DISCLAIMER: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight not me. I just love playing around with the characters we all know and love. :-)

Authors Notes:

***BPOV. She knows Edward likes her. What's going to happen?

***I beat my record for comments last chapter. YAY. Keep them coming.

***Still expect slower updates through the holidays however I did post a new chapter of my other story in addition to this one. ENJOY. :-)

~~CAST YOUR VOTE~~

-I'm currently working on ideas for the chapter with Bella and Edward's first date. Should it be told from Bella's POV or Edward's? Let me know. :-) So far I think people would want it from Bella's perspective so that's where I'm leaning...

PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS

CHAPTER #9: Settled in inaction

BPOV

"Why? Me?" I honestly couldn't wrap my mind around why he was asking me to go with him.

"Yes, you." He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly as he shook his head in mock irritation.

"I'm sticking with the original question of why?" I narrowed my eyes when he chuckled.

"Trust me when I tell you that a school benefit isn't my idea of a good time either, but we all have our crosses to bear." I kept my eyes narrowed as he had yet to answer the question of why. Specifically, why me? "We're friends right?" Now I really narrowed my eyes.

"Yes?" The word was deliberately dragged out and came out as more of a question.

"Friends help each-other. Please?"

"I'll do it if you tell me why you need me specifically. Can't you ask a girlfriend or something?"

"Don't have one to ask." He shrugged while drinking some of his coffee. We were sitting in the break room, talking, or rather Jasper was talking and I was sitting there in confusion. Why was he asking me to go with him? "I went alone last year, not thinking anything of it, and let's just say it didn't go well."

"How so?" I didn't understand how going to some white collar event meant you couldn't go alone.

"Going 'Stag'..." He actually used air quotes to illustrate his annoyance. "...is actually like wearing a beacon, telling everyone to ask a lot of annoying and surprisingly personal questions." Before I had a chance to ask what sort of questions he was asked, he was tallying off a list. "'What do you do for a living?' 'How much does it pay?' 'What made you decide to do that?' All of those are asked with growing levels of disbelief and disapproval of course." He sighed as he explained. "Then there's the intimate questions. 'Where's your wife/girlfriend?' If you respond to that with you don't have one, they immediately turn progressive and ask about a husband/boyfriend instead. If you say something in the vein of 'I'm not gay' they go one of two routes from there. One, they ask why you aren't married then, while shooting you skeptical looks, or they go WAY to far and tell you it's 'okay to be who you are'." He looked so annoyed while he vented that I had to laugh, hard.

"SERIOUSLY? That actually happened last year?" He had to be kidding.

"Oh yes. Trust me, you can't make that stuff up." I continued to laugh at his expense but he took it in stride. "I would have been fine with it if it hadn't been for the fact that I got it all repeated to me over and over again from EVERY SINGLE PERSON there."

"Why are they all so interested in your personal life anyway?" I couldn't fathom why they cared.

"Clearly you don't spend time rubbing elbows with societies high class." He shook his head as he thought about it. I internally winced at the implication but tried not to openly think about my strict lower-middle class upbringing. Thinking about the 'elite population' immediately made me think of Edward which was not a healthy topic for me right now. Even if I didn't know anything about him at all, just his appearance showed that he clearly had money. I didn't know fashion, but I could tell his suits were tailored and top of the line, and that was all I ever saw him wear. On top of his clothing and the fact that I DID know him and what he does for a living, I had walked him and Lizzie to their car that night Lizzie stayed with me, and he drove a car that can only be characterized as INSANELY nice. I certainly don't know car models but I had, not so proudly, looked it up on my computer after they left. It was a Mercedes Maybach which from my brief research is an almost $200,000 car. Meanwhile I had paid less then 8 grand for my beat up old car. I seriously wondered if he could be more out of my league.

