A/N: Normal stuff first:

I don't own Twilight.

Special thanks to my friends, Gerri (super beta extraordinaire) and Rory (the best pre-reader a girl could hope for), for making my story look like a super hero with their beautiful red and blue correction marks :).

And of course, thanks to you, for reading.

Okay, like I said last week, starting with this chapter, there are links to pics of outfits etc on my profile. For this chapter, check out "Bella's Date Dress." Also, I've included a link to Stephenie Meyer's site for all the cars I use in this story; I've stayed canon for the most part regarding the vehicles, so I'll just piggy-back on the research she's already done.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Edward

I loved my job. I loved helping people. That's why I chose medicine as a career. There was very little as satisfying as assuring a young child that he was healthy, or a school-age girl that her arm was not broken after all, or listening to an unborn infant's heartbeat for the first time with its parents. Even better than that was showing them a picture of their child on the ultrasound screen. That was nearly magical.

Today, though, all I could think about was getting out of the office and going home. I forced myself to focus during the time I was actually in the patients' rooms, but in between, and definitely now, during my lunch break, my every thought was on Bella. I had one week—well, now five and half days—to assure her that she was making the right decision. She'd explained to me the hurt that she was feeling, and it had come across as almost guilt for not returning my feelings. Guilt was the last thing I wanted her to be feeling.

She'd mentioned that she liked it when I left her notes, that it helped to keep her grounded in remembering how our relationship had begun, so I made sure to do that again this morning when I rose from the bed. She was still asleep; I'd been a little surprised that she'd slept all night long, considering she'd fallen asleep quickly after our conversation, skipping dinner altogether. I'd felt a little guilty about that; she had taken time out of her day to cook, and I'd ignored the effort, pulling her into my bedroom instead. So after she'd fallen asleep, I snuck back to the kitchen and cooked a small serving of fresh pasta, reheated the sauce and had some. It had been exquisite, and I'd said so in today's note. I'd put the rest in a plastic zipper baggie in the fridge for her to be able to eat for lunch today.

I was just starting to think about where to go for lunch when the phone on my desk rang, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I looked quickly at my schedule, making sure that I hadn't forgotten an appointment or something, but my calendar was clear for this hour. I picked up the phone with a tentative, "Hello?"

"Dr. Cullen?"

"Yes."

"This is Kate up front. There's a woman here to see you. She says her name is Bella and that she's your girlfriend." Kate sounded skeptical, as if she didn't believe Bella's claim. I could practically see Kate eyeing Bella up and down from here. Kate was attractive in a traditional way, blonde hair, blue eyes, plump red lips. In my eyes, though, she had nothing on Bella.

I was thrilled at the news of Bella's arrival, and ignored Kate's incredulity. "Thank you, Kate. I'll be right out." I hung up the phone and stood from my chair, walking briskly out of my office and through the corridors to the doorway that led to the waiting room. When I opened the door, a whole roomful of people, including Kate, looked up expectantly. It was quite amusing, actually, especially when I said, "Bella?" and the rest of them instantly went back to their various activities. She stood and walked over to me, grinning from ear to ear, clutching a paper sack in one hand. As soon as she was close enough for me to touch her, I placed my hand on the small of her back, leading her back through the door and allowing it to shut behind us. As soon as that door was shut, before we'd taken even one step closer to my office, she stopped and wrapped her arms around me in an intimate hug.

She kissed my jaw and said, "I didn't want to wait till six tonight, so I brought lunch to you. I hope that's okay."

Returning her hug, I glanced over her head at Kate, who was watching us, looking livid. "It is definitely okay," I assured Bella. I ushered her down the hallway into my office before she could see Kate's reaction to our embrace.

I opened my office door for her, and followed her in, closing the door behind us. "You have impeccable timing," I told her. "I was just trying to figure out whether or not to leave for lunch."

"Well, I'm glad I made it in time," she replied.

"Me, too. I'd much rather eat here with you than go out by myself."

She smiled and pulled out a deli sandwich, which had been cut into two pieces. Handing me one, she said, "Speaking of going out, do you have any big plans for tonight?"

I debated for a second teasing her about her presumptions that we would be going out, but decided against it after remembering last night. She'd seemed so fragile; I didn't want to break her down any further. "I do plan to take you out, but I do not plan to give you any details in advance," I told her.

