The Geek and the Cardboard Girl

Chapter Nine

Bella's POV

Oh God... was this really happening? Had I actually just kissed Edward? It all seems so surreal and... dream like.

The man in the doorway continues to stare at us wordlessly and I feel the sudden horrible urge to laugh, which is terrible of me. Okay, so it had most definitely happened, but it's not the time to be all hysterical. It's time to be mature and...

He kissed me!

I sneak a glance at Edward and resist a grin; he actually looks adorably dishevelled with his glasses all out of place but, at the same time, he looks absolutely terrified. His boss must really be intimidating because he caused the same type of reaction the last time something like this happened.

Then suddenly, my hysteria vanishes. What if he decides to fire Edward? Oh crap, I hadn't even considered that before! God, I can be so incredibly stupid sometimes... I'll just have to say that it's my fault. I'll make up some excuse because Edward certainly doesn't deserve this.

Although, it'd be pretty ironic if I caused him to lose his job after he sort-of caused me to lose mine. Huh.

"I really do apologise, I don't know what came over me," I stammer, standing up on shaky legs while fanning myself dramatically. "Sorry, Dr Cullen, I c-couldn't help it."

He looks at me blankly and then his eyes move slowly over to his boss.

"Dr Cullen. Please can I have a word outside?"

His voice is full of disapproval mixed with anger and, out of the corner of my eye, I can actually see Edward shaking. Another urge overtakes me; this time I want to scoop him up in my arms and tell him that it'll be alright. They wouldn't fire somebody as good as him, surely.

"Yes, s-s-sir," he eventually manages.

"Please, this wasn't his fault!" I plead, heading over towards him, feeling an outpour of emotion. "It's completely down to me. I just... I couldn't control myself. Edward didn't play any part in it, I promise!"

"It certainly didn't look that way," his boss replies flatly without even looking at me. "Dr Cullen."

Edward gives me a small panicked look and walks outside anxiously. Please, please, please don't fire him... please.

I try not to watch what's happening but I can hear a raised voice filtering through into the room and I cringe for Edward. This is what happens when I spontaneously come up with plans; if I'd have considered that it's probably against the rules for Edward to become more than personal with patients, then this wouldn't have happened.

It was supposed to be all romantic and exciting.

Well, it was for a few moments. In fact, it was pretty darn thrilling.

But now it's like a bad dream.

I jump when the door suddenly opens and Edward stands in the doorway. He looks a little pale and, after a reluctant pause, he gestures for me to leave. I can see his boss hovering behind him and I give Edward a questioning look.

"I'll tell you later online," he mutters from the corner of his mouth. His lips pull up into a brief smile. "It's nothing too serious, don't worry."

"Okay," I mouth back. "If you're sure. See you later."

Walking out of the hospital, I have another urge to laugh and, when I reach my truck, I do so freely, overwhelmed by even more hysteria. This day has just been so mad... but in a wonderfully brilliant way.

I was convinced that Edward was going to turn me away. Yesterday, his confession had completely caught me out of the blue and it really did scare me, but, at the same time, it made me realise that there's never really any point in wasting time. Edward was lovely, the kindest person I'd met in a long time, and there was certainly an attraction between us. Life was too short to mess around, anyway, so I'd just gone for it.

Looks like taking chances pays off. Sometimes.

I know he's not like the other men. He's considerate, thoughtful, adorable... things could really go well with him. I hope.

He makes me feel excited about what could happen in our future. There are so many possibilities and-

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'm already looking forward to seeing him again, though. Kissing him was just... amazing; he was an expert with the way he moved his lips against mine and I was left longing for more. Seriously longing.

Hopefully it'll be soon when I do.


I wait for a long time in front of the computer, swirling around in the chair and anticipating the moment when Edward pops up online, but it never happens. By seven, I feel a little disappointed. I've been anxious to hear from him ever since we parted company and now I'm just left feeling a bit annoyed.

Maybe he got delayed doing something... There's got to be a reason. He's a busy man, after all.

I shut down the screen and hop over to the sofa, flicking on the television for a distraction. Jess is (luckily) out tonight doing goodness-knows-what and I'm glad to have the space to myself. I've been acting more strange than usual ever since I came home and, if she was here, she would most definitely twig something was up. Her radar would be beeping frantically.

