I'll post a few more then I'm off for the day...gotta get my son married.

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. All mistakes are my own.

ENJOY!

10/08/2022


Chapter 3

BPOV


I pulled into the parking lot of a small diner in Port Angeles, where my mom asked me to meet her. I was right on time since I had gotten out of bed early so, I could hop on the treadmill and run my dedicated five miles.

Having my own workout room was one of the luxuries I took advantage of. I didn't like working out with other people in the room. I suppose that's why I had my kick-boxing sessions so late in the afternoon.

The less people around, the better I did and the more I kicked Jasper's ass. He got lucky a couple of times, but I loved the playful, humiliated banter he amused me with. He was perfect for my ego.

I found mom sitting a few tables back from the door where I entered. She had a huge smile on her face when she saw me. She seemed giddy and anxious for my arrival. "Where's Alex and Gracie?" I asked as I sat down.

"Frank and Lois are keeping an eye out for them while we're out. Demetri begged for them to come over. That kid is so silly," she replied, taking a deep breath. "They're growing up way too fast for my liking."

It seemed like my mother just gave birth to my brother and sister yesterday. Time had flew by so fast, but I was thankful I had been around enough to witness the growth of both of my siblings. "Yeah, they have." I reached up and opened my cloth napkin to smooth it over my lap, then picked up my menu. "So, what's on the agenda for today besides lunch?"

Mom seemed to settle into her seat a little more and laid her menu flat. "Well, I was already at the furniture store down the street. They're expecting us after lunch, by the way. I wanted to pick out a new desk and a new filing cabinet. Then we're off to the paint store."

"Sounds promising," I retorted. I hoped I didn't sound too sarcastic. I love spending time with my mom, and if going shopping was something she wanted to do, then we'll do it.

"I promise, honey, I won't take too long. I already spotted the desk I want, and I already know what color I'm looking for," she explained, pleadingly. She knew I wasn't a fan of spending too much time in one place unless it were my office at work or at home.

I smiled at her. "It's okay, mom. I promised I'd tag along, so no big deal."

"Thank you." Then she looked at me with a smirk on her face. I could see the anticipation pouring from her as she played with her napkin. "So, how did dinner go last night? I'm curious to know about the famous Edward Cullen."

When our server arrived, he heard what my mom asked me. His facial expression was priceless. He looked as if he found a million bucks lying on the table. "You know Edward Cullen?"

"Um... yes. He's my best friend's cousin; are you a fan?"

"Oh, gosh yes. I met him once after a game they played here a couple of years ago. He was the coolest guy. I've been a fan ever since. His brother's pretty awesome, too," he replied with a huge smile.

I chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, they're both pretty great." Even though I hadn't met Emmett, yet. If he were anything like Edward, then I knew he was a pretty good guy.

"I'm sorry. I was rude, are you ready to order?" He held up his order pad with his pen ready.

Sticking to my healthy eating habits, I ordered what I normally did. "Yes, I want the grilled chicken sandwich on wheat bread with light mayo, tomatoes, sprouts and avocado added, please. Oh, and a side salad with raspberry vinaigrette."

"Mmm, that sounds delicious, I'll have the same," mom said as she closed her menu and took mine as well only to put them at the edge of the table.

The server looked between us. "And to drink?" he asked.

"I'll have a glass of ice water, please, with lemon," I replied.

"And, I'll have an iced tea with lemon, please," mom requested.

The waiter then reached down to retrieve our menus. "Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks."

After he walked away, my mom pounced. I knew what she wanted to know. I wouldn't put it past Momma Whitlock to call her last night and tell her all the juicy gossip. Not that there was any, but those two, I swear they could run their own gossip magazine and sell millions with all the crap they talked about.

"Answer my question, young lady." She demanded. "How did dinner go at the Whitlock's?" She may have sounded very stern, but I knew she wasn't serious. It was her motherly curiosity coming to the surface.

I chuckled, shaking my head at her. "Dinner was great. They all up and left Edward and I alone in the den after dinner. We talked for a little bit before he asked me out to dinner Friday night." There really wasn't much to explain to her other than me admitting that we got along, and I was very attracted to him.

Mom smiled and reached for my hand across the table. "Oh, honey, that's great. I hope you said yes."

