Chapter Ten: "You Wanna Say That Again?"

BPOV

The second half started and I was on cloud nine. Everything in my life is going pretty good at this point. I had the hot guy, the great job, the great house, and the great friends. We were even winning the game.

Until the fourth quarter. TO barely slipped through Emmett and took off after him like you wouldn't believe. He wasn't quite as fast as Edward though. Let me tell you, I was MAD. Not at Emmett, but just mad in general. I was flipping through my mind and my play book frantically. There's got to be a way to win with…twenty seconds left and four yards to go. I went over all the details of the game in my head, looking for something. Then it hit me hard. Oh my goodness, I'm a genius.

"Emmett!" I yelled as I signaled for a timeout. This is our last one, but I had to do it.

"What, Coach?" Emmett asked faithfully.

"Do you know anything about Edward's gymnastic back ground?" I inquired, writing furiously on my clipboard.

"All of us were taught basic flips and tricks when we joined the team. To be limber and flexible, you know?" I nodded quickly and waved him away. I switched on Edward's earpiece and started giving instructions quickly.

"Edward, I know about your gymnastics stuff. I need you to pretend like you're going to try muscling your way through so they'll make one big dog pile. I want you to do a back hand spring, using the pile to push off. Don't give me the look that I can see from here. Trust me and just do it."

I seem to like standing around on pins and needles because it seems to be happening to me a lot lately. So I watched with bated breath as the ball was snapped. I began to relax imperceptibly when all the players bunched together on the line. I smiled when Edward launched himself over the pile of mass and men. My smile widened when he landed on his feet in the in zone.

"I didn't think you were going to do something crazy like that!" Emmett shouted, running over to me. He tackled me to the ground and held me there. I was saved by Edward, who pulled Emmett off of me before tackling me himself. He pinned me down carefully so that I wouldn't take any of Jasper's weight when he joined the pile and Emmett decided he couldn't miss out on this kind of fun. The whole team ended up on a dog pile on top of Edward and me.

"Great play, love," Edward whispered in my ear. I was suddenly aware of how close we were. I smiled widely and kissed his check, lingering until the team began standing up. Edward stood up before any paparazzi could take an incriminating picture of us.

"Swan, that was pretty cool," Billy told me, trying to sound cool and 'hip'. The team laughed heartily until Billy turned his glare on them. Another half hour later, the guys were in the locker room, crowded around the bench where Billy and I stood.

"I've booked the China Garden Buffett for all of us a couple blocks away. You know the rules for our usual: no alcohol, nothing incriminating, blah blah blah," Billy reminded them.

"And remember that little thing at half time?" I asked quickly before they scattered. Their laughter told me that it was still fresh on their minds. "No one outside of this room needs to know until Edward and I decide to tell anyone. Is that understood?" I stared them down.

"Of course, Coach." "Not from us, Coach." "That kiss was hot, Coach." A chorus of voices reassured me.

"Who said that last comment?" I demanded. "What happened to the respect you owe me?" I wasn't mad, I just didn't want that kind of thing to spread and give the whole team a bad reputation.

"Sorry, Coach," Edward smirked at me. No he didn't just say that! I glared at him as laughter bounced off the walls, echoing against the lockers. His smirk slipped off his face when he saw my face. I hopped off the bench and the guys parted for me. I stopped directly in front of Edward, glaring up at him.

"You wanna say that again?" I asked threateningly. He crossed his arms across his chest smugly.

"That kiss was hot, Coach," he repeated slowly, leaning his head closer to me as he spoke. Ugh, I have no idea what do to now.

"I will deal with you later." I was sure to whip in the face with my hair as I turned. A group of 'OH's filled the room as I walked out of the locker room. I really didn't know where I was going, but I have a dramatic side. Three...two…one…. Right on time, the door to the locker room banged opened and Edward flew out.

"Bella, stop, it was just a joke," he said softly, wrapping his arm around my shoulders but I shook it off. I kept walking straight ahead until I spotted an empty room. I pulled Edward into the room and shut the door.

"Did you mean that?" I asked him once I made sure the small room was empty. He nodded quickly, but I cut him off before he could speak. "Then don't say it in from of the team or anyone else."

"Of course love, I'm sorry." Edward smiled and stepped closer to me. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and I didn't shake him off. "That kiss was hot, Coach," he whispered. I moved closer to him and Edward leaned his head down so that his lips were hovering just above mine….

"Coach-" The door opened again and Jake stuck his head in. I groaned and turned to look at him.

"What is it, Jake?" I complained. Edward chuckled softly and loosened his hold on me.

"Sorry, Coach," he smiled widely, but continued talking once he took in my expression. "We're leaving in ten minutes and Edward still needs to change. The whole team is looking for you."

"We'll be there soon," Edward waved him out and Jake smirked as he shut the door. "Now, where were we?" he whispered. He lowered his lips to mine and I felt his arms wrap around me tightly. Feelings erupted inside of me as he kissed me gently. It was a soft kiss but I could feel the emotions rolling off of him and into me. Jake banged on the door loudly.

