Words with Strangers Chapter 37

Home didn't feel like home anymore. I'd loved my place from the first moment I'd stepped foot inside it but it felt empty without Bella even though she'd never been here before. Something I'd need to rectify, although when was a question. Maybe I could get her to come down for part of Christmas. It felt like way too far away, though. It wasn't like I was going to be here until then. Stupid move shooting movies back to back the way I was but I knew it made sense for my career. Strike while the iron is hot and all that stuff.

I put my bags in my room. I'd do laundry in the next day or two but there was no point in putting the bags away. I'd be heading out by this weekend likely, or early next week. I'd have to call Garrett and Kate to make sure my schedule had stayed the same. I'd asked for radio silence on my vacation and I'd been granted it, with the exception of a few emails to Marcus and Kate.

A glance at my clock told me Bella was still in class. I'd called her as soon as we'd gotten out of the airport, needing to hear her voice even if it was only a recorded message. Yes, I was a bit ridiculous but I couldn't help missing her already. So, I took out my phone and sent her a text as well.

Home isn't home without you here. I can't wait for the day that I come home to you, wherever that may be. I love you.

I set my phone aside just as music started to blast from Emmett's room. He'd been pretty quiet since we'd left the girls, which had been welcome since I'd feared a recap of his sexcapades with Rose. I closed my door and tried to focus on the shit I needed to do before we left. Rolling Stone tomorrow, a few sessions with Alec to make up for the time off I'd taken, though I thought I was looking pretty good. I'd exercised in my own way all week with Bella after all. The best way. The Sex Workout…I wonder if I could market that. I had costume fittings and some head shots on Thursday. If that all went well we could probably leave on Saturday.

Shit, time to face reality. I picked up my phone and dialed the number.

"Well, well, the prodigal son returns!"

I snickered. "You've never thought of me as a son, Kate."

"And thank God for that! We'd have a Flowers in the Attic situation up in here!"

She killed me. "I think that was brother and sister incest."

"Well, I'm certainly not old enough to be your mother. Give me a little credit," she sniffed.

"Oh yes, you're much too young for such things. How goes it, Katie?"

"Please, like I have anything of interest going on? You're the one who was off with the girl of his dreams all week. How was it?"

I smiled at just the thought of my week with Bella. "Beyond words."

"Oh, Lord, the boy's well and truly in love, Garrett." I faintly heard cheering in the background. "You should hear him, Gar, he sounds like a girl."

"Hey!" I protested but I knew she was probably right.

"I can't help it, you're cute. I love that you're finally happy. When can I meet her?" she demanded.

That was the million dollar question. When, when, when? I wanted the answer to all those when's to be right now but that wasn't doable. "Well, if you two haul your deadbeat asses to Berlin you can meet her this summer. Otherwise it's going to be awhile."

There was silence on the other end of the line. "Hello?" I asked, wondering if my phone had dropped the call.

"I'm sorry; did you just say she was coming to Berlin with you?" Uh oh, the friendly tone was gone and the business tone was in its place.

"Um, yes?" I hurried on before she could yell at me. "I was going to tell you! I mean, I just did. I'm flying back for her graduation in five weeks and then she's coming to stay with me over the summer."

Silence again. This was not good. I had to fill it. "You said you wanted to meet her, so then would be optimal."

She let out a loud sigh. "And just what am I supposed to tell the press about you going to some random graduation out in bumfuck Washington?"

"Seattle is hardly bumfuck and maybe you won't have to tell them a thing. It's not like UW isn't a huge university. A ton of people are graduating. I doubt they'll notice me."

"Doubt they'll notice you? College kids? Female college kids? Are you serious?" she demanded. Well, when she put it like that… "You better think twice about going, Edward. That or you better be prepared to name this girl and talk about your relationship."

Not going wasn't an option. I'd promised Bella. She was my family now and family went to important things like graduations. "I'm going. If I get seen, we'll deal with it then. And I'm going to talk about my relationship tomorrow with whomever I'm meeting from Rolling Stone."

