There is a poll on my profile page. Please vote if you are so inclined. Thanks!

Rosalie POV

"Edward you idiot," I hissed, loud enough for Bella to hear. I promised myself I wouldn't keep things from her. It was a promise I intended to keep although I knew it would be difficult. It was natural for us to talk quietly so humans couldn't hear.

Edward looked confused. Did he really not know what he did wrong? He shook his head in answer to my thoughts. "I don't understand," he said slowly.

"You shouldn't have put her on the spot like that," I said. I tried to contain my anger. I knew deep down he was trying to do the right thing. He was trying to do what was best for Bella and I was grateful for that. But how he did it… that is what bothered me. Now she would feel compelled to say yes, even if she wasn't comfortable at the thought. And she wasn't comfortable at the thought. I could tell, even without Jasper's gift.

It took him a full minute to realize what I meant. For a mind reader he could be extremely slow. Edward's lip twitched but he didn't comment.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I didn't think of that. I just…I wanted to make sure you were comfortable," he told Bella.

Despite the panic we could clearly see on her face, Bella was handling this fairly well. She wasn't comfortable around him but maybe this would be a good thing. Maybe this is what she needed to rebuild trust with Edward.

"Bella," I said softly. I put my hand over hers.

"It's fine Rose," she said. She looked to Edward. "If you want to go back to school…then it's okay with me."

I could see the surprise on Edward's face. Even Bella could see the surprise on his face. He wasn't good at hiding his emotions, which Jasper could confirm. Edward heard my thoughts and quickly covered his surprise. "Thank you Bella," he choked out. "I know you don't trust me and I know you may never trust me but I really appreciate this. I won't let you down."

Bella walked toward him and I tensed up. "Don't interfere," Alice whispered. "She needs this."

I did was Alice said though it hurt to do so. I watched as Bella hesitated before wrapping her arms around Edward. I tensed up beside Alice. She put a hand on my shoulder, a silent warning not to move. She knew this made me nervous but right now this wasn't about me. It was about making sure Bella wasn't scared, and also a test for Edward, to see if he could handle being next to his singer.

If he passed the test then Bella was one step closer to healing. If he failed… I would never forgive him. His eyes snapped to mine. I can forgive you for trying to kill her the first time, I told him. It was an accident. You were trying to help. But if it happens again…

"I won't fail you," he swore so quietly Bella wouldn't hear him.

Bella pulled away from him suddenly. Her face looked fine, no fear. Edward had tensed up at the sudden movement. I was ready to run over and yank her away from him. "Give him a minute," Alice told me.

Slowly Edward relaxed. Bella moved over to my side and wrapped her arms around me. I held her tightly against me. All the fear and anxiety melted away now that she was in my arms. She pulled back and kissed my cheek. "You should have known I would come back to you," she whispered. She mistook my fear as fear of losing her to Edward, instead of fear of Edward hurting her.

"I know," I said kissing the top of her head.

"Rose," she said pulling away from me. "Can we go somewhere, just us two?" She looked around the room. She wanted to go somewhere private to talk and there was no privacy here with all these vampires.

I pulled Bella into my arms and took off running. I took her back to the edge of the backyard, to our bench. "What's wrong Bella?" I asked concerned.

"Nothing," Bella said a little too quickly. "I just… I wanted to be able to talk to you without everyone overhearing us."

"Is this about Edward? You don't have to let him come back to school. You can tell him—"

My words were immediately silenced by a pair of warm lips against mine. I felt her move closer so her warm body was pressed up against mine. I had never kissed a human before. I had never been this close to a human before but I understood the appeal. Nothing compared to the feeling of a warm, soft body against mine.

Bella's lips were like a drug. The burn in my throat was nonexistent, not that it mattered. I craved her body but not her blood, never her blood.

One of the best things about being a vampire was the fact that I could think of several things at once. I could think about her blood, her body and focus on kissing Bella, all at the same time.

