Chapter 6

Bella's hand trembled as she attempted to put the key in the lock of her apartment door. Edward was standing right behind her, and even though he wasn't too close, she could feel the heat of his body all along the entire back of her own.

"May I?" he asked. And even though he didn't lean in any closer than he already was, the sound of his voice sent a shiver through here that she felt everywhere.

She dropped the keys.

She bent over and picked them up, and when she did, her butt pressed up against him. Right there. She scooted away quickly, handing him her keys, mumbling, "Sorry," in the process. She couldn't even look at him when she told him, "It's uh…the blue one."

He opened the door, standing to the side so she could walk in first. She placed her messenger bag on the chair by the door, and when she turned around, he was closing the door with a soft click.

"Did you…ummm….maybe want to sit?" she asked. "I could get you something to drink if you like."

"Sure," he said softly. "What do you have?"

"Well, there's juice or water," she offered, whishing she had something more adult to offer him in her kitchen. The truth was Bella never really drank anything alcoholic. She wasn't supposed to with some of her medication. "Or I could make us some tea."

"What do you usually have?" he asked.

"Tea, usually."

"Then I guess we'll have tea."

"Okay."

"Okay." His soft smile calmed her nerves.

He made his way to the couch, seeming to understand that she needed a moment to collect herself. At least, that was how she chose to take it. She walked slowly to the kitchen, grabbed the red teapot from the stove and began filling it with water. She couldn't help but peek over her shoulder to see what he was doing, smiling when she saw him leaning back on the couch, his arm draped over the back. He looked comfortable. Bella liked the idea that he was comfortable in her home very much.

She wondered if she should go to sit with him while the water boiled, but she decided to take that extra time to breathe deeply and collect herself before she did. When she was finished making the tea, she took one last deep breath, picked up the cups and headed to the living room.

"It's peppermint," she said, nodding to the cup that looked too small as she placed it in his big hand. "I uh…didn't know if you wanted sugar because I never do."

"However you're drinking it will be just fine."

She looked at the empty space next to him on her couch before flicking her eyes to the chair on the other side. Seeming to sense her dilemma, Edward sighed and then said, "Look, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. So if you want to sit in the chair, don't feel like you have to sit next to me."

And a part of her really wanted to sit in the chair, but another part, a bigger part, wanted to sit next to him. She was still fascinated by the feeling she had when he'd held her hands earlier, and she wondered if she'd have those same feelings again. Not that she expected him to hold her hand again.

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Edward watched her careful appraisal of him and the couch, wondering what she would do. The truth was he wanted her to sit next him. But the other truth was he didn't know how smart that would be, especially after that little stunt in the hall where she'd basically pressed her ass against his dick when she bent over to get her keys.

He'd never actively willed his cock to stand down that much in his life.

His eyes widened when she carefully sat down beside him. Her eyes were downcast, and he tried really fucking hard not to let that bother him. She had just freely chosen to be close to him when she could have easily taken the chair.

"I umm…" she started, still refusing to meet his gaze. "I guess I owe you an explanation."

He took a drink of the peppermint tea, surprised he didn't actually hate it, and then he placed it on the table in front of them. Speaking softly, he said, "You don't owe me anything, Bella." It was the truth. And he wanted her to know he knew she didn't actually owe him shit. "But I wouldn't mind knowing what happened this morning. That is, you know, if you want to tell me."

"It's complicated."

"I think I can keep up."

"I told you," she mumbled, looking at her teacup like it possessed the secrets of the universe, when all he wanted was for her to look at him. The same way she'd looked at him in this very room the night before. "It's embarrassing."

"Because you fell?" he asked. Again. He felt like they were right back where they were on the sidewalk in front of the building. And what was the big deal about falling anyway? "People fall all the time, Bella. It's no big deal."

"You don't–I'm not…" she paused, blowing out a short, hard breath. He could feel her starting to tense back up beside him, and that was the last fucking thing he wanted. He was at a loss, but one thing was certain, he knew he couldn't fuck this up. "It's not just because I fell." She placed her own cup of tea next to his. "And not all people fall all the time. You probably don't." She met his eyes for the first time since she sat down, and the indignation Edward saw there made him smile.

"You're right," he agreed. "I don't. But still, it was just a fall."

"You don't get it," she said, her gentle voice taking on a slight edge of frustration. "It's not just that I fell. I fell because I was nervous, and I was nervous – even more than usual – because I knew…" she stopped short.

Edward reached across the space between them and gently took her hand inside his. He felt more than heard her little gasp when he did. "Because you knew?"

He let his question hang in the air, as he did something else, something small. Something so small that most people wouldn't even notice it. But he knew Bella would. He gently stroked the palm of her hand with his thumb. And he waited, almost certain he could feel the increase in her pulse.

"Because I knew I would see you," she answered quietly.

Edward experienced a lot of things at her small admission. His chest expanded and tightened. That overwhelming need he always felt to protect her swelled inside him, but the biggest thing he experienced was the understanding that her words hadn't been a small admission at all. It was fucking huge. And it was more than he'd given her.

"Would it help you to know that I was nervous, too?" he asked.

"You were?" she asked, and the hope in her small voice fucking destroyed him. And as he looked into her brown expressive eyes, he realized that there was nothing in the world he wouldn't do for the woman sitting next to him.

"Yes," he admitted, and because he wanted to give her more, he added, "And not just today, Bella. Every single day since I watched you move in."

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A/N

Welp.

Baby Steps.

Y'all know I'm not generally about the baby steps.

Thank you for reading, for every single review. You can't know how much I love reading them, and how much encouragement they give me.

Full disclosure: the characters aren't mine, but the words are. Except for the few canon words I borrowed from SM. I hope you smiled when/if you noticed them. :)

Reviews are love.