Ever since Thursday night when I watched Lizzie for him and we actually spoke about...things, we'd been in a bit of a limbo state. We hadn't spoken... directly... since, however he had taken to texting me during the day. I would never admit it out loud but I lived for those texts. I wouldn't have thought it could be possible, but he actually managed to make me blush by just those texts alone. He didn't even get inappropriate or anything, it just seemed to be a natural skill of his. He could make anything charming and therefore I would turn red. This was one of the things that had aided in my somewhat distracted behavior today. It was Monday, a little more than a week after our night, and I had left my phone at home by accident and I was stuck at work with the preparations for the rest of the weeks conferences. I hadn't been away from my phone since he'd taken to texting me daily and I hated that I was now.

"Are you sure you want me there?" Jasper gave me a pointed look as I asked for seemingly the hundredth time. "What? As you just pointed out, I don't know these people. What will I say to them?"

"I don't know, 'Hi' or 'How are you?', whatever works." He laughed and I sighed. I had told him I would go, however that didn't mean I felt at ease about it. "At least I'll have a human to talk to if you're there. I can't stand most of those people."

"Why go then?"

"Occupational necessity, not a choice trust me. Part of my job is to promote the school for good PR and funding. We aren't a public school that just depends on the government. We unfortunately require financial... assistance." He rolled his eyes and I nodded. It made sense, I imagine the school principal being present would be important.

"Wont it be awkward? Going with me?" I felt like such a loser asking this. If it wasn't awkward before it certainly would be after asking.

"Why?" He actually looked confused which just made me feel dumber and had me wanting to take the questions back.

"Because I'm your employee...I guess?" Why did it sound like a question?

"So...?"

"Well, wont people think that's inappropriate?" He actually laughed hard at that.

"Again, you clearly don't spend time with these people. Nothing about our non-relationship could hold a candle to some of the gossip worthiness of theirs. We wouldn't be the most interesting gossip within the last five minutes, let alone the whole event."

"Really? What sort of gossip is there?" I wasn't really expecting an answer but he seemed to be putting real thought into it.

"Middle aged divorced women who have never worked a day in their lives, that took half their husbands money in divorce and now collect alimony. They show up with 25 year old 'tennis instructors'." He laughed while I was left wondering if something so cliché actually happened. "THEN you have middle aged and beyond wealthy men with 20 year old blond bimbos on their arm that don't seem to know how to do anything but laugh annoyingly." He laughed harder and I tried my best not to take his comment personally. Sure I wasn't blond but I am 20 and Edward is... older. What would it be like if he ever took me to something like that? What would people assume about us?

"Are you okay?" He frowned as he watched me and I realized that I wasn't containing my defeated and not-so-slightly uncomfortable feelings very well.

"Yeah, I just don't want to embarrass you. I've never been good in a crowd." It was true enough and he seemed to buy the excuse.

"You'll be fine Bella." I hated that I got suckered into going but I was also happy to be able to help him out. I really liked Jasper and he had taken me under his wing since hiring me, showing me everything there was to know about the private school world as well as all the people here. I owed him and at least I could do this... maybe.

…...

"Hey B, you're home." I had literally just closed the apartment door and I was hauling enough groceries to cause me to loose all the feeling in my arms when Angela spoke in an overly happy tone. I gave Angela a confused look as I brought the food to the kitchen counter and set it down with a heavily relieved sigh.

"I told you I just needed to get groceries after school then I'd be home." I had planned on making a late dinner but it had taken longer then expected. That plus the conferences meant it was pretty late, almost 8pm. She had gotten off at 5 and had offered to do the shopping but I wanted her to relax as she'd been working way to much the last couple weeks.

I started heading to my room, where I was fairly certain my cell phone was, when Angela called to me. "Looking for something B?" There was a smugness in her voice that certainly hadn't gone unnoticed by me. I froze in my tracks before turning practically in slow motion towards where she was lying casually on the couch. She smirked at me, then after a moment she revealed my phone that had been resting next to her. I felt my eyes widen and face heat up with the knowledge that I had left my phone out in the living room. Without thinking of how obvious it looked to do it I charged forward, determined to get my phone back ASAP. She jumped up onto the couch and we proceeded to play a game of keep-away like a couple little kids. "Why so desperate for your phone, red?" I ignored her baiting as I tried futilely to grab it from her. Sometimes I really hated how small I was compared to absolutely everyone.