I pulled Bella onto my lap. I could feel her grinding against my thigh. I know I would need to stop soon or her first time would be outside on a bench. She deserved better than that. My lip moved to her neck and I felt an overwhelming desire to sink my teeth into her and make her mine forever.

That thought was enough to snap me out of my lust. I forced myself to remove my lips from her throat. The smell of her arousal was filling my senses. "Bella," I muttered. Her hands had slipped under my shirt and were resting against my bare back.

She kissed me again, still grinding against my thigh. Her breath was coming out in short pants. "Bella," I said louder. I gently pushed her away.

"Rose," Bella said. She took several deep breathes trying to get herself under control. I kissed her throat. That last thing I wanted was for her to feel rejected. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. When I kissed you… I just knew I never wanted to be away from you."

"It's okay Bella. I'm not mad," I assured her. She tried to move but I didn't let her. Not yet. There was something I wanted to know first. "What changed Bella? What made you decide this now?"

"I saw your face after I hugged Edward. You thought I was going to chose him." Wrong, but I didn't say it. "I wanted you to know that wasn't going to happen. That I chose you, no matter what."

"Bella," I sighed. She may have misinterpreted my reaction but I was satisfied with the result. She wanted me. She may not be ready to call it love but still, she wanted me. That was enough for now. "Are you sure this is what you want? It's not too late to change your mind."

Bella leaned forward and kissed me. This time it was just a peck on the lips. "I'm not changing my mind. I want you," she told me.

I kissed her again, being mindful not too let it get out of control. "You never did tell me what you wanted to talk about."

Bella blushed. "I may have showed you instead," she admitted.

I stared at her. "Well, that was certainly effective," I said. I bit my lip. "Can I show you something?"

Bella cocked her head to the side. "I… what is it?"

"Just something I like to do in my free time," I told her. "Something I haven't done in a while."

I hadn't been to my garage since Bella was rescued from the van. I wanted Bella to know every part of me. I wanted Bella to be a part of every aspect of my life. But I also knew Bella. I didn't want her to touch anything in case she got hurt.

"Okay," Bella agreed. "Show me."

Bella climbed off my lap and I immediately missed the contact. I grabbed her hand and led her to my garage. I had built the garage myself as a place to work away from the others. We all needed a place to ourselves.

"This is my garage," I told Bella. I opened the door and let her in.

The garage wasn't anything impressive. It looked more like a shed. Big enough to fit a car in it along with all my tools. The bag of parts I had bought a few weeks ago was sitting on tool bench. I hadn't touched it.

"How did I not notice this building before?" Bella asked.

I took the tarp off the 1971 Corvette I had started rebuilding over a year ago. "We've had other things to worry about." Bella walked over and gently touched the car.

"I didn't know you rebuilt cars," Bella muttered.

"It was a hobby I picked up decades ago," I told her.

Bella gently touched the car, almost as if she were afraid to break it even though it was a ridiculous thought. I wished Emmett showed as much care.

"What do you plan on doing with the car when you finish?" Bella asked curious.

"I don't know," I said. When I first started this project, I didn't have a plan for the car, other than selling it and buying another car to rebuild. But now I had an idea. Bella's truck wouldn't last forever. It was also expensive to put gas in. I wanted to finish this car for her. She would never accept a brand new car but maybe she would accept a car I rebuilt for her.

"Can I help you with it?" Bella asked eagerly.

I stared at her in surprise. "Do you know anything abut cars?" I asked.

She blushed. "Well no. But I can hand you stuff, if you tell me what it is." She looked down. "I want to spend more time with you."

I cupped her cheek and forced her to look at me. "You don't need an excuse to spend more time with me," I said softly. "But if you want to learn I will happily teach you."

Bella beamed. Maybe giving her the car would be easier than I thought. I grabbed the parts I ordered and showed them to Bella. I started to give her a detailed explanation but quickly simplified it when I saw how lost she was. I explained the tools and pulled out a chair for her so she could watch.

I started with replacing the headlights. It was the easiest thing to replace. I popped the hood of the car so I could unscrew the bulbs.

