Thanks to Twilightzoner for the validation.

Thanks to xrxdanixrx, charmie, and milehighhopes for the beta work.

Thanks to everyone who continues to read my story. It means so much to me to read reviews from people who've stuck around since the beginning. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I don't own Twilight.

Chapter Eleven

Bella was confused. Her feelings for Edward had changed dramatically over the past couple of weeks. She knew that she was falling in love with him, but she wasn't sure how Edward felt about her. They were affectionate with each other but it never went further than hand holding, hugs, or kisses on the cheek or forehead.

A big part of her was convinced that he thought of her only as a friend. She wished that she could read his mind or that she was brave enough to come right out and ask him what he was thinking and feeling. She knew that if Edward confirmed her suspicions that he only thought of her as a friend, she would be crushed.

So, for the time being, she was going to keep her feelings to herself. She just hoped that one day soon Edward would do or say something to make her think his feelings mirrored her own.

As they left the movies one night, Edward announced he wasn't ready to go home.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Bella asked.

"Let's go get some ice cream," Edward said, pointing to a Cold Stone Creamery across the street, his eyes bright.

"Isn't it a little cold for ice cream?" Bella asked.

Edward pouted and said, "Come on, Bella. Please?"

"I don't know," Bella teased. "It is still winter."

"Come on, baby. Pretty please," he begged.

Bella felt her stomach somersault. Did he realize that he had just called her baby? Since words seemed to fail her, Bella simply nodded.

Edward grinned at her and grabbed her arm to lead her to Cold Stone. When they got inside, Bella was still finding it difficult to speak. Edward didn't seem to notice as he scanned the menu.

"Bella, are you ready to order?" he asked.

Bella nodded. She went up to the counter and placed her order for a Cookie Doughn't You Want Some while Edward got a Berry Berry Berry Good.

When their ice cream was ready, they sat down at a table and started to eat.

"That looks good," Edward said after a moment, looking at Bella's ice cream.

"Mmm," she hummed. "It really is."

"Can I have some?" Edward asked.

Bella tried not to laugh at him and failed. "Um… no."

"Why not? You can have some of mine."

"No, thank you," Bella said, wrinkling up her nose. She dug a big hunk of cookie dough out of her ice cream and popped it in her mouth. "I don't want any of yours. Who gets fruit in their ice cream, anyway? You wanted fruit, now you have to deal with it."

"Why won't you share?"

"Because I don't want to," Bella answered, eating more ice cream.

"I'm the only child. I'm supposed to be the one with sharing issues."

"Sorry, not going to happen," Bella said, sighing.

"Bella?" Edward questioned.

Bella looked up into his big green eyes.

"Baby, can I please try some of your ice cream?" he begged.

There, he did it again. He definitely knows what he's doing, she thought.

Bella stared at him for a moment before she was able to collect herself. "You can't do that," she breathed.

"Do what?" Edward asked, taken aback.

"You can't keep calling me baby like that."

"Oh," Edward said, looking down at his forgotten ice cream.

"It's not fair," Bella whispered. "When you call me that I kind of want to give you whatever you want." She blushed furiously.

Edward looked up at Bella with a twinkle in his eye. "Good to know," he said, winking.

Bella rolled her eyes as Edward took a big spoonful of her ice cream.

As they walked back to the car, Bella couldn't wipe the smile off her face. On the drive back to their apartment, she thought about how far they had come. It was hard to believe that the man sitting next to her was the same one who hated her. She knew that he didn't feel that way anymore. Still, she wondered what it was about her that caused him to have the reaction he did when they first met.

As Edward parked the car, Bella made a decision. She had to know. "Edward, I was wondering if we could talk about something that's been bothering me."

"Sure," Edward said as he got out of the car.

"I'm just going to change first," Bella told Edward when they reached the apartment.

"Okay," Edward replied, looking worried.

Bella changed into a pair of old flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. She went into the living room where Edward was waiting.

She sat on the couch and faced him. "I, uh, I don't know how to say this without just coming right out and asking you," Bella said, gnawing on her bottom lip.

"It's all right," Edward sighed. "You can just ask me."

"I just wanted to know what it was it about me that made you hate me so much when we first met."

