Hello, darlings.

Thank you so much for all your reviews and your favorites.

Thank you, silent readers for giving this story a shot :)

I hope you like this chapter.

I want to warn you in advance that there is a very steamy scene coming soon. I'll let you know when the chapter comes. It won't affect the line of the story, in the sense that you won't miss anything particularly important if you decide to skip the chapter once it comes. If not, enjoy it when it arrives. And that's it with the spoilers.

Stay safe and enjoy :)

SILVER

Chapter 10: First date.

The day before their first official date, Paul took the journey to the supermarket to stock up for the dinner he had planned and for breakfast…just in case.

A guy could dream.

As he started going through the different plates that he was good at cooking, he realized he didn't know anything about Bella's food preferences or if she even had any allergies. As he stared at the section where there was lactose-free milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and so on, and on and on, he started freaking out.

Are you lactose intolerant?

Do you like seafood?

Do you have any allergies?

Do you prefer white or red?

He fired text after text, not waiting for any to be answered before sending the next one.

Bella looked amused at her phone while she changed out of her work shirt. The best way to deal with so many texts was to call him directly.

"Hey." She repressed a laugh. He sounded so relieved by her call.

"Hey, you." She answered back. "What were those texts about?"

He huffed. "I don't know anything about your food preferences or allergies."

Bella hummed. It seemed something trivial to be concerned about, but it was ironic that they already knew so much about the other. Still, something like food preferences was completely new territory.

"I don't have any allergies, I'm not lactose intolerant, I would prefer anything else but wine, and I only like fish and shrimps. I'm not big on seafood. So far, those are my only preferences."

Paul nodded and decided to stick to the first plan he'd thought. He didn't like wine either; so, he was going with something different for drinking. Pasta and beer didn't sound too good to him, so he decided to get iced tea, which sounded better than wine or beer for dinner. Besides, it was getting warmer outside, so something refreshing was a good idea.

"Good to know, baby. See you tomorrow." He responded on autopilot and hung up before she even had the chance to ask the same questions.

She shook her head. It was hilarious how he could get stuck in his head sometimes.

She was excited about their date. Angela suggested she prepared a night bag when they spoke on the phone. "I'm not sleeping with him."

She might have said it too loudly because she could hear Charlie huffing from his spot in the living room. She rolled her eyes. So far, Charlie had been great; he had only asked her to be careful and left it at that, but Bella suspected that was not the last she would hear of it.

"You might. Who knows." Angela taunted, enjoying her friend's embarrassment. It was a blow of fresh air to hear Bella so worked up about something as simple as a date. It meant she was coming back from the shy, submissive girl.

"I know." Bella answered stubbornly.

"Haven't you heard that a cautious woman is worth double?"

Bella couldn't help the loud laugh that escaped from her lips. "Jesus, Ang. Who knew you were like this?!"

"There's a lot of benefits that come from sleeping with a guy like Paul and Em." Bella rolled her eyes, but she had to admit that the prospect of sleeping (either literally or as a metaphor for sex) with Paul was intriguing.

When the moment to get ready arrived, she eyed her underwear drawer, trying to decide if she should follow her friend's advice or if, on the other hand, she should continue to take it slow. Perhaps, she could convince Paul to sleep (and only sleep) with her instead of taking the couch like last time.

She knew that if she were ready to have sex, she wouldn't be hesitating in front of her drawers like she was.

"Why am I making such a big deal out of this?" She whispered, frustrated, and flustered. She couldn't deny that their make-out sessions did something to her nether regions (aside from her heart, of course).

With a sigh, she sat on the bed. She knew why this felt so important. Because sleeping with Paul felt more significant than sleeping with Edward ever had. How many mistakes had she made just because she was stubborn?

She shook her head; whatever happened in the past was in the past, and there was no way of changing it. She only could move forward and avoid making the same mistakes. She claimed to have learned from them, and it was time to be true to her words.

She stood up and decidedly walked to that intimidating drawer. She grabbed her best pair of panties and her best bra, not caring that they didn't match (she didn't own a set of matching underwear. Perhaps, Angela or any of the other imprints could help her remedy that). With a cheeky smile, she changed out of her underwear and put the nice ones on. Without losing her smile, she grabbed a bag, another pair of panties and put them inside with her toothbrush and a shirt. Even if she didn't sleep with him, she had the option, and she had control over that. It made her feel powerful.

She did a silly dance when she was ready. It was exciting to be this excited about a date. It had been too long since she had butterflies in her stomach, and the prospect of dating didn't seem doomed. She didn't have to eat in a hurry because they could eat together. She had missed sharing a meal with a significant other. The best part of being Jake's friend was them eating together, it had felt nice, normal, and it was funny seeing him react to any meal she prepared for them. She had mistaken those feelings for any romantic notion of them being a couple.

