Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
Big thanks as always to SabLuvsLogan.
Chapter 11
Charlie paced the Cullen's living room that evening, not being able to sit still.
"Where did they go?" he cried.
"I don't know, Charlie. I'm sure they're okay though. Can you please sit down?" Esme said sounding incredibly worried.
"I can't sit down, Esme! I'm freaking out! Your son has my daughter out...who knows where! And who knows what they're doing!"
"That's your fault! Edward needed to clear his head after what you said to him!" Esme said, her voice getting louder.
"Well I was right! Bella has been through too much...her judgement is clouded..."
"She is not the only victim here!" Esme yelled while standing up.
Charlie paused.
"You keep pretending like Edward didn't go through the exact same thing Bella went through. He's suffering just as much as she is. But the difference is that he is putting her safety above everything else, Charlie. He cares for her more than anything and you have the nerve to tell him he's taking advantage of her?"
"He was lying on top of her, Esme. He's not keeping her safe...he's satisfying his own teenage hormones!"
"They said they weren't dating, Charlie. I believe them."
"I know what I saw, Esme."
Charlie was speaking in a condescending tone and Esme didn't like it.
"Charlie, did it ever occur to you that you just may have walked in at the wrong time? That maybe they were just playing around? That maybe they were telling the truth?"
"No."
Esme rolled her eyes and sat back down on the couch as Carlisle sat patiently beside her. There was a long pause until Charlie finally huffed and fell into the couch opposite Carlisle and Esme.
"What do we do about this?" he asked in a calmer voice.
"About what?"
"About Edward and Bella! We need to separate them or...something...I don't know!" Charlie yelled.
"Separate them?" Esme cried. "Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what would happen if you forced those two apart?"
"Well then what do we do? Forbid them from dating?"
"You can't forbid them from dating, Charlie. What's the big deal anyways?"
"What's the big deal anyways?" Charlie repeated, dumbfounded. "They sleep together. Every night. In my house. It was okay for a little while as they were coping from the trauma but if they're dating it is not okay anymore."
"Well we told Dr Aro about that. He's working on it."
"That fucker is doing shit all."
"Charlie! We pay him good money."
"Yeah. And what has he done? If anything they spend more time together! Do you always let them go upstairs to his bedroom and close the door?"
"Well she's not exactly here all that often. What about you? You're never even home to know what your teenage daughter is doing. For all we know, she could be seducing him!"
"She wouldn't do that!"
"Well Edward wouldn't take advantage of her!"
"He's a teenage boy. All he wants is sex."
"Enough!" Carlisle yelled from the couch. "You two are ridiculous! You are drifting away from the real matter at hand here. These two are inseparable. They spent four months side by side, never seeing anyone but each other...how do you expect them to act? Charlie, you want to separate them? You separate those two and Bella will fall into the deepest depression you have ever seen. She won't eat, she won't sleep, she won't do homework, she won't talk to you, she won't do anything."
Charlie was silent.
"They need professional help. Now, I agree with you about Dr Aro, I think he's done absolutely nothing so far but it's only been a couple sessions. Maybe he's just trying to make them more comfortable. Edward is extremely stubborn and when he doesn't want to do something, he won't do it."
When neither Esme nor Charlie said anything, Carlisle continued.
"Why don't we pay closer to attention to them throughout the next couple weeks? Let's see how they are together...really observe their behaviour. Charlie, watch Bella when she's alone...look to see if she's nervous or if she fidgets...and then watch her around Edward. And we'll do the same. And then we can go talk to Dr Aro and we can tell him what we want him to do."
They both nodded while looking down.
"Good. So get over your overprotective mother and father routine and think about what these kids really need from us. They're teenagers, if they want to date they will. That's not what they need our help with. And Charlie, don't ever imply again that what Bella went through was in any way worse than what Edward went through. It wasn't."
Charlie and Esme had both considerably calmed down throughout Carlisle's speech and they both realized how they'd overreacted. Charlie immediately felt bad as Esme was the first to apologize.
"You're right, Carlisle," Esme said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry for yelling, Charlie."
"I'm sorry too. I never meant to imply that what Bella is going through is worse than Edward. I know they went through the same thing. And we all went through the same thing as parents too so I really am sorry."
Esme nodded. There was a pause before Charlie spoke up again.
"I really am worried though," Charlie said, softly. "I don't know how to handle a teenage daughter under my roof...sometimes I overreact but...I don't think it's okay for them to be left alone too often."
