Disclaimer: All belongs to S. Meyer. I'm just having a little bit of fun.
Author's note at the end.
Bella did call me after work the next day. We ended up talking on the phone for a couple of hours, continuing our game of twenty questions, which we lost count of at about 50.
She also gave me information for the gallery opening that we were going to. When I asked her how I should go dressed, she simply stated "It's not a stuffy kind of opening. Go semi-formal."
During the week, she still came to the coffee shop and ordered what she always did. Though, she added something new to her routine. When I would call out her order, she would give me a kiss on the cheek before walking back to her table. At the end of every day, one of us would call the other and we would talk on the phone for a long time.
Now it was Friday afternoon and Jasper was, once again, telling me to go home to get ready for my date with Bella. Alice had decided to help out at the shop again claiming that it was extra time with her man and she loved it.
"Jas, are you sure you don't need me to stay?" I asked one more time.
Jasper sighed, "Ali, will you man the cash register for a minute? I need to speak with my little brother in private really quick."
"Again, you're only older than me by two flippin' minutes! You need to get over yourself, man," I said, annoyed by the fact that I was always referred to as the little brother.
Well, you are. Nobody asked you.
...Rude! Not listening. Too busy. I'll get you, my pretty. Ignoring you.
Jasper brought me out of my inner taunting.
"Edward, are you okay, man? I mean, it kind of feels like you're trying to stall for this date. What's going on?" Damn you for being so perceptive, Jasper.
I sighed, and figuring there was no way I could lie to Jasper, I said, "I'm nervous. I mean, what if I do something to embarrass myself, or worse, what if I embarrass Bella? I mean, I don't know how to act around these kinds of people. What if they're uptight, snooty and rude? I'm so out of my element here, Jas. How the hell am I suppose to act tonight?"
After my little mini-rant, the next thing I felt was a slap to the back of my head. It took me a second to register the fact that Jasper had just slapped me.
"Ow. That actually hurt. What the hell, did you really need to resort to violence?" I asked.
Jasper nodded and replied, "In this case, yes. You wanna know why? Because you're being ridiculous! Seriously, you need to stop freaking out. This is Bella we're talking about. I'm pretty sure she's not the type of person to hang around uptight, snooty, rude people. I'm absolutely, one hundred percent positive that if those types of people were going to be there tonight, she would have told you that she didn't want to go. Edward, the only person you need to worry about tonight beside yourself is Bella. It's that easy."
With that, Jasper walked out of the break room and headed towards the front of the shop. I took a minute to think over what he said. He's right. Bella would have said something sooner if that were the case. She also isn't the type to hang around those people, either. I mean, look at who she asked to be her date for the night.
Yes, now if you're done with your drama queen antics, I think you should head home and get ready. I checked my watch and realized that I had a little over two hours to get my self ready and pick up Bella at her house.
Grabbing my stuff, I went to the front of the shop, reached over the counter to slap Jasper upside the head, kiss Alice on the cheek, and say good night to the both of them.
"Glad you listened to Jas, Eddie!" Alice called on my way out.
I was to excited to yell at her for calling me Eddie.
*-*-*-*
I was sitting in my car in front of Bella's house trying to calm down. I wasn't nervous anymore, rather, I was acting like a kid who snorted too many Pixie Sticks.
I have nothing to say to that. That's a first. I know. I'm worried; I might be losing my touch. Thank goodness for that.
Once I was finally calm enough to walk without twitching, I made my way to Bella's front door. I rang the doorbell and faintly heard Bella yell, "It's unlocked, Edward! Come on inside!"
I turned the doorknob and walked into her house. After closing the door, I turned to my right, hoping to see Moose sleeping on his bed, but saw no sign of him. I decided to wait in Bella's living room and made my way over to her couch. Before I could sit down, though, I was attacked.
By a giant German Sheppard.
Like appearing out of thin air, Moose tackled me to the ground, which was easy seeing as I wasn't prepared for it, and then proceeded to lick my face.
I was laughing so hard that it was difficult to try and push him off of me. The next thing I heard was Bella gasp and yell, "Moose, no! Get off of Edward right now or you're sleeping outside tonight!"
