Owned by S. Meyer, borrowed by moi.
CHAPTER TEN: GETTING TO KNOW YOU
She settled into a swivel chair in her living room across from each him, cleared her throat and laughed nervously. "I don't entertain much. Would you like something to drink, Edward"?
He smiled at her as she crossed her leg over one knee, noticing it swinging back and forth rapidly. She must be terrified, he thought, terrified of making small talk, terrified of having a man here in her home, terrified of stepping back into the dating world. How did she do it? He wondered to himself. How did she pick up the pieces after her loss and go on? "I'd like whatever you're having, Bella. Don't go to any trouble for me".
"I think I might have a bottle of wine in the fridge", she said. "We were probably going to drink wine with our dinner anyway, right"?
She got up and rummaged through her refrigerator and returned triumphantly with a bottle, a corkscrew, and two wine glasses. She expertly opened the wine bottle and poured for them and then lifted her glass. "Well", she said, "Here's to new friendships" and with a smile she drank a significant amount of her beverage.
He watched her and realized that she was going to get hammered quickly if she drank too much too fast. Better slow her down, he thought.
He reached for the wine bottle and made a big deal out of examining which winery and vintage it was, and then set the bottle nearer to him.
They spent the next couple of hours talking and getting to know each other. He noticed that the more they visited, the more relaxed she became and her nervousness seemed to disappear. She asked for a refill of her wineglass once and he reached for the bottle, only to fill her glass about halfway, very nonchalantly, before setting it back down on the end table nearer to him. He learned from her much of what CJ had already told him, about her husband being killed in Afghanistan, about & she & CJ & Apache being alone, about CJ's desire to be a professional basketball player someday. She didn't share with him her feelings of loneliness & despair, about missing the touch of a man, about her attraction to him. That was just too much to share with him this soon.
From Edward she learned about his recent entry into the music industry although he had known almost his whole life that he had been born with his vocal talent. He told her about his aimlessness for so many years, drifting from job to job with no real future in sight until he had finally decided to devote himself 100% to his music. The more he performed, the more his confidence grew, and his dream of a recording contract had been realized when Jasper had discovered him at a concert festival he was playing. He shared with her that his own mom had been a single mother, although due to divorce, and he explained that in many ways he identified with CJ. He told her that he thought her son was an absolutely amazing kid and shared with her how they first became friends.
"I saw him in the gym one day, Bella and he didn't know I was watching him. He blew me away with his dedication to practicing. You don't see many kids that tenacious or that talented. I asked around about him and found out that he goes every day, so I made it a point to be there one day, and well, you know the rest. CJ and I play all the time now".
She looked at him through misty eyes. He was so kind and obviously so special. He seemed genuinely interested in CJ and developed a friendship with her son based on their common interest. CJ adored him; all he talked about now was basketball and Edward. She told him so, and she watched him look away for a moment, saw him swallow hard, and realized that he was an emotional and tenderhearted man. God, if she wasn't careful, she could completely lose her heart. Little did she know that he was thinking the same thing about himself losing his own heart He turned back to look at her and cleared his throat.
"Bella, I feel guilty that I didn't take you anywhere for our first date. Can I make it up to you? Can you put some music on so that we can dance together? I want to dance with you right here in the living room".
It was the best idea he could come up with to have her in his arms.
A/N: Wine and slow dancing with Edward...sounds perfect, right?