Hello everyone. This is a little longer A/N because I have a few things I want to say.

First: I am so happy for all of my reviews as well as the subscription/favorite adds! I just had to say THANK YOU ALL! So as a token of my appreciation I am publishing the next chapter today. More reviews=quicker chapters. So thanks again!

Also: to my reviewer to asked "...can't Jacob just go away now?" I just wanted to tell you all that Jacob isn't going to "go away." But to reassure you all, his pursuit of Bella will stop-it just doesn't happen immediately, sorry. My Jacob is much like "canon" Jacob in that he feels he knows what's best for Bella. (Even though we all know differently *winks*)

Lastly: for my reviewer who said "I am glad these two appear to be making progress"... I wanted to tell everyone that even though they are making progress, remember they are still Edward and Bella...therefore there might be some bumps ahead. Never fear, Edward will prevail. Keep reading!

So without further ado, here is Chapter 14. Bella and Edward schedule their date and Jacob tries to put a stop to it...what will happen?

Chapter 14

Bella's POV

The replayed the whole evening in my head as I laid there in bed. The dinner was excellent. The company was enjoyable. Edward was unbelievable. The way he looked, his smile as we all talked comfortably. The way I felt when he held me in his arms as we hugged goodnight.

When I first arrived at Alice and Emmett's house, I tried not to look directly at Edward, because I wasn't sure exactly how my heart might react. But then as I became more comfortable I analyzed everything about him. His hair was a gorgeous mess. He wore dark black jeans and an un-tucked blue dress shirt, top buttons opened like I'd seen him wear hundreds of times before. Just the tiniest amount of chest hair showed which made me imagine him shirtless. I wondered what he'd look like now with that shirt off…

Of course I found Edward attractive, I had known that all along. But his smile had to be one of the things that attracted me most. Even from the time I first met him, it was his smile that caught my attention. I used to love how his mouth turned up in a barely noticeable way, or the way he smirked in kind of a sideways grin. But tonight what haunted me was when he smiled so brightly that everyone around him had to smile in response. It was radiant, almost glowing. And when he was smiling only at me…it just drew me in…I had to struggle all night not to stare at him.

Then, as I was leaving, he walked me to my car and I became comfortable and relaxed. My nervousness was gone and that surprised me. When we hugged I wanted to melt into him. He felt so good that I wanted him to hold me forever. I felt so secure in his arms. It was hard to believe that only a few weeks ago I couldn't even say or think his name. But here we were wrapped in each others' arms in a comfortable embrace. I knew in my head that I had to ask him to let go of me…but my heart thought differently. I didn't want him to let go of me…even though I knew he had to. When he said he didn't want to let me go, my heart was in my throat. I wondered now what would have happen if I had let him hold me longer?

I continued to think about all of these things as I tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep. Sweet dreams, he told me. "Yeah right," I spoke out loud. There was no way I could dream when I couldn't even sleep. The last time I looked at the clock it was three a.m. and I knew tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Jake's POV

First thing in the morning I stopped by Bella's classroom. I hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving.

"Hey beautiful." I said as I walked up behind her which startled her.

"Jake, you scared me!" She turned around and smiled, giving me a light shove on my shoulder. I immediately noticed her eyes had small dark circles below them.

"What happened to you? You look like you haven't slept." It had been over a week since our kiss and things still weren't awkward and I was still thankful.

"I had dinner last night with Emmett and Alice McCarty. I was awake too late afterwards. Do you remember them?" She asked me.

"Yeah, he plays for the Seahawks right?"

She nodded and yawned. She explained to me that she had run into Alice at the market and she had invited her over for dinner. Bella continued to put out books on the table at the front of her class.

"I have to get to class. See you after school? I'll take you to the café after work if you want?" I offered.

"Thanks Jake," she smiled and I walked out of her classroom. Even when she looked tired she still was beautiful.