"Angela give it back." I was in no mood for games. I was tired and had missed who knew how many texts from Edward because of rushing this morning.

"Could this sudden need to keep your cell close have something to do with not 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 but 6 texts from the one and only 'so incredibly beyond cute', Mr. Edward Cullen?" I froze as I starred up at her in shock. He texted me 6 times? She smiled as she took in my expression. "Since when did you two exchange numbers and start texting one-another?"

"I've had his number. His daughter is in my class." She gave me a deeply skeptical look which silently said, 'And you have every parent's personal phone number in your cell phone?'

"So it's purely professional then?" Her smirk made it clear that whatever he'd texted me was certainly not professional.

"Umm, we're friends." Honestly it was the closest thing to the truth. We didn't have a clearly defined relationship so friendship seemed accurate.

"Uh-huh." She looked to the phone and started scrolling through it, probably looking for the first text I'd missed. "So this is what friends text one-another?" She cleared her throat dramatically before speaking. 'Knock Knock?'." She eyed me and I couldn't fight my blush and wide smile. He loved sending me Knock Knock jokes. In his own words he was determined to impress me with his 'amazing sense of humor' since I'd mocked his joke from Thursday. "Then when you didn't respond with the customary 'Who's there?' Mr. Cullen wrote. 'Giving in already Ms. Swan? How very disappointing. I would expect you to put up a lot more fight than that.' He's a very FRIENDLY man isn't he?" She again eyed me with a raised eyebrow as she accented the word friendly with heavy skepticism.

"He's just being playful." I was convincing no-one as even I recognized the not-so-veiled flirtatious words and their potential meaning. My own recognition was illustrated by my deepening blush. She rolled her eyes while still smiling, before continuing to read.

"Then he writes, 'Well if you don't play with me it's no fun at all'." She shot me narrowed eyes and at this point I was so red I didn't think it could get worse, but I also knew it could. There were still 3 texts to go.

"Umm." Where was that escape plan again?

"Then he writes..." She smirks at the phone before looking up at me with an almost victorious expression.

"What?" I couldn't resist asking. What had he written to get that response from her? I wanted to know but at the same time I really didn't.

"Oh he writes... 'Are you there beautiful?'... oh yes, he wrote beautiful." She smirked as I lowered my gaze to the ground and fought a loosing battle with the big smile breaking out. He had called me beautiful?...

"He was just being charming." Did I sound pathetic or hopeful?

"Uh huh... and that would be the same reason he wrote the next one?" I looked up at her expectantly, wanting to know what he wrote. "Let's see." She pretended to scroll down the texts and looked casual as she did. "Oh here it is, 'Are you okay? You haven't answered me all day, and I'm worried?' Just charming again I suppose?" I shrugged while fighting my smile at the knowledge that he was worried about me.

"Whatever Ms. Denial. The last text only came in about 20 minutes ago."

"Can I have my phone back please?" I reached for it and she handed it over without a fight. I figured this awkward conversation was over but I was wrong.

"Lastly Mr. Cullen wrote..." She started reciting the text from memory before I could read anything. "'I'm really getting worried Bella. Remember that I do know where you live, so please answer your phone, before I come to you personally.' Wow, if his looks and voice are as hot as his texts, you don't stand a chance against him." She laughed and I blushed stupidly.

"Maybe I should call him. I don't want him to worry." She rolled her eyes as I spoke mostly to myself.

"Please rewind to how he knows where we live." My eyes may have bugged out as I remembered that I hadn't disclosed that information to Angela.

"Ummm, he came over on Thursday, the last day of school before the break." I guessed this was a big deal as her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"And you're just now mentioning this because..." She was completely shocked and truthfully I was a little offended by it. I was capable of having friends...

"It was no big deal. Lizzie was with us and he was only here for a few hours."

"WAIT. His daughter was here? What were you doing that required he be here a few hours?"

"I picked up Lizzie from school for him because her mom never showed up and he was a few hours away."

