"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked. "I mean, I think that meeting your parents is probably too early, don't you think?"

Edward chuckled. "You have nothing to worry about. Seriously, I think my mom would be happy since I'm bringing a girl home."

"Uh, yeah. At eleven at night." I deadpanned.

He rolled his eyes, sighing. "We have a valid reason."

He started to slow down as he turned left and I could immediately feel the ground change from a flat tar road to a rocky gravel pathway. There were big iron gates greeting us and opening. As Edward drove in, I gazed out of my side window. There were different kinds of flowers on a huge patch of grass, scattered all over the place. There were a few statues of some Greek gods at the corners of the garden. The car came to a halt and Edward killed the engine. We ran out of the car as fast as we could since it was still raining heavily. We ran up to the porch and Edward rang the doorbell. As we waited, I looked out at the sides of the porch, which both had statues of gnarly lions that were facing each other, looking ready to pounce. I looked down at Edward's hand where he had his family crest ring and there were the same lions on it. Seemed pretty significant to me.

The door opened, pulling me out of my daze and I turned to see who was at the door. A middle-aged lady with caramel-colored hair hanging halfway down her back greeted us with a warm dimpled smile. Her brown eyes studied us silently. She was slightly shorter than me, but she had a sort of elegance that even I couldn't have beaten.

"Mom," Edward grinned. He hugged her and she hugged him back welcomingly.

"Edward, darling," she spoke. "I haven't seen you in weeks. Come on, let's get you kids inside."

Edward let her go and his fingers laced with mine, tugging gently as he pulled me into the house. The receiving hall was beautiful yet simple, with a chandelier hanging low from the ceiling. There was a small table with a vase of fresh flowers against the wall.

"Edward... who's this?" Esme, Edward's adoptive mother, asked. She looked me up and down, but it wasn't intimidating.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Bella." Edward introduced.

Her face brightened up. "Is she the one you talked about over the phone?" She asked for some clarification. When Edward nodded in reply, she unexpectedly pulled me into a kind of motherly hug I hadn't had ever since I was small. I was stiff, shocked from her unexpected gesture.

"Oh, it's so nice to finally meet you." She said when she pulled away. "Edward's right— you're gorgeous." She commented.

I looked to Edward for some explanation. He gave me a I'll tell you later look and I smiled at Esme. "Thank you."

"There's a rainstorm outside, so we couldn't really go home since the rain's really heavy." Edward told his mother, removing my coat off me and hanging it at the coat hanger beside the main door.

"I'm glad you've decided to come over, then. Have you guys had dinner?" She asked.

"Yes, over at my house just now." I replied. "Your home is lovely."

She nodded. "Thank you," she smiled. "Come now, Carlisle's by the fireplace."

She led us through the house and we were in a room with two armchairs facing the fireplace, books and tables stacked beside them. One of them was occupied. The man occupying the seat turned his head and stood up when he saw who it was. He had short blond hair neatly combed to the back and blue eyes. He looked around the same age as Esme and he was very handsome. This family was filled with people with looks that could rival a supermodel's.

"Son," the blonde man whom I assumed was Carlisle had his arms spread out as if inviting Edward for a hug. Edward hugged him and he patted his back a couple of times before letting go.

"Dad, it's great to see you." Edward said.

Carlisle nodded in acknowledgment and his attention was towards me. "I assume you are his girlfriend?"

"Uhm... yes." I muttered.

"Esme couldn't stop smiling when she heard Edward finally has a girlfriend." He laughed. "Although, you look younger than him. How old are you?"

There was a sudden silence that made me feel uncomfortable, but I didn't show it. "Sixteen, sir."

His eyebrows shot up. "Aren't you still schooling?"

"I, uh, graduated from Yale last year." I said. "I'm now working at my family's company."

"Really? What is it?"

"Swan Intelligence-Gathering Organization," I muttered, but he could still hear me. I heard Esme give out a silent gasp and Carlisle gave a look to Edward.

"So you knew what she was and you still decided to date her?" Carlisle asked, although he didn't look pissed. From what his face told me, he thought this was... interesting. Much like Aunt Siobhan.

"Yes." Edward replied, his arm pulling me close to him by my waist.

"Why?"

"Because I love her."

Esme breathed loudly. "You love her?"

"Yes, Mom." He sighed. "Now can we just go to my room? We're really tired from today."

Carlisle and Esme met eyes before they nodded. "Goodnight, darling." Esme kissed Edward's cheek and mine too before we left the fireplace.

As we walked up the stairs, Edward kissed my hair. "We survived," he remarked.

I chuckled softly. "Your parents don't really seem to mind, but I can't help but think that they're going to give a few talks to us individually."

"Obviously." He added. We walked down a hall and stopped in front of a door. Edward turned the doorknob and the room wasn't white like what I expected, since I had seen how he loved the color black in his house.

Gray walls gave the bedroom a soft feel and much like his house, it was decorated with a lot of polished wooden furniture. Bookshelves of CDs and classic literature filled it up and there was a study table that was probably used a lot during his teenage years. The bed was a queen-sized one, but not as big as the bed in his house. I had a feeling it wasn't a waterbed either. That thought made me laugh.

"What?" Edward looked at me.

"Well," I walked over to the bed and pressed my hand down on it. "Not a waterbed?"

He rolled his eyes. "When I lived under my parents' roof, my mother made the decisions on what kind of mattress it would be."

"Come on, I'm tired," I yawned.

"Take your clothes off."

"What?"

"I didn't mean it in that kind of way. Unless you don't want to wrinkle your designer clothes, I suggest that you undress."

I rolled my eyes and I unzipped the back of my dress. I could feel Edward's gaze burning through me and goosebumps raised on my neck and arms. Stepping out of my dress, I was left in my black lace undergarments.

"Pervert," I muttered and Edward chuckled under his breath.

I could feel his arms wrap around me from behind. "You look so good." He nibbled on my earlobe.

"I know." I smirked.

His thumb kept moving over the skin of my stomach, setting me on fire. "I want you so badly," he whispered, his hands raising up so dangerously close to my bra.

"Edward, we're at your parents' house." I reminded him.

"Dammit, Bella." He growled. "We haven't had sex for days."

"Days." I emphasized. "You are too needy." I turned to face him and poked the tip of his nose with my pointer finger.

"You can't stop me," he said.

"We've been having unprotected sex, you know." I pointed out. He froze. I laughed at his reaction and got on the bed, covering myself with the covers as I prepared to sleep. I watched as he stared at me. "Okay, fine. It wasn't unprotected. I'm on the pill." I told him. I threw a pillow at his face. "Get in bed now. I want to sleep."

He stripped down to his boxers, leaving me to salivate over his sculpted abs. He got in bed with me and I wrapped my arms around his body, taking the chance to feel his abs too.

"Is it too cold?" Edward asked.

I shook my head. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Okay then." He said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I mumbled, lying my head on his chest.

His fingers combed through my hair. "I love you."

"Hmm." I just replied.

"Just remember that we're having breakfast with my parents, obviously."

"Don't ruin my sleepy mood."

I could hear the upturn of his lips. "Okay. Go to sleep."

My breaths were stable and easy as I drifted in and out of sleep, but finally was able to sleep fully.


Okay, so I managed to update hours earlier (self five!) And if you think that their meet with Carlisle & Esme was a little too calm, wait until the next chapter when Bella & Edward get pulled aside for individual lectures by them. I'm so looking forward to it.

xx Scarlett