"He's so sweet and not arrogant like I assumed he was. We definitely have things in common. We both studied Dante's Inferno in college. Well, he studied it, I just did a paper on it," I said with a little chuckle. I was getting excited about telling her.

"So, did you kiss him?" Her eyes were wide with question.

I looked up at her with surprise and embarrassment. "He kissed me on the back of my hand, and I kissed his palm."

"Oh, sweetie, the palm? Really?" She asked with amusement. She sighed and shook her head. "What's wrong with a good ole fashioned lip lock, these days?"

"He cupped my cheek with his hand, and I kissed his palm; I couldn't resist," I replied, shyly. "And there's nothing wrong with a good ole fashioned lip lock. Don't you think it's a little too soon to be sucking each other's faces off?"

She smiled, giving me her answer without speaking a word. I reached for my glass of water, hoping the subject would be dropped.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your dad made it home last night. It was a surprise; I thought he was going to be gone all next week. He had to meet up with the Chief of Police. That's why he didn't come with me," she explained.

That made me smile. It would be great to see my dad. He traveled a lot for his job, but he always made time for his family. "That's great. It'll be nice to see him. Did he say why he was back so early from his trip?"

"He didn't say, and I didn't ask. Something's better left unknown, sweetie," she replied. I knew what she meant by her answer. We had stumbled across a file of his one time when I was seventeen. We were cleaning and when mom moved dads' briefcase, it popped open and all the stuff inside fell out. It was honestly a complete accident. And we got a little nosy. I shouldn't have opened the folder. There were some nasty, gory pictures of dead people and body parts. It was entirely wrong. Those images were burned into the back of my head for months.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right." And then I remembered I had something for her. "Oh yeah, this is for you," I said while pulling the envelope out of my purse and handing it to her. Mom narrowed her eyes at the envelope. "It's from Momma Whitlock. She was very adamant about me giving it to you and she told me to tell you not to argue with her over it."

Although those weren't Momma Whitlock's exact words, I knew she would try to protest a gift.

"Oh my, goodness! That woman! She'll never learn, will she?" Her eyes grew big when she opened the envelope and brought her hand to her mouth. I could see tears in her eyes that she tried to wipe away before I saw them. "Oh gosh, sweetie. Did you know what this was?"

I gave her a huge toothy grin because I was guilty of knowing. "Yeah, and I hope you use it before school starts. Maybe we can make a date of it. Just you and I, or maybe we can get Momma Whitlock to come along. What do you say?"

"I would love for the both of you to join me," she suggested, smiling widely.

"Okay. You make the appointments and I'll fill Momma Whitlock in on the information. We can work around our schedules better than what you can with school starting soon." I know for a fact that Momma Whitlock would jump at the chance to spend time with my mom, that's why I suggested that join her.

"It'll be soon. I definitely want to do this before school starts. I've actually wanted to go for quite some time now," she said, finally admitting when she deserved some down time to herself.

"Okay. Just let me know."

Lunch went by pretty quickly and we made our way to the furniture store. It didn't take her long to pick out the desk and filing cabinet that she wanted. She had them set-up to be delivered on Monday. It's too bad I wouldn't be there when they arrived. I would have to wait until my next visit to see how they looked in her office.

The paint store went pretty much the same way. She knew exactly what color she wanted. Which was nice, because if it were me, we would have been there all day. I could never make up my mind and I think that's why my loft had a splash of color all throughout.

We made it home by 5:30 and Dad was out back with Alex and Gracie on the jungle gym. He acted just like a big kid sometimes and that made me love him even more. He was so good with them, and it made my longing for children, even stronger.

My Dad turned as if he felt my presence, "Hey kiddo. When did you and mom get back?"

"We just got home." I walked over and climbed up to join them. They were running through the maze and over the hanging bridge. Dad was having Alex walk the plank and Gracie was running through the maze sounding like an Indian. I didn't think she really understood the concept of playing Pirates. It didn't matter though, the scene before me was priceless regardless of what any onlooker would say.

"It's good to see you, kid. I'm just glad to make it home for your mom's birthday," he said while pulling me into a hug and gently squeezing me before he let go to chase after my brother.

I chased Gracie around for a little bit until my mom called out telling us we needed to come in and wash up for dinner.