"Well, aren't you a tease, doctor," she said coyly, smirking at me.

"Is it so wrong to want to surprise my girlfriend?" I asked her. The truth was that I didn't have a clue what we'd do tonight. I knew she wanted to go out, and I would take her, but my job didn't provide much opportunity for planning dates. I hoped she couldn't read the bluff on my face.

"Of course not," she replied sweetly, turning my favorite color of pink.

"Why are you blushing?" I asked, wanting to laugh, but holding back, not wanting to embarrass her further. Although, I couldn't figure out why she'd be embarrassed by anything I'd said.

"I just like hearing you say that. You know, calling me your girlfriend." She dropped her eyes to her lap as she spoke.

I was glad in that moment that I'd sat next to her in the second chair on the 'guest' side of my desk rather than putting the large piece of furniture between us. I reached over to her face and lifted her chin with one finger. When she was looking at me again, I whispered, "Not as much as I like saying it." The pink flush on her cheeks deepened until it could no longer be called pink; she was now fully red. She'd included kissing in her list of appropriate contact last night, so I leaned in and gently brushed my lips against hers. I sat back and took a bite of the sandwich.

"So, I have a question," she said, after returning to her normal color.

"Shoot."

"Why did you decide that you wanted to talk on the phone with me? You know, a couple months ago?"

I chuckled once and ran my free hand—the one not holding the sandwich—through my hair absentmindedly. "Well, it was right after I got the email from you saying that you were getting married. By that point, I'd already realized that I wanted to be with you, to be more than just your pen pal."

"Really? That long ago?" she breathed.

"Yeah. And if I'm being perfectly honest, I was frustrated by your news. I thought I was too late. You were getting married, that was it. I'd lost my chance. But then I was talking to Jasper one night after work, and he basically said that until you said those vows, it wasn't too late. He suggested that I not give up on you, despite your situation." I paused, looking at her face for some reaction, but for once, she hid her emotions well. "So, I guess it was a covert attempt to somehow win you over. Of course, I wasn't going to try to break up your engagement, but I wanted to make sure you knew you had options." We had both stopped eating at this point, and just sat there, watching each other as we talked. Realizing that I was no longer eating the sandwich, I set it down and reached over to gently touch her face. I continued talking as I stroked her cheeks. "After I sent that final piece of the instant message, the one with my phone number, I was so nervous."

"You were nervous? Why?"

"I was terrified that you were going to tell me to screw off, that you never wanted anything to do with me again. But at that point, it was too late; the request was already out there. So I sat there, palms sweating, heart practically pounding out of my chest, waiting for some sort of reaction from you. And then you called." I smiled at her, conveying without words the happiness I'd had upon seeing the unfamiliar phone number appear on my caller ID screen.

"I was afraid to make the call that first time, too," she admitted. "That's why it took me so long to call you. I must've dialed your number three or four times, and chickened out every time before I finally hit the send button. But then, when I heard your voice for the first time, it was totally worth it."

Stroking her face with the back of my hand, I said, "I agree." I chanced a glance at my wall clock, and realized that my free time was more than half over; I picked up the sandwich again and took another bite. "This is fabulous, thank you," I told her, gesturing the food.

"You're welcome," she said. She'd picked up her sandwich and taken another bite, too.

We ate in comfortable silence for several minutes, until the food was gone, then I reluctantly told her, "I should probably get back to work. My schedule picks up again soon." What I actually needed to do was plan the evening out.

"Okay. I'll miss you," she said, initiating the contact this time, and leaning in to kiss me gently.

Lifting my hand up to her hair, and allowing my fingers to weave into her locks, I held her in place for perhaps longer than was strictly necessary, but she didn't complain. In fact, when I pulled away after a moment, she sighed softly. "I'll miss you, too," I assured her. Then I had a sudden inspiration. Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out my wallet and extracted my Visa card. Handing it to her, I said, "Call my mom, and have her take you shopping. Find something fun and flirty you can wear tonight, but also comfortable." I was getting an idea of where I could take her, and I was already imagining her in a knee-length skirt. I hoped she'd pick the same type of outfit I was imagining right now. A visit to Navy Pier in the summertime was something no one should miss when vacationing in Chicago.