Edward's brow furrowed, and he shook his head. "I didn't hate you when we first met."

"Edward, I was there. I think I remember the way you looked at me. I couldn't understand what it was that I had done to you."

"No, Bella, I was really looking forward to meeting you. But you were acting like you weren't interested in me and that's when I got upset."

Bella sat quietly for a moment, trying to recall specific details about her first meeting with Edward. "I was interested in you," Bella whispered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Edward raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "Okay, well can I ask you a question?"

Bella nodded.

"Why wouldn't your mom let you say anything to me? Why wouldn't you look at me or even talk to me? Why did you keep trying to scoot further away from me on the couch?"

Bella looked down at her lap, trying harder to remember that first meeting, her brow furrowed. She knew she wasn't acting like herself that night, but that was more about Renee's behavior.

"That didn't have anything to do with you. It was because of me. I couldn't look at you or talk to you because I was embarrassed."

"Exactly," Edward sighed, nodding his head. "You were embarrassed of me."

"No, why would I be embarrassed of you? I was embarrassed because of the way Renee was treating me. Like I would say the wrong thing and then you and your parents would leave and demand to be matched with someone else."

Edward looked truly confused. "Wait a minute. I don't understand. Why would she think that?"

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because, I'm a Romantic. She was afraid I would—"

"Wait," Edward interrupted with wide eyes. "You're a Romantic?"

"Yes, Edward. You already knew that."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. When we met at the Java Hut that night, you told me it would be best to just go through with the marriage and not cause anyone any embarrassment. Remember?" Bella began picking at a loose thread on the couch, so Edward couldn't see the tears in her eyes.

"Shit," Edward mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. "Is that what you've been thinking this whole time?"

Bella nodded, growing more and more confused by the second.

"No, Bella, I wasn't talking about saving you from embarrassment. I was talking about me."

Bella sat bewildered, still staring at him.

He looked uncertain for a moment, and then continued, "I'm a Hopeless."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"You really didn't know?" Edward asked.

"No, I had no idea. And you didn't know I was a Romantic."

"No, I didn't have any idea either."

They sat in silence for a long while before Bella spoke. "So, you're just a Hopeless?"

He nodded.

"How does that happen? I mean, I've never heard of someone being just a Hopeless. I thought you could only become a Hopeless if you were a Romantic first."

Edward chuckled darkly. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too." He stopped, collecting his thoughts. "When I was in the twelfth grade I started talking to one of my friends, Demetri, about the Matching. I told him that I didn't think it was right to force people to get married to someone they didn't choose. He agreed with me. We started talking about it more and more, and one day someone overheard us. I'm still not sure who, but I'm guessing it was a teacher. Anyway, they reported us and we were sent to the principal's office to be questioned.

"I was interviewed by the principal and a matchmaker. They questioned me for over an hour. I thought about lying, but I couldn't be sure who overheard me or even what Demetri was saying, so I told the truth and both of us ended up getting the label."

Edward paused and looked so upset that Bella took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. He smiled at her, took a deep breath, and then continued. "I'll never forget the look on my mother's face when I got home that afternoon. She was heartbroken, and it wasn't because she was upset with me, it was because she didn't want to see me end up alone.

"And the thing was, I grew up seeing my parents in love and happy. I had firsthand knowledge that the Matching worked, but that wasn't enough for me.

"A couple of weeks later, Demetri told me he was planning on leaving the country after graduation. He said that we would always have this thing hanging over our heads here. I knew he was right, and I seriously thought about going with him.

"But then I thought about my mother. I remembered that look on her face. How she was so upset because she wanted me to be happy and find love like she had with my father. But I also knew that leaving would have killed her. So, I stayed. I decided that if I couldn't get matched, then at least I could stay here and be close to her and my dad.

"I went to college instead of The Preparation because I didn't think it mattered. I knew the chances of me ever being matched with someone were slim, so I didn't see the point of wasting all that money.

"Right after I entered The Matching, Stefan, my matchmaker, called me all the time with possible matches. But none of them worked out. No one wanted to be matched with me because of my label. After a few months, I told him not to bother calling me unless the match was a real possibility. I didn't hear from him again at all until he called to tell me about you.

