Thanks for the warm welcome back. I hope you enjoy.

The outright shock on Bella's face was too much. I hated feeling like I had somehow mislead her, but I thought that my username would have told her enough.

"Bella, I am so sorry. I had no idea you didn't know my age. I thought that you would have caught on to my username. Cullen72. I was born in seventy-two. Much like I assumed you were born in ninety-one."

With a stutter she explained that she had been born in '91, but clearly hadn't extended the same logic to me. Well, this sucked.

"I hope this didn't ruin your evening," I told her. I chose my words carefully, not wanting to give her an easy out to call the evening off and run out screaming.

"No, you didn't. I'm just surprised, I guess."

Although she said that she was just surprised, I could tell that it did bother her. I just hoped that it was something she could get past.

My mood shifted further downhill when her mood turned to unease. As much as I hated it, I asked her if she wanted me to drop her off at home.

She all too eagerly said yes.

0-0

I pulled up in front of the apartment building Bella had given me the address to. She had been silent the entire ride home, the only sound breaking up the awkwardness in the car was the radio.

Once we reached her apartment, I bought myself a few moments more time with her by walking her up to her front door.

Bella had been silent the entire ride home, the only sound breaking up the awkwardness in the car being the radio.

"I had a really good time tonight, Bella." After murmuring that she did too, I continued. "Now, while I have no issues with your age, I have a very strong feeling that maybe my age might be too much for you. So if I could just try one thing..."

Before I could give her any chance at pushing me away, I leaned down, cupping her cheeks to give her a peck on the kiss. I pulled back and watched as her eyes fluttered shut before I went in again, this time to give her a long, slow kiss.

She swayed on her feet when I pulled away and licked her lips. Her cheeks had flushed and her lips were slightly swollen. A surge of masculine pride shot through my body.

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Goodnight."

0-0

The next morning, I woke up ridiculously early, but feeling refreshed. After mulling over the events of the previous night, I wasn't sure either way if Bella would want to see me again or even call me. I decided to give her time. If she was still interested, I hoped that she could give me a call. If not, well, that's just life.

I wasn't surprised to see it was Emmett when the phone rang.

"So, did you bone her? Was she hot?" Emmett sprouted off in lieu of a greeting.

"Must you seriously be so crass? If Caitlyn starts mimicking you Rosalie will kill you." I wasn't kidding. Rosalie had been harping on Emmett about his language before Caitlyn could even talk.

"Judging by your shitty attitude I'm guessing you didn't score last night. But how was it? Was she hot?" He asked.

I thought a moment, Bella wasn't exactly what I would call hot. Especially not to what I knew Emmett's standards to be, the typical statuesque blonde bombshell.

"She's cute, beautiful. I think she's hot."

"But?" Emmett asked, sensing that I had more to say.

"She's young and she didn't realize that I was, well, old." Calling myself old made me feel like a loser. I wasn't old, really. Hell, I didn't feel old. But compared to Bella, I was definitely old.

"Dude, you're not that old. Besides, you can totally play this to your advantage. You're that distinguished older guy type. Chicks dig that. If she has daddy issues then you're definitely in."

I shook my head in disgust. Sometimes I couldn't believe that Emmett was actually the son of my prim and proper parents.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm not sure if she's going to call me. I thought things were going good until she found out about the age difference."

"Her loss, my man. Her loss."

I spent the rest of the early morning trying to keep Bella off of my mind. After getting some work done, I took the dogs for a run through the neighborhood, returning home only when Lulu refused to run anymore.

Glancing at my watch, I saw it was only ten. Deciding to pop in to my parents for breakfast, I loaded the dogs into the car and headed over.

"Edward, what a surprise," my father, Carlisle, greeted me. "Here for breakfast?"

"Yeah, you know. I think Mom mentioned she was making a full breakfast, so I thought I'd stop by. I already let the dogs in the yard."

"Well, I'm sure your mother will be thrilled to see you. If she had it her way you'd still be living at home."

His dad had been right. No matter how old I got, my mom still believed in doting on me like I was still six.

Coming over to my parents had been a good distraction to keep my mind off of Bella even further. It was pointless to dwell on the situation.

"So, how was your date?" My mom asked. It was after breakfast and we were sitting in the living room, drinking coffee.

Fucking Emmett.

"He can't keep his mouth shut, can he?" I grumbled. "How much did he tell you?"

My mom shrugged. "You know your brother. He's always been a blabbermouth. Don't worry though. He somehow managed to stay pretty tight lipped. All he said is that you went on a date. But don't think you can distract me. What was she like? Did you two hit it off?"

I said a silent thank you. It wasn't like I was really hiding how I met Bella, I just wasn't ready to tell everyone yet. Besides that, I didn't think there was much to tell. "She was great, yeah. I'm not sure if there's going to be a second date."

"Oh, well that's too bad, son. Just keep looking. The right one's out there." Dad said, casting an affectionate glance at my mom.

Just then, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that it was Bella calling.

"Hello?" I said, answering the phone.

"Edward. Hi. It's me, uh...Bella." Bella's unsure voice came over the phone line.

"Bella, hi. Can you just hang on one second, please?"

I stood and put my hand over the speaker. "Excuse me, I need to take this."

I walked out of the room, stepping into one of the guest bedrooms.

"Sorry about that, I'm at my parents right now. How are you?"

Bella replied that she was okay, but her tone of voice led me to believe otherwise. I braced myself for the let down. "You don't sound okay. Did something happen? This isn't about last night, is it? I understand, really. I'm surprised you're even calling."

I was surprised, but not entirely ungrateful. At least this way a tiny part of me wouldn't be wondering if she would eventually call.

"It's nothing, really. I just...I got in a fight with my cousin. I guess I'm just upset over it."

"Over me." A layer of guilt fell over me. I didn't want to cause any issues within Bella's family, yet here I was, one date in and already she was arguing with her cousin.

"Alice is just being Alice. It'll blow over," Bella said, seemingly more to herself than to me.

Thinking fast, I asked if she was busy right then. "I was just about ready to leave their house. We were having breakfast. We could...I don't know, do something, if you'd like. Just two people hanging out, you know. Not a date. No pressure."

At the very least, I could talk things out with her in person.

"Okay. But on one condition."

Surprised, I let out a laugh. "Name it."

"As long as It's a date."

These chapters are pretty short, I know. Sorry. They might get longer but they might not. We'll see. Thanks for all your feedback. It feels nice to be back.