That seemed to do the trick.
Moose ran off in some other direction, barking happily.
I was still too busy laughing while laying on the floor that I almost missed Bella trying to get my attention.
"Edward? Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into him," Bella apologized.
Once I got myself together, I sat up, ran my fingers through my hair and looked at Bella, "I'm okay. He did no real damage. Would you mind, though, if I used your bathroom to wash my face? I'd rather not smell like dog slobber for the rest of the night."
Bella giggled and said, "Yeah, it's down the hall, second door on your left." I got up and went to go wash off the smell of Moose.
When I got back to the living room, Bella was sitting on her couch with her camera in her hands, looking at pictures.
"Ready to go, beautiful?" I asked.
Bella turned around, smiled and said, "Yup. Just let me put this in my bag and we can get out of here."
When she stood up, I was not prepared for what I saw.
Bella was in a strapless, navy blue dress that hit just above her knees. There was a black sash going around the dress under her bust line that matched the thick high heel shoes she was wearing. Her jewelry didn't match her dress and yet, it seemed perfect for her. Around her neck she wore a necklace that was the shape of a camera on a silver chain. Her earrings were long, silver chains with teardrop stones at the ends. On her right ring finger, she had a gold ring in the shape of a wing. Finally, on her left wrist, she had three copper bracelets that were being held together by a thick copper heart. Her hair was styled in an elegant way that was pulled away from her face.
"Edward, are you okay?" Bella asked, unknowingly bringing me out of my stupor.
I closed my mouth, which I didn't even know was open, and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Um, so, should we head out then?"
Bella smiled and nodded, "Yeah, let's get this part of the night over with." She grabbed her keys off the hook, grabbed a small purse and we walked out the door towards my car.
*-*-*-*
"So, I have to ask. What's the story behind the jewelry? I mean, don't most women like to match all their stuff when they go out?" I asked Bella once we were in the car.
She chuckled and said, "Well, they're what I call my 'Power Jewels.' Don't laugh but I actually have a very good reason for wearing these specific items."
I smiled at how cute she sounded and said, "Well, can I know what makes these things so special? What sets them apart from other pieces?"
She let out a small laugh and explained, "Okay, well the necklace was a gift from my dad, Charlie. He gave it to me after I had my very first picture published. The ring is from my mom, Renee. She liked to joke that I was always the best-behaved out of the three of us so she got me and angel wing ring. The earrings are from Angela. She said every woman needs a nice pair of fancy-shmancy earrings. The bracelet is from James. He liked to joke that I always wore my heart on my sleeve so he got me a bracelet to prove it. I wear these pieces because when I do, it feels like they're here with e even when they're not."
I felt bad that Bella never really got to see her family much, but I was glad that she could have some part of them with her.
We were quiet after that, the only background noise being the car engine and the radio playing softly. I left my left hand on the steering wheel and placed my right hand on the gear shift. A few minutes later I felt Bella's small hand make its way onto mine. I smiled and turned my hand over so that I could intertwine our fingers. I looked over at her and saw at she was staring at our hands, a soft smile on her face.
I chuckled and brought our hands up to my lips, kissing the back of hers. I placed our hands on my thigh and drove the rest of the way just like that.
Once we finally pulled up to the gallery, I got out of the car, handed my keys to the valet and helped Bella get out of the car. I took her camera bag in one hand and held her hand with my free one.
She turned to face me and said, "Well, here we go."
She looked nervous, so before she could walk off, I carefully placed her camera bag on the ground next to me, took her face between my hands and kissed her softly, but passionately. I was silently telling her not to worry, that I was here with her and she would be fine.
Once I pulled away, her cheeks were a little flushed and when she opened her eyes, she smiled at me and said, "Thank you. I needed that. Now, let's go inside and get the night over with, right?"
I chuckled, nodded and replied, "Right. You can do this." My smile got even bigger when she said, "No, Edward. We can do this. Together."
With that, I picked up her camera bag and we made out way inside the gallery.
Author's note: Well...ta-da?
I have no answer except for writer's block. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to end this chapter. Shame on me.
Review, if you're still there.
Link for all of Bella's things on my profile.