Okay, so it took me a few days longer to get this chapter out there! I ended up having to split this one in two parts. I originally planned for the date and dinner at Esme and Carlisle's to be this chapter, but E & B seemed to have a lot more to say than I thought.
I've also posted a poll to my profile about the future outtake/outtakes. Please let me know what you guys think! And thanks for reading and reviewing!
EPOVI never imagined I'd completely lose it as emotionally as I did in Dr. Banner's office; especially over a child that wasn't biologically mine. But it hit my heart all the same. Bella was giving me the greatest gift she could possibly give. When I had looked into her eyes upon the first sound of the heartbeat, the dam of tears broke. Our baby–mine in all the ways that mattered–was healthy and thriving inside of my beautiful Bella. I'm not sure life got any better than that. Granted, we had a long way to go before he or she was brought into the world, but watching Bella's body change with the pregnancy would make the wait worthwhile. I just couldn't seem to find all the words to express the joy in my heart and the millions of thoughts going through my head.
We now sat in the car, headed to the pharmacy to fill her prescription for prenatal vitamins, wearing smiles a mile wide and in possession of the baby's first picture. I was ecstatic just thinking about the fun we would have tomorrow night when we showed the picture to my parents. It had been so nice to sit with her in the doctor's office and joke around like we normally did. Though I could have gone without Bella's teasing reminder of yesterday's romp in our office, it was a nice change from the hell of the past few weeks.
Bella held my hand tightly atop the center console as I drove. Many looks were shared between us–a few stolen–and each time I caught her staring, that blush I loved so much would grace her face.
I began thinking about where exactly I was going to take her tonight. I'd really gotten ahead of myself by telling her that I'd take her out tonight. Not that I didn't want to, because I did; I just had no idea what to do. All I knew for sure was that I would be taking her out to dinner. Alhough I had a few in mind, I'd yet to decide on a place and was completely lost about what to do afterward. The most fucked up part of the whole thing was that back when we were just friends, I'd have already had the whole evening planned.
But no; we'd added a romantic relationship to that, and while I'd wined and dined a girl before–I'd never wined and dined Bella. I'd never even told a woman, apart from Alice and my mother, that I loved them; until Bella. She deserved the world, and I was hell-bent on giving it to her. But I also knew her, and if I planned anything extravagant, she'd kill me.
Bella was different from any other woman I knew. She despised her birthday, loathed parties, and you could fucking forget buying the girl anything. There was one time back in college, while dickhead was in Iraq, that I sent Bella roses, candy, and a stuffed bear for Valentine's Day. I didn't want her to be alone, or to think she wasn't cared for; that and I felt too much for her not to give her something, regardless of whether she knew of my feelings or not. Bella had called me just as I walked out of my criminal justice class and reamed me about spending money on her. I could laugh about the whole thing now, but at the time, it both hurt and pissed me off, which had resulted in me hanging up on her. Not able to remain angry at each other, Bella called later that night, extremely upset about how she'd treated me over the phone. She begged me to meet her for a midnight snack at the all night pizza parlor that was equal distances from our campuses. Of course, loving her like I did, I was more than willing to oblige and we spent the remainder of the night until early morning talking and just being us.
We paid for it later in the day when our massive amount of ingested pizza disagreed with us. Bella hung out with me in my dorm room where we both proceeded to guzzle down antacids and sulk on the couch with old movies. Needless to say, we'd stayed away from late night pizza ever since.
The thing that always irritated the shit out of me with her was the fact that she found it perfectly acceptable for her to spend any amount of money that she wanted on me. Hypocritical, right? I'd even told her so once and I was never doing that again. Bella could be downright terrifying when she was pissed off. No one in their right mind would want to be on the opposite end of a stick with an enraged Bella Swan.
Tonight was different though. We had a new label on our relationship, and she was going to have to get used to me spoiling her because it was now in my job description. Honestly, the more I thought about what would make Bella swoon, the more I realized that special moments for Bella and I always seemed to happen when it was the two of us; no one else around.
"E?" Bella's voice softly broke through my over-active mind. I glanced over at her with a smile, bringing our clasped hands to my lips.
"Yeah, babe?"
"You know you don't have to take me out tonight, right? If you want to do it another time, that's fine by me."
I arched my brow in confusion. "Why would you say that?"
Bella snorted and chuckled at the same time. "Edward, how long have we known each other?"
"Where are you going with this?"
"I know you and the way your mind works. I'm not so blind that I didn't notice you were speaking on a whim when you asked me. Can you honestly tell me that you've already got it all planned out?"
And there's the consequence of having been such close friends beforehand. DAMMIT!
"Bella, I didn't ask you on a whim. What do you take me for?" I laughed, refusing to meet her eyes.
"You're a horrible liar, E, and you know it," she muttered with a shake of her head.
"All right, look woman, so I may have asked you on a whim, but give me some credit. I've got a fairly good idea of where I'm taking you to eat. Now I'll admit, I haven't quite decided on what we should do after, but I do have some ideas floating around in my head, oh ye of such little faith," I tsk'd smugly.
"Oh, shut it you. I was just trying to tell you that it's not something you have to do; I'd be just as happy to cuddle up to you with a good movie."
"Okay, tell me the truth, baby. Are you too tired, really? Cause if you are, you aren't going to hurt my feelings by preferring to stay home tonight."
She suddenly baffled me further by throwing her head back against the seat and groaning loudly. "No, I'm not too tired…gah…nevermind."
I couldn't help but laugh at her. "We are both over-thinking this. I just know you get tired of being cooped up inside the loft all day, and we've been together for two weeks already. I'm seriously slacking in the boyfriend department," I mumbled as we came to a stop outside the pharmacy and I threw the car in park. There were three cars ahead of us so it would be awhile.
"You're kidding, right?" Bella laughed, turning her body towards me in her seat, her brow furrowed.