When she was debating what she felt, she considered what she thought she felt for Jake. She hadn't said it to him, but she had been confused by those ordinary moments they shared. Dating a vampire and being unhappy had messed with her head in a way she expected never to feel again.

During those days she self-isolated from everyone to do a deep soul-search; she realized what it was she loved about Jake. It wasn't Jake himself she loved romantically; it was the notion of sharing every part of you with someone, even the ugly parts. Jake had fought her hard on this matter. She had thought she had everything figured out, but it turns out Jake knew her better than she knew herself.

If Paul was her other half, Jake was her family, her safe port. She could go to him with anything, and he would listen to her. In retrospect, they had been each other's family their whole lives. When they were little, they used to play together, even though he had two older sisters. Jake had been there from the beginning, offering her friendship. She was glad to have him in her life.

…

…

…

"Bells, may I speak with you before you leave?" Charlie called from the kitchen.

It wasn't unusual that he wanted to have a word before she went out. It would generally be about being safe and not driving home too late in the night. Sometimes it would be about being vigilant for anything suspicious. He would never discuss open cases with her, but the warning varied depending on what he was working on.

"Sure, dad. What's up?" She sat next to him.

Another thing she was grateful for, besides Jake and Paul, was having Charlie. Growing up, she didn't see too much of him. Her mom told her that Charlie thought of the commissary as his family, and even though she never said it out loud, the implication of being neglected was there. Once Bella came to live with her dad, it was clear that those words her mother told her while growing up were lies. Charlie had kept her room intact; perhaps a few changes had been done so that her childhood room looked more like a teen's room. He made sure to be home every night at the same time to eat together, whether they talked or ate in silence. He made a lot of effort to make her feel comfortable and safe in her house. He bought her a truck, managed to get her a job at the Newtons' shop, and made sure she was loved.

Charlie was a man of few words, and just like Bella, he was a little shy, preferring to internalize rather than explain what was going through his mind; but he loved her like no one would love her. Bella would never take that for granted ever again.

Charlie cleared his throat, and his ears turned pink. Bella hid her amusement. Her dad could be too cute sometimes. "I just wanted to say that whether you're doing it or not, and I'm not sure I want to know if you are, you have to be safe. It's not only his responsibility to protect you both but also yours. In this day and age, it's no longer the man's job to be sure you're covered. You're young, and you have a lot of experiences ahead of you. Don't do anything you're not ready for. And don't do anything that would have as a consequence something you're not ready for." It was a long speech to say she should make sure to have condoms too. It was kind of funny how both their minds had been running in a similar direction tonight.

"Don't worry, dad. I'm not gonna do anything I don't want to." She stood up and kissed his cheek. He grunted something that was close to a 'good to know.'

"Here, have this, just in case." His cheeks grew redder than ever before while he extended her a box of condoms.

She blushed just as red as he and accepted it. After that, she basically ran off her house to her car. Paul was going to laugh his ass off when she tells him about this.

…

…

…

It took her twenty minutes to get to Paul's house. She might have been going faster than permitted, but it hadn't been on purpose. Her dad's advice kept coming back to her mind, and she distractedly accelerated on the road.

Of course, that was a piece of information she was going to keep to herself, no need to give her dad a heart attack.

She debated shortly between taking her overnight bag with her or not. She decided she'd leave it in the car. It gave her the option to leave should she want to or go out and take it. It was her little secret to know and for Paul to know too if the situation presented itself naturally.

She stepped out of her truck, straightened her red-wine shirt, looked down on her white shorts, and let out a small sigh. It was warm, and this was the best she could come up with. It was something she had bought by herself, without any input from Alice, who constantly insisted on changing her looks. It made her feel herself, which she needed now because she was feeling a little nervous between all the excitement.

She knocked on his door, and he immediately opened it. He had heard her truck pull up in front of his house. He was giving her the time she needed to come to the door.

Bella took him in. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, which hugged his body nicely; it wasn't tight, but it made his arms look fantastic, with part of his tattoo showing under the sleeve. She continued down his body, noticing he was barefoot but wearing his usual cut-offs. She silently thanked him for wearing his usual attire; it made her nerves ease.

"Hey there." He greeted her with a sweet smile, the one he only had for her.

She stepped closer to him, pecking him on the lips. "Hi." She greeted back.

He took the containers from her hands, gasping, surprised at the coldness of one of them. "What on earth is in here?"

She smiled wider. "Oreo ice cream and cookies on the other container." She shrugged when he raised an eyebrow. "I couldn't decide which one to bring, so I brought both."

He nodded, leading the way to the kitchen island. When they got there, she gasped.

"What did you do?"