A/N: Hello! So, this is my new story. Thanks for checking it out. I hope you like it. Just so you know, the story title and all of the chapter titles come from Dave Matthews Band song titles. The quotes that will appear at the beginning of each chapter are quotes from the songs the chapters are titled after. Okay, enjoy!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1: Pay For What You Get

"Words, words, words, have you heard
A bird in hand is much better than,
Any number free to wander
Fly away...stay
You pay for what you get"

"Five minutes, Jasper," Edward mumbled, glancing at his watch. This was the part he hated the most; this was the part that always made him the most nervous: the waiting. He hated being outside where he had no idea what was going on. He would have much rather been inside, even if it was supposedly safer outside.

Time ticked slowly by, and Edward flipped through the radio stations to occupy himself. His eyes never left the door. He couldn't see anything that was going on inside, but he needed to see if anyone went out or in.

Four minutes and forty seconds later, someone came out. Edward sat up in his seat, immediately alert. It was Jasper. He ran toward the car and Edward started the engine. Jasper sprinted to the passenger's side, wrenching the door open with one hand while pulling his ski mask off with the other.

"Go! Go!" Jasper yelled, slamming the door as he launched himself into the seat.

Edward threw the car into gear and punched the accelerator, swerving slightly as he pulled onto the road.

"Well?" he shouted, glancing over at Jasper as he drove.

Jasper tossed a paper sack onto Edward's lap. "See for yourself."

Edward didn't trust himself to take his eyes off the road at the speed he was driving, but the bag felt heavy. He grinned. "Yes!"

The two brothers laughed as Edward drove them toward safety. Edward felt the panic and tension roll off his shoulders as he began to relax. They were done. The hard part was over. The rest would be easy.

As if sensing the shift in Edward's mood, Jasper chuckled and punched him in the arm playfully. "I told you it would be fine. I don't know why you never trust me."

"I trust you. I just get...nervous," Edward admitted sheepishly. Jasper rolled his eyes, but only shook his head at his brother.

The two remained quiet for the rest of the drive and it wasn't long before they arrived at their destination: a motel at the edge of town. Jasper checked them in while Edward grabbed their bags. They didn't have many. That was one of the requirements of their lifestyle: travel light, and be ready to move at a moment's notice.

The motel room was just like all the others: small, dingy, poorly lit, and perfect for their needs. They'd stay there a few nights before moving on to the next job.

Edward took a shower while Jasper sprawled on the bed, flipping through the channels on the small television. When Edward emerged from the shower, clutching a towel around his waist, he found Jasper lying on his stomach, his feet propped up against the headboard, going through the contents of the paper bag he had shown Edward earlier.

"There's not as much here as last time. It'll be enough to get us by, but we're going to have to be careful," Jasper warned.

Edward nodded and eyed the pile of bills as he rubbed another towel against his damp hair.

"Here." Jasper lifted a small portion off the top of one of the stacks and handed it to Edward. "This is yours." He lifted another identical pile. "This is mine. And the rest gets put away." He took the rest of the pile and the other ones beside it, placing them back in the paper sack. He shoved the paper sack deep in the back of his suitcase as he grabbed clean clothes, and brushed past his brother on his way to the bathroom.

Once the two were cleaned up, they locked the door behind them and headed out to a bar they had seen on the side of the road on their way in. It wasn't much, but they both felt like celebrating, and the little bar would be the perfect place for them to lay low.

On the inside, the bar looked pretty much how they'd expected it to look from the outside. In one corner, there was a pool table where a few locals were gathered. In the other corner, a juke box was blasting out some unidentifiable country music. There were several booths and mismatched tables with chairs scattered around. Smoke seemed to hang permanently in a cloud near the ceiling, filtering the already poor lighting, and making the whole place appear even more dingy than it was.

Jasper found them a table while Edward ordered them both beers. He paid with a few of the bills off of the stack Jasper had handed him earlier, picked up the two bottles, turned, and headed towards the booth where Jasper was waiting for him.