"Coach, Edward! Stop sucking face and get a move on," he yelled through the door. Edward sighed as he pulled back. I tugged him outside the door and pushed him towards the locker room. Once he was gone, I turned to Jake.

"That wasn't very nice," I pouted.

"I know, but we really do need to go if we're going to get back to the hotel before midnight. By the way, I think I've been scarred for life," he added as an afterthought. I rolled my eyes and started towards the locker room myself.

"Bella, come here please," Billy ordered as soon as I opened the door. Whoops. I walked over to him and put on an innocent smile.

"Yes, Billy?"

"Are you and Cullen together now?" he asked seriously and I nodded. "I want this to stay on a need-to-know basis. I don't want the press to know about his. Any PDA is unacceptable. You have to treat him like you do the rest of the team. Is that understood?"

"Of course, Billy. I can promise nobody will know about this." I couldn't really promise that, but Edward and I will try our hardest. Billy swallowed my promise before announcing that it was time to eat. A lot of hungry and tired men file out the door, but I noticed Edward wasn't with them. After a glance around, I saw Edward pulling on a shirt. I got a quick glimpse of his abs and I couldn't stop staring at the shirt that covered the perfect muscles I knew were underneath.

"Are you OK, Bella?" Edward smiled smugly.

"Just fine, Edward," I smiled back at him, playing it off casually. We walked out of the locker room with an appropriate distance between us. The bus was crowded and the 'no touching' rule disappeared once we were away from the threat of cameras. I went to sit next to him, but Edward surprised me by pulling my body onto his lap.

"So, do you think we did OK in the game?" Edward asked nonchalantly, like it wasn't a big deal that I was sitting on his lap.

EPOV

I think I'm dreaming. First of all, I kissed Bella. Second, I kissed Bella again. Lastly, Bella was sitting comfortably in my lap.

Yep, definitely dreaming. It was just now sinking in and I was overwhelmed. After the past weeks, it's hard to believe this was really happening. But I decided to enjoy the dream before I woke up.

"So, do you think we did OK in the game?" I asked her as normal sounding as possible. I would hate to scare her away.

"All things considered, everything went well," her angelic voice told me confidently. Everything about her made me love her more, like the strong words came out of a soft mouth. I just stared at her face, taking in every detail I could absorb. My hand, on its own accord, reached up to trace her facial features. Her nose curved gently to round point and her cheek bones were soft, but yet defined simultaneously. She had a widow's peak and a flawless skin tone.

"Edward, not that I mind, but what are you doing?" the angel whispered softly. Yep, I probably scared her away. My hand was cupping her cheek and my other arm around her waist, but her only response was to move closer.

"I'm about to kiss you," I told her matter of factly. The only part of her face that I hadn't touched yet were her lips. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers softly as I could, lingering there.

"Get a room!" Emmett called loudly. Well, I just crash landed on Planet Earth. I forgot there were other people in the world and Emmett's voice was not the kindest wake up call.

"You can't talk, Emmett. We can't hold a candle to the PDA you and Rose display on a daily basis," I told him calmly. By now the whole bus was listening and cat calls were being made at my comment. Emmett was about to respond when the smell of egg rolls reached us and there was a race to see who could get to the sweet and sour chicken first.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to," I apologized, thoroughly embarrassed. What was I thinking?

"Don't worry about it, I didn't mind at all," Bella winked at me before walking off the bus. I seem to stay a step behind for these past five minutes. I feel like my brain was in a fog and I'm just now waking up. I'm going crazy and it's all Bella's fault. Once my body caught up with my mind, I started sprinting after Bella. I hated having to keep a respectable space between us when all I wanted to do was hold her. I looked around the restaurant for her and I found her sitting in a huge booth with Jake, Emmett, Billy, Embry, and Jasper.

"May I join you?" I asked, just to sound polite. I slid into the seat next to Bella before waiting for their answers.

"Sure. Where were you guys when we were waiting on you in the locker room?" Embry asked. I didn't spend much time with Embry, but from what I know of him he's a pretty cool guy. Bella coughed uneasily before attempting to answer.

"Well, we were in the…and Jake found us…."

"I got a lecture on how my comment was inappropriate and I had to promise to never do it again," I summed up quickly. I could tell by Embry's face that he understood and was embarrassed that he asked. The rest of the table was laughing at Embry.

"I think I'm going to get some food now." Bella stood up awkwardly and tried to slip past me gracefully but ended up tripping over my feet. The quick reflexes I needed on the field came in handy as I stuck my leg out to catch her lower back and my arm reached out to support her neck. "Nice catch," she muttered.

"No problem, love."

I think I'm losing it, and 'it' is my heart and mind simultaneously.

I'm loving every minute of it.

AN: I'm really sorry it took this long, I've had major writer's block on top of a busy schedule. I don't like this chapter very much and it's relatively short, but I gave you guys an especially good and long one last time.

FUNFACT: This week they made us choose our classes for high school. That's fine, but then we had to pick a career pathway!!! Since when do fourteen yr. olds know what they want to do until they're old? I chose fine arts because I'm taking band anyway, but I know I'm not doing anything in music for a career.

Thanks for reading, I love all of you and your amazing feed back, and I like reveiws. Emma