A/N: Like I said earlier, the weekends are the worst time for me to update, so here is today's. Sorry it took so long. It is also one of my longest chapters, so please enjoy! Welcome to dinner at the Cullen house…

*Disclaimer stuff goes here. SM owns characters, not me, sadly.*

Bella POV

"Rosalie, you need to calm down," I yelled as she stomped around our apartment throwing a hissy fit that any toddler would be envious of. "Edward will be here soon, so you can ask him what would be appropriate to wear. They're only parents, not royalty."

"Poor misguided Bella. I'm guessing Edward hasn't told you much about the Cullen family huh?" she asked as she smirked at me. Rose seemed very pleased that for once she knew something I didn't.

"Enlighten me then," I said as I groaned at her.

"Grandpa Cullen is actually E.A. Cullen, the famous publishing magnet. If I am not mistaken, Edward is named after him. Their father, Carlisle, is one of the best doctors in the country and their mom Esme, runs a major interior design firm here in town. They are basically Chicago royalty and come from very old money." Rosalie actually talked with interest as she discussed the Cullen's. She never talked about anything with interest unless it was a fashion designer, a new purse or her most recent manicure. "I doubt any of them even need to work, but they do. Emmett is a real estate investor. He buys houses, Esme's company helps him fix them up and then they sell them for a huge profit. He loves his job." Rosalie was grinning from ear to ear, probably because she knew she liked Emmett before she realized he was rich.

This was basically the cherry on top of the sundae for Rose. In the few moments we had together since New Year's Eve, all she had talked about was Emmett. It was pretty vomit inducing, but it was so rare to see Rose happy, so I didn't discourage it. She deserved all the happiness in the world for being such a great friend to me, and if that bliss was because of Emmett Cullen, then so be it. I was about to ask her for additional information on the Cullen family when suddenly there was a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock, and as usual, Edward was right on time for our Sunday morning together. I welcomed him in and Rosalie immediately started with the questions before he could even say hello.

"Edward, thank god you are here. Would you please help me with something?" She asked frantically as he leaned casually against the kitchen counter. His cheeks looked pretty red, so I assumed it was very cold out and I ran back to my room for a bulky sweater.

"What is it? It doesn't have anything to do with Emmett does it, cause I don't like to get in the middle of his stuff," he sighed, expecting to get reamed out for something his older brother might have done. I guessed this was a frequent occurrence.

"I'm having major issues determining what to wear for dinner tonight. What is appropriate?" she asked anxiously.

"How about something between the disaster you are wearing right now and a wedding dress," he joked sarcastically. Rosalie glared at him as though she was plotting all the ways to kill him. "Ok, no jokes. I suggest cocktail dress or some dress pants and a blouse. Nothing too revealing, tight or sexy. You're going to meet the Cullen's, not the Hefner's."

As I listened to Rosalie grill him, I was pleased to realize that what I had planned to wear would be more than suitable. I had already pulled out a nice pair of black dress pants, with a cute blue cashmere v neck sweater. It was warm enough for Chicago in January, and dressy enough to meet the parents of your best friend.

"Something funny?" asked Rosalie as she nervously tapped her foot on the floor. I had involuntarily giggled at the scene before me and she had caught me.

"I just think it's funny that you need fashion advice from Edward," I laughed as I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. "We're going now, but we should be back before three."

"Don't be too late, Emmett will be here at five to drive us all," shouted Rosalie as we left the apartment. The moment we were away from her, I immediately released Edward's hand and tried not to pay attention to his reaction.

"So, are we off to the record store again today?" he asked as we stood outside of my building.

"Nope, I need your help with a big project. I hope you don't mind taking a little drive?" He acquiesced to my request and opened the passenger side door for me. Once we were both comfortable, I gave him directions to my favorite photography store and we were off to enjoy the morning. I dragged him into the store to help me select a few major items I would need for my new office. I already had my laptop, which featured all my photo software, so I needed to pick up a decent printer for photos. I also picked up a few large ticket items, which the store will be delivering to the office before noon tomorrow. Edward was quiet during our walk through the store, but he tried to help as best he could.

When we finally left the store, he was beyond eager to get something to eat. "I am starving, and I have no idea what crazy shit will be served tonight, so I suggest you eat well at lunch today," Edward said casually. "Last time we had dinner there, Emmett, Alice and I headed out together afterwards to Sonic to grab a bite. Dinner had been horrible. My mom likes to experiment, so tonight may be interesting."