"Yeah. I agree," Carlisle said. "I've noticed it too...they're becoming more comfortable with each other and you can see it. Edward always has his arm around her and she's always leaning into him. They don't even do it consciously anymore. I think it's inevitable that they will realize that dating each other is the easiest solution."
"But we can't prevent them from doing so..."Esme said
"No...And I wouldn't want to...but...we need to make sure they know they have to be careful," Carlisle said.
When Charlie left the Cullen's that night, he still didn't feel much better. He had no idea what the proper way of dealing with a teenager was and he knew his lack of experience was showing. He knew Bella would be angry with him but he had to explain his point of view. He briefly considered calling her mother, asking her what she would have done in his situation. He knew Renee would have handled it way better than he had but what was he supposed to do? Pretend it was okay that Edward was on top of her? Their lips had been inches apart and her hands had been trapped above her head. Edward had put her in that position, no doubt about it and Charlie's reaction was one any father would have had.
He sat on his recliner, watching the clock as he anxiously waited for Bella to come home. He knew he had to apologize to her so he calmed himself down with a cold beer. He didn't want to be riled up when she walked through that front door. He wanted to handle himself appropriately and hopefully come off as a parent who knew what he was doing.
When Charlie heard the sound of Edward's car in his driveway, he immediately got up to peek through the window. He thought maybe Edward would kiss her goodnight and his fears would be realized, but Bella merely smiled and exited the car before walking up the stairs to the front door.
When Bella walked through the door, she had every intention of walking straight up to her bedroom, not giving her father even a second look. However, as she entered her home, Charlie was already standing there and she had no choice but to greet him.
"Hi," she said, removing her coat and refusing to look him in the eyes.
"Where have you been?" he asked nicely.
Bella said nothing.
"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"
Bella looked at him momentarily before turning her head back down to her feet, still not saying a word.
"Where were you?" he asked again, a little louder.
Charlie was starting to get frustrated with Bella's silence and his voice evoked it.
"I was out with Edward," Bella said. She looked into Charlie's eyes then with a fierce expression. "The guy who likes to take advantage of me."
Charlie had never seen his daughter with such anger in her eyes and he knew he had to be cautious.
"Bella..." he started.
"No Dad!" she yelled. "Edward has done nothing but be helpful. He is the sweetest most amazing person I have ever met and you accuse him of taking advantage of me!"
"Bella, I'm sorry, but..."
"I don't want to hear it! He is the only good thing that has happened to me since last May and you put him down! Ever since I met him he's protected me, he's been sweet to me, he's trusted me, and that's the way you thank him!"
Bella was seething but as she kept talking, she was on the verge of tears.
"Bella, I'm your father. I know Edward has been great but what am I supposed to do when I walk into his bedroom and see him on top of you?"
"You're supposed to wait for us to explain!"
"Explain what, Bella? I know what teenagers do, I used to be one."
"Not us," Bella yelled. "Dad, we're not a couple. The most we've done is hold hands, for crying out loud. You just walked in at the wrong time."
Charlie sighed. Although he knew Bella wasn't telling the whole truth because he knew what he saw, he didn't want to anger his daughter further. They both stood facing each other, no longer angry but frustrated. Bella was not going to forgive her father anytime soon for what he said to Edward and Charlie knew that.
"Bella...you have to understand why I freaked out," Charlie pleaded with her.
She paused for a second. "I know, dad. And I get that. It's understandable but you can't say stuff like that to Edward. You can't. He's too sensitive and self-deprecating on his own. What you said...was...horrible. He's not going to forget that easily."
Charlie nodded. "I'm sorry."
"I want you to apologize to Edward," Bella said.
"Bella..."
"I want you to tell him you didn't mean it and that it's not true...it's not what you believe. I want you to tell him how much you respect the fact that he cares for me...that he's protective of me...and I want you to tell him how you know how much I care for him."
Charlie nodded. "Okay."
"Good."
"Can I just say something without you getting angry?"
"Maybe," Bella said.
"I don't like you and Edward on the bed together when his door is closed. I spoke to Esme and Carlisle about this, Bella, and that behaviour won't be tolerated anymore. I know you two are close but you have to understand where we're coming from."
Bella huffed. "Fine, no more closed doors."
"And no more you and Edward on beds together?"
Bella rolled her eyes. She didn't agree and Charlie noticed. He knew the next thing he had to talk about.