It was Mom's choice for dinner; she wanted Italian, so we ordered a couple of pizzas, a pan of baked Ziti with a huge combination calzone from the local pizzeria.

The owners were friends of my grandparents and always treated us as family when we went there to eat or call in an order. They added in a cake for mom's birthday when they came to deliver the food. They also said that dinner was on them and to enjoy it. Mom started with the waterworks as soon as Mr. Bellini's grandson left. She reminded dad to call and thank them.

After everyone was seated, I served the food. I was still full from lunch, so I only took a slice of pizza and a little bit of Ziti.

After dinner, everyone settled in the living room to watch a movie. We were watching 'Up'. It turned out to be a really cute movie. Mom wanted to make sure we watched something kid friendly while Alex and Gracie were still awake. After they went to bed, we were going to watch something more action packed. I wanted something like 'Man of Steel', but we settled on 'Avengers'.

When our movie was over, I headed up to bed. I wanted to get on the road and head home before it got too late. I needed to run by the Apple store to replace my iPod. The one I had finally died on me and I wanted to look at some of the other products they had.

When I made it to my room, I pulled my phone from my pocket and noticed I had a missed call and a text message; both from Edward.

I quickly opened the text and smiled when I read it.

I tried calling. Seems you were busy. I wanted to see if you were free for lunch on Wednesday.

I immediately replied. Yes, I'm free. Sorry, I didn't answer. Remember, I'm in Forks visiting my mom for her birthday. We just finished watching a movie. How are you?

It took him a few minutes to text back. I glanced at the clock and frowned; I really hope I didn't wake him up. I'm good. I hope your mom had a wonderful birthday. I can't wait to see you.

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face. Not just a small smile, but one that lit up my entire face. I wanted to do a jig dance in the middle of my room.

I quickly answered back: Do you mind if I call you? I don't text too much. I would prefer to hear your voice.

I hoped I wasn't being too, I don't know, anxious. While I contemplated that, my phone dinged: You can call me anytime.

He picked up on the first ring. He seemed a little too eager, but I felt the same way. I hadn't heard his voice since Saturday night, and I was craving it.

"Hello."

"Hi. I'm not bothering you, am I? I was just headed to bed. I don't like to text unless I have too," I explained as I pushed my pants down.

"That's fine, and you're not bothering me at all. I was actually sitting on my bed reading. Well, just flipping through a magazine." I could hear the pages of the magazine as he browsed it.

"Find anything interesting?" I couldn't help my imagination as I thought about him looking through a girly magazine.

"No, but I found something better to do," he said.

That piqued my curiosity. "Oh, yeah? What would that be?"

"Talking to a beautiful woman on the phone," he replied. I could feel the pink spread across my face feeling shy and exhilarated at the same time. His voice was so seductive and hearing him breathe into the phone, was just as libido inducing.

"Is that so?" I slid down, further, into my bed and rolled to my side. I reached up and turned my lamp off.

"Yes. I really can't wait to see you on Wednesday. You've been all I thought about all day," he admitted.

"I've thought about you a lot, too. I told my mom about you today. She wants to meet you. Oh and I met one of your biggest fans. He was our server at the diner we ate at today. He overheard mom say your name and asked if I knew you. Of course, I didn't deny it. Who would deny knowing you?" I asked rhetorically, a little bit of my fan girl coming out.

I heard him chuckle. "I'm sure I could name a few people." He was quiet for a second. "So, you told your mom about me? What did you tell her?"

"Just what I thought of you when I met you; that you seemed like a genuine guy, and you didn't seem arrogant like most football players are. She was a little surprised that we're going on a date already," I explained.

"Why would she be surprised?" Yeah, he definitely didn't know too much about me.

I was almost too embarrassed to explain. "I don't date much. She thought I would give you the run around before agreeing to go out with you."

"Ah, I see. I suppose I got lucky then, right?" he asked matter-of-factually, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I would have to say yes to that only because I already knew what you looked like, and I already knew a little about you before I met you. I wasn't walking into Momma Whitlock's house blindly," I retorted. I wasn't going to tell him that I googled the hell out of him. I looked at every picture I could possibly find, admired and drooled over the pictures of him at Momma Whitlock's house. The pictures I saw of him with other women, well, I scowled and wished I could delete them. I already knew his birthday because of Jazz. I was being ridiculous like a crazed stalker.

