Chapter 25

My day seemed to drag on forever. Edward was gone before I woke, as he had rounds at the medical center. And things continued to go downhill from there.

The hours that followed were filled with the monotony of paperwork, phone calls, and general business boredom. More and more I've found myself toying with the idea of giving up this job and starting out fresh. Although, I am making more money now than ever – thanks to Aro and the other clients he's sent my way. But, as I am currently experiencing, money does not buy happiness.

Shortly after my morning coffee break, I realized that I never got an address or meeting time from Edward. I still had no idea where his place was and no clue if our tenuous dinner plans were still on after my big mistake yesterday. He had said he wouldn't hold it against me, but I felt like our progress was at risk.

I decided to shoot him a text and find out.

Hey Beautiful! Hope your day is going well. Just checking in on this evening's plans...let me know

The day continued on in its dull regularity and there was no response from Edward. I was a nervous wreck and getting more anxious by the hour. At first, I made up good excuses for his lack of reply – he was probably busy doing rounds, talking with a supervisor, working with a patient, eating lunch, etc, etc. But, after about 6 hours, my imagined excuses were running thin and my imagination was running wild. Maybe I really had screwed everything up. Maybe he'd changed his mind. Maybe, maybe, maybe….

All the maybes were driving me crazy.

When my work day was done and still no word from my man, I began to full on panic.

I wanted to call him, but was feeling a bit hesitant. Maybe he really was doing something important and I was just being silly. I didn't know what to think.

Frustrated with myself, I made my way home and changed into some workout clothes. I took a quick 15 minute run, conscious of the time, and then returned to my apartment. There, I started doing pushups, just to get out some of my nervous energy. My phone was right next to me the whole time.

Next, I moved on to jumping jacks, followed by crunches, and then repeated the process all over again. After the 3rd round, I decided to grab a shower and pray for a missed call or text by the time I was finished.

No such luck.

I was hyped up, and scared out of my wits.

It was only six o'clock, but I was losing hope for our evening plans.

So, I decided to do the only thing I could think of to calm me down. I called Rosie.

We hadn't spoken in over a week and I knew my best friend could talk some sense into me, or at least distract me for a while.

"Hey Em, what's up?" she answered after the first ring.

"Hey Rose," I attempted to sound cheery. "How's it going?"

"Alright, spill it bud," she countered. "What's wrong?"

She always was too intuitive for her own good, especially where I was concerned.

"You know me too well woman," I responded with a smile.

"Of course I do. Well, let me hear it… You okay?" she prodded after a few beats of silence.

"I don't know Rose," I sighed, "I'm probably being stupid…"

"Well, what else is new?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," I shot back. Typical Rose, always telling it like it is. That's why I love her.

"But, seriously Rosie, I'm not sure if I'm overreacting or under-reacting… I don't know if I should be more pushy and persistent or if it's time to back off and give some space?"

"Well honey, I think I'm going to need a bit more to go on before I can weigh in on this," she replied with sarcasm and an underlying concern in her tone.

"Right, well Edward finally invited me to his place."

"You're kidding!" Rose exclaimed.

"I know! I was pretty stoked…but now I don't know what to think."

"Because…?"

"Well…it was supposed to be for tonight and I texted him hours ago… and nothing all day," I lamented.

"What did you do, Em?" she scolded.

"Hey now," I defended myself, "what makes you think I did anything?"

"Oh, give it a rest Emmett. I know you. Speak first, think later. So what did you say this time?"

"I take offense to that…" I huffed. "But, I called him Eddie and he freaked out a bit. I mean…he has revealed some of his past to me…and it's so awful Rose. He's been through a lot and I don't even know all of it yet. And I think… I think that name must have brought back some bad memories for him. But, he assured me that everything was okay between us and I thought he was right, but…" I trailed off.

"Now he won't talk to you," she finished for me.

"Right," I responded glumly.

"Well," she began after a thoughtful pause, "I really don't think he's mad at you. It was an honest mistake and he basically said as much. He's probably just scared Em. If he's been through some rough times and has confided in you…then he's probably feeling exposed and afraid."

"Maybe you're right, but what do I do? Should I just leave him be until he's ready? I don't want to push him too hard and scare him away."