"No, I'm not. Baby, I've been working around the clock, it seems. Here it is, two weeks later, and I still haven't fully caught up. I go to work at the crack of dawn and come home, only to continue to work until I can no longer keep my eyes open. I haven't been here for you like I should be."
"I swear, you're lucky I love you so much because right now, I want to just beat the shit out of you," she gritted out, fixing me with her eyes. "Edward, we both knew that you weren't going to be able to stay home with me forever. Your work schedule is nothing that I'm not used to myself. If I weren't on a leave of absence, we'd be seeing even less of each other and you know that, so stop being so hard on yourself. Yes, your work load as of late has been crazy, but at the end of the day, you're still there to hold me in your arms while we sleep; you're still there to kiss and have breakfast with every morning. I know if there is ever anything I need, all I have to do is pick up the phone and call," she told me softly, reaching over to cup my cheek. "Things will slow down in the next few weeks, and we'll have more time together, okay? I'm not worried and you shouldn't be either. But don't you ever tell me you haven't been there for me."
I glanced at the line ahead, which still hadn't moved, then looked back at Bella. She was glaring at me. Obviously I'd said the wrong thing.
"I'm sorry, love," I whispered and leaned over, bringing my lips to hers for a soft kiss.
A strangled whimper passed her lips as she pulled away and clutched her stomach suddenly, turning herself back around and beginning to fidget.
"Bella, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Any chance you can park the car and we go inside?"
"Why?" I asked slowly, narrowing my eyes and smirking when a thought crossed my mind. I stretched my hand out, poking her lower abdomen and earning a firm slap to the wrist.
"Oh my God! Don't do that! You are such an ass! Just go park the car, okay?" Bella nearly shouted, trying not to laugh. I struggled to keep my laughter contained and threw the car in reverse, but apparently not soon enough. Someone pulled in behind me, effectively boxing me in before I could move an inch.
I was afraid to look at her at this point. There was nothing I could do. I could literally feel her eyes burning holes in me. Even as she stared me down, I could see her squirming in her seat from my peripheral vision. The more I thought about our situation, the more humor I found it and when she actually fucking whined, I lost it. I completely fell apart in laughter, doing my best to protect my face and head with my arms as Bella began to assault me with slaps to the chest and biceps.
Wiping the tears that had leaked from my eyes, I moved the car up in line, bringing us that much closer. "Look, it's down to two cars in front now."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she shrieked with a scowl on her face. "I can't believe I let you talk me into drinking the second bottle of water. I've never had to pee so badly in my fucking life."
Both hands came up to palm my face as I silently lost control once more. My shoulders shook violently and I could hear Bella muttering to herself.
"This isn't funny, E!"
"I-I'm s-sorry! I can't h-help it!" I laughed, tilting my head back against the seat.
"That's it. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you laugh at my discomfort," she whined petulantly. I heard the door open and instantly snapped my eyes to hers.
"Oh come on, baby! I'm sorry! Where are you going?"
"I'm going inside, jackass. Meet you at the front of the store," she growled before hastily darting around the front of the car, flipping me off in the process as I laughed at her more. I knew I probably should have been a bit more sensitive to how she was probably in pain from needing the restroom so badly, but I hadn't laughed like that in months; it felt great. And I definitely wouldn't be making the mistake of trying to force water down her throat again.
Nearly another ten minutes passed before the car in front of me drove off. I sighed loudly to myself in relief and inched the car up to the window.
"Hi, how can I help you?"
"I have a prescription that needs to be filled," I answered the person behind the window as I slid the paper into the tray they pushed out to me.
"Sir, have we filled for Ms. Swan before?"
Fuck! I don't know!
"I'm not sure."
"Okay, sir, I searched our database under her name and I'm showing nothing. Do you have her insurance card with you?"
You've got to be fucking kidding me!I thought to myself as I glanced over into the passenger seat and noticed she'd taken her purse.
"No, I don't. She's actually inside the store now, and she took her purse with her."
"I understand. We can page her if you'd like?"
"That would be great, thanks." The pharmacist nodded as I pulled away and drove around to the front of the building to wait for Bella. I just knew she was going to give me shit over this. Hell, for all I knew, she had taken her purse purposely, knowing I'd need that information.
I took the time to phone Alice, praying she'd have some suggestions for what to do tonight.
"Brother dear," she answered in a sing song voice.
"Alice, I need your help."
"Oh well this must be good if you're asking me for help," she laughed.
"Yeah, yeah. Listen, I'm taking Bella out on a date tonight and other than dinner, I have no earthly idea what to do."
"Seriously? Edward, you've been on dates a dozen times. Surely you can come up with something."
"Alice, this is Bella I'm talking about. I don't want to treat her like every other girl, and this is our first date. You know how she is about me spending money on her."
"Oh my God, it really is the first date for you two! Honestly, Eddie, I don't know what to tell you for once. She can't do too much because she isn't fully healed, so the only thing I can come up with right now is maybe a stroll along the docks?"
"You don't think it's too cold for that?"
"Not if both of you bundle up, and judging from what I've seen of you since you've been together, I'm sure the warmth from the two of you hugging and snuggling will surely make up for the rest. Wow, you've really kind of put yourself in a pickle, huh?" she laughed again.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you're supposed to have this all pre-planned, silly! I'm sure whatever you do, Bella will be happy with it. Hell, she'd probably be fine with just you and a movie."
I couldn't help but laugh. "That's exactly what Bella said a few minutes ago."
"Edward! You aren't seriously asking for my advice with her sitting next to you, are you?"
"Of course not, Alice! She's in the store picking up her vitamins."
"Oh that's right! How'd the appointment go?" she asked excitedly.
"It went great, or not so great depending on how you want to look at it. We got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. The downside was she couldn't pee on demand," I told her, unable to stop the chuckle that escaped.
"Don't laugh at her! The poor thing; I bet she was so embarrassed and knowing you, you probably teased her about it!"
I could see her in my mind raising her brow with a smirk as she tapped her foot with her hands on her hips.
