Author's Note- So, so, sorry about the lack of updates. Swim season has started, so I have almost no life now. I also have a terrible case of writer's block, but I pushed through it to get this chapter out for you. Thank you for all your reviews, favorites, and alerts. The next few chapters will have some mini-storylines, but it will mostly be just relationship building before we get to the climax (yay!). So, enjoy!

Disclaimer- I own nothing. It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Soundtrack: Love Song by Anberlin

Chapter Eleven

Coffee Dates

The weekend was idyllic to say the least. Sunday morning everyone decided to sleep in but Edward and I. I woke up early, and curled up with some Shakespeare when Edward sent me a text.

Checking to make sure the noise hadn't woken Alice, I flipped open my cell phone to read the message.

Good morning, Bella. Coffee? E

I grinned at my cell phone screen, and then set aside my book. Edward beat Shakespeare any day.

Sure. Ten minutes? B

The reply was immediate.

Sure. Meet you out front. E

I hopped out of bed, or, rather, fell out of bed. My legs were tangled in my sheets, and sent me face forward into the ground. I caught myself on the corner of my bed as I fell down, but managed to make a fantastic oomph as my body hit the rug.

"Bella?" Alice murmured.

"It's okay, Alice. Go back to sleep," I whispered.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her eyes still shut.

"I'm going to get coffee with Edward. I'll be back soon. Go back to sleep," I whispered, standing up.

Alice just groaned, and rolled over again. I tiptoed over to my closet, trying to make as little noise as possible. Unfortunately, I realized I had to slide my closet door open, which would undoubtedly make some noise. It always squeaked.

I took a deep breath, resting my hand on the door handle, and braced myself for the inevitable squeak.

Alice shot up in bed, and shouted, "Wait? Coffee!"

I shrieked, and jumped half a foot away for my closet. Alice's eyes were fixed on me.

"What?" she asked, impatient.

"God, Alice! Don't do that to me!" I cried, "I think you gave me a heart attack!"

Alice shrugged, and then asked, "Can you get me some coffee, too? Pretty please? I'll be your best friend forever!"

Alice could get just about anything out of me with her weasel-y ways. Which was why, when I stepped out of the elevator to meet Edward ten minutes later, I had a post-it note clutched in my hand with Alice's coffee order. She'd waved me goodbye from her bed, and I was pretty sure had fallen right back asleep when the door shut behind me.

Edward was waiting for me just outside the door to our building. He turned when I walked out of the door, and a smile broke out on his face. I walked towards him, and threw my arms around his neck.

"Good morning," he whispered against my face, his sweet breath dancing across my face as his arms snaked around my waist.

"Good morning," I replied.

He gave me a quick kiss, and I again had to remind myself to take it slow, to not crush my lips to his again.

He pulled back, and reached for my hand.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding to the post-it.

I grinned, putting it into my pocket and taking his hand. His fingers intertwined with mine as we walked away from the building.

"Alice," I explained, "She heard me getting up, so I told her I was going to get coffee with you. That's her order."

Edward laughed, and shook his head. He pulled a torn piece of lined paper out of his pocket.

"Emmett and Jasper's," he told me, "They fell asleep in the lounge playing Guitar Hero last night. They heard me leaving."

"They fell asleep in the lounge?" I repeated.

Edward nodded, and then said, "It happens quite a lot, actually. But only when Rosalie and Alice aren't around."

"I can't imagine either Rose or Alice agreeing to sleep on those couches," I agreed, "Did you play Guitar Hero, too?"

"Yes. But I'm not as competitive as Emmett or Jasper," Edward explained, "They had a hundred bucks on who could get the highest score on 'Freebird.'"

"Who won?" I asked.

"Neither. That's why they were up so late. Neither of them could accept the other winning," Edward replied.

I laughed, because I could imagine Emmett and Jasper arguing for hours, replaying the same song over and over again. Jasper was usually quieter, but when it came to bets, he more than beat Emmett at being outspoken.

The coffee shop was more or less empty when we got there. It was, after all, a Sunday morning on a college campus. Most people were too hungover to wake up this early. When they did wake up, around noon, there would be a mad rush for coffee so they could get their homework done.

We were almost finished ordering our coffee when my cell phone went off in my pocket.

Tall French vanilla latte. Thanks. R

Of course Rosalie would have figured out we were getting coffee. I guess I was wrong about Alice going back to sleep when I left.

"Alice?" Edward guessed.

"No, Rosalie," I replied, showing him the message.

"Edward?" a voice from behind us called.

