DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creations of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. All are human.

The View

Poor Bella! The look on her face … she was beyond embarrassed. She probably thought I would make fun of her. How could she not? She grew up with Emmett.

As if I would ever make fun of her … seeing her like that … It wasn't the most opportune way to find out what kind of underwear your girlfriend was wearing, but the view wasn't bad by any means. I blushed at my own thoughts. That certainly wasn't the most gentlemanly thing I'd done today. I scolded myself as I took another look at the closed door.

I changed into jeans and a t-shirt, wondering if she would ever leave the bathroom again. I didn't know what to do to make this better. I couldn't let her miss the ball drop. It was so important to her. She'd been talking about it all day.

I grabbed my cell phone and called my sister. If anyone knew what to do, it would be Alice.

"Edward, how's the crowd look?"

"We haven't made it to the restaurant yet."

"You only have thirty-five minutes until the ball drops, Edward!"

"I have a little problem."

"What happened?"

"I sort of … well … I walked in on Bella by accident and she hasn't come out of the bathroom yet. I'm not sure if she's ever coming out."

"I need more information to help you. What exactly happened? And don't leave out a single detail."

"The bathroom door was open so I thought she was just grabbing her bag or something. I didn't realize she would be changing. I mean, the door was open, Alice."

"Calm down."

"Right. Well, I went to ask her if she felt like eating once when we went upstairs. But when I walked in, she was bent over doing something with her jeans."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Alice, she didn't have a shirt on and her pants were at her knees."

"Oh, my God! How red was she?"

"I don't have a color to compare it to."

"Edward, you have to do some major damage control when she comes out of that room."

"I don't know that she will."

"She will. Trust me. And when she does, you will pretend nothing happened. If she decides to bring it up, that's fine. But otherwise, go on with the night as if that didn't happen."

"Anything else?"

"Be very aware of her mood. If she seems reluctant to have you hug her or touch her, don't take it personally. Just let her get over the embarrassment."

"Okay. Thanks, Alice."

"Just relax and it'll be okay, Edward."

I hung up my phone and put it in my pocket. I went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, waiting for her to come out. I looked down at my watch. We had twenty minutes left before the big event.

The door opened and Bella stood there. She looked hesitant to leave the bathroom.

I gave her the smile I knew she loved and stood up. "Ready to head up? I've got the camera. Alice has a table for us right at the window. I was thinking we might order some dessert, too. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry again." I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing myself to stop rambling.

"Um … let's just decide once we get there," Bella said, stepping forward.

I took a step toward her, wanting to give her a hug. I remembered Alice's warning and stopped myself. I waved my hand toward the door. "After you, love."

She smiled a little, but it didn't reach her brown eyes.

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah," she said softly.

"Rose will be really happy to see the pictures."

"I was thinking maybe we could start saving now for it and send her and Emmett here next year," she said as we stepped into the hallway.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Bella. Would it be their wedding gift or Christmas?"

"Christmas would be better since it would be closer to New Years," she replied, stepping into the elevator.

The ride up was very awkward. I kept fighting with myself. I wanted to hug her or hold her hand … just to touch her in some way and comfort her. She wouldn't look at me, not even through her lashes.

The doors opened to a very packed restaurant. I walked over to the podium with Bella following close behind. When she slipped her hand into mine, I breathed a sigh of relief. I gave her hand a soft squeeze, hoping she would understand I was here for her.

"Name?" the guy asked. He seemed really aggravated at the noise of the crowd.

"Cullen," I replied.

"Table for two at the window. Julie!" he screamed.

I took a step back, bumping into Bella. I looked down at her. "Sorry. He sort of caught me off guard."

"He is kind of rude," Bella whispered, giving me a smile. That one at least reached her eyes.

"Follow me folks," a blonde said.

I assumed she was Julie. She led us to a window table that was perfectly centered for the ball drop. Bella's eyes grew wide as she took in the sight of the crowd and the brightly lit ball.

I let her have the chair facing the window. I took the one to her right. "Amazing, isn't it?"

She nodded her head. I took out her camera and put it on the table in front of her. She put her hand on mine, keeping it in place. She turned to look at me, her eyes moist.

"Thank you for not … just … Thank you."

I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to thank me for. You are the reason we are in this city, that we saw that wonderful Opera, and that we are here right now, getting ready to start a new year together."

She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me tightly against her. When she wanted to, she really had a hell of a grip. I hugged her back, rubbing little circles against her shirt.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you."

I pulled back and kissed her lips quickly. I gave her a big smile as I took her hands into mine. "Are you ready to start a new year with me, Bella?"

"Very." She smiled and nodded her head. "I'm going to take some pictures now."

"Okay."

She walked over to the window with the camera. I followed after her, holding her from behind. She took pictures of the ball and the crowd and a few of the buildings surrounding the Square. The memory stick died and she pouted.

"I guess I have to go back and delete some."

I reached into my pocket and handed her a new stick. "I thought this might happen."

She turned and wrapped her arms around me again. "Edward, you are the absolute best. I love you."

I laughed as I helped her get the camera open and change out the sticks. She gave me a quick kiss and then turned back toward the window.

As the time drew closer, more and more people started crowding around the windows. I took a protective stance near Bella, making sure no one stepped in front of her or crowded her too much. This was too important to her to let it get messed up.

The people around us started yelling out the countdown. "Ten … nine … eight … seven …"

I leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Keep your camera trained on the ball, it's almost time."

She nodded her head as she kept taking pictures. The countdown ended and the people around us screamed and blew horns. Confetti was falling into the square below us. Bella took a few more pictures before turning around.

"I think we should start this New Year off right," she said, smiling at me.

"And how do we do that?" I asked, wrapping her in my arms.