"Not too much. I'll let her tell you the whole story," I laughed as I glanced up to the doors and noticed a smirking Bella walking towards the car. "Shit, Alice, I gotta go. Bella's coming."
"Ok, good luck," she squealed before the line went dead. I quickly put my phone away as Bella opened the car door and slid into her seat.
"I suppose I should have told you that I'd never filled here before," she snickered as I glared back playfully with a smile.
"You little minx, you did that on purpose. I take it that that was your payback for me teasing and laughing at you?"
Bella guffawed with widened eyes. "I did not do that on purpose! It's just a habit that I take my purse with me each time I leave the car," she explained sheepishly before turning her gaze to me. She seemed to be studying me and I was beginning to wonder if I had something on my fucking face.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Come here," she whispered as leaned towards me. I skeptically did as she asked and as I met her in the middle, her hand fisted in my shirt and slowly pulled me the rest of the way to her. The soft touch of Bella's lips against mine took me off guard. The electric shock that shot through me each time we touched hit me with great force as I gently kissed her back, gradually sliding my tongue into the warmth of her mouth to wrap around hers. Bella, deepened our kiss by pressing harder against me and before I could reciprocate, she was already pulling back with a moan. Our mouths separated with a wet sound and my eyes immediately caught sight of her seductively licking her lips as though she were savoring the flavor as she groaned…with her fucking eyes closed.
My pants suddenly became tighter and my throat dry. We only had time to change clothes once we got home before we were to make our way out for our date so it looked like this was going to be a long fucking night, unless I somehow managed to sneak into the bathroom and relieve myself before we left.
"Holy fucking hell…not that I mind, but what was that all about?" I croaked in a rough voice as I looked into her now open eyes.
"Does it have to be about anything?" she whispered, lowering her eyes. What the hell? "Can't I kiss you just because?"
I reached out, taking her hand in mine and placed a kiss to her knuckles. "Baby, you can kiss me like that anytime, anywhere. Trust me, I'm not complaining. If anything, you've got me thinking about canceling our date just so I can take you to bed."
Bella laughed and mussed up my hair with her free hand. "What am I going to do with you, Cullen?" she sighed wistfully. "You are not canceling our date. Now, if after we get home, you still want to play, we'll talk," she purred, leaning over once more and pecking my lips before returning to her seat and buckling her seat belt.
I stared after her, my pants now extremely uncomfortable, waiting for her to glance over at me. Once she did, I mouthed the word 'evil' to her then started the car and headed home.
BPOVA date.
Edward was actually taking me out on our first date tonight and although we'd actually been together for a few weeks now, butterflies ran wild in my stomach. I was incredibly nervous, no matter how ridiculous it seemed. I could only hope and pray that he didn't take me to the most expensive restaurant in Seattle. I didn't want him to spend a fortune on me. He'd already done enough and I didn't trust myself not to throw a fit if he spent too much. It had always been an ongoing argument between us; even in our college days.
Today had given me glimpses of how we used to be before James came back into our lives. We joked around and teased each other all day with most of the teasing coming from Edward. So when I got into his car at the pharmacy and saw him sitting there looking gorgeous as always and smiling at me, I'd been hit with an urge to kiss him and I couldn't fight it. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't my favorite kiss to date that we'd shared. I worried for a moment when he asked what it was all about until he encouraged me to do it again; anytime, anywhere. And I had to admit, his suggestion of canceling our date and taking me to bed was tempting as all hell, but we needed a night out. Even if it was just to a damn mom and pop restaurant, he and I needed some normalcy outside of that loft.
Suddenly I was hit with the need to see Alice. I wanted to look my best for Edward tonight and my bruises hadn't completely faded; that and I needed her fashion expertise as far as what I was going to wear. The pixie could drive me to wanting to blow my head off, but she was a genius when it came to getting dolled up. I worried on my bottom lip with my teeth and glanced at Edward out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure out a way to bring it up to him. His eyes were focused on the road as he hummed along to a random song on the radio.
"Spit it out, B," his voice broke through the silence, completely startling me.
"What?"
"Whatever it is that's got you tearing up your lip like that. Spit. It. Out."
"I'll never understand how you do that," I mumbled, looking at him as he answered with a wink. My breath hitched as he now knew, thanks to my verbal diarrhea, that it did things to me. "Would you mind if I asked Alice over to help me get ready?"
"To get ready? For tonight?" he questioned, his brows pinched together. "Bella, why do you think you need her help?"
"I just…don't make me answer that, E. Please?"
I could see the disapproval in his eyes. Edward was too smart for his own good. I knew he knew what I was alluding to.
"B, you have nothing to be ashamed of, and I've already told you, nothing could mar your beauty." He then glanced at me and squeezed my hand, which he'd been holding, a little tighter before sighing loudly. "I don't mind if you have Alice help you, but just so we're clear, it's completely unnecessary. You could wear a potato sack and still make it look sexy."
Okay, seriously? My emotions were all over the place. How was it that one second I was nervous and defensive, and the next I was completely filled with a primal urge to fuck him senseless? I don't know what made me do it, but I pulled my hand from his and pressed it firmly between his legs. I felt the car lurch forward and swerve slightly to the left as Edward gasped.
"What in God's name are you doing?" he growled.
"Can't I touch you?" I asked coyly. Edward's eyes narrowed as he gently pulled my hand from his very obviously aroused groin.
"You're really trying my self-control, Bella," he rasped before pressing the accelerator and hurrying home while he clenched his jaw tight in frustration.
One thing was for sure; I needed to call Carlisle, and I needed to do so tonight.
When I called Alice and asked for her help, she nearly screamed my ear off in excitement. Nearly an hour later, I sat in our bedroom in front of the mirror while she straightened my hair with the flat iron. I swear the girl was a miracle worker; she had even managed to do my hair in such a way that the stitches on my hairline were invisible as my hair shielded them. She'd already done my makeup flawlessly and we were just about done. Edward stayed out of the bedroom under Alice's orders, so I could only wonder what he was doing to bide the time.