She eyed the credit card in my hand skeptically. "You don't have to give me your card; I have my own credit cards, I can afford my own clothes."

"True, but you also probably don't need new clothes right now, and I'm guessing you don't really like to splurge on yourself. I'm asking you to do just that, buy a new outfit, something really nice for our first official date. Because I'm requesting that you do this, it's only fair that I pay for it." The more I thought about this, the better the idea seemed. All the clothes she'd brought with her on this trip had been clothes she'd chosen for her honeymoon, and tonight, I didn't want that hanging over our heads. I wanted her in something new, something chosen especially for me.

"Fine," she said, taking the card.

"Use it. Please," I insisted, because even though she took the card, it looked like she was considering blowing off the request anyway.

"Okay," she agreed finally. "I'll call your mom and go shopping. With your card," she added, rolling her eyes.

"Thank you," I told her. I never wanted to overestimate anything with Bella. Now that she was here, and we were together, I never wanted to take anything she said or did with me for granted.

"So, I'll see you tonight, then?" she confirmed.

"Yeah. Wait at the apartment, and I'll meet you there. I'll need to grab a quick shower and change of clothes, and if you're ready, we'll leave right away."

"Okay, Edward. I look forward to it." She stood to leave, and I rose from my chair as well, walking with my hand on her back, guiding her to the door.

Kate was still sitting at her post behind the front desk, and when Bella and I emerged from my office, she was once again shooting daggers at us with her eyes. Bella glanced over and flinched when she saw Kate's glare aimed toward us. I leaned in and whispered through her hair, "Don't worry about her. She's just jealous of you." Bella looked up at me, blushing again, and smiled slightly. I spoke a little louder, making sure that Kate heard me, not out of pettiness, but just to drive the point home that she shouldn't try anything with me, "I love you, Bella. I'll see you tonight."

"I know you do," she responded. Then, with a quick kiss to my cheek, she was through the door and gone.

I stood there for a moment, still in awe that she was with me. Bella was my girlfriend. Mine. It had never really hit me until this very moment. And suddenly, I was feeling very possessive.

I don't know for sure how long I stood there, feeling that sense of possessiveness and pride rushing through me like adrenaline, but when I was finally able to pull myself out of my stupor, I saw Kate staring at me again. "What was that all about?" she practically snarled.

"What, lunch with my girlfriend?" I asked. "It was just that, lunch." I never had much issue with Kate before; she'd attempted to make advances toward me, but I'd always politely expressed to her that I wasn't interested. Whether Bella had agreed to be with me or not, there was no way I would have gone out with Kate regardless. I wasn't interested in mixing work with pleasure.

"So she was telling the truth?" Kate asked unbelievingly.

"Yes, Kate, Bella was telling the truth. We are together."

"And you're okay with her responding to 'I love you' with 'I know'?"

"You know what, Kate? You are out of line. I am a doctor in this clinic, and therefore your superior. I don't appreciate what you're implying. Frankly, it's none of your business, anyway. Now, I'm going back to my office; I have a few minutes left on my lunch break and some research to do. I trust that you have enough to keep you busy with your job, without continuing to hassle me about my personal life."

I was glad to see that my harsh words seemed to have done the trick. Kate was looking appropriately abashed. I walked briskly back to my office and spent what few minutes I had left of lunch confirming the details I'd need to know for our visit to Navy Pier tonight. There were a few things I wasn't sure of; I hadn't been there since I was child. I finished the research I needed to do regarding our date just as it was time for my first afternoon appointment. I walked into the examination room and greeted my patient, trying very hard to keep my contented grin in check.

x-x-x

The rest of the afternoon passed more quickly than I would have thought, considering what I had to look forward to that evening. Before I knew it, it was six o'clock and the clinic was closing for the evening. I avoided Kate as I walked through the waiting room and out the front door of the clinic to the parking lot. I unlocked and got into my Aston Martin V12 Vanquish that had been a gift from my grandparents when I'd finished medical school. I took the back way home to avoid as much of the traffic as possible, and made it there in record time; I was home by 6:15.