A sudden knock on the door makes me start and I frown at the clock. Jess isn't due back for another two hours yet... that would be just typical.

I get up and head over glumly, expecting to rant at her but, when I open the door, I see Edward standing there instead, still in his work clothes.

The bubble of excitement I feel as soon as I meet his green eyes is really powerful and I grin at him uncontrollably. "Edward, this is a nice surprise!"

He smiles back, showing plenty of his teeth. "I wanted to see you in person. And, I also have an offer for you..."

The urge to scream yay! at the top of my voice is very difficult to repress. I just about manage.

"Come on in," I say, standing aside as he brushes past me. I turn around to ask him about coffee - my usual instinct - but he surprises me once again by placing his lips straight onto mine. It's certainly a pleasant surprise and I soon feel my back gently pressing against the door with a small thud, as well as his hands exploring my body.

We eventually break apart and he sighs, leaning his forehead against mine. After a brief silence, he says, "I've actually been wanting to do that ever since you left."

I laugh breathily. "Same." Moving a piece of hair out of my face, I take a shaky breath. "So, what happened with your boss afterwards?"

"Oh, he just gave me another long lecture about breaking the rules, and so on, and he made me stay later to work," he replies, somewhat dismissively. "I wasn't really in the state of mind to care by the end of it. He seemed to believe that you launched yourself at me, though, and was wondering about sexual harrassment, even though that's nothing to be jokey about."

"Launched myself at you?" I snort. "That sounds pretty appropriate, actually."

He chuckles. "I'm not complaining."

It suddenly occurs to me that this is the most relaxed I've ever seen him and it makes me want to smile uncontrollably once more. "It really suits you being like this," I say aloud before I can stop myself. Naturally, his eyebrows pull together into a frown. "You just look a lot more comfortable, that's all," I add.

The frown eases away. "Oh. That's... good. I guess."

"Didn't you mention something about an offer, anyway?" I ask curiously. His eyes suddenly light up again.

"Yes, I did... are you doing anything at the moment? Or all evening, actually?"

"No," I reply slowly, desperately wanting to know what he's getting at.

"Good. I was, um, well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house for some food? I just always seem to be over here and wanted to cook for you." He pauses. "Or is that being too forward again?"

"No, no! I'd actually love to... are you sure?"

"Of course," he smiles. "Are you ready to go right now?"

My eyes widen. "Looking like this? You've got to be joking!"

"Bella, you look great, seriously."

I sigh reluctantly. "If you say so. I'd better just leave a note for Jess, though, in case she thinks I've disappeared..."

After scribbling something completely made up on the paper (which I don't show Edward in case he thinks I'm ashamed of him. I'm not, I just... oh, never mind) I quickly brush my hair and catch Edward's eyes rolling in the reflection. "What?" I demand.

"You don't need to bother with that," he grins, seeming a little impatient. "It just amazes me how women put so much thought into how they look."

"Don't you?" I counter.

"Not really. I just sort-of roll out of bed everyday and run a few fingers through my hair. There's no point trying to tame it, anyway; it's got a mind of its own."

"Edward!" I scoff. "You're not really selling yourself to me here."

"Well, judging by earlier today, I thought I already had."

With a sigh, I head over to him. "Touché.


We arrive at Edward's place half an hour later and I can't help feeling touched at the effort he's gone to. In the corner of the room, there's a small table with a rose in a vase, as well as two plates and glasses of wine ready to be used.

"I'm guessing you just presumed I'd be able to come here," I say teasingly when he takes my coat. "Or weren't you gonna take no for an answer?"

"Well, no, not really," he answers, shrugging his shoulders. "I just hoped you'd be able to and that you'd be pretty amazed when you arrived. If you said no, I'd just..."

"Cry with disappointment?" I offer, enjoying how we're being around each other.

"Probably," he replies simply and I can't help laughing. "Uh, is pizza alright for you?"

"Sounds great!"

"Okay, I'll just..." He gestures to the door and I sit back for a while, taking a sip of my drink. This has certainly been unexpected, but the thoughtfulness of his gesture makes me keep wanting to smile.

Any doubts I had earlier have become a little smaller, buried away in the corner of my mind.

"Right, that'll be about thirty minutes," he tells me, taking a seat by my side. "Is the drink okay?"