"Alice, can I ask your opinion without you asking for details in return?" I asked her quietly, just in case Edward was near the door.
"I won't push, Bellsy. I take it that this is in regards to you and my brother though?" she replied, glancing at me in the mirror.
"It's getting really hard to hold back with Edward. He won't allow our physical relationship to go any further until Carlisle gives the okay, and I was thinking about calling him before we leave tonight. Do you think that would be overstepping any lines?"
"Bella, my dad is your doctor. If you're worried about what Edward will think about you calling him and asking about something like that, you're being ridiculous. Let's just say he gave you the okay, do you honestly think that my brother would ream you for that? Hell no. He's a man and he'd be too occupied with trying to reap the benefits of it rather than arguing with you about it."
"Well not only that. It's kind of an odd question to ask Carlisle. I mean think about it; I'd be calling him to ask if it's okay for me to have sex with his son. That doesn't seem odd to you?"
"Odd as it may be, Bella, he wasn't born yesterday."
"So you think I should call him?"
"I would. Look, it's obvious that you're having a really hard time with this otherwise you wouldn't have asked for my opinion on the matter. I know that you both want to keep things between you, so to know that you're struggling so much with holding back that you're actually considering calling my father about it, things have got to be tense. Is Edward having trouble too?"
"I don't know, but if he is I'm definitely not making it any easier on him. He's been restraining himself to the point that it's driving me fucking insane, and I want to strangle him at times. I mean, he's literally treating me like I'm made of glass. There have only been a few times that I've managed to get him to let go."
"Bella, you're forgetting that Edward has been controlling his emotions around you for years. He's a master at hiding what he's really feeling so my guess is if you're feeling this much tension, chances are, he's feeling the same way."
"You're probably right," I sighed, reaching for my phone on the top of the dresser.
"Okay, you're all done. Your outfit is laid out on the bed. I'll go out there and keep him busy while you get dressed and call my dad, okay?"
I nodded sheepishly and stood, pulling her to me for a hug. "Thank you, Alice…really."
She sweetly hugged me back. "You're most welcome. Now hurry up," she chirped, clapping her hands. "I want to see the completion of my handy work, and I'm afraid that if we make him wait any longer, he'll lose his head."
"Which one?" I quipped in an immature fashion as Alice's face twisted horrifically.
"Ew, Bella, just…ew."
I laughed at her as she skipped out of the room; Rose would have been proud. I then laughed even more as I could hear her arguing with Edward outside the door, obviously trying to prevent him from barging into the room.
I took a deep breath as I scrolled through the contacts on my phone, landing on Carlisle's cell phone number. I pressed dial with shaky fingers and listened to it ring only twice before he answered.
"Carlisle Cullen speaking," his soft voice came through the line.
"Hi, Carlisle. It's Bella."
"Bella, dear, how are you? Is everything all right?"
"I'm okay, and things are good. I was calling because I've got a question to ask you, and quite frankly, I'm a little embarrassed by it."
"You should know by now that you never have to be embarrassed to ask me anything."
"Well, Edward and I are going out on a date tonight, and I was hoping that maybe you would give me the okay with more…um…strenuous activities?" I palmed my face in my hand as I felt an extreme blush go to my cheeks. This was pure humiliation.
Carlisle chuckled softly. "I believe that I know exactly what you are referring to by strenuous activities, and I can understand your embarrassment, but really, you shouldn't be. It all depends on whether you feel your body is well enough to handle it; your ribs, to be more specific."
"Honestly, the pain isn't nearly as bad anymore. Some days are worse than others, but I really think I'll be okay. I just thought that I should ask you from a medical standpoint."
"I think it would be fine, Bella. My only suggestion would be that you take it easy. Don't do more than you can handle as you don't want to re-injure anything."
"Thank you. I know this has to be awkward for you," I laughed uneasily.
"Bella, dear, it's not awkward at all. And you did the right thing by calling to ask about it first. Though, Edward is a bit of a worrywart so you might have some trouble convincing him. Which let me just say that Esme and I couldn't be more thrilled to know the two of you have finally come together. The past few times I've talked with Edward over the last couple of weeks he's sounded happier and more alive than I've heard him in quite some time, and I know we have you to thank for that."
"Oh, I can't take all the credit for that. If anything, I've added more stress to his plate, but he's already talked to me about that, so I'm still trying to reconcile my guilt with his outlook on things. And thank you for recommending Dr. Kate. She's wonderful."
"That's why I suggested you see her," he paused for a moment as I heard quiet mumbling on his end of the line. "Dear, Esme wants to know if we'll still see the two of you for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Yes, we'll be there. Thank you so much for your advice and giving the all clear. Alice is out in the living room trying to stall Edward from barging into the bedroom like a maniac, so I'd better get my things together and save her from his wrath," I laughed as Carlisle chuckled with me.
"Okay. You two have fun and we'll see you tomorrow."
"Will do, bye."
With that I hung up and released a heavy sigh of relief from having gotten that painfully awkward conversation out of the way. Suddenly, I felt a wide grin stretch across my face at the knowledge that I now had the all clear to give myself to Edward in the way we'd both been longing for. I knew that Edward had said he wanted to make things special for us when it happened and, while the gesture was really sweet and touched my heart deeply, I just couldn't wait. I wanted him tonight, and if I had to enlist Alice's help in setting things up to be special, then I would do so.
With very little time left to get ready, I hollered for Alice to come back into the room and wasn't surprised to hear Edward's frustrated, loud groan from the living room as she came bouncing–yes, bouncing–back into the bedroom.
Another twenty minutes later, and I finally walked out of the bedroom to find Edward out on the balcony, looking out over the skyline of Seattle. Alice had quietly made her way out, telling me to text her when we were leaving the restaurant so she'd know when to come back to the loft to set things up. She would text me when she got here and I'd let her know when we were headed home so it would be all clear by the time Edward and I got back.