"Did you know that we have hardly ever discussed your parents?" I mentioned nonchalantly.

"Really?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

"No seriously, we have talked about Emmett and Alice, but never your parents, or anyone else in your family for that matter." I was trying to get additional information from him to corroborate what Rosalie had told me earlier at the apartment.

"What do you want to know?" He sounded very tentative as he said this, perhaps because he actually didn't want to discuss this family.

"Since you don't seem to willing to share much, let me just let you know that Rosalie has already told me some stuff. Like your dad is a doctor, your mom an interior designer, your grandpa a publishing magnet and you guys apparently have a lot of money." He didn't deny anything; instead he just nodded his head slowly.

"I don't talk about them, because when I mention I am a writer, most people just assume I get tons of work because of my grandfather. He has had no impact on my career. I don't mention the money, because I don't use it. It is currently all sitting in a bunch of investments, gathering interest. I live off of what I have earned for myself. I stick out like a sore thumb in my family. Emmett and Alice both embrace the benefits of being a Cullen and I sorta shun it." Edward looked relieved as we discussed everything at length. I didn't push him to disclose anything he didn't want to. I figured with this topic, less was more.

We ended up back at my apartment just before three o'clock. We stopped by Edwards' place and picked up what he wanted to wear and we home to await Emmett's arrival. Rosalie was still looking flustered when we walked in the front door.

"Have you seen my black mary janes?" she asked in a panic. Rose ran back into her room and kneeled on the floor in front of her closet, throwing shoes all over the room.

"Are you high?" asked Edward as he watched her mass destruction.

"Rosalie, you lent them to me a few days ago. They're in my room. Just relax and I will go get them," I said as I ran quickly to my room to fetch her shoes. Once they were back in her hands, she seemed to calm down a bit and went back to her primping and preparing for dinner. Edward and I wandered into my room and he sat down comfortably on my bed, watching my every movement.

"Did you know you've never had me in your bedroom before? You've been in my bedroom too many times to count, and finally after knowing you for three months, I finally get a peek into the real Bella." Edward seemed genuinely thrilled to be in my bedroom.

"Anything that is of particular interest to you?" I asked as I pulled off my big bulky sweater, revealing the t-shirt underneath. Edward said nothing, but seemed to be staring at my chest. "Um, hello… my face is up here?"

"I wasn't looking at your breasts Bella. Well, not this time anyways. I was admiring the photo directly behind you of you and Rosalie." I grabbed it off my desk and brought it closer to show him. It was taken at a dance recital when we were eight years old. I stopped taking Ballet after that, but Rosalie and I remained the best of friends. "You guys look so adorable and happy."

"Yeah, the good old days," I said wistfully. We sat in my bedroom for a little bit, chatting about the regular meaningless shit, when Rosalie burst in just after four.

"Ok, go get in the shower. Edward can use my bathroom to get ready. We only have an hour Bella." She was a nervous wreck and I really wanted to push her buttons, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. We actually listened to her instructions and headed to get ready. I had just put the finishing touches on my hair, long cascading curls, when Emmett arrived.

"Come on, let's go," he shouted the moment he walked into the apartment. Edward was sitting in the living room waiting for all of us, looking handsome like always. He had a dark grey sweater on, with black dress pants. Casually sexy, I thought to myself. Emmett was dressed similarly in a dark blue sweater, but he had a dress shirt underneath, whereas Edward didn't. Rosalie finally ended up putting on a cute silver cocktail dress.

"You look perfect," I said to Rosalie as Edward helped me put my coat on.

"Well, this is what eight hours of sheer stress and panic looks like," she grinned as Emmett took her hand and led her out of our apartment.

"Are you ready?" asked Edward as I locked the door behind us.

"I have nothing to worry about. At least I'm not in Rose or Jasper's shoes tonight," I laughed, clearly unaware of what was in store for me inside the hallowed halls of the Cullen mansion.

Edward POV

That party last night was awfully crazy I wish we taped it
I danced my ass off and had this one girl completely naked
Drink my beer and smoke my weed but my good friends is all I need
Pass out at 3, wake up at 10, go out to eat then do it again
Man, I love college

"What the hell are we listening to?" I asked Emmett as he turned the music up and made us listen to a surprisingly catchy rap song.

"It's called 'I love College' by Asher Roth. He's supposed to be like the next Eminem or something, but I always crank this song up when I head to mom and dads. It gets me in a good mood to deal with all the crap that always goes on," he said loudly, not turning the music down so that we could actually have a conversation.