"Emmett, my silly old bear, you may think you are scary but it's just not so. You might stick your foot in your mouth and act like a fool, but you're just a big softie and you are never too pushy. If Edward's scared, it's because of him and not you…I think you should call him," she finished matter-of-factly.

"But…" I began.

"No buts," she said firmly. "Don't waste your time with texts. Get off of this phone right now and call your man. Be your sensitive, caring self and just talk to him. If he's not ready for you to come by, then tell him you'll wait."

"Of course I'll wait. I've already told him that I don't want to rush him into anything. I think I …I'm in love with him Rosie. I just don't want to lose him."

"Em, calling him and being honest is not going to make you lose him. Truly. And if it does, then he isn't worthy of you."

"I guess…" I allowed.

"Ok Em. I am hanging up right now and you are going to call Edward. I will call you in 15 minutes to check in and if you haven't called him by then…well you don't want to know what I'm going to do to you," she threatened.

"Ooh, I'm shaking," I joked, though Rose could be quite terrifying and I had no doubt she would put me in my place.

"Well, you should be! Emmett, I love you. Call Edward, now!"

And she hung up on me. Just like that.

Gotta love my Rosie.

I didn't waste any time and dialed the number to my sweet and confusing man, before I could lose my nerve. If my hands were a bit shaky and sweaty, thankfully no one was here to see it.

It went straight to voicemail. Of course it did. I groaned loudly, threw the phone on the couch, and put my head in my hands.

Then I took a deep breath, counted to ten and tried again.

It rang.

It rang again.

Then it stopped.

Silence.

"He-Hello?" came the shaky answer. The voice was too quiet to distinguish, but it almost sounded feminine.

"Edward? Is that you?" I asked unsurely.

The line remained silent before erupting in a flurry of noise and commotion. It sounded as if the phone was being stomped on or possibly thrown into a blender. And mixed between the jarring thuds, I could hear voices and whispers, like the phone was being passed through a crowd.

Finally the racket ceased, and a high tinkling female voice spoke, "This must be the famous Emmett that I've heard so much about. I can't wait to finally meet you. Edward, here, has kept you away from me for much too long. It simply isn't fair."

"Right. And you are?" I questioned.

"Oh silly me," she continued merrily. "I'm Alice! I am busy trying to talk Edward into keeping your dinner date for tonight. You should see all the work he's put into this meal. You're going to love it! Oh, and his outfit is to die for! I helped him pick it out myself, and my taste is impeccable if I must say. You will be absolutely drooling when you see him. That is, if he gets over himself enough to actually talk to you…"

Her discourse was interrupted by more thuds and hushed murmurs, until a familiar voice came on the line.

"Emmett…hi," was uttered uncertainly.

"Hey beautiful," I said instantly calming. "What the heck was all that?"

He snorted a bit before answering, "Oh, that's my best friend Alice. She likes to talk a lot and she's rather pushy…hey!" he yelped in response to what I can only assume was Alice's form of retaliation.

"So…yeah," he continued more seriously. "I owe you an apology Emmett. I'm sorry that I blew off your text today. I…well I guess I was kind out freaked out about tonight. I really want you to come over, but I guess…I just…"

"You're not ready yet?" I reasoned.

"I want to be ready," he whispered. "You mean so much to me Emmett and I want to be ready for this."

"It's okay Edward. If you're not ready, then you're not. I can wait," I assured him.

"But I don't want you to always be waiting for me to get it together. It's not fair," he complained in a much firmer voice.

"Ed, babe, this is a relationship. I care about you and right now you need some time. That's okay. But, please don't shut me out. If you're scared or nervous or whatever, just please tell me. It killed me today, not knowing what was going on or what you were thinking."

"I'm sorry," he responded in a small voice.

"I'm not berating you babe. I just want you to know that I am here and I need to know what's going on. Even if it's bad news or if you need some space from me. Just, please keep me in the loop."

"Yeah…you're right Emmett. I'm kind of a sucky boyfriend."

"Hey, that's my man you're talking about!" I exclaimed.

He giggled and I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "Okay, okay. Thanks baby."

"Sure thing."

"So…" he began quietly, "I think…would you…do you still want to come over?"

I paused for a moment before speaking. "Are you sure babe? I don't want you to feel pressured by me, or by Alice. It's okay if you're not ready. Really Edward."

