Hi all!

So...I dropped off the face of the Earth for a bit there. I had a lot of stuff pop up over the winter break. I got a part time job that takes up some of my time. A close friend of mine had a parent pass away from Covid so that took up a lot of mine and my husband's time while we helped them out with whatever we could. My grandma passed away after a nasty fall. So, life has been pretty busy for me and my family.

I have almost all of the rest of the chapters outlined. It is a matter of getting them typed out. I don't know how often I will get the rest of the chapters out but rest assured that I have not forgotten about this story. I think about these characters often but life has a really good knack of getting in the way.

Thank you sticking with me!

Enjoy and I appreciate feedback. I do not have a beta so any mistakes are all mine.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, ideas, plots, music, brands, etc. are owned by their respected owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 13

16 years old

Edward slapped his alarm and groaned. It was 5am. Way too early to be up on a Wednesday morning. Edward flung the warm covers off his bed and slowly stood up. The sky was still dark outside. His room was cold.

"Morning, son," Edward Senior said as he poured sugar into his coffee.

"Morning," Edward yawned back. There was already toast in the toaster.

"Working this morning?"

"Yeah, Jeff asked if I could come in a half hour early. Wants to show me some new stuff."

"Sounds good. I got to get ready for work. Have a nice day at school. Don't forget we're having dinner at Mamma Maria's tonight for Mom's birthday."

"I won't forget. See you later, Dad."

Edward finished breakfast and then quickly hopped in the shower. He was running late and needed to pick up the pace in order to make it to the rink on time. Edward gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek and wished her a happy birthday on the way out the door to his car.

Bella sipped her hot chocolate as she walked into the rink. It was 6:30 in the morning and she was meeting Coach Cullen for her private lesson before school. Her parents surprised her with private lessons two years ago for Christmas. The only time that worked on Wednesdays was before school but Bella's parents were more than willing to get her to the rink before she could drive. Now that Bella had her license, it was all up to her. Bella liked her morning lesson though. Getting one on one time with Coach Cullen was great and the rink was always so peaceful when it was just the two of them.

"Good morning, Coach."

"Good morning, Bella. Take a bit to stretch and I'll meet you on the ice once Edward is done on the Zamboni."

Bella set her bag on the bench and got to stretching. Her back was tight from sleeping weird last night. She watched Edward as he made his way slowly back and forth across the ice. It was the off season for hockey, so Edward worked at the rink to earn some extra cash. The mornings were really early but Edward liked it. He liked how peaceful it was and liked Wednesday mornings even more. Bella leaned up against the glass waiting for Edward to finish up.

"You almost done? I got some ice to scuff up," Bella teased.

"Well, I don't know. I think I should go one more pass."

"Please don't."

"Too late. Can't have imperfect ice for the skate queen," Edward smirked.

"Come on Kristoff. Get off the ice. You're taking up my time," Bella pouted.

"What do I get from this? You're messing up my pretty ice."

Bella smiled.

"What do you want?"

"Let me think on it."

Edward made a show up putting the Zamboni away as Bella stepped onto the ice. Bella did a couple warm up laps around the rink trying to loosen her stiff muscles. Her back still felt tight. The qualifying round for Regionals was in 2 weeks. Esme was starting to put more pressure on Bella. The other girls on the team competed as well but were not trying to catch the eyes of college scouts like Bella was. She was only 16 but knew scholarships and possibly a full ride was going to be her best chance at going to college. Her parents were going to help as much as they could but getting top scores at competitions would help get her name out there.

"Alright, Bella. Get into your starting position. I want you to work on pushing off your toe harder into the first jump..."

Edward bounced around the rink doing odd jobs. The vending machines needed to be refilled and the concession stand got restocked. Edward could have left a while ago and even go home to sleep some more but he did not want to leave quite yet.

"Can you sweep the lobby?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, sure," Edward nodded.

"Once you are done with that, you can head out."

"Uh, sounds good. I'll probably wipe down the benches before I go, too."

Music bounced around the locker room while Bella quickly showered. She used to run home before school, but it took too much time. Now she just rented a locker and kept shower stuff there. Bella was running a little behind and had to leave her hair wet. She shoved her skating bag into her locker and slung her backpack over her shoulder as she left the locker room.

Edward was locking up the utility closet before heading to school when he saw Bella leaving the locker room. Her hair wet and curling around her shoulders. Bella's cheeks were still a little pink from the hot water from her shower. Edward quickly grabbed his backpack and jogged over to Bella. She still smelled of fresh apples.

"Cookies."

"Huh?"

"I want cookies," Edward smiled, "cookies for slicing up my ice. From scratch."

"No way. I don't have time for that," Bella laughed.

"Please? I remember the cookies you brought to school for Alice's birthday back in 7th grade and they were delicious."

"Still not happening. Choose something else."

"Let me copy off your Geometry homework than."

"Fat chance at that."

"Spanish?"

"Ne va a pasar."

"What?"

"Not going to happen," Bella smirked as she got into her car.

Well? Nothing too crazy happened but laying down the foundation for Bella and Edward's relationship to change as they get older.

I am working a short shift at my part time job tonight so I plan on getting another chapter typed out and possibly published before going to bed tonight. No promises but my fingers are crossed!

Thanks for reading!

~ Cat