"What are the others doing?" Bella asked. She took the burned out bulbs from me and handed me the new ones.

"I don't know," I answered. "I wasn't paying any attention to them. You distracted me." I grinned at her and she blushed.

"I sorry about that. I don't know what came over me," she said embarrassed.

I bit back an Emmett like comment. "It's okay Bella," I said pulling her over to me. "I certainly didn't mind. And I wouldn't mind if you wanted to do it again."

Bella blushed again. Somehow, I didn't think she would be doing anything like that for a while. But that's okay. I could be patient. But that meant poor Jasper was going to suffer. Perhaps I could talk to Alice. I shook away the thoughts. The one I really wanted to talk to was Bella, not Alice.

"Rose, Bella," Esme called walking to the garage.

Bella jumped off my lap as if she was afraid to get caught. "Bella, you realize Esme knows we are mates. She's not going to judge you for being on my lap," I told her. I pulled her back onto my lap as Esme walked in.

"Girls," Esme said. She glanced at Bella's position on my lap and smiled at us. Bella relaxed slightly in my arms. "I made dinner for Bella."

I glanced outside. I didn't realize how late it was. It was now completely dark outside. We'd been out here for at least an hour, probably more. "Are you hungry?" I asked Bella.

She leaned against me. The coldness of my skin never seemed to bother her. I needed to get her inside though. I could feel the coldness in the air. My skin may not bother her but the cold outside would. She needed to get inside where it was warm.

"A little," Bella admitted. She shivered at the cold.

I stood with Bella in my arms. I carried her inside the house, ignoring her protests that she could walk. I couldn't stand letting her go. Esme followed behind us.

"Get her upstairs and warm. I'll bring her food up," Esme instructed.

I didn't like Esme telling me how to take care of my mate but I couldn't deny she was right. Esme saw Bella as one of her children, and would take care of her as one of her children.

I carried Bella up to my room. There were some bags from her shopping trip on my bed along with the bag she packed to stay with us. Alice must have brought them up. I carefully sat her on the bed and dug through the bag, looking for something warm for her to wear.

"I got you something," Bella said. She searched her bags and pulled something out. I looked up to see her holding up a sun dress.

"It's beautiful Bella," I said taking the dress from her. "I want to take you somewhere tomorrow, if you're willing."

Bella bit her lip and nodded. She searched her bags again and pulled out some flannel pants and a tank top. "Alice suggested it. She thought I might get cold."

"Alice thinks of everything," I said. I could smell so many different scents on the clothes and I hated it. I didn't want Bella to smell like anyone but me. It wasn't too concerning though. It wouldn't take long for those scents to disappear. "Do you want to shower?"

"No, I'm okay," she said. She got off the bed, kissed my cheek and headed into the bathroom.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath while she changed. "Rose," Esme called softly. I felt her approach. I opened my eyes and looked at my mother. She was holding a plate of food for Bella.

"Where is everyone?" I asked. There was no one else in the house other than Bella, me and Esme.

"Edward and Emmett went hunting. Carlisle got called into the hospital. Alice and Jasper left to spend some time together," Esme answered. "I'm going to bake some cookies and go to the hospital. So, you'll be here all alone with Bella." She eyed me and I felt embarrassed.

"Esme," I said shaking my head. "It's not going to happen. Not yet."

She kissed my cheek. "She'll be ready eventually Rosalie. Just give her time."

"I know," I said hugging her. "Thanks for everything."

"Have a good night dear," Esme said.

She left just as Bella came out of the bathroom. My throat went dry at the sight of her in that tank top. It showed off more skin then I had seen and what happened outside was still fresh in my mind.

"You okay Rose?" Bella asked.

I tore my eyes away from her chest to look at her face. "I'm fine love," I told her. I grabbed the plate and glass of milk. "Esme brought you food."

Bella got on my bed and I sat beside. She ate quietly and I decided to read the latest issue of Vogue so I wasn't staring at her. "Rose," Bella said setting the plate down. I put the magazine down so I could look at her. "Can you tell me about your past?"