Edward turned towards the sound of the voice, pulling me along with him. A tall girl was standing behind us, looking quizzically at Edward. When he turned around, her face broke into a smile.

I was immediately shy. I'd never met this girl before, but I'd seen her around campus. It was pretty hard to miss her: she had really long black hair with pink streaks.

"Hello, Vanessa," Edward said, politely.

"Hey, Edward," she greeted, "I don't see you here a lot, especially on Sunday mornings. Don't Emmett and Jasper usually keep you out late?"

She was grinning, but I saw her eyes shoot to me every few seconds. I smiled hesitantly.

"Not anymore, actually, Vanessa," Edward said, and then pulled me a bit more closer. "Vanessa, this is my girlfriend, Bella. She's the one I told you about. Bella, Vanessa's in my music composition class."

I must have said something in return to Vanessa, but I wasn't sure of what I was saying. I was more focused on Edward.

That was the first time he'd called me his girlfriend, and it sent a shock through me. I wasn't sure if he even noticed it was the first time, because he said it without missing a beat.

"That's great!" Vanessa said, beaming. "I've been in a bunch of Edward's classes since I was freshman, and you're the first girl he's ever told me about."

"Wait, you were talking about me?" I asked.

Vanessa laughed again and said, "Only good things, don't worry."

Edward put his lips close to me ear and whispered, "I told her what an amazing person you are."

His lips pressed lightly against my cheek, just beside my ear, and he squeezed my hand. I turned to look at him, and smiled up at him.

Edward and Vanessa launched into a discussion about their upcoming midterm. Apparently, their professor was a really tough grader, and a Mozart Nazi. I didn't understand a thing either of them said, but it was interesting to listen to them. Every now and then Edward would turn and smile at me, or brush his thumb across my hand.

When our order was finished, we said goodbye to Vanessa and started the walk back across campus. We weren't that far from the coffee shop when Edward turned to look at me.

"You look very happy," he said.

"Well, yeah," I replied, "First of all, I'm with you. Then you introduced me to Vanessa as your girlfriend."

He smiled again, a crooked smile that I had come to think of as distinctly Edward. It was quickly becoming one of my favorite things about him.

"I'm glad that makes you happy," he said, "I plan on referring to you as my girlfriend as much as possible."

I laughed, and replied, "I think I'd like that."

Tuesday morning Edward met Alice and I outside our building so he could walk to Biology with us. He'd met me after my class on Monday, and we'd spent very little time apart, except for sleeping.

"How was your night?" he asked, kissing me quickly and taking my bag.

"Fine," I said.

Alice snorted behind me, and said, "Yeah, you kept saying Edward's name in your sleep. I bet you slept fine."

I turned to glare at Alice, who just shrugged and started walking ahead of us. She turned lightly to give me a smile, and started skipping away. I dragged Edward after her, avoiding looking at him. He could probably see my blush from this angle, but I didn't want him to have a full view.

"Don't be ashamed," he whispered, "I dream about you, too."

I couldn't help it; I smiled.

Edward smiled in return, and brushed his hand along my cheek. The heat from his hand mixed with the heat of my blush. It felt absolutely divine.

"Vomiting!" Alice shouted from ahead of us, "Best friend vomiting over here!"

Edward laughed, but I buried my face in my hands. Of course Alice would interrupt us. She had a knack for it.

"Don't worry, Alice, we're coming," Edward replied.

We set of walking, with Alice a few steps ahead of us, singing to herself. Every few seconds she would turn and beam at me. Once, she winked.

"She always seems to do that," I muttered to Edward, "Next time she's making out with Jasper, be sure to go in there and make vomiting noises."

Edward chuckled and said, "I'd much prefer not subjecting my eyes to that."

I nodded, and said, "That's probably a good idea. I'll tell her Rosalie and I are going to the mall. That'll get her angry."

"You're rather devious," Edward said.

"Only when it comes to Alice."

"I can hear you!" Alice sang from in front of us. "Bella, I'd know you were lying. You never want to go shopping. I always have to drag you."

"The suggestion would be enough," I countered.

"Then I'd take Jasper with us. And you could take Edward!" Alice said, her eyes suddenly wide with the idea, "Edward, you do need some help with your wardrobe. Just look at Jasper, he's started dressing so much better since he started dating me."

"I think you look spectacular," I whispered to him.

Spectacular didn't quite cover it, but I couldn't come up with anything better.

He grinned at me, but Alice was still chattering on in front of us.

