Riding the Fence

Ch. 10

EPOV

I don't think anyone could have been more surprised than me that Bella actually agreed to a date after that bet on Friday. I had fully expected her to tell me to fuck off, but it really didn't even take much convincing for her to give in. Her fairly easy agreement actually makes me hopeful that she's more interested in me than she lets on, although, I do know for a fact that she was checking my ass out that night.

I had called her earlier today before I left for dinner with my parents.

"I can't believe you're really going to hold me to this stupid bet, Edward," she huffed, her annoyance clear even over the phone.

"Well, we both know that there's something else you'd rather I hold you to, but yes, I would really like to take you to dinner." I laughed.

Her angry growl had made my dick hard, it was so fucking hot. "Next Saturday at 7. You're taking me to Lola. If you're even one minute late, you're SOL." And with that, she hung up on me.

God, I couldn't wait for this date.

HHHRtFHHH

Sunday night dinner at my parent's house became a ritual as soon as I came back to Seattle; truthfully, I look forward to it every week. Sitting at the bar in the kitchen, I sneak strips of red bell peppers from the cutting board when my mom's back is turned. Her hand suddenly reaches behind her and she smacks mine away, without ever looking back. I stick my tongue out at her turned back, laughing at the childishness of my actions.

"Edward, how old are you?" she admonishes me playfully before giggling along with me.

"Sorry, Mom, I'm hungry, I didn't eat lunch."

"Well, dinner will be ready in about half an hour, I'm sure you'll survive." She put the lid on the pan before turning around, leaning back against the counter. She ran her fingers through her gray streaked, bronze hair that matched my own, looking at me thoughtfully. I may have had my mom, Esme's, hair, but otherwise, I was the spitting image of my dad, Carlisle, right down to my eyes.

"So, what's this that Aunt Liz says about you and Alice arguing? You haven't been back very long, how can you two be at it already?" she asks, raising her eyebrow in question.

I shake my head in disbelief, for someone who claims to dislike her mother, Alice wasted no time in running to her to tattle on me.

"It's nothing. She didn't like something I said. I've tried to apologize for upsetting her, but she doesn't want to hear it unless I admit that my opinion is wrong." My mom nods her head in understanding, Alice is Alice, there's really nothing to do except wait for her to get over it.

Then something occurs to me, and I have no idea why I never thought of it before. My mother would know what happened with Alice and Jasper.

"Hey, why doesn't Aunt Liz like Jasper?"

She seems momentarily startled before a look of understanding comes over her. "Is that what your fight was about? Jasper?"

"Yeah, sort of." I shrug, trying to avoid talking about the details of our argument. I'm not proud of my behavior that night, I don't really want to tell my mom all the shameful particulars. "Anyway, she hasn't really told me much of what went on with him. I know he almost OD'd, she blames his roommate, and her mom hates him. She's really tight lipped about it."

"It wasn't an easy time for her, I can't imagine that she'd be eager to talk about it. Especially since she looks up to you so much."

I grab another slice of pepper, chewing in what I hope is a nonchalant manner, though I am anything but that. I'm about to get some answers, finally. "So, what happened, then?"

Her brow furrows and she turns around towards the stove, stirring the food and grabs the peppers from the bar tossing them in, too. She's obviously agitated, and now I'm even more concerned, my mom is almost unflappable, she just doesn't fluster easily. She wipes her hands on the dish towel and comes to sit on the bar stool next to me.

"I met Jasper through Alice a couple of times before his...problems, started; I've never met his roommate. He seemed like a good kid, a little wild, but good to Alice. Your aunt never liked him or the roommate, she said they were bad influences on Alice. I'm pretty sure that Liz's real problem was that for the first time in her life, Alice was thinking for herself, doing things that made her happy. She was standing up to her mom and making her own decisions. I think it started out as normal college kid stunts, the parties and...experimenting." She pauses, lost in thought.

"But?" I prompt gently.

"Liz got a call in the middle of the night to come bail Alice out of jail." I'm sure the shock is evident on my face. That was completely unexpected. My mom nods acknowledging my surprise, her face grim as she continues.

"To a point, I can understand her disappointment in Alice and her hesitancy about Jasper. A call from the police in the middle of the night is probably a parent's worst nightmare. Even if your kids are grown, your first thought after hearing that they aren't dead is that you're going to kill them for scaring you like that and for whatever stupid thing landed them in jail.

