Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out, guys. I've been so busy lately. The only time I'm even at my house is to sleep, pretty much. But yay, I finally got this chapter done. :] I don't know when the next one will be out...but hopefully it'll be soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Chapter Ten.
EPOV.
I was still on cloud nine when I woke up the next morning, remembering Bella's beautiful face, and her saying 'I'd love too, Edward,' when I had asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend.
My cheeks turned hot when I remembered that. How junior high of me to ask her something like that. But I had wanted her to know that I was serious, that I didn't want this to be some fling, something that only lasted a few dates before one of us stopped calling and that was it. I wanted-I had to-know if she wanted that too.
And she had. I was grinning when I walked down the stairs for breakfast. When I saw my parents at the table, I tried to tone down the smile a bit. They would probably think I was high or something, if I came down to breakfast grinning like an idiot. I wasn't exactly a morning person.
"Good morning, Edward," Esme sang softly, looking up from the book she was reading while she ate, to smile at me.
"Morning, Mom," I said. I started to sit down across from her at my normal seat when Carlisle tossed a newspaper down on the table in front of me, a frown on his face. "Care to tell me about this?"
He didn't look happy, so I braced myself for the worst as I looked down at the paper.
I was greeted by a picture of Bella and I. It was from dinner, last night. We were walking outside of the restaurant, hand in hand, smiling at each other. I started grinning again as I saw her blue dress and brown curls.
My girl. The words sounded so sweet in my mind.
"Well?" Carlisle asked me, impatiently. I glanced back at him, annoyed. I didn't see anything wrong with this picture. I didn't know how Bella would feel about it, but it was to be expected at some point or another, if we were going to stay together. My eyes moved to the small print underneath the picture.
"Edward Cullen was seen with a mystery date last night. He took her to La Bella Italia. Witnesses said that he referred to her as Bella and that the two seemed very close, talking and laughing, and then dancing after they had finished their dinner. We have to wonder who is this Bella and is she just another one of Edward's flings?"
I snorted at that, and both my parents turned to look at me with curious expressions.
"Who is she?" Carlisle asked.
"Bella," I said, matter of factly.
He gave me an experasted look. "I know her name is Bella, Edward. But how did you meet her, how long have you been dating her, is this another fling because you know that if she is it's going to look horrible for your rep-"
"She is not a fling," I cut him off, shaking my head. "Her name is Bella Swan, and I met her at that party that Alice threw for me when I passed my bar exam. She works with Rosalie Hale at the newspaper, and Rosalie brought her along to help her cover the party. She introduced me, and a week later the four of us went out, and things just kind of went from there." I shrugged casually
"And you're serious about her?" he asked, amazement in his voice.
I nodded. "Yes."
Esme grinned at me, and I could tell she was just dying to ask me a million questions about Bella.
"Well, you should invite her to dinner then. Maybe this weekend?" My dad went on.
I stared. "Are you serious? We haven't...we aren't....it's too soon."
He smiled. "Nonsense. If you are serious, we want to meet her. Have Emmett ask Rosalie, if it makes everyone more comfortable."
"Please ask her, Edward, I'd love to meet her," Esme put in.
It was times like this when I severely regretted moving back home after college, even if it was just for a little while I got my career going. How on earth was I going to ask Bella if she wanted to come to dinner and meet my parents...this weekend?
I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. "I'll ask her."
"Great!" Esme and Carlisle said at the same time.
"Yeah, great. I'm going to work," I said. I would just get coffee on the way. I took one last look at the newspaper and decided I should call Bella during lunch to make sure that the picture and article hadn't upset her.
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BPOV.
The sun was shining, and it was a warm day, for once. Everything about today was gorgeous. The weather, the way the city looked, the way I felt. It was just...beautiful. I felt so light and happy.
It was very out of character for me, especially to be so excited over just a guy, but this wasn't just any guy. This was Edward. My Edward. I started giggling-yes, giggling-all over again at that though. It was hard to believe that I was Edward's girlfriend though. His girlfriend.
God, you're being stupid, Bella.
My sectary turned to look at me, her eyes studying me carefully. She didn't ask why I was acting so strange and giggling like a 12 year old girl at work, but I could tell by her expression that she was sure I was insane.
Right. At least tone it down at work.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost time for my lunch break.
Edward had called me earlier, right about the time I had arrived at work, asking if I would join him for lunch. He sounded excited too, and that had made my heart soar again. He had also asked me if I'd seen one of today's papers. I hadn't, but I planned on picking one up on my way to meet him.
The clock finally hit twelve and I jumped up from my seat, saving all the work on my computer and grabbed my bag. "I'll be back in an hour," I said, to no one in particular.
