21

Bella climbed out of her ring and ran over to me, pausing just long enough for Carlisle to pull her gloves off and take out her mouth piece. She jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around me and leaned her forehead against mine.

"Did you make it to the championships?" she asked.

"Yep," I smiled.

"Oh my god, Edward," laughed Bella. "That's fucking awesome."

"Thank you," I chuckled. She smiled as she put her feet back on the ground.

"You're nose looks like crap, though," she said. "Is it broken?"

"No, pretty sure it's fine," I shrugged.

"Ok, so we have about half an hour until Edward's match starts and an hour till Bella," said Carlisle, pulling us out of our private moment. "We need to get them re-taped."

"They should eat an energy bar," said Jasper, digging around in Carlisle's bag. "Keep their energy up."

"Good idea," muttered Carlisle, shoving the bars into mine and Bella's hands. "Sit. Eat. Rest."

"Yes, Captain Asshole," muttered Bella, rolling her eyes.

Carlisle ignored her sarcasm as he, Jasper, and Emmett started talking strategy. Bella and I took our seats on the bench and ate our energy bars, that tasted more like cardboard than the raspberry they claimed. Bella leaned her head on my shoulder while we watched some of the other weight classes complete.

I slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me. It was amazing how as soon as she was next to me, I felt happier. Inwardly, I shook my head. I sounded like some kind of lovesick fool. Maybe I was one. I felt Bella sigh and looked down at her. She had a soft smile playing on her lips and her eyes closed. She was absolutely beautiful.

"Ok, Edward, let's get you taped," said Carlisle, interrupting out quiet moment. Bella sighed and moved away from me.

"Ok," I sighed, smiling at her. I stuck my hands out in front of me. "Who am I fighting?"

"A boy named Jalen White. He's pretty good, decent right hook, killer roundhouse. Stay to his left, it's his weaker side," said Emmett.

"Keep your feet moving," ordered Jasper, fitting my headgear on. "Don't let him push you into the ropes or you will be toast."

"Conserve as much as energy as you can. Make him do the work," said Carlisle, shoving my gloves onto my hands. He placed his hands on my shoulders. "You can beat this guy, Edward. Just focus and have fun."

"Ok," I muttered, taking a deep breath. I stood up and stretched.

"Edward," whispered Bella. I turned and looked at her as she stood up. She leaned up and pressed her lips to mine. "Kick his ass."

"On it," I whispered.

I kissed her once more before I popped my mouth piece into my mouth and stepped into the ring. Jalen White was a gangly looking boy with dark skin and eyes. He was maybe an inch or two taller than I was. He was stretching his arms behind his back as the referee stepped into the ring, motioning for us to join him.

"Welcome to the championship match, Gentlemen. When you are ready, bump gloves and head back into your corners. Good luck to the both of you."

I nodded my head at the referee before I hit Jalen's gloves with mine. I went back into my corner and looked back at Bella. She was watching me with the most intense look on her face. Her eyes snapped up to mine and she smiled while blushing at the same time. I winked at her before I turned back to my opponent. The judge rang the bell and we stepped toward each other.

Jalen tucked his arms in and stepped to his right. I mirrored his actions, keeping my eyes on his. He narrowed them just slightly before he stepped up to me and threw a left hook. I blocked it and countered with mine own. He stepped back as he threw a right jab. I blocked it but wasn't able to block the roundhouse he followed with.

For the next two rounds, we traded punches. He was strong, his punches stung, but he was lazy. He didn't move his feet and often stumbled around. We were in the middle of the third round when I took advantage of his lazy footwork and threw my right followed by my left. He stumbled back and I moved around him, causing him to trip up and fall into the ropes. Once I had him there, I threw my fists into his gut, arms, and head.

He tried to push me off of him but I planted my feet onto the mat and pinned him to the ropes. He managed to get a couple blows to my gut but I got more on him. Finally the bell rang and I went back to my corner. Jalen stumbled into his corner, letting his coach pull off his head gear.

"You did good, Edward," muttered Carlisle, pulling my headgear off. My hair flopped down against my forehead, dripping with sweat. I spit out my mouth piece. "You did real good."

"Thanks," I said, looking back at Bella. She was watching me with a smile on her face. She took a deep breath as she looked away from me.

"Our judges have made their decision," announced the referee. "Let me say that you both did great job today. Our winner for the Seattle Classic in the light heavy weight men's division is Edward Masen."

I heard Bella screaming as I went over to shake his and Jalen's hands. I thanked them both before I climbed out of the ring. Bella threw herself in my arms and kissed me, hard. I heard several people gasp behind us but I didn't really care. I had Bella in my arms and that was all that mattered to me. She pulled her lips from mine and smiled.

"That was fucking amazing, Edward," whispered Bella, smiling.

"Thank you, Baby," I smiled. I set Bella back onto her feet. "Now it's your turn. You kick some ass."

"I will," winked Bella.

My body shivered as Bella smiled and went over to her brothers. They got her head gear, gloves, and mouthpiece in before she climbed into the ring. As he did during my match, the referee called Bella and her opponent, a dirty blond girl names Aimee Burnett, to the middle of the ring. Bella nodded at Aimee and touched her gloves before she came over to her corner.