I made my way to the open glass door and watched him, completely breathless as my heart hit my throat. Edward was my future, and the thought had never slammed into me as violently and clear as it did in that moment. Everything I wanted in life revolved around this man; and him alone.
"Am I going to have to stand here all night or are we actually going to leave?" I spoke out, surprising myself with the strained tone of my voice. Edward whipped around quickly, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open. His gaze traveled over me as I hoped he liked Alice's choices. She'd picked out a charcoal, long-sleeved sweater dress that was form fitting, accentuating my every curve and ending an inch above my knee. The neckline swooped slightly low, but not too much, and hung on the edges of my shoulders. To match, I also wore thick black leggings and heeled, black boots, which came up an inch and a half below my knee. The smoky eye makeup and rose-colored lip-gloss complimented my look perfectly.
"Bella, y-you look beautiful," he breathed out, taking a few steps to where I stood and grasping my hands in his.
I couldn't help but look him over hungrily. Edward wore a deep crimson button-down with a black suit jacket and slacks to accompany it. The slacks hugged his hips and ass perfectly, and I could feel my palm twitching with the urge to grope his glorious backside. I could tell that he'd tried to tame his wild, bronze locks, but even at a tamed stage, they still were in disarray; just the way I liked it. The rich color of his shirt made the already beautiful green shade of his eyes pop, thus making my knees go weak. But when he flashed his million-dollar, dazzling smile at me, I'm pretty sure my legs buckled for a moment. In fact, I'm positive they did because Edward's arm had wrapped around my waist to hold me up, pressing my body flush with his.
"Feeling okay, love?"
"I-I'm good. You look amazing, Edward," I whispered as he hooked a hand on the back of my neck and brought his lips to gently brush against mine then took hold of them in one sweet, solitary kiss.
"Are you ready?"
"I am. Where are we going first?"
"Ah, ah," he teased, waving his finger back and forth with the shake of his head. "Surprise, remember?"
"Just promise me that you aren't going to…"
"Bella?" he said, looking at me sternly. "You know I love you, but shut up. I will not listen to you speak a word about money tonight. You're my girlfriend now, and I've wanted to take you out for so long that it's only fair you allow me to spoil you the way I've longed to. Can you do that for me, please?"
I couldn't help but smile at him as my insides turned to goo upon hearing the word girlfriend fall from his lips. I nodded meekly as he grinned triumphantly before closing the glass door and leading us to the coat closet. He assisted me in putting on my black wool peacoat, and then slid on his nicer, very expensive black leather jacket. Before I knew it, he'd grabbed his keys and punched in the key code to lock up the loft, and we were suddenly making our way out.
Thank the heavens above that I'd thought to give Alice the key code before she left.
The majority of the ride to the restaurant was filled with Edward staring at me lovingly and kissing my hand every once in a while. I'm pretty sure he'd told me how beautiful I was at least ten times already, and I couldn't help but countdown the hours and minutes until we would be able to head home.
"You realize every man there is going to envy me tonight," Edward stated softly, turning me to mush once more.
"Just as every woman is going to be shooting daggers at me all night, right?"
"My eyes are for you alone, Bella."
It literally took everything in me to will the tears that threatened to fill my eyes to stay down, but I did it. I knew Edward picked up on the shift in my emotions as he started to rub soothing circles atop my hand with his thumb and offered me a loving smile.
"I can't even begin to tell you how much I've missed this, Edward."
"Missed what?" he asked as I looked at him with love threatening to burst from my heart.
"This…us…just being together. Everything has always come so easy for us. The most comfortable, serene times in my life have been while you were with me. I mean, I know things are different now, but still," I sighed, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
"I know what you mean, Bella, and it's the same for me. I've missed it too, but we won't have to miss it anymore," he replied, winking again.
I growled at him with narrowed eyes. "You and that wink of yours! I swear, I never should have told you about that."
His loud laughter filled the car as he threw his head back. "And I'm so glad you did. It's proving to be very useful," he answered, wagging his eyebrows up and down playfully.
"See, at least I'm nice and don't use your weaknesses against you."
"Oh, my weaknesses?" he laughed, eyes widening in mirth. "Do tell, cause you've caught my attention; what weaknesses are you speaking of?"
I was dying with laughter on the inside because things were about to get very interesting. I put my game face on, and by that I mean I turned the lust in my eyes on full steam ahead before turning to lock eyes with him, then snaked my tongue out to seductively lick my lips. And for the kill, I bit my lip as I watched the smile leave his face and his eyes darken significantly. Not stopping there, I reached out my hand, slowly weaving my fingers into his hair, pulling gently at first then firmer as I heard his breath catch, felt the car jerk to the side, heard a car horn blare from somewhere around us and glanced down to see a prominent bulge in his pants.
Score.
In the blink of an eye, I removed my hand from his hair and turned my gaze away from him, laughing silently, trying desperately not to burst into an all-out fit. I could feel his fiery eyes still on me as I had my fun in knowing I had him.
"That was wrong on so many levels, and I will be paying you back for that, Swan," he threatened on a tortured whisper.
"And you winking at me wasn't? Just admit that I one-upped you."
I watched in amusement as his mouth opened and closed a few times before a grin finally made its way to the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, a boisterous laugh burst forth and he shook his head at me.
"You are a dangerous creature, Isabella Swan, and I cannot believe my luck that you are actually mine," he softly murmured. I placed my hand gently on the back of his neck and smiled when he looked at me.
"No baby, I'm the lucky one."
Before Edward could respond, and I knew he wanted to, he pulled the car in front of Canlis, an extremely expensive, premiere restaurant in Seattle. I'd never eaten here because I'd never been able to afford that luxury, and James was a cheap bastard. While I wanted to shout at Edward for picking such an extravagant restaurant as we stepped out and allowed the valet to take his Aston Martin, I swallowed my argument and decided that if he wanted to spoil me, then I would gladly let him. I owed him that much and if I was going to make a change in my life, I needed to admit to myself that I did deserve someone who would treat me as well as Edward did.
