22

2:17 a.m.

"You good?"

I look at Emmett, nodding once.

"Yeah, man. Have a good night."

He smiles. "Enjoy your night off, all right?" His eyes flicker to where Bella is waiting for me, chatting with another officer. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he jokes.

I roll my eyes, but my stomach twists. I think I might have already done several things he wouldn't do.

I head toward Bella, and when she sees me, she lights up. It sort of takes my breath away.

"Ready?" I ask her. She nods, turning back to Officer Matthews.

"It was nice to meet you, Sir."

Officer Matthews gives her a warm smile. "You too, young lady. Come visit if you ever stop by again, though," he says, suddenly giving her a stern paternal look. "It better by a friendly visit. I don't want to see you in any cuffs."

She giggles. "We'll save those for home," she says, winking at him. I feel the blood leave my face in both my panic and—annoyingly—arousal.

Officer Matthews laughs good-naturedly and nods. "Keep it that way." He looks at me. "Night, Cullen."

I nod to him before reaching out to Bella. She takes my hand, waving once more to Officer Matthews. I lead her outside, mildly regretting bringing her to the station. What was I thinking? We should be keeping her as far from my work as possible.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been avoiding police stations as much as I have been," she says as we head toward my car. I look at her in question. "Well, all the cops I've met in the last twenty-four hours have been great. Way better than any I knew growing up."

I smile a little. "I'm glad you've had a positive experience," I say quietly. "I wish more people felt like that."

She squeezes my hand gently as we reach my car. I pull my keys out, unlocking it. I lead her to the passenger's door, pulling it open for her. She stops before climbing in, looking up at me.

"Wait, I forgot something."

I frown, but then she's stepping into me, reaching up on her tiptoes. I smile, leaning down to meet her for a sweet kiss.

She settles back on her heels and grins. "Hi," she says softly.

"Hi," I say back. She licks her lips but then climbs into the car. I let out a breath as I shut the door and head around to the driver's side.

When I'm in the car, I turn to look at her. "Am I taking you home?"

"Yes please. For some reason, I'm absolutely exhausted today."

I snort, nodding in agreement. I start my car and pull out of the lot, making my way toward her place.

"How was your day?"

I look over at her when I ask, and see she looks a little surprised. "It was fine, until it wasn't," she rolls her eyes. "My half-sister Leah just got engaged, which is great, but dad insisted on throwing her an engagement party tonight. Leah was supposed to give me a ride home, but her fiance wanted to leave as soon as possible and that meant not even wasting time to find me." She rolls her eyes. "I don't blame Jake though. My dad is the worst."

I glance at her, frowning. "You don't get along," I say, not really asking.

Bella shrugs. "That's what's weird, because sometimes we get along just fine. But he's always tried to control every aspect of my life, and I'm not someone who does well under a thumb. I think we're probably too similar in a lot of ways, which is why we inevitably clash all the time. At least, that's what my mom always says."

"Where is your mom?"

"She's down in Arizona. That's where I spent most of my childhood. After their divorce I moved with her."

"How old were you?"

She glances at me. "Seven."

I wince. I can't imagine how hard it might have been to deal with divorcing parents at any age, let alone that young.

"I'm sorry," I say softly.

Bella shrugs. "It was honestly the best thing for me. I would have been batshit out of control if I had to grow up under my dad's thumb."

"What brought you back up here?" I ask, turning down her street.

"School," she says, shaking her head. "I got a scholarship I couldn't pass up."

I nod, pulling into a parking spot on the street. Bella looks up at her building then looks at me.

"Do you want to come up?"

"You're not too tired?" I ask. She smiles, leaning over to kiss me. God, her lips are so soft.

"Not for you," she whispers. I smile and nod, kissing her once more before breaking apart. I pull off my seatbelt and reach into my back seat, grabbing a duffle of spare clothes. Bella and I climb out of the car, and I meet her on the sidewalk, offering her my hand. She takes it, smiling up at me.

We head inside her building, chatting quietly about my shift.

Things with Bella are so simple, so easy. Even when it doesn't feel like it, things just sorta fall into place with her.

I never knew any sort of relationship could be like that.