When I hadn't heard from Bella by the early afternoon, I started to doubt that she would reply back.

I decided to send her one last message.

Maybe I had acted too quickly last night?

It didn't feel like it, though. Why not suggest that we meet in person? Wasn't that the whole purpose of the website?

In the message I sent her, I suggested that we could try another method of communication first,

perhaps Skype or phone calls. I included my phone number in the message for her, just in case.

Needing to take my mind off of everything, I loaded the dogs into the car and drove up to my parents house.

Sundays were usually family days. Emmett and Rose would spend the day there with Caitlin. My parents property was pretty big and included a play structure for Caitlin and a fenced in area for the dogs to run.

I turned the radio up loud in the car as I drove, trying to drown out my thoughts.

As expected, when I pulled into my parents driveway, Emmett's Jeep was already parked there.

"Mom? Dad?" I called into the house after unlocking the front door. I kept Lulu and Chester on their leashes. The last time I had let them run in ahead of me hadn't ended well.

Hearing voices, I followed them to find that Rose, Caitlin and my mother were sitting around the kitchen table, having a snack.

"Edward!" My Mom greeted, jumping off her stool and coming around to greet me. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hi, Mom. Just thought I'd join the party," I said, giving her a quick hug.

"Hello, Rose," I said, looking to my sister in law. I then turned to Caitlin.

"Hi, Kit Kat!" I greeted enthusiastically.

She giggled. "Uncle Eddie! I'm not a Kit Kat!"

"Really?" I asked, feigning shock.

"Yeah! I'm Caitlin!"

"Well, I think you're a Kit Kat cause you're so cute I could just gobble you up!" I reached out and began to tickle her, causing her to squeal.

"Eddie, stop! I'm gonna pee!"

I quickly retracted my hands and backed up.

"Geez. Thanks, Edward," Rose said sarcastically. But I could still hear the smile behind her

words.

I smiled back at her teasingly and then looked down at Lulu and Chester, who looked entirely bored. I excused myself and led them out the back kitchen door to the fenced in, grassy area.

When I came back inside, Rose and Caitlin were gone, presumably in the bathroom.

"Where's Dad and Emmett?" I asked, popping a handful of Goldfish crackers into my mouth that Caitlin had left behind.

"They're upstairs. I believe imbibing and possibly smoking cigars," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay, I think I'll go see what they're up to."

I headed upstairs to Dad's "Man Room," as he liked to call it.

"Edward," my dad greeted me. "We were actually just talking about you."

"Oh, really?" That was never a good sign. My dad and brother could gossip like old ladies.

"Yeah, just about how you were so desperate, I had to sign you up for a dating website," Emmett goaded.

"Fuck you," I shot back. I walked further into the room and sat on one of the arm chairs across from my dad and brother.

"Anyway," Dad continued. "Have you met anyone yet? Gone on any dates?"

My mind briefly went to Bella, but just as quickly I pushed that thought away. There was no guarantee I would hear from her again. Even then, it was way too soon to mention her. I knew that if I mentioned anything to either of them, Mom wouldn't be out of the loop for long.

"Nah," I shook my head. "Not yet."

"Man, I thought for sure they'd be lined up by now," Emmett said, shaking his head.

"Just because I haven't been on any dates doesn't mean that I haven't gotten any matches or messages," I defended. I wasn't a complete loser, unlike what my brother seemed to believe.

"Emmett, leave your brother alone. I swear, sometimes you two act like you're still kids."

We continued talking until Caitlin came running into the room, telling us that my mother demanded we come down to help cook.

0-0

Later in the afternoon, I was out running with the dogs.

I could hear my phone ringing in my pocket, so I stopped our run to answer it.

Glancing at the display, I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I said trying to catch my breath.

"Hi. Is this Edward?" A shy, timid voice asked.

"Speaking," I replied, still unable to figure out who was calling.

"Hi. This is Bella...BSwan91. I just saw your messages." She still sounded unsure.

Holy shit.

Bella was calling me.

"Bella, wow. I thought for sure I scared you off." I tried to make it sound joking, but really. I had thought she had been scared off.

"No, no you didn't." She laughed. "Are you busy? I can call you back."

I looked down at the dogs who were laying at my feet.

"Not at all. I was just finishing up my run. How are you today?" I asked.

"I'm good. Great," she answered. "How are you?"

"Good," I replied lamely. I had no idea why I held all the awkwardness of a first crush.

"That's good."

She didn't say anything more. I was at a loss for what to say.

"This is ridiculous. We had so much to talk about last night," I said, laughing.

"I know! I think I'm just nervous," she admitted.

