A/N: I'm so sleepy!

Yes, I realize that was random. But that's all I've got on my mind at the moment, so it just came out.

Moving on . . . many thanks to Payton79 and Pamela for helping me stay on track.


CHAPTER 9: MESS

"Yes."

Such a tiny little word, but so unbelievably strong in its connotation.

I'd barely stopped myself from lifting Bella into my arms and spinning her around the moment she had agreed to go out with me. But freaking her out right after she'd said her first yes to me—hopefully, the first of many—didn't seem like a smart choice.

Instead, I'd given her the most grateful smile I could and hoped it conveyed what her acceptance meant to me. She'd responded with the cutest upturn of her lips, her eyes dropping shyly. It wasn't an expression I'd ever seen on her face. I'd be lying if I said it didn't send my heart soaring.

Two days later, I was still riding the high of that exhilaration as I rode the elevator to Bella's floor.

I pursed my lips and blew out a breath, rolling my shoulders. I adjusted my jacket, buttoning, then unbuttoning it before raking a hand through my hair. Nodding to myself, I raised my hand to knock.

I thought I heard a girlish giggle on the other side of the door, but had no chance to focus on it because two seconds later, Bella was standing before me.

I could do nothing but gape at her for a few seconds, taking in the gorgeous vision she was from head to toe. She'd twisted her chestnut curls into a ponytail that flowed over her left shoulder. She was wearing a black dress, the plain fabric of the top blending into sheer lace around her neck. The floral skirt hugged her waist and then flared down to her knees. The sight of her svelte legs encased in black heels sent a myriad of inappropriate ideas coursing through my mind, so I quickly returned my gaze to her face.

The smirk dancing on her cherry-red lips told me that my gawking hadn't gone unnoticed. Her eyes were full of mirth, so I smirked back, letting her see the effect she had on me.

"Ready to go?"

She was about to reply, but was cut short by a shout from inside her apartment.

"Be back by curfew, kiddos!"

Bella huffed and rolled her eyes, quickly shutting the door behind her.

"I apologize for Rose," she said, nudging me toward the elevator. "She has been a pain in the ass all day. She thinks she needs to fill in for my father, like this is some goddamn high school prom."

I let out a chuckle. "It's alright, Bella. I'm just glad to see you both are getting along now. I wouldn't have minded reassuring her that I'll bring you back safe and sound, you know?"

"Please! This was embarrassing enough," she muttered, and I detected a bit of petulance in her tone.

We rode down the elevator in silence. Her presence beside me seemed to calm my nerves, but given the way she was fidgeting with the strap of her purse, my company probably didn't do the same for her. I pressed my lips together, curious and disappointed about the development. I wanted her to have a good time tonight. If there was something on her mind preventing her from doing so, I wondered if she would feel comfortable sharing it with me.

There was only one way to find out.

Once we stepped out of the elevator, I placed my hand on her arm to make her pause.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem . . . upset. If you don't want to do thi—"

Her eyes went wide, and she grabbed my hand in hers. "No, no. That's not it. Of course I want to be with you. I'm not upset, Edward. Just nervous."

I frowned, stroking her knuckles with my thumb. "Why?"

She shrugged and averted her eyes. "I don't know. I mean, I'm excited, too. But a little nervous about messing this up. Friendship is easy, but dating brings a lot of . . . expectations."

"Bella," I murmured, bringing my free hand up to her chin. I lifted her face until our eyes met. "It's just me. I'm excited about tonight because . . . well, I've thought about this moment since the first time I saw you, which is exactly what makes me nervous, too. Trust me, I get what you're saying. But I know I'm going to have a great evening because I'm spending it with you. I don't want you to worry about messing anything up. Just be yourself. That's the woman who has captured my heart."

Her lips parted, a soft gasp escaping them, and for a moment, I wondered if I'd said too much. But then she gave my hand a little squeeze before interlocking our fingers together. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure as she whispered, "Okay."

Seconds later, the mischievous spark I knew so well returned to her eyes. "Wait, did you just say that you've wanted to date me since the day you got me fired? Interesting way to get a girl's attention."

I rolled my eyes and began to pull her toward my car. "It worked, didn't it? Besides, I thought we'd established that you were supposed to be thankful that I protected you from that monster."