Edward's POV

Monday morning started with a long phone conversation with the director of the Fine Arts Society in Seattle. Then I had few short meetings with teachers in the afternoon and a larger collaboration wide meeting scheduled for the end of the day. I set up chairs in the conference room and was ready for the teachers when they started to arrive. My breath caught in my chest when Bella entered the room with Louise. I immediately noticed Bella looked tired. I wondered if she had trouble sleeping like I did last night…

I continued daydreaming about Bella as I began the meeting. Our first major event as group would be a Fine Arts night scheduled just before our holiday break. We would invite the community in for the evening with an exhibit of art work, writing and music. Each month we would host an event like this, sometimes including drama, photography and dance in the schedule. All teachers had questions and I answered them and took their suggestions. There were less than four weeks until our event so there was a lot to be done. I had cleared other less important meetings off my schedule until January so we could concentrate on this event first.

When the meeting was over I walked over to speak to Bella before she left. She was standing in the doorway talking to Black. "Ready for dinner?" I heard him ask her.

"Yes. I need to drop these off at my classroom first." She noticed me looking at her and got an uneasy look on her face. Her eyes drifted between both of our faces, then she asked him to wait a minute.

"You wanted to talk to me..." She said to me, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"I don't want to keep you. I can see you have plans." I couldn't hide my disappointment.

"Jake I can meet you in my classroom in minute, okay?" She asked him. His expression wasn't pleasant but he nodded and left the room.

She turned to me and explained, "We're having an early dinner at the café."

I didn't know what to say so I chose to ignore it. The memory of her in my arms last night was still fresh in my mind and I didn't want to imagine her out with anyone else. I cleared my throat.

"I was hoping we could go out tomorrow night if you're free."

"Yes tomorrow is good. What time?"

"How about six o'clock?" I suggested. "I'll pick you up"

"That's good." She answered with a sweet smile. "Okay well, Jake's waiting. See you tomorrow."

I nodded and watched her leave the room and couldn't help but wish she was going out with me tonight instead.

Jake's POV

Bella and I ate dinner at the café. She ordered a club sandwich and I ordered a burger. We chatted together during our meal but she seemed distracted. I didn't say anything to her, though. She looked so tired and I figured that must have been what was bothering her.

"Let me bring you home," I told her.

"Jake, my car is at the school. If you bring me home then I'll have no way to work tomorrow" she argued.

"I'll pick you up in the morning. You need to get some rest." My idea made sense to me and she finally agreed as I drove her home.

…

(the next day)

I picked her up first thing in the morning and she appeared well rested.

"You sure look better today," I told her.

"Thanks… I think," she said sarcastically.

"Come on, I only meant you look much more rested today. What do you say I cook you dinner tonight? You won't have to lift a finger," I offered.

She hesitated and said, "Jake, I have a date tonight."

I swallowed hard. "With who?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes at me and took a deep breath. "With…Edward"

I should have known! "That slimy son-of-a-bitch!" I raised my voice at her. "What on earth are you thinking Bella?"

She was immediately defensive "Jake, this is my decision. I can't see any harm in one date. I wouldn't have told you if I'd known you'd get so pissed."

"I realize it's your decision but I doubt you've thought it through. He's going to hurt you again. I can promise you that. You're being really stupid."

She opened her mouth to say something and then shut it again. She didn't speak to me the rest of the way to the school.

Edward's POV

I noticed Bella's car in the parking lot as soon as I pulled in. Then I saw Black's car pull up right beside hers. He was in the driver's seat and Bella in the passenger seat. Could her car have been here all night? She did say they had dinner plans last night…What if…? I couldn't think about her with him, and yet I couldn't avoid it because here they were right in front of me. And Black looked pissed! He glared at me as I got out of my car. I wanted to speak to her but I just smiled and walked in the door, heading toward my office. I noticed they walked in through the main entrance to the left and I didn't look back.

Later that afternoon I was working with a few student musicians on a project in the recording studio. I was playing the guitar when I heard a knock on the door. A student from the music room peeked his head in and said, "Uh, Mr. Cullen. I'm sorry to bother you but Mr. Black is looking for you."

"Okay. We can work more on this tomorrow." I said to the musicians, as I put the guitar in it's case and headed out into the music room. There was Black, his arms folded.