Edward folded my arm around his as we made our way into the restaurant. I looked around in awe at the sheer beauty and comfort of the restaurant while Edward told the hostess of our reservation. I didn't even pay attention to what direction we headed in as Edward led me to a table in a corner of the restaurant that was somewhat secluded from everyone else.
As we sat across from each other, Edward clasped both my hands in his on top of the table with the glow of candlelight flitting around us from the votive candles set to the far right of the table.
"What do you think?" Edward asked softly, snapping my attention back to him.
"It's beautiful and so romantic, E; having never been here, I now see what all the fuss was about. How did you manage to get us in here anyhow? From what I've been told, it's near impossible."
"I represent the head chef. And you're right, it is beautiful, yes, but it doesn't hold a candle to the vision in front of me."
"You've got to stop saying things like that to me; I'll end up with a permanent blush," I whispered, desperately trying to prevent my heart from jumping out of my chest. His way with words was almost too much for me to handle.
"Where's the problem in that? I love your blush," he smirked with a twinkle in his eye.
"Stop it," I gritted with an embarrassed smile. "Just so you know, I'm kicking myself now for never letting you take me out to dinner like this before."
"I almost did once," he admitted sheepishly as I stared at him in shock.
"When?"
"Remember that Valentine's Day, when you begged me for a midnight pizza snack after having reamed me over candy, flowers and a bear?"
"Really?" I asked guiltily, my voice having gone sullen. I hadn't thought of that day in some time and it was because of how much it had hurt, and still hurt, to know that I'd treated Edward the way I had.
"Yeah. I was planning to bring you here for dinner but after you called it was obvious that extending the invitation wouldn't have gone over well."
"I still feel horrible about that. It wasn't that I didn't love what you did, because it really did mean a lot to me, but I was so confused on how to feel about it. I didn't want my actions of being overjoyed by it to come across as something else, being that I was still with …" I let my voice taper off, not wanting his name to taint our dinner.
A voluptuous, strikingly beautiful, blonde woman approached our table, announcing that she was our waitress and took the order for our drinks. I got plain old water, being that I couldn't have wine and Edward touched my heart more by matching my order. The woman was literally undressing him with her eyes and I had to bite my tongue not to say anything. She never even looked at me. She also seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Edward's eyes remained on me, never straying.
"You know," he started once she left, "I never intended for you to feel uncomfortable by my doing that. I just didn't want to see you go without being cherished on Valentine's Day. But looking back on it now, and knowing how I really feel, I think I actually hoped you'd feel something for me. That somehow things would change for us," he softly told me, his voice nearly inaudible at the end.
"What if I told you that was part of why I was confused on how to feel?"
"What do you mean?"
"I had spent four years with you, Edward…just you and me. When you did all that for me, I thought about what it would be like if I had been with you; for you and I to have been in a relationship. Instead, I dealt with having to stay loyal to someone that wasn't even fucking there. The being apart for so long sucked because I got nothing every year. No birthday gifts, no Valentine's Day, no Christmas…nothing," I bit out spitefully. I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts and pushing the negative away because this was about Edward and me, not him. "Then there was you; my amazing, gorgeous best friend who provided me with all those things and more. When I realized I was entertaining those thoughts, I shut my mind off, not wanting to admit how wrong I was. And then I thought back to how I'd spoken to you on the phone, and I'm not kidding, Edward, I spent nearly an hour and a half, letting the guilt have me before I summoned up the courage to call you and beg for that horrendous pizza."
Edward smiled crookedly, gently squeezing my hand. "I like to think about what might have happened had I have actually made a move and made my intentions and feelings clear back then. But at the same time, I'm glad I didn't…only because it would have hurt you in the long run."
"Considering how enthusiastic Em, Alice, Jazz, and Rose are about us, I'm even more surprised that they never tried to force us together back then," I snorted.
"Well it certainly wasn't from lack of trying; at least on Alice's part," Edward laughed, leaning closer towards me over the table.
"I believe that. You know, talking about those days, we really should try and put together another barbeque over at Alice and Jazz's place, or your mom and dad's this summer. We haven't had one in years."
"We should, but you know what we also need to figure out?"
I shook my head at him with question in my eyes.
"What are we going to do about Thanksgiving? With everything going on, I just realized that it's two weeks away and we haven't even figured out where we're going or anything."
"Oh gosh, it's really only two weeks away?" I gawked at him. "Well, I could invite my dad over to have dinner with us at your mom and dad's if that's okay?"
Edward answered with a blinding smile that melted my heart as the glow from the candles illuminated every angle of his face just right. "That sounds wonderful to me, baby."
"I can't believe that this year, we actually get to celebrate and spend Christmas together. I've wanted that for so long," I smiled, stretching a hand out to cup his jaw. I was so caught up in his eyes that I hardly noticed the waitress approach the table with our waters.
"Are you ready to order?" she asked, once again feasting her eyes on Edward.
"Just a few more minutes if you don't mind," Edward replied, grabbing my hand from his jaw and placing a soft kiss to my palm before lacing his fingers with mine.
The waitress turned away as Edward's eyes lit up. "I'm so going to enjoy spoiling you this year."
"You already do," I murmured as I found myself longing to kiss him. "Would it be too direct if I told you I really want to kiss you right now?" I asked, feeling a blush paint my face.
"Would it be if I said the same?" he replied teasingly as I shook my head. "What do you think we should do about that, love?"
"Come here, Cullen," I demanded as I leaned over the table toward him. Edward, of course, met me halfway and tenderly pressed his lips to mine, keeping it chaste so as not to draw attention or make anyone else that might see feel uncomfortable.
He hummed to himself as he pulled away and released a pleased sigh as he finally opened up his menu, prompting me to do the same. As my eyes hungrily perused the menu, I could feel Edward's foot beneath the table begin to lightly rub and press along my calf.
"Trying to pay me back for my stunt at the coffee shop?" I questioned without looking up from my menu.