I smiled. "Would it help to admit that I am a little nervous as well?" I prompted. "I've never done

anything like this before. It was actually my brother that made my account. i would have to say that I'm now glad he did."

"Oh," she replied.

I mentally slapped myself. Was I being too forward again? "Sorry. I'm making you uncomfortable."

"No, you're not," she insisted. "I'm just...not used to compliments, I guess. I didn't make my account either. My best friend slash cousin, Alice, convinced me to last night."

I laughed. I knew all too well what it was like to have an interfering family.

"Well, I'd say we both have meddling people in our lives, then."

"Hah, meddling is putting it nicely," she replied with a dry laugh.

After that, the conversation flowed more freely, but we still have anything deeper than polite conversation.

I realized, with a sigh that I'd been gone for a while. The dogs were still sacked out at my feet, but

I needed to get back to my parents and shower, then do some work.

"I really should be getting started on this article I have to write." I didn't want to end our conversation yet.

"Okay. I should probably clean up around here as well."

"Would it be okay if I call you later?" I asked.

"Yeah." I could hear the smile in her voice. "That would be okay."

"Great. Well," I said, relieved that she wanted to hear from me again. "I hope you have a good day, Bella."

"You too, Edward," she replied before hanging up.

0-0

The rest of the day was spent at my parents.

After we ate dinner, Rosalie announced that they had to get Caitlin home and ready for bed.

"Are you sure you don't want to go out after Caitlin goes to bed?" Emmett asked. He had tried a new tactic. Wanting me to go out with him to a bar and help me meet women. He was convinced he would make an excellent wingman, to Rosalie's disapproval.

Waving him off with an excuse, I followed them to the front door.

"Oh, I forgot to ask earlier," Rosalie said. "Do you think you could get Cait to preschool on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, no problem," I replied dismissively.

"Okay, good. I have a doctors appointment."

Emmett came into the hallway, carrying Caitlin.

"Hey. Go home and talk to some of those ladies, okay?" Emmett said, clapping me on the back.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied with a roll of my eyes.

I kissed a drowsy Caitlin goodnight before going to get my dogs ready to head out.

After promising to visit and call my mother more often, we were back in the car, heading home.

When I got home, I continued to work, lost in the article that I was writing and trying to quickly finish it. up.

Around 8:30 I had finished. After one final readthrough to make sure I was satisfied with it, I emailed it off to be approved.

I realized that I still needed to call back Bella.

Glancing at the clock, I decided to call her before it got too late.

"Hey," I greeted when she answered the phone.

"Edward. Hi," she replied.

"Sorry, am I calling too late?"

"Nope, not at all," she answered. stifling a yawn. "I was just reading."

"Oh? What were you reading?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Just a magazine," she said quickly. "How was your day?"

I told her that I had spent it at my parents and gotten my article done. When I asked her about hers, she told me she spent the first part of the day with her cousin, then the rest relaxing around her house.

"It's good to have relaxing days," I told her. "I could do with a few of those. I spent the afternoon trying to convince my brother that I was too busy to go out for drinks."

"You have siblings?" she asked.

"Just a brother. He's thirty-five. Married for five years to Rosalie. They have a three year old daughter, Caitlin."

"The way you said Rosalie leads me to believe that you two aren't exactly close," Bella said.

I had to laugh. "No. I mean, I've known her for a long time. Her and Em are great together. We just have a...love-hate relationship."

"I think I can relate to that. I love Alice, she's my best friend. But sometimes she's just too much."

Yeah, I could definitely commiserate.

We continued to talk for a little while. Or at least, it felt like a little while. When I glanced at the clock I saw that two hours had passed.

"Is it seriously 11 already?" I yawned. It had been a long day.

"Yeah. Wow. Time flies," she said, sounding just as surprised as I was.

"Bella, I know that you have your reservations, but I'd really like to meet with you. In person. It doesn't have to be anything serious or a date, we could just meet up for coffee and talk. Just like we're doing now, except face to face."

I hadn't really meant to push the matter. But then again, maybe all she needed was a little push?

Bella was quiet, which I hoped meant that she was considering it.

"Okay," she replied hesitantly. "We can do coffee."

"Great!" I said, unable to contain the relief I felt. "When is good for you?"

We compared schedules. I had deadlines I needed to meet and Bella had school and homework to attend to. Finally, we were able to agree on Wednesday at 8. Just a few days away.

After we hung up, I let the dogs out into the yard once more before heading to bed.

Wednesday couldn't come soon enough.

Hi. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for all your lovely reviews!

I'm thinking of changing the title of this story, but I'm not sure to what. I'm horrible at coming up with titles, hence the oh so creative title for this story.

Also, if anyone wants to make a cover photo for this fic, that would be awesome! It feels naked without one.

See you next time.