BPOV
Edward and I have spent the afternoon just talking about ourselves and our likes and dislikes; from our favorite color to our favorite author. We have a lot in common and I'm starting to think that even if we weren't mates, we would be together. It feels so right being here with him. I feel safe and happy. I haven't felt like that since my mom died.
Eventually I peek at the clock and see that it's time for me to start making dinner before my dad gets home.
"It's my night to cook dinner. Do you maybe want to stay and help me?" I ask. I don't even realize I'm biting my lip until he reaches up and smooths it with his perfect finger. I have to keep myself from moaning at the contact.
"Of course my Bella. Although I don't know how much help I'll be. I haven't eaten human food in over a hundred years. Well at least none that I didn't have to get rid of later."
"That's okay I'll talk you through it." I say, deliberately choosing not to bring up him getting rid of his food.
Edward grabs my hand and we head to the kitchen where I find the ingredients for spaghetti.
"Why don't you make the salad and the bread? Those are the easy parts." I say to Edward.
"Okay I'll try."
"So just take this lettuce and rinse it off. Once that's done just break it apart into the bowl." I instruct as I hand him the lettuce. "Then just slice the tomatoes and carrots and put those into the bowl with the lettuce. Once that's done we'll add dressing and be done."
"Okay that sounds easy enough" he replies looking hopeful.
I go about making the spaghetti. I put the hamburger in a pan to fry and put some water on to boil. After everything is all set and cooking, I turn to help Edward. The sight before me makes me start laughing. Edward is tearing the lettuce and putting it into the salad bowl like I told him, but he has a look of deep concentration on his face. I can tell he's working very hard because he's squeezing the lettuce as he tears it and we now have lettuce soup in the bowl. He looks up when he hears my giggle.
"Um Edward I think I should have been more clear when I told you to rip the lettuce. You want it in bite size pieces like this." I take what's left of the head of lettuce from his hand and tear off a few chunks. "You don't want lettuce mush." I giggle out. He looks a little sheepish. I think if he were human he would be blushing.
"Okay I think I can do it now." I carefully hand him back the lettuce and smirk at him.
I am stirring the hamburger and pouring the pasta into the boiling water when Edward announces that he's done with the salad. It actually looks pretty good now. He left the salad dressing out so that we can put on our own, which is fine with me. I like very little dressing on my salad while my dad likes a lot of dressing and very little vegetables in his salad. I put the salad in the fridge until it's time to eat and turn back to Edward.
"Okay we can start on the bread. It's pretty easy. You just take the french bread loaf and cut it into pieces like this." I find a knife and show him. "Once thats done you'll butter both sides and sprinkle some garlic onto it and we'll put it into the oven. Do you think you can do it?" I ask with a big smile on my face. He rolls his eyes and chuckles at me.
"I think I can." He replies.
I leave him to do that while I check on the noodles and hamburger. They still need a little while to cook so I can start setting the table.
"Are you going to stay for dinner, Edward?"
"I don't think so sweetheart. I would love to spend more time with you but this is your time with your dad and I don't want to infringe on that. Also I would have to purge all of the food back up later, and that's really not fun."
"Okay yeah. I just wish I could spend more time with you."
"Well I was thinking that once Charlie goes to bed, I could come and visit you. I could come in through your window and your dad would never know. That is only if your comfortable with that, of course."
"I would love that Edward. Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me Bella. I want to be with you just as much as you want to be with me. Maybe more." He winks at me.
"Yeah I doubt that." I mumble back at him. He just chuckles and puts the bread in the oven.
By the time I'm done setting the table, the hamburger is done and the spaghetti is ready to be strained. I put the strainer in the sink and pour the pot of water and noodles into it. After that's done, I grab the strained noodles and put them back in the pot. I turn around to take it back to the stove and Edward is looking at me with furrowed brows.
"Whats wrong?" I ask confused.
"I don't like you doing that. Maybe I should strain the pasta next time. Anything could happen. It could splash up and burn you or the steam could hurt your eyes or the pan could burn your hand and you could drop it on your foot. There's too many dangerous things that could happen. I don't think you should cook alone. I will be here to do all of the dangerous stuff." He says then nods his head like he's agreeing with himself.