"What?"

"Just like I said." I shrugged and tried to casually back away.

"Oh no you don't." She grabbed my arm. "Explain now, Missy."

I was about to answer her when my phone started ringing. I looked down and it was Edward. I felt my cheeks heat and Angela rolled her eyes but shooed me away, while heading to the kitchen to mess with the groceries. "Hello." I practically ran to my room and closed the door, allowing me to answer before the phone even had a chance to ring a second time.

"So you ARE alive." I hadn't heard his voice in awhile and I blushed as I realized it was just as perfect as I remembered and I really missed it. It was smooth and strong, making me smile shyly.

"I'm sorry. I left my phone at home today." I felt myself blush deeper, just from his voice full of concern as well as his usual amount of authority.

"Hmm..." I didn't really know how to respond to that so I waited for him to speak further. "Is that the real reason?"

"What other reason would there be?" I was sure my face was as confused as I felt. Why else wouldn't I answer his texts?

"Well you answered the phone on the first ring... that's awfully fast Ms. Swan." I swear I could hear his smirk and it made me lower my head in embarrassment even-though he couldn't see me. "Far faster then you normally respond to my texts." I heard humor in his voice as I tried to hide my blushing face further, not able to stop my ridiculous reactions to him. "AND yet... you didn't answer any of my texts today. One might suspect that you were playing hard to get. Were you hoping I would call you if you made me wait?" Despite being wrong in his assumption I still felt the red creep up my face, ears and neck. If he saw me he would undoubtedly believe he was right.

"I plead the fifth counselor." I didn't know what gave me the courage to flirt back like that but it probably had a lot to do with the fact that I didn't have to look him in the eye. He laughed loudly and easily and I loved the sound with his perfect voice. I imagined that few people got to hear such a light side of him.

"The fifth?" He was very amused and I knew he was smiling widely. "You do know that that means you claim the right not to answer for fear of incriminating yourself, correct?"

"Yes."

"So, that means you ARE guilty."

"No, it just means I refuse to answer you." My words came out with a lot more confidence then I felt. This was all so new to me. I was always shy, quiet, and non-confrontational. I had no idea what I was supposed to say to a man in this situation. I was also fairly certain that I'd never flirted before. Was I doing it right?

"I believe I'll stick with my conclusions regardless Ms. Swan." There was that arrogant, but in a good way, tone of voice he usually had.

"You do that, Mr. Cullen." I accidentally released a very small giggle that immediately had me wanting to hide in a dark hole. Giggling was not attractive.

He laughed but didn't drag it out, and instead changed the subject. He asked me about how the conferences were going and I was touched by how much he actually cared. He asked about how each of my students were progressing, what was my favorite thing to work on individually with my students, and a million other specific things that I wouldn't think anyone would care enough to ask about. He laughed when I confessed how nervous I was about talking to all the parents in such a detailed way. He told me that I was an amazing teacher and that I was worrying for nothing. My shyness came back in the face of how confidently he spoke about his faith in me. He really believed I was an amazing teacher and it filled me with so much pride.

I wanted to know about how things had gone with Tanya over the last week but I didn't want to ruin his upbeat mood. He had taken a vacation last week and had custody of Lizzie for the whole thing so he could take her to Disneyworld. I had learned that through our texts when he sent me a picture of the two of them at the gates. I may have made that his contact picture... no one had to know. Lizzie had told me all about her trip in class today and I relayed her stories to Edward who laughed. They had spent 4 days there and since then she had done nothing but ask to go back. I laughed at his simply exhausted tone as he told me that. I had no idea why he was so surprised. What 5 year old would want to leave the Magic Kingdom?

"She did miss you though." Edward spoke softly but with the same confidence he always had.

"No she didn't." I spoke with doubt as well as hope. I hoped she missed me as I missed her terribly. The day she'd spent with me at home was so much fun and I'd missed her everyday since. Truthfully I missed them both.