When I got home, Bella was not waiting at the door for me. I decided that she was probably getting ready, considering I was early. I walked down the short hall toward the bathroom and my suspicions were confirmed when I heard the shower running. I needed a shower before we went out, too, but I didn't want to walk in on her. So I went to my computer to kill time waiting for her to finish. I could have just used the other bathroom, but there was no rush and I didn't want to freak her out by having the second shower running when she emerged. It wasn't long before the water turned off. I stood and walked toward the bathroom, hoping she'd come out and finish getting ready in one of the bedrooms so that I could shower. Of course, that also had the added benefit of seeing her in a towel, and I was not disappointed.

Within seconds of my walk down the hallway, the door opened and Bella came tumbling out. Literally. She was wrapped in a towel, just like I'd imagined, and she tripped over something I couldn't see on the floor, falling flat on her face as the towel fell off of her, leaving her wet and naked on my floor. I tried to avert my eyes, and reached out to help her up. "Are you okay, Bella?"

She jumped in surprise; apparently, she hadn't seen me. Recovering quickly from her shock, she said, "What are you doing here?" She rose slowly, and still avoiding looking anywhere but at her eyes, I reached out to help her up.

"I live here, remember?" I laughed.

"Right. I meant, what are you doing here so soon? I thought you said six thirty?" She was standing now, and had replaced the towel so that it was covering her private areas.

"I wanted to see you. Of course, I didn't expect to see quite so much after our discussion last night, but I'm not complaining." She turned a brilliant shade of red, and I smiled down at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you." I grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom where her suitcase was. "I need a turn in the shower, so go ahead and finish getting ready in here; I'll be out soon and we can go."

"Okay," she agreed.

When I exited the bathroom after finishing in the shower, I draped my towel around my waist and walked into my bedroom to find it vacant. I finished drying and dressed quickly in jeans and a black button-down shirt, anxious to see my Bella again.

Once I was dressed, I walked to the living room and found her sitting gingerly on the edge of the couch, looking stunning in a royal blue dress. It stopped right at her knees, flowing from under her bust, where it looked like there was a wide belt made from the same material as the rest of the dress. The top came up in a 'v' pattern and wrapped around her neck. Her chestnut hair was flowing around her shoulders, and the combination of her hair and dress accentuated her collarbone beautifully. As soon as I saw her, I stopped walking and stared, because she had truly taken my breath away.

She noticed me stop and smiled, obviously pleased with my reaction to her dress. "Is this fun and flirty enough for you?" she murmured, standing and walking toward me.

I cleared my throat. "Er, yeah. Definitely. You look amazing."

"Thank you, Edward. And thank you for the dress, too."

Coming back to my senses, I wrapped one arm around her shoulder and said, "You are more than welcome. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, let's go!" She was positively glowing.

We rode the elevator down, and because it was evening, I knew James was on duty. I held Bella close to me as we walked through the lobby, knowing that he made her uncomfortable. I didn't understand it; he'd never been anything but nice to me, but I was prepared to protect Bella from any threat, real or imagined. Wisely, James didn't try anything tonight; he simply bid us a nice evening.

When we got to the parking lot, I pushed the button on my keychain to disengage the automatic locks. I helped her into the car and shut the door gently behind her. Once I had joined her in the car, she said, "Wow; I've never been in a car this fancy before."

"It was a gift from my grandparents when I finished medical school," I explained. "My parents weren't thrilled with them giving me such an extravagant gift, but my grandfather was persistent. In his opinion, it was a big enough deal that he wanted to acknowledge it. So here we are."

"Wow. I've never gotten a gift like this before," she murmured.

"You will," I promised her. I would make sure of that.

After a few moments of silence, she asked, "So, where are we going this beautiful summer evening?"

"Someplace you can't skip when visiting Chicago," I told her. "Navy Pier."

"Ooh, I've heard of it. This'll be fun," she said.

I first took her to my favorite place for dinner, and afterward we did all the typical Pier activities, including the famous Ferris wheel. When we'd played carnival games, and ridden rides, and eaten so much junk food we both thought we would be sick, we stood standing on the actual pier of Navy Pier, looking out over Lake Michigan. We were holding hands with our fingers intertwined, just watching the water in silence. When she spoke, it was nearly a whisper. "I'm really enjoying myself tonight, Edward. In fact, every day with you has been incredible, but do you know what my favorite part of all has been?"