"Bella... I really don't think it's a smart idea for you and Edward to become...intimate..."
"Why?"
Bella asked the question and immediately knew she shouldn't have said that. She should have told him they weren't intimate and they weren't planning on becoming intimate, but after the night she'd had, she'd wanted to kiss Edward and she wanted to know why her father thought it was a bad idea.
"Are you asking because you already are?" Charlie asked.
"No."
"I just think you've both been through a lot and you have mixed feelings about each other. I think if you started dating it would make things very complicated."
"Well, we're not dating."
"Good."
Bella headed to bed shortly after and when Edward came through her window, he noticed right away how strange she was acting.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said, shrugging.
"Bella," Edward said, staring at her.
"It's nothing. It's just my dad."
"What did he say?"
"Same old stuff. That we shouldn't date and we spend too much time together, blah blah," Bella said, sitting down on her bed.
"Yeah. I guess he's not going to trust me now, right? Since he thinks I'm trying to...seduce...you?"
Edward smiled and Bella laughed.
"It's a good thing he doesn't know you spend every night here," Bella said.
"Man...Could you imagine what he would do if he knew?"
Bella laughed, thinking about the disaster of a situation it would be if her father knew about her nightly rituals.
Bella and Edward fell asleep shortly after since they were both fairly tired from the exhausting day.
The rest of the week was spent recuperating from the events of Sunday night. It had seemed to Bella that Edward had forgotten about what Charlie had said to him because he returned to being his normal self. What she didn't know was that Edward thought about those words nearly every second of the day.
When he grabbed her hand in his on Monday to lead her toward the cafeteria, she wrapped her fingers tighter around his and he wondered if she even wanted to hold his hand or if she was doing so because he had forced her to. On Tuesday, the same thoughts ran through his mind as he hugged her after she had gotten 100% on her pop quiz in biology.
Their touches had always been done unconsciously. Edward never refrained from placing his hand on her lower back to lead her to class. He never refrained from sliding a piece of hair that had come undone behind her ear. He never refrained from grabbing her hand, from hugging her, from making her laugh and smile, and he did so without thinking about it. But now, every move he made was overcalculated.
Was it okay to touch her?
Did she mind if he touched her?
Even after Charlie called him on Monday to apologize for the way he'd reacted, Edward still didn't feel better. There was a constant reminder in the back of his head telling him that Bella didn't know what she wanted and he was forcing himself on her.
On Thursday, all his qualms were settled. When they both walked into the hallway where Bella's locker was situated, she heard Edward groan beside her and when she turned her head to look at what he was looking at, she noticed a strange piece of paper hanging on every fourth locker.
"What is that?" Bella asked, thoroughly confused.
"A dance," Edward said, unhappily.
Bella felt uneasy with that notion and as the day progressed, she learned to hate the dance just as much as Edward.
When she walked into English class with Alice, she sat down at her desk and noticed Mike Newton staring at her strangely. She kept glancing back at him but he never got up to greet her. He merely smiled and looked away.
At the end of the class, he approached her, looking nervous.
"Hi Bella."
"Hi Mike."
Mike had gone back to being his usual self ever since Edward had 'forgiven' him but he usually kept his distance.
"I wanted to ask you something," he said.
"Okay, shoot," Bella said as she gathered her books and placed them in her school bag.
"Um...well...I was wondering...maybe...if you...umm...if you wanted to go to ...the dance...with...me."
"What?" Bella asked.
"Do you want to go to the dance with me?"
"Oh...wow. Umm...wow...Jeez...Mike...Umm...I...I don't do...dances..."
"Ookay..." he said, slowly.
"Yeah. Sorry. It's just...I wasn't planning on going...so...yeah...it's nothing personal though."
"Right...no...right. Well if you change your mind...you know where to find me."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Bella felt completely awkward after that encounter and when Edward saw her after class, he noticed the slight pink in her cheeks and wondered what was wrong. When she wouldn't tell him he decided he would find out later.
Edward found out at lunch time exactly what had Bella hot and bothered.
"Ugh!" she said, as she exited her Spanish class.
"What's wrong?" Edward asked.
Bella said nothing as she stomped toward the cafeteria. When she sat down at their usual table, everyone was already there and they immediately knew something was wrong.
"What's up Bella?" Emmett asked laughing.
"I hate dances! And I hate Forks! And I hate boys in Forks! And I hate boys and dances and Forks!"
"Whoa whoa whoa. Back up a bit," Emmet said, thoroughly amused.