"Who do you think wanted to send you that picture?" I smiled at that. I missed all of my students last week when I couldn't see them, but Lizzie was certainly the one I missed the most. I never thought I would be capable of having a favorite student but Lizzie seemed to have inherited her father's irresistible charm.

"You?"

He laughed at my quiet question. "Lizzie, actually. She said and I quote... 'Can we take a picture for Ms. Swan?' She adores you Bella."

"That's because she's a sweetheart that loves everyone." I was positive of this. She was a very loving child. Always smiling and befriending everyone around her. She reminded me a lot of Angela when we were kids.

"Not like she loves you, trust me. She never stops talking about you."

"I know that's not true."

"Oh really?" There was clear amusement in his voice

"Really. All she ever talks about with me is you." I wasn't lying. She was a very proud 'Daddy's Girl' and was quite vocal about how amazing her father is.

"Hmm." He sounded contemplative. "Interesting." I smiled thinking of the last time he had left a sentence at that. "Given that she evidently talks about us equally, I seem to have a rival for Lizzie's affections."

"Maybe." I couldn't resist the chance to bait him as I knew he loved being his daughters favorite. He didn't have to admit it out loud, because it was obvious he lived for her adoration.

"I can't have that. I'm not accustomed to losing Bella." Again I had no doubt that his words were true. I couldn't picture someone with his looks, charm, ferocity, determination, and intelligence ever losing at anything.

"There's a first time for everything." I smiled stupidly. I knew he couldn't see me yet I couldn't seem to stop.

"I never lose Ms. Swan. I always get what I aim for." I felt myself go red at the obvious innuendo but didn't comment on his husky words. I didn't know what to say now, he was far to good at rendering me both speechless and powerless. After a few moments he broke the silence. "Are you still there Bella?"

"Yes?" Why did it sound like a question and a whisper?

He laughed warmly and of course seductively. I honestly wondered if he did this to me on purpose, if he was just naturally this way with women, or if I was more hopeless then I thought. "You are? You don't exactly sound sure of that."

"I'm still here."

"Good, because I've missed hearing your voice. I would hate for you to go mute on me." I smiled but didn't know how to respond. I really was hopeless. "You know what else I've missed?" I already knew what he was going to say but I certainly wasn't going to answer him. He laughed when I didn't respond, obviously understanding my silent thoughts. "Your blush." I was right, I knew that was what he was going to say. It was obvious from the first time we met that he found my easy flustering to be quite amusing. "How red are you right now I wonder?" Red enough that I would be burying my face into my hands if anyone was in the room with me, not that I would tell him that.

"You'll never know." I was fortunate enough to get that small sentence out without my voice quivering.

"You should never challenge me Bella. I live to conquer a worthy foe." He was both amused and determined now. Everything about this man screamed confidence and strength and it was impossible not to get pulled in by it.

"It wasn't a challenge, just an observation." He chuckled darkly, clearly interpreting my words in the exact opposite way.

"You know, I am curious..." I knew he was setting me up for something but I felt unable to turn away regardless.

"What about?"

"Well, I quite honestly laid myself on the line with you, when I confessed to missing you, specifically your voice and blush." I reddened as he repeated his words from moments ago. "I'm curious about whether or not you've missed me?"

"Of course I've missed you." I wasn't going to lie.

"Really? What specifically?" Why didn't I see that coming? What could I say? Was saying 'Everything' to pathetic or was getting specific worse? "Be honest beautiful."

"Your smile." I blurted it out in the face of his endearment. I was positive my face could generate a good amount of heat right now as a result of my outburst. There was nothing at all untrue about my words but they seemed so personal. Why did his mention of my voice and blush not seem as intimate as me missing his smile?

"My smile?" I didn't respond to his amused but excited tone. I wasn't going to repeat myself. I got the words out once but that wouldn't happen again. At least it wouldn't happen again and me remain functional through the embarrassment. "Anything else?"

I figured it was only fair to name two things like he had but I hadn't recovered from the first confession. I took a deep breath before I whispered the ultimate thing I missed about him. "I miss seeing you with Lizzie." This was truthfully one of the first things I noticed about the man. Yes he was gorgeous, confident, strong, intelligent, and a million other things but above all else he was an incredible father. No matter what else he was or skills he possessed, there was nothing more attractive or amazing than seeing him with his little girl. "You're an amazing dad, Edward."