"Her name's Bree Tanner."

Her? Great. Seven times out of ten, female reporters blatantly hit on me or at the very least flirted and tried to get me to hit on them. "Kate…"

"She's a lesbian, so don't sweat it."

I laughed because Kate knew me so well. "That works."

"I thought it might. So what are you planning on telling her?"

Like I knew? I didn't have a damn script, if I tried to write one I'd end up sounding rehearsed and Rolling Stone was the kind of magazine that would call me out on it. "We both know the relationship question will come up sooner rather than later. I plan on playing it by ear, but I don't intend on giving her Bella's name."

"You're going to have a hard time keeping her name out of the press if you're going to graduations and strolling around Europe together," Kate reminded me.

I rolled my eyes. "She and her friends will be strolling around Europe. I'll be working. She'll have her own room, which conveniently will connect with mine." That wasn't even an issue. We always took extra rooms on the floor that I was on to keep traffic away from me. I'd just make sure one of those empty rooms was right next door and that was that. I may not get to spend my days with Bella but I'd damn sure spend my nights with her.

"Do you remember what it was like when you dated Irina?"

What was I, stupid? "Of course I do. But if you recall, Irina courted the press. Bella most certainly won't be. We'll release her name when and if it feels right to us. If someone recognizes me in Seattle, then we'll deal with the fallout. I'd like to enjoy my relationship for awhile before it becomes fodder for tabloids and internet gossip." I was getting annoyed just thinking about it.

"Alright, Edward. You know it's my job to be prepared. I'm just trying to do that," she soothed.

I knew that. It didn't make it any less irritating though. "I promise you that the instant we're seen together and I suspect we're outed, I'll call you and we'll get something out to the press right after."

"And if they catch you and you don't know it?"

"Well, it's not like I'm hiding her from you. You know who she is."

"Yes, but I don't know how I'm supposed to say you met. Do you want me to tell them the truth?"

Hell no. Then I'd have tons of fangirls trying to hunt me down electronically. Maybe there were some just as crafty as Bella was. "We can just say that we met through acquaintances. It's actually not far from the truth because Emmett's dating one of her best friends."

"What?" I had to hold the phone away from my ear at Kate's shout. "Surely I misheard you. Did you say that Emmett was dating someone? As in dating dating? Not just screwing and forgetting?"

I laughed at Kate's disbelief. I couldn't blame her one bit. "More than dating, if it comes down to it. Rose is his one just like Bella is mine."

"Well, I'll be damned. I have got to meet this girl, too. The girl that could make Emmett Cullen commit? She has to be amazing."

She sounded shell-shocked. "She is. She's a big part of the reason that Bella and I are together now. Emmett's in love."

"Garrett! We're going to Berlin this summer! Clear some time in June or July!" she shouted.

"Must you yell? Isn't he right there?"

She sniffed. "I'll have you know that he's in his office discussing a deal for something or other."

"Then why are you yelling at him?" I asked, grinning. I loved how they were together. Someday Bella and I would be just like them, minus the yelling part.

"Because Emmett Cullen has a girlfriend and is in love! We never thought we'd see the day."

"What about me? I'm in love, too."

She laughed. "You, Edward, have always been the settling type. I'm just glad you didn't settle with someone like Irina. I was going to have to feed some lies to the tabs if you stayed with her much longer."

I shook my head. "I'd have had to fire you and then where would be?"

"I already told you, Garrett would be hooking on Hollywood Boulevard. Really, what kind of life is that to wish on him? It would have been in your best interest. Besides, you'd have had a hard time convincing Bella she was your one if you were married to that slutty leech."

That was true. "I never thought about marrying her." There was only one girl I'd ever wanted to marry and I would one day.

"Fortunately! I'll take the credit for that."

I laughed. "Of course you will. You know, I did actually call to see if there was anything added to my plate this week."

"Print interview with the Times on Friday afternoon. Seacrest wants you to call in to his radio show sometime this week, totally up to you when and if you want to do it."