"What?" I asked.

"Meeting you in the airport. The way you held my hand that night was so…sweet. Like you didn't want to let go."

"I didn't," I said, squeezing her hand now in emphasis of my words. "Still don't." She looked at me and smiled.

"That night was kind of scary, too, though," she said tentatively.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I knew how you felt then, of course, but I was with Emmett still. Then seeing you, and feeling you, and really knowing that you were real, I wasn't sure what to think. Up until that very moment when you grabbed me into that hug, I'd been so sure that I was making the right decision, being with him. But then you touched me, and it was like an electric spark, you know what I mean?"

"I do. I felt that, too. I still feel it every time I touch you."

She beamed at me, pleased that I felt the physical connection between our two bodies. "But I was scared, because for the first time, I wondered whether or not I was doing the right thing. It was so close to the wedding, though, that I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize my relationship with Emmett. Turns out it didn't matter anyway," she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey." I paused until she looked at me. "You did nothing wrong. You have to believe that. You upheld your end of the bargain; you were ready to take the vows. The blame lies solely with him." This was a point I kept trying to drive home, and I hoped she understood, though I was never sure.

"You know what else I liked?" she went on, not acknowledging my previous statement at all.

"What's that?"

"The way I felt when I heard your voice on the phone. After we hung up that first time, all I wanted was to hear your voice again. I didn't know how I'd gone so long without hearing it. From that very first call, I began to crave hearing your voice."

I smirked. I'd always been pretty humble, but she was really feeding my ego tonight. "I loved talking to you, too. I was glad when we added that dimension to our relationship. Even the time you called me all mad because I'd sent the wrong letter."

"You know, that was an interesting phone call. I was so mad when I first called you, but your voice, your demeanor was so concerned, and ashamed, and sorrowful and you sounded so sincere that I just couldn't stay mad. It was kind of a weird sensation. I really wanted to be mad at you that night, and we ended up talking for a long time instead. And I enjoyed every minute of it."

"I still am sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't be. I'm glad you sent that letter. I have no idea what I would've done…that night if I hadn't been sure of your feelings."

"I thought you said you didn't know whose door you'd crashed into," I reminded her.

"Okay. Then, I don't know what I would have done the next morning," she amended.

"Well, I'm glad I had the room right across from you guys so that you could bump into my door."

"Me, too."

She shivered, and I noticed that she didn't have a jacket with her. The sun had set, and without its beams shining down, the temperature had dropped drastically. I removed my jacket and moved to stand behind her while she peered out over the water. I wrapped my jacket around her shoulders and hugged her close to me. Before much more time had passed, the fireworks started. It was a tradition on Navy Pier, the fireworks. We stood and watched them exploding over the water in dozens of different colors. When the first one exploded with a big, deep boom, I whispered in her ear, "Those are my favorites; the low booms."

The very next one was the kind that crackles and sounds like a steak sizzling when it first hits a hot pan. "Those are my favorites," she told me. The fireworks continued for over thirty minutes and when they'd finished, Bella was completely awestruck. "That was much more impressive than any of the fireworks shows in Seattle," she murmured.

"It is a good show," I agreed. "I'm glad you enjoyed it; I thought you would."

"I did. Thank you for bringing me." Just then Bella turned around in my arms and wrapped hers around my waist, resting her head on my chest, while I kept my arms wrapped snugly around her. It was a perfect night, I thought, a beautiful first date, the first of many, I hoped. We stood there at the Pier for a while longer, rocking back and forth, holding each other close and just enjoying the moment.

Then I kissed the top of her head as I asked her, "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes, Edward, let's go home."

A/N: Yes, I know that this chapter takes place on a Tuesday, and that Navy Pier only does fireworks on Wednesdays and Saturdays (I did my research *smile*), but this is a fictional story, so I took a slight liberty there.

Thanks for reading, please review! Remember to check out Bella's dress at

http:/s892(dot)photobucket(dot)com(slash)albums(slash)ac121(slash)wmr1601(slash)PP%20Story%20pics(slash)?action=view¤t=PPdresschapter14(dot)jpg

That's kind of complicated; it'd probably just be easier for you to find the link, which is on my profile :).