…...

Our conversation shifted from being so flirtatious after that. Edward relayed some more stories about Florida and I laughed at all the antics Lizzie had pulled on him. "I love Lizzie to death but she's exhausting. I just wanted to sleep in a bit before going to the park but NOOO we had to get there as soon as it opened." I laughed loudly at his indignation.

"I'm sorry Edward but I'm with Lizzie on this one. You have to get there early for the character breakfast and to get to your favorite ride first before a line starts to form."

"It figures you would take her side."

"Only because she's right." He sighed exaggeratedly at my easy answer.

"So... I have some news for you."

"Really?"

"What would you say if I told you that Lizzie can start back in your art class tomorrow?" I froze as I let his words sink in. He got Lizzie back into my class? How had he done that? What did Tanya have to say about it? Was there any backlash? Did he have to compromise with her?

"She can?" Embarrassingly enough my voice trembled a bit. I felt tears well up in my eyes and despite feeling like a complete idiot over crying about such a thing, I couldn't help smiling through the tears and small sniffles that broke through.

"She can." His words were so soft now and I got the feeling he knew I was crying but didn't want to call attention to it.

"How?" My voice was not recovering, in fact I was pretty sure I sniffled louder.

"I told you I would get her back in your class so I did. Don't worry about anything else beautiful." I knew he called me that to make me smile and of course it worked, though I may have let out one more small weep as I did.

"Okay." I wiped my eyes, still feeling pathetic for crying over such a thing. "Why didn't she say anything to me today?" I managed to recover my voice a bit as I smiled, thinking of Lizzie in my class again.

"Probably because she doesn't know yet." He was smiling I could feel it in his tone.

"She doesn't know?"

"I was thinking you could tell her in class tomorrow." Embarrassingly another small sniffle came out of me. He wanted me to tell her? Something about that seemed very telling. Edward was a controlling man, and that was never more clear then when it came to Lizzie. He loved her so much and as a result, he felt a need to control anything pertaining to her. Despite this, he was releasing that control to me, however minutely, he still was. It spoke volumes and it put a bigger smile on my face.

"You want me to tell her?"

"Of course." The silent question of 'why do you want me to tell her' lingered between us for a few moments. "I know how much that class means to the both of you. It's yours, Lizzie's and yours." He was firm but sad. "I almost ruined that and I want to make it right... for both of you."

"Edward..." I wanted to object and tell him it wasn't his fault as I could tell he still blamed himself for Tanya pulling Lizzie from her art. The class might be a small thing in the grand scheme of things but to him it was monumental. He felt he'd let her down and maybe me too. He truly was a remarkable man.

"Bella..." He cut me off softly before he took a breath and then started speaking again with almost his normal amount of confidence. "It would mean a lot to me if YOU told her."

"Why?" I couldn't help asking.

"Because I trust you."

END NOTES:

-PLEASE REVIEW

~~CAST YOUR VOTE~~

-I'm currently working on ideas for the chapter with Bella and Edward's first date. Should it be told from Bella's POV or Edward's? Let me know. :-) So far I think people would want it from Bella's perspective so that's where I'm leaning...

-Edward and Bella have proceeded with a relationship of some sort now. What does the future hold?

-Bella is starting to learn how to flirt back with Edward a bit, at least when she doesn't have to look directly at his perfect face. LOL. It's progress... sort of. Who can blame her for a little incoherence?

-Anyone getting mad at the slow burn relationship remember this is a story about relationship development. It's all about the journey not the destination. ;-) ;-) I have no idea how long this story will be as I just go where the ideas take me. Have patience and enjoy the magic. **Wink Wink**

-Edward got Lizzie back in the class. I wonder how he did that?

-It takes a lot for Edward to trust much of anyone when it comes to Lizzie, but Bella of course makes the cut. :-) How could she not?