Ugh. "I can do it Thursday between fittings."

"Excellent. I'll set it up. And Marcus needs you to come in and sign your contract at some point. That's not from me; by the way, that's from Garrett who's waving notes under my nose."

I laughed. "Tell him hi. I'll go see Marcus after the interview tomorrow unless it runs late; otherwise I'll hit him Wednesday." My days were rapidly filling up. "Guess I'll be leaving Saturday?"

"That's the plan, or so Garrett says."

The lovely thing about them being married is that I could call one and get all my information at the same time. "Does he have anything else for me?"

"Do you have anything else for him? You can use my phone if you want. Stop with the notes, I'm not your secretary." I snickered as they argued. "You need to do those Mercedes voiceovers before you leave."

Of course I did. "Wednesday afternoon?"

Kate hummed as her keyboard clacked. "That'll work. I told you that you'd be a busy boy when you got back. No bitching."

I scowled. "I wasn't bitching."

"Your tone was bitching. You don't think I know your bitchy tone by now? Please."

She knew me well. "Alright, I'm pretty sure you have me booked solid now."

"Not yet but we will!"

She didn't have to sound so damn cheerful about it. "I don't like you."

Her delighted laugh filled the line. "But you do love me and you can't live without me. Shut up, Garrett, he loves me more than he loves you."

The woman had a point. "Doesn't mean I have to like it, but yes, I do love you both."

"But you love me more, right? He's much more easily replaced."

I heard Garrett protesting. "He only loves you more because you're scarier than I am!"

They killed me. "He's right. It's your power over me that gives you the edge."

"Don't forget it!" she sang. "Do you want me there tomorrow?"

I thought about it. Kate sometimes came to make sure I didn't get misrepresented by the press. I was generally on board with it, but Rolling Stone was just a different sort of animal. "What do you think? Would I look like a pansy if you were there?"

"Honestly, yes. They don't dare order me not to be there, but they don't like a publicist reining you in when you're supposed to be real. It's up to you. I can clear my schedule if you need me. If not, record it so that if they misrepresent you I can come down on them like the wrath of God."

And she would, too. "I'll record it. I think it's the best bet."

"Me too. Call me right after or call me during if she steps out of line in any way and I'll end it."

I smiled as I imagined Kate ending my interview. She'd scare the life out of the reporter if she wanted to. "Will do. Thanks, Katie."

"Anytime. And Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"I really am thrilled that you've found Bella. It may not make my job the easiest at the moment, but I want you to be happy."

I had to smile at that, because I knew it was true. "I know, Katie. And I really, really am. In another world, I'd shout my relationship with Bella from the rooftops."

"I know you would. And I can't wait to meet her." Her voice was filled with warmth.

"You'll love her."

"No doubt. And your brother's girl will be with her?"

I laughed. She was dying over Emmett's having a girlfriend. "Yes."

"Hot damn! I'm booking our tickets tonight!"

"You do that. Bye, Kate. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye, Edward. Don't forget to call me."

"Will do." I hung up and grinned. She was a handful but I was damn glad she was mine.

Emmett's music shut off and a knock sounded on my door. "Since when do you knock? I'm not jerking off or anything, asshole. It's only been a few hours!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that but I really hope you don't call me an asshole on a regular basis."

Holy shit. Mom. My heart dropped and I sat up and started stammering. "I wasn't, I mean, I thought you were…what are you doing?"

"Apparently I'm not interrupting you masturbating, a fact for which I'm eminently grateful," she replied, her green eyes twinkling as she grinned at me from my doorway. Her gaze fell on my nightstand and she laughed lightly. "I'm glad to see you moisturize properly, however."

Oh, God, kill me now. "I thought you were Emmett."

"I should hope so. He's far more of an asshole than I am."

"Hey!" my brother shouted from behind her.

Christ. I got off the bed and ran my hand through my hair. "What brings you here?"

Mom rolled her eyes. "My boys come back from a vacation with the loves of their lives and I'm supposed to wait for you to call me? I did knock but nobody could hear me with that noise your brother was blaring in his room, so I let myself in."