"Mike Newton asked her to the dance this morning," Alice said, smiling.
Edward turned his head toward Bella. "What?" he asked.
"And Tyler asked her in Trig," Rosalie said.
"And Eric asked her in Spanish," Jasper added while chewing his sandwich.
Edward sat there, astounded. "What the fuck?" he said.
Bella looked at him and sighed. "It's been the worst morning," she said, throwing her head in her hands.
"They all asked you?" Edward said.
Bella nodded shyly.
"The posters were put up like 30 seconds ago!"
Alice was amused. "They have balls, Edward. They know what they want and they go for it," she said with a smirk.
Edward scrunched his eyebrows and Bella snorted.
"What?" Alice asked.
"They don't actually like me. They just want to secure a date. They've probably asked everyone."
They all rolled their eyes at Bella's naivety.
"Poor Bella. Every girl's dream is to be asked to a dance and you hate it," Rosalie said, smiling.
Bella ignored Rosalie and turned to Edward.
"Promise me I don't have to go to the dance with any of them," Bella said.
Edward was caught off guard with her request.
"What?" he asked.
"I don't want to go to the dance with Mike or Eric or Tyler."
Edward paused for a second then grinned. He had been thoroughly bothered with the notion that he hadn't even considered asking Bella to go to the dance with him when every other male species in the school had. He then realized he'd spent all week wondering if Bella wanted him to touch her or not and he realized how lucky he was. He shouldn't have been bothered by Bella's reactions when she hadn't shown any discomfort.
She was uncomfortable with Mike, Tyler, and Eric merely asking her to the dance. He's placed his arms around her, wrapped his entire body around hers and she'd smiled. He'd practically kissed her and she didn't seem uncomfortable.
Edward rejoiced because he knew he no longer had to pretend that Bella didn't want him near. He just needed to keep every other guy away from her and she'd be happy.
"Bella, don't worry. You don't have to go with anyone you don't want to go with."
He wrapped his right arm around her shoulder then as she leaned into him, with a smile on her face.
When the bell rang, indicating the end of their lunch, Bella and Edward headed to biology and when he noticed Mike Newton watching her as they walked into class, he purposely placed his hand on Bella's lower back, exactly where Mike could see, and he led her toward her seat.
After biology, Edward and Bella parted ways and she joined Alice and Rosalie in gym. While everyone was playing a game of badminton, Bella sat on the sidelines with Alice.
"I heard something happened between you and Edward this weekend," Alice said.
Bella's head immediately flung to the right, staring at Alice.
"How did you hear that?" she asked.
"I overhead my mom talking to Esme," Alice said, shrugging.
"Ugh."
"Spill," Alice said, turning toward Bella.
Bella saw the look in Alice's eyes and realized what Alice wanted. Alice wasn't looking for gossip, she legitimately wanted to know what happened. Bella realized that having girlfriends meant talking about boys so she decided to confide in Alice. She hoped Alice could help her wrap her head around what she was now feeling for Edward.
"We had...an...I don't know what it was," Bella said slowly.
Alice waited patiently for Bella to continue when she was ready.
Bella huffed. "We were in his bedroom..."
"I like where this is going," Alice said, smiling.
"Alice..." Bella chided.
"Sorry."
"We were in his bedroom...just...relaxing...and then I don't know we were playing around...and then..."
"Oh my god...get to the point...you're killing me!"
"We almost kissed," Bella blurted.
Alice's mouth fell open as she stared at Bella.
"Alice! Say something!"
Alice's face broke out into a huge grin.
"That's awesome!"
"No it's not awesome! We were on his bed and he was like...on...top...of me...and my dad walked in!"
Alice gasped. "Your dad walked in?"
"Yes, Alice. It was so horrible."
"That...sucks," Alice said.
"Yeah... and then my dad said some stuff and we left and Edward took me to this place and we decided that we shouldn't be kissing," Bella said, staring down at her hands.
"What?" Alice said, annoyed.
"Yeah...it's for the best..." Bella said, not sounding too sure of herself.
Alice heard the uncertainty in her voice.
"But you want to kiss him?" she asked.
"I don't know Alice...I don't know what I want. I'm so confused. I think he was right though...we spend too much time together... it's messing with my head."
"Well do you like him?"
"Of course I like him."
"I mean do you like...like him like him...can you see him as a boyfriend?"
"I've never had a boyfriend...I don't know what it means to want one."
