Bella was just rinsing her hair out in the shower when the doorbell began to ring. Wrapping a towel around her shivering body she climbed out of the tub and made her way to the door as she left behind small of water. "One sec Alice I'm coming!" When she opened the door, however, it wasn't her best friend waiting for her as she was expecting, but Edward Cullen. Bella gasped. She hadn't seen nor heard from him in a week and she was beginning to think he didn't want to be her friend after all. That week had made her forget just how good looking he was, and seeing him standing at her doorway made her breath hitch a little. His bruises were completely gone and the scars on his face were almost completely faded.
"Is Alice a new nickname for me?" He looked over his glasses.
Bella responded with a quiet squeal and drew the ends of the towel as close to her as she could. She noticed that he wasn't looking at her body as if he wanted to devour her. He wasn't even eying her up and down. He was simply looking at her face. Maybe he really wants to be friends. Maybe he's gay. "Edward, what are you doing here?"
He twirled his keys around his index finger as he leaned against the door frame. "You didn't give me your number. How else am I supposed to get a hold of you?"
She had forgotten that she had refused to give her number out to him. "I guess you're right, but what made you decide to just show up a week later?" She tried to not make her voice sound as if she was upset that he didn't show up earlier.
"I was in Paris all week for work. I just arrived an hour ago, actually."
"Oh." He had come as soon as he got off of the plane. Was he really thinking about her that much?
Edward straightened up and smiled. "Get dressed I'll take you out to lunch."
Bella bit her lip wanting so badly to do what he told her, but she had promised her friend they would have a girl's day out. "As much as you love being called Alice, the name wasn't meant for you." She giggled as he placed his hand on his heart giving her the saddest look he can muster. "My friend is on her way right now and we were going to go out. If you want, we can hang out later tonight."
"I have a few meetings tonight, but I think I can manage rescheduling them. Tonight it is." He began to walk towards the elevators.
Bella took a step into the hallway. "Wait, what time tonight?"
Edward looked over his shoulder as the elevator doors began to open and gave her a sly smile. "Oh Bella, that would be too easy." She glared at him knowing that somehow that statement she had used a week ago would backfire.
As Edward stepped into the elevators, Alice and her giant of a brother Emmett stepped out. Alice's eyes widened as she glanced at Edward and then at Bella who was dripping wet with just a towel covering her mid-section, whereas Emmett's eyes narrowed as they followed Edward until the doors closed.
"Okay what is going on?" Emmett spoke up first, not amused.
Bella couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. Emmett was her best friend, but to her both him and Alice were her siblings. Since Bella had no older brothers, Emmett took that position, although he was just a few months older than her. "Calm down nothing happened. I was in the shower and I opened the door thinking it was you guys. I met him at work." That wasn't a lie. She closed her front door behind them and they all walked into the living room with no one bothering to sit down.
Alice skipped a few steps closer with a suspicious look on her face. "Is he a doctor?"
"No."
"Nurse?"
"No."
"Pharmacist?"
"No."
"So then what the hell is he?" Emmett's hands shot up in the air clearly annoyed that Bella wasn't giving much information.
Bella hesitated and she felt her cheeks get hot. It was then that she saw the light bulb turn on over Alice's head. Her mouth formed a small 'o' and her eyes began to sparkle. "Patient! Oh how romantic Bella! You are taking care of a hunk and then you both realize you are in love!"
"Love?" Emmett growled.
"No! That's not how it is. We hung out once after I got out of work, and I didn't see him until today."
Emmett's eyes narrowed. "He looks familiar. Very familiar. Like, maybe I worked with him before."
Bella wasn't surprised. Emmett was one of the best contractors in the city, and she was sure Edward owned hundreds of buildings. "You might have."
By the time they had reached the hair salon Alice was giving Bella tips on how to do her makeup and Emmett was brooding, sitting on the couch on the far side of the salon with a magazine in his hands. "Why did he come if he is just going to sit there?" Bella pointed towards Emmett with her chin.
