A/N: more at the bottom...
Madi. You know the drill. Love you.
Disclaimer: I own zip, got it?
EPOV
My mind raced all week, trying to justify going back to Seattle to see the girl again.
I'd just go watch her dance again, just watch. I could touch without looking, I could be a gentleman and admire her from afar. I could do all of those things.
Of course, there was always Tanya. I couldn't just tell her I was going back to the ballet to watch some ballerina twirl her way into my heart. That definitely wouldn't go over well.
My nights continued the way they normally did, vanilla.
Nothing more than what was absolutely necessary.
Clearly our marriage was having problems, clearly we weren't meant for each other, clearly we were growing to hate each other.
Having said all of those things, I don't think either of us are willing to admit defeat to one another, both of us too stubborn to give in first.
It was a terrifying game of chicken and it scared me to the core to think about the end result. It couldn't possibly end well.
Best case scenario we mutually agree to a divorce and split our assets equally.
Worst case scenario we go through a nasty divorce that is sure to leave many people hurt in the process.
There was no way for us to win.
I woke up Sunday morning with a specific plan of action.
This plan of action including making a lengthy trip to Seattle to have a work related lunch with a potential client.
Tanya merely shrugged me off when I tried to tell her about it. It was probably for the best considering that the entire lunch was fabricated in my mind.
I even had a name ready to go if she asked. I was definitely better at lying than I should have been. I was prepared for any tiny question she could have had about how I planned to spend my day. I was almost disappointed that she didn't even ask when I would be home.
This left me driving to Seattle in a very stressed out state.
I kept glancing in the rear view mirror like some sort of criminal. Every time I saw a car coming up behind me I would start to panic that she hired a private investigator or something.
I tried to shake it off, telling myself that I wasn't even doing anything wrong.
Since when was it a crime for a grown man to go to the ballet by himself on a Sunday afternoon?
By the time the ballet was over I was reduced to nothing more than a teenage boy again.
My heart fluttered when she twirled, my eyes widened when she stretched her leg high above her head, my stomach did somersaults when she smiled.
My knees felt weak when I stood from my chair and I couldn't understand the reaction my body was having to this strange ballerina.
She was captivating me and I didn't even know her name yet.
As I was walking back out to my car I saw her standing off to the side of the parking lot, talking to a group of girls surrounding her.
In a split second I had made up my mind; it was out of my control.
I straightened my shoulders and took a deep breath before walking over to the group of giggling girls.
The group broke up after a few more minutes of conversation and she seemed to be waiting for someone, a ride maybe.
Her eyes quickly glanced to mine and then back to the ground. Her hair hung down in a dark curtain around her face.
I secretly wondered what it would be like to run my fingers through that mess, to feel it against my fingertips.
She glanced over again, her lips forming a small smile.
I smiled back at her, trying to seem friendly instead of creepy.
Her eyes stayed on mine this time, her head turning slightly to the left like a curious puppy.
She was like a timid animal, one wrong move and I'd scare her away forever. I had to be gentle with her, tame her like a wild mustang.
I took a tentative step towards her and widened my smile.
"I'm Edward..." I thrust my hand out toward her and felt myself blush when she gently shook my hand.
"Bella, Bella Swan. Nice to meet you." Her voice made a chill run through my body.
"I didn't mean to freak you out. I just loved your dancing." She nodded her head and smiled again, this time with teeth.
"It's okay, you just never know with some people." She still seemed a little suspicious.
"Yeah, so, um..." I didn't exactly have a plan, I couldn't think of what I wanted to say.
I shoved my hands into my pockets awkwardly and prayed that she wouldn't run away screaming. We maintained eye contact, waiting for one another to say something.
Normally I'd have a million different conversation starters, but with her, my mind went completely blank.
"Would you go out with me sometime?" Wow. I'm a creep.
She looked hesitant at first, but relaxed after a few minutes.
"You know what...yeah, I will." My eyes widened at her response.
"Seriously?" I wondered if maybe she thought I was kidding, or maybe she was kidding with her answer.
"Yeah." Her head bobbed up and down with her answer.
"O-Okay. Do you wanna take my number or should I take yours or..."
"I'll give you my number." I nodded my head and pulled my phone out.
I handed her the phone and waited excitedly while she punched in her number. She smiled at me again when she was finished and handed it back to me.
"So, I'll call you?" She nodded her head again and let out a nervous giggle.
"Okay, talk to you later then..." I awkwardly shook her hand goodbye and got into my car.
I watched as she got into an old beat up car a few minutes later, a young guy sitting behind the driver's seat.
They both smiled when she got in and drove away quickly.
I tossed the idea of calling her back and forth in my head. Trying to decide if it was worth the risk, if she was worth ruining my marriage.
"Of course not Edward, you love your wife." I barely recognized my own voice.
I shook my head at the irrational idea and drove out of the parking lot.
I didn't call her until the next Wednesday.
I found out a lot about her that day.
I still remember every word we spoke.
She was a twenty four year old dance major who had just started dancing at the Seattle ballet.
She lived in Portland her entire life until college.
The man in the beat up car was her best friend Jake. He'd been her best friend since the first day of high school.
Her father died the year before from stomach cancer.
Her mother still lived in Portland, alone except for the family dog.
She was an only child, and she liked it that way.
She'd taken dance classes since she was a child and she dreamed of dancing in a real ballet her whole life.
She lived in downtown Seattle.
And she did, in fact, wanna go on a date with me.
A/N: see? The chapters are getting longer and longer. toldyaso. I just wanna say I love you all, every single one of you that's reading this right now. Even the creepers who don't review.
It's a slow burn at the beginning, but once they get going there'll be no stopping them.
Trust me:)
find me on twitter, let's chat. thirstykirstie.