"You should kiss me."

"Ishould kiss you," I agreed with a smile.

She met me halfway and gave me a wonderful kiss. When we broke for air, I crushed her against me. I started laughing, realizing how silly it was to stop kissing her for her to breathe and then squeezing it out of her. I relaxed my hold and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Sorry. I'm just really excited to have you with me right now. I love you, Bella."

"I love you, Edward. Would you mind if we went back to our room now?"

"Not at all."

"Are you sure? You said something about being hungry earlier."

"I'll just order room service. Let's go." I took her hand in mine and led her through the packed crowd and to the elevator.

The ride down was calm and peaceful as Bella held tightly to me. I kissed the top of her head, relieved to have things back to normal. We walked into the room and I closed and locked the door.

"I'm going to change into my pajamas," she said. "And I'll be sure to close the door this time," she laughed.

I stared at her for a moment. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed, coming to me and put her arms around my waist. "I'm sorry about earlier. I was just … really, really embarrassed."

"I got that," I chuckled, resting my forehead against hers. "I was worried you would never come out of the bathroom."

"I did contemplate setting up camp in there," she said with a grin. "But I'm sure I would have come out eventually."

"Really?"

"I would have missed you too much and would have had to come out."

"Is it safe to make a small joke?"

"You can try."

"If you're ever looking for a way to give me a heart-attack, that will do it easily."

She laughed, letting her head fall back. I leaned in and quickly kissed the hollow of her throat before she righted herself.

She was still chuckling as she looked at me. "You're safe."

"Go change," I said, letting her go and spinning her to face the bathroom.

I changed into my own pajamas then sat on the sofa, looking over the menu. Bella came back out and sat next to me, leaning on my shoulder.

"Do you want anything?" I asked her.

"No."

"I don't think I really want anything either. I didn't see anything that particularly sounded good this late at night."

I put an arm around her, hugging her against my side. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Lots and lots."

"What was your favorite part?"

"Watching your face at the Opera. You were just so excited and having such a good time. How about for you?"

"Watching you as you fired all those questions at me during intermission."

"It was a really great night, all things considered."

"It really wasn't that bad, Bella."

"Edward, I cannot begin to describe how mortified I was. And … I think it will be a long while before you see so much of me again."

"That's perfectly fine, Bella," I said, leading her over to the bed. "We will only ever go as fast as you want. You know, you really don't have anything to be embarrassed about. If it helps, you're free to walk in on me anytime."

"I don't think that would help anything!" she laughed.

"Why not? I see you, you see me … We're even."

"Edward, it was enough to see you fully clothed. I don't know that I have enough self control to behave if I saw you that undressed. And I'm not ready to do more than make-out right now."

I moved so that I was above her and started kissing along her neck and shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she laughed.

"You said make-out right now."

She laughed harder, pushing me away. "Some boyfriend you are. Only paying attention to half of my sentence."

"I heard the whole thing, Bella. I just wanted to hear you laugh. And I understand what you're saying. As beautiful, sexy and irresistible as I find you, I have no trouble waiting for the right time. I don't want it to be driven by hormones alone."

"Exactly!" she said, pulling my arms back around her. "That's one of the things I love best about you, Edward. You get me. I love you and I know you love me, but that step is really big and I think we should get to know each other more before we take things to that level."

"Not that I didn't completely enjoy last night, but I think we should probably not repeat that for awhile. It seemed to put both of us on edge unnecessarily."

"You hide it really well. You never seem to be flustered."

"Glad you think so," I chuckled.

"So in order to keep things from getting out of hand, I'll make sure to keep my shirt on and doors closed, and you keep your shirt on. I think we'll be okay if we do that."

"We can always just stick with Emmett. Nothing calms hormones better than a giant big brother."

"Do you have any idea how silly it is for you to be worried about Emmett?"

"Bella, have you ever seen Emmett when someone whistles at Rosalie? Just whistles?"

"No."

"You should really see it. Maybe then you'll understand."

"I promise to protect you from my big protective brother."

"That should be an interesting sight! You, with these little hands of yours on your hips," I said, kissing the backs of her hands. "Your chin jutting out and your brown eyes on fire. And Emmett … with arms bigger than your whole body. Yes, my fears are irrational," I chuckled.

"Can we argue more about this tomorrow?" she yawned, snuggling her head against my chest.

"Sure," I chuckled, placing a kiss on her head.

"'Kay," she sighed, putting her arm around my waist.

I laughed quietly, knowing she was nearly asleep. I rubbed her back and it didn't take her long at all to fall asleep. I waited up to see if she would talk and was not surprised by what I heard.

"No, no, no," she muttered, pushing against me. "Close. You have to close now, you stupid door."

"Bella, the door's closed," I whispered to her.

"I can't get it to stay closed. Angela, it won't lock."

"Turn the knob," I chuckled.

"Thanks, Ang. You're a good friend. Now, come help me get things wings off Mike. I don't want him to follow me anymore."

I shook my head, amazed at the vividness of her dreams and the way they changed.

"Emmett, you can't have a real coconut bra no matter what Jasper says. Just buy the plastic one."

I did my best to laugh quietly as I held her close. She sighed and I knew her talking phase was coming to an end.

"I love you, Edward."

She snuggled closer to me, shivering slightly. I pulled the covers up to her neck to get her warm then kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too. More than I can say."

New York had been everything I'd hoped for, only better. It would be hard to share her with our family when we got home tomorrow. But at least she was mine to share. I truly was the luckiest man on the planet.

EBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

You guys seriously need to PM E.C. Cullen ID# 1468947 and show her some love! My Beta extraordinaire put up with two chapters written under a cold medicine induced haze! Thank you for putting up with all the silly mistakes and not yelling at me!