"There was a party that night at Jasper's apartment, I'm really not clear on most of the details, and I can't say that I'm sorry about that. The sum of it is that Alice found Jasper in the bathroom, someone called 911 and there was evidence of drug use in the apartment, in addition to Jasper's condition, so anyone that was there when the police arrived was taken in so they could sort it out. The charges against Alice were eventually dropped for lack of evidence."

Mom glances at the clock on the stove. I realize that my dad will be home from his evening rounds at the hospital soon.

"But Jasper's clean now, and has been for awhile from what he and Alice have said, why is Aunt Liz still so against them being together?"

My mom sighs, pressing her lips together. "My sister is quick to judge and slow to forgive."

"Sounds like Alice comes by it honestly then," I say offhandedly.

"Mmmm," she acknowledges me without comment.

The rattling of keys in the front door signals my dad's arrival. He walks into the kitchen, kissing my mom hello and greeting me with a friendly pat on the shoulder. Our conversation turns to talk of his shift at the hospital, the drama with Alice set aside.

We soon sit down at the table, plates heaping with food; in addition to my parents company, my mom's cooking is a huge reason to love being home. After my dad's general inquiries into how my business is doing, my mom clears her throat, drawing our attention to her.

"So, Edward, are you seeing anyone?" she asks curiously.

I know that a lot of guys get annoyed by this question, but I know my mom is asking about my life in general, not with some ulterior motive to set me up with a friend's daughter or because of a burning desire for grandchildren. My parents want me happy, and they want to know about my life.

"Um, actually, I have a date on Friday," I say.

"Anyone we know?" Dad asks.

I straighten my back, trying to look confident. I'm actually a little afraid of my mom's opinion based on our discussion earlier. "Yeah, Bella, Jasper's roommate."

Surprise colors Mom's face as she shares a look with Dad that I can't understand. She opens her mouth like she's going to say something, but Dad shakes his head slightly, discouraging her. Instead just smiles at me and says, "Well, I hope you have a nice time."

I feel torn between asking her what she was really going to say and being relieved that they aren't actively discouraging me from dating her, despite her association with the situation that landed my cousin in jail. But my dad solves my dilemma by steering the conversation to some cocktail party he was invited to by a colleague. My date isn't brought up again.

HHHRtFHHH

The workweek went by quickly. I managed to pick up a couple of new clients locally, and one of their websites would be going live soon, so I was too busy to really think about much of anything besides work. But, by the time Saturday rolls around, I start freaking out. I don't think I've been this nervous about a date since high school. But, then again, I haven't really cared about the outcome of a date quite this much.

I made reservations earlier in the week at Lola, the funky, Mediterranean restaurant Bella had chosen; our seating is at 8:00pm. Ordinarily, I would lead into dinner with drinks, but Bella made it perfectly clear that she was unhappy with my forcing her hand. I'm hoping that my respect for her reluctance to be out with me will make her more willing to relax and enjoy herself.

I spend the day finishing up some work to try to take my mind off my nerves. I briefly consider calling Alice, we haven't spoken since last weekend, but considering this evening I'm taking out the source of our disagreement, I think better of it. Alice's opinion certainly hasn't changed, and until I get to know Bella better, I don't foresee the chance that mine will, either.

And I really do want to get to know Bella better. I have never been so intrigued and confused by a woman before, and I sure as fuck have never experienced this kind of explosive attraction before. I have so many questions for her, and the more I get to know her, the fewer of them have anything to do with my cousin, Jasper or the infamous Kate.

Finally, it's time to start getting ready, I jump in the shower and shave before getting dressed. Dark gray dress pants, white button up shirt, rolled sleeves, no tie, and twenty minutes after I started, I'm done. I leave my apartment with plenty of time to spare for the fifteen minute drive to her building. That is, it would have been plenty of time if I didn't hit every damned light and get stuck behind every slow driver between my apartment and Bella's. After I find a parking space three blocks away, I sprint down the street, the wind wreaking havoc on the flowers I'd gotten for her. By the time I knock on her door, I'm sweaty, panting, and the flowers are barely recognizable as more than stems with a couple of petals attached. I'm just about to raise my hand to knock again when the door opens slightly, not allowing me to see into the apartment.

"You're late," her stern voice flows through the crack between the door and the casing.

"I know, I'm sorry! Traffic was a bitch and there were old people and no parking," I rush out, just shy of whining.