"At first, I thought he had to be mistaken or was just messing with me, but he assured me he was serious. He cleared his schedule for the rest of the afternoon and I went over to his office to learn more about you that day. When he showed me your picture and when I saw it was you, I couldn't believe my luck," Edward said, looking down at his and Bella's joined hands.

"What do you mean when you saw it was me?" Bella asked.

"Mom, used to tell me that there was someone special out there for me and that she could feel it. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I went along with her when she said things like that. She was convinced that I just had to keep getting out there, so to placate her, twice a year I would go to one of those Sorting balls. I always felt so out of place. I would stay for an hour or so and then leave.

"As I was getting ready to leave the last one I went to, I saw you. You were laughing at something Angela said to you, and you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. The way your whole face lit up when you laughed took my breath away. But then Angela got asked to dance and you were sitting all by yourself."

"I remember that," Bella exclaimed. "I was so mad at Angela and Jacob. It was our last official Sorting event and we promised to spend it together. Jacob saw a girl almost as soon as we got there and he bailed on us, and Angela got asked to dance all night. I just wanted to go home but I knew Renee would flip out if I came home too soon."

"Yeah, you looked annoyed and completely bored. But I remember thinking even as you were scowling at Angela dancing with that guy that you were beautiful. I decided that maybe my mother was right. For the first time in years I thought maybe I could be with someone. I didn't know if you would be interested in me but there was something about you that drew me in, and I decided to ask you to dance."

"Why didn't you?" Bella asked. She wondered how different things would have been if he had approached her that night.

"I was walking toward you when this guy with blond hair approached you and asked you to dance. I was hoping that you would tell him no because I really wanted to talk to you. But when you said yes and I saw you dancing with him, I knew I needed to leave. You were young and beautiful and wouldn't want to be with someone like me. So I went home and tried not to think about you," he sighed quietly.

"When Stefan showed me your picture and told me about you, I knew it was fate. I wanted to meet you as soon as possible. But then when I got to your house and you wouldn't even look at me or talk to me, I knew why. I knew it was because you were embarrassed to be matched with someone like me.

"At first, I was hurt and angry. I had this idea in my head about our first meeting and how it would go. When you were so quiet and looked so defeated, I thought it was because you wanted nothing to do with me. At the end of the night, when you told me goodnight, I was so hurt that I couldn't say anything back to you. I wanted to tell you I understood if you didn't want to be with me but that was a lie. It would have broken my heart if you refused to sign the matching contract.

"When I got home that night I couldn't sleep. I stayed up all night thinking about what I should do. I had a feeling your mother would make you sign your contract even though I was a Hopeless. I thought the best thing to do, for you, would be to tell Stefan to find me someone new, but I was selfish. I wanted to be with you in whatever way I could. I didn't care if that meant being married and sleeping in two different rooms. I just knew we had to be together."

"Can I ask you something else?" Edward's explanations were helping Bella to feel better about the beginnings of their relationship. But were still several other things she needed clarification about. "Do you remember the night you gave me my engagement ring?"

"Yeah." Edward nodded.

"Why were you so upset with me that night?"

"Do you remember anything about our phone conversation that night?" he asked.

Bella shook her head. "I just remember that you said you wanted to talk in person."

"I did. I knew you didn't want to be with me, but Stefan told me you signed the matching contract. I thought you only did it because you were feeling pressure from your family. I just wanted to talk to you and tell you I was glad we were going through with it. When we talked on the phone, and I asked you if I could come over to your house, you screamed no at me."

"That was just because I didn't want Renee to eavesdrop."

"See, I thought it was because, for some reason, you didn't want me at your house. I felt so bad at that point I said some things I didn't really mean when we met up at the Java Hut."

When Bella didn't say anything else for a while, Edward continued speaking. "And about your engagement ring. When I said that my mom picked it out, it wasn't that I didn't try to pick one out for you. We went to look at rings that morning, and she told me all the ones I picked out were ugly or old fashioned. She suggested the one I ended up giving you."

"Edward," Bella began with a tremor in her voice. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" he asked searching her eyes.