Of course she did. "We called. You were in a meeting."

"And now I'm out of a meeting and visiting my sons." She smiled pleasantly, in contrast to the gray pin-striped power suit she was rocking. She looked like she could cut someone to the bone with one word. "Shall we?" She gestured down the hall and Emmett and I exchanged glances as we followed her. It was going to happen sooner or later, may as well be sooner.

Mom took a seat on the recliner so Emmett and I sat on the couch. She beamed at us. "So, how was your vacation?"

"Great," I replied at the same time that Emmett said "Perfect."

Mom's smile got even brighter. "So it went well then, when you told them about the one?"

Emmett mumbled something and stared at his hands, avoiding Mom's sharp gaze. I wasn't sure if I should go first to rescue him or if I should throw him to the wolves and make things better with my explanation. But he just sat there so I figured I'd better get to it. "It went great with Bella. She couldn't really wrap her head around the fact that I plan on marrying her and loving her forever, but she believed in it and me."

Mom's eyes teared up and she stood and bent to give me a big hug. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling that I always got when Mom held me. To say I had a new appreciation for her after hearing more about Bella's mother and Rose's parents was an understatement. "I'm so glad to hear that, sweetie." She ruffled my hair and then turned to Emmett, who was still avoiding her eyes and looking like he'd like to sink into the chair. "Emmett Matthew, is there a reason that you're staring a hole through the leather? What did you do?" she demanded, her voice a sharp contrast to how it had just been in reaction to my news.

"I didn't do anything," he muttered, still refusing to look at her. Wrong move. She sat on the coffee table right in front of him and took his face in her hands, raising an eyebrow and not saying a word. Emmett gulped. "It wasn't my fault!" he yelled, throwing up his hands.

"What wasn't your fault?" she asked, her lips twitching. Mom was amused but Emmett couldn't see that.

"Rosie taunted me, Mom! She wore all these sexy outfits and then I took Eddie's advice and shut her out…" I got a glare from her for that one and I shrank back. Damn him for twisting things around.

"I just told him that she wrongly thought he just wanted sex from her and he should show her that he cared for her, not to drive her insane!" I protested.

Mom laughed. "Boys." She turned back to Emmett. "So you pissed her off well and good and then?"

"And then I might have gotten drunk and told her during a game," he muttered.

"What?" Mom yelled.

"I didn't mean to! She was ignoring me and being all pissed off and she suggested the game, I didn't! The more I drank, the more I wanted to fix things so I just told her I was going to marry her." His shoulders hunched like he was bracing for a blow.

Mom closed her eyes and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you boys? How'd that go over?"

"Uh, not so well at first but Bella made Rose admit that she loved me too and it was all good! I made up for it the next night, Mama, I swear! Dinner, candlelight, the whole Edward thing!"

Mom laughed and opened her arms. Emmett immediately filled them. "Well, I can't say your father did much better at first either. I'm glad at least one of you got it right."

Em grinned brightly as he released her. "Hey, he told Bella he loved her on accident post…" Emmett broke off and shrugged. "You know." Bastard.

Mom rolled her eyes. "I believe that I do know, yes. I'm just glad you boys are happy. And I can't wait to meet the girls. We are on for graduation, right?"

"Yes, Rosie's got tickets for us since nobody in her family is coming."

Mom's mouth formed into a hard line. "I cannot believe that any parent would skip their child's graduation day to go on a cruise." She shook her head vehemently. "Well, their loss is our gain. She's going into medicine?" she asked. Emmett nodded. "Alright, I know just what I'll get her." That was Mom, ready with the perfect gift. "Bella's going to be a teacher?"

"Yeah." I couldn't keep the smile off my face if I tried. Images of Bella in her sexy glasses and the white blouse and tight skirt and heels filled my mind.

"I can work with that! And we're going to meet her parents, right?"

That wiped the smile way. "Her dad and his girlfriend are coming, I believe. She's not too sure about her mother."

