That following week went by so slow. I willed Saturday to approach faster. Edward called me that following Tuesday night, but our conversation wasn't anything more than that in the instant messages, but then again I figured that was a good thing because I didn't want to make a complete idiot of myself. Thursday night was spent at my house with Alice. We finished our homework early and then went on to see what I was going to wear to my date with Edward. Alice almost tore my whole wardrobe out of the wall looking at my clothes, and eventually we both settled on my red skirt with a matching shirt. Not too casual, then again not too dressy either; we were only going to the movies. As Friday dragged by, Alice started getting very jittery about the impending dance. It was all she talked about, and for once I didn't mind because I had my own night to look forward to. I had received winks and smiles from Edward all week as I passed him to and from classes, which only made me more impatient for Saturday to arrive. Alice stayed at my house that night, which entailed plenty of chat about the next day.
Waking up the next day, I suddenly felt relieved that Saturday was here, but then again I felt almost sick with the nerves. Edward was the most popular guy in school. If I did anything stupid on our date, the whole school was sure to know about it by Monday. And I tended to make a fool of myself often. For a brief second, I considered cancelling with some lame cliché excuse, but shook that from my head almost immediately. I spent that whole day with Alice, helping her organise everything she needed for the dance. As she did her nails, I did her hair, and by the time she had slipped her dress on, she looked truly beautiful. I watched as Jasper's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw Alice looking immaculate.
"Enjoy the dance, call me later, okay?" I told Alice.
"Yeah sure, hon. Good luck on your date, you've got to tell me everything!" she whispered to me. I smiled at her, and checked my watch as Jasper and Alice drove off for their perfect night. It was 7:00p.m., and Edward wasn't picking me up until 8:30p.m., so I pondered what my next move would be as I left Alice's house and entered my own. I decided a shower would be necessary, to calm my nerves more than anything else, but the hot water running down my body wasn't enough of a remedy for me. As I carefully dried my hair in my bedroom, I viewed the outfit I would be wearing which was lying on my bed and almost decided to change it, but then I decided against that time-consuming thought. At 8:20p.m., I was dressed, my hair was done, and I had applied a slight amount of make-up to my appearance. The red mini skirt was something I hardly wore, along with the matching red shirt, but looking in my bedroom mirror I was pleased Alice had picked this out. It didn't look half bad. I pinned the front parts of my hair out of my face and let the rest hang loosely around my shoulders. I was slightly nervous about telling Edward where I lived, because that would entail him maybe having to chat to my mother, which would surely ruin any chance of this date being successful.
"You look nice," my mother viewed my appearance as I entered the living room. She was sitting on the couch with David watching an old movie, while Madison played with her toys on the floor. "Is Edward picking you up soon?"
"Um, yeah, in a few minutes. We're just going to the movies so I shouldn't be home late," I stated. I had told my mom about my date earlier that week, which I didn't mind because she was really easy to talk to. It was like talking to any other teenage girl as she asked how good looking he was. "Oh its fine honey, it's not a school night anyway," she chirped. When it came to curfews, I didn't have one. My mom didn't really mind when I got home as long as I told her where I was going and who I was with, so I was pretty lucky to have it so easy. "Okay thanks, Mom," I started, but suddenly was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. My heart froze. I walked into the hall, hesitated for a fraction of a second, and opened the front door to see Edward looking as hot as ever. It was odd seeing him dressed in something other than his football clothes, but the leather jacket, blue shirt and jeans really suited him. "Hey, Bella. You look beautiful." Oh, wow, I nearly evaporated into the air listening to him. "Hey, Edward. Let me just grab my jacket and we can go," I explained, approaching the closet under the stairs to grab my jacket. With that, my Mom stepped out of the living room and into the hallway. Shit, 'please don't say something stupid!' I begged her in my mind. "Hello, you must be Edward. I'm Bella's mother," she said politely. "It's very nice to meet you Ms. Swan," he was so polite back as he stepped into our hallway. "Oh, please, call me Renee. Have a nice time Bella," she wished me as I began to walk out the door with Edward. I didn't reply. I just wanted to get out of there before someone embarrassed me. Like a gentleman, Edward held the passenger door open for me as I slid into the seat, and he then proceeded to the driver's side of the car. "Your mom is really nice," he chatted.
"Oh, thanks. I'm glad she didn't try to be funny or quirky or anything. She's like that a lot." He chuckled as we drove to the movie theatre, just a few blocks away. His car smelled nice, I noticed. It smelled like his cologne, and air freshener. He hummed lightly as we drove. It was a nice sound, so easy-going. Once he had parked the car, we made our way into the movie theatre and tried to decide which movie to see. "How about 'Red Night?'" He suggested and I mentally cringed. 'Red Night' was the latest horror movie, and supposedly it was very gory. I hated horror movies, but I didn't want him thinking I was a wimp, so I agreed. "Yeah sure, that sounds good." He refused to let me pay for my ticket, and I thanked him as we made our way to the screen. The theatre wasn't busy, so we picked seats up the back and started talking as the movie wasn't due to start for another ten minutes. "Can I ask you something?" I asked him meekly. "Yeah sure, go for it." Okay maybe I didn't want to ask this, but I couldn't back out now. "Okay, I was just wondering about the dance and all. Why didn't you go to the dance with Tanya Denali?" I hoped he wouldn't think I was snooping into his business, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Tanya? Oh, that ended between us months ago," he explained.