"You do realize you aren't in college right?" Bella yelled up to Emmett? "Do you even smoke weed or have any friends other than Rosalie?" She was trying to pick on him and it actually seemed like it was working.

"Shut up Bella," snapped Rosalie as she turned her head around to glare at Bella.

"Why does he need to listen to crazy white boy rap music to deal with your parents?" said Bella as she leaned over to me in the car so that I could actually hear her.

"I don't know. I think my parents expect a lot of Emmett since he is the first born," I sighed as I watched Emmett and Rosalie sitting in the front of Emmett's Audi A8, holding hands. I was in the backseat with Bella which would have been great if we were dating. I would be holding her hand, maybe rubbing my fingers along her palm, I might even let her rest her head on my shoulder while we drove through the dark country roads to the Cullen Estate. Instead, we sat in silence listening to whatever the hell random music Emmett put on.

It took almost forty five minutes to get to my parents tonight thanks to the lovely Chicago traffic. They lived in a huge white house, buried into the woods and away from the main road. I used to love the house when I was younger, now it just held the feeling of dread. When we pulled in front, we noticed Alice's Porsche was already parked outside.

"Oh goody, they beat us here," said Rosalie with excitement. "Now I won't be the first to meet the folks." My mother must have been listening for us because the moment we got to the front door, it opened and there she stood, looking as lovely as ever. I seriously doubted that my mother aged after she hit 40, she looked the same as she did when I was in junior high.

"Edward, Emmett, so good to see you again," she said formally as she offered up a quick hug. "And you must be Rosalie and Bella," she added as she looked over at the girls flanking us. "Come on in, Alice and Jasper are already here." I put my hand on the Bella's back, trying to ease her obvious discomfort.

"Are you okay?" I whispered into her ear quietly as she handed me her coat. She just nodded and walked forward behind Rosalie and Esme who were heading to the living room.

"Bella, Rosalie, you guys finally made it," said Alice as she jumped up from the couch and hugged the girls at the same time. "Mind if I sneak you away for a minute?" I just rolled my eyes and made pleasantries with my dad and Jasper as Emmett immediately went to the kitchen and helped himself to a beer. He had promised to be the designated driver and I said he could have one beer, that was it. Apparently he couldn't wait to get the alcohol into his system.

"Edward, how are things going?" asked my dad as he came up beside me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Life has been good. I had an important meeting with a potential publisher on Thursday morning. It went well, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I gave her the first few chapters and she said I should hear back from her before the end of the month." I hadn't even mentioned the details of my meeting to Bella yet, so it seemed a little odd being so open with my dad. Recently I found that I always shared new events in my life with Bella first.

"That's great," he said as he pat me on the back and walked away, clearly not interested in my career. He never really was too supportive of me once I decided I wasn't going to be a doctor like him. He was utterly disappointed when I admitted I wasn't in love with the prospect of spending so many years in school and that I wanted to be an author. Esme supported me unconditionally, so I knew she would be pleased when I told her.

Bella , Alice and Rosalie walked into the living room a few moments later, with big smiles on their faces. "What's going on?" I asked Bella when she returned to my side.

"Nothing actually. Alice just wanted to get away from your parents for a few moments," I laughed as she explained this to me. I guessed that Alice got here quite a while before us and was getting tired of our parents already. It was only a few minutes later that my mother announced that dinner was ready. My parents took their usual seats at the ends of the table while Alice and Jasper sat beside either other, so did Rosalie and Emmett, and Bella sat directly across from me, beside Rosalie. Conversation was actually flowing smoothly when my mom decided to get additional information on her new guests.

"So Bella, Emmett tells me that you are roommates with Rosalie?" she asked easily.

"Yes. We've been friends since grade school, I couldn't imagine living with anyone else in the world. She's the best friend I could have ever asked for," said Bella confidently as she took a bit of her chicken parmesan. Apparently my mother decided to take it easy on us tonight with her experimental cooking.

"And you are also friends with Edward?" asked Esme as she stared at me.

"Yes mother, Bella and I are friends. We met a few months ago. Bella also now works with Alice as well," I added, hoping that she would change topics.

"Alice mentioned that. It's wonderful that you will be joining her little design group. So, how is it that you and Edward met?" My mother was actually starting to sound a bit condescending towards Bella and I had no idea why.