Mom's glare was back. "Why not?"

"Her mom's kind of out for number one from what Bella says. She's barely seen her since she left when Bella was just three."

Mom hissed at that. "What kind of useless mothers do these two have? It's a damn good thing they have me now. I'll show them just how a mother should be."

Emmett and I both smiled at one another and then at her. "That's what we told them," Emmett informed Mom proudly. "I told Rosie that she has a real family now and she was, well, you don't know Rosie yet but I can tell you that she was very girly about it and she almost cried."

"Bella, too, Mom. I promised her that you'd be there in a way that her mother wouldn't."

Mom's eyes started to mist. "Of course I will! You have to give me their address! I'm not waiting until graduation; I'm going to send those two a care package. They're nearly done with school and they probably need something to boost them through those final weeks. I remember how burned out I was at the end."

I smiled. My mom was the best mom in the world and I'd throw down with anybody who said any different. "I'm sure they'd love that." A thought occurred to me. "They live with another girl, Alice, and I know they're worried about her being left out…"

Mom waved an impatient hand to stop me. "Say no more. All three girls. What's Alice majoring in?"

"Nursing. She's actually got an interview coming up at a local hospital."

"And younger men," Emmett supplied, laughing as I rolled my eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with younger men, Emmett." Mom gave both of us a smile that I wanted to know nothing about. She stood and kissed my cheek and then Emmett's. "I'm going to go get started on things for the girls. You text me their address, or bring it with you tonight."

"Tonight?" I asked. Emmett looked equally confused.

"Dinner, if you want it."

"Hell yes!" Emmett hollered.

Mom laughed and headed toward the door. "Be over at six. I've got to give my boys some home cooking before you're stuck with room service and restaurants for months on end."

Emmett looked like he'd won the lottery. "Chicken parm?" he begged.

Mom smiled as she picked up the briefcase she'd left by the front door. "Of course. All your favorites. You'll have to find out what the girls' favorite dishes are as well." With a final wave, she was out the door.

Emmett shook his head. "I think she might love them more than us already."

I laughed. "More than you for sure. But not more than me."

That got me a punch on the arm that stung. "Just you wait. She and Bella will be thick as thieves and she won't call your ass anymore."

"She'll still call, probably to yell at us for whatever we do to piss the girls off."

Emmett chuckled. "True. I'll probably get more calls and visits then."

"Damn right."

"Okay, I'm going to work out before I go eat my weight in Mom's cooking. You coming?"

I may as well face Alec now. If I waited a day or two, he'd be harder on me. "Alright."

Emmett laughed at my expression. "Come on, action star, you gotta be buff to be Steven Steele."

What I wanted to be was at home with my Bella but that wasn't an option. "Yeah, yeah." Time to get back into the routine, such as it was.

Xoxoxoxox

Not even a day home and we were already playing tag. Bella had called while I was working out and by the time I called back, I got her voicemail. Then I had dinner with Mom and Dad and after Emmett's phone buzzed one too many times we were ordered to turn them off. And of course, Bella had called back. So I waited until I got home to try her again.

"Hello." The instant her warm voice filled the line I felt better.

"Hi, baby."

"Finally! I was beginning to think we'd never hook up today."

I laughed, relieved that she seemed as anxious about that as I did. "Tell me about it. Everybody's conspiring to keep us apart and I don't like it."

Bella giggled. "Nobody's conspiring."

"Ha! My mom made me turn off my phone at dinner all because Emmett kept getting texts from Rose."

"How dare they?" she demanded, still laughing.

"It was totally dirty stuff, too, I could tell by Emmett's face."

She laughed harder. "That doesn't surprise me, but why do you sound jealous? Did you want dirty texts?"

That was a silly question. "I always want dirty texts, love."

"Aww, I know you do, baby. And had I had a minute alone all day, I would have sent you some. Everywhere I went there was somebody there, just waiting for me." She sighed. "I think Rose and Alice were trying to make things easier, which I appreciate, but I missed you something fierce."