"I'm sorry that I just assumed you hated me. I'm sorry that I judged you. I'm sorry that I didn't try to work this out sooner. I wish—"

"Stop," he told Bella. "You don't have anything to apologize for. All those things you just said, I did them, too. I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to spend time with you, but I was too afraid. Do you know how many times I practiced asking you out? How many times I almost did? I couldn't do it. I was terrified that you would turn me down."

"But think about all the time we wasted," Bella cried.

Edward nodded his head. He took Bella's face in his hands. "Think about all the time we have ahead of us."

As Bella stared deeply into Edward's eyes, she felt tears trickle their way down her cheeks.

"Please don't cry, baby," he whispered.

A sob worked its way up from Bella's chest when he called her baby. He wiped the tears from both her cheeks before he lightly kissed them, followed by both corners of her mouth. When he pulled away, Bella felt like he had moved across the country and not just across the couch. She realized then that she wanted him close to her always.

She needed him, she wanted him, and she loved him. Bella loved Edward. She was done falling. The realization hit her hard, and once again made it clear that he was too far away.

Looking deeply into his eyes, Bella scooted as close to him as possible without sitting on his lap. She watched his Adam's apple as he swallowed deeply and whispered her name. She licked her lips and leaned her body into his.

Edward closed the distance between them and brought his lips to hers. Still not feeling close enough, Bella wrapped her arms around Edward's neck. He responded by winding his arms around her waist and pulling her onto his lap.

Bella sighed into Edward's mouth and felt him deepen the kiss. Her head was spinning, her heart was pounding, she couldn't breathe, and she didn't ever want to stop.

Edward finally pulled away, placing a kiss on Bella's forehead and trying to catch his breath.

"Edward," Bella breathed, her chest rising and falling.

"Yeah, baby," he responded.

"I…" Bella wasn't sure if this was the right time to say it. She wasn't sure if he felt the same way. However she knew that they had wasted too much time in the past by not talking about what they were thinking and feeling and she was tired of it. "I love you."

Edward's eyes searched Bella's face for a long moment.

"It's okay. You don't have to say it back to me. I just wanted you to know," she assured him.

Edward laughed and pulled Bella into a searing kiss. "I love you, too, baby. I've loved you from the first moment I saw you."

They stayed wrapped up in each other's arms, lazily kissing, until Bella started to yawn.

"Are you tired?" Edward asked, placing a kiss on top of Bella's head.

"I guess so," Bella answered, stifling another yawn.

Edward helped her stand up from the couch and led her to her bedroom.

"Good night, baby," he said, giving Bella one last kiss.

"Where are you going?" Bella called when he started to pull away.

"To my room," Edward answered.

"Oh, I just thought that… never mind," Bella whispered, blushing.

"No, tell me, please. What were you thinking?"

"I was just thinking that you would stay with me tonight," Bella said in a rush, eyes downcast.

"Hey," Edward called, trying to get Bella to look at him.

When her eyes met his, he smiled. "Let's go to bed."

They walked hand in hand into the bedroom that had been Bella's alone for over four months. She got into bed while Edward took off his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers on.

"Is this okay?" he asked Bella.

She nodded as she felt the bed shift and he climbed in beside her. They lay there for a moment, not sure what to do.

"Come here," Edward finally breathed.

Bella felt her heartbeat quicken. She scooted closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair.

He placed a kiss on her head and whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?" Bella asked pulling back slightly.

"For being the brave one, for being able to do what I was too afraid to do. For trying to make something more out of this, for wanting more for us."

Bella opened her mouth to say something but a huge yawn came out instead. Edward laughed and placed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Go to sleep," he said.

"I'm not tired," she said, trying to stifle another yawn.

"Yes, you are. It's after two. Go to sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up, in the morning or in the afternoon."

"Is it really that late? Work is going to suck tomorrow."

"You're one of the bosses, why don't you just take the day off tomorrow and spend it with me?"

Bella nodded and snuggled into Edward's chest. "I love you," she said.

"I love you," he replied.

Bella smiled before closing her eyes. She loved Edward and he loved her. Her life was so much better now that he was in it. She was never going to let him go.

I think I'm more nervous about this chapter than anyone before it. So, I'm going to go hide now.

Thanks for reading!