Edward was about halfway through his second beer when she walked in. His eyes locked on her immediately. She was with two other girls, but she may as well have been the only one in the room. He took a swig from his beer, his eyes never leaving her as she made her way to the bar. She wore a tight-fitting button down shirt, but most of the buttons were undone and it was knotted across her midriff. Her cut-off denim shorts were cut so short he could see the edges of the pockets peeking out of the bottom of them. On her feet were a pair of worn cowboy boots, and atop her head was a faded straw cowboy hat. Her hair was long, wavy and chocolate brown. It was thick and hung down her back, past where her shirt ended.

He watched as she and her friends ordered drinks before turning on their barstools to survey the rest of the bar. Slowly, her eyes found his and she smiled at him from under her hat for a moment. She turned her attention back to the bar when the bartender nudged her with her drink.

Edward watched her as she took a long draw from her bottle of beer. It was the same brand of beer he was currently clutching in his hand, and that fact made him smile. Her two companions had both ordered brightly colored drinks that probably would have come with umbrellas in any other bar. But this girl had ordered a beer, and not just any beer, his favorite beer, and was drinking it straight from the bottle.

"Do you know her?" Jasper's voice pierced his consciousness and he tore his eyes from her for the first time since she'd walked in.

"What? Oh, no…" He faded off, embarrassed that his brother had caught him.

"She's pretty. You should ask her to dance," Jasper encouraged.

Edward chuckled. "I don't know." He would have liked to ask her to dance, but he was unsure. Jasper didn't push him and the two brothers sat in silence after that.

"Here you go, sugar," the waitress said, pulling both brothers from their musings. "From the leggy brunette over there." She plopped down two ice cold bottles in front of them. Edward glanced up to see the girl in the cowboy hat looking at him with her own bottle raised. He and Jasper both smiled and raised the bottles she had sent over.

"Okay, now you have to go ask her," Jasper said, still smiling at the girl.

"Yeah, you're right," Edward said with a chuckle, sliding out of the booth and standing. He left his beer on the table and made his way over to the girl who was watching his approach, one eyebrow raised.

"Hi," he said, grinning at her.

"Hi there," she said smiling back at him. Behind her, her friends giggled and she rolled her eyes at them.

Now that he was closer to her, he could see that she had the prettiest brown eyes. They were huge, deep and framed with thick black lashes. Her face was clean and fresh, and he doubted whether she was wearing any makeup; she clearly didn't need it, as she was beautiful without it.

"So, thanks for the beers," Edward said, motioning back to where his brother was still sitting, watching them out of the corner of his eye.

"Sure. I noticed we were drinking the same kind so I thought I'd treat you," she said, grinning at him.

"Do you want to dance?" Edward asked, now motioning to the dance floor.

Again, her friends giggled, and again she shook her head as if to let Edward know how silly she thought they were.

"Sure," she replied with a smirk, hopping off the barstool and pulling her hat off. She shook out her long hair and smiled up at him. Even in her boots, she was still very tiny, especially standing next to Edward's over six foot frame. He led her to the dance floor. Their timing could not have been any better. As they reached the floor, the song switched from a fast paced country song to a softer song, perfect for slow dancing.

Edward smiled down at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Her tiny arms found their way around his shoulders, and she seemed to fit perfectly under his chin.

"I'm Edward, by the way,"

"Nice to meet you, Edward. I'm Bella."

"So, do you live around here?" he asked, unsure of why he was making any attempt to get to know this girl. He would never see her again after tonight. He and Jasper would move on, and so would she.

"Um, no. I'm just passing through," she answered, her voice rather vague. "You?"

"No," he said, unwilling to give her any more details.

She nodded but didn't press him for more information. Instead they moved in silence to the music, and Edward couldn't help but notice that she smelled divine, like vanilla with a hint of cinnamon.

Entirely too soon, the song ended and Edward was forced to pull away from her. He was unwilling to let her go, though.

"Do you want to come and sit at our table? We have plenty of room," he added quickly. She narrowed her eyes and seemed to consider him for a moment before smiling and nodding.

He made his way back to Jasper, hoping Jasper wouldn't mind their unexpected visitors. Bella made her way back to the bar to tell her friends where they were going.

