of an action-packed explosive adventure flick.

"That's like, an oxymoron, isn't it?" Rose giggled.

"Are you calling me a moron?"

"No." She took another sip from her margarita glass. "You're the furthest thing from a moron. You seem pretty smart."

"Not really book smart."

"Book smart is overrated."

The waiter brought over our dessert, and Rose grabbed his arm. I could tell that she was already tipsy, but I didn't know if she realized that I was in pretty much the same state. I wasn't going to be driving either of us home tonight. "Shots?"

"Oh, yes, Señorita, for the both of you?"

"Give this man a shot!" Obviously I didn't think about what I was going to say before it escaped me. "I meant, yes."

Rose started laughing again, and then she snorted while laughing, and that made her laugh more. "I am giving you a shot!"

I buried my head in my hands for a moment while the waiter scurried off and we dug into our desserts.

I didn't know what happened, or how it happened for that matter, but the waiter arrived with more shots. Soon enough, we had a small shot glass collection, stamped with the El Bandido logo, placed in front of us.

Rose glanced down at her shirt and then started giggling. "Watch what I can do!"

She looked around to see if anyone was paying any attention to us and then proceeded to stuff a shot glass into her cleavage. And then another.

"How many can you fit in there?"

Rose grabbed another one and pushed it between her cleavage and stared down at her chest. "That's it. Three. It'd be less if I was wearing a low-cut top."She went into another giggling fit. "I'm sorry, it's the alcohol."

"I can't drive," I admitted. "Even if I stopped drinking and started with water, there'd be no way I'd be sober to drink before they closed."

"Oh, shit, what we gonna do?" Rose cupped her face with both hands and placed her elbows on the table. "Can't speak well when I'm drunk, huh? What we gonna do, Cullen?"

I retrieved my phone and searched for a contact. I was so thankful for contact lists, because if I had to recall a phone number in my current state, I'd be walking home.

The phone rang twice before a familiar voice answered. "Cullen Auto Works twenty-four-hour towing. How may I help you?"

"Jacob!" I yelled into the phone, and then Rose yelled his name even though she was seated across from me.

"Boss?"

"It is I."

"You're drunk, aren't you?"

"You're two for two tonight, Jake!"

"He wins a prize!" Rose stated matter-of-factly. She grabbed a shot glass and shoved it toward me. "Here, put this in your pants and give it to Jake!"

"I'm not shoving a shot glass into my pants and giving it to Jake!" I whispered.

"I don't want a crotch shot glass, boss." He was probably shaking his head at us. I heard Angie in the background ask what was going on. "Where the hell are you?"

"El Bandido, señor."

"I'll be there in about fifteen," he said. "Stay inside, you lush."

He hung up, and I stared at my phone for a moment. "He's salty."

"No, that's the sangria." Rose picked up her glass and stared at it for a few seconds. "Wait, Marietta, no, that other drink that starts with an M…margarita, that's it! No salt here. You were right about Jake! He's just salty!"

Someone other than our waiter came over to us, and Rose appeared like she wanted to crawl under our table as she nervously eyed the remaining shot glasses. "Excuse me. May I call a taxi for you when you are ready?"

"No need, my good sir," I extended my hand to the man to shake his. "We've got a ride on the way."

He introduced himself as the manager and thanked us for being responsible.

After he left, Rose let out a breath and slapped her forehead. "I thought he caught me taking the shot glasses and I was going to get in trouble!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her comment and the relief that had spread over her face. "You're going to the slammer, honey."

As we waited for Jake to arrive, we finished off the pitcher of sangria, and Rose had sweet talked the waiter into giving us another set of shots. I really didn't need another one, but I had it anyway and asked for two glasses of water and the bill while we waited. As we chugged the water down, Jake showed up.

He stood by our table, shaking his head with Angie by his side. Rose stood, grabbed a shot glass from the table, and attempted to stuff it into Angie's shirt. I nearly fell off of my chair laughing so hard as Angie tried to swat Rose's hands away. "Don't you want to start your shot glass collection?" Rose moved quickly, and the object slipped down Angie's shirt. "Do you want another one?" Before Angie could answer, Rose wrapped her arms around Angie and sniffed. "Your hair smells good."

"What the hell is happening?" Angie gazed at Jake. "I have a shot glass in my shirt and a drunk woman sniffing my hair."

"I have three!" Rose whispered. "How many can you fit?"

"Um, Emmett…"

Jake barely ever called me by my name. "Jacob?"

"Can we get out of here?"

"Sure!" I got up too fast and grabbed on to Jake's shoulders for balance. "Whoa there, earth, stay even."

"You do realize that if it was Edward picking you up, he'd be messing with you so damn much, right?"

Letting go of Jake, I stood up straight and tested gravity. "Whew. Yes, I'm well aware. Why do you think I called you?"

"I have the flatbed."

"That too, buddy. That too."

I held on to one of Jake's shoulders as he led us out of the restaurant but not before I heard a rustling behind us and heard Angie exclaim, "Fine, I'll put another one in my shirt!"