Alice contemplated this and decided to ask about the typical symptoms girls have when they like someone.
"Do you feel nervous around him?" Alice asked.
Bella scrunched her eyebrows. "No," she said, shaking her head.
"Do you feel shy around him?"
"No...I feel perfectly myself."
"Well...that's cause you guys are going all backwards," Alice said, frustrated.
"How?"
"You already know too much about each other...you're practically dating anyways. All that's missing is the kissing part."
"We're not practically dating."
"Bella. He drives you to and from school. You see each other all the time during the day and even on weekends. You hold hands, you hug, you're always touching him. You're a couple without the sex part."
Bella was speechless.
"I don't know what to say," Bella said after a brief pause.
"What do you feel?" Alice asked.
"I don't know...It's too complicated, Alice. With everything that's happened it's just so...I don't know. Last week I didn't see him as anything other than Edward. And now I'm so confused. It's like...I'm excited to see him in a completely different way...but I don't' know what it means."
"It means you like him," Alice said.
Bella ignored her comment.
"We almost kissed and then we talked about it and then everything went back to normal and I'm glad it did because...I don't know...it could have been super awkward. I mean...what if my dad hadn't walked in on us? We for sure would have kissed...but then what?"
The bell rang then dismissing them from class and as they walked to the changing rooms, Bella no longer wanted to talk. She didn't want anyone at Forks High to hear about her dilemma with Edward. When they were changed, they went out to meet the guys in the parking lot.
"Hello girls," Edward said, wrapping his arm around Bella's waist when they approached. "Ready to leave?"
Bella nodded.
"Call me later, Bella," Alice said as she walked away.
"I will," Bella said. "Bye!"
"What was that about?" Edward asked.
"Girl stuff."
"Gross."
Bella called Alice that night before Edward came over and they finished the conversation they had started earlier that day. When Bella hung up the phone, she felt much better since Alice had reassured her it was only normal for her to start feeling differently since she was spending so much time him. Alice told Bella to take things slow and to see where things go. She also told her that if she ever needed someone to talk to, she was only a phone call away.
After her phone call with Alice, Bella called Esme to set up their first cooking lesson. They had both agreed that Sunday afternoons would be the best time and they should start as soon as possible. Bella was therefore going to go to the Cullen's home on Sunday for their first lesson and she was very excited.
When Edward and Bella woke up Sunday morning, he teased her about cooking with his mother.
"So you're going to have fun cooking with my mom?" he asked.
"Yes."
Edward laughed. "What are you going to cook?"
"I don't know. Food?"
"That sounds...fun...What are you guys gonna talk about?"
"I don't know, Edward. Your mom is pretty easy to talk to."
"She's going to ask you about boys, you know that right?"
"Well I'll tell her how much of a pain in the ass you are," Bella said, smiling.
He grinned.
"Are you sure you don't want to just come to the gym with me this afternoon?" Edward asked.
"Yes I'm sure. Cooking is much more valuable to me then muscles. Why do you want me to go to that gym so badly anyways?"
"I don't know. I want you to see it. It's nice there. You'd like it," Edward said, shrugging.
"I promise I'll see it eventually, Edward."
"Soon?" he asked.
Bella laughed.
"Yes. Soon."
"Good," he said.
"Are you going to leave now?" Bella said, grinning.
Edward gasped dramatically. "Don't even pretend like I annoy you," he said, wrapping her in a tight hug.
Bella giggled into his chest.
"Alright, I'm leaving," he said. "Have fun with my mom. I'll see you when I get home."
"Bye, Edward."
Edward climbed out of her window and she sat on her bed, sighing in satisfaction. Bella loved how easy it was for her to talk to him. She'd never experienced that with anybody before and she found herself missing him for a whole new reason. She missed his smile and the way he teased her. She bit her lip then in anticipation, not being able to wait until she got to the Cullen's, just to be closer to his scent.
Around noon, Charlie drove her to Edward's since he was on his way out and he told her to have fun. She exited the car and walked up the front door to ring the doorbell. When Esme answered, she had a wide smile plastered on her face.
"Come in, come in," Esme said, while opening the front door to her home wider so Bella could walk in.
"Thank you," Bella said shyly.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Esme said.
Bella chuckled and Esme led her toward the kitchen.
When Bella walked in she saw an abundance of food all over the counters. There were fruits and vegetables, bowls of oils and salts and spices as well as lean raw meat and pots and pans. It looked exactly like a cooking show.
