Summary:

After going through a handful of unsuccessful figure skating partners, Bella Swan is on the verge of giving up her skating career. When her coach pairs her up with Edward Cullen, she decides to give her gold medal dreams one last shot.

A/N (Author's Note): ALL HUMAN.

*IMPORTANT*: I will be posting pictures that correspond with this chapter, so if you see text followed by a bold (number), that indicates that there will be a link to the picture on my profile.

I hope the pictures give you a better sense of all the skating positions... so please check em out!


Chapter 7: All the More Fun

Bella:

"Please, please, please, Bella!" Alice whined. "You haven't been out with us in so long because of your hectic skating schedule. We miss you!"

I sighed reluctantly. Edward had just left to go the bathroom when Alice had called. Her timing was uncannily impeccable—almost as if she knew that I was alone at the moment. When I called her out for she giggled and said, "Visions! Psychic! Duh!"

"Tatiana doesn't—" before I could finish my excuse, Alice interrupted.

"Don't worry; I've already talked to the almighty Tatiana about it… She agreed that you deserved a night off," Alice continued pleading.

Of course, she had already gotten Tatiana's approval.

"C'mon, you have no excuse not to go," Alice said.

I exhaled in resignation. "Alright, I'll go."

A squeal erupted on the other end of the line. "Finally! You won't believe how much the all of us miss you!"

To tell the truth, I missed the rest of the gang too. I've seen Jasper around when I go to Alice's but it's been ages since I saw Emmett and Rosalie in flesh. We all hit off back in high school when we formed. They were the only ones that didn't seem to mind my busy agenda, so it wasn't a wonder why we almost immediately got along.

"They're going to be so excited when I tell them that you're coming!" Alice continued.

I looked at the time on the computer. Edward had gone for almost twenty minutes, what the hell was keeping him?

As if he read my mind, Edward emerged through the door, holding two Starbucks bags and waters.

Seeing that I was on the phone, he silently handed me one of the bottles and a warm bacon and egg sandwich. It smelled great. I hadn't had one of these in forever since they were kind of expensive compared to something homemade. Instead, I tried to use my low food budget just to buy the basics.

I smiled at him gratefully. I hadn't eaten anything all morning and was starved.

Alice continued chattering about how excited she was on the other end.

"Hey Alice?" I stopped her. "Edward's back, I'll talk to you later about tonight okay?"

"No! Wait!" Alice practically screamed. "We all want to meet him! Bring him to Olive Garden at six with us tonight!"

I frowned. "I don't like having anything but a work relationship with my skating partners."

To keep things uncomplicated, I always kept my relationships with my partners strictly at the rink. I didn't like mixing my practically extinct pleasure life with skating.

"Aw c'mon! It'll be such a great opportunity for you to get to know him better," Alice supplied.

I sniffed. I think I knew more than enough about Edward's personal life.

"Please… I want to meet him so bad! And Emmett wants to evaluate him to make sure he's good enough! Plus, you kind of should bring a date, because we're all going to be paired off…"

"Fine, I'll ask him, but don't be too disappointed if he says that he already has plans," I replied, and hung up.

I ignored the curious look he was giving me.

"Thanks for the sandwich," I said sincerely, I started taking out my bag to pay him back. "How much do I owe you?"

He shook his head. "My treat."

"I really think I should—"

He cut me off. "It's fine. Really."

I pouted but didn't say anything.

"So… Was there something you wanted to ask me?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Oh… Yeah. My friend, Alice wanted to know if you could come to dinner with us tonight," I explained. "But don't worry, I'd totally understand if you were already booked up with your other, err, date, or should I say dates" I emphasized.

"I'm free," he said simply.

My head whipped in his direction. "Are you sure you don't have some bar or club to go to? Because there won't be any hard feelings I you can't come."

"Nope, I can come. I just have a few girls I have to cancel on; this'll probably be much more interesting anyways."

It made me wonder how many a 'few' girls were to him.

I groaned, if I had known that Edward was going to be 'free' then I wouldn't have asked him. He smirked, knowing that he had taken me by surprise.

"What time?" he asked.

"Six at Oliver Garden," I responded unwillingly.

"Great I'll pick you up at five thirty. Just write down your address and I'll input it into my GPS."