"I know Em. I believe you…and that's why I want you to come over. I won't lie and say that I'm not scared. I am a bit of a mess, actually. But, please, will you come to dinner?"

I could almost feel him holding his breath in nervous anticipation of my reply. I couldn't keep him waiting, "Of course, Edward. I would love to. What's the address?"

***EE***EE***EE***EE***EE***EE***EE***EE***EE***EE ***EE***

Edward's neighborhood was nice. Really nice. Not that my apartment was a dump or anything, but man this was a posh area. Huge homes, some Victorian in style and others more modern, but all marvelously maintained with picket fences and gorgeous gardens. I'd definitely never been to this area of town before.

When the GPS told me I'd arrived at my destination, my jaw dropped a little. My Edward had been seriously holding out on me. This was no ordinary apartment or townhouse, this was a full on beautiful home. Why the heck had we been hanging at my place?

Okay, I knew why. But still! I hadn't even gotten out of my car yet, and this place was awesome. It was not a mansion, or as huge as some of the other places in the area. But, it was a good size and had a sort of cottage-like charm to it.

Ivy trailed along the front wall of the two story red brick home, offset with green and brown trim. The front yard was fairly small, but lush with trees and flowers in vibrant autumn colors. I may as well have been looking at a postcard, or the cover of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Dang. My place paled in comparison to this. Actually, my place couldn't even begin to compare with this.

Suddenly, I was nervous. This was a really big deal. Edward was letting me into his home – his freaking incredible house – and into his life. What if I screwed it all up?

I breathed deep and wiped my sweating palms on my dark wash jeans. After stowing the GPS, I straightened my grey sport coat, and headed up the cobblestone walkway to the home of my sweet and secretive man.

I hesitated a moment, trying to decide whether to knock or ring the bell. Yeah, I'm a big dork. As I reached up to knock, the door flew open and I was attacked by a tiny creature, with spiky brown hair, who I could only assume was Alice.

She literally jumped on me, throwing her legs around my waist and squeezing me tighter than I would have thought possible for someone her size. After several long moments, that were quite awkward on my part, she jumped down, straightened my clothes for me and gave me a long appraising look. She then clapped her hands and giggled like a little fairy before squealing, "Hi Emmett! I'm Alice, if you hadn't guessed. And you are every bit as yummy as Edward said! And you smell good too!"

"Um, thanks?" I stuttered out.

And just then, my man appeared. He was shushing Alice and looking sweetly embarrassed at her comments. "That's enough Alice," he murmured quietly as he caught my eye. He gave me a shy smile and I returned it affectionately.

Alice was correct. Edward did look wonderful, in fitted grey trousers and a cream knitted sweater. Adding in the perfectly tousled hair and deep green eyes – I was struck, once again, by the beauty that was Edward.

We all hung there in a little moment of uncertainty. Normally I would have said something off the cuff and invited myself in, but this time was different. Entering this doorway was a big deal to Edward and I had to let him do the inviting. I think Alice realized that as well, because she seemed the type that would have already dragged me inside and given me the grand tour on her own.

"Well," Alice began in a more subdued manner, "I'll just go and make sure the food's okay and then I'm outta here." Her tone brightened again as she continued, "It's good to finally meet you Emmett. Next time, I'm staying around and we'll talk!"

"Sounds good," I replied as she flitted forward and pecked me on the cheek.

She then leaned over and whispered quietly to Edward. Her lips were moving so fast, I couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was saying. After kissing him too, and giving me a final wave, she disappeared off to what I assumed was the kitchen.

And then it was just me and Edward, standing on opposite sides of the threshold and unsure of what the next move should be.

"Hey," he said quietly, after a few beats of silence.

"Hey babe," I answered just as softly.

"So, yeah… This is my place."

"It's beautiful, Edward," I said with a smile. "And so are you."

"Thanks. I, uh…" he was shifting nervously from one foot to the other and I just couldn't take it anymore.

I reached across and took his hand in mine. I didn't step forward or say anything, but he squeezed my hand, nodded and heaved a large sigh.

"Please, come in Emmett," he said, eyes filled with sincerity.

"Yeah?" I asked just to be sure.

"Yeah," he replied with a small smile.