Angie helped Rose out, and I was really glad they had shown up because the place was set up kind of randomly with dead end offshoots where you could easily get lost if you were drunk like we were. Once we were outside, we somehow made it up into the flatbed cab, but I couldn't remember how we managed it. With the four of us, we were very squished, but that just meant that I could put my arm around Rose to give us more room.

"Rose lives in Winding Hills," I informed Jake. "So head there first."

"Got it, boss."

A few minutes later, as we drove along one of the main drags in town, I spotted what I called a parking lot carnival. They popped up usually throughout the summer during the weekends. "Jake! Pull in! They have bumper cars! We couldn't drive the go carts earlier at the Castle."

"What? Are you insane?"

"Nooooo!" I insisted. "Come on, you're getting paid and you're with your lady. Take us to the bumper cars!"

"Bumper cars, Jake. Bummmmppppper cars!" Rose started chanting. "You two can join us!"

Jake sighed and reluctantly pulled into the parking lot along the side of the bumper car setup. I opened the door and yelled out to the man nearby. "Yo, you still open?"

"We were closing for the night." he responded.

I scowled and asked him how much he usually charged and for how long. I offered to pay him double, and he happily accepted. Making my way out of the flatbed, I missed the step and slid down the side of the vehicle. "Rose, be careful so you don't hurt yourself." I stood close to the truck as she stepped down and then, without enough room, slid down the step and into me. It was an awkwardly intimate moment in front of my employee, his girlfriend, and a bumper car ride attendant. One that I wished I could replicate one day without an audience.

Looking back at that moment, I was surprised that I would drive bumper cars while I was inebriated. My parents had died because of a drunk driver. It didn't bother me at the time, but it bothered me afterward. I did take solace in the fact that I knew enough not to drive an actual car on the road.

We had fun though, but Rose and I were both horrible drivers in the state we were in. I couldn't seem to drive in a straight line, and Rose took forever to get out of a corner. Jake and Angie continued to laugh and take every opportunity to run into us. When our time was up, we sadly exited our cars and got back into the cab to leave.

"Okay, that was actually fun," Angie said. "Rose, I think my boobs are sticky from the shot glasses."

Everyone erupted into laughter. "Sticky Boobs. That's your nickname now!" Rose mumbled. "Oh, Jake, stop at Dunkin' and get us both a bottle of water, huh?"

I was out of cash, so I asked Jake to pay for the water and anything he or Angie wanted. He told me to remember to pay him well for tonight. While they ran into Dunkin', Rose and I stayed safe in the cab.

Rose sighed. "I haven't drunk this much in so long."

"Me neither."

"I had fun tonight though."

"Me too." I turned and placed a kiss on her the side of forehead.

Rose turned and looked up at me. "That's not where I wanted you to kiss me."

As I was staring into her eyes and moving closer to her, the driver's-side door opened. "I have no luck."

Rose quickly leaned toward me and met her lips with mine for a mere second. "To tide us over for now."

"Hey, hey, no, no, none of that in here." Jake exclaimed as Angie handed us water bottles, and then he put on his seat belt. "No hanky panky in the truck."

"Whatcha get, Sticky Boobs?"

I laughed at Rose's question toward Angie and didn't pay attention to whether or not she received an answer. Jake drove us to Rose's first, and when we got there, I was surprised at what Rose asked from me.

"To save Jake some time, why don't you just sleep over?"

The alcohol was slowly leaving my system, but I still wasn't sure that I had heard her correctly. "Excuse me?"

"You can cram yourself on the couch," she said. "Don't get any ideas. It's our first date. I'm no ho."

I shrugged and agreed and then told Jake to drop off my car. We waited while he unloaded it and was about to hand me my keys but pulled his hand away. "You are not driving, right?"

"Hell no," I told him. "I'm not stupid, kid. If anything changes, I'll call a taxi."

"Please tell me my number isn't listed under taxi on your cell."

"No, it's not."

"Call me again, and you're paying me triple."

"Deal."

Jake gave me my keys, and Rose and I made our way up to her apartment. I didn't know how we made it up all those steps in our state. Maybe that's why I had a scraped knee the next day. We struggled to get inside, and then I remembered sitting on the couch. We talked, but the subject matter was fuzzy. I was sure that we kissed, but sadly, I couldn't remember any details. Early in the morning, I crammed myself on the couch and fell deeply asleep with, I imagined, a tipsy smile on my face.

A/N: Part of this chapter is based on true events. There is a place called "The Castle" a few towns over from me, but I haven't been to it. I think there is golf and bumper cars there. There is a Mexican restaurant in my town called El Bandido that I've been to and it is how I described it (weird dead end off shoots, brightly colored paintings, a mariachi band, fresh chips and salsa, a free shot of Liquor 4-something...44 maybe). Once I went with a friend, who owns an auto shop. I had picked her up from the shop and we ordered half a pitcher of sangria and then started getting free shots. No lie, we probably got 5 free ones each. I stuck a shot glass in my bra and I have since obtained a second one in the same manner. I have a CDL license and knew that I wasn't going to be able to drive, so she called the guy that was on call with the tow truck. The next day one of my neighbors asked me, "Is your car ok? I saw you come home in a flatbed." I was like, "Oh, it's fine, I was out with a friend and we drank too much and she owns a flatbed."