It was five twenty five; Edward would be here in just a few minutes.

I was in my kitchen, when I heard the creaking of someone's footsteps coming from near the door. Someone had broken in. My heartbeat quickened, and I grabbed the huge club that I kept hanging on the wall for emergencies, tightening my grip on it.

I stepped into the hallway, and screamed when I spotted a dark figure looming by the doorway with his back to me.

I charged up to the man and kicked him in the back of the knees, managing to successfully knock the wind out of him.

"What the hell?" he cursed. He limped, and reached over to the light switch.

Light suddenly flooded the room, momentarily blinding me.

When I regained my sight, Edward stood in front of my cursing so ferociously that it would have made a sailor blush.

"Edward?" I asked, dropping the club. "How did you get in here?"

"Schmoozed the lady in the lobby for the key," he panted. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but giggle in relief. Of course Edward would use his manly charms to get whatever he wanted.

"You can't just sneak into my apartment like that!" I threw my hands up in the air. "I thought it was going to be a repeat of the last time!"

"The last time?" he raised his brow.

"About a year and a half ago some burglar snuck into here by breaking through a window," I shuddered, recalling the horrific experience. "Luckily, I had this club handy and knocked him unconscious," I patted the club affectionately.

Edward's eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"Bella," he said slowly. "I don't really think it's safe for a girl like you to be living alone in this part of town. I was driving along the street in front of this place and there were people getting mugged around every corner."

He was right. Yet he was so wrong at the same time.

Every night I would toss in turn in my sleep, fearing one of the thugs from the streets nearby would try to sneak in. Unfortunately it was a risk I would have to take. This was the cheapest living arrangement I could find, since I needed as much money possible for my skating bills. Even though this was the cheapest place, I still had a hard time paying rent. Speaking of rent, had I remembered to pay last month? Before I could obsess, I cleared the lingering worries from my mind.

"It's the least expensive place I could find," I reminded him.

"Oh… Okay," he said. His expression remained cautiously indifferent.

I checked the time on my phone. "We should get going. My friends are dying to meet you. By the way, you'll probably notice a gorgeous blonde and a cute little dark haired girl at the restaurant. They're off limits. If you flirt with them their boyfriends, or in Rosalie's case, husband, will pummel you," I warned.

He flashed me a dazzling grin. "Bella, I can get whatever girl I want. A boyfriend doesn't faze me… Plus, after a few rounds I can make them forget about their so called boyfriends or husbands," he boasted.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I muttered.

He opened the door for me, "Ladies first."

I wasn't surprised to see an expensive looking car in the front of my building. He had parked it next to my beat up truck, and the comparison was painful.

Silently he slipped into the driver's seat.

"So, what are your friends like?" he started the conversation out casually.

"They're all a tad eccentric, a select few that are more than others. I met Alice and Rosalie in high school and we all immediately hit off when we found that we all hated the same snobby popular girl. Rosalie and my brother, Emmett, started going out a few months later, after they met at some party. They're married now and live about twenty minutes away from me."

He nodded; it astonished me that he actually seemed interested in what I was saying about my personal life.

"A few years back, I skated with Jasper. When I introduced him to Alice it was like love at first sight. Soon after that, he retired from eligible skating to spend more time with her."

"Rosalie, Alice, and I are like sisters," I laughed. "We tell people that God would have made us siblings, except He didn't think our mother would be able to handle us all together."

Edward gave an appreciative chuckle.

"Emmett, like I said earlier is my older brother. He always looks out for me, no matter what… So don't be offended if he seems critical of you later."

"What about you? What's your family like?" I asked.

"Well…" he paused to think. "There's not much to say. Esme and Carlisle are my adoptive parents and I don't have any siblings. I had a few homeboys back in Chicago, but most of the time I'm all booked up with the ladies."

I nodded understandingly. For some reason, Edward's player like qualities didn't bother me as much as they had initially. It was almost as if I was already accustomed to it just after a few days. Everyone had their quirks—although most of them didn't disgust me as much as his did…

Edward pulled into the parking lot, and I saw that Emmett's huge Jeep and Alice's Porsche already there, signifying that we were the last to arrive.

Quickly, I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. It'd been at least two weeks since I'd last seen Rosalie and I missed her.