"I missed you, too."

I could practically hear her smiling through the phone. At least I hoped she was. "I could tell by your text. That was so incredibly sweet."

Her text back had been equally wonderful. She'd told me that her home would always be wherever I was as well and that she couldn't wait for forever with me. Had I not been in the gym when I read it, I might have called her immediately and been a complete sap. Alec would then have called me a girl and made me work out for a few more hours.

"I meant every word, baby. It feels quiet and lonely here, even though Emmett's with me."

"I know," she replied quietly. "One day down, right?"

I laughed as I leaned back against my pillows. "Yes, and it went pretty fast as long as I stayed busy. Mom surprised us not long after we got home."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

My cheeks heated as I remembered what she'd heard when she knocked on my door. "Mom's excited about your graduation. She's already plotting presents and care packages."

"Care packages? Presents? Edward, that's silly. She doesn't have to get me anything."

I rolled my eyes. "You try telling her that, baby. See if she'll listen to you. She's actually going to get stuff for Alice, too."

I could hear a little gasp on the phone. "Really? That's…that's amazing, Edward. Thank you."

Her words, as always, warmed me. "You have nothing to thank me for, baby. I just mentioned that Alice was around and Mom took it from there. We had to give her your address so expect something, I have no idea what." I wondered what Mom would have sent had we gone off to college far away. Who was I kidding? We'd never have gone that far. We were Momma's boys and we both knew it.

"That's so sweet. I'm looking forward to it," she murmured softly.

I knew where her mind had gone. "I told you that Mom's going to be a huge part of your life from here on out. She can be overbearing at times but she means well."

"I doubt I'll ever mind," she told me. I knew that was true.

"Em thinks she already loves you and Rose more than us. I told him that she probably loved you more than him, but never more than me."

That got her giggling again. I grinned at the sound. I didn't want my girl to be sad and it sucked that I knew she was. We were both going to be until I could hold her in my arms again. "I'll make sure you're always number one in her eyes."

"Not a competition, no matter how wonderful you are," I assured her.

"You're really going to fight with me over your mother's love?" she asked, sounding tickled.

Never. Bella deserved all the love she could get. "I'll allow you to be slotted in next to me, where you belong. How's that?"

"That's exactly where I want to be."

I figured I'd better change the subject before we both started crying. It wasn't something I did often and I really didn't want to start. "How was your day, baby?"

She sighed. "Not too bad, really. It wasn't easy being back after all that time off. I wanted to curl up and go to sleep in Feminist Lit."

I chuckled. "Is that a new feeling in that class though?"

"No, but it was stronger this time."

She cracked me up. "Poor baby."

"You just wait, I'm going to call you from that class one day and make you listen."

"Bring it, Bella. I could use a good nap."

"Ha. Just a few more weeks to suffer through and then I'll burn those books."

The image I got of her doing so was hilarious. "That's not very feminist of you. You should at least throw some bras in there, so you're supporting the movement at the same time as you reject it."

Her laugh was contagious. "I'll do that! Except do you really want me burning my bras?"

Hell no. "Uh, not any of the good ones. Don't you have an old ratty one that you wouldn't want anybody to see you in?"

"As if I'm going to burn my most comfortable bra? That's not supporting the movement at all!" She sounded positively horrified. "I should burn that dark blue one, the wires are pokey."

I felt my lips actually move into a pout at the idea. "I like the dark blue one."

"You like all of them."

That was true. "Why don't you buy some new cheap ones to burn? Do they come in a four pack like underwear? Get those," I suggested.

"You're such a boy. Four packs? I'll find something to burn, something that you aren't emotionally attached to."

Well, how did I know? "I'm emotionally attached to all your bras. Burn Rose's. Emmett would probably send you a thank you note."

"A thank you note is not worth the ass kicking I'd get for even thinking of such a thing."

That was true. Rose was scary. "Okay, just burn the books. I won't tell."

"You better not! So what were you doing while I was sharpening my mind?"

