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Chapter 10- Boldness & Boundaries
We made it over to the Cullen's just in time for the next half of the game to start.
"Oh my God Carlisle I said, did you know about that with Edward."
Carlisle shook his head. "No I just knew he said he was going to be recognized today at an awards ceremony, he had to know we would see it. He knows the rule about football, I mean our families have always had the tradition that we…." He stopped speaking and looked over at me.
I piped up right on queue. "Sundays football only day." That means we watch as many games as we want without interruption. And I might add as the season goes on that will include Thursday, Friday , Saturday, Sunday (All day) & Monday night." The girls giggled remembering what I quoted this morning.
Carlisle looked over at me with pride in his eyes..and said. "Ahh..That's my girl, the daughter I should have always had."
Esme beamed all through dinner, I knew that I along with everyone else in the house were thinking about Edwards last comment about the brown eyed beautiful woman that just so happens to be the chief of police daughter. There would be no playing duck, duck, goose on this one, I was the goose by default, I just didn't understand how that one happened.
We said our goodbyes and headed home for the night. We opened our front door and plopped down on the couch.
"Umm…Hey Bella." Alice said softly looking down at her hands in her lap.
"What's up Ali?" I asked
I looked over and she was fidgeting, now we all know Alice is super hyper and fidgets normally but this time it was a little weird, a little off.
"I need to come clean on something."
I continued to stare at her. "What is it Ali, you are not this quite."
"Umm I might have gotten Jaspers number from his dad when we went over to the Cullens house tonight and when I came up missing before dinner, I might have went into the bathroom and called him." She said.
Alice started to relay the phone conversation.
++Jasper & Alice's Phone Call APOV++
"Hello."
"Hello, is this Jasper." I asked
"Why yes it is, might I have the pleasure of knowing who I'm speaking to." He said back in a polite tone.
-OK Alice you can do this, he's a guy, just a guy…ah but a guy that I've heard so much about and think I'm falling for him even before I ever met him or talked to him…Damn Bella and her stories. – I Thought to myself.
"Hi, my name is Alice. I'm Bella's friend and roommate" I said.
"Hi Darlin'." He said and I swooned.
"I'm sorry for being so forward I got your phone number from you dad." I said back.
"I was kind of on a mission and wasn't sure what Bella would think if I asked her for your number so I took a different route."
"Well that was very nice of you. I like spunk and initiative." He said.
That's all it took for him to say, I though to myself, let the flirting begin.
++End phone call dialog++
Back to BPOV
"We talked for about thirty minutes before I thought I had better get back before you guys noticed I was gone." Alice said. "I wasn't sure if you would be ok with me calling him, it's just you made him sound so nice, and he's just so yummy in all of the pictures I've seen of him…and I couldn't help myself…and Bella please don't be mad…I.."
That's when I cut her off with a smile."So let me get this straight."
"My two very best girl friends in the world and my very best guy friends in the world have decided to make contact with each other and it seems like they are hitting it off." I said back to Alice and Rosalie.
"Umm yep, that's what I think is happening." Alice said.
"And you thought somehow I would be angry at you or something like that?" I asked her.
Alice looked at me wide eyed and I could see the smile start to creep back to her face.
"You're not mad?" She stated more than she asked.
"Of course I'm not mad silly, come on you of all people should know how much I care about two and how much I care about my boys. I couldn't imagine two couples more perfect for each other." I said back.
Rose jumped in there. "Hey don't' go coupling us up yet, I just talked to the guy for the first time today, we'll see how it goes once I met his sexy ass in person." She said.
Alice and I both laughed. "ok, ok." I see your point, but they are wonderful guys and I do believe, now that I think about it, they meet the "whole package" criteria very well." I said with a smile.
I pulled open my laptop after our talk and decided to check my email:
1 New message from babblues81
Bella:
Hey baby, I miss you so much, I know I screwed up but I've really done some thinking and I want us to be together, I miss you, I miss us. Please give me a call or email soon.