"Mr. Black. What a surprise. What can I do for you?" I responded politely.

"Can we talk? In your office?" He spoke through gritted teeth.

I nodded and walked out the door and the short way down the hall to my office. I opened the door and waited for him to enter, then closed the door behind us. He glared at me. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, Cullen. Bella told me about your date tonight and I am going to warn you…if you hurt her in anyway I will personally tear you limb from limb."

"Listen Black, Bella's a big girl. She is perfectly capable of making her own decisions and fighting her own battles. She doesn't need protection from me. I'm not going to hurt her."

"I don't buy your bullshit for one second. You're just a self centered rich boy! I won't sit back while you destroy her again." He was furious, his face contorted in anger.

"Who appointed you her body guard?" I challenged.

"She wouldn't need a body guard if you hadn't come back. We were doing perfectly fine before you showed up!"

"If you're so worried about her having dinner with me why don't you talk to her about it?"

"I did talk to her. She wouldn't speak to me afterwards." His teeth were clenched and his jaw was tight.

"So the truth of the matter is… since she won't speak to you, you come in here acting all tough hoping I'll back off and then she'll come running back to you?" I accused.

"Listen, my motives shouldn't be pertinent in this discussion. I'm not the one with a history of hurting her."

"Like I told you before, I have no idea what happened after I left. I am interested in talking about this elsewhere, like you suggested. Just name the time and place."

"Why not make it tonight?" His voice snarled when he spoke.

"Oh, not a chance Black." I wasn't going to take that bait. I'd been looking forward to this evening with Bella and even Black wasn't going to screw it up.

"Tomorrow night then, eight o'clock at the Roadhouse. Just be warned, you won't like what I have to say." He opened the door to my office and slammed it shut behind him as he left.

I'm sure he knew I'd be wondering just what had happened to her after I left. I'll bet he counted on it distracting me from my evening with her. There wasn't a chance in hell I'd let that happen. She was too important to me.

Bella's POV

As soon as the last bell rang I picked up my brief case and jacket to leave. Jake met me at the door just as I was locking up my classroom door.

"Bella I need to talk to you, please." He was begging.

I unlocked the door and stepped back inside with him. "What is it Jake? I'm in a hurry."

"I'm sorry about earlier. I am just worried about you. Do you really know what you're getting yourself into?"

"I don't think there is anything to worry about. I'm an adult Jake. I lived on my own for a long time in Phoenix and didn't have you there defending me. Somehow I managed to survive."

"Yeah, but you were safer in Phoenix. Cullen wasn't there," He argued.

"I think I have more reason to hate him than you do." I was starting to raise my voice. "Can't you let me make my own decisions without second guessing? You're my friend. You're supposed to be supportive." He was making me so mad!

"Yeah? Who was the one supporting you while you laid there in that hospital? I didn't see him there, or your dear friend Alice. What about Jessica or Angela? Should I continue Bella?" He was fuming and so was I.

"You know perfectly well why they weren't there…NONE of them knew." My eyes were brimming with tears and I was shaking with anger.

An apologetic look appeared on his face and he stepped closer to me, embracing me tightly. "Bella I'm sorry! I never meant to upset you like this."

"Like hell you didn't!" I shouted at him and pushed him away. "But if you think for one second that your tyrannical behavior is going to change my mind about tonight you are sadly mistaken"

He appeared wounded from my words and I didn't even care. He just shook his head and backed away. "Just be careful Bella. Please. I'm worried about you, seriously."

"I will be. I really need to go now." I told him as I picked up my things again and stepped into the hall.

"Night Bella" He said as he walked out the door, dejected.

I would be lying to myself if I said Jake's words didn't make me think back to the pain I went through when Edward left. But I wasn't going to let anything ruin my chance at an enjoyable evening with Edward. I rushed home to get ready for my date.

Another cliff-hanger for you all. Reviews are much appreciated. Thank you all for reading!

Yeah, I know, Jacob is obnoxious! He means well, really. Don't hate him, he isn't so bad, honest.

UP NEXT-Edward gets his date with Bella...finally!