I heard him let out a low laugh. "That's funny that you call her, Momma Whitlock."

"Why's that?"

"Let's just say she has her way with names for herself. I got in the habit when I was a kid, calling her 'Auntie' and it stuck. Do you know how ridiculous I look calling her that? I'm a grown man, Bella, and I still do it. It's like a dirty habit of mine," he replied.

Dirty habit was all I heard, so I felt like being a little feisty with him. "Oh, yeah? Do you have many dirty habits?"

"You're too funny but no, I don't have many dirty habits. At least I don't think I do. I suppose you'll have to find out for yourself," he said. I was positive I would enjoy every minute of getting to know him.

I couldn't help but have a vision of the future for us. "Yeah, I suppose I would. And don't be embarrassed about calling Joan 'Auntie'. There's nothing wrong with it. Who cares what other people think. Plus, I think it's cute."

"Bella, guys don't do cute," he said.

"Shut up, Edward. And if other guys don't like cute, then it's only you because that's exactly what it is." From this day forward, I vowed to continue telling him he's cute and stuff that he does is cute.

We ended our call after a few more minutes with promises to see each other on Wednesday. I didn't want to end our call, but I was starting to yawn. I honestly couldn't wait to see him. Just seeing him once and sharing one phone call with him, was definitely not enough.

Morning seemed to approach quickly. My dreams were filled with flashes of Edwards face all night. I woke up with a smile. I had something other than work to look forward to, now.

My excitement must have been seeping from my pores when I walked into the kitchen. My whole family was sitting at the table having breakfast. "Wow, you look chipper this morning?" Ladies and gentleman, my mother.

I knew she meant that more as a question than anything. My dad just continued looking through the paper as he shoveled eggs into his mouth.

"Yeah, I slept really well." I sat down and grabbed my napkin, laying to across my lap.

"I heard you on the phone last night. Were you talking to Edward?" I was hoping mom wouldn't bring it up at the table, of all places, but there was no holding her back.

That being said, Dad popped his head up from the paper to look at me with curiosity. "Who's Edward?"

"Yeah, who's Edward?" asked Alex. He had a devious little smile on his face as he stuffed a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"Edward Cullen. Bella had dinner at the Whitlock's on Saturday and Edward was there. They have a date on Friday." Mom definitely couldn't keep my interaction with Edward to herself for just a tad bit longer. I knew she was happy for me because I was happy for myself, too. I didn't want to ruin her fun, though.

"Isn't he the football player? He has a brother, Emmett? They're Joan and John's nephews, Right?" Dad was looking very interested in our topic of conversation considering he laid the paper down and reached for his coffee. I knew the questions would start flooding out.

I knew the cop in him was waking up and his over- protectiveness could make an appearance at any moment. He had done it many times when I was growing up. A couple of boys had never shown interest in me again after they found out that Charlie was a U.S Marshal. He wasn't too overbearing to make me go crazy and run away, but enough to keep most of the boys from approaching me.

"Yes, Dad, he is; he coaches at U-Dub now. Remember he blew his knee out last season? His surgeon said his knee would never be good enough to play anymore. He's staying at the Whitlock's until he can get his own place. He starts coaching next week." I explained, hoping that would appease him for the time being. I knew that if Edward and I were to become exclusive, then more questions were expected.

I saw a small glint in his eye and he seemed okay with the fact that I may soon be dating an ex-football player. "That's too bad. He was a great player. His brother's pretty good, too. Hopefully he can teach those boys over at U-Dub a thing or two."

"From what Jasper says, he seems pretty confident about it," I said, finally putting food on my plate. The conversation was making me really hungry. Alex kept looking at me funny and scrunching up his nose. "What?" He was being a weirdo.

He started taunting me like any little brother would do to an older sister. "Sissy has a boyfriend," he sang out over and over. Gracie followed suit and mom just sat there, allowing them to tease me. A huge smile graced her face and I knew she was enjoying my torture.

I chuckled and played the teased victim that I was. "Stop it. He's not my boyfriend. We've only talked on the phone."

"Do you want him to be your boyfriend, Sissy?" asked Gracie. I could tell she was kicking her legs under the table. It was something I did when I was little, as well. Mom said it was more out of excitement.

"I don't know. I know I like him, though," I replied, smiling up at her.