I love you,
Mike
I hit reply
Mike,
In your dreams, the only reason you are even emailing me is because I finally was able to serve your ass with divorce papers. There is no us, I'm not sure there was ever an us. You never treated me as your wife, hell I'm not even sure you ever treated me like your girlfriend. Have a good life. And don't contact me again.
1 New message from Greeneyedmonster
Bella,
I'm just going to come right out and say it. I know it's been awhile and I know that things have changed, but I'm still me and your still you and I want us to be us again.
I've spoken to my family and Jasper from what I have heard you are no longer with Mike (thank god), I'm not pushing for anything and I don't want to seem too forward, but I miss you, god I miss talking to you and laughing with you. I just wanted to let you know that I am here for you, I will always make time for you.
Just don't tell Emmet or Jasper I have email, if they find out they will never leave me alone :o)
Hopefully you'll find it in your heart to respond soon to at least let me know that you are ok. I'm sure Em has already told you that we are all coming home for the month of November, I can't believe we were all able to plan this. I've been thinking of you a lot today, I do miss you. I just got a new cell today my number is 589-564-8713, just keep it incase you need me for anything ok.
Edward.
I just sat there, I mean what else did you expect me to do. Rose looked over.
"Is everything ok Bella?" She asked
I just stared at her, I finally was able to snap back to reality..and thought of Emmets words "wow he's become a bold little shit, now hasn't he." And I just giggled..ok you guys have to see the two emails that I got tonight. I showed the girls and they were pissed at Mikes like I expected. I then showed them Edwards and we all started giggling.
Rose and Alice sung at the top of their lungs "Edward and Bella, sitting in a tree…
I blushed, profusely, I don't think I have ever blushed that red in my life. Then it hit me, everything I was afraid of or feared hit all at once.
"Come on guys, this is just too weird, to fast, I don't know what I'm doing. I haven't dated, I don't know how to date, I've been with one man in my life and he out of the ten years we were together maybe gave me a handful of orgasms." I said to both of them.
Then I started thinking. What if I wasn't what he remembered, what if I wasn't good enough, I mean come on he's beautiful, I know I'm not pretty enough. What did I have to make him want me, to stay? It's then that I started to realize maybe all those years ago if I wouldn't have been so stubborn that Mike was "Mr. Right" I could have realized that I did have feelings for Edward, my feelings were never awkward or tense like with Mike, they were comfortable Edward. How did I get Love so confused I thought what I felt for Mike was love, but it was really me not being myself and trying to please him all the time.
What I finally realized 29-years-old and sitting on my couch in my pajamas with my two best friends singing the kissing song was. I love Edward, I've loved Edward since the first day I met him, he was so very easy to talk to and we got along so well.
But now what I needed to know was as the adults we are now and the lives we have now can he be the person met for me and I be the person met for him? I didn't know that, but I knew it would take time for me to heal from the past 10 years of the abuse that I had received at the hands of Mike. I knew I had to heal before I could even take a step in Edwards's direction and I was just hoping that he would give me the time I needed.
I excused myself and went to my bedroom the the bewilderment of Rose & Alice. I sat down with my laptop on my bed. And hit reply
Edward,
I'm so glad to hear from you also. I wasn't sure that you would want to talk to me after all this time. I really screwed my life up huh? I don't know it's been weird after I stepped back and really took in where my life was and who I was spending it with, I decided that it wasn't where I wanted it to be.
I'm pretty confused right now and I have so many things running through my head that it seems very overwhelming at times. But I would like to be able to call you friend. I know that I have a long road ahead and I'm hoping with the help of my family and friends I will be able to move past everything that has happened and start a new life not as a new me, but as the person that I was and the person I will never let get eclipsed again.
I'm sorry if I'm rambling I just hope some of this does make since. I will talk to you soon ok.