"Edward, please stop worrying! This is all lovely, I'm not gonna complain at all."

"Okay, good. That'll be the last of my worrying. I promise."

Sometimes the way he rambles is just adorable. At least now I have an excuse to hug him or something.

The 'or something' part of that sentence begins to invade my thoughts. Oh fantastic. Now I can't think clearly...

"And I was going to... Bella? Bella?"

Edward is waving his hands frantically in front of my face and I blink rapidly, really annoyed with myself. I suppose I kind-of have an excuse; it's been forever since that sort of stuff has happened to me and it's probably just natural to be expecting it.

But for goodness' sake, we only just kissed today...

"Sorry Edward, I-"

"It's fine," he smiles. "But I-"

He breaks off when the sudden sound of the doorbell ringing floods the room. I can actually see his face falling into irritation and, soon after, his head is in his hands. "I'd better get that. If it's somebody trying to sell something, though, I might not be responsible for my actions..."

His chair scrapes back on the floor and he heads over, tension making his shoulders stiff. He grabs the phone with some force and grumbles a hello into the receiver. I can faintly hear the other side of the conversation and the deep voice seems pretty frantic.

"Emmett, are you really sure it's-"

Edward is cut off by another rush of speech.

"But I've got company..." he replies quietly. "Well how long will it be? Five minutes?" Another sigh. "Okay, but please don't over-react or anything... I... Emmett?" He sighs and turns around to face me. "Sorry, my brother says that he urgently needs to talk to me. Apparently it's a crisis."

"Oh, okay. I'll just keep quiet over here."

"And I apologise in advance for any... comments. He's pretty forward."

"Right," I murmur, feeling a tiny bit apprehensive.

There's a thunder of footsteps coming up the stairs and suddenly the door hammers so loudly that Edward jumps back in surprise. After correcting himself, he walks calmly over to answer it and, taking up the entire doorway, is this Emmett, or whatever he's called.

He's huge. Like... the size of a bear or something.

And he's Edward's brother? They couldn't be anymore different.

When he catches my eyes, I almost feel like falling back in my seat.

Oh no... I hope he doesn't make a sarky comment or-

"Edward, man!" he grins. "I didn't know you had that kind of company..." He walks over as Edward trails behind, trying to stop him. "Hi, I'm Emmett, Edward's brother, and I-"

"Emmett, is this really necessary?" Edward interrupts. "Sorry, Bella, I-"

"So you're Bella?" he asks.

I nod stiffly, trying my hardest to smile. "And you're Emmett. Um, can I just ask a quick question before you continue with Edward?"

He looks at me with interest in his dark eyes. "Oh? What's that?"

"How did you get so... huge?" He stares at me in disbelief and I quickly correct myself. "I mean, not huge as in fat, huge as in muscular. Y'know... I... I'm going to shut up now. That was ridiculous of me."

There's silence for a moment before he snorts loudly. "Bella, I like you." His hand gently claps my shoulder as his eyes continue to crinkle with amusement. "Have you two known each other for long?"

"Hang on, I thought there was some major crisis," I interrupt, eyebrows raised.

A frown settles onto Emmett's forehead. "Well, perhaps I over-reacted a little." He turns to Edward but somehow still makes me feel involved. "It's about the party."

It's almost visible how Edward becomes immediately tense. Maybe Emmett isn't as perceptive, because he continues obliviously. "There's a problem with the food. I got a phonecall and they were saying that-"

I don't listen anymore, just watch Edward. He meets my eyes and it's clear that he understands that I know how he feels. After looking at me for some time, he seems to change, though, almost as though he's determined to prove something.

"I'll sort it, Emmett," he says suddenly. "Don't worry. It'll be a really great party."

My eyes widen. Is he being enthusiastic about something which he normally hates?

Maybe he's really trying to change.

I feel like beaming.

"Really?" Emmett asks. "Are you sure? It's a lot to sort out and-"

He takes a deep breath. "Don't worry. I said I'd make an effort to enjoy myself and make you have a great time, so that's what I'm doing. I've even got my costume ready."

Emmett's silent for a brief moment before he turns to me, grinning. "God, Bella, what have you done to him?"

I look towards Edward again and just smile, unable to answer.