previously...

"I do hope you can find a reason to stay in Fort Worth for a while." He said softly before kissing my hands and turning to walk to his car.

I shook my head and continued up the stairs to my apartment. When I got inside, I shut the door and slid down to the floor against it. Still in a trance, I pulled out my phone and texted Alice.

You weren't wrong.

Again, her reply was almost immediate. Told you.

CHAPTER 7-

"Are you sure you don't want help getting ready?" Alice asked before I left from my shift late on Friday afternoon.

"No, Ali. I'll be fine."

I wasn't fine, but I would be. My stomach had been doing flips all day.

Edward had been back at the bar Wednesday and Thursday while Alice and Jasper were out of town, and each day he flirted a little more and stole a few more kisses when he'd walk me to my door. And last night, he asked me out on an official date for tonight. I agreed, and he told me he'd pick me up at seven.

When I got up to my apartment from work on Friday, I pulled out the white dress I had bought on Tuesday, suddenly very thankful for the impulse purchase. I took my time in the shower when I started getting ready, letting the hot water relax me. I got out and dried off and did my makeup as quickly as possible, anxious to put my dress on. I put it on and looked in the mirror. It still made me feel as beautiful as it had when I first tried it on. I pinned my hair back out of my face and left most of it down. I pulled out the jewelry I had gotten with my employee discount in college instead of the costume pieces I normally wore: a thick gold bangle that had stayed in layaway longer than I cared to admit, some large gold hoops, a couple of simple rings, and a stack of pearl bracelets. I put on some black tights and black booties and looked in the mirror again.

It had been a long time since I had worn anything like this, probably since a sorority event in college. It was a little bittersweet, seeing the fashion girl again, and I realized how much I kind of missed her.

There was a knock on my door, and I took a deep breath before I walked over and opened it. Edward was standing there in dark charcoal slacks and a white button down. As always, he looked painfully handsome.

"Hi." I greeted softly.

"You look beautiful." He complimented.

I blushed. "Thanks."

He cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and walked through the doorway, locking and closing the door behind me.

He opened the passenger side door to his car and helped me in. I had to keep from swooning dramatically. It was the first time anyone had ever done that for me.

We talked a little on the ride to the restaurant, but my stomach was still full of butterflies, and I found it a little hard to come up with things to say that would keep the conversation going. I couldn't remember the last time I was this nervous about a date, but I also couldn't remember the last time I was seeing a guy I was genuinely interested in getting to know.

When we got to the restaurant, he helped me out of the car again and led me to the entrance with a hand on the small of my back. We were seated in a more private area near a large window looking out at the street. It was a nice place, but it wasn't super fancy, which I was thankful for.

We had already gotten our drinks and ordered our meals when I finally chanced a glance at Edward. He was looking back at me with curiosity on his face.

"What?" I smiled shyly.

"It's nothing… you just… have a way of looking like you belong wherever you go." He replied honestly.

"I don't know about that." I laughed and took a sip of my wine.

"You do. You fit in here just as much as you do in that old bar."

"Well, I'm glad it looks that way. It doesn't feel that way." I joked.

We fell into an easy conversation through the rest of dinner, and I had to admit that he wasn't quite as predictable as I had first pegged him to be. At some point we ended up on the topic of hometowns, and my jaw dropped when Edward told me he grew up on a cattle farm in north Louisiana.

"You grew up on a farm?" I couldn't hide the shock in my voice.

"Don't look so surprised." He laughed.

"I'm sorry… I just didn't expect that."

"It's okay. Most people wouldn't. It was more of a hobby for my dad than a livelihood. He's an equine vet out there, but he and my mom always wanted some acreage and a couple head of cattle. When they finally had the chance, they just went for it."

"Did you like it?"

"I did actually. As much as I hated spending my summers in high school taking care of things for my dad while he was at the practice, it gave me a good work ethic, and I can appreciate it now."

"So, how'd you end up in Chicago?"

"I knew I wanted to go somewhere hundreds of miles away for college, and I had an uncle that lived there. It gave me the distance I wanted and peace of mind for my parents."

"How do they feel about you and Alice being here now?"

"I know deep down they hate it because they miss us, but they much prefer us a four and half hour drive away than halfway across the country. I don't think they ever expected Alice to stay out in the middle of nowhere, but I know it shocked them when I left. I think they hoped that I'd end up in vet school and go to work at the practice with my dad, though neither one of them would ever admit it."

The waitress brought our check, and Edward slipped his card in the leather sleeve before handing it back to her.

"Did you ever think about going to vet school?" I knew I had been asking too many questions, but the more I learned about him, the more questions that formed.

"I did for a while, but after I shadowed my dad for a few weeks, I decided it wasn't for me. I tried a couple different things in high school to get an idea of what I wanted to do, and I was still undecided on my graduation day. The summer before I left, I ended up working for one of my dad's friends from college that was a lawyer for a large feed company. At the time, I knew I didn't want to work specifically in ag, but I was really interested in business and corporate law in general. And well, I guess the rest is history."

The waitress brought Edward's card back then, and after he signed the receipt, we got up, and he led me back to his car.

The ride back to my apartment was comfortably quiet with the radio playing and Edward holding my hand on the center console. I was a little sad when we turned down the street to the bar. I wasn't ready for the night to end.