"Oh no, trust me, love. If I were paying you back, you wouldn't have to ask; you'd know."
We continued our banter while we decided on what we wanted and thankfully, when our waitress returned, we were ready to order because I was starving! I watched in agitation as her eyes roamed every inch of Edward as she took his order, but I'd quickly reached my limit when she continued to ogle him while asking for mine.
I cleared my throat. "I'm over here," I told her acidly. Her head whipped around and fixed me with annoyed glare. "I would appreciate it if for the remainder of our dinner, you look at me when you're addressing me rather than feasting your eyes on a taken man. Are we clear or should I request a new waitress?" I could feel Edward's eyes on me as I reprimanded the two-bit hussy.
"My apologies, ma'am," she answered with a false sweetness to her voice. "What would you like?"
"I'll take the Australian Lobster Tail. Thank you."
With that, she turned on her heel after collecting our menus and walked away brusquely. Once she was out of sight, I met Edward's gaze across the table. He was smirking at me and the lids of his eyes were heavy, showing me that my display had affected him…in a good way.
"Sorry, but I couldn't watch her ogle you like that another second," I murmured sheepishly.
"Do you have any idea how hot that was?"
"Well, if you only knew how many times I've done that, you might not see it that way," I laughed, cursing my lack of a verbal filter.
Edward laughed loudly and leaned forward a bit, resting his elbows on the table and his chin atop them. "How many times…so there's been more? Where was I during these encounters?"
"I'm shocked that Alice and the gang never told you. To put it bluntly…every time we went out to the clubs. I would get sick of seeing all these trashy women undressing you with their eyes. It wasn't anything new when I'd hand their asses over to them. I haven't had to do that for a while though."
"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing," he replied with his brows furrowed as if he were deep in thought.
"I can almost promise you it's only because we haven't gone out like this in ages. Though, this chick was lucky I remained seated and didn't pummel her into the ground," I mumbled as the warmth of his hand once again enveloped my own.
"How is it that I never knew about that?" Edward exclaimed, his voice raising an octave. "Is there anything else you've been hiding?"
"I never hid it from you. We just…never told you," I laughed as he mock glared at me. "And I'm not hiding anything else from you, E. You know, I could ask you the same…anything you're hiding from me?"
"I guess I could admit to having done much of the same thing you did; I was scaring guys away from you at every turn. But other than that, you know all my secrets, Bella."
He then winked at me again as I mock glared in return. The remainder of our dinner carried on with more talk of how we wanted to spend Christmas. Edward expressed that he wanted to spend Christmas together in what would hopefully be our new place–if we managed to find one by then–and at his parent's house, and that on New Year's Eve, we should take some time away together. To where he wasn't certain, but it definitely appealed to me. Escaping all that we had going on here in Seattle sounded like a dream; especially if it was just the two of us.
Our conversation then flowed into reminiscing over our best moments together through the years. Most of it I hadn't even thought about in far too long. I had smiled and laughed so much tonight that my face was actually starting to hurt.
The bitch waitress made sure that each time she approached our table for the rest of our dinner that her eyes either remained on the table or me. Apparently I'd said enough to guarantee that she wouldn't be ogling Edward anymore; she seemed nervous to even glance his way and I loved every minute of it. In fact, I couldn't wait to call Rose in the morning and tell her all about it.
We opted out of dessert, deciding that our stomachs were entirely too full to fit anything else in. After getting our ticket–I'll admit, I looked away when Edward signed his name to it–we made our way to the front and I quickly excused myself to the bathroom, using it as an opportunity to text Alice.
We've just finished dinner and are getting ready to leave. -B
I waited only seconds before she replied.
Okay, I'm on my way. Don't forget to let me know when you guys are heading back. Have you told him what dad said yet? -A
No. Do you think I should? Maybe leaving it a surprise would be better. -BWhatever you think is best. I'm sure everything will be fine. -ABtw, he witnessed me laying the smackdown to our hussy of a waitress tonight. -B
You had better call me tomorrow! I can't wait to hear this one! -A
Our text conversation ended there as I rushed out to meet Edward at the door. He pulled me into his arms with a chaste kiss before lacing our hands and leading me outside.
"So what now?" I asked, as I slipped my arms tight around his waist and gazed up into his eyes.
"I was thinking we could take a walk out on the pier, I just don't want you getting cold."
"That actually sounds great, Edward. Besides, if I get cold, you can warm me up," I smiled, hearing a low rumble in his chest. There was a momentary pause as Edward broke our eye contact and looked away for a second.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"What?" he questioned, glancing back at me. "No, I was only thinking that if you would rather do something more exciting we could. But I thought it would be nice, and more us, to take a walk on the pier without interruptions."
My hand reached up to gently comb through his hair as I brushed my lips against his cheek. "I'd love to take a walk on the pier, baby."
Edward slowly pulled away, lacing our hands together and led us out to the pier, where a few other couples were enjoying time together. We walked in a comfortable silence for a bit, just enjoying being in one another's company; no drama and no interruptions.
"Cold?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind and holding me close as we continued to walk awkwardly, his face pressed into my neck.
"Well, if it means I can stay here in your arms, I'm freezing," I flirted, smiling at him as I tilted my head back to rest on his shoulder. Edward chuckled and sweetly pecked my lips, slowing our pace to sluggish and tightening his hold around my waist, pulling me even further into him. "I know you weren't looking for an excuse to hold and kiss me, right?"
I could feel him smile against the skin of my neck as I looked around at the few other couples that were out on the pier tonight. I wondered how many of them had gone about their relationships and their lives the traditional way, or if any of them were in my position; though I highly doubted it. It brought on a slew of emotions that I didn't understand. I wasn't sure how I felt about it all; all I knew was it scared the shit out of me. I'd always thought that I would graduate college, get married, and then have children. Of course, most of those dreams had been thought up with James in the loving husband role. I felt foolish now for even thinking that I could have things that easy. Nothing had ever come easy for me in my life, not like that.