Bella
I sat back on my bed and closed my laptop. 3 down 0 to go. I have now at least made contact with my boys, and realized they aren't my boys anymore and I'm not their little squirt I am and grown woman and they are grown men. It's time for me to grow up and face the world.
Over the next week Edward and I exchanged tons of emails, we talked about everything from school to our jobs to his award. I told him I was very proud of where his life had taken him. He in return told me his life wasn't completely fulfilled at its current stage that there were still some things missing. I knew what he was getting at but he also knew that I needed time. We didn't speak on the phone, I knew that he was letting me take the lead on that when I was ready.
10/25/08 Phone call
"Hey Edward."
"Bella?"
"Yeah it's me, I just thought I would call and see how things are going."
"Good, good they are well, I actually was just about the head out the door I'm covering a shift for a co-worker as a favor."
"Oh, sorry to bug you then."
"Bella, you are never bugging me. I am very happy to hear your voice and I'm glad you decided to call."
"Me too. I know you have to get geting so I'll chat with you later ok?"
"Ok, and Bella."
"Yes."
"I miss you." he said
"I miss you too."
++End of phone call++
**10/27/08** (Monday before Halloween)
It was Monday, God I hated Mondays, just like everyone else who has a job out there. I managed to get my ass out of bed with enough time to shower, get dressed (thank God I had my very one set of stylest with Rosalie and Alice they always had my outfit picked out the night before) and get a cup of coffee..to say the least I was impressed with myself.
Alice & Rosalie came out of their rooms looking perfect as always and we headed out the door to work. When we got to work we said our goodbyes and headed to our cubicles. At about 10:30 I heard a commotion in the front of the office. I saw Carmen come walking down my row with Alice and Rose in tow. She stopped at my desk and asked me to join them. She had a playful smirk on her face and we were all pretty confused but went with her. She told us that we had deliveries at the front counter (we worked in an office that due to confidentiality reasons no one we personally knew could come back to our desks only clients.) We came around the corner and saw 3 delivery people standing with huge flower arrangements. Carmen walked over and took the card out of the first arraignment.
To my gorgeous Rose,
You take my breath away and will always make me blush
~Your Blue Eyed Blusher.
Rose giggled, I would have to inform them of the story of Emmet's blushing later, but for some reason I think Rose already knew.
We all smiled.
Carmen walked over to the second arrangement
To my sweet, perfect Alice.
Darlin' you make my heart sing just thinking about you.
~Your Southern Gentlemen.
That's when I got nervous, I mean who would send me flowers, I had to give it to the boys for sending the girls these flowers. I mean that was just heartwarming to see the look on their faces. I would have to call them tonight (after the girls) and thank them for being such wonderful guys.
Carmen then walked over the third arrangement of flowers and took the cards.
Bella
I have known you more than half my life and still never met anyone else with such beauty and intellect. I hope in time that one day I will be able to call you "My Bella."
~Your Green Eyed Monster
Tears started forming in my eyes, I quickly batted them away. Carmen looked over at us. Well girls go get you flowers.
Rose walked over and took the huge vase with purple roses in them. Alice went and took the large vase of lilac colored orchids and I walked over and took the huge vase full of lilies of all shapes and colors. Wow they even got our favorite flowers right I thought. When we stepped back the girls and I almost ruined the gift from the guys by dropping them.
There stood Emmet, Jasper and Edward with the biggest, goofiest grins on their faces…
We looked at each other, then looked at the boys again. That's when Carmen came over to us with a smile and said.
"Oh ladies, I just wanted to know you know that i went ahead and approved the rest of the day off for you."
A/N Ok, I know I'm hitting the next chapter out most likely it will be up tonight also, if not tomorrow. I'm getting to the Mike gets what's coming very soon, I just had to get the progression of the story along, I don't like to hit fast forward on stories and leave anything out :o) Also, thank you all again for all of you that like the story and are following it. And thank you for the reviews and keep them coming!!