"Mom, would you join me in the kitchen for a moment?" I asked in frustration. I knew this would drive her nuts, she hated when we left the table during a meal, but she stood from her chair and I followed her. "What are you doing?" I asked when we were out of earshot of everyone else.

"Edward, are you blind? That girl wants you. I noticed it the moment you walked in and you slid your arm behind her back to support her. I'm just trying to get a little more information from her. Find out why you guys are apparently just friends. It's clear from the way you are reacting that you like her more than a friend as well." Since when was my mother so perceptive.

"What if I do? Bella and I already talked about this, and she is not interested in a relationship right now. We're great friends, and I don't want to do anything to compromise that, so I want you on your best behavior, all right?" She just nodded her head in agreement.

"Edward, all I want for my children is their happiness. We may be a little rough on you guys but that is because we feel you aren't reaching your full potential. Alice is thriving with Jasper, and your father and I see that. Even Emmett has changed for the better since he met Rosalie, even if it was only a week ago. You on the other hand, I see the biggest change in you. You started writing again, you are talking to publishers according to your father, and you seem extremely happy. I think it has to do with Bella, so sue me if I want to see you happy with her." I offered my mom a sweet hug for being so concerned about me.

"If things change, I'll let you know, but for the rest of the evening, please just treat her like a friend, okay?" I asked, practically begging. It would be just my luck to have my non-existent relationship with Bella ruined by my nosy and intuitive mother. We walked back to the table and I glanced at Bella, trying to tell her with my eyes that everything will be alright.

"So, Jasper, Alice tells me you run a string of galleries in Chicago?" said Rosalie, trying to stir up happier topics at the table. Everything seemed to move smoothly for the rest of the evening. Bella and I each had a couple of drinks, okay more like seven, so I was glad that Emmett had offered to be the DD. While we were waiting for coffee, I offered Bella a tour of the house and she gladly accepted. The last stop on the tour was my bedroom, which hadn't changed much since I was a teenager and left for college.

"This was your bedroom?" she asked as we wandered inside and I closed the door behind us.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" She walked over to the wall of windows on the left side of the room and stared out into the dark night in front of us.

"No, this is amazing. I wish I could look at the forest all night," she admitted happily as she pranced around the room, feeling no pain. "So, what did you need to talk to your mom about in the kitchen earlier?" she asked as she started leafing through my books.

"Nothing serious," I lied as I shrugged my shoulders. "I just told her to back off you a little bit."

"Why would you do that?" she said as she put her hands on her hips. She was trying to act all displeased, but instead she just appeared pouty… and sexy as hell.

"Bella, I know my mother very well. She was trying to lead you into questions about you and me, and I just didn't think you should be subjected to it." She smiled sweetly at me and nodded her head.

"Dude, you have Jenga?" she asked, suddenly excited. "Can we bring it back to your place?"

"Sure, but it's actually Alice's. I suppose what she doesn't know won't kill her right?" I laughed as she clutched the box carrying the game closely to her chest. "Listen Drunky McGee, no one is going to steal it from you. Put it on the desk and we will grab it when we leave."

"Drunky McGee? Is that my new nickname?" she asked as she slid up onto my bed and leaned against the headboard, staring out the window into the darkness. I climbed up on the bed and sat in the same position beside her, but I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"Yes, it is." I nodded as I laughed. She just leaned her head against my shoulder and contentedly looked outside. This moment seemed perfect, with the exception of the alcohol we had both consumed, and I desperately wanted to kiss her. I wanted to feel her lips against mine again. I wanted my hands to explore her body again, to worship every single thing about her. She sighed gently and I turned my head to just do it, to kiss her.

"Edward, mom said coffee is ready," said Alice as she burst in the door, interrupting the perfect moment. Bella jumped off the bed happily and ran to Alice's side.

"That Jenga is mine now Alice. Don't steal it." said Bella in a pseudo threatening voice as she headed downstairs to join the rest of the family. Alice gave me a remorseful glance.

"Did I interrupt something?" she asked as we walked downstairs together.

"I was just gonna kiss her, nothing important," I sighed as we walked into the living room where everyone else was waiting for coffee to be served.

"I'm sorry Edward," she said as she offered a little hug.

"It's okay Alice. I shouldn't have even been thinking about it, so it's probably good you came when you did?" I whispered to her so no one else could hear us.

"What did I miss?" asked Bella as she came up beside me, appearing as happy as ever.

"Nothing Bella. Alice just said we could keep her Jenga."