"Sissy has a boyfriend, Sissy has a boyfriend, Sissy has a boyfriend." Both Alex and Gracie continued to taunt me until my dad gave them the look and they both shut up real quick.

Here I was, almost 25 years old, being taunted by my younger siblings. I really wouldn't want it any other way. My mom had to go through hell to get where she is today and I loved every minute of it.

I finally made it back to Seattle by two and went straight to the Apple store. I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted a new iPod or a new iPhone. There were too many choices, but the iPad looked very promising for my reading.

"I would pick a new iPhone," said a very deep, seductive voice from behind me. I knew that voice. I smiled and turned to look up at Edward, who also had a huge smile on his face.

"And why, sir, would you have me pick a new phone?" I asked.

"First off, they make perfect cameras," he said, lifting his hand, taking a picture of me with his.

"Edward, what are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" I asked, jokingly. He was a smart man, so if he thought I was being serious, I was definitely going to have fun picking on him.

The smile on his face was contagious. "Yes, I am," he chuckled. "Actually, no I'm not. I came to have my phone rebooted, or whatever they do to it."

"You can't have your phone messing up on you just in case your 'Auntie' needs to get in touch with you." I needed to keep teasing him, keep him on his toes.

"Ha, ha, ha; very funny," he said, poking me in my side. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. I was still busy contemplating which overpriced phone I wanted.

He still had a sly smirk on his face as he looked at me. "So, what's

your opinion of the iPad?"

"It's a big, giant, flat camera and you can read stuff on it," he retorted.

I chuckled and shook my head at him. "You really don't know much about electronic stuff, do you?"

"Bella, I'm a dumb jock not Bill Gates," he said.

"Point taken; I'll leave it to someone else to answer my electronic questions from now on," I said, turning to look at the phones that were on display.

He moved over to lean on the table where I was looking at the phones. "So, do you have plans after you leave here?" I could see the corner of his mouth quirk a little like he was trying not to smile.

"Um… no." I said, glancing up at him from the iPad I was messing with. "I was just gonna head home and unpack my bag and rest from my long drive," I explained. He nodded in agreement, but I could sense there was more to his question.

"Why? Did you have something in mind?" My heart sped up and my butterflies were starting to wake up.

A huge smile graced his face. He resembled a kid in a candy store or in his case, the quarterback who scored the touchdown.

"Not really; I just wanted to spend some time with you. I'll understand if you would rather have a quiet evening at home by yourself," he said. I could see him through my periphery watching me. I looked up and he smiled.

Before I could answer him, a sales person called out my name. Apparently, now you have to sign in if you need help with anything at the Apple store. I waved my hand to get his attention.

"Can I help you find anything?" the sales person asked, looking between me and Edward.

"Yes, actually, I would like to purchase one of the newest iPhone's, please," I replied and looked back up at Edward. He had stood up from where he was leaning on the counter and inched his way closer to me while I was speaking to the sales person. "Didn't you need to have your phone looked at?" I asked, hoping I wasn't keeping him from anything.

"No, I already had it done. I was on my way out when I saw you," he explained.

"Ah, I see, so, if you don't have any plans for tonight, would you like to come to my place for dinner? It won't be much, just sandwiches. I haven't shopped for this week yet and I'm not used to having people over. Just Jazz but he doesn't count," I said sounding a little nervous. I kept looking down towards my feet not wanting to look at him while I spoke. I was sure he could hear the quiver in my voice.

"I'd love to. I could bring some wine or something else to drink if you'd like?" The sales person was being very patient until I pointed at a certain phone and he headed to the back to retrieve it.

"Sure, if you'd like. I don't keep alcohol in my house. I'm not much of a drinker. I usually keep water and tea around," I explained.

"Water or Tea sounds fine by me. I can follow you to your place when you're done here if that's okay?" If my heart was going to break through my chest from being around him, it was going to happen any minute. I was so nervous.

I nodded my head in agreement and finished my purchase, and then Edward and I walked to the parking lot.

The weird thing about the situation, Edward was parked one row over from me. I knew he had gotten to the mall before me, so I didn't mention anything about the coincidence. I gave my head a little shake to try and clear my mind. Was all this really happening?