Instead, my whole dream had been blown apart and as it happened, things had and would be anything but traditional for me.
"B?" Edward questioned and it wasn't until that moment that I realized we'd stopped moving and Edward was now in front of me, holding my face in his hands worriedly.
I gazed into his eyes for a brief second and then smiled with a shake of my head. "Sorry, I just got lost in thought I guess."
Edward's brow arched as he smirked back at me suggestively. "About what?"
"It's nothing," I whispered reassuringly, slipping my hands around his waist beneath his heavy jacket. "Have I told you how good you smell tonight?" I questioned, pressing my nose against his collarbone and taking in a deep breath.
He let a deep laugh escape past his lips. "No, you haven't and," he paused, lifting my face back up so he could make eye contact, "nice try at dodging the question, love."
"I wasn't dodging. What cologne are you wearing?" I groaned, taking my lip between my teeth.
"You were too dodging, and the cologne is Polo Black. Now will you please answer me before you drive me mad?" he asked with pleading laughter.
My shoulders slumped and I sighed as I averted my gaze down to my feet and fidgeted with the zipper of my coat. "I just…how did I let my life get this messed up, E?"
"W-what do you mean by that?" Edward questioned and it was the tortured tone in his voice that made me realize how my question may have sounded to him. My head shot up and I took hold of his face between my hands firmly.
"I am so sorry; that was not how I meant that. I just…I always dreamed that I would finish college, land my dream job, get married, and then have kids but now…" I broke off, not sure how I should finish that sentence. I could feel his intense stare burning a hole in me, but I was so weak in that moment that I couldn't bring myself to look at him.
"You can still live that dream, you know," he whispered after a long stretch of silence. The only sound around us was the water lapping at the pier and the seagulls squawking above.
The soft as velvet way in which he'd said that caused me to look at him. And when it dawned on me exactly what he'd said, my heart pounded loudly in my ears and my vision became hazy with tears.
"E-Edward…d-did you just," I started, unable to finish my question.
"Why don't we consider that as a promise for the future? I don't think either one of us are ready for that step, Bella. Regardless of how we feel, it's only been two weeks. All I'm saying is, I know that my feelings for you aren't going to change, and we just need to give ourselves a bit more time for everything to settle in. We don't need to rush. Things may not have happened in the traditional sense, but does it really matter? So we got together after you found out you were pregnant…so we moved in before we got together;
Given the circumstances, you should cut yourself some slack, B. You've handled everything thus far amazingly, and no one can fault you for that…no one."
I closed my eyes in an attempt to slow my cascading tears. "You always know just what to say…don't you?" I chuckled tearfully as he sheepishly shrugged and leaned his head down, pressing his forehead to mine. I pulled my hand from the warmth inside his jacket to run through his hair as I stared into his eyes in wonderment.
"You're having another 'just because' moment, aren't you?" he softly asked with smugness in his tone.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because you're looking at me like that again."
Before he could smile, laugh, or say anything more, I whimpered to myself and curled my fingers in the hair at the back of his neck and slowly brought his mouth down on mine. Our lips brushed softly together at the first pass. On the second, he flicked his tongue out against my bottom lip before gently sucking it between his own with the sweetest caress and releasing a nearly inaudible moan. The seed of desire had erupted within me and I couldn't hold myself back; the next pass he made for my lips, I hungrily latched on, wrapping my tongue around his as I tried to communicate with my mouth how much I fucking loved him. Edward answered back by bringing his hand up to cradle the back of my head, tangling his fingers deep in my hair and crushing me further against him.
We didn't care that we were in a public place.
And we didn't care that people were watching.
All that mattered was the two of us and the monumental kiss that we were consumed by. This kiss, although intense, wasn't rushed or frenzied; it was slow and deep. I could feel it in every part of my body, and just knew that I had to get him back to the loft. I needed him and I wasn't sure I could wait any longer.
I gradually pulled away with a final few pecks against the corner of his mouth.
"You wanna get out of here?" The husky tone of his voice caught me off guard until I looked into his eyes and saw the longing there. He was feeling the same things I was and I suddenly felt extremely giddy.
"God, yes!" I groaned aloud as he smiled, took my hand firmly in his and rushed us back down the pier and into his car.
As Edward drove, I pulled my phone from my purse and texted Alice, letting her know we were on our way. I didn't wait to hear if she replied; I turned the phone off and shoved it back into my bag.
"What's going on?" he questioned curiously from the driver's seat.
"N-nothing. Why do you think something's going on?"
"Well, for one, Alice was acting awfully weird when we left, almost like the damn pixie was hiding something. Then you were gone for a while in the bathroom before we walked out on the pier; then, icing on the cake, the minute we get back in my car, you start texting."
"My…aren't you paranoid," I laughed, earning a pointed look from him. "Don't go getting all pissy, E. It's n-nothing. She just wanted to know if she could come over when we got home," I lied, feeling like shit about it and hoping that he couldn't see through my bullshit.
"What did you tell her?"
"That just because we were headed home it didn't mean our date was over," I smiled with a wink, internally patting myself on the back when he smirked at me. His hand tightened around mine as his phone began to ring.
"If that's Alice, I swear I'll kill her," he mumbled as he let go of my hand to get his phone. "It's Charlie."
I glanced at him in worry as his eyes mirrored my own. He set his phone on speaker and answered.
"Charlie? What's up?"
"Edward, where are you?"
"Driving back home. Why?"
"Is Bells with you?" Edward glanced over to me with immense concern, and I felt a sudden sinking in my stomach.
"I'm here, Dad. What's going on?" I asked shakily as Edward reached back over and took my hand soothingly.
"As soon as you two get back home, lock that place up tight and call me. Understand?"
"Dammit, Charlie! You're starting to scare both of us. What the hell is going on?" Edward gritted out. I could hear my dad's heavy sigh on his end and waited for his reply with baited breath.
"He escaped."