Alice gazed towards her brother and then focused her attention back to the lady who was working on her foot. "He found out I was hanging out with you and wanted to come with. He hasn't seen you in a while."
Bella continued to stare at Emmett. He was a beautiful man. He was very different from Edward, but he was just as beautiful with a mop of curly black hair, broad shoulders, and an obnoxiously loud voice. He was a teddy bear. Her smile then faltered as she focused on the frown that was plastered on his face. "Well, it seems like he doesn't want to be around me right now. Why is he making such a big deal about the whole Edward thing? It's not like we are serious."
"Oh, you know how he is. Remember when Jasper and I first started dating. He would give him hell. Remember when he first caught us making out? I swear he was coming up with a plan on how to murder him, and now look at them, they are best friends."
Bella sighed. "Yet when he and Rose started dating he would get mad the minute we would ask if he thought they were right together." Bella knew that Emmett couldn't find anyone more perfect for him than Rosalie. At first she came off as a very cold and serious person, and for months Bella and Alice thought she hated them. It wasn't until a few months into their relationship when Alice confronted Rose and found out that she was actually intimidated by the two of them. Now, they couldn't imagine her not being in their life.
"Anyway," Alice ran a beautifully manicured hand through her short black hair, "what does Edward do for a living?" As Bella tried to figure out what exactly she should say she heard Emmett swear loudly, leap out of his seat, and come barreling towards them with the magazine in his hand.
"I knew he looked familiar. This is your boyfriend!" He ripped open the magazine and began pointing at a picture of Edward Cullen standing in front of a building with a title that read 'Owner of Develocor Edward Cullen: Billionaire Bachelor.'
She looked at Alice from the corner of her eye and saw that her mouth was hanging wide open, and trying to read the article as best as she can while her brother shook it in his hands. "He isn't my boyfriend. We talked for maybe thirty minutes and that is it. I don't get why what he does for a living is such a big deal."
"Bells, I heard a lot about this guy. He is a playboy. He goes from one girl to the next, wooing her and making her believe she is his one and only, and then he gets bored and breaks their hearts. It even says so in this article! Dating a billionaire is not a good idea!" Emmett didn't seem to care that he was speaking a little too loudly.
"That is a magazine. They will say anything to get readers." Although Bella sounded confident, she knew in her heart of hearts there had to be some truth. The way Edward looked at her and said her name made her feel like she was the only one, and they barely knew each other.
The excitement from Alice's eyes wore off and was now replaced with concern. "Bella, just be careful, okay?"
"I'll be fine." She gave them a confident smile hoping that she would put their minds at ease.
She had decided to get back home earlier than she planned to. She was excited to go out to dinner with Edward, but her friends' reaction to who he was unsettled her nerves. She took a long shower, and took her time to do her hair and makeup – something she rarely ever took into consideration (who in the ICU cared about whether their nurse's makeup was done?). She didn't know where exactly they were going, so she slid into a blue romper and gold sandals. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror feeling a little presentable, but she knew that compared to Edward she was just an ugly duckling.
At six the doorbell rang, and Bella's nerves were now worse than ever. Her heart fluttered as she opened the door and saw Edward leaning against the door frame just like how he did earlier that day. He was wearing a green buttoned down shirt and the sleeves were rolled to his elbows, white shorts, and white flip flops. He looked like he can be on the cover of any magazine and Bella wondered if he had a stylist. He could afford a hundred of them if he really wanted to.
"You decided against the towel?" Edward smiled showing his perfectly straight white teeth.
"Funny." Bella nudged him with her shoulder as she closed the door behind her.
The car ride was quiet but not awkward, and when Bella saw the little shack she began to laugh. "This is my all-time favorite hot dog place!"
"Me too." Edward smiled at her and once again Bella found herself intrigued by this man. He could have taken her anywhere, somewhere fancy if he wanted to impress her, but instead he brought her here. It was simple, but she loved that, and it felt like they had known each other for years. "You grab a table outside and I'll get the food."