He parked behind the bar since the parking lot was pretty crowded and came around to open my door. We walked over to the steps to my apartment, and Edward hesitated for a moment.

"Can you wait here for a minute?"

I nodded slowly.

He slipped inside the bar through the side door.

I briefly wondered what he could be doing as I sat down on the steps.

He came back through the door a couple minutes later with two drinks. I couldn't tell what they were, but I knew it had whiskey in it from the glass it was in. Edward handed me a glass and sat down on the step next to me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"You mentioned that you liked blackberries. I got something I thought you might like."

I took a sip. It almost tasted like a blackberry sangria that was made with bourbon. I didn't know what it was, but it was one of the best drinks I had ever had.

"This is really good." I told him.

"Glad you like it." He replied, looking over at me and smiling.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the drinks, and I spoke again first.

"Hey… thanks for tonight."

Edward pushed my hair back over my shoulder and then gently brought his hand back up to stroke my jaw with his thumb. "Thank you." He replied and slowly leaned in.

His lips met mine, and my eyes shut. When I felt his tongue against my lower lip, I opened my mouth to him and gripped his shirt in one of my hands, trying to pull him closer. I felt like a teenager again, coming home from a date and making out on the front steps. It was honestly nice and made me a little giddy. I felt the warmth of his hand on my leg through my tights as it started at my knee and slowly slid up to the hemline of my dress, gripping my thigh there. I released my hand from his shirt and moved it to rest between his neck and his shoulder under his shirt.

My touch seemed to break him out of whatever trance he was in because he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.

"We should stop." He whispered.

"Should we?" I asked, breathless.

He smiled softly and nodded. He leaned back from me and pulled my hand from its resting place on his shoulder before giving it a kiss. Then he turned his piercing green eyes to me, and I couldn't help but get a little lost in them. Edward stood up and helped me to my feet.

When I was standing, I reached up and flattened the wrinkles I'd caused on his shirt. "Will I see you tomorrow?" I asked softly.

I hated that the thought of twenty four hours without him made my chest feel tight. I was already attached and already breaking all of the carefully constructed rules I had for myself.

"I probably won't be able to make it out here tomorrow, but why don't you come to my place Sunday evening? I'll cook."

"You cook?" I asked, and I briefly wondered if there was anything he couldn't do.

"I cook." He laughed. "So, what do you think?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

He smiled sweetly and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. "Then I'll see you Sunday, beautiful."

I nodded, picked up our glasses to bring back to the bar later, and then headed up the stairs to my apartment. I had barely kicked my shoes off when there was a knocking at my door. Slowly, I walked over and looked through the peephole.

Alice and Rosalie. Of course.

I sighed and let them in. "Stalk, much? He just left like a minute ago."

"Yeah, and it took him long enough. Geez, we didn't know how long you two were going to go at it out there. It was starting to get cold." Alice grumbled as she sat cross legged on my bed.

"Wait, you were actually watching us?" I shrieked.

"Duh." She replied.

"You both need professional help."

"We can talk about that later. How was it?" Rosalie asked, helping me unzip my dress.

I couldn't hide my smile.

"Awwww." They both cooed.

My smile dropped, and I rolled my eyes. "It was good." I said simply.

"That kiss said otherwise." Alice replied. "Honestly, I'm a little traumatized."

"Well, that's your own fault. No one told you to watch." I snipped, pulling on a big hoodie and some old shorts.

Rosalie made a face. "If what we saw outside is any indication of the future, we need to get you some nicer pajamas. You can't wear that in front of him."

Alice chimed in. "Please, if what we saw outside is any indication, she probably won't even need pajamas."

"Okay, this," I started, motioning to the both of them, "you two acting like little creeps in the shadows and casually discussing my sex life: I don't like it. It's not cool, and frankly, it makes me feel a little icky."

"Oh, don't be such a prude." Rosalie chided. "We're old married women now. Let us give you our wisdom."

"I think I've got it, Ro." I insisted.

She sighed. "Fine. I'll let it rest. For now. Just tell us how the date went."

"I told you how it was. It was good. He picked me up, brought me to dinner, dropped me back off, we had a drink, and we're meeting again on Sunday."

Rosalie gasped dramatically. "A second date already? Well, well, the wild child may be tamed after all."

"It's a second date, not a wedding." I responded. "Now can you two go? I'm quite tired and I have the early shift tomorrow."

They both held their hands up in surrender and snuck out of my apartment. I locked the door behind them and shut off the light before crawling into bed under the covers. I fell asleep quickly that night, thinking only about green eyes and the way Edward's lips felt against mine.

A/N So I was going to post this tomorrow, but your reviews just make me feel too generous. Here we are a day early, bebs. I'm glad y'all are liking these two. They won my heart pretty fast. Let me know what you think.

Side note: Was there every really a question of me writing a story that didn't have SOME connection to Louisiana? I think not. I only write about what I know after all. For those not familiar with LA and have read Silent Sweetheart, no, this is not the return of Cajun Edward. He has his own story which will be reposted shortly. Until then, please enjoy used-to-be-farm-boy Edward. The dynamic in North LA is very different than South. I've lived in both and love both for their own little reasons, and I wanted to showcase that in my stories. ANYWAY, until the next one, bebs.