"I talked to Kate."

"Oh yeah? How'd that go?"

As well as could be expected. "She was a little thrown about me attending your graduation, but I told her that I'm going and that's that. If we're outed that way, so be it. I plan on mentioning the fact that I am very much taken tomorrow."

"Mmmm, I like hearing that. Are you ready for the interview?"

I smirked. "Those are old hat by now, baby. Yeah, I'm ready. I'm interested to see how she reacts to news of you and what happens after, I guess. My other relationships have all been so Hollywood. This is new for me."

"It's new for me, too." There was a pause and I worried she was already hating it. "I, um, ran into Mike today."

Mike? Mike. Damn that guy. "Oh?" I asked, while mentally running through potential agencies I could call to see about getting her a bodyguard. A big, scary one.

"Stop worrying, Edward. He was fine. But he mentioned you and of course I didn't really know what to say. I just told him that I was seeing someone now and it was new and I was keeping it private." She giggled nervously. "He invited us to his frat party this weekend."

He did, did he? "I see."

"I told him that we had other plans."

I immediately felt better, but then I felt guilty because I did. "You know, if you want to go…" I broke off because I didn't want it to sound like I was giving her permission or something. I had no control over what she did.

"I don't want to go. I've been there and done that. Besides, not only would Mike be there, but so would Jared. We're doing our best to keep Alice away from him so she doesn't suffer a relapse."

I chuckled. She made it sound like a sickness. "Okay, baby. I just don't want you to feel limited."

"Who says I'm limited? We do have plans on Friday night."

We do? "What plans?" I asked.

"Well, if you're free, I was thinking maybe we could have another Skype date. We won't be in the same time zone for much longer so I thought…"

"Hell yes! I'm free." I'd make myself be free, thank you very much.

Bella laughed. "You're so easy."

"Only for you, baby."

"Good. It's a date then." She yawned and I knew it was time to let her go.

"You need to get some rest, love."

"I know, but I don't want to let you go."

I smiled. "You couldn't if you tried. I wouldn't go anywhere."

"Good," she responded.

"Have sweet dreams, Bella. I love you."

"I love you, too, Edward."

She sounded sad again. I couldn't have that. "See you soon, baby."

"I love that. See you soon."

Very soon, because we were having a Skype date much to my utter joy. I ended our call and pulled up Words. Our last game had been forfeited, again by me for some unknown reason. Obviously, the game hated me or was sexist or something. Whatever. Now it was my turn to start. And of course my letters sucked. IHOHIDA? Idaho probably wouldn't play. Not an acceptable word my ass. Aid? That was boring. Hah? Ho? That would go over real well. Hid? Had? Hod? Doh? These letters sucked.

You know what? Why not start with what probably should have been our first word? There wasn't much to it, but I kind of liked it, so I played HI, frowned at the V and Z that showed up in return and opened the message box.

Well, it's not a sexy word but I'll leave those to you. Instead I'll say hi, which probably should have been our first word. Not that I regret the words we did share. I never could. They brought me the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, so every single one of them is wonderful.

I grinned as I remembered some of the words she'd sent me.

Especially the dirty ones. The best part of being away from you, if there is such a thing, is that I get your Words again. I'd rather have you, of course, but I'll take what I can get until I can have you again.

I can't believe I have to go to sleep without you. This big bed of mine is awfully lonely. I really can't wait for the day that you're here with me, or I'm there with you, or we're wherever together. See you soon, baby. I love you.

That was that. I glared at the empty space next to me as I closed the app and set my phone aside. Not soon enough.

A/N Ahh I do love this Edward. And of course, Esme. How about that entrance? Hehehe I'm still giggling. Hope you are as well!

My Scramble mention got me more requests than I can handle! Thank you for that and your patience. I run out of tokens constantly so I'm not as fast as I'd like to be (plus I would never get anything done or written if I just let myself play all the time). A few more scramblers/words players for you to add: cheshire_monkey, vero109 & blueden wants to Scramble.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you same time next week :)