I stopped at a newspaper stand on the way to meet Edward at the diner we had had our 'first date' at. I asked the older guy there for a paper, and I paid for it, quickly flipping to the society section. He had only told me that we had been mentioned in it.
I guess it didn't surprise me, not really. Edward was part of the richest family around, and they were so well known around here. Him going out someone was big news. I knew Rosalie wouldn't print something about us, unless we wanted her too, but of course the other gossip columnist would.
I was a bit surprised, however, to see a picture of us on the front page. It had been taken as we were leaving the restaurant last night. It was a nice picture of us, but I couldn't believe that they had gotten something like that, and so fast. I shook my head, taken back by it all, and looked own to scan the article accompanying it.
"Edward Cullen was seen with a mystery date last night. He took her to La Bella Italia. Witnesses said that he referred to her as Bella and that the two seemed very close, talking and laughing, and then dancing after they had finished their dinner. We have to wonder who is this Bella and is she just another one of Edward's flings?"
I frowned, upset for a moment about the way my name was in italics, like they didn't even believe that was my name, and they way they brought up the fact that Edward had had so many flings before. He wasn't exactly known for his commitment and lasting relationships.
But he told me he was serious about us.
I sighed, unsure what to really think. Even if he was serious now, would he get tired of me in a month or so? Was I just another fling, was this what he said to everyone?
I folded the paper back up and tossed into a nearby garbage can. I certainly didn't need to keep the paper. I took a minute to shut my eyes and clear my head. I ran my fingers through my hair and made sure I looked presentable, and then headed to my lunch with Edward.
He was waiting for me when I got to the diner. He was sitting in the same booth we had sat in that first time, and I smiled a bit, coming over to sit down across from him. "Hey."
"Hey," he replied, smiling a crooked smile at me.
It was enough to make my knees melt.
"Did you have a nice night?" he asked pleasantly.
I nodded. "I did." Truth was I spent most of the night eating ice cream and gushing about everything that had happened with Rosalie.
He smiled. "Good."
I laughed tensely, at the formal conversation. The waitress came over to us then. It was our normal waitress, Angela. She tucked her brown hair behind her ear and smiled at us. "Hey, Bella,"
I smiled. "Hey, Angela. Ang, this is my...this is Edward. Edward, Angela."
Edward stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Angela."
His name registered with her, and she stared at me for a minute, eyes wide. Edward's voice pulled her back to reality, and she shook his hand. "You too, Edward," she said politely, still looking incredulous.
"Well, uh, what would you guys like to eat?"
We ordered burgers and coke, and she went to get her orders, shaking her head as she walked away. I almost laughed.
I turned back to Edward. "I saw the paper," I said in a casual voice. I knew I was probably being stupid about my whole episode earlier.
He made a face. "I was afraid you had. I'm glad though, I guess. I wanted to talk to you about it, actually. It said a lot of...untrue things. Normally I would just call the paper and straighten it out, tell them that if they are going to print stuff about me, it needs to be true, and then give them the facts. I didn't want to do this, though, unless you are okay with it. If it doesn't bother you, we can just ignore it, of course. But if you want people to know the truth and are okay with it..." he trailed off.
"You mean you'd call the paper and tell them that I'm actually you're...girlfriend?" I asked, taken by surprise.
He nodded calmly. "Of course. But only if that's what you want. They'll want to print your name and everything. I didn't want us to be in such a spotlight yet, but I guess there's not much we can do about it now..."
Wow. I felt my carefree state return. "That's....fine." I said.
He smiled. "I'm glad that's settled. It didn't upset you, right?"
I shook my head. "No, of course not." Not now...
He continued smiling. "There's something else I wanted to ask you, then."
Angela returned with our cokes, and set them down in front of us. I reached for mine, taking a long drink while I waited for Edward to go on.
He looked almost...embarrassed? "Well...my parents saw the article, of course. They asked me about you...and they want to meet you. My Mom told me to ask you to dinner with us this Sunday. She wants Emmett to bring Rosalie too....if you don't want to come, though, you don't have too. I understand completely and-"
"Oh, no, Edward...it's fine. I'll come," I said right away. I wasn't sure why I responded so quickly and so enthusiastically. The idea of eating at the Cullen's house, with Edward's parents was....beyond terrifying. But I knew I would do it.
"I know it's rushing things a bit..." he said, looking worried.
That's why I would do it. After the whole paper this morning, this confirmed it to me, even more, that he was really serious about this. That he really did want to be my boyfriend, like I wanted to be his girlfriend.
"It's fine, Edward, really. Don't worry about it," I told him, trying to smile.
He leaned across the table a bit to brush his lips over my forehead in a soft kiss. "Thank you, Bella."
I smiled back. I guess I was going to meet the Cullen family.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I'm really amazed at how many reviews this has gotten, so thanks so much! Hope you guys liked this chapter.