Edward walked in with me, while I approached the host.

"I'm here under the name of Mary Alice Brandon."

He nodded and led me to the group's favorite table in the back of the restaurant. Edward followed closely behind.

"Bella!" Rosalie squealed, practically launching out of her seat to hug me.

"Hey skater girl, I'm so glad you finally thought we were worthy of your presence," Emmett joked. "Come here, I missed you." He too, pulled me into his huge embrace, kissing me on the cheek.

"Hey Bella," Alice and Jasper chirped in unison.

Everyone's eyes suddenly turned to Edward, who had the same smooth, 'I'm too good for all this' expression that he always had on his face.

"You must be Edward," Alice greeted warmly, jumping up from her seat to give him a small hug. If he were taken aback by her forwardness he didn't snow it… Maybe he was used to girls being all over him.

Emmett was beside me, looking him up and down suspiciously. At the same time, Alice was inconspicuously raising her eyebrows up and down at me from behind. Rosalie was beside her wearing a devious grin.

"He's hot," she mouthed, and fanned herself. I immediately blushed and they both giggled.

"So," Emmett started still eyeing Edward skeptically. "How did you and Bella meet?"

"Oh, pleased to meet you sir, you must be Bella's father," Edward joked. Everyone but Emmett laughed at this. It was obvious that he was in no mood for fun and games or beating around the bush.

Noticing this, Edward immediately stopped laughing and clamped his mouth shut.

"I've heard of you," Emmett said.

"Really? You just don't seem to be the type that follows figure skating," Edward replied, fascinated.

"No, not by the figure skating tabloids," Emmett scoffed. "There's been a lot of buzz going about you at the club I work at. Apparently you're popular with the ladies."

"Loosen up man, I just—"

"You better not play any of your games with Bella here," Emmett hissed.

I patted Emmett's arm reassuringly. "Edward knows that our relationship is strictly professional," I pleaded, tactfully leaving out how he'd hit on me when we first met.

"Alright," he said, still uneasy. Rosalie dragged him back to his seat so that he wouldn't say anything more—which I was extremely grateful for.

"Sorry Edward, Emmett can overreact sometimes," I apologized. I knew that he had a good reason to his overreaction though—Edward did have a pretty sketchy background.

"It's not overreaction when it's necessary," Emmett muttered. I shot him a glare, silently telling him to shut the hell up.

"Well, I'm so glad we could all make it," Alice said cheerfully, breaking the awkward silence.

Everyone mumbled something in agreement, looking down at their menus as if they were extremely interesting.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Everyone tried to make small talk, which I knew was for the sake of Edward. If they had acted like their normal selves they probably would have scared the poor guy off.

Edward was as you would have thought, turned out to be extremely charismatic. I knew everyone was enjoying his company. He talked to Alice about having her design some of his practice shirts and pants—which made her day. Jasper, seeing Alice happy immediately took a liking in Edward too.

He knew a lot about cars too, which intrigued Rosalie. They got into a really animated conversation about the difference between Performance Tires and High Performance Tires.

Finally, after Edward courteously insisted to pay the bill everyone stood to put their jackets back on.

"It was great meeting you, Edward," Alice said sincerely.

"Yeah," Rosalie and Jasper echoed.

Emmett gave him a slight nod, but didn't say anything. I could tell that he was slowly warming up to him though.

Edward, seemingly unfazed by Emmett also said something about having a great time.

We left the restaurant together and all went our separate directions in the parking lot to our cars.

"That went pretty well, if I do say so myself," Edward said thoughtfully.

I nodded in agreement. "I'm just relieved that you didn't try to seduce Rosalie or Alice. That would've been a real nice icebreaker."

He gave me an annoyed look. "Bella, you seriously have to give me a little more credit. I'm not that stupid… But I do have to say that blondie was smokin'."

"For heaven sakes, Edward, she's freakin' married."

"Makes it all the more fun," he grinned.

I sincerely hope he was joking.

End Chapter


A/N:

A review would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry this got out a day later than I planned..... It's a few hundred words longer though :)

+Don't worry; the juicy stuff is coming up.

REVIEW for any CLARIFICATIONS, SUGGESTIONS, or MISTAKES

Thanks.