Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Author's note at the end.


Once Bella and I made our way into the gallery, I was surprised at how comfortable the environment felt. I didn't feel like I was suddenly put on the spot or like I was being judged. I felt like I was out with my girlfriend. Which was a pretty damn good feeling to have in the first place.

That's nice. But can you please ask your girlfriend to let up a little on the ninja death grip she has your hand in? I'm turning blue here, man!

It was at that point in time that I realized Bella really did have a death grip on my hand. I leaned close to her so that I could whisper in her ear, "Are you alright?"

She seemed to flinch a little when I asked my question, but was quick to nod her head and respond, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just always get so nervous at these things. I guess I forgot that I was holding your hand because normally I'll just squeeze the crap out of whatever bag I'm holding."

The fact that she was nervous was surprising to me. She always seemed so sure of herself, even in an awkward situation. Granted, I had only seen her in the coffee shop for little bits of time before I actually worked up the nerve to say something to her, but she always seemed to hold herself with a great sense of security. So much so that I often found myself being a little envious of her for it.

She let up on the grip she had but, before she could completely let go of my hand, I gave her a slight reassuring squeeze. She turned to look at me, but before she could say anything we heard a boisterous voice exclaim, "Isabella! You made it, my dear!"

Bella smiled and turned to face the owner of the voice. I followed in suit and was met face to face with a man who looked like he could be Emmett's dad due to the sheer size of him.

"Mr. Stanley. How are you, sir?" Bella asked. The man, Mr. Stanley, enveloped Bella in an Emmett sized bear hug and, as soon as he made physical contact with Bella, all I wanted to do was pull her away from him, hug her tightly to me and say "mine."

Down, boy! We wouldn't want total strangers thinking that we're possessive, now do we? No. Good boy. Please shut up for the rest of the night. I'm not making any promises. I figured.

"Isabella, how many times must I ask you to please call me Jack? The only people who call me Mr. Stanley are those who I'm not particularly fond of," the man laughed.

Bella let out a soft laugh and replied, "Well, how many times must I ask you to call me Bella? The only time I hear Isabella is when I'm in trouble with my mom and that hasn't happened in years." Now it was Mr. Stanley's turn to laugh, though his was a lot louder than Bella's had been.

"Right. Well, Bella, aren't you going to introduce me to this young man?" Mr. Stanley asked.

Bella's smile was radiant as she turned to me and spoke, "Absolutely. Jack, this is Edward Cullen. My boyfriend. Edward, this is Jack Stanley. He and his wife, Jessica, own this art gallery. It was Jessica who actually had my first picture published."

I noticed Jack puff out his chest slightly at the mention of his wife. I held my hand out for him to shake and was met with a firm handshake, to which I replied with, "It's an honor to meet one of the people who have helped Bella with her career, Mr. Stanley." I didn't want to call him Jack without getting his permission first, lest he feel a bit insulted.

He replied with, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet anyone who can make Bella smile this beautifully, Edward. And please, call me Jack. Please, make yourselves comfortable and explore the gallery. Jessica is around here somewhere so I'm sure she'll find you in no time. Enjoy yourselves."

With that, Bella and I were left to on our own. I took her hand in mine, kissed the back of her hand, and said, "Come one. I want you to show me your world, sweetheart."

The smile she gave me in response could rival the sun on a cloudy day.

She squeezed my hand and said, "Let's start in the back. I like to see the pictures of people who are just starting to get their toes wet in this industry."

I followed her to the back of the gallery willingly. The pictures that were there were mostly of landscapes. Sunsets, sunrises, forests, lakes and things of that common nature. As we made our way towards the middle of the gallery, Bella stopped to look at a few photographs of male models. Sadly, I thought she was checking them out in a wistful manner. But as I looked closer at her face, I noticed she actually seemed a bit disturbed. I couldn't resist asking, "Are you okay? You look like you just sucked on a lemon."

Bella snorted a little and looked around to see if anyone had heard her. When she turned back to me, she lightly smacked my arm and replied, "No, dweeb, I did not just suck on a lemon. I was actually looking at the name of the person who took these pictures. He's someone I've had the, um, pleasure of meeting." I couldn't help but chuckle at the way she had pronounced the word pleasure. It looked like it was the nicest possible word she could come up with to describe this person.

"And who, if you please, is the photographer?" I asked her. She looked at me with the most adorable scrunched up face and said, "His name is Shane. That's all he goes by. He thinks he's the Madonna of photography so he only uses his first name. I don't think I know his last name," she mused.

I was curious, "And you don't think he's as fantastic as he thinks he is?" The look on poor Bella's face was one of sheer horror.

"Oh, sweet misery, heck no. I mean, sure, he's gotten some really amazing shots but, honestly, I think those were just dumb luck. In reality, he is such a little drama queen. First off, he only ever wants to have male models for his photo shoots. Second, he gets uber bent out of shape if his models are ever five minutes late, and he doesn't consider half of what other real photographers do to be real art. He thinks all we do is point and shoot. Which, granted, sometimes it really is that easy for me, but that's because I've got something that he doesn't have and probably won't ever have," Bella finished her mini rant. Her face was a slight pink shade from the tiny tirade she had just had and it was something I found endearing.

Still, I had to find out, "What is it that he'll never have?" She looked up at me and gave me a small, and just slightly cocky, smile and replied, "Talent, kid. He'll never have my talent for seeing the natural beauty in things."

I couldn't help myself. I bent down to capture her lips with mine in a soft and Disney-esque kiss. I was still completely aware that we were in a very public place, surrounded by people who knew Bella and considered her to be an esteemed colleague.

When I pulled away, Bella's eyes were closed so I leaned in for one more quick peck. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave me a smile that made my heart stop and kick back up at three times its' normal beat.

Aw, what a girl. Please, for the love of all that is good and adorable in this world, could you just shut up for the rest of the night? I'm begging you! Eesh…alright, fine. I will leave you in peace until you guys get home. Thank you. Thank you very much. But don't get used to it, kid. I'm coming back. Then I'll just avoid going home. …well…oh, shut up and enjoy your night with your girl.

My girl. Damn straight.


Author's note: There is no excuse. But here is Chapter 11. Probably not the best thing in the world but it came to me pretty easily. In the next chapter, I'm hoping to introduce Jessica. I'm not really sure how big her role is going to be but, just the same.

Feel free to review. I'll be back much sooner this time.