"Emmett could use some help, too, so we could bring him along. Well, he'd go if Rosalie was going. No doubt they'd disappear or something, though," Alice said.

"Emmett hates the mall," Edward said.

Alice shrugged, and said, "Rosalie would make him go."

"He does do whatever Rosalie says," I agreed.

Alice rolled her eyes and said, "He worships Rosalie. But that's what she wants, so I guess they're perfect for each other."

We walked into the science building, Alice still going on about her shopping plans for the six of us. Edward and I were silently letting her rant on, but my mind was already working to see how I could get us out of it.

When we reached our lab table, Alice slipped into my usual seat without breaking her flow of chatter. I paused, and then sat down in the open seat. Alice was giving me her seat so I could sit across from Edward, which was quite possibly the best view in the world.

"Thanks, Alice," I murmured, and then grinned at Edward as I took my bag from him.

Beside Edward, Mike Newton was watching us closely. I smiled hesitantly, and then flipped my notebook open.

Alice suddenly tugged on my shirt.

"Bella! I think Barney's is having a sale this weekend! We have to go then!" she hissed.

"How do you know when Barney's is having a sale?" I asked.

She avoided my eyes, and said, "I have connections. I asked one of the salesmen to email me before all their sales."

I tried not to laugh.

"How did you get him to do that?" I asked.

She just narrowed her eyes.

Knowing Alice, she'd probably sweet-talked her way into that situation. But she'd do just about anything for a sale. Not that it stopped her, but her parents usually preferred if she shopped when she would at least get a little discount.

I leaned across the lab table towards Edward and hissed, "We are both going to be very, very sick on the day of Alice's shopping trip. Understand?"

Edward chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes.

"What?" I asked.

He leaned forward, so that his face was only a few inches from mine.

"You're very hot when you're frustrated," he whispered.

His sweet breath hit my face, and I leaned forward instinctively. Edward laughed again, and said, "Is something wrong, Bella?"

"No," I sputtered, and leaned back so I could regain my mind. "You're just underestimating Alice. When it comes to shopping, she'd downright dangerous."

"I can hear you," Alice sang, again.

I sat back in my seat, crossing my arms across my chest. How did I end up with such an infuriating best friend? I didn't blame Edward for underestimating her, but he would learn soon enough that I was right.

Edward smirked across the table from me, leaning back and crossing his arms to imitate me. It was hard to stay frustrated at him for long; he was too darn handsome.

"So… er… how was everyone's weekend?" Mike asked.

All our eyes shot to him.

"Good," Alice responded.

"Great," I replied.

"Excellent," Edward said.

"Right. So, uh… our frat's having a party this Saturday, if you guys want to come. Just the usual," he said.

I frowned. I didn't know Mike was in a fraternity. But then again, he was definitely the type.

"Sure," Alice volunteered from beside me, "Sounds fun."

I kicked her beneath the table. It most definitely didn't sound fun. Parties required dancing, and usually drinking as well. It was like going down to the club, but worse. Much, much, worse. There were drunken frat boys, too. They always tried to hit on Alice and Rosalie, and someone always ended up with a bloody nose, and it wasn't Alice or Rosalie.

"Great, I'll see you guys there," Mike said, and grinned at me wildly.

I bit my lip, and turned away. Edward was frowning at Mike. I gave him a look, but he just shook his head and opened his notebook.

As soon as Mike left the room after class I grabbed Alice's arm and stopped her from leaving.

"Why did you tell him we'd go to that party?" I asked, "It's a frat party."

Alice sighed, and said, "Bella, you need to branch out a bit. Honestly, it's just a frat party. Besides, Edward will go with you. Won't you Edward?"

"Yes," Edward said, but his jaw was clenched.

As soon as Alice had left, I let Edward take my hand.

"You'll go?" I asked.

He nodded, and then said, "I certainly won't let you go alone."

"Why? Don't you think we can handle ourselves? Obviously you haven't seen Rosalie's left hook. Or mine," I teased.

But he didn't take the bait.

"No. But Newton's up to something," Edward said.

I shrugged. Mike may be a bit much to handle sometimes, but I didn't think he was up to anything. He wasn't that bright. So I let Edward pull me out of the classroom, where Alice was waiting impatiently in the hall.

Author's Note- So, I'm not terribly pleased with this chapter. But it's up, and that's what matters. Please, leave a review. Even just a couple of words would be spectacular. Tell me what you liked about the chapter, or what you think is going to happen next (I put a bit of foreshadowing in there for you). Reviews make me write faster! Next chapter: The Frat Party! Yay!