"Edward I appreciate that you don't want me to get hurt but trust me. I've been cooking since I was in elementary school and I know what I'm doing. I can manage. Thank you for your concern though. It's very sweet."
"Well I still don't like it." He grumbles under his breath. I just roll my eyes at him and smile. He may be being unreasonable but its only because he cares about me and my safety; so really it's kind of sweet.
Dinner is pretty much ready. I'm finishing the spaghetti now and both the bread and the salad are done. Edward insisted on taking the bread out of the oven when it was done. Something about the extreme temperatures and my delicate human skin. I'm pouring the canned sauce into the noodles, I'm too lazy to make homemade, and hamburger that I've mixed together when Edward comes up behind me. I put the can down just as his arms snake around my waist and I lay my hands on his. Every where he touches me leaves a trail of fire and tingles in its place; I never want him to stop. He buries his nose in my hair and takes a deep breath.
"As much as I don't want to leave, I can hear Charlie coming down the street and I think it would be best if he didn't find me here alone with his teenage daughter." I feel him smile into my hair.
"Okay, but I'll see you tonight right."
"You can count on it love. Until then." He kisses the top of my head and when I feel a breeze I know he's gone.
I put the salad on the table along with the dressing and I'm dishing spaghetti onto our plates when I hear my dad come in the front door. His boots clomp on the floor and I can hear him taking his police belt off and to hang it by the door.
"What smells so good Bellsy?" he asks as he comes into the kitchen.
"Hey daddy. It's my night to cook and I made spaghetti for dinner. Are you hungry?"
"Starving. I could eat a horse."
We sit down at the table and start eating.
"So how was your first day of senior year Bells?" Charlie asks as he pours a ridiculous amount of dressing onto what looks like one lettuce leaf.
"It was good dad. I met a new student. His name is Edward Cullen. He is Alice Cullen's adopted brother. He's new this year too" I tell him. "So you want a little salad with your dressing?" He just looks up at me and grins.
"Nope I'm perfectly fine." I just shake my head at him. "So another Cullen huh? I didn't know that they had another child."
"Yeah he just moved here. He's been away at boarding school the past few years. He seems very nice." I tell him trying to be discreet.
"You know Bells you're about as subtle as a hand grenade. Do you like this Edward? Cause if you do I think I might need to introduce myself one day. When I'm on duty. With my gun."
"Seriously dad? You don't need to scare him. And yes I think I like him. He's a cool guy." Well that's the understatement of the year.
"Well I'll have to meet him Bells. Make sure he's good enough for you." He says looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay dad. You'll meet him I promise." I reassure him.
We spend the rest of our dinner quietly eating. A nice thing about my dad is he doesn't force me to talk if I don't want to, and we're both perfectly fine spending time together without a bunch of chit chat.
Just like every night after dinner we clean up and do the dishes together. It's only fair. He's not my maid and I'm not his. We both ate and dirtied dishes so we both clean. It's also a time that we get to spend together. My dad and I became very close when my mom died.
I put the leftover food into containers for dad to take to work this week for lunches and head into the living room where he's already camped out in front of the tv with a beer.
"You want to watch the game with me, B?" he asks me. I'm not really into sports but sometimes I will watch them on tv with him.
"I don't think so dad. I think I'm just gonna head upstairs and get ready for bed. You know I have to get used to getting up early again."
"Okay kiddo. Just make sure to say goodnight before you go to bed."
"I will dad." I say and head upstairs.
My room is empty when I walk in, so I get my pajamas and toiletries together and go into the bathroom. I do my nightly routine of washing my face and brushing my teeth before I change clothes and head downstairs to say goodnight to my dad.
I kiss him on the cheek and tell him goodnight before heading upstairs. When I get to my room I turn the light on and when I turn around there is Edward standing in front of my window with a big smile on his face. I don't even think before I rush over to him and throw my arms around his neck. I bury my face in his chest and breath in his scent. He came back.