"Wow," Bella said.
"I know. I got a little carried away. But I was so excited!" Esme said. "Edward made fun of me but I love doing stuff like this, Bella."
Bella smiled at Esme's excitement and continued to inspect all the food.
"So, for our very first meal, I think we should dive right in, and I'm going to teach you how to make a delicious home-made tomato sauce."
Bella smiled. "Great!"
"Yeah, and whatever we make you can take home to Charlie," Esme said.
"He'll love that," Bella laughed.
Esme started to gather up ingredients then, placing them in front of Bella.
"So how's school going, dear?"
"It's good, I guess," Bella said.
Esme laughed. "You're just like Edward. He never has anything to say about school."
"Yeah...it's pretty repetitive day after day."
"Ah, appreciate it while you can. When you're working you're going to wish you were still in school."
"I doubt that," Bella said.
Esme chuckled then turned serious as she began to explain the steps and the tricks to creating the perfect sauce. Bella listened carefully, not wanting to screw anything up.
As Bella chopped some vegetables, she noticed Esme staring at her. When she looked up at her, Esme merely smiled in wonder.
"What?" Bella asked, her cheeks turning pink.
"Oh, nothing. I'm really glad you wanted to do this, Bella. It feels like I have a daughter or something, you know? Someone to carry on the family recipes."
Bella smiled.
"Did you want a daughter?" Bella asked.
"Every woman wants a daughter," Esme said chuckling.
"I don't want to be rude but why didn't you have another kid after Edward?"
"Don't worry about asking questions, Bella. I want you to feel comfortable here. Especially if we're going to do this often. We tried to have another baby but it never worked out. Even Edward was difficult. He was my little miracle."
Bella smiled. "That's sweet."
"Yeah...we tried for two years after Edward and then we gave up, hoping it would occur naturally but it never did."
"Oh...I'm sorry."
"Oh it's fine. I get to enjoy moments like these with you and sometimes Alice and Rosalie. I could have fun without doing the actual parenting stuff."
Bella laughed. "Yeah I guess that's the fun part right?" she asked.
"And we could talk about boys," Esme said, grinning.
Bella laughed again. "You'll have to talk about boys with Alice and Rosalie. Sorry Esme."
"Fine Fine."
"You and my mom would get along fantastically," Bella said, smiling.
Esme smiled. "Why's that?"
"I don't know. You remind me of her. She asks me all the same things. She's a child at heart."
Esme smiled sympathetically.
"You know, Bella. I actually wanted to talk to you about this. I know Charlie isn't really used to having a teenager living with him...especially not a teenage girl...so if ever you need a...woman...to talk to...you know I'm always here, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Esme."
"Okay, good. As long as you know. Your mom is far away and I know you talk on the phone but it's not the same. Sometimes a girl just needs a nice big hug and her Chief of Police father isn't really the right person to give it to her."
Bella smiled.
An hour later, Bella knew all Esme's special secrets and as the sauce was simmering over the stove, Bella heard the front door open and her heart took off.
"Smells good in here," Edward yelled from the front door.
Bella immediately felt her whole body relax as his beautiful voice surrounded her. She smiled and continued to stir the big pot in front of her.
Edward walked into the kitchen then, his light grey t-shirt clinging to his chest and darkened from sweat.
"Hi ladies," he said, smirking.
"Edward, put some clean clothes on for crying out loud," Esme chastised while smiling.
Edward bent down to kiss his mother on the cheek before heading over to Bella.
"Hi, Bella," he said.
"Hi," she said shyly.
He leaned over the pot then and smelled the sauce.
"Smells delicious."
"Yeah? You don't. You're all sweaty!" she said.
"Hey! I don't smell!" Edward pouted.
"Yes you do. You're all wet too!"
Edward grabbed her then in a big hug, rubbing himself all over her.
"Edward! Gross! Put me down!"
"No, you smell like fresh sauce and I smell like sweat so I need to steal some of your good smell."
Esme watched her son as he held Bella in a tight hug, digging his face into her should as Bella laughed and giggled. The moment was so beautiful but she knew she had to respect both Carlisle and Charlie's wishes, and she shouldn't allow them to act like that in front of her.
"Edward, go shower please," Esme said.
Edward laughed and put Bella down before going upstairs to shower.
"You two are so strange," Esme said. "Alright, so the sauce has to simmer now for at least another few hours. In the meantime we can make some meatballs."