I watched him climb into his truck and drive around to where I was parked. Then he followed me until we pulled into the parking garage of my building. Edward parked next to me then hopped out of his truck and made his way over to my door and opened it before I could reach for the handle.

He followed me to the elevators and I reached to hit the up button and stood waiting. "This is a nice building you live in." He looked around the parking garage. "I like that there's a gate to the garage. Keeps the boogyman out."

I laughed. "You make it sound like I'm three." The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "I love this place. I bought my loft here a couple of years ago," I said. One of the only things I could definitely thank my sperm donor of a father for.

"Is this whole building lofts?" He looked up to the mirrored ceiling of the elevator.

"No, I think regular apartments go up to the 16th floor, then from there up are the lofts, but the apartments are two to a floor," I explained. I looked up at him questioningly. I knew he was living with Momma Whitlock until he could find his own place. I wondered for a split second if he thought about buying an apartment in the same building as me. "You interested in a place here?" I asked was I reached over to press the button for the 18th floor.

"I don't want to live with my aunt forever. I do need some privacy," he clarified, looking me directly in the eyes and my heart did a plummet and began dancing on my stomach.

"I'm sure there's something available." I turned my eyes away from his. The feeling went away just a little. "I can call my Realtor for you, if you'd like?" I suggested, hoping he'd say yes.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Sure. I can call, though. Um... what floor do you live on?"

"The 18th floor." He must not have noticed the button I pushed or was too busy looking at me to notice. One of the best stories I've ever read, was the reason behind me loving my loft so much. The main characters had gotten married and their room in the hotel where they stayed was on the 18th floor. Not only that, the husband played Blue Octobers '18th Floor Balcony' to his new wife on the grand piano and sang to her. It made my heart ache just thinking about their love story. It was amazing and I only hoped to find a man to love me as much as he loved his wife. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her. I was starting to have an urge to read it, again.

The elevator dinged for the arrival at my floor, so we stepped out and approached my door. Edward kept looking around the entryway at the art work that I had displayed.

Alice had contributed the portraits for everyone to see."Interesting pictures." Edward moved closer to one to get a better look.

I glanced around the room as I pulled my keys out. "My best friend, Alice, is a photographer. She took them and had them blown up for me when I bought this place."

"They're really good," he stated, complimenting Alice's work.

I smiled, nodding my head. "Thank you. She'll be in town next month. Don't tell Jasper though, it's sort of a surprise for him."

We stepped into my loft and Edward started glancing around. He was taking in the scenery before him with a smile on his face. He appeared pleased with what he saw.

"So, would you like a tour? It will only take a few minutes and then I can make us some sandwiches," I said, placing my purse and keys on the table in my entryway.

Edward agreed, so I motioned for him to follow me towards my library and exercise room.

My loft had five bedrooms and a den. My den was my library/office space and one of the bedrooms was converted into my exercise room. The other two rooms were used for guest rooms and then there was my master bedroom. The split floor plan is what attracted me to the place.

Each room had their own bathroom and then there was a bathroom in the hallway. Alice usually occupied one of the guest rooms when she was in town. I refused to let her to use a hotel when I had enough space for her. She used the same room every time, so I officially declared the room as hers.

Edward was still glancing around my hugely open living room area. "So, what do ya think?"

There was a huge picture window where you could view all of Seattle. That was definitely another one of my selling points. Seattle at night was breathtaking. I could sit and watch the boats coming and going, all day.

He walked over to the window and looked out. "I love it. It's a little big for a single person."

I glanced up at him and shook my head. If he only knew that one day, I planned to fill this place with babies. Whether they came to me naturally or I adopted them.

"I think it's perfect for me. I plan to have a handful of kids running around here whether I have them naturally or I adopt them," I explained. We were walking towards the kitchen so I could make our sandwiches. Edward leaned up against the counter and watched my every move.

"I'm assuming you love kids?" He crossed his arms over his chest and crossed his ankles. I could see the muscles in his arms flex and my dancing heart started a little tip tap on my stomach, again.

"Yeah, I do," I said, glancing over my shoulder at him. He had a smile on his face that lit up the whole room.

"I do, too. That's why Katherine and I broke off our engagement. She didn't want kids. She just wanted to live the glamorous life and not ruin her body," he explained. I chuckled a little to myself. I was sure he heard me. Some women were definitely not meant to have kids and if she was that way, then Edward was very lucky he didn't stay with her and find out a little too late.