She found a table at the very end of the store and she looked into the building as he made his way to the cashier, ordered the food, and came back outside.
"Double dog with everything on it is what I got. Is that okay with you?"
Bella stared at him in amazement. "That's what I always get."
"Me too." Edward said again.
They ate in silence for a few minutes until Bella got the nerve to speak up. "You are really intriguing, Edward."
"You make it sound like I'm a science experiment." His voice sounded like he was serious, but a smile played on his lips.
"I just mean you are surprising. You don't talk about money. You don't brag about how much you have. You do things I don't expect. I-"She gave herself a moment to look away and then turned back to look at his chest. She still couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes. "I love that."
Edward took a deep breath and exhaled. "Money isn't everything. I love my company, which is why I work there. I don't do it for the money. What's the point of having money if you don't have happiness?"
Bella let his question linger but she didn't answer. They both knew the answer. They finished the rest of their meal in a comfortable silence,both enjoying the warm breeze, and it wasn't until Bella took the last bite when Edward spoke up again. "Let's walk on the beach."
Bella nodded knowing that even if she had to do something she would still go with him. She was compelled by him.
It was getting dark, so the beach was pretty quiet except for the occasional teenagers that would run by laughing and screaming. Every once in a while some girls would walk past and stare at Edward. They would then look Bella over and glare at her. She wasn't surprised. She was hanging out with one of the best looking guys in Chicago, and she was sure more than a few people recognized him, but Edward paid no attention to any of that. He was entirely focused on Bella, and the thought of his attention being solely fixed on her made her blush. They walked in the sand with their sandals in their hands. They were close enough to where their arms brushed each other, but that was the only physical contact that was made.
"How many serious relationships have you been in?" He was the first to break the silence.
"To be honest, one. It was my freshman through junior year of college. He cheated on me and I ended it. After that I focused on graduating and getting a job, and since then I only bothered to make time for friends, family, and work." She focused her attention on the black lake. She wasn't upset about what happened years ago, but she felt uncomfortable talking about her love life, or lack of, to someone who apparently was a 'playboy.' "What about you?" She looked back at him.
He was staring directly at her. Unlike herself, he wasn't shy about his previous relationships. "I'd say about three serious relationships. One being in high school." He smiled. "I'm not going to lie to you, though. I have had a lot of short term relationships, and I'm sure you have heard or read about them. I've done things I'm not proud of and I have hurt a lot of people, but that was a few years ago. You are the first woman in three years who has been alone with me like this."
She blushed, silently swearing at her body for betraying her. "This is just two people hanging out, Edward."
Although she didn't look him in the eyes, she knew they were blazing, she felt the intensity of his stare on her own face. "It is much more than that. It was when I first laid eyes on you." They began walking again.
Bella struggled with what to say. Those two sentences blew her away, and although they weren't particularly romantic, it was the most beautiful thing any man had ever said to her, but she had her own problems, wounds and scars that were forever etched into her heart. "You know, I have a hard time trusting people."
Edward once again stopped walking, turned to look towards the lake, and preceded to cross his arms. "You can trust me." His voice rang with so much sincerity that she began to feel tears well up in her eyes. How can a man that barely knows her say something like that? How can she trust a man who has a reputation of using and abusing women for his own pleasure? Although the thought frightened her, and shook her to her core, she knew there was no denying her feelings, no matter how long she had known him for.
"That's the thing, Edward. We just started getting to know each other and I already do trust you, and that terrifies me." Bella didn't know why she said she trusted him, and she was sure the horrified look on her face said so. She was going to scare this man away before they really got to know each other. Sure, he said she can trust him, but maybe he meant in the future.
Edward turned back to her, with the moonlight shining behind him he looked other worldly. His bronze hair looked darker and his skin, although was sun kissed, looked paler. Bella had to fight the urge to run up to him and wrap her arms around him. "I trust you too." He gave her a heart breaking smile, a smile that opened her up to his world, and Bella had the strangest feeling that not many people have been there.