She looked back at me and smiled as the judges rang the bell. Bella snapped her head around and pulled all her attention onto her competitor. I barely heard Esme talking to me, telling me how good I did. All I could do was watch as Bella took that girl down.

Aimee made the mistake of coming right at Bella. She threw her right hook but Bella ducked and countered with a jab to the gut. I heard Aimee groan slightly as she stepped back but Bella wasn't going to let her go. Bella stepped up to Aimee and threw her right and left hooks. Over and over, she threw her gloved hands into the girl.

The arena was eerily quiet and I knew that everyone was focusing their attention onto Bella. She had Aimee pushed back into a corner, throwing a left jab then a right. The bell rang and Bella stepped back into her corner. She was breathing heavily as she looked back at me. Her eyes were dark, full of passion and determination.

The judge rang the bell to start the second round and Bella, once again, snapped her head back to her opponent. She didn't even bother holding back this time. Bella stepped right up to Aimee and starting hitting her. The poor girl barely had the time to bring her arms up to even block half the punches Bella was throwing at her. The referee blew his whistle and pushed Bella back into her corner.

"She's fucking amazing," murmured Renee. I shook my head and looked over at her. Renee smiled and looked at me. "She's always been a natural but I've never seen her fight like this."

"Me either," I whispered.

"I wonder what had changed," commented Renee before moving to stand next to Charlie. I turned back to Bella. She was looking right at me. There was a hungry look in her eye.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your winner for the flyweight women's division is Isabella Cullen," announced the referee.

I cheered along with everyone else as Bella went over and thanked him and Aimee. She climbed out of the ring, nearly jumping. Carlisle quickly pulled her gloves and headgear off as Jasper took her mouthpiece. As soon as she was clear she ran over and jumped into my arms, locking her feet around my waist.

Bella smiled as she leaned down and gently pressed her lips to mine. The moment her lips touched mine it was like everyone else disappeared, leaving us in our own private bubble. Bella wove her fingers into my hair, tugging gently as she slipped her tongue into my mouth. I tightened my arms around her, causing us both to moan.

"For fuck sake," grumbled Emmett, pulling Bella away from me. "There are people everywhere."

"That's it," hissed Bella, pushing her brother off of her. She turned and headed up to the where Rose and Alice were sitting.

"Oh shit," muttered Emmett, taking off after her.

I shared a look with Carlisle and Jasper. They both laughed and took off after him. I ran after them while Esme, Renee, and Charlie all looked confused but followed us. Bella stopped in front of Rose and Alice.

"Rose, that summer that we all went to the lake but you couldn't go because you had to work," said Bella. "I caught Emmett in the bathroom jerking off to a picture of you. He was moaning and asking you to suck him harder."

"Fuck," muttered Emmett. Bella turned and smirked at him as Rose, who had turned a bright red, stood up behind her. Alice was nearly hysterical from her stifled laughter.

"Accept that Edward and I are together, dickhead, and that means that we kiss…a lot," smirked Bella.

She grabbed my head and pulled me down the stairs as we heard Rose start yelling at Emmett. Jasper, Carlisle, and Renee were all laughing so hard they had tears running down their faces. I looked over at Bella as we left the arena.

"You are vicious sometimes," I laughed. "But, goddamn it, I love it."

"He should know not to mess with me," sighed Bella, shaking her head. "I'm the youngest of five. My parents taught me all long time along to fight back."

A few minutes later, the others came out. Emmett was muttering under his breath about what a bitch Bella was and how he was going to work everyday at bringing her down. Rose was fuming as she glared at her boyfriend. Everyone else thought it was hilarious but were trying to stifle their laughter but were failing miserably.

"We ready to hit the road?" asked Bella, smiling at her brothers. Emmett glared at her while Carlisle and Jasper nodded their heads.

"Yes," snickered Carlisle.

"Yeah, let's go," snorted Jasper.

"Yeah, cause it sounds like Em has some business to take care of," giggled Renee. We all busted out laughing.

"I will fucking get you back for this, Bell," growled Emmett while Rose stormed out.

"Sure you will, Em," scoffed Bella.

"Rosie, I'm sorry," called Emmett, chasing after her.

"They are going to have a fun car ride," smirked Carlisle. We gathered out stuff and headed out to our cars. Rose climbed into the front seat of Emmett's jeep without saying a word. Alice and Jasper laughed as they climbed into Jasper's car. Renee smiled at me and Bella before she and Charlie climbed into her car.

"So, um, Carlisle is going to take me to dinner," muttered Esme, blushing as she looked up at me. "I won't be home for awhile."

"Ok," I smiled. "Just be careful."

"I will," mumbled Esme, looking back at Carlisle. He smiled as he opened her car door for her. "I'm really going to try to, anyway."

I felt Bella slip her hand into mine as Esme went over and climbed into Carlisle's car. I looked down at her and saw her watching our siblings with a soft smile. Bella looked up at me and, somehow, her smile grew. She leaned up on her toes and kissed me.

"I'm ready to go home," she said.

"Me too," I smiled.

Bella and I climbed into my car and headed out onto the highway. Bella plugged her iPod on and started her Motley Crue play list before she leaned her head on my shoulder. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her. I was definitely in love with this girl. I couldn't help but wonder if she would ever love me back.