"Thankful for getting me fired? Yeah, right. Dream on, Masen. I'll have you know that the only reason I have this outfit you can't take your eyes off is because of Volturi and his requirement of an impeccably dressed staff. You should show him a little gratitude."

I narrowed my eyes at her as I held the door open for her to get in. "Don't tell me you haven't been enjoying slugging it in your comfy jeans at Trending."

She hummed. "Can't argue with that. Your reaction upstairs made this effort worth it, though."

"Can't argue with that," I echoed, throwing in a wink. I shut the door once she was settled and walked around to my side.

The drive to the restaurant was pleasant as we chatted about little things, and Bella seemed to put her qualms behind her. What made it even better was the fact that our hands remained pressed together on the console. Bella tried to get me to reveal our destination, but I remained steadfast in my decision of keeping it a surprise.

When I pulled into a parking spot, she craned her neck to read the name of the establishment.

"I've never been here before," she told me as I helped her step out of the car.

"Me either."

Her eyebrows rose. "Then how did you decide to bring me here?"

I rubbed a hand along the back of my neck. "Actually, one of my co-workers was telling me about it a few days ago. She'd dined here with her family and really enjoyed the food. When you agreed to this date, I immediately zeroed down on this place because I thought it would be perfect for us."

Bella accepted my explanation and smiled. I let go of her hand, placing mine on the small of her back instead as we made our way inside. I'd called ahead to reserve a table, so it didn't take us long to settle in.

We shared a smile before we picked up the menu cards. As soon as my eyes landed on the special section on the second page, my heart leapt into my throat.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze to Bella's face, recognizing the exact moment when the same words caught her attention. A frown flitted across her brow, but quickly cleared up before she turned her attention to me. Her eyes widened a little when she realized I'd already been watching her.

"They seem to have a lot of . . . healthier items."

She'd said it in a low voice that conveyed no hint of the emotion behind them.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah, they do. They're renowned for making delicious low-calorie dishes."

"So that's what made you zero down on this place," she concluded.

"I just didn't want to mess up your diet plan," I told her. "I know you prefer to indulge only on Thursdays and how important that is to you. I didn't want to force you to change your routine for our date." She regarded me steadily as she listened, so I punctuated my explanation with a smile. But it fell in the very next second when I realized that my idea could be misconstrued.

"Not that I'm saying you need to stick to your diet. You look absolutely perfect right now, as I'm sure you would at any size. Of course you don't need to watch what you eat. I mean, you are free to eat whatever you'd like." The words poured out of me in a desperate, hurried gush.

It was only the amused twitch of her lips that halted my stream of nonsense.

"Well, that's good to know," she drawled.

"Can you . . . You understand what I'm saying, don't you, Bella? I didn't mean . . ." I dropped my face into my palm and groaned. "I'm making a mess of this. You know what? Can we just forget the past one minute ever happened?"

"Nope," she replied, and I sighed. She let out a hearty chuckle, and there was no sound of heels clanking away from the table and away from me. That gave me the courage to meet her eyes again. "We're definitely not disregarding the past one minute. It made me feel so much better about my little freak-out at my apartment."

I rolled my eyes. "Happy to be of service."

She flashed me a grin, but then her face softened. She pushed her hand toward mine where it lay on the table. Her index finger traced the length of mine as she continued. "I do understand what you were trying to do by bringing me here, and I appreciate it, Edward. I really do. I think it's thoughtful of you to consider my diet."

I hooked our fingers together, basking in the thrill that little action elicited within me. Bella ducked her head to look at our hands. The gentle curve of her smile told me she felt it, too.

"Besides," she went on playfully. "Two freak-outs even before we've decided on our first course? I think this is already shaping up to be a pretty interesting evening."


A/N: I hope you share that sentiment because we're going to see more of this evening next time.

Thank you for the love you've shown this story so far. I really appreciate it. As of this moment, my FB group houses a little under 400 members. That's a huge deal for me, so I'm over the moon! Teasers, photographs, and other details about my stories can be found in there, so look for: Fanfiction by ForeverRobsessed on FB. The link is available on my profile here.

See you next time!


FIC REC – Sleeping to Dream by Somah – The newspapers say it all: Bella Swan is dead. But no one is sure why she jumped from the cliffs at First Beach. No one really knows why her body wasn't ever found. But everyone knows her coffin is empty and that the Cullens are back.