"Well, yeah, I know but you guys always seemed to stay close."
"Tanya likes to think she has a hold on me, but I won't ever date her again. To be honest, she's very annoying, and so self-absorbed. I was never fully happy with her, and I try to avoid her as much as possible. I hate her swinging out of me all of the time. All she cares about is her image and popularity, but I like a girl who likes to be herself. Like you, Bella." He looked me straight in the eyes as he said this. My heart raced as he lifted his hand and brushed my cheek with his fingers. "You don't pretend to be anyone else, Bella. You are yourself; you have your own image. You are beautiful, funny, kind and smart." He didn't break the eye contact between us as he complimented me further. I thought my heart would do back flips out of my chest, it was beating so rapidly. He couldn't say anymore as the lights dimmed and the movie trailers began, but he didn't have to say another word. Keeping his hand brushing my cheek softly, he leaned in closer to me. I could feel his warm breath against my face for a few seconds, and he kissed me lightly on my lips. So soft, but so perfect. He pulled away and his gorgeous blue eyes looked into my eyes before he smiled, and whispered "Let's watch the movie." I nodded in agreement, my body not allowing me to use my voice. He didn't hesitate in putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer to him, where I sat comfortably for the duration of the movie. Every few minutes his fingers would lightly trace over my arm, giving me shivers down my spine. Watching the horror movie didn't bother me one bit that night.
The credits rolled and we were forced to move out of our comfortable position to exit the theatre. Walking out into the cold night was completely different to sitting in the warmth of Edward's arms, and I shivered as the night wind passed us. "Are you cold?" Edward asked me as we walked towards his car. "No," I lied. He looked at me curiously, and within seconds he had shrugged off his leather jacket and placed it around my shoulders. The smell was glorious, it smelled exactly like him. "Thank you," I smiled at him as I basked in the warmth. He took my hand and held it securely in his. I was holding Edward Cullen's hand and wearing his sexy leather jacket. And he kissed me! This night couldn't get any better. "You look really beautiful tonight." Okay, maybe it could get a little better.
"Thank you. You're a really sweet guy. Thank you for a lovely evening."
"It was my pleasure, Bella. I really enjoyed myself with you tonight." He opened the passenger door for me again before climbing into the driver's seat. Unfortunately, it was a short drive to my house. He insisted on walking me to my front door, holding my hand securely in his the whole time. The whole evening had been so perfect; my heart was over-working itself the whole time. As we stood under the porch of my house, he stared longingly into my eyes, rubbing the back of my hand gently with his thumb. It was so soothing; I wanted to stay in that spot forever. He didn't break our gaze when he lifted his hand slowly and placed it lightly on the side of my face. His hands were so warm, it felt so right. Leaning in slowly, he allowed our lips to meet after a couple of seconds. It was a soft kiss, which got more passionate than our first one. He began tracing his tongue along my bottom lip, and I allowed my tongue to meet his as I placed both of my arms lightly around his neck. Edward seemed to like this, as he put his hand on the small of my back, pulling me as close as he could to his chest. Our passionate embrace didn't stop; I was breathing in the luxurious smell of his cologne as he wound his fingers in my hair. The kiss slowed, and our lips parted however they stayed within a millimetre of each other. He breathed lightly on my face, both of us staying still for a brief second before he pulled back to look at me. His fingers stayed entwined in my hair his hand pressed firmly on my back as he gave me one last soft, meaningful kiss and smiled.
"Goodnight, Bella," he said putting both of his hands on my hips. "Tonight was perfect." I could only nod in agreement, not able to find any words from my vocabulary, which Edward seemed to notice when he let a hearty chuckle arise from his chest. "I hope you'd want to maybe come out with me again sometime?" He sounded unsure on what my answer would be; he was such a genuine guy which made me like him so much more.
"Thank you for bringing me out tonight, Edward. I really had a lovely time. I'd love to do this again sometime," I assured him with a smile that I was almost sure didn't look too stupid and corny. "Oh, and thank you for the jacket too," I continued, reluctantly taking off his heavenly leather jacket and handing it back to him. "Oh that's okay; I didn't want you getting cold. I'll let you get inside," he said giving me another soft, but long, kiss on my lips. "I'll call you, okay?" "Okay, and Edward, thanks again," I was so grateful to him. "No, Bella, thank you. I really like you," he replied, making me giddy again. I didn't rush to open my front door as he retreated back to his car, watching his every step. He stopped a few feet away from his car, and turned around to flash that perfect smile at me for the hundredth time that night. I waved at him before he winked at me, got into his car, and drove off. That truly was the best night of my life, or at least, my lips thought so anyway!