At the news, Jasper rolled his eyes at his brother before grabbing his beer and sliding over in his seat to make room. The three girls appeared a few minutes later and they all squeezed together in the booth.

Bella's two friends, whom they found out were named Lauren and Jessica, flirted with Jasper while Bella and Edward talked quietly and danced a few more times. It was very late, and Edward was very close to being drunk, when he and Jasper finally stumbled out to the parking lot with the girls. Jasper staggered, an arm around each of Bella's friends, towards his car while Edward and Bella walked side by side towards Bella's car.

"Will I see you again?" he asked, leaning in close to her so he could inhale her delicious scent again.

"I don't know," Bella said coyly, looking up at him through her thick lashes.

"Bella…"Edward said, his voice almost a whine. He reached down and plucked her hat off her head and placed it on his own.

"Hey! That's my hat!" she cried, trying to snatch it back from him.

Edward grinned, holding the hat high above his head as she hopped around beneath him, trying in vain to retrieve it.

"What? This hat?" he taunted.

Finally, with one last desperate huff, she lunged at him, pushing him backwards into the car. Once she had knocked his feet out from under him, she wrapped her legs around his and shimmied up his body, snatching her hat away from him.

"Hey! Ouch!" Edward cried as her boots dug into his shins. Without thinking, he reached down and smacked her ass in an attempt to get her off of him. She gasped in surprise before reaching up and smacking him across the face.

Considerably more sober than they had been a few minutes ago, they both stared at each other in stunned silence for a moment before breaking into peals of laughter. Before he knew it, she was no longer digging her toes and heels into his shins. Instead, he was supporting her weight with his arms, and hers were wrapped around his neck. They were both breathing heavily. Edward wasn't sure anymore whether it was from exertion or anticipation. Her eyelids were heavy as she gazed at him.

Slowly, he brought his lips to hers. He felt her sharp intake of breath right before their lips met, and he tasted the scent he'd been breathing in all night. Her lips were soft and full. They felt perfect as they moved against his. She moaned softly and Edward tightened his hold on her in response.

"Edward!"

It took a moment for Edward to remember that anything beyond the girl in his arms existed, but when Jasper called his name again, he had no choice but to break away from Bella and turn towards his brother.

"Edward, come on. We gotta go."

Edward nodded and turned reluctantly back to Bella. He knew the impossibility of his next words before he spoke them. "So, when can I see you again?"

Bella sighed. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, Edward."

He wanted to argue with her. He wanted to tell her that it was the best idea he had heard in a long time. But he knew he couldn't. He and Jasper would be moving on soon, and seeing this girl again would only put her in danger.

So instead of arguing, he simply nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Bella. I hope we run into each other again soon."

She smiled and nodded back at him, reaching up to smooth back his hair. "Goodbye, Edward."

He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard a trace of sadness in her voice. He pushed the thought aside as he walked back towards Jasper. Bella's friends giggled as they passed him on their way back to where Bella was waiting for them.

He reached the car and slumped into the passenger's seat, suddenly morose. Jasper chuckled and reached over to ruffle his hair. "Cheer up, brother. It'll be fine. We'll meet some more girls."

Edward nodded and tried not to seem so affected. They drove in silence back to their motel.

When they reached their room, Jasper plopped down on his bed, still fully clothed. Edward took the time to get undressed.

"Shit!" he cried as he removed his pants.

"What?" Jasper's voice was muffled from beneath the pillow. When Edward didn't respond after a moment, Jasper lifted his head and looked at his brother. Edward was standing, mouth hanging open, staring at a small piece of paper in his hand. Jasper grabbed it from him.

"What is this?" he asked, turning the paper over in his hands. It was a small, pink card, and had been kissed by a woman wearing lipstick.

"She stole my wallet!" Edward cried. "And left that note. She stole my damn wallet!"

Jasper scurried out of bed, reaching around for his own wallet. The color drained from his face when he pulled an identical note from his own pocket.

A/N: So...there's chapter 1. Let me know what you think... :)

P.S. I plan to keep my Monday posting schedule and alternate updates between this story and SLY.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter for teasers, updates, and general shenanigans. ;) I'm (at)KekahJ