Esme took the package of meat and opened it up and proceeded to show Bella how to make perfect meatballs. When Edward returned downstairs, Bella was sitting on the counter with a big bowl of meat next to her, rolling meat balls onto a platter to be cooked.
Edward watched her momentarily as her lower lip was caught between her teeth in concentration. She looked adorable, he thought, as she rolled each meatball, desperately trying to get them perfect.
"Well that looks like fun," Edward said, momentarily scaring Bella since she didn't know he was watching her.
Bella gasped lowly when she saw him. Edward was standing against the wall in a pair of black jeans. The top of his underwear showing as his jeans were hung low on his hips. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his hair was still wet, falling in his eyes.
Bella immediately stopped what she was doing as she stared at him. She didn't know why she all of a sudden couldn't stop looking at Edward but she knew he looked good – really good.
"Bella?" Edward said, walking closer to her.
He stopped in front of her and placed his hand on her leg and she was surrounded with the smell of fresh Edward. Edward's hand on her leg was warm and firm and her breathing picked up as a result.
"Bella?" Edward said again.
Bella shook her head then, gathering her thoughts.
"Sorry. I just...I can't concentrate with you...like...that," Bella said, continuing to roll the meatballs.
"Like what?" Edward asked, smirking.
"Stop. You know like what. All...half naked...and stuff," Bella said, blushing.
"You can't concentrate when I'm shirtless?" Edward asked.
"Wipe that smirk off your face. I've just been deprived of good looking boys. It has nothing to do with you."
Edward pouted then smiled. "You called me good looking," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Whatever, it's just because of your new muscles. It has nothing to do with you," Bella said.
Edward laughed then remembered. "I thought you weren't turned on by muscles?"
:::
"Do you find Mathew McConaughey hot?" Edward asked while flipping through a magazine.
"What?" Bella said, pausing from painting her toenails with an old bottle of red nail polish she found.
"Mathew McConaughey? Do you think he's good looking?"
"Edward, I don't even remember what he looks like."
Edward flipped the magazine over so she could see.
"Meh. I'm not really turned on by muscles," she said, looking back down at her toes.
"What?" Edward asked.
"What?"
"What the hell girl isn't turned on by muscles?" Edward asked.
"I don't know. It's not like he has a cute face. He just has a nice body. His voice is annoying and I don't know...no he's not hot."
"Huh. Interesting," Edward said, as he continued to flip through the magazine.
"How old is that thing anyways?" Bella asked.
"I don't know. How old is that nail polish?"
"Really old."
Bella and Edward's days had come down to waking up, changing the date on the calendar, and riffling through one of the many boxes, to find something to entertain them with. Since they'd found out they were surrounded by the brick wall, they had lost all hope in trying to escape. Bella wanted to return upstairs and see if they could find anything but Edward had been so discouraged that he refused to go. Bella wasn't able to do so alone so she remained in the basement, even when the man left for long periods of time.
The piles and piles of boxes had allowed them to keep themselves busy. They found a monopoly board game one day and played every day for an entire week until they were sick of it. The man with the boots even played with them once. They had found the situation very strange but he laughed and brought them McDonald's and they ignored his behaviour because it was another person to play with and different food to eat.
They found crossword books and did them together. Bella would call out the questions as Edward would answer them or vice versa. They found colouring books and crayons as they sat and coloured all day and even stuck their coloured pictures on the walls with thumbtacks. One day Bella was so bored she started to clean. She didn't have any cleaning products but she organized all the boxes into a neat pile and she made all their coloured pictures on the wall straight so they looked like paintings.
The man had seen her work and at first she'd been scared because she reorganized his things, but he simply smiled at her, told her good job, and brought her more McDonald's which she shared with Edward.
This was a little bit of a filler chapter. Not much happens here but it's needed for the story to advance.
I'm assuming you guys can now see just how strange their kidnapping really was. If you're confused...don't worry. Everything will be answered in the end. A couple people have asked me now about whether it's a HEA...and yes...don't worry. I can definitely say it will be without giving anything away.
Another thing that some of you are worried about are the friends. How Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett seem so nonchalant about everything. This will all be explained also. The friends story of how they actually spent their summer will be revealed two or three chapters from now. I promise there's a reason for everything!
Let me know what you're thinking! How do you find cooking with Esme? Do you like that Bella is confiding in Alice about Edward?
Reviews get teasers for the next chapter where we bring Jessica Stanley into the picture.
