Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Series. Stephenie Meyer does.
Recap
In the moment our lips met, I was sure there was no greater feeling in the world. The earth stopped moving, time froze. There was nothing more except for Bella and me. My hand fell down her cheek to the side of her throat and to the nape of her neck. She placed her own soft, warm hand on my cheek. Our lips moved in a soft, slow -sweet yet passionate - kiss. This was my first kiss, and I was sure I could not have had a better one. I was in Heaven.
Bella POV
So, as it turned out, he loved me. He really did. The words he spoke before the kiss could not have meant more to me than anything else in the world. I couldn't believe that after Matt left me broken, I finally found someone to fix me. Fix me and love me. And I realized I could finally say his name - at least in my mind - and not cringe. That just made me even happier, if possible.
As we pulled away, I heard him said "I love you," My heard swelled at hearing those long awaited words coming from his mouth.
"I love you, too. More than you could ever know." I responded, and every word was true. But, of course, something had to come and ruin the beautiful moment. Both our stomachs growled at the same time, tearing us apart. We both blushed, and Edward chuckled nervously.
"Do you want to go to" - he looked up at the sky - "dinner, I guess? I know this great Italian place that is close by," he said, a radiant smile on his beautiful face. How could I ever say no to him?
"Sure," I said. He nodded and stood, giving me his hand to help me up. I took it. "Thanks," I said. He smiled and motioned with his hand that I should walk. I turned and started walking. He walked next to me, and - without thinking about it - he grabbed my hand. It made me smile to see how natural his behavior around me was. We walked in a comfortable silence for the rest of the way.
When we got to his car, he opened my door and walked over to his once I was inside. He got in and turned on the ignition, putting the heater on low. He put his hand on the gear shift and I put mine over his, blushing slightly. He smiled.
"So, since when have you known that you…love me?" he asked. I smiled, remembering the day he kissed me on the cheek.
"Remember the day you kissed me?" I asked. I knew I certainly did.
"You figured out you loved me today?" he asked, a perplexed expression on his face. I laughed.
"No, silly, when you kissed me on the cheek?" I said through fits of laughter. Comprehension flashed through his face, and was then replaced with a look of extreme happiness.
"That's when you knew?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. I smiled.
"Yes. How about you?" I was suddenly very interested in that, for some unknown reason.
"That very same day. Even my mom could tell," he chuckled.
By now we were at the restaurant. La Bella Bambina, it said. He got out and raced to the other side of the car while I was still taking off my seatbelt. He opened the door and reached for my hand. We walked up to the restaurant were there was a host.
"Good evening, and welcome to La Bella Bambina. Table for two?" he said, starring mostly at me. I blushed and looked at Edward.
"Yes, please," he said in a strained voice. His features were hard. We followed the host to our booth. I sat down, and Edward sat across from me.
"I don't like that guy," Edward said as soon as our host left, giving us our menus. I looked at him and placed my hand on his arm. He visibly relaxed. Our waiter came and took our orders - not long after - and left. We sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke.
"Can I ask something?" he said. He sounded unsure, as if he were deciding whether or not to ask me the question. His eyes never left the candle in front of us.
"Of course," I said. "Anything."
"How come you never talked to anyone? Why do you let people say whatever they want about you?" he finally looked up at me. His eyes were full of questions. I sighed.
"Well, not long ago I had a boyfriend. Matt, his name was. I thought Matt loved me, and I was sure I loved him. One day, he didn't go to school. I ignored it, since there was a bug going around town. About two days after that, I hadn't heard anything about him. I was starting to get worried. I called his cell phone and he didn't answer, so I called his house. Still, no one answered. It went on like that for about a week." I paused when the waiter came and brought us our food.
"Then I got a phone call. It was Matt. He told me that he didn't love me, he never did. He told me he was leaving, and I would never see him again. He didn't want me to come looking for him, and he didn't want to me to bother his family. I asked him why, of course. He would just say that he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. We never had anything in the first place. I was broken, and I was sure I would always be that way. I thought it was just me, maybe I picked the wrong guy. Then a couple days later my friend came crying to me telling me her boyfriend had cheated on her with her cousin. I still didn't think people were all bad. Then, I started thinking about my dad. About how my mom had just left…. I realized that there was no such thing as love. It was just an illusion, but it wasn't real."
"That's why I never talked to anyone. The more you let people in, the more they hurt you. I wasn't completely healed, but I was getting better. I didn't want to let someone in and then have them hurt me again. Even more, maybe. I was sure there was no such thing as love until I found you. The way I felt about Matt…its nothing compared to how I feel about you. I never want to lose you." I said. I hadn't realized I had tears in my eyes until he wiped them away with his hand.
"Shh, its okay. I'm here. I promise…I swear I will never leave you. I love you too much to do that." he smiled at me sadly, and I could see in his eyes his words were true.
"That's all I'm asking for," I said. We smiled one last time and ate our food.
A/N: I know you guys don't want apologies. You want chapters, I know, I know. I'm really sorry about the long time lapse between my last update and this one. Actually, I've been sick and I feel like crap. I've also had a bit of writer's block, but that's getting better now. I hope you guys like this chapter. That's the reason Bella is antisocial. Please, don't stop reviewing because of my updates. Reviews motivate me, and I can't work without them. Please? Thanks once more for sticking with me!
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