When I was done preparing our food, I motioned for Edward to follow me to the living room. Normally with a guest over, I would sit at the dining room table but we were just having sandwiches; nothing to write home to Momma about.

"We can watch a movie if you'd like, or we could just sit and talk; it's entirely up to you," I said while motioning towards my shelves full DVD's and blue-ray's.

"I'd like to talk more; you fascinate me," he said. I lowered my head giving it a little shake. I could feel the embarrassment spread across my face. I didn't take compliments too well and he had done his fair share since I met him.

"What?" He asked, reaching over and pushing my hair away from my face. It was an intimate gesture that I welcomed, but also surprised by.

My imagination got the better of me. Images of Edward in a bar telling woman after woman that they fascinated him. "Nothing; I'm sure you say that to all the girls."

"Actually, I don't. You're the first," he said. I popped my head up to look at him. I was searching for truth in his eyes, and found an honest man looking back at me.

As we talked, we told stories of our childhood and he talked about his career as a football player. It intrigued me fully at how many places in the world he had visited. I had been to two states my entire life...Florida and Washington. I was planning to travel before I decided to bring little one's into my life. There were so many places I wanted to visit and experience. Then once my children were old enough, I would take them with me.

A comfortable silence fell upon us and we opted to watch a movie. Fatigue was starting to set in from my trip, but I didn't want my evening to end with Edward. We decided on a comedy. 'Dickie Roberts'. It was one of my all-time favorites. I still laugh until I cry every time I see it, although tonight, I fell asleep.

I was woken up by soft lips touching mine. I thought I was dreaming until I realized I was lying next to Edward on the couch. I had snuggled right up against him.

I looked up and saw his beautiful blue-green eyes looking down on me. My heart skipped a beat at our closeness. His warmth was enveloping me, and I was reluctant to move away, so I just stayed put. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, but your lips are irresistible," he whispered.

"Don't be sorry," I whispered in return. I reached my hand up, placing it on his face and pulled him to me. I pressed my lips to his and he responded eagerly. We slowly moved our mouths over each other before I opened mine to invite him in. He accepted and our tongues caressed each other with so much want and passion. I had never been kissed this way before. It was making my toes curl.

Our kissing turned into gentle exploration. I had draped my leg over his hip as he cupped my ass and pulled me to him. I could feel his excitement pressed into my thigh as we pulled each other closer.

I was so nervous, and my heart was racing as he slowly moved his hand from my ass, traveling my entire leg and then back up. Each pass he would make, he would apply soft pressure as if he were massaging my leg. His other hand was cupped the back of my head as he held me to him as we kissed.

It seemed like hours before he slowly inched his hand up the back of my shirt. My mind was in overdrive and wanted more of his touch, but my conscience kept reminding me that I wasn't ready to move any further with him.

I pulled back and looked into his eyes. "I think we need to stop," I said, breathlessly. "As much as I don't want to, I think we need to."

"Yeah, you're probably right; I should go, but I don't want to," he said, moving to get up from the couch.

I followed suit, pulling my shirt back down. "I'll walk you out."

"I want more of this. I know this isn't officially a date, but I enjoyed my time with you. Will I still see you on Wednesday for lunch?" he asked. He reached for my hand as we walked toward the door.

"Absolutely," I smiled, feeling giddy.

Edward pulled me to him and lowered his head to meet my lips with his. We kissed like two anxious teenagers before I pulled away for the second time.

All of my nervousness had completely disappeared during our second make out session.

"I'll see you, Wednesday," I said. "Call me or text me when you get in, okay?"

"I will," he said, bending down to give me a chaste kiss before he reached for the doorknob and let himself out.

My heart finally started to calm from all of our activities this evening.

I cleaned up the mess from our makeshift dinner then made my way into my bathroom to brush my teeth and change into my pajamas. As soon as I pulled up the covers, after climbing into bed, my phone chimed informing me that I had a text message. And for not caring too much about texting, I was starting to like it.

I made it home safely. Headed for a cold shower. Goodnight beautifulEdward

I quickly sent a text back: Goodnight, handsome. I'll see you on Wednesday. –Bella

It definitely would be a good night with my dreams of Edward.


Thanks bunches,

Reason