She's closing the door, so I put my hand out stopping it's advance. "I have flowers," is my nonsensical offering.

"You're late," she repeats.

I glance at my watch. "Two minutes late, Bella. We still have plenty of time to make our reservations." She can't actually be serious.

There is no reply but the click of the front door, and I look after it dumbstruck. Did she really just do that over two minutes? I lean back against the wall beside her door, banging my head against it. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

I hear snickering to my left and look over to see Bella leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest, laughing at me. I didn't even hear the door open again.

"Those have to the most pathetic excuse for flowers I've ever seen, Edward," she grins cheekily at me, letting me know that she's not angry at all.

I hand them over to her, smirking. She takes the paper wrapped greenery, looking at them closely. "Thanks, let me put them in...water...life support...something. Come on in." She walks back inside, not waiting for me to respond.

Letting out an audible sigh of relief, I hear her laugh again. "You are entirely too easy to fuck with."

I snicker at her choice of words and open my mouth to retort, but she cuts me off. "If the next words out of your mouth are going to include the words 'easy,' and, or 'fucking,' I suggest you reconsider."

This time I laugh loudly because she knew exactly where I was going to go. Bella rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. We walk into her kitchen as she looks through the cabinet in search of a vase. She performs some voo-doo, slight-of-hand, and the pathetic flowers I handed her are actually nicely arranged. It reminds me of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, without the singing.

I take a minute to actually take her in, she is as gorgeous as ever. Her dark jeans hug her ass closely, and her dark blue top shows off her delicate shoulders and clings to her breasts, leaving just enough cleavage to send my imagination running wild with thoughts of licking and sucking.

She looks up from the flowers, catching me drooling over her chest; she just raises her eyebrow at me, smirking. I shrug, not at all sorry. I know that she's said there will be no fucking at the end of this date, but I feel no shame in looking, after all, she's a beautiful woman. And no fucking tonight doesn't mean no fucking ever, I reassure myself.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask, trying to change my focus from the way her hips are swaying in front of me as she walks to the sink with the flowers to fill them with water.

"Yep, just let me finish with these," she says turning on the tap. After she's done, she sets the vase on the counter, turning to me. "They really are beautiful, Edward, thank you. I was just giving you a hard time earlier."

Then she glances down to my crotch evidently catching the remaining effects of my earlier ogling. "Not that it takes much to give you a 'hard' time, apparently." She laughs and walks towards the front door.

God help me if the whole night is going to be this way, this woman is going to be the death of me.

A/N: Personally, if Edward showed up at my door with flowers, I wouldn't even be able to pretend to turn him away. Then again, I also wouldn't have cock-blocked myself. Sometimes I wonder about Bella's sanity! What do you guys think?

~Next chapter we will get some definitive answers about Kate and see the rest of E and B's date! Just a warning, things are going to get angsty all up in here. B has some serious demons and she has to face them to have a chance at moving on. My outline puts the story at between 20 and 25 chapters, so there's still a little ways to go! But, I know exactly where we're going and I promise to get us there.

~If you have ever thought to yourself, "What RtF needs is a threesome!" then you're in luck! I am writing an outtake for the Fandom Against Domestic Violence fundraiser and it will be an indulgence in smutty goodness. A $10 donation gets you a compilation of pieces from over 100 authors, including the RtF outtake! If you are unable to donate, don't worry, I will post the outtake as soon as I'm allowed. (I feel like an informercial now, "But act fast, this offer won't last long! Operators are standing by!" lol). Details on how to donate can be found here: fandomagainstdomesticviolence. blogspot. com

~Story Recommendation: BRONZE by mothlights (net/s/6391069/1/) It's a vampire story, which isn't usually my genre of choice, but this is amazing. Everything about this story is subtle and nuanced. Edward is a newborn who has trouble controlling himself, Bella takes him in as a favor to Carlisle. It's short, 22 posted chapters with only 1 remaining.

~Thank you to Kas90 for beta'ing, and Sammielynnsmom and KrisScott for pre-reading!

~Sammielynnsmom and I are hosting a contest: The Pick Your Own Adventure Contest. We will be accepting submissions Feb 1st-28th. See the FF page for details and the word prompt list: net/~pickyourownadventurecontest

~RtF has a Twilighted thread! twilighted. net/topic/viewforum. php?f=44&t=13319

~I'm on twitter, (at) Morethanmyself

I still don't